NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 3
I quickly understood that maintaining silence was a wise choice.
This place was not an ordinary insane world.
It was a world where a mere phrase from a book could lead to the loss of human life.
The person chosen by the god mentioned in that book is none other than the Holy Maiden, me, or rather, Julia, the owner of this body.
After seeing people get their necks sliced for the sin of abandoning the Holy Maiden and fleeing, I became cautious with my words.
If I were to suddenly say that I wasn’t the Holy Maiden but a man from another world…
“I would be burned at the stake.”
I would be labeled a witch.
They would say the Holy Maiden was tempted by the wicked dragon, and her heart was tainted.
There are those who kill young boys and girls for failing to protect the Holy Maiden, so that accusation wouldn’t be out of place.
I couldn’t even imagine the pain of being burned alive while continuously recovering and feeling my skin burn away.
So for a while, I had to pretend I hurt my head from bumping into something.
A concept of having lost my memory.
I acted like my language skills had regressed because of trauma.
Well, the latter might not even be a concept…
Thinking about the pain that was invading my lower body still sent chills down my spine.
The feeling of being completely immobilized.
Sharp claws pressing down, as if they would strike my shoulders.
On top of that, the excruciating pain during insertion…
Fortunately, when the priest, a man with squinted eyes, was nearby, that trauma didn’t assault me.
It might sound a bit gay, but holding that guy’s hand gave me some sense of stability.
When you’re in trouble, it often helps to have someone sturdy by your side, regardless of gender.
I am not gay.
No, I’m not.
“Hello, Holy Maiden!”
“Nice to see you, Anna.”
I greeted the little guest who burst through the door with a smile.
The Holy Maiden named Julia always greeted people with a smile.
Even if I was playing a role of having lost my memory, I would at least try to act somewhat like the Holy Maiden Julia.
Anna stood there, beaming with the clothes I had washed thoroughly the day before.
“The laundry is all dry! How is it?”
Is that all it is?
I felt like giving her a good smack.
The stains from blood hadn’t all come out.
Moreover, they were all crumpled as if they hadn’t been properly spread out.
I really didn’t want to wear that.
It was essentially the same as a prostitute’s outfit, so it didn’t matter if it was fine or not.
“Oh my… Thank you so much.”
“Hehe!”
Even with my somewhat sarcastic expression of gratitude, Anna just smiled happily.
She was still cute.
At least I thought this child seemed innocent.
So maybe it would be fine to tell her my secret.
I was feeling increasingly stifled, as if I might go mad.
If this were a dream, I wanted to wake up.
But no matter how much I banged my head against the wall or pinched my cheeks, I couldn’t wake up. I wanted to confide in someone and find some comfort.
“Why are you like this, Holy Maiden?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Opening up could lead to trouble.
I decided to hold it in.
At least for now, until I wake from this dream, I would keep it a secret.
That seemed the safest.
“Has your memory returned a bit?”
“Hmm? Memory?”
“Yes! It must have been quite shocking for you! You seem completely different from before. Hehe.”
“…”
I felt a jolt.
If even a child could notice, it meant everyone else had caught on as well.
Still, it seemed that my excuse about having hurt my head and lost my memory was working.
Considering that no one had tied rocks to my ankles and tossed me into a pond under the pretense of heresy yet.
“I’m sorry. I truly don’t remember anything. Nothing…”
“But that’s okay! You’re still the Holy Maiden! You will regain your lost memories soon!”
“Thank you.”
The Holy Maiden.
While alone, I secretly suffered injuries on my fingers and bit my lips to gain conviction.
The Holy Maiden’s body had extraordinary recovery abilities.
At first, I thought everyone in this world recovered that quickly.
That wasn’t the case.
It was a special ability that belonged to the Holy Maiden’s body.
If it weren’t for that, I would have died from excessive bleeding on the prairie long ago.
Even rolling in manure was better than this, and I was just lucky to still be alive.
Or was it? Perhaps dying was the condition for returning to my original world?
I had arrived here after dying from getting hit by a truck.
“Holy Maiden…!”
“Uh? Yes?”
“Hang in there! I’ll give you my strength! Hee hee hee hee…”
Suddenly, Anna grabbed my hand and squeezed her eyes shut.
Was she trying to inject me with strength?
I stifled a laugh.
Right. Dying was an option I could only consider as a last resort.
I would never give up.
“If you annoy the Holy Maiden, it’ll be a problem, Anna.”
At that moment, the door burst open, and a sturdy man walked in.
He was the neatly dressed priest.
As usual, he wore a gentle smile with his eyes half-closed.
I carelessly avoided his gaze.
My face flushed with warmth.
“Father! I’m not annoying her!”
“That’s determined by the one who suffers, Anna.”
“That’s not true!”
“Anna is right, Father. I was just enjoying a conversation because I was bored.”
“Oh, is that so? Then I must have interrupted a good atmosphere. Haha.”
Everything about him, from his appearance to his speech, was consistently sweet.
There is no one truly sweet by nature.
He must have an ulterior motive for acting that way.
Most likely, he was after this provocative body.
What a vile piece of work.
“Could you step out for a moment, Anna? I’d like to have a private conversation with the Holy Maiden.”
“Is it something important?”
“It is indeed important.”
“Huh… Okay. I’ll come back, Holy Maiden!”
Anna waved her arms as she left.
I struggled to wave goodbye.
Goodbye, the only pure soul in this place.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence descended upon the room now that it was just the priest and me.
It couldn’t be helped.
After all that happened yesterday…
Ah, damn it.
I had shown him my vulnerable state while lying on the floor.
But he was such a sweet guy that before anyone else could notice, he quickly closed the door and came in to clean everything up.
