The Saintess and Aileen
It was by chance that I turned my steps toward the Saintess. While wandering aimlessly in search of the Saint, I happened to find myself near Charles and Aileen's house. I simply thought it would be better to speak with Aileen first rather than continue searching for someone whose whereabouts were unknown.
'Something must have happened.'
Otherwise, there was no reason for a girl who visited every day to suddenly stop coming. When I asked the other combat students, they said Aileen had seemed anxious and went straight home after class.
……Though it was strange that her father, Charles Teddybear, knew nothing about something this obvious. Well, I'd find out once I went there myself.
'But what if she suddenly decided she hates me……?'
As I walked toward the house in the distance, I recalled my younger sister's puberty. Since it was just the two of us, Ji-soo and I had always gone everywhere together, but once she became a middle schooler, she started yelling and trying to push me away. It was a nightmare. At first I tried to accommodate her, but eventually I got so tired of it that I just ignored whatever she said. Treating her like she didn't exist made her burst into tears and surrender within a day.
'Those were the days.'
It had been infuriating back then, but looking back now, it felt like nothing at all. Maybe time really does heal all wounds.
'………….'
……But there were some wounds that time couldn't heal. When I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift, the image of my parents' corpses still rose up to bind me.
'…Haa, what's the point of thinking about that now.'
I pushed the sinking thoughts away. Dwelling on them would only make me depressed. In any case, unless Aileen had suddenly hit puberty and started hating me, I desperately needed her help. Outside of the Special Class, my social circle was extremely narrow, and Aileen was the friend who introduced me to many other students.
Praying that nothing serious had happened, I finally arrived at the Teddybear family's front door. Just as I was about to knock—
"……Come in."
"Hm? Instructor Charles?"
"It's open."
How did he know I was standing right in front of the door? Was this one of those sensory abilities that martial artists supposedly had? Startled, I opened the door and stepped inside to find Charles Teddybear leaning against a chair, looking rather haggard.
……What happened to him?
"Instructor Charles?"
"…Namgung Min."
"Is something wrong? Your complexion……"
"…………."
Hmm. He closed his mouth and turned his head away. It was the classic look of someone who had something to say but couldn't bring himself to say it. I'd seen that expression plenty of times while working as a fortune teller.
"Instructor, I don't know what's going on, but……you know my abilities well, don't you?"
"………."
"Please tell me. Worries are like burdens—if two people carry them, they become lighter."
"…………I……"
Creak.
"Instructor, may I speak instead?"
"Saint……As you wish."
"…Will you listen as well?"
"No. I will……listen later."
"……Understood."
Just as Charles Teddybear was about to open his heavy mouth in response to my words, Aileen's door opened and someone stepped out. After a brief exchange with the Saint, Charles entered his own room and closed the door.
……The Saint? Why was he coming out of Aileen's room?
"Saint?"
"…Fellow sinner."
"Why were you in Aileen's room……Don't tell me."
A sudden thought flashed through my mind. Were they……dating? Had she stopped coming because she had a boyfriend now?
'That would explain everything.'
The anxious look during class? It was her first relationship, so she was nervous. Going straight home after class? She must have gone on a date. Charles looking so haggard? Of course he'd be worn out if his only daughter suddenly got a boyfriend.
'So that's what it was.'
I nodded and placed a hand on the Saint's shoulder. This guy, he had game?
"Take good care of Aileen."
"……I don't know what ridiculous misunderstanding you've come to, but it is absolutely not what you're thinking."
"Huh? You're not dating Aileen?"
BANG!!!
"Whoa, that scared me."
A loud crash suddenly echoed from the wall near Aileen's room.
……What was that? It didn't sound like someone punching it in anger.
"………Fellow sinner, are you perhaps planning to assassinate me with a flail?"
"Excuse me?"
"To possess such an ability while being this oblivious……God is truly fair……"
What was he talking about? They weren't dating?
"Let me clarify once more. I am absolutely, completely, and definitively not in any kind of romantic relationship with Miss Aileen."
"But you just came out of her room……"
"We were having a consultation. A con-sul-ta-tion."
"Ah, I see."
Now that I thought about it, Aileen had really disliked the Saint, hadn't she? Dating would have been impossible. Besides, given Charles's overprotective nature—he'd tried to kill me just for hugging Aileen on the street—if she actually had a boyfriend, the Saint would have caused an uproar by now.
Wow, so you had to be able to beat Charles Teddybear just to date Aileen? Was the difficulty setting for real? Was I doomed to be a lifelong solo player like this?
"……Fellow sinner, did you come to speak with Miss Aileen?"
"Well, yes."
"Then……please go back."
What? Why was he the one saying that?
"What do you mean……?"
"It is Miss Aileen's wish. She will likely return to normal in about three days, so please wait until then."
……Hmm. Back to normal, three days, wait. No matter how I looked at it—
'Something's definitely going on.'
I had to talk to Aileen no matter what. But if she herself had asked me to leave, I had no justification to force my way into her room. And there was no way I could get past the Saint. So I'd have to try a different approach.
"I already made plans to speak with Aileen today."
"……She also asked me to tell you to postpone that appointment for three days."
"Oh, surprise! I actually never had any appointment to begin with!"
"………."
"So I can't believe your claim that she asked me to leave, either!"
"……Haa."
