Volume 10, Chapter 48 – The Napping Pope

After seeing Adonis off with Laxy, Yisi used [Advanced Teleportation] to arrive at the Pope’s study in the Ymir Territory. Just as before, the not-so-large room was piled high with precious books, to the point of feeling slightly oppressive.

“Whew. At this time, Evelyn should be having afternoon tea. I remember her saying that she’s had more free time since the busiest period after her inauguration passed.”

It was the snowy season when I first came to the Ymir Church. Now, it’s already the spring of the following year. Evelyn and I have known each other for over a year.

“This desk is an absolute mess…”

I should tidy it up for her a little.

“Hm?”

Her gaze passed over the desk, which was piled high with all sorts of documents, and Yisi spotted Evelyn sleeping, slumped over the desk. Her silver hair, reflecting a soft light, spilled across the tabletop like moonlight. Combined with Evelyn’s lovely profile and her long, slightly trembling eyelashes, it was hard to believe the woman with such a tranquil sleeping face was the leader of the Ymir Church, were it not for the papal robes she wore.

Well, if I’m being honest, Andrea and I don’t seem like leaders either—no, Andrea already carries herself like a leader. I’m the only one who doesn’t fit the part. After I took over the Divine Religion, its unique nature means the ordinary members don’t know they’re no longer acting according to the Gospel’s guidance. To avoid being found out, many tasks must be left to Atwood and Lin, who were already working there. I, at most, only contribute to improving the residents’ standard of living and correcting the parts of the Gospel that are perfectly rational but completely lacking in human empathy.

“She’s sleeping so soundly…”

Yisi’s gaze lingered on Evelyn’s lovely profile. As the clouds shifted, sunlight slanted into the third-floor room of the temple. Evelyn’s snow-white skin, set against the light, reflected a dazzling glow. Together with the silver hair that cascaded to her cheek, it formed an almost holy image, one that felt like it should not be disturbed.

This girl only seems holy when she’s not talking.

The corners of her mouth curled up. Looking around, Yisi found what she wanted—a chair. She moved it to sit opposite Evelyn, then swept all the clutter from the desk into her storage. Finally, very carefully and without making a sound, she sat down.

Of course, I’m not just here to watch her sleep. I want to tease her. Evelyn is always teasing me, but I know it’s just a joke. Now, it’s my turn to mess with her.

Yisi swapped the quill in the inkwell for a soft-bristled brush. Waiting until it wouldn’t drip, she quietly brought it next to Evelyn’s cheek. Yisi held her breath, leaned forward slightly, and moved her eyes and right hand close to Evelyn.

“Huu…”

Her breathing was steady.

I doubt it, but I should check first—it’s not like I’m stopping because I can’t bear to do evil to her pretty face.

She leaned down and blew gently on Evelyn’s ear.

“If you don’t wake up, I’m going to draw a turtle on your face~”

“…”

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No reaction.

Looks like she’s really asleep.

Her nose tickled. Yisi glanced down and realized that when she had leaned in to whisper, her nose had brushed against Evelyn’s silver hair.

Sniff, sniff.

It smelled nice.

It wasn’t perfume, nor the scent of bath oils, but a subtle, soft, and sweet fragrance that was easy to get lost in.

Did Evelyn smell like this before?

I don’t know if I just didn’t notice, or if I rarely had the chance to get my nose this close to her hair, but I have no memory of it.

That said… am I being a bit of a creep? Normally, only couples get this close.

But Evelyn and I are both very cute girls, so it doesn’t matter if anyone sees. They’ll just think we’re very close. I’ll just use the same excuse Evelyn always uses to tease me.

Quietly retracting the brush, Yisi couldn’t resist poking Evelyn’s cheek. Evelyn’s brow furrowed cutely in displeasure, but that was all. She remained asleep. A helpless look on her face, Yisi resorted to pinching Evelyn’s small nose. She had come to give Evelyn back the divine-era relic Cornelia had stolen. If she took too long, Camilla and the others would start to worry.

“Wakey-wakey, you dummy. If you don’t get up, I’m really drawing that turtle… uwah.”

She thought pinching her nose would wake her, but Evelyn just parted her lips slightly and started breathing through her mouth.

Is she really this tired?

