The Saintess Candidate Works Hard!
If the main deity of the church on the original Earth was God, then the god of this gender-reversed Earth was also a woman—a Goddess.
I recall her name being Am... something or other.
Honestly, I never had much interest in religion, even in my past life, so I didn't know much about it. However, even if I didn't know the name of the deity they worshipped, there was one thing even someone like me knew because it was so famous.
It was the fact that in the churches of this world, there existed a being who received power directly from the real Goddess, just like in a fantasy novel—a Saintess.
The orphanage where I grew up doubled as a cathedral. It was a place where the nuns who took care of us held mass every day, where holy paintings of the Goddess hung on the walls, and where we offered prayers of blessing once a day.
Naturally, that was where I first heard the word "Saintess."
The problem was... it popped up right in the middle of a conversation about heroes.
So, at first, I was truly dumbfounded. A Saintess, out of nowhere, in the middle of a hero story? It felt like watching a super robot anime and suddenly having a cooking battle break out in the middle of it. It wasn't like eating jjajangmyeon and jjampong separately; it felt like someone had pointlessly stirred them together into a mess. That’s how out of place and incompatible it seemed.
But they said she existed, and since I heard there was only one Saintess in the entire world, she was just a figure I was briefly surprised by and then forgot.
I had been living like that, forgetting about it, when one day, I stopped seeing Hayeon noona, who used to come find me every morning.
Feeling a bit concerned, I went looking for her after finishing my training, and in the end, I saw it.
In front of the tiny, loli-like orphanage director, Hayeon noona was sweating buckets, squeezing out her Ability with a "Hah! Hah!"
The largest chapel in the cathedral. The two of them were training, filling the space with sweat and aura. At the director's shout, Hayeon noona was throwing her entire body into the training, focusing so hard that the hem of her nun's habit—which she wasn't even wearing panties under—trembled from the currents of her ability.
Come to think of it, in this world, just being born female grants one an "Ability," a power that transcends humanity. I knew it in theory, but seeing the shy and timid Hayeon noona—who had always been by my side—manifesting her power with such seriousness and intense concentration...
'Noona... you're working so hard.'
I thought she was just saying it while drunk, but seeing her now, I could feel deep down that it wasn't a joke.
A puddle of sweat had formed at Hayeon noona's feet, and above it, a blue aura spread from the tips of her hair and fingers. A sophisticated magic circle emerged with her at the center, and the entire chapel was slowly being dyed in blue.
'But... what was noona's ability? Now that I think about it, I've never seen it before.'
While I was secretly watching through the crack in the door, Hayeon noona finally collapsed to the floor, as if her ability had reached its limit.
Even though she was exhausted to the point of trembling, she gritted her teeth, trying to hold on. The director carefully sprinkled blue holy water, which seemed to contain a sacred energy, over her head. Then, poking the girl slumped on the floor, she said:
Eventually, listening to the director, Hayeon noona caught her breath and slowly stood up. Even while staggering, she straightened her back to the very end, lightly adjusted the hem of her habit, and quietly left the chapel. The lingering blue aura behind her slowly faded as she walked away.
Thinking it was over, I turned to leave, but...
I didn't know how long she had known, but a small hand beckoned from beyond the door. I let out an awkward laugh and carefully stepped into the chapel. Under the sacred lighting, the calm air felt unusually heavy.
Even after I finished speaking, silence flowed. I just cleared my throat awkwardly a few times, not knowing where to look, and stared intently at the statue of the Goddess.
At that moment, something touched my fingertips.
When I turned my head, a hand the size of a palm was gently tugging at my sleeve.
The director stood on tiptoe to climb onto the bench, balancing herself with her short legs. I carefully sat down next to her. And so, in that chapel where her small, fair feet didn't even touch the floor, we quietly continued our conversation while looking at the statue of the Goddess.
Of course, she said she had refused at first. Hayeon noona wanted to live quietly, and I had once heard a rumor that she used to do something like mercenary work in the past. But Hayeon noona didn't give up. She came dozens of times a day, even showing her face at dawn mass, and after persistently begging...
In that situation, she brought a diaper and made the following "request."
The director said she turned pale at that threat. That was how she ended up accepting noona as her disciple, and in exchange, she received an adult diaper on the spot.
...Really?
Honestly, if it weren't for her way of speaking, I would have thought I was talking to an elementary schooler. But the expression on her face as she looked up at me, even while tearing up—I couldn't help but nod, smiling like a white lie.
...Well, you're only distinguishable because you're wearing a nun's habit. If you took that off and mixed in with them wearing toddler clothes, I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell who was who. I would have just passed by among the orphanage kids thinking, 'Uh...? Who is this?'
In the midst of that, by some twist of fate, immediately after Hayeon noona declared she would challenge to become a Saintess, the church was indeed scouting for the next Saintess... and it was said that the current Saintess would be visiting Korea in person in three days.
From the moment she heard that, Hayeon noona began to immerse herself in it, almost ignorantly.
In the end, I couldn't help but ask. Honestly, I wondered if noona was overdoing it like that because of me, and if she were to be eliminated from the Saintess candidates...
The thought of noona collapsing at that moment made me feel uncomfortable.
However, the director, who clicked her tongue, pointed to the chapel floor where Hayeon noona had been standing just a moment ago.
I inadvertently turned my head and looked at that puddle again. A transparent liquid holding the light. At first, I naturally thought it was sweat, but after hearing that, I felt like... I was looking at it again for some reason.
Right then.
The director, who placed her tiny hand on my knee, asserted.
I was momentarily so flustered that cold sweat broke out, and the director, watching me, raised the corners of her mouth slightly and even added a playful wink.
Thus began Hayeon noona's hellish crash course training. A few days passed, and finally, the day arrived. On the TV screen, the appearance of the Saintess "Amelia," who had entered Korea on a private jet, was being broadcast in real-time.
And at dawn, before the darkness had even lifted, Hayeon noona was catching a taxi with the director, and I followed behind as if it were natural.
She said it boldly, but her trembling legs and her tightly clenched hands clearly revealed her nervousness.
So.
I had already told my mentor, Baek Seungha, the day before and had taken the day off from training. I had no intention of sending noona alone from the start. The three of us boarded a taxi together.
Usually, "don't fall for me" is the standard line...
Anyway.
We headed toward the largest cathedral in South Korea, where Saintess Amelia would be personally selecting Saintess candidates. And along with that journey of light, another darkness began to move quietly.