EXTRA CHAPTER 2: THE HERO(INE) OF THE SAINTS

***Somewhere in the Holy Palatial Gardens***

“And that concludes my report on the daily activities of the Lord Kuro of Arles, Your Holinesses…” the Elf Saint, Lady Hinwe, followed her remarks with a curtsy.

“…”

On the opposite side of the room, the three other saints sat in complete silence. They stared back at the elvish holy lady for too long, it became awkward for her to remain poker-faced. Nevertheless, everyone was resigned to what they had just learned about the man they love.

“Haha…” Natasha finally broke the ice. “As workaholic as ever…that’s my Sir G for you!”

“Master is master,” Ruro pointed out. “You just got to love all his facets, even the…err, the annoying ones.”

The other, solitary saint that stood at the far corner of the room, Seirna, quipped, “Whatever you guys say. Just make sure not to let that horny human saint go on a rampage again like last time.”

At once, everyone’s eyes fell on Maddie, who was awfully silent. Though her smiling expression never changed, they could sense the oozing bloodlust from her. The Lady Hinwe also noticed that her hands shivered a little.

“N-Now, c-calm down, Your Holiness,” Natasha pleaded. “It won’t be good for all of us if you let your anger consume you once again.”

“I agree with the demon lady,” the Elf Saint backed her up. “This time, if something happens, I’m not sure if I can replicate the Lady Natasha’s magic to summon Kuro from the throes of Death.”

“Don’t jinx my master, long ears!” Ruro rebuked her. “You’re not making it any better!”

“S-Sorry…”

Still, even with all their banters, Maddie’s bloodlust only intensified. By then, she was muttering something.

“H-Huh? You’re saying what, Maddie?” the Beastman Saint, as her ears were more powerful than others, drew nearer to hear the human’s words.

“I want…”

“Uh-huh? You want…?” Ruro’s ears perked up. “You want what?”

“Uuuh…I want…” Maddie’s voice turned different; it’s as if she was pulling her tone deep within her body. To others, it’s like they were listening to a demon lord speak. And her breaths were heavy and frequent as well.

“Wh-What is it? You’re scaring us, you know?”

“Oh dear…” Seirna said beneath her voice as she shook her head.

And then…

“Damn it! I want it now!” the Human Saint finally snapped, as she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Kuroooo! I want it now!”

“Wha—” everyone, save for the Overseer Saint, were dumbfounded by her antics. They couldn’t read what’s on her mind, so they were caught off guard as to what Maddie wanted.

“Come on, pull yourself together!” Ruro gestured for Natasha to help her restrain their friend.

“I want it noooooooowwwwww!!!”

“Whaaaaaat?”

“Damn it, Ruro! Don’t you feel it too? You’re a damned beastwoman!”

“I can’t understand what you’re trying to say!”

Though she thrashed and lashed around, Maddie’s cheeks were beet-red. “Damn it,” she repeatedly screamed. “Do I really have to spell it out to everyone here? I’m horny! I want sex! Seeeeeeex! Give it to me, Kurooooo!”

Now the other saints were even more dumbfounded than before.

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“Have you finally calmed down, Your Holiness?”

“Y-Yes…” the Human Saint sheepishly muttered as she nursed her head, which was hit by Seirna to bring her back to her senses. The Lady Hinwe let Maddie use her lap as a pillow for the meantime.

“Ahem, w-well, sex is a human need, too…” the Elf Saint defended the Human Saint’s actions. “I’ve read it before that every single human out there seeks intimacy with the partner they love, and that includes the…err…sexual intercourse.”

“Beastfolks need it as well,” Ruro added. “Especially when it’s our mating season! So, I guess it’s not exclusive to humans.”

“Riiight.”

“I don’t think I should be obvious about it, but you know how it goes in the demon communities,” Natasha averted her embarrassed face from everyone.

Seirna, for the meantime, just stood nearby, listening. She had her sword’s scabbard out in case someone needed a whack in the head.

“Anyway,” the Human Saint took over the conversation. “That man promised to marry us after the issue in Cherwoods was resolved! Guess what? That was two months ago!”

“And, Sir G’s deep into work once again.”

