The Saintess, Ryu Sua
Sua flinched, caught off guard, and hastily fixed her tone.
"Hmm...? The Saintess's voice sounds totally like a little brat~?"
Hearing Sea's just-woken-up voice, Remia started teasing the Saintess without mercy.
"S-stop that, ahem."
Sua begged her to stop, her ears turning bright red, but Remia didn't so much as acknowledge the request and kept right on poking at her.
"'Hoo... uuue, what's going onnn~' ahem. Such a little brat."
Under Remia's relentless psychological assault, Sua trembled all over, barely holding herself back.
"Say it, unnie! Try it! Uuun-nie~?"
Ah...
This was bad. Sua had taken Remia's bait, hook, line, and sinker.
"Y-you...!"
The saintly image vanished without a trace, replaced by a voice that sounded like a pouting little kid.
"You busted-up l-lowlife, get over here!"
Blue light gathered in Sua's hand.
Pewoong—
KWAANG!
Ah...
Dust swirled through the house. Remia kept running circles around the room, taunting her the whole way.
It looked like the house would come down around us if this went on, so I stepped in to stop them.
"S-stop it, both of you!"
Sua's hand, poised to fire off another blast of mana, froze—and Remia, mid-flight, skidded to a halt at the sound of my voice.
"Whew... everyone, just back off for now."
I separated the two of them, at least for the moment.
Ha...
I set about cleaning up the disaster zone our house had become. Remia came out of the storage room to try to help, but—
Zap.
One sharp glare from me and she fidgeted, then scurried right back inside.
Only after a long stretch of cleaning did the house finally look presentable again.
"Ugh... agh, I'm exhausted."
I'd better go check on Remia first.
I opened the door to the storage room.
Zzzzz—
There was Remia, sleeping away without a care in the world. I shook her awake.
"Ungh... unnngh?"
The moment she saw me, Remia started badmouthing Sua.
"I knew the Saintess had a side like that hiding in her...! Giving you that Core last time, and all of it—turns out she's not a saintess at all, just a brat hiding her true self! If word gets out to the public, it'll be a whole scandal, you know?"
Why were those two on such bad terms, anyway? Hadn't they made up at some point...
For now, I warned Remia never to pull a stunt like that again, then went to find Sua.
"Sua, I'm coming in."
Creak.
"Sea, I'm sorry..."
The moment I stepped into the room, Sua apologized. Her voice definitely sounded younger now.
She was perched on the edge of the bed, and as I sat down, she slid in beside me.
"I-I'm sorry you had to see me like this."
So that's what she meant last night? Still, she looked kind of cute, honestly. Now that I looked closer, even her expressions were a little different.
Maybe out of embarrassment, Sua hung her head low.
"Is it... okay, even if I'm like this?"
she asked in a tiny voice.
"I told you last night, didn't I? Sua is Sua."
The gloom on Sua's face melted away, and she smiled faintly.
"Can I... tell you about myself?"
When I nodded, she hesitated for a moment before beginning.
Embarrassing as it is... I used to have a pretty foul mouth back in the day.
It's awkward saying this myself, but I lived my whole life ground down by an inferiority complex. Putting other people down was how I propped up my own self-worth—looking back now, I guess it was a defense mechanism from growing up without parents.
Then one day, I awakened. As an EX-rank, though under Association policy I was registered as S-rank.
The Association declared that Korea finally had its Saintess, and they started pushing me hard—packaging me as someone who embraced everyone, who cared for and watched over all people.
So I imitated it. The Saintess everyone wanted. Not myself, but Saintess Ryu Sua.
I was scared of being hated. Terrified that people would scold me—that's not the Saintess we believed in.
Someone like me shouldn't be a saintess. I don't deserve it.
The ugly thoughts just kept piling up inside me—while I healed people, while I talked with others, all of it.
But Sea... you were different. You were EX-rank, same as me.
"The person that Remia drags around everywhere...?"—that's how it started, that's why I got curious about you.
That's why I gave you the Core, even though I'd turned down your request. Your Mana Aptitude was so low you'd only ever rank A...
