Chapter 43: Moon Route: Chapter 5

It has been about two weeks since the wanderers arrived in the city. They are doing quite well for themselves, showing that they got the potential talent to be trained well by Luna. 

Sitting in his office and reading through all the papers that come through, he saw a rather odd one…. 

(The Hero wants to personally instruct them? Well, it isn’t odd considering that she saw their potential before anyone else… although….) 

And right beneath it was another document, now this was the more bizarre one…. 

‘Saint Amethely….’ Rigeld mumbles. 

While not entirely sure what this conflicting feeling inside of him meant, he looked out the window as the small phoenix on his shoulder tilted its head, looking at him. 

— :::: — 

In a private study, two individuals are beneath a pile of books, soaking all the information in the books as they read. 

Lying down on the sofa with a book covering his face, Alum feels exhausted after going through so many of them without any rest. 

And since it’s a free weekend, both of them have stayed up late all night, 2 days in a row. 

“Are you alright…?” Luna asks as she watches Alum start to drown in books. 

“....I’m at my limit… though, how come you seem fine…?” Alum replies meekly. 

“I’m used to it, though?” 

“....That’s why you’re short…..” he nonchalantly comments. 

“.....” 

“.....” 

“...Why do I feel like you’ve become mean to me?” 

“I’m not being mean… back in my world, they conducted a study about lack of sleep, and one of the many side-effects was hindered growth in many aspects.” 

“...We know that as well….” she utters as she pouts. 

And despite them being engaged, although temporarily, they are not lovers. Their engagement is just a verbal promise since the King and Queen are unsure if the two would change their minds because they aren’t lovers. 

But… Luna was also a princess, and that had complications as well…. 

“Oh… I heard from my uncle about some fantastic news.” 

“Oh? From uncle Rig?” 

“Mm… The Hero and Saint will help me out to instruct you all.” 

“....That so?” 

“Indeed, super eager too. After all, it’s been a while since I last saw Saint Amethely.” 

Ever since she first saw Amethely at the academy, albeit in a different department, she admired her. And despite being rumored to lack any talent for magic, she persevered and even became a saint later. 

She was also praised for innovating in the research of instruction magic. Her sword skills were as good or better than those in the combat department. 

“....You’re not excited to work with the Hero?” Alum carefully asks. 

To Luna’s surprise, she awkwardly put down the book she was reading. 

“...She’s a little difficult for me…..” 

“Difficult?” 

“She’s like an overly friendly older sister….” Luna told him with a slightly defeated look. 

And being completely awake now that he heard that, Alum just looked surprised. 

“....Overly friendly?” he asks. 

Of course… her perspective of Chely differs from his. And let’s just say his first encounter with her wasn’t the best. 

And as Alum ponders, their conversation stops there as both of them hear a knock on the door. 

Luna goes to open the door, and there she’s greeted by Noel. 

Both of them stared at each other for a little while and didn’t say a word. It was a strange rivalry between them, but Alum didn’t notice it and got up. 

“Oh, Noel, what brings you here?” he asked as his drowsiness attacked him again as he stood up. 

“Nah, none much. Just wanted to ask you and ‘Princess’ if you wanted to eat out with Miu and me.” 

Alum thought about it for a moment and answered, “Sure.” 

Happy about Alum’s reply, he sent Luna a quick glance. 

(Sorry, it won’t just be you two, you’ve hogged him up all to yourself…) his eyes seem to tell. 

But Luna just let out a quick breath of air. 

Huff

(I’m his fiance, so it makes sense that we spend time together!) she replied. 

Which got Noel slightly agitated. 

(Yeah, right! In name only. He doesn’t even see you romantically!) 

(....So what? I don’t see him as such either, besides. You never know!) 

Their back-and-forth was only for a few seconds, and Alum always found it a little strange. Usually, Noel is friendly and gets along with everyone. But when he speaks with Luna… well, they barely say a word to each other…..

“....Are you coming too, Luna?” 

“I am. It’s been a little while since I last saw Miss Miu.” Luna replied in a slightly shy manner. 

She wasn’t being completely honest, but she did like Miu quite a lot, despite her being overly friendly. And the reason why she feels less uncomfortable with Miu than with The Hero is probably work-related because it’s pretty stressful, after all…. 

“It’s been about yesterday since you last saw her in the cafeteria,” Noel snarky comments. 

“....Added 10 extra laps without magic enhancement.” 

“Hey! Abuse of power!” 

Seeing the two of them interact, Alum chuckles a little. Which led them to do the same. 

Although they argue a little here and there, they do get along when it doesn’t have to do anything with him. Of course… he doesn't know that. 

— :::: — 

The next day, Luna stands in front of everyone and introduces The Hero and Saint a little awkwardly. She felt nervous because Saint Amethely had gotten prettier since she last saw her. And the hero is still a little intimidating when she’s in work mode. 

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Amethely Ilis, and I will assist Princess Luna and my elder sister Chely with your training. Although I’m currently unable to perform magic, I hope we can get along.” Amethely introduces herself gently and elegantly. 

The crowd of trainees and wanderers just stares at her in a daze. 

(...H-huh!? D-did I say anything wrong??!) Amethely thought. 

But that wasn’t the case at all. In fact, everyone was captivated by her and was quietly staring much longer than they intended. 

Clap clap 

It could be heard from the back row, and it was none other than Alum who was waking everyone up. 

“It’s rude to just quietly stare,” he comments to his fellow trainees in a calm tone. 

And it was at that moment the two locked eyes. Luna saw this and felt somewhat uneasy by their prolonged eye contact. 

Luna also clapped and brought some attention to herself. 

