The Saintess's Clattering Commotion

"I don't understand. Why must we hold the ceremony at all?"

"You're bringing that up again? The matter has already been discussed to its end."

"You mean the discussion that finished while I was away doing relief work?"

"Saintess."

"I told you! What reason do we have to call a Hero from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠another world? This is our affair. We shouldn't shove it onto someone else—we ought to find a way ourselves—!"

"It was the Lord's will."

"...What did you say?"

"It descended as an oracle. You are a wise woman. I trust this will suffice."

"...I understand. May the Lord's grace go with you."

"And may the Lord's grace go with you as well, Saintess."

After the farewell, I closed the door and walked the corridor. The Lord's grace, pouring through the stained glass, dyed the path ahead of me in every color there was.

"Hero, Hero... that damned Hero."

What was a Hero supposed to be? Someone who could wield the Holy Sword without restriction? Nonsense. A Holy Sword with no constraints—was that even a Holy Sword? It was nothing more than a magic sword you could pick up on any street corner.

I was irritated. Fine. I could let the summoning of a Hero pass. A Hero was strong; if it came to it, we could always stick him out front to catch the arrows. But however powerful he might be, nothing guaranteed he would spend that strength for our sake. Wasn't that far too optimistic?

"The moment he does anything even slightly suspicious, I'll throw him straight into the Sanctum of Purification."

Two days before the Hero was to be summoned, I sealed that resolve.

"......"

She opened her eyes.

"...It's been a long time since I slept this deeply."

Eila pushed herself up from the sofa, and the blanket slid off her. As her comrades had dwindled one by one, so had the hours she could spare for sleep.

"...Fatigue Reduction. Vitality Recovery. Peace of Mind."

A pale green light flickered three times over Eila's head, and she felt her mind clear. She had cast the Sacred Arts anew. For about a month, she would be fine without sleep.

She rose and tidied the bedding—though bedding was a generous word for the single blanket she had pulled over herself on the sofa. Once it was folded into a neat square, she looked to the window. The sun was rising. The first sunrise she had seen in this other world. Watching a single sun climb the sky, she understood, truly, that this was somewhere else.

"Haaahm... Huh? You're up?"

The back door creaked open. Kang Seon-ah stood there with a cigarette smoking between her fingers. Had she lit one the moment she got out of bed? Eila offered a greeting.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Same as always... You? Bed wasn't uncomfortable or anything?"

"Thanks to you, I slept very well. I'm truly grateful."

Eila pressed her hands together and bowed at the waist. Flustered by the formal thanks, Kang Seon-ah waved her off.

"Nah, nah, knock it off. If you're up, wanna head out? The civil servants ought to be in by now."

"Ah... that's right."

Eila recalled the conversation from the day before. From Kang Seon-ah and Lee Chanwoo she had picked up a scatter of common knowledge, enough to understand that in this country, without some means of proving who you were, a great many things were simply closed to you.

And so morning had come.

"Then let's go. I already called ahead yesterday, so we ought to get there before anyone else shows up."

"Yes."

"Follow me."

Kang Seon-ah slipped out through the back door, which still stood open, and Eila went with her. Beyond it lay a dim corridor and the same creaking stairs as yesterday. There was no light at all—only a staircase glimmering black—and the two of them descended as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

As I thought. She isn't an ordinary person.

A curious woman. Eila studied the back ahead of her. Everything Kang Seon-ah did and said was frivolous to the point of weightlessness, and yet the air around her was sticky and damp—a heaviness like a towel soaked through in the summer rains. Set against a presence so utterly at odds with that lightness, curiosity kept lifting its head.

A noise like something tearing at her ears rang out, and another door opened. It was the back alley where Eila had gone to sleep the night before. The sun was up, and still the place was dark.

"Let's go."

Kang Seon-ah strode into the street without hesitation. Following behind, Eila turned her head and took in the world. Beneath a sun that had only just risen, a great many people were beginning their day.

"Everyone's so diligent."

Eila stopped as if nailed to