To be this dead asleep, I probably shouldn’t bother her. I’ll come find her tomorrow.

“Before that, I have to leave something so she knows I was here.”

Her gaze uncontrollably fell on Evelyn’s lovely face. That overly tranquil sleeping expression made a strange idea pop into her head.

If I kiss her now, will she know?

No, no, the question isn’t if she’ll know, but why I’m having this thought… Evelyn and I are just friends, we shouldn’t be so intimate… Wait, can’t friends kiss each other on the cheek?

I’ll just treat it as a prank.

When Evelyn wakes up tomorrow, I’ll smugly tell her, “I did something to you while you were sleeping yesterday that others might misunderstand~” Even she would panic and cover her lips, right? That would be a sight to see.

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I have to make my lips red first, to leave a mark.

She took out the lip paper she had once swiped from Pepe’s room out of curiosity—I’m a healthy, beautiful girl, after all, it’s normal to be curious—and pressed it to her lips. When she felt they were red enough, she removed it. To maximize Evelyn’s future embarrassment, Yisi deliberately placed the used lip paper where Evelyn couldn’t miss it.

Then, more nervously than if she were in a battle, Yisi slowly leaned down, her rosy lips approaching Evelyn’s cheek. When her nose was filled with Evelyn’s scent, her lips were close enough to feel the warmth from her skin.

Finally, like a dragonfly skimming the water, Yisi quietly left a mark on Evelyn’s cheek.

A bright, but not quite perfect, lip print.

This girl’s cheek is way too soft, and the scent is even stronger than in her hair.

Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve actively kissed someone. With Camilla, Pepe, and Andrea, it was always a surprise attack or just getting caught up in the mood. I never took the initiative.

“No, no, this isn’t a kiss, it’s just a prank. Nothing else.”

—Are you sure there are no other thoughts?

As if another person lived inside her, a voice flashed in her mind. Yisi quickly shook her head.

“Evelyn is cute, sure, but she lives in the normal world. If I start having ideas about her now , I’ll really be the worst kind of scumbag.”

“Nghn…?”

The moment the words left her mouth, Evelyn, still slumped at the desk, let out a moan, slowly opened her deep green eyes, and stretched languidly as if no one were there.

“Nngh~ Nn~”

When her vision focused and she saw someone standing in front of the desk, Evelyn froze, her arms still outstretched, like a child caught misbehaving by an adult. She then reached up to touch her lips while frantically looking at the desk, apparently checking if she had drooled.

“Y-Yisi? What are you doing here!? It’s not our promised day yet, is it?”

“Can’t I come if it’s not our promised day? Also,” Yisi pointed at Evelyn’s lips, “if you’re checking for drool, I already wiped it off. To think the Pope drools in her sleep.”

She hadn’t drooled at all, of course. I was just teasing her.

The effect was instantaneous. A blush spread across Evelyn’s lovely face. To hide her embarrassment, her eyebrows shot up in a show of anger.

“How long have you been here?”

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“Hm, five minutes? Also, I put away the books on your desk. If anyone saw that mess, both your ‘Pope’ and ‘beautiful girl’ images would have crumbled.”

“Normal people can’t get in here,” Evelyn huffed, turning her head slightly. She discreetly glanced with her deep green eyes and noticed the uneven red on Yisi’s lips. Her eyebrows arched strangely. “Your lips… is that lip paper?”

“Of course. I am a beautiful girl who appreciates beauty, you know.”

Her expression grew complicated, as if she were looking at someone pitiful.

“…Did no one ever tell you how to use lip paper, Yisi? That uneven application is just tragic. What about Andrea? Didn’t Andrea tell you?”

I actually stole it…

Yisi didn’t answer the question, instead moving straight to her prank, her smile growing mischievous.

“More importantly, I did something unforgivable to you, Evelyn~”

“Unforgivable?” Evelyn blinked, confused. As the sleepiness faded, her mind cleared, and she quickly guessed what Yisi was implying. But instead of being shy, she adopted a mischievous look. She puffed out her chest, crossing one arm beneath her well-developed bust to make it even more conspicuous, while resting her other hand lightly on top, drawing Yisi’s gaze. “Did you secretly touch here ? Well, well, I understand. It’s something An-chan and Camilla don’t have. But you should only do that to people you like , okay? Besides, sneak-attacking while I’m sleeping… anyone else would hate you for that, Yisi… Hm? What’s this?”