“As Mister Alum says, it is rude to silently stare at The Saint, making her uncomfortable.” 

You are reading story The Saint Likes Me, But I’m Screwed… at novel35.com

After she said that, there was a slight buzz in the room as they all apologized in unison. 

Later Chely introduces herself, and the room, in contrast to Amethely’s introduction, gets a very loud cheer of excitement. 

But that couldn’t be helped. Chely had more reputation and more achievements under her name. Besides, she’s The Hero and is associated with the military rather than the church. And it’s not that they don’t know of Amethely’s combat prowess. It was just that they got more distracted by her beauty, in contrast to their admiration for Chely’s overwhelming powers.

Later they all introduce themselves, and when Alum introduces himself, Amethely more curiously glances at him. 

He wasn’t sure why, and this was their first meeting, but he was rather drawn to her as well. Luna, who has been paying close attention to the two, sulks a bit when she sees this. 

(....Why do I feel this way…?) she asks herself while her heart aches. 

— :::: — 

In the outdoor facility, the trainees ran to warm up for more intense exercise. And as promised, Noel got to run an extra 10 laps. Although Alum didn’t expect to run as well…. 

While Noel and Alum ran side by side, the others went to rehydrate themselves while waiting for the two. The others lightly laughed at them as they wondered what got them into this situation. 

“How come you’re running too?” Noel asks. 

He was relatively well trained compared to Alum, who hasn’t gotten used to this level of exercise. Alum, on the other hand, has ragged breathing and is out of breath. 

“Haa... I… don’t know…. Haa….” 

“....Did you stare at The Saint too much?” Noel asks teasingly. 

“....It’s not like that… haa… besides, Luna is my fiance, and I can’t look at other girls like that despite not having romantic feelings for her yet,” he said while running out of breath even more. 

And to Noel’s surprise, he found it very Alum for him to say that. Despite not being in love with her, he’s serious about her, and it’s strange…. 

“....Well, if you say so… but remember that it's a verbal promise, and nothing’s really stopping either of you if you fall for another person. That’s probably why it didn’t go formal.” Noel comments. 

“....I know,” Alum said as he glanced over at Luna. 

She seemed somewhat sad, and he felt his heartstrings being pulled. Seeing her sad, and if he was the cause, he’d feel nothing but regret. 

“...But, that’s precisely why….” 

“.....” 

Noel wasn’t very surprised, after all. His friend was stubborn. 

“How romantic!” he exclaimed. 

“W…Whatever….” Alum said as he couldn’t speak anymore. 

— :::: — 

Later that evening, Alum feel his whole body ache from pain. And it wasn’t Luna’s doing this time. The culprit was Chely. In fact, he was sure he wasn’t the only one aching in pain right now. 

And as he was lying down in bed, there was a knock on the door. He didn’t feel like opening it….

Walking over to the door, he met Emely, Miu, and, lastly, Luna. 

The three of them got along well, and Luna had asked for some advice about what to do, so they encouraged her to talk to him about it and taught her some tricks as well. 

•  

“Listen well, Luna, Al is shy, and you need to initiate!” Emely said. 

“Initiate…?” 

“...Professor… I think Luna is shy as well.” Miu comments. 

“Miu, what do you want your boyfriend to do if you feel down and want to be comforted?” Emely asks seriously. 

“....I don’t have a boyfriend!” 

“...How surprising… well, if you had one?” 

“...I-I’d want him to gently hug me as he stroked my hair,” Miu answers shyly. 

“Now… if he was as dense as Al?” Emely later asked. 

“.....I’d seek his comfort…….” 

Emely smirks and then stares at Luna.

“Well, princess, what do you want Al to do?” 

“...... I…” 

•  

“...What are you all doing here?” Alum asks. 

“None much, though Princess Luna wants to speak to you,” Miu comments with a wide teasing grin. 

Emely lightly pushed Luna on the back and gently glanced at Alum. 

“Well, take care, you two,” Emely said, leaving with Miu. 

““…..””

While uncertain as to what was going on, he welcomed her and was about to get some snacks for her, but he got stopped. 

Luna had hugged him, and this was the first time he felt nervous being in contact with her. 

“L… Luna…? What’s wrong?” he asked. 

But she didn’t answer, so he was being hugged from behind without much explanation. And feeling awkward about it…. He just let it happen. 

Later, when she calmed down and released him.

‘....I want to be pampered…..’ she said in a low voice. 

Alum was now facing her properly but felt his face burning up as he noticed her being more adorable than before…. He felt his heart rate go up and was urged to hug her. 

Despite not being entirely sure what was happening, he gently hugs her. As she listens to his rapid heartbeats and rubs her head against his chest at the same time, just like a cat…. This, of course, made him more nervous and confused. 

He started to pat her head, and at first, she was surprised, but she gave him a more firm hug. 

The two would stay like this for a while without saying any words. 

At least before Luna dropped the bombshell. 

“...I-I think I love you,” Luna said as she lifted up her face. 

Their eyes met, and she could see that his face was bright red. 

He was perplexed and very, very surprised. 

“....I-I see….” he blurts out. 

He’s not entirely sure how to reply to such a confession and if Noel asked him if he now liked her that way. He’d be unsure of his answer compared to what he had earlier said today. 

Uncertain about his answer, he just lightly kissed her on the forehead. 

“.....” 

“...I don’t know what my feelings are… but… if you’re fine with that…. I want to stay with you too,” he said. 

Luna was so shocked by this, and tears started to form around her eyes. She shook her head and gently smiled. 

“...I’m okay with this…..” 

And unsure of what to do next, she pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek. 

“....For now.” 

— :::: —