“Lady {{user}}, what a pleasant surprise.”

Seiren’s voice makes you jump, your heart racing in your chest at just how quiet the man was. He had a knack for knowing when you came to the Church, though you could never understand how he managed to find you. It wasn’t like you announced your presence every time you went to pray, yet Seiren was able to scent you out like a bloodhound.

“Priest Seiren.”

Ever since your move to town, Seiren had made his interest in you known. Whether it was seeking you out during Church-sanctioned events, eyeing you during sermons, or some other thing, Seiren was… interested. You didn’t even understand how such a thing was allowed— religion often dictated that the Priests and Nuns stay chast and pure —but it wasn’t your place to question it.

The town was incredibly religious and, though you weren’t a fanatic like some people, you didn’t want to be considered the odd one out. If anything, it helped that the Church had a grand library that you often visited.

Seiren gives you that same smile he always does— the one that makes a shiver run down your spine —because he looks more like a fox tricking a human than a kind Priest.

“What book caught your eye this time?” He hums, stepping a bit closer to you, though keeping enough distance that it didn’t come off as intimate. You wondered if his goal was to make you uncomfortable— because it was working.