"I'll speak with her directly. Would you please step aside?"
"……As expected of a fellow sinner."
Thud.
Letting out a dry laugh, the Saint sat down on a nearby chair and gestured to another.
"Please sit. This will be a rather long story."
"Understood."
As I sat down as well, silence filled the spacious living room. The Saint glanced at the door Charles had entered, then looked at me with a serious expression.
"Fellow sinner, how much do you already know?"
"What do you mean?"
"I am aware of your unfathomable abilities. You even know about my past, which the Church has kept tightly hidden, so I assume you know this as well."
"……."
"That is why I ask……how much do you know?"
No, I didn't know anything. But I couldn't just say that here.
"Saint, does it even matter?"
"……Excuse me?"
"No matter what I know, I'll still listen to your story. Just tell me everything."
"………Understood."
Good, that worked. What on earth was going on?
"……The Saint and Saintess are cursed professions."
"………."
"Because in order to survive, they have no choice but to kill the innocent."
"The innocent."
"Every Saint and Saintess in this world is born with two personalities. One is their original self, and the other is……the personality of the profession itself."
"………."
"The professional personality awakens later. Around the age of five, perhaps? That was also the age when I left on my pilgrimage."
The Saint's story far exceeded anything I had imagined.
"Fellow sinner, two personalities share a single body. Do you think they can coexist peacefully?"
"……."
"At first, it's fascinating—having another version of yourself. So they make a promise to share the body for twelve hours each. That lasts for a few months."
"A few months."
"After that……the conflicts gradually increase. Their thoughts differ, their personalities differ, their desires differ. The frustration of not being able to use the body builds up over time."
"…………."
"And in the end, only one remains."
"……By killing the other."
"It would not be an exaggeration to say they kill each other. The two personalities fight within, invading each other's thoughts and memories……until one personality is completely erased and only one remains."
I looked at the Saint with resolute eyes. Then, you—
"Saint, I have one question."
"Ask anything."
"Are you the Saint? Or are you Raphael Martina?"
"……I see. Hearing this……was harder than I expected."
"Saint?"
"I am the Saint. That is all."
……I should have cleared the Saint's character event no matter what. Out of all the character events I'd seen, it was the only one I'd given up on because the conditions were too strict and it took too long. And it had been hiding a secret like this.
"……Then I have one more question."
"Yes."
"The person inside that room—is it Aileen Teddybear? Or is it the Saintess?"
"………Both still exist for now."
In other words, she was on the verge of disappearing. Now I understood why he'd told me to wait three days.
'After three days, Aileen Teddybear's personality will vanish, leaving only the Saintess.'
But that was also the 'Aileen' I knew.
"Please continue."
"……In the usual battle between personalities, the professional personality wins. No, it has always won."
"Why is that?"
"As I mentioned earlier, I awakened around the age of five. But at that time, I was not truly five years old……My mind was already filled with vast amounts of information, experience, and common sense."
"………."
"I'm not entirely certain, but it seems to be remnants from previous Saints. Of course, they're faint, so it only makes the personality slightly more mature……"
"But that's more than enough to defeat a five-year-old child."
"……Indeed."
If that was the case……
"Is that also why Aileen avoided me?"
"Miss Aileen—no, the Saintess—has a close relationship with you, fellow sinner. The closer she grows to you, the stronger the Saintess personality becomes, while Aileen's original personality shrinks."
"Something like that……determines who wins?"
"It also means that to the Saintess, you are not 'something like that.'"
"………."
I'd thought her goodwill toward me, someone she'd just met, was unusual. 'Maybe her affection lock was already released because she's normally an unromanceable character.'
It seemed……Aileen liked me. If this was just my ego talking, it would be really embarrassing—enough to make me want to die. But if even the Saint was saying this much, I'd have to be completely oblivious not to notice.
……Alright.
"I've heard enough."
"……I beg of you, fellow sinner. For now, please go back so the Saintess can have time with Miss Aileen Teddybear──"
"Step aside."
"……Fellow sinner?"
"Saint, didn't I tell you this back in the church basement? Have you already forgotten?"
──I'll help you.
──……How?
──That's not for you to worry about. You just need to follow my instructions.
──……You want me to believe that?
──Haven't you seen it for yourself? My strange fortune-telling. The fact that I know everything, predict everything, and accomplish everything.
──………Fortune-telling.
──So just trust me and leave it to me.
"I'll save Aileen."
"…………."
"So just do as I say, Saint. Now, I'll say it again."
Step aside.
"………."
The Saint lowered his head and remained silent. That was answer enough. As I passed by him with his eyes closed, he quietly muttered.
"……I'm jealous."
Because that kind of confidence was something a Saint—whose personality was nothing more than a professional construct—could never possess. The Saint quietly recalled the brother he had killed.
'Raphael……'
If he had met that fortune teller when he was young, would their fates have been different? But realizing that Namgung Min would have only been five years old back then, the Saint smiled.
……Drip.
A single tear fell. It was a tear mourning his dead brother.
*
"Ah, ah………"
"Good afternoon, Saintess."
"Ah, no. No……"
"It will be fine. Extremely Accurate Fortune Telling."
Shff.
"Huh, huh……?"
"Now then."
──Let's read your fortune.
Standing before the suffering Saintess, Namgung Min smiled as he spread the cards. It was the same smile as always.