Unfortunately, my lower back was aching, making my lower half unresponsive, so I had to rely on this half-squinting priest for everything…
Except for cleaning down there.
I felt utterly humiliated.
“Hahaha. This is awkward, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
“Of course I will keep what happened yesterday a secret. So don’t worry.”
“A secret…”
“Everyone has embarrassing pasts. It was my mistake for not fully understanding the Holy Maiden’s condition. Now that we don’t need to use the chamber pot…”
“And what will the price be?”
“…”
The priest’s mouth opened but didn’t snap shut.
He seemed to be hit right in the gut with that question.
The answer was obvious, but I had to ask.
Even if it took every ounce of courage.
The difference between knowing and not knowing when one is being violated might be important.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d prefer to know.
Of course, it’s not that I want to be violated knowingly, but being aware would make it possible for me to resist or escape.
“The price? There isn’t one.”
“Excuse me?”
“But if I may selfishly ask one thing, I would hope that you speak well of me to God. I wish to become a priest in the future. Haha.”
“Oh…”
So he wanted to stockpile a sweet persona for a while longer.
He didn’t want to take advantage of me right away but rather made me depend on him first before eventually exploiting me.
He wanted to enjoy the despair in my eyes as the look of trust turned into betrayal.
I knew it all.
Having once been a man, I could see right through this priest’s shallow mask.
“I think you could become a priest if you continue like this.”
“Hahaha. I still lack virtue. Compared to the Holy Maiden, I am nothing.”
“…”
Becoming a priest isn’t merely about accumulating virtue, is it?
By the way, it seems this Holy Maiden had done something remarkable in the past.
I wonder if I could even imitate that.
The only “good deeds” I had done in my past life were safety work for local government events to fill out volunteer hours.
Even then, I just stood in for a friend and played around in the shade while getting free volunteer hours.
“Are your legs feeling a bit better now?”
“Ah. They seem to be getting better.”
For reference, I made excuses about injuring my legs, not my back.
If I said my back hurt, they might figure out that I was violated by a dragon…
If it was about my legs, it might be something to do with muscles or nerves.
“Can you walk?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Then why don’t we practice? I’ll help you.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
How sweet of him.
I also felt like I was getting a bit restless in that moment.
I wanted to look around the world outside this room.
Judging by the clothing and house style, it seemed medieval.
But with dragons and Holy Maidens, it felt like one of those fantasy worlds that nerds would drool over.
I was curious about what the outside looked like.
The only outdoor scenery I’d seen so far was the vast plain when I was banged on the head by a dragon and threw up from the effort.
“Do you want to hold my hand?”
“No. I’ll try to stand on my own.”
“Haha. Alright then.”
Heave-ho.
I almost let slip a gratifying sound.
My back was still stiff, and my lower abdomen ached, but I was in better shape than when I couldn’t move at all like yesterday.
I swung my legs down from the bed and placed my bare feet on the ground.
Oh. I think I can stand.
I leaned forward and stood up.
It was a bit wobbly, but I wasn’t unable to stand.
My center of gravity had shifted quite a lot due to my larger butt and chest.
Once I got used to walking, I would be fine.
Just as I was about to take a step forward…
“Ow!”
Ah, damn it. A curse almost escaped my lips.
I had scratched my foot on a protruding piece of wood on the floor.
Cursed medieval fantasy.
Just as I was about to tumble forward…
“Whoa! Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
The priest rushed over and caught me.
Ah. His hand was on my back.
What the hell, this alone made my body shiver.
I felt a little wet down there too.
Really, what a crazy body this was…
What if the Holy Maiden isn’t like the Joan of Arc I know but more like a “sex maiden” who makes the believers feel good?
I might go crazy.
“I’m sorry. I held onto you too long.”
“No, it’s alright.”
“I’ll just hold your hand.”
“Thank you.”
Holding the priest’s hand, I took slow steps forward.
As I walked, it ended up that my butt stuck out and my chest leaned forward, and I questioned if I was doing it right.
Damn. Why does even walking feel so lewd?
Was the room always this spacious?
With a sore back and awkwardly moving, I somehow managed to walk to the door.
“Shall we go out?”
“Yes. I want to feel the fresh air outside again.”
The door creaked open.
Bright light flooded in, almost blinding me.
Thinking it was broad daylight, what appeared before my squinting eyes wasn’t the sun.
It was a red full moon.
No, it was a blue crescent moon.
“Oh.”
Both were correct.
There were two moons.
In the starry night sky, two massive moons shone brightly.
Thanks to that, even though it was night, it was bright enough to see quite far.
As I stepped onto the grass…
Sarpak… Sarpak…
I heard a pleasant sound as I stepped on the grass.
Now, I didn’t need to hold the priest’s hand.
When I released his hand, he took a step back with a worried expression before finally seeing my steps stabilize and walked next to me, smiling.
“You’re almost all healed.”
“It seems so. Ah…”
“Why’s that?”
“It smells nice out here.”
“Hahaha. Right? It’s nice.”
The prairie seemed endless.
I could see a small village far away.
And beyond it, the horizon stretched.
It was truly a breathtaking sight that left me feeling exhilarated.
Such a view was something I could hardly see in Korea.
Moreover, the sound of insects chirping was coming from all around.
And the sound of the wind brushing against the grass.
With my eyes closed, I found peace within me.
Refreshing.
Ah. Perhaps I might not find this world so terrible after all.
“Urgh!”
“Holy Maiden?”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, I felt nauseous.
Then something surged up inside me and spilled out of my mouth.
White vomit continued to surge upward.
I had to kneel and lean down for quite some time, retching.
It wasn’t that my stomach felt bad.
What is going on here?