After seeing my fave look so adorable, my lips crept into a grin as I turned my back to the carriage.
“I like how relaxed you look when you’re having fun with animals.”
“Why couldn’t you just pretend you didn’t see anything, you jerk?!” Her embarrassed scream echoed throughout the Divine Spring.
Gotta say, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as teasing your fave.
But really, I was glad she was feeling better.
We came across a number of monsters on our way to the spring, but we didn’t suffer any major setbacks. Rosalia was our vanguard, I was at the center of the formation, and we had Astesia as our support. Look, let me be real with you: We were a crazy-strong party. I was inhabiting my fave’s body, and to make things more unbelievable, I was partied with my other fave.
I felt like my brain was turning to mush. If that wasn’t obvious, you could tell because my ability to verbally describe things was falling apart.
“I can’t believe there’s a Divine Spring here,” Astesia said.
“No matter how many times I see it, it’s amazing.” Rosalia sighed.
“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” I agreed.
As we approached the front of the spring, we saw the same butterfly-shaped spirits from the last time and a number of Divine Beasts, just like White, bathing in the water. The sunlight reflected off the surface of the spring, making it look like it was sparkling. It was spectacular.
“All right, Lord Weiss, Astesia. I am going to keep watch.” Then, Rosalia addressed Astesia directly. “If Lord Weiss says he can lift the curse, he most definitely can. Please don’t fret.”
“Right. Thank you.”
Rosalia and Astesia’s chat was a little awkward, but it was incredible to me that the former had the strength of will to put on a smile despite the latter’s curse.
After Rosalia left, White hopped off my shoulder and ran toward the spring, chirping at the other beasts.
“Kew! Kew, kew!”
“Kew? Kew!”
White must have told the other spirits and Divine Beasts why we were here, since they all opened a path forward for us to access the spring. I felt like Moses. It seemed like the little critters were smiling at us.
“I’ll go, then,” Astesia said nervously. She must have been worried about whether this was really going to work.
“Don’t worry. The Divine Beasts are watching over you. That curse is done for, and if somehow it doesn’t work, I’ll take full responsibility,” I said in an attempt to calm her nerves.
“‘Responsibility’? You really should choose your words better, but…thank you. I feel a little braver now.” She nodded, her face red for some reason.
Her resolve was firm as she proceeded toward the spring, but she kept glancing over at me instead of getting in for some reason.
What was the matter? I was watching over her so she’d feel safe.
“Um, I have to take my clothes off, so could you face the other way?” she finally asked.
“Huh? Oh, right! I’m so sorry!”
I hurriedly turned around and closed my eyes. Now I remembered. In the game, the saint stripped naked before entering the spring so that the impurities of her clothes didn’t dirty the water. In-game, you could choose to have the hero peek at her or not, and the choice affected her heart meter.
I could hear the rustling of clothes behind me. Now that I thought about it, wasn’t I in an incredible situation? My favorite female character was behind me, taking off her clothes and getting naked! I didn’t have any luck with women in my previous life, so this was starting to make me feel pretty weird.
Like, if I turned around, Astesia would be there, completely naked…
The nude body of my fave, something I never got to see in the game, was right there. I swallowed loudly and steeled my resolve—then pinched my thigh as hard as possible!
In no world was it okay to peek at a young woman like that! I reincarnated in order to make my faves happy, and I didn’t save Astesia just so I could make her uncomfortable!
“Urgh,” I groaned. I must have put way too much strength into my pinch because now my thigh seriously hurt. I was trying to block out the pain when I heard footsteps coming from behind me.
“You can turn around now. Um, what are you doing?” she asked with a perplexed voice.
She must have noticed my groaning.
I was fighting against my instincts, okay?! I did what I had to do!
I turned around and noticed that her hair was slightly damp, making her look a little suggestive, but that wasn’t what I needed to be thinking about right now!
“Can you, um, check?” she asked uncertainly.
“Yeah. I’m on it,” I said, smiling as I touched her pale hand and opened her status.
Just as I was about to tell her how things turned out, her eyes widened with disbelief and locked on someone behind me.
Looks like my letter got to its recipient. She arrived right on time.
“Astesia? Is it true that the curse has been lifted? I’ve been so awful to you…”
“Angela?!” Astesia cried out in complete disbelief. “H-how? Why are you here?” She then turned her gaze toward me.
“Hey, don’t worry,” I said. “Go enjoy your reunion.”
“Thank goodness—and thank you.”
She sprinted past me and pulled Angela into her arms while tears streamed down her cheeks. “Angela!”
“Astesia, I’m so glad. You’re finally free…”
The women’s cheerful voices echoed throughout the spring. I was watching their reunion with warmth in my heart when Rosalia came up to me.
“Astesia’s curse has been lifted?” she said. “Look at how happy Angela is! This is wonderful for both of them. Well done, Lord Weiss.”
“Please, this wasn’t all me. You lent me your strength, Angela looked for a way to cure her, and Astesia never gave up. That’s why we were able to save her.”
The Divine Beasts also chirped and chattered as they watched Angela and Astesia’s happy reunion. Indeed, Astesia was saved because we all came together. I let myself begin to relax and felt a warmth that threatened to overwhelm me.
I’d truly saved one of my faves, something I could never do in the game.
For a while, I continued to watch Astesia and Angela from afar.