Evelyn’s gaze fell on the lip paper on the desk. Since it had only been a moment, it was still damp from Yisi. She looked up at Yisi’s abnormally bright red lips, a thoughtful look in her deep green eyes.

“…I see. It’s just lip paper. I wouldn’t have blamed you for taking it, Yisi. Besides, this is how you’re supposed to use it…”

Ignoring that Yisi had already used it, Evelyn picked up the lip paper.

She’s not going to teach me how to use it right here, is she? But I already used that paper—no, Evelyn definitely knows I used it. She’s doing this on purpose, just to make me embarrassed.

By the time Yisi realized, Evelyn had already calmly pressed the paper to her own lips. Unlike Yisi’s clumsy motion, Evelyn’s was perfectly natural.

“See? You’re supposed to use it like this, or it’ll be uneven like yours. By the way, if just taking lip paper counts as ‘unforgivable,’ that’s a bit… wait…”

As if remembering something, Evelyn quickly pulled a mirror from her storage magic and checked her cheeks. When she spotted the lip print on her side, her pupils dilated slightly, and her expression, for once, went completely stiff.

“Yisi… You… You don’t see me as… as your next target, do you?”

“N-N-No, absolutely not! It was just a prank between friends! There are absolutely no ambiguous feelings like you’re thinking!”

“Then why can’t you look me in the eye? I’m not blaming you, but you’re being too timid, Yisi.” Sighing, as if looking at a hopeless younger sister, Evelyn stood up from her seat. “You can’t pursue a girl being all meek and shy. You have to be bolder, like this—”

Oh, crap.

She’s walking toward me.

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Yisi had a bad feeling. If Evelyn got close, she would absolutely retaliate in kind—meaning, a kiss on the cheek. It wasn’t as if that hadn’t happened before (and frankly, Yisi had come out ahead), but knowing Evelyn, that would be the lightest form of revenge. If she wasn’t careful, Evelyn might strip her clothes off.

An image of Evelyn’s gorgeous body from their bath flashed in her mind.

Snow-white skin, a perfect figure, and an aura of holiness that made one incapable of profane thoughts… her mental defenses wavered for a moment.

No! The ‘older sister’ temptation is alluring, but I can’t let my mind be addled by Evelyn. If I do, I won’t even realize it when she tricks me into working for the Church.

To keep from falling for it, Yisi forced her mind to associate Evelyn with a slave driver. The image shifted to a devil-like Evelyn, stepping on her, whipping her, and forcing her to work day and night.

That’s not a Pope, that’s a demon.

Her face stiffening, Yisi began to back away.

“Ha, ahaha… I came here to talk about business, not to mess with you!” Evelyn continued to close in, her deep green eyes taking on a mischievous, predatory look, as if she were about to eat Yisi. Yisi’s words sped up as she secretly gathered magic for [Advanced Teleportation]. “I’ll just drop the stuff in the underground warehouse! You can check it yourself! Well, see you!”

[Advanced Teleportation]

In the blink of an eye, she vanished from the study.

Seeing the empty space by the door, Evelyn froze for a moment, then let out a long sigh. Immediately, a blush spread uncontrollably across her face, so intense that she had to cup her cheeks with her hands.

“I… almost couldn’t hide it… I was careless. I never thought Yisi would do something so bold.”

Evelyn subconsciously stroked the lip print Yisi had left on her cheek.

“A ‘prank between friends,’ huh? She probably wasn’t hiding her true feelings behind a joke.”

After all, Yisi wasn’t her; only Evelyn used “teasing” as an excuse for everything. Rubbing her temples, Evelyn turned back to her desk. She glanced at the completely empty tabletop, and her eyebrow twitched.

Yisi had forgotten to leave the books.

“That careless girl. Well, it’s not a huge loss.”

Involuntarily, Evelyn touched her own lips, which still had the faint sensation from the lip paper. If I’m not mistaken, does this count as an indirect kiss?

“A shame. If only it had been before An-chan…”

Leaving behind a line only she could understand, Evelyn shook her head and chanted a spell to summon a piece of ice. She had to get rid of this blush before calling in the nuns.