The group of us managed to head out to the backyard. Carmine wasn’t in her armor. She was wearing a tight shirt. Out of her armor, her chest was actually pretty big. I had never paid that much attention before, but she definitely fit in a church with this particular disposition. As for her sister, Salicia, she was more about the range of Miki’s chest. She wasn’t an abomination like Terra, but she wasn’t well-liked either.
I took a quick look at Terra. She definitely had a depressed look on her face. Other than the Archbishop, all of the men who looked at her gave disgusted looks and all of the women pushed out their chests and looked down on her. It was clear that the only reason she was welcome here was because of me. I would definitely have to make it up to her later.
At the moment, Carmine noticed us approaching with the Archbishop. She immediately gave a bow to the Archbishop, and then looked at me with a mildly frightened expression.
“So, you still call me Master then?”
“Geh!” She made a noise. “I-I wasn’t running away! I really wasn’t! It’s just that you left us in that mansion! I was stuck there with no one but my sister and that elf. You don’t understand how bad it is! My sister is definitely broken! She stole my underwear five times, the dirty ones! And one night, I woke up and saw her watching me while I sleep! I couldn’t handle being with her any longer! That’s why… when I got the opportunity, I stayed away for a bit!”
“Is that the reason…” I nodded thoughtfully.
Salicia still blames the church for taking her sister away. It was always the exact opposite. She ran away to the church because of her sister’s behavior. I found myself relaxing as I realized the truth. In the end, the church was somewhat harmless. I had been avoiding them for so long for virtually no reason. I guess I had played too many games where the church ended up being the enemy all along. That’s not to say I necessarily ascribed to their faith, but I wasn’t afraid to work with them either.
“What about this debt I heard about?” I demanded. “Is that why Faeyna didn’t seem to mind that you were gone?”
Carmine crossed her arms and made a bitter expression. “That elf is such a prude! Naturally, I needed therapy dealing with my sister, but she wouldn’t offer any coins. I kept begging her but she wouldn’t give me a coin! She even yelled at me when I tried to take some.”
“Therapy?” I blinked. “Um… you wouldn’t be talking about retail therapy, would you?”
Carmine’s eyes brightened. “Ah! Master’s heard of it! Of course, Master would understand the pleasure and joy of buying stuff! It’s almost enough to help me get over my awful sister’s actions!”
“Wait… so you bought stuff to get into 500 gold coins in debt? Where is that stuff?”
“It’s not that bad! Pedicures, manicures, massages, maintaining my body is a lot of work! Isn’t my body pleasing to Master? Even as a Paladin, I need the finest armor and swords, and I must hire someone to oil it regularly.”
“Wait, don’t you maintain your own equipment?”
“So, I hope you’re starting to understand the problem we had with Carmine.” The Archbishop sighed. “She is a too materialistic.”