Chapter 356:

Chapter 356:

I noticed in chapter 346 … I used “Strimt” 斯特林姆(Sī tè lín mǔ ) —> Now is Stalim

Chapter 356: Sob, sob, sob…

The morning’s farce ended with Shien feeling somewhat unsettled.

A while later, as the fox-girl saintess hid behind Lasha, sitting at the table with Shien and Beatrice, the atmosphere became more serious.

Shien looked at the fox-girl saintess, who was hiding behind Lasha and completely avoiding his gaze. He said with a hint of annoyance,

“Alright, it was just a joke. Was it really that bad?”

Shien tried to downplay it.

But the fox-girl saintess didn’t believe him.

“Y-your expression and eyes were full of malice just now! I don’t believe you!”

The fox-girl saintess peeked out from behind Lasha, mustering her courage to retort before quickly hiding again.

“Heh.” Shien chuckled coldly. “If I really wanted to eat you, do you think you would have survived the night?”

Although “eating” in this context might not be literal, Shien had a point.

If he really wanted to do something, he could have taken advantage of the fox-girl saintess last night.

Thinking about that possibility, and remembering that her clothes had been changed, the fox-girl saintess trembled again.

At this moment, Lasha spoke.

“I changed your clothes. Don’t worry.”

Lasha said calmly, as if she could see through the fox-girl saintess’s thoughts.

“Big Sister~~~”

The fox-girl saintess, as if redeemed, beamed and hugged Lasha tightly to express her gratitude.

Shien’s lips twitched.

Had this little fox really been tamed by Lasha just like that?

Wasn’t this a bit too dramatic?

Maybe Lasha was the true protagonist of this story?

“Big Sister is a Maid”?

“Side Character Protagonist is an Otherworldly Hero”?

“My Otherworldly Journey is Not the Main Plot”?

…Why did it feel so real!?

Shien almost questioned his existence.

Lasha, on the other hand, didn’t react at all to the fox-girl saintess’s actions. She simply said,

“The guest’s breakfast is ready.”

Lasha didn’t neglect the fact that the other party was a guest, despite her attitude towards her.

Lasha then brought out a breakfast from somewhere and placed it in front of the fox-girl saintess.

“Grumble~~~”

The fox-girl saintess’s stomach let out a cute little sound.

“…!”

The girl quickly covered her stomach, her face turning bright red.

“Pfft!”

Shien couldn’t help but laugh.

“D-don’t laugh! How rude!”

The fox-girl saintess yelled, her face flushed, unsure if she was angry or embarrassed.

“Please enjoy.”

Lasha remained unfazed, prompting the fox-girl saintess to sit down hesitantly. She kept glancing at the breakfast in front of her, wanting to eat but also hesitant, stealing glances at Shien and looking like she wanted to say something.

“What?” Shien rolled his eyes. “Do you want me to feed you?”

“Who wants you to feed me!?” The fox-girl saintess got angry and grabbed the utensils, starting to eat.

While eating, her expression was still complicated.

“I didn’t expect my first time dining with others would be under such circumstances, but the food Big Sister made is so delicious…”

The fox-girl saintess seemed deeply moved, unsure if she was happy or resentful.

Shien didn’t know that this saintess was having her first meal with others, so he had no idea how complex her emotions were.

He simply looked at the fox-girl, who was eating Lasha’s breakfast in small bites, seemingly unable to stop, and suddenly remembered something.

“Right, I still don’t know your name.”

Shien asked.

The fox-girl saintess hesitated for a moment, then revealed her name.

“Elise.”

She spoke softly.

“I’m the saintess of the beastmen, Elise the fox-person.”

Hearing the fox-girl saintess—Elise’s words, Shien nodded.

“Then I’ll just call you Elise.”

Shien said directly.

“C-couldn’t you at least add an honorific?”

Elise seemed surprised by Shien’s directness. She stopped eating, her expression unnatural.

Clearly, this fox-girl saintess had never been treated so “disrespectfully” before.

It was understandable.

As the saintess of the beastmen, the messenger of the Goddess of Life, Elise’s status was equivalent to the Pope of the human world and the king of a nation. She had never been addressed so casually by her name.

Even the Imperial Valkyrie, whom she considered a friend, had never addressed her so casually. Now, being called by her name directly by a man whose relationship with her was unclear, it was no wonder Elise felt uncomfortable.

But Shien didn’t care about that.

“If you don’t like it, I can call you something else.” Shien said with a smirk. “How about Little Fox?”

Hearing this, Elise shuddered and quickly said,

“Just call me Elise!”

Compared to being called Little Fox, Elise preferred being addressed by her name directly.

At least, being addressed by her name directly was just a bit uncomfortable. But being called Little Fox made Elise feel goosebumps all over her body.

Unfortunately, Elise didn’t know yet that the man in front of her was someone who never played by the rules.

“Alright, Little Fox, I understand, Little Fox.”

Shien said readily, making Elise want to smack his hateful smiling face with her tail.

“Forget it, whatever.” Elise said angrily. “You’re a bad guy anyway. I won’t argue with you.”

“I can’t pretend I didn’t hear that.” Shien raised an eyebrow. “When did I become a bad guy?”

“Aren’t you a bad guy?” Elise, as if finally finding a chance to vent, said angrily, “You invaded the temple we were guarding, injured my priests, and even broke the seal. Calling you a bad guy is putting it lightly. You’re a big bad guy!”

Hearing this, Shien knew it was time to get to the point.

“The temple you were guarding… ?” Shien looked at Elise and said, “What’s the deal with that temple?”

Elise was speechless.

Shien continued as if he hadn’t noticed,

“Why is there such an ominous temple in Cosmos?”

“Why is there such a seal inside the temple?”

“Who is the girl in the seal?”

“What are you guarding that temple for?”

Shien asked the questions in his mind one by one, causing Elise’s speechlessness to turn into surprise.

“You don’t know anything?”

Elise seemed surprised.

“Should I know?”

Shien countered.

“Y-you… If you don’t know anything, then why did you invade there and break the seal?”

Elise was bewildered and confused.

This made Shien speechless.

Come to think of it, he had dared to tamper with such an unknown seal without knowing anything. If word got out, it would indeed be bewildering and confusing.

If it were before, Shien wouldn’t have done such a thing.

But this time, Shien acted based on his inexplicable premonition and in response to Beatrice’s plea.

Therefore…

“Just consider me reckless.” Shien brushed aside the question and said, “Besides, Cosmos is currently experiencing strange occurrences, and there’s such a strange temple in the heart of the city. It doesn’t seem strange that I would want to investigate it, right?”

This time, it was Elise’s turn to be speechless.

Shien’s words made sense.

“I think the reason the Stalim Duchy’s Knight Order and the Empire haven’t been able to find the source of the strange occurrences is probably because the magic power emanating from that temple repels people.” Shien said with a smirk. “Otherwise, if they knew about such a suspicious temple, they would definitely try to investigate it, even break in. Am I right?”

Therefore, Shien wanted to argue that his actions in this regard weren’t a big deal.

“…You’re right.” Elise acknowledged this point and sighed. “We were mentally prepared to be discovered sooner or later, but we didn’t expect that even with us guarding it, a human could barge in so recklessly.”

Speaking of this, Elise’s tone became somewhat dejected.

They had taken this matter seriously and even sent a large number of beastmen priests to guard the temple, but they couldn’t even stop a young human man. This was indeed a blow.

If they hadn’t been invaded, there would still be room for maneuver. But at this point, their actions were somewhat untenable.

If they weren’t careful, they might even be regarded as the masterminds behind the strange occurrences in Cosmos, the Stalim Duchy, and the Empire.

After all, the source of these incidents was undoubtedly that temple, and they were guarding that temple. It looked very suspicious.

This was also one of the reasons why Shien wasn’t afraid of being targeted by these beastmen believers.

Because he had a legitimate standpoint and reason.

“Tell me,” Shien said, “what are you trying to do?”

Elise’s expression became hesitant, and she stammered.

Seeing this, Shien turned to Lasha.

“As expected, we should add another dish.”

Shien decided.

“Alright.”

This time, Lasha didn’t object.

“Wait! I’ll talk!”

The saintess, not wanting to become fox meat, immediately shouted, her heart filled with grievance.

This is too much… too much…!

I’m not doing anything bad, why am I being threatened like this?

And he wants to eat Little Fox?

Little Fox is still a child!

Sob, sob, sob…