Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 170 - 156: Batholem

"Shialor!!!" Aurianna’s voice echoed through the garden.

"Princess, I’m here!!" Shialor shouted, rushing to Aurianna’s side.

"Stalker!" Aurianna spat. "Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you following me all the way here? How did you even manage that?"

"I’m sorry, but I was just happy to see that you were awake. As for how I knew where you were, well, I followed the heavy scent of food. And I’m well aware that no one would dare to eat in the halls, except for you," Shialor nervously admitted, meeting Aurianna’s scrutinizing gaze.

"Humph, I want the latest communication cube!" Aurianna declared.

"You mean a phone?" Shialor perked up.

"Yes, that one!" Aurianna nodded.

"It’s quite expensive, princess," Shialor cautioned.

"Do I look poor to you, Shialor?" Aurianna asked coldly.

"Absolutely not, princess!" Shialor immediately shook her head.

Aurianna promptly retrieved five glowing crystal coins from her ring and tossed them at Shialor, who caught them effortlessly. "Here are five magic coins. Get me the best of the best model! And keep the change."

"A magic coin!!" Shialor looked at the coins in her hand in shock.

"Wow, to think you are quite rich?" Batholem complimented.

"Of course, I am. It was a gift from the goddess of war, Jagon," Aurianna said with a smile.

"Goddess?" Zorian asked, confused.

"Well, an apostle informed me that the god of war is actually the goddess of war. She’s a woman, but people misjudge her gender due to her rowdy attitude and deep voice," Aurianna explained, and Zorian and Batholem nodded in understanding.

"I can understand that," Batholem said.

"By the way, little girl, what’s your name, and why are you here?" Aurianna asked, looking at the silver-haired boy.

’She seriously thinks I’m a girl,’ Batholem thought inwardly.

"It’s Batholem," he replied.

"What a peculiar name," Aurianna said, eyeing him coldly.

"Your crystal-like hair is so pretty, just as the rumors said," Batholem remarked as he touched her hair, his finger easily passing through it.

"Thank you, it’s obviously prettier than your silver hair," Aurianna said proudly.

"Don’t mind her. The princess doesn’t have many friends, so she doesn’t know how to talk with people," Zorian whispered to Batholem, and Aurianna eyed him as she clearly heard his words.

"Even though you’re prettier than most girls I’ve seen, I’m still more beautiful than you, chi, chi!" Aurianna continued with a laugh.

"That’s obvious for someone blessed by the goddess of beauty," Batholem said with a smile.

"Blessed by that old hag? No way," Aurianna sneered with a frown.

"You’re calling the goddess an old hag?!" Zorian cried, feeling his heart ache.

"What else is she? I don’t like her, apart from the cake they serve at her church!" Aurianna declared.

"Princess, your phone is here!" Shialor announced as she walked up to Aurianna and handed her a beautiful jade phone with detailed decorative designs on the back, along with a tablet of the same design and a pair of headphones.

"That was fast," Aurianna said as she inspected the device.

"They have a teleportation delivery channel, so ordering it was really easy. I bought you the phone, internet for twenty years, the tablet version, and headphones," Shialor said with a smile.

"Most people on our continent don’t have the luxury to afford it due to how expensive it is," Shialor blurted out.

’I can understand that, even in my past life it was too damn expensive I couldn’t afford it,’ Aurianna thought as she inspected the headphones. Touching them brought a happy and satisfied smile to her face due to their softness.

"I have the tablet and phone now; show me the video game!" Aurianna said, looking at Batholem with sparkling eyes.

"Well, it’s a new game developed by the Mechas," Batholem said, moving his chair closer to Aurianna and double-tapping on the screen to turn it on.

"Oh, so the Mechas developed this?" Aurianna asked.

"Yes, they did, but most people avoid it, thinking the Mechas would use it to spy on others," Batholem said.

"And it’s true; it does spy on others, so buying it puts your safety at risk," Zorian added, pressing a button on his device.

"Who cares? As long as I can play something fun!" Aurianna exclaimed. "Now, show me!"

