“Pardon?!”

At Eluaz’s bombshell declaration, the priests and paladins all widened their eyes, their mouths agape in disbelief.

Even when they asked the person next to them to confirm if they had heard correctly, the answer was yes.

“It is dangerous! Monsters are extremely dangerous beings. We fear they might harm you, Saintess.”

“That is correct. Aiding the poor is no less risky. Many areas are plagued by disease, and even finding a proper place to rest can be difficult.”

Both the paladins and priests tried to dissuade her, but Eluaz had no intention of backing down.

It was the perfect way to stay close to the order while also building her reputation. There was no better method.

She might meet the Crown Prince sooner, and by living alongside the paladins, perhaps something might happen.

For example, late at night, a paladin might encounter the Saintess bathing in a small lake. Or perhaps he might fall in love after seeing an unexpectedly down-to-earth side of her.

Ah, of course, she did not expect that a paladin would support a staggering Saintess during a grueling journey and, in doing so, feel her as a ‘woman’ when her chest brushed his arm. She had already tried that, and it had no effect.

“With the Paladin Order accompanying me, what is there to worry about? You will protect me from the monsters.”

“We will protect you with our lives! But…!”

“And I possess holy power as well. Greater than anyone’s.”

The paladins used swords imbued with holy power to slay monsters and could also perform light healing magic.

They said they could use purification magic to destroy monsters immune to physical attacks.

Therefore, she was confident that with her strong holy power, she would never be a burden.

“You are going to areas plagued by disease to purify the monsters’ curses, aren’t you, priests? I have learned simple purification magic as well. The curse of monsters does not affect a body filled with strong holy power, so I am the safest of all.”

“That is true, however…”

“And it is fine if I cannot rest properly. You will surely be exhausted as well, yet you are still going. I cannot be the only one in comfort and safety.”

Most were swayed by Eluaz’s persuasion.

The only ones left were High Priest Elijah and Commander of the Paladin Order, Sir Antoine.

Eluaz spoke to them in a confident voice, “I believe the role of the Saintess is to go where holy power is needed and offer help.”

“Saintess…!”

As she whispered a small prayer, ‘Goddess, please help me,’ golden holy power enveloped her. It was perfect.

A woman, the representative of God, was volunteering to risk herself for their sake. It moved them deeply. Some even shed tears.

“So I will go with the Paladin Order, who face the greater threat. Let us go together.”

“Yes, Saintess!”

“We will not allow even a single hair on your head to be harmed!”

Even the High Priest and the Commander were not exceptions to the emotional atmosphere.

A newly appointed Saintess declaring her intent to go to a place where her life could be in danger, it was natural they would be moved.

It was the very embodiment of noblesse oblige.

The High Priest, once a member of the imperial family, and the Paladin Commander, son of a duke, could not help but be swayed.

“Very well, then let us depart quickly. Priests, though we cannot go together, I trust you to handle things well.”

Everything was going according to Eluaz’s plan.

By staying with the paladins, she would have the chance to seduce them, and even if they all turned out like Antoine and did not succumb, she might still gain enough fame to meet the Crown Prince quickly.

***

With the Saintess’s will added, everything moved quickly.

For the carriage she would ride in, they even packed thick blankets with cushions, knowing she might have to sleep in it since monsters mainly nested in the outskirts.

They also stocked plenty of food in case she became hungry, and all preparations were completed in a single day.

“Please board, Saintess.”

“And you, Sir Antoine?”

“I will ride a horse. I will stay right beside the carriage, so you need not worry.”

Sir Antoine not riding with her sounded to her like an opportunity to draw in other knights.

It was the perfect plan—hunting monsters together to build camaraderie, then seducing them into the carriage.

‘Can I finally have carriage sex? That carriage play where, when the wheels hit a stone, it jolts and drives in deeper?’

Thud, thud, thud! While pounding away, the carriage hits a rock—thud, thud, thud-thud! A long-standing tradition in the 19+ romance fantasy world.

The carriage was spacious enough to allow for various kinds of play.

Perhaps even not just two, but three participants!

—Shh. Saintess, your moans are too loud. The knights outside might hear.

—Haa! B-But… it’s too intense…! A little gentler, ngh!

Secretly mixing bodies, holding back moans to avoid being caught, and if they escaped anyway, being silenced by a kiss! That was the carriage sex!

“Uweeegh….”

Naturally, life was not so kind.

After three months on the road, Eluaz was slumped in the carriage, unable to move.

She had underestimated monster subjugation.

Though the novel had not described it, in reality, traveling to subjugate monsters required endless hours of carriage travel.

Unpaved roads, thin cushions, and a carriage designed with no thought to comfort.

For her, used to riding buses driven by skilled drivers in her past life with thirty years of experience, it was unbearable.

Once a monster was finally defeated, they would set out again for days to reach the next place where monsters appeared.

“Saintess, are you all right?”

“Yes, of course…”

Antoine knocked lightly on the carriage window as he asked.

Her pale face said otherwise, but she had no choice but to claim she was fine.

She feared that any man who might want to sleep with her would give up, saying, “The Saintess is unwell…”

“Let’s take a short break.”

“No, I think it’s better to finish quickly and return.”

She doubted resting would help.

Her holy power could only temporarily ease motion sickness and back pain.

Once the carriage moved again, it all returned. She wanted to either finish the subjugations quickly and return to the Holy Empire, or receive the Crown Prince’s invitation and enter the Western Empire where the original story unfolded.

The best would have been to find an inn nearby, have an intense night of sex, and then continue, but from what she had seen so far, that seemed impossible.

‘This isn’t how it was supposed to be….’

The problematic rocks rolled across the road at all times, and sex remained far out of reach.

Still, it wasn’t without gain. She had grown a little closer to the paladins compared to at first.

They still revered her as God’s representative, but enduring hardships together had fostered some camaraderie, allowing for small emotional exchanges.

Of course, that was as far as it went.

‘I can’t catch any paladins if I’m stuck alone in the carriage! And it’s not like I can have sex with exhausted men after riding, walking, and fighting all day!’

And the biggest issue was that even with purification magic, she didn’t want to have sex without washing properly.

In truth, being physically worn out meant she had lost the desire altogether.

Occasionally, they would stop at a temple or inn where she could bathe, but after meeting a bed for the first time in ages, she would pass out the moment her head touched the pillow.

Several more days passed like this, until they finally found a monster’s nest.

Eluaz unleashed a massive holy magic attack, pouring all her power into it.

The monsters were helpless before her wrathful magic.

“Those… those things…!”

White light burst from Eluaz’s body as a golden magic circle spread across the sky.

The monsters tried to flee anywhere they could, but there was no escaping the magic circle that filled the sky.