Chapter 409 – Probably a Crush

“···.”

When Roman filled his water bottle with purified water, received a mug from the innkeeper, and returned to his room.

Atra climbed down the bed and knelt on the hard floor.

A look of shame that makes you feel like you can’t breathe and a look of guilt that makes you want to hit your head right away. The face of the saint where they co-existed strongly raised a suspicion in Roman’s head.

“Atra?”

“Well, my brother… I committed a sin that cannot be put into words…”

I have a suspicion that fragments of memory may still be present in the way he speaks gibberish.

Roman filled the cup with water and placed the water bottle on the table.

He sat down right in front of Atra and handed him a cup.

“You might hurt your knees if you stay like that. Please sit on the bed.”

“···.”

Atra took her cup and didn’t get up, but her face was as ripe as an apple. She avoided Roman’s gaze and glanced at the floor.

When Roman, who was watching, jokingly suggested that he could help him up, Art jumped up from his seat, remembering the time when he sounded like a stray cat.

“Atra. To sum it up, it was my fault. I was waiting for you to sober up to apologize.”

“Yes···?”

“I am at fault for making Atra, who completely controlled her drinking at the restaurant, look like that.”

“Well, I don’t understand what you’re saying… Tsk!”

A headache caused by an intense hangover that I have never experienced before.

Atra frowned as she rubbed her forehead while answering Roman’s words.

‘I guess I’m glad I got it replenished at the right time.’

Roman, reaching through his pocket to his inventory, took out a glass bottle the size of two fingers of his and opened the lid.

“Before I give you a detailed explanation, I suggest you take this first.”

“Huh…What is this?”

“It is an antidote made from a plant called dawn herb. Among adventurers, it is famous for helping treat headaches and nausea caused by hangovers beyond its original purpose. If you drink it and get some rest, your symptoms will become lighter.”

“Thank you···.”

I don’t think I’m in a position to refuse.

Atra gulped down the antidote, desperately hoping to get rid of the terrible headache.

“Hey! Write it…!”

When Atra stuck out her tongue, frowning at the ridiculously bitter taste, Roman held out the candy he had prepared in advance.

“It has a lemon flavor and an apple flavor.”

“Re, with a lemon…”

Atra, with one cheek convex, eagerly rolled the candy in her mouth to erase the taste left behind by the antidote.

“Even if you have taken medicine, you need to rest, so please lie down and listen comfortably.”

“No! No matter what, that can’t be possible…!”

“If you listen, you will want to scold me. It is really my fault, so if you lie down and listen, I will feel a little more at ease.”

“···.”

“Please bring some jelly here.”

Roman stood up, took her doll in his arms, and straightened up her disheveled bedding.

Atra felt her mind rising to the point of dizzy as the memories came to her.

This she really couldn’t bear without lying down.

“When her first incident happened to Atra, I looked back to see what could have been a problem.”

“···Is that fruit the cause?”

Because I had memory, I was able to guess the cause right away.

The moderate acidity was perfect for my mouth, so I sucked it in and the boundary line collapsed.

“It’s just as you said. It was a long way to get to the street vendor, so I went to the elves to ask for information about a fruit called ‘Pyr’.”

I couldn’t look into Roman’s eyes as he began to explain in a serious voice.

The white lie that Roman added knowingly or unknowingly pricked my heart, so I just closed my eyes.

– I hate it…! Atra will see that.

‘Ugh!!! Really, why did you do that…’

It wasn’t that the road to the actual street vendor was long, but she had a vivid memory of her making a fuss about watching the campfire.

The image of her whining and Roman’s embarrassed expression asking for her to ride the horse couldn’t leave her mind.

Roman was nearing the end of his explanation as Atra closed her eyes and groaned.

“That’s the story. If the stall owner didn’t have a headband that looks like a beast, he would have warned Atra.”

“I understand. It’s a mess.”

“I’m sorry. You can curse at the saintess. As a guard, I have no words to defend my ignorance and lack of safety.”

“···.”

A polite, low voice referring to the title of saint rather than by name.

Even Art knows what it means. It goes without saying that her serious mood means that she will attach importance to appropriate discipline.

However, no matter how you look at it, you can’t help but feel like you’re going to be heartbroken over such a small detail.

Atra carefully opened her narrowed eyes and glanced at Roman’s face.

Roman’s stiff expression made him feel cold and he hugged her jelly tightly.

But I still didn’t have the courage to look at her face, so I closed my eyes and opened my mouth.

“Brother Roman. I’m fine.”

In fact, it’s hard to say it’s okay when I think about what he showed, but I have no intention of questioning Roman’s actions themselves.