“Precisely!” Maddie slammed her hands on the table. “We even asked the Lady Hinwe to seduce him!”

“It’s what happens when you’re forcing your twisted logic unto someone!” Seirna scoffed at the Human Saint. “I did warn you before that it won’t succeed! The otherworlder’s too dense to know what you want without actually telling him!”

“Oh, nevermind Seirna,” Ruro turned to the Lady Hinwe. “Speaking of that, what happened to our plan?”

“If I’m successful, then you’d surely hear from me,” the Elf Saint pointed out. “Alas, my elvish beauty and charms don’t work, even as I appear before the Lord Kuro naked!”

“Pfft!” the Overseer Saint nearly burst into laughter, though she stopped herself in time.

“It’s not that I’m insulted when he failed to take advantage of my advances, but yeah…I think the Lord Kuro is the last boss in our little game of love. His mental fortitude against temptations is equal to that of Siddhartha Gautama.”

“Err…I don’t really get what you’re trying to say, milady, nor do I know what is a ‘siddhartha gautama’,” Maddie said. “Still, I’m thinking if I had to resort to extreme measures, like chaining that guy and breaking his will to resist me.”

“Whoa there! Chill, girl! Rein in that sadistic side,” Ruro exclaimed. “Though, on a second thought, I guess that may work—ow!”

Natasha, who slapped the Beastwoman Saint on the head, told them, “May I remind everyone that the last time someone forced themselves to Sir G, they nearly destroyed the worlds entrusted to us?”

“Sorry…” the Human Saint snickered. “Of course, I’m joking with that.”

“But yeah, I agree with the Lady Hinwe. Sir G’s quite different from all my teachers before,” the Demon Saint reminisced. “While most of my male teachers silently ogled at their female students, Sir G was always careful in the way he treats us, especially when touching. I can even remember the times when he’d raise his hands whenever we hug him.”

“Cass,” it was Seirna, throwing her a pitiful stare. “Are you sure your world’s okay if you got educators like that?”

“Everyone wants to satisfy their lust; and we—since we’re just children—have to put up with it,” Natasha shrugged. “It’s the sad reality, but that’s also why I and my classmates were close to Sir G. He treats us with respect; we all knew we can entrust our lives to him.”

“Yes, yes…” Maddie never hid the jealousy and irritation in her voice. “We all know that part of him. But, come on! I think we’re all adults here! After all that he did? Those years we missed him? Even if Kuro asked for half of the human kingdoms, I’m willing to give it to him on a silver platter!”

“Stop with the nonsense; the otherworlder’s not like that! That’s why I trust him too!”

Complete silence ruled the room once again, as those words escaped from the mouth of the Overseer Saint. The others looked at her in awe; they surely didn’t expect that Seirna’s already got a positive opinion of Kuro, given their history of animosity.

“I-If any of you guys have a problem with me reconciling with a former enemy…say it to my face,” she warned.

The other saints just shook their heads, their lips drew smiles of approval. Maddie added, “Now even the infamous and cold-hearted Saint of the Apocalypse is slowly warming up and falling for my Kuro. Tsk. All these beautiful ladies, yet he won’t lay a finger on us.”

“Lady Rubinforth, I think you misunderstood—”

“Eh, you’ll fall for him too,” the Human Saint dismissed Seirna’s protests. “If you don’t, then I’ll make sure you’ll forget your daddy issues and make you fall for my Kuro.”

Seirna was about to say something nastier in return, but ultimately decided not to play the fool. She just clicked her tongue and distanced herself once again. Ruro then brought them back to their current problem,

“So, what should we do about my master?”

“We need someone who’s knowledgeable in seducing men,” Natasha suggested.

“For someone who’s averted in this kind of talk, you sure give the best advises, Your Holiness,” the Lady Hinwe commented.

“T-This is an emergency. I can make an exception…”

“Well, if we’re looking for someone qualified to do just that,” the Beastman Saint paused for a moment to recollect her thoughts. “I know a lady we can turn to for suggestions, and she’s in Cherwind right now.”

