No Car, No House, No Savings, and You Still Want to Marry a Wife?

His Holiness the Pope was praying before the statue of the God of Light. As he prayed for world peace, he also prayed for the poor child Mayuna, hoping she could live happily and, preferably, meet someone who would cherish her. Though he knew the hope was slim, he believed that the God of Light would surely bless that kind child.

"Alicia, what's wrong?"

Just as the Pope was sincerely offering his prayers, he suddenly saw the staff in the God of Light's statue's hand begin to tremble violently. He rose and flew toward it, intending to touch her, only to see her shoot through the air with a whoosh and land in the hands of a girl who had just appeared inside the church.

"Alicia, it's been a long time."

Mayuna gently stroked the companion who had been away from her for so long. For various reasons, she had not come looking for her immediately after recovering, but she had missed her greatly. This staff had been Yura's first gift to her, and during her lonely, isolated days, she had also been a good companion to talk to.

"Ah, ah..."

The Pope stared at Mayuna with his mouth wide open, utterly lacking the holiness and dignity he displayed before his followers. It took him a long while to recover, and tears filled his aged eyes as he found himself unable to speak.

"Your Holiness, I'm back."

Mayuna knew that the Pope was one of the few people in the world who cared about her. She deeply respected this friend of her teacher's, and she gave him a faint smile.

"It's good that you're back. Good that you're back."

The Pope wiped at the corners of his damp eyes. If Yura were here, she would probably mock him for being such a crybaby again. Now that Mayuna was alive and well, he would not have to feel ashamed before Yura after he died.

"And this person is?"

Only after the Pope had composed himself did he turn his gaze toward Ruben, who had been looking around curiously the whole time. He was a man with a tree branch sticking out of his head. Yes, a man... Mayuna had brought a man with her. His Holiness the Pope felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

"He's Ruben. As you can see, he's an extremely ordinary person, from his appearance to his name."

When Mayuna mentioned her companion, her expression became much livelier. Though her words were not kind, there was a trace of pride on her face as she spoke as if showing him off.

"Was he the one who saved you?"

The Pope grew even more wary. He had never seen such a rich expression on Mayuna's face. The female Archmage had always been aloof even toward her female friends, yet she was showing such an expression to a man like Ruben. This was extremely dangerous.

"Yes. Without him, I wouldn't be standing here."

"Divine Art [True Word]."

After receiving Mayuna's confirmation, the Pope immediately cast a spell on Ruben to verify the truthfulness of his answers.

"Young man, what level of mage are you? Is your house large enough for three people to live in? Are you from the Holy Empire? How much savings do you have?"

"Me? I don't have any magic power. The house belongs to Mayuna. I'm currently without legal status for the time being. I have a little savings, but I also owe one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins."

Ruben answered honestly. He could not lie to begin with, so the Pope's divine art had been completely unnecessary.

"Th-This... no, I don't approve."

The Pope was dumbfounded by Ruben's answers. He had thought that the man Mayuna had taken a liking to would surely be exceptionally clever, or a genius with extraordinary magical talent, or a scholar renowned throughout the land. But Ruben was far too different from what he had expected, so much so that he had no desire whatsoever to entrust his friend's disciple to him.

"Your Holiness, what exactly don't you approve of? I only came to ask you to act as Ruben's guarantor."

Mayuna was confused by the Pope's series of questions and actions, and she asked curiously.

"I just don't approve!"

The Pope sighed in relief when he saw Mayuna like this. Clearly, she had not fallen too deeply yet. He could still save this child from the pit and lead her onto the right path.

"Mayuna, you've suffered so much. I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for you when you were at your most desperate and helpless... I'm an unqualified companion. I have no face to see you."

The staff in her hand finally spoke. The clear voice of a young girl was filled with bitterness and guilt as she apologized to Mayuna again and again.

"Now that you mention it, Alicia, you could find my location, right? Why didn't you come looking for me? I thought you'd found a new companion."

Mayuna was confused again. This was one of the reasons she had not gone to find her companion herself. After all, when she left, she had told Alicia to find a companion.

"No, in my heart, Mayuna, you have always been my only companion. But..."

"The reason she didn't come looking for you was probably because of me. It's been a long time, Alicia. Or perhaps I should call you Pride."

While Alicia was still blaming herself, the branch on Ruben's head quietly opened its eerie eye and looked toward the staff with a teasing gaze.

"Shut up, Dragon. I haven't used that name in a long time. Now, I'm Mayuna's best companion."

"Still, setting aside the fact that you didn't stay with the fallen angels, I really have to give you credit for being able to remain in the God of Light's hands. Doesn't it give you goosebumps?"

Dragon had long known that there had to be something around Mayuna. Otherwise, she could not possibly have known his ** identity from his name alone. He had not expected it to be Pride, though, and she seemed to have been tamed by Mayuna into being quite obedient.

"Hmph. As long as I can be with Mayuna, anywhere is fine."

"Alicia, are you afraid of Dragon?"

"No, listen to me. I was very happy when I learned you had been saved. I even secretly approached the place where you were, but I sensed Dragon's presence. He's **! Could his master possibly be any good? So I thought he would definitely use your life to force you into doing all sorts of things. I couldn't beat Dragon, and I couldn't bear to watch you suffer such and such things every day, so I chose to run away. I'm sorry."

Alicia's voice grew quieter and quieter. At last, in a nearly inaudible voice, she asked, "Mayuna... you're no longer pure, are you?"

If she had eyes, she would probably already have burst into tears.

"Is that true? Did he do anything excessive to you?"

The Pope was horrified. He hurriedly grabbed Mayuna by the shoulders and looked her over from head to toe to see whether she had been hurt, but he could not tell at a glance and began pacing anxiously in circles.

"No... not really."

Mayuna was also a little dizzy from their questions. For some reason, she suddenly remembered Ruben teaching her about menstrual hygiene, and her tone carried a trace of hesitation. That tiny hesitation made the Pope and Alicia—

—both understand that it had already happened and could not be undone.

"Waaah! I'm sorry, Mayuna! I wasn't by your side! Forget those things—we'll never mention them again!"

Alicia's voice had broken into sobs. Unfortunately, she didn't have Dragon's abilities—otherwise, she probably would have pulled Mayuna into her arms and comforted her properly.

"You've misunderstood. Ruben didn't do anything to me. Where are you going, Your Holiness?"

Mayuna comforted Alicia, then suddenly saw the Pope preparing to storm out in a rage. She hurriedly bound him with plant magic, just like her teacher had done back then.

"I'm going to have the Holy See's million holy knights tear him to pieces!"

"You're the Pope! Don't say something so terrifying! Ruben, go out and wander around for now. I'll come find you later."

Mayuna was exhausted to death. She couldn't understand why people who were perfectly normal usually seemed to get hit with a Berserk buff whenever they encountered Ruben. Did this guy really have some kind of special ability? For now, all she could do was make him run before the Pope purified him, while she stayed behind to explain things slowly.

PS: Please bookmark and recommend.

Ruben: Um...

Pope: No. Get lost!

PS: Thanks to reader Kerou Lata for the 1,000 tip, and readers Blue Meteor Shower and Big Bubble Heavenly Book for the 100 tips.