Deep down, I looked down on you. What I can do with a touch, you have to draw blood to manage.
"Hehe... how sad, having to bleed yourself when I just have to lay a hand on something," I'd think to myself.
But I was wrong. I never imagined the Wyvern's Core would acknowledge you. I was the one who was never acknowledged...
Think about it for even a second—your ability is good. Mine only works because I exist, but yours works anywhere, as long as there's blood to feed it.
Maybe you're more of a saintess than I am.
"Someone like me, a saintess? ...Isn't that hilarious?"
Listening to Sua go on, it honestly didn't seem like that big a deal.
Couldn't she just flip the Association the bird and live how she wanted? They'd hate to lose an EX-rank, so they'd let her get away with pretty much anything. And besides—
Honestly, I think I like this version better anyway?
"I-I like this side of you more, actually."
Sua gave a faint smile at that.
"...What did you say?"
She was definitely cuter now than she'd ever been behind the saintess mask.
"I keep telling you, don't I? Even that side of you is the Saintess. It's Sua."
Sua murmured her thanks and leaned her weight against me.
"By the way, Sua—what's the deal between you and Remia?"
When I asked, she answered:
"After I made S-rank, we ran into each other once by chance at the Association, and she was tearing the place apart, so I picked a fight with her... and then she just hit so satisfyingly..."
So that was the reason, huh...
I chuckled quietly and kept sitting there with her—until Sua, looking like she'd steeled herself for something, turned to me and said:
"Want to be... something a little more special, you and me?"
Sua hung her head, blushing, lips worrying back and forth.
Something special... does she mean moving in together, like with Remia?
The house was small, but it'd probably be fine, I figured.
A lively, crowded house sounds kind of nice, honestly...
So I agreed. Sua jolted at my answer and made me confirm it over and over.
"Th-then..."
And with that, Sua closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
"...?"
What was she doing? I just kept staring—and eventually Sua opened one eye and muttered something about why wasn't I doing anything.
"Didn't you mean we should move in together?"
"..."
Sua stayed silent for a long, long moment, then said never mind and left the room.
"My benefactor! Why on earth do I have to live with that woman?!"
"You didn't want to live alone with a woman like Remia, I take it? Ahem."
Remia stared at me, demanding to know if Sua's words were true. I said nothing and simply met her gaze.
Reading the answer in my silence, Remia collapsed where she stood in shock, crumbling to the floor with a thump.
Watching Sua's true self come out was honestly pretty entertaining.
And so Sua left for her own place to gather her things.
Perhaps the earlier shock had been too much, because Remia never got up off the floor—just kept muttering the strangest things to herself.
"That saintess... that sly little fox... My benefactor is mine, and I need proof of it, proof that she's mine...!"
"...Remia, get up."
When I approached, Remia lifted her head and looked up at me.
"C-come here this instant!!"
And with that she lunged at me, knocking me clean over.
THUD.
"Mmh... haaah... chomp."
And so Remia went on gnawing at my neck.
How long has she been sucking on it—
"Phew! Now that's a good look on you, my benefactor!"
My neck was absolutely covered in Remia's tooth marks. I could've sworn I caught a whiff of her saliva, too...
As I gingerly touched the bitten skin,
"My benefactor."
Remia came to me slowly and wrapped me in her arms. I flinched for a second, bracing for another bite to the neck—but apparently that wasn't on the agenda.
"I've decided to accept it now. But I'm the first. You understand that, don't you...?"
"You mean the 'something special' thing?"
When I nodded, Remia beamed with delight.
"And to commemorate the occasion... c'mere...!"
And thus I spent the time until Sua's arrival running for my life.
Hunter Gallery
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Congrats, non-awakened folks lol
And is Korea finally getting an EX-rank too?!?
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"Haa... haa..."
All that running had drained me completely. I'd supposedly gained a wyvern's power—so why hadn't my stamina gone up with it?
I lay down next to Remia, and then—
Brrring.
Brrring—
"Hello? Is this Sea-ssi?"
"Yes, speaking."
Out of nowhere, a call from the Association.
"I'm sorry... you want to measure me again?"