"I'm really sorry. Our priest, Sierra, is just particularly wary of men..."

"S-sorry..."

Fortunately, just before I was soaked entirely in holy water, Probane, the head priest of the monastery, who had gone to the market, returned and managed to clear up the misunderstanding.

Not that there was much to misunderstand in the first place.

"Hahaha, besides, such a handsome young man is a rare sight in the village, so it must have been quite startling for her."

Probane, who was built like a bear, laughed heartily as he gently patted Sierra on the head.

The girl who, just moments earlier, had called me a demon and doused me in holy water, now hid behind Probane, her face flushed, possibly out of shame or guilt over her actions.

She still cast cautious glances my way.

"Haha, i-it's fine. It’s just water, after all..."

I gave her the friendliest smile I could muster.

Seeing my smile, Sierra turned beet red, and from behind Probane, she shouted, "D-don't try to seduce me, the apostle of the divine!"

I wasn't trying.

"Well, this isn’t exactly the place for a discussion, so how about we move inside? I heard you had some questions."

Probane lifted Sierra, who was hissing like an agitated cat, as if she weighed nothing, and led me into the church’s reception room.

It was a cozy place where sunlight streamed through the windows, with herbs on the windowsill spreading a pleasant fragrance throughout the room.

After sitting at the wooden table there, Probane settled across from me, while Sierra went to the kitchen to brew some tea.

"So, Ken, are you an adventurer? I don’t recall seeing you around the village."

Once seated, Probane, in what seemed like small talk to ease into the main topic, asked me this.

"Yes, I’m traveling... with my wives for certain reasons."

"Wives, you say..."

Given what had happened with Sierra, I quickly mentioned the three of them to dispel any awkwardness.

Of course, they weren’t actually my wives—they were my fiancées.

But to me, that distinction was irrelevant.

For a brief visit to a village like this, a simpler explanation would make the conversation flow more smoothly.

"With looks like that, I suppose it's easy to imagine why."

"I-it's a peaceful and happy arrangement."

While polygamy wasn’t unusual in this society, having three wives could still raise questions for some.

And I didn't want Probane's ‘imagination’ to veer in a negative direction.

For their sake, I tried to correct it as positively as possible.

"Wow... Peace and happiness are not exactly words I'd associate with having multiple partners."

Clink.

At that moment, Sierra, who seemed to have let her guard down a little, placed the tea cups in front of us.

"Building a family is a blessing granted by the Goddess. Of course, it should be peaceful and happy."

He was right, and I was grateful that Probane expressed the sentiment I wanted to convey.

I smiled quietly and drank the tea.

The herbal aroma was lovely.

"So, you came here because you had something you wanted to ask us…"

As we savored the tea, each of us tilting the cup in front of us, Probane finally brought up the main topic.

Smiling, I quickly asked him about the ‘Tears of the Goddess.’

"Hmm... The Tears of the Goddess, you say."

"Do you know anything about it? Even a clue would be helpful…"

"Haha, you needn’t worry. I know all about it, of course. I was simply curious as to how an adventurer like Ken came to hear about it."

It seemed coming to the church was the right choice.

Probane answered with the kind smile characteristic of priests, confirming that he knew about the ‘Tears of the Goddess.’

How fortunate to get the information so easily.

I could have wasted a lot of time and energy otherwise.

"Hmm… but before I tell you about the Tears of the Goddess, may I make a proposal?"

"A proposal?"

I tilted my head at Probane, who was diverting the conversation. I wanted to hear the details immediately.

A proposal?

Was he suggesting some sort of trade in exchange for information on the Tears of the Goddess?

Probane clasped his hands together, smiling not like a priest but more like a merchant.

Suspicious, I lifted my tea and waited for him to speak.

"Soon, we will be holding a grand party at the orphanage in the neighboring village."

"Hmm, sounds like a happy occasion."

"Yes, as you may know, the children at the orphanage don’t know their birthdays. We designate a day once a year and hold a party to celebrate everyone’s birthday collectively."

That made sense.

Whether abandoned by parents or orphaned, children without parents had no way of knowing their birthdays.

But why was he bringing this up now?

"Tomorrow, Sierra will be delivering donations to that village. Since we consider the neighboring village akin to family, our villagers collected the funds."

"That’s a wonderful thing."

"And that’s why I’d like to ask you, adventurer Ken, to escort Sierra."

"…Pardon?"

Hearing Probane’s last words, I nearly dropped the teacup I was holding.

Sierra’s reaction was similar to mine, evidently hearing this for the first time as well.

"H-head priest... I-I can handle it by myself! An escort is unnecessary!"

She protested, her face flushed, glancing at me awkwardly.

It seemed she wasn’t comfortable with the idea of traveling with me.

"Sierra, this is different from just going to deliver a prayer. You’ll be carrying a large amount of money, which could be dangerous."

"B-but…"

"Can’t you accompany her, Head Priest Probane?"

