Chapter 45
“Ha? Tricking me in here and then locking the door? What kind of act are you two putting on?”
Seeing Lian Qi still rattling the doorknob, I nervously swallowed and couldn’t help but say to her, “It’s no use. Stop twisting the knob. Unless…”
“Unless what?” Lian Qi turned her head to press me.
“Unless you’d rather blast the door open with magic than be alone with me.”
I watched Lian Qi’s reaction with a red face. The moment her hand slipped from the doorknob, I breathed a sigh of relief. I really thought she’d rather die than be alone with me.
Although Qifeng managed to create this chance for Lian Qi and me to be alone, she said this was all she could do to help. What should I do next? If Lian Qi doesn’t take the initiative, this is really awkward for me…!
Lian Qi looked at me silently, and I looked back at her shyly. Maybe seeing my shameful tied-up posture finally made her lose her composure? She nervously pursed her lips and said, “You, the dignified Saintess, were actually tied up hand and foot by your subordinate and tossed on the bed…”
Uu… I knew Lian Qi would use my Saintess status to tease me! The level of shame is comparable to when I was forced to call her “Master” while wearing the maid outfit.
When I wore the maid outfit and called her Master, I could still comfort myself with “I’m not a real maid anyway.” But now… I’m a genuine Saintess! The chains aren’t just binding my body; they’re binding my self-esteem. That sense of disparity makes me want to die of shame!
Especially in front of Lian Qi.
I squirmed awkwardly and said, “Qifeng said… if you saw me like this, you would definitely soften up.”
“Huh???” Lian Qi had an expression of utter disbelief.
“S… Sorry for hiding my real identity from you for so long. Qifeng… she said… she said… if you punished me… maybe you’d feel a bit more balanced?”
Even though emphasizing that Qifeng said it felt like shifting the blame, I still felt so shameful!
“You’re the Saintess. Me, punish you?”
Eh? Lian Qi is actually saying something like that. Is she still bothered by my identity as the Saintess?
I lowered my head in embarrassment, my lips brushing against my bound hands. I mumbled bashfully, “Even if you know I’m the Saintess, it… it doesn’t matter, right…? Then… wouldn’t bullying me give you… a greater sense of… accomplishment?”
“Qifeng said that too?”
“Eh? Yes… uh… no— I mean, I was thinking that way too, actually.”
“You said something similar to me yourself! That time you revealed your strength in front of me! I thought you meant you’d let me bully you when we got home, but in the end, I was the one pinned on the bed by you! That was just… terrible,” Lian Qi glared at me, flustered and annoyed.
“No, no, no, it won’t happen this time! Look, my hands and feet are tied. I can’t resist at all,” I said weakly. Why does this feel like I’ve been all tied up and served on a platter? So shameful!
“So, you’re prepared to be punished by me now?”
I flinched slightly. “Eh? Actually… I’m not prepared. If you really pounced on me, I’d be very nervous… and scared.”
“I recall you emphasizing repeatedly that you’re not an M.”
“I’m really not! Although… I am a little weak-willed, right…?”
My lips brushed against my bound hands as I said shyly, “Actually, what I really meant was… to prove that I’m still the same as before. That we can still be like we were before. Please don’t… become distant just because I’m the Saintess…”
“Hmph. I was completely fooled by you. As the Saintess, how do you not have the slightest high-and-mighty air about you? You made me mistake you for a real maid. If you weren’t just being yourself, then you’d be a world-class actor.”
“Eh? …Am I supposed to have a high-and-mighty air?” I said weakly.
Lian Qi, from start to finish, what I’ve shown you is my truest self.
“Including the shame?”
“…Yes,” I answered, blushing.
I watched as she silently took out that black rectangle she calls a “cell phone.”
“Eh? Wait a—”
The phone flashed at me a few times. I immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and die. With my hands and feet tied, I was powerless to stop her from taking shameful pictures of me.
“You actually look pretty good. Exclusive photos of the Saintess in bondage. Want to admire them yourself?”
I closed my eyes and quickly shook my head.
“Added to my collection. This phone already has so many shameful photos of you,” she said, waving the phone in front of me.
“Uuu… stop talking.”
Lian Qi took a step closer. Her gaze swept over my pure white nun’s habit, my hands bound by golden chains, and my legs clad in white pantyhose… I couldn’t help but feel ashamed. I… I felt like I had just been thoroughly ravaged by her gaze!
“That nun’s habit really suits you. It has a pure feeling.”
…
I fearfully tried to scoot my body toward the headboard, but with my hands and feet tied, I couldn’t! I could only draw up my knees.
“It’s fine if I bully you while you’re dressed like this, right?”
“Uu… wait…”
Of course it’s not fine! I thought. Wearing these clothes is a constant reminder of my identity as the Saintess! If I do… shameless and wild things… while wearing this, it will give me a sense of sinfulness!
“I know… I… can’t escape…”
The chains binding my hands and feet were a constant testament to my helplessness.
“But… I have to emphasize one thing to you.”
“Emphasize that you’re not an M?” Lian Qi laughed.
“I’m not talking about that! I mean— all this time, I have absolutely not been compromising and letting you bully me just to please you so you’ll defeat the Demon King—!”
After all, my identity as the Saintess makes it easy for Lian Qi to misunderstand in that way.
“So, please don’t think of me as… that kind of Saintess… who would do anything to fulfill the wish of defeating the Demon King.”
This was… my final, heartfelt statement before being bullied while tied up. I hope Lian Qi can understand.
Even though the identity hidden beneath my girl’s clothes is actually a boy, I would never sell my body or anything to achieve a goal… If she still can’t understand me, then I’ll feel really wronged.
Lian Qi sighed softly, with an expression that said, “I really don’t know what to do with you.”
“Alright, I never thought that. So, you shouldn’t misunderstand and think I see you as a trophy for defeating the Demon King, either.”
“R…R-Really?”
“But you still haven’t told me why you were so willing to be bullied by me,” Lian Qi said, glaring at me with one hand on her hip.
“Th-This…”
I feel like I’ve always owed Lian Qi an explanation.
If I don’t give her a reasonable explanation at a time like this, she’ll hold it against me forever, won’t she?
”…”
“What?”
I said with a bashful look, “Can you come a little closer?”
”???”
Although she was completely confused, she still moved closer. I took this chance to hook her collar with my bound hands and pull her in front of me.
And then, I leaned in and lightly kissed her on the lips.1