Batholem immediately assumed the role of instructor, guiding Aurianna through the device’s functions and explaining them to her. Aurianna also listened attentively and followed his directions and soon beamed with satisfaction, having successfully set up and understanding how the phone works.

"Well, this is a new dungeon game where you fight monsters," Batholem explained, gesturing towards a mini-game icon on Aurianna’s device.

"Why play a game about it when I can go and fight monsters in real life?" Aurianna asked bluntly.

"I don’t know, just thought it would be fun," Batholem mumbled nervously, his mood sinking as he sadly drew circles on the table.

"Why is she sulking?" Aurianna asked Zorian, who just shrugged.

"There, there," Aurianna patted Batholem on the back, unsure of how to comfort him.

"Ah, yes, there are kingdom-building games. Wanna try?" Batholem perked up.

"Show me!" Aurianna beamed with interest.

"Let me download it!" Batholem said, and Zorian and Aurianna gave him their devices, and he quickly begun downloading the game and setting up account pages for them.

"Oh, that was fast!" Aurianna beamed as Batholem returned their devices.

"And now you name your account," Batholem said. "So what would you name yourself?" He asked curiously.

"Butter Cupcakes!" Aurianna declared proudly.

"Don’t judge me," Aurianna eyed Batholem and Zorian, who also exchanged surprised glances at the unexpected name.

"And now you build your kingdom! The game will teach you how," Batholem said.

An hour later... 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Why haven’t I reached anywhere!" Aurianna yelled angrily, glaring at her tablet.

"Because you’re new to the game; it’s not that easy to level up," Batholem explained. However, a frown still lingered on Aurianna’s face. She peeked at his phone, revealing level 224 with a massive kingdom. Aurianna glared at him, while Batholem wore a smug expression.

"Zorian is already level twenty, and I’m level 5!" Aurianna yelled, pointing at Zorian who flexed his game level.

"That’s because I bought the premium package for fast growth," he said proudly.

"Damn you, I’ll get one too!" Aurianna declared.

"Shialor, a gold coin!" Aurianna ordered, opening up her palm.

"Here, princess," Shialor placed a gold coin in her hand.

Upon receiving the coin, Aurianna tapped on the premium option as a blue holographic screen appeared before her. Placing the gold coin on the screen, it was swallowed up and entered back into the tablet. Suddenly, she saw a notification confirming her purchase.

"Yay!" Aurianna cheered happily, looking at Batholem with a smug expression.

’I don’t know whether she’s happy or smug,’ Batholem thought nervously.

"Princess, won’t you go and greet the young men who have come to see you?" Shialor asked nervously.

"Not interested!" Aurianna declared.

"Why?" She asked.

"I can see them all the way from here, ugly motherfuckers," Aurianna frowned, keeping her eyes on the screen.

"Ahh!!!" Shialor cried, slumping to the ground.

"Stop being dramatic," Aurianna eyed Shialor.

"Princess, his Majesty would get angry," Shialor said.

"He should, I’m not interested in little boys!"

"Little boys? Princess, aren’t you a kid yourself?" Shialor cried even more.

"What does she mean?" Batholem asked, confused.

"The princess said she doesn’t want to get married because she only likes big muscular men from ages 25-30," Zorian said nervously, and Batholem and Shialor looked at her in shock.

"Won’t that land the man in jail?" Batholem whispered to Zorian.

"That’s what I was saying, but she was so adamant about her decision," Zorian cried.

"Princess, what about me then?" Batholem asked with a smile.

"Aren’t you a girl? I don’t like girls," Aurianna blurted out, inspecting Batholem.

"I’m a guy, okay! How could you not realize that?!" Batholem asked.

"Ehh, you look so petite," Aurianna gasped, a bit surprised.

"I get that a lot, but I’m actually a guy!" Batholem yelled.

"Hmm, let’s see," Aurianna walked up to him and placed her hand on his chest.

"Flat, I guess you’re telling the truth. Well, I’m still not interested," Aurianna shook her head before going back to her seat.

"Eh, why’s that?" Batholem asked.

"Skinny, young, how undesirable," Aurianna scoffed.

"How undesirable, how undesirable, how undesirable," echoed Aurianna’s words in Batholem’s mind, leaving him stunned.

"Am I that ugly?" Batholem queried, wearing a sad expression as he trembled.

"Please don’t mind her. I’ve been told the same thing," Zorian consoled Batholem with a comforting pat on the back.

"You’re not ugly, you’re just too young," Aurianna remarked.

"Also I wanted to ask, who are you?" she asked coldly, glaring at Batholem.

"What do you mean?" Batholem feigned ignorance.

"No normal person has a cross in their eyes, the cross of the god of Light especially. And the fabric you’re wearing is not even sold on this continent due to how expensive it is," Aurianna observed, eyeing his exquisite white suit.

"I am Prince Batholem Hupan of the Promised Land Karo," Batholem introduced himself with a smile, revealing a white cross in his eyes.

"I had my suspicions, but are you by any means a Royal Human?" Zorian inquired.

"I guess my identity has been revealed," Batholem chuckled.

"What is a Royal Human doing here?" Aurianna asked, her concern growing.

’Is he here to arrest me or something?’ she wondered, feeling a tinge of anxiety.

"My main objective is to have you by my side, of course!" Batholem declared. "Aurianna Vanluad, would you like to be engaged to me?" he asked.

"Why would I want to be engaged to a kid?" Aurianna scoffed.

"A kid? I’m just five years older than you, and somehow I’m the kid!" Batholem protested.

"There, there, even 15 is too young," Zorian patted him while shaking his head.

’I’m mentally 25 years old, and there is no way I can date some kid,’ Aurianna shook her head.

"Well, that’s unfortunate. You seemed really cool in that stream," Batholem said with a laugh.

"What stream?" Aurianna asked, confused.

"Don’t you know the war was being streamed? It was posted on the streaming web," Batholem revealed.

"Damn that old man!" Aurianna slammed her hand on the table angrily.

’Shit, shit, shit. If he did that, it explains why a lot of people are arriving at the palace. What’s more, the pressure may be too much, and he can use this excuse to let the Church of Beauty take me in under their protection!’ Aurianna gritted her teeth as she thought.

’She seems upset,’ both boys observed.

"So, do you come as someone from the Church of Light?" Aurianna calmed herself down as she asked.

"Nope, I came here by myself because I thought you’d be interesting, and you didn’t disappoint me," Batholem said, staring at Aurianna.

"I’m still not interested in you, kid," Aurianna snorted, and her words struck Batholem like a knife.

"Why does she keep calling me a kid even though I’m the older one?" Batholem lamented inwardly.

"I guess that’s unfortunate," Batholem nervously uttered.

"Don’t worry, you’ll find a cute girl one day!" Aurianna encouraged with a thumbs up.

"Aurianna," Batholem uttered, surprised by her words.

"Batholem. You’re a pretty boy, don’t fret. But do you eat? So skinny," Aurianna said as she grabbed his wrist and frowned.

"Wahhh!!" Batholem cried. "When I come back, I’ll grow more. I’m just a kid, so my body type is normal."

"That’s understandable. I also plan to develop more muscles in the future," Aurianna said, eyeing her slim hands.

"The princess with muscles," all three people uttered as they imagined Aurianna as some big, burly woman with pulsing muscles and a cute face.

"I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing," Batholem said.

"Me neither," Zorian shrugged.

"Princess, you’re a lady; you can’t be muscular!" Shialor cried.

"Why not?!" Aurianna asked.

"You just can’t!" Shialor stated, and Aurianna frowned at her.

*Grrrr, gurgle,* Aurianna’s stomach grumbled.

"Ehh, you’re hungry?" Zorian asked. "What happened to all those pastries you were eating while we were playing?"

"Finished..." Aurianna admitted shyly.

"How??!!" Zorian asked, surprised.

"I don’t know," Aurianna nervously said.

"Hmm, well, I have something you can eat," Batholem said as he picked out a cute flower-shaped pastry on a plate and placed it before him. A sweet smell permeated the air, and Aurianna almost drooled.

"What a delicious smell, what’s that?" She asked, looking at Batholem with sparkling eyes.