Honestly, I wasn’t keen on traveling with her either, so I tried to propose an alternative.

But Probane shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I have to attend a monk gathering in the city on that day. Originally, I was supposed to deliver the donations, but due to certain circumstances, Sierra will be handling it."

It seemed Probane couldn’t make the trip to the neighboring village.

Considering his size—almost two meters tall—he could probably handle bandits with ease.

It was a shame.

‘I doubt the church has a lot of money lying around either.’

Maybe that’s why he decided to ask me when we met.

Hiring an adventurer with money would be costly, so he opted for an information exchange instead.

"So, this neighboring village—where exactly is it?"

"It's a place called Clozel, about two days west of here."

Two days. That meant we’d need to camp for a night.

"Uh, priest, as I mentioned earlier... I have wives."

"That’s exactly why you're the best person for this, Ken. With a wife, I trust you won’t do anything improper to Sierra."

Having a wife doesn’t guarantee good behavior, but it seemed I had made a good first impression.

‘Hmm… I really need to learn about the Tears of the Goddess.’

I pondered briefly.

Two days.

That was much less time and effort compared to going all the way to the city to search for information while worrying about Raphne’s safety.

"Understood... I’ll accept your request."

"Haha, thank you so much. You’re helping us out of a tight spot."

"H-head priest!"

Ignoring her, Probane went ahead and sealed the deal, causing Sierra to call out to him in frustration.

But Probane brushed aside her complaints with the benevolent smile typical of a priest.

With her words left unheard, she just looked down, her face flushed, mumbling as she glanced at me.

‘This should be fine, right?’

Naturally, I planned to keep this a secret from the other three.

It could sound like a flimsy excuse from a playboy, and given how sensitive they were, there was no need to invite trouble.

I'll simply go, get the information quietly, and leave the village.

It wasn’t like I was doing anything wrong.

"So... it looks like I’ll be away for about two days."

Later, back at the inn, I carefully explained the situation to the three who were waiting for me.

Of course, I left out the part about Sierra.

I only said that I had been asked by Probane to deliver donations in exchange for information.

"Then why don’t we all go together? It’d be better than you going alone."

"Yeah, yeah."

Hearing everything, Emily and Raphne smiled and offered to come along.

But I waved my hands and shook my head.

"No! We’d have to camp out for a night. You three should just wait comfortably. I’ll handle it myself."

"But then we’d feel bad. Leaving Ken to sleep outside alone..."

Mary looked at me with a sympathetic gaze as I refused.

I scratched my head and smiled.

"No, I'd rather camp out alone than have my fiancées endure it."

"K-Ken…"

Hearing my answer, all three of them looked at me with eyes filled with emotion.

"Ken really is husband material."

"Haha, he’s already stepping up to handle things by himself. It’s kind of amusing—it paints a picture of married life."

"Well, I’d still work when things get serious. If we have kids someday, we’d really be a big family…"

"K-kids?!"

"Then maybe I should work too…"

"No need. My estate has more than enough wealth, so money won’t be a problem."

"Then there’s no point in me working, is there?!"

"Well, that’s…"

Touched, the three gathered by the lamp and chatted away.

They were mostly talking about what life would be like after we got married.

‘…It feels like I’m doing something wrong.’

Though I wasn’t doing anything wrong, it felt a bit like I was betraying them by going away for two days to stay with another woman.

…If I explain it like that, wouldn’t it make me just sound like a playboy?

‘No, Sierra is a priest, after all!’

I shook my head to dispel the intrusive thoughts.

The next morning.

━Tweet, tweet tweet.

The sun had begun to rise, and the early morning chill still lingered.

"Did you pack your lunch? The gold coins? Your handkerchief and the academy emblem too?"

"They’re all in my spatial pocket, so of course, I have them."

"Hehe, I’ve always wanted to do this."

I was seeing off Emily, Mary, and the groggy Raphne from the inn.

With Emily adjusting my collar and asking me this and that, I certainly felt like a husband heading off to work.

‘…Though the lie makes it feel far from great.’

I waved to them, forcing a smile despite the slight guilt I felt.

"The next village is famous for its castella. Make sure to bring some back!"

"Sure, don’t worry."

Somehow, the whole situation painted a pleasant picture of married life, making me feel content.

‘…I hope no other women come after me even after marriage.’

I had that fleeting thought while walking to the village entrance.

But no. That’s ultimately up to me.

In real life, if you live normally, it’s inevitable to form relationships with others.

I couldn’t feel guilty every single time.

Life isn’t like a game or a novel that ends halfway; it keeps going.

"…Oh."

At the village entrance, I found Sierra leaning against a tree, waiting for me.

Seeing me approach, she adjusted her hair nervously while carrying a large bag.

"…Let’s go."

"Y-yeah…"

For some reason, her cheeks were slightly red.

Probably just because of the morning chill.

Yeah, that must be it.

Please support the series on NovelUpdates

Read Here for premium chapters