It's Troublesome That My Doting Dad Became A Villain

I felt a brief dizziness.

The Thorn of the Soul.
So he figured out where it was!
I had been waiting for this, so it was good news.

But why was he speaking as if it were some kind of gift for me, when I was obviously the one who had to find it?
And what was with the bouquet?
I furrowed my brows in disbelief and asked,

"Are you sure the Thorn of the Soul is here?"
"Unfortunately, I don’t know anything more than you do. But you’ll find out soon enough. Good luck."
"Prima—!"

I called his name.
However, his form vanished without a trace in an instant.
I blinked, dumbfounded.

Just like that, he left the two of us here to find the Thorn of the Soul? With no clues whatsoever?
Still, arriving at the place where the Thorn of the Soul existed was progress in itself.
The only issue was that searching for it alone with Meteor, without knowing how long it would take, wasn’t exactly a comfortable prospect.

At that moment, Meteor’s voice reached my ears.
"You seem quite close to that demon. Calling each other by name and all."
"Huh?"

Meteor let out a soft sigh and turned his body, scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes. His gaze was calculating, as if assessing the area’s potential threats.
It seemed he had already dismissed his own remark from his mind.
Ah.
Had I acted too familiar with Prima?

No matter what, I was the only saint in the eyes of humans. From Meteor’s perspective, it must have been an uncomfortable sight.
But Meteor...
That demon is you.

I smacked my lips for no reason and muttered before it was too late,
"I’m not close to him. I hate him so much that I just treat him however I want."
"……."

Meteor’s pupils briefly hesitated.
Just for a fleeting moment.
Then, he stepped forward.

I followed suit, but he didn’t say anything else.
I felt slightly puzzled and rolled my eyes.
Was my answer unexpected for him?

His reaction was a bit confusing.
And then—
Ding!

[‘From Maid to Saintess—Astina’ is wondering if Meteor might be jealous.]
…Huh?
[‘Yuri-loving Druid Gabriella’ finds ‘From Maid to Saintess—Astina’s’ words intriguing. She finds it curious that Meteor seems surprised by the fact that you treat someone roughly.]

Um…
I don’t think that’s it.
Why would Meteor be jealous when I said I hated Prima?

Come to think of it, these saints always had the most ridiculous delusions.
Getting caught up in their nonsense wouldn’t do me any good, so I decided to ignore them.
I dismissed the system window from my thoughts and surveyed my surroundings.

Meteor and I were wandering without any clear destination.
Just then, he spoke.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

"You know what the Thorn of the Soul is, don’t you? You sound like you do."
"Ah… yeah."
I didn’t deny it.

Meteor had already sensed that I knew something about the Thorn of the Soul.
So I quickly added,
"I told Prima that I needed it. I just didn’t expect him to bring you along and make us find it ourselves."

"What exactly is it?"
Only then did Meteor look at me.
His eyes were filled with genuine curiosity about the nature of the Thorn of the Soul.

From his perspective, it was what we needed to escape this demonic miasma.
"I’ve never seen it myself, but it’s necessary to craft a soul-slaying sword. With it, I might be able to save my dad’s body and soul while only destroying the Demon King’s soul."
Right now, it was the only possible solution.

So I had to search every inch of this place and make sure the Thorn of the Soul was really here.
"So it only exists in the Demon Realm?"
"Yeah."

I nodded.
As we talked, it dawned on me that Meteor had been dragged into the Demon Realm unfairly because of my needs.
He probably had no interest in a soul-slaying sword.

To him, it didn’t matter how many souls the Demon King had—killing the body would be enough.
I suddenly blurted out,
"Sorry. I feel like you got dragged into this because of me."

"It’s not like this is the first time."
…Ugh.
I had no retort to Meteor’s sharp remark.

He had already been dragged to the Demon Realm because of me once before.
Like when Lady Aldred lured me to the cemetery, planning to kill me, and Meteor got caught up in the mess.
Meteor clearly remembered that incident.

Just then, he seemed to realize something.
"Oh, so when the Duke of Dimensions said he was making a bouquet as a gift—was it for you?"
"……."

Damn you, Prima.
Why did he have to say something weird and put me in this position again?
But then again, Prima never explicitly said the bouquet was for me.

"I don’t know. It could be for someone else."
"You’re the one who said you needed it."
"……."

My lips refused to open.
They felt like they were sealed with honey.
For some reason, it felt like no matter what I said, I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of this.

Meteor didn’t press further.
In the silence, only the sound of our footsteps echoed clearly.
It felt as if his voice would never return.

"So that means—"
But against my expectations, his voice broke the stillness.
"I have to find the bouquet that a demon is preparing for the Demon King’s daughter."

"……."
Well…
When I thought about it that way, Meteor wasn’t wrong.

From his perspective, he was being used in an incredibly unpleasant situation.
And it wasn’t just anything—it was a bouquet.
A gift that could carry romantic implications.

Meteor might have felt like he was being dragged into some ridiculous demon love affair.
Apologizing again wouldn’t change anything.
"Ahem. Meteor, just take a break. I’ll go find it myself!"

My determination suddenly flared up!
As a fellow holy knight, I couldn’t let Meteor’s pride take a hit!
But he just let out a short laugh, as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ if he had a completely different idea.

"No. It’d be better if I found it and gave it to you instead."
"Huh?"
His gaze turned slightly cold.

"Better that than letting a demon use you. Instead of letting him give you the bouquet, I’ll do it."
…Huh??
My mind short-circuited.

Wait, no, hold on.
I wasn’t planning on receiving the bouquet from anyone.
I was going to find it myself.

I didn’t want it from Prima or from Meteor or from anyone!
And now Meteor was saying he would give me the bouquet?
What did he even mean by that?

It felt like a misunderstanding waiting to happen.
Just as I was about to clarify, Meteor spoke again, as if reading my thoughts.
"Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just disgusting to think of you running around with that demon and calling it a bouquet or whatever."

"Oh, I see."
So that’s what it was!
I knew it.

Meteor must have found it revolting that Prima was framing the Thorn of the Soul as a romantic gift.
So much so that he’d rather give it to me himself.
Well, I am the saint of humanity, after all.

"But it’s weird. If the Duke of Dimensions is the Demon King’s ally, why would he let you get the Thorn of the Soul? That would only be bad for the Demon King."
"Well… Prima’s situation is a bit complicated. He’s technically on the Demon King’s side, but we have some shared interests."
How was I supposed to explain this?

Meteor narrowed his eyes and pressed further.
"So he’s willing to help you kill the Demon King? Even going as far as gifting you the Thorn of the Soul as a bouquet?"
"……."

And then—
"That demon… doesn’t he like you?"