Atra let out a relieved breath as her headache subsided a little.

“I know that I need a disguise. Like you, I don’t know how to kill someone properly. It was me who ran out and made people recognize my face while everyone was staring at me in the square.”

“···.”

“If I were to judge right or wrong, it would be that it is not just your fault. And…”

“I will listen. Please speak honestly.”

Just before saying my next words.

Geroman could see Atra with her eyes closed, smiling softly.

“Even if something started innocently and turned into a problem, wouldn’t the world become harsher if we started forcing issues that could have been overlooked?”

“Saint…”

How many times has Roman been impressed by someone’s words? I feel like I am learning what I am lacking from those words.

But at this exclamation Atra put out her lips like a duck.

“Why are you suddenly calling me by a stiff name?”

“I thought it was right to call her a saint now.”

“···.”

Atra, holding her jelly, turned her body on the bed to show her back.

Roman approached Atra, who was lying on her side, looking like a shrimp, and lifted the blanket up to cover the saint’s upper body.

“The sun hasn’t even risen yet, so you can sleep well.”

“···Brother Roman.”

“Yes.”

Roman, who was walking away step by step and returning to the door, was caught by Atra’s voice.

“Didn’t I behave excessively when I was drunk?”

“You never did that.”

“Lie···.”

“It’s not a lie. I enjoyed it so much that calling it obscene would be tantamount to spitting on me.”

Since she showed off her ugly side, she thought she should apologize like she did. Because he bothered and embarrassed others.

“···.”

But she doesn’t have the confidence to show her face right now.

Even though he knew it shouldn’t be like this, Roman’s soft and kind tone for an adventurer kept making him behave in a cruel way.

‘The alcohol is strong…’

Even though I took the medicine, my cheeks got even hotter and my heart pounded.

‘Is this kind of likeable…? Do you want to become good friends…?’

Atra herself coldly knows the reason why she has not been able to develop any significant interest in the opposite sex until now.

Even when she was a nun before becoming a saint, she never felt the need for something special or an opportunity.

I have no experience feeling that the titles of aristocrats, who are said to blow their noses, are an element of rational appeal.

Even though she has become a saint, the barrage of gifts she recklessly pours out without going through her will is just a burden that makes the corners of her mouth tremble.

‘Brother Roman is really kind…’

This was simply better than anything else.

Confidence that she will throw off the burden that feels suffocating and accept it with a smile even if she is pampered.

That’s it.

··
··

After shaking off her hangover with an antidote, Atra’s sleep was so deep that her physical fatigue caused her to talk in her sleep.

Because Roman didn’t wake up her saintess in the morning, thinking that the plan was to start with lunch anyway.

Atra had a good night’s sleep without knowing how long it had been since then.

“Hmm-!!”

Today is a monumental day when I woke up satisfied and voluntarily before anyone woke me up.

‘What?’

She stretched out her arms and looked around her, but didn’t see Roman.

She rolled her eyes again, wondering if she couldn’t read the sign, but it seemed like she wasn’t in the room.

Slowly.

The doorknob turned and unlocked, and I saw Roman coming back carrying a tray.

“···Brother?”

“Good morning.”

“Joe, good morning.”

Atra hurriedly avoided her gaze at Roman’s blank look.

Roman, who placed a tray on the table, approached Atra and handed her water.

“I brought you a meal, so if you come to your senses, you should eat at least a little bit. I diluted the spicy stew and boiled the ingredients for a long time to make them soft.”

“!”

It was a menu that made my mouth water just by hearing it.

Even though the headache-like hangover has disappeared, the stomach that had been drinking alcohol reacts on its own.

“I was told that I couldn’t do anything that wasn’t on the menu, so I rented a kitchen for a while and prepared it lightly. So, to be honest, the taste… I made it according to the standard, but it’s hard to guarantee.”

“Did you make it yourself?!”

Thinking about it, Atra quickly stopped Roman, who was about to put the tray away, saying that it would be better to cook it properly rather than this kind of dish, and that he would ask the owner for a favor.

“Thank you for this food···!”

Atra’s eyes widened as she took the first spoonful.

‘What is this? It’s really delicious!’

A great taste that satisfies the body suffering from alcohol. Plus, a strange sense of fulfillment that Roman prepared it himself.

Atra, who had scraped up the bottom, said to Roman that he had enjoyed his meal and hurried to get ready.

Just like that, preparations for Atra were completed.

Before leaving the room, Roman put the doll in his backpack and informed Atra as if he had remembered it.

“I packed the horn in my backpack.”

“Ah…! That, yep…”

After returning the room, the two headed towards the church.