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**Kuro**

When rebuilding a destroyed country, the first thing its leaders would want to restart was its economy. Getting it up and running again was a must, because with good economy came the money, and with money, a state could buy whatever was necessary to fix the lives of its people. And with everyone living the time of their lives, there’d be less discontent and bitterness, and the society would flourish.

It’s the lesson of the mastermind behind the Marshall Plan of post-World War 2 Europe. The Treaty of Versailles in the aftermath of the First World War slapped the former German Empire with punishing reparations, intended to limit its economic potential and weaken its ability to wage war in the long run. The result? An exhausted, fractured and impoverished people, persistent political instability and the eventual rise of Nazism, leading to the Second World War.

After the total defeat of Germany in the second conflict, however, the Americans took a different approach in ‘punishing’ its bitter enemy, as they were looking for a potential buffer from a rising Soviet Union. Instead of severe economic restraints, they helped the Germans stand again. Thus, from a former revanchist power, modern Germany rose from the ashes of defeat to become a loyal friend to the US, sometimes up to the point of being its lapdog.

“…”

And with those things in mind, even while the soldiers of the Elvish Expeditionary Forces scoured the ancient forest roads for any minions of the Seductress, I invited some friends from Cherwind and Chersea, and encouraged them to establish business in the land of the elves. By the third week of my stay in Cherwoods, the letters I sent to the human and beastmen realms asking the other races to come and ‘invest’ here finally bore fruit.

“Welcome to Cherwoods!” was my greeting to the beastwoman friend I made in Cherwind and the proprietor of the famous ‘Royal Inn’, the Lady Missy the moment the ship from Chersea arrived at the Saint’s Tree’s port village. In her reply to me before, she proposed establishing at least three hotels all over the elf realm, and now, the dog lady had come here to see the place herself.

“It’s a pleasure seeing you again, milord,” she curtsied. “My mistress sends her regards!”

“Madame Bellefort’s not with you?”

The Lady Missy shook her head, “She said she’s too old for the journey.”

“I see…”

“And the old human lady wants this dog lady to have an intimate time with you,” Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe quipped, reading the beastwoman’s mind.

“Y-Your Holiness!” I rebuked her, but the Lady Missy’s cheeks were already red. The atmosphere around us quickly became awkward, though I tried to salvage the situation by introducing everyone.

“Also, I’m your king’s mistress in this land,” the Lady Hinwe added into her introduction to the dog lady.

“Where did that come from, Your Holiness? That’s not the case, milady! Please take your words back before someone else would misunderstand our relationship!” I threw a quick glance at Meanor, who just stood silently nearby. But the elvish head maid never paid us attention. Seeing that the silence of her servant amounted to backing her up, the Elf Saint stuck out her tongue to me.

“I-It’s an…err…an honor to meet you, Y-Your Holiness!” was the only thing the beastwoman could say.

“I’m sure you’ll love your stay here, milady.”

“Oh, Your Holiness, please…I am not worthy of such honor of being addressed as a ‘lady’. I sold my body before to live, see? And if I understand correctly, humans see me as someone ‘dirty’.”

“You’re in the elves’ realm, and as its Holy Custodian, I don’t care about your past. What’s important is that we’d both have lots of things to learn from each other! So, allow me to call you a ‘lady’…”

What? Did I hear that right? Is the Lady Missy got other things to do here aside from scouting business locations?

“…”

Well, in any case, I guess it’s not my concern. As long as I can get the Lady Missy to invest, her other issues are for her to take care of…unless it endangers her.

Hmm…the Lady Hinwe’s involved, so it must be something harmless. After all, the Elf Saint’s not one to rush headlong into something dangerous. Laziness has its benefits, too.

“…”

I could feel Her Holiness staring daggers at me. Yep, she’s reading my thoughts as usual. And with her was the dumbfounded Missy, still couldn’t believe that someone as powerful and influential as the Lady Hinwe was talking and welcoming her. Still, I could see the dog-lady’s tail wagging, even if it’s a slight movement.

Lady Missy’s excited, I guess?

“…”

And, damn…she’s cute.

“Arf!” I heard the Lady Hinwe call out to me.

Good lord, we’re here to talk about business, not play into your furry fantasies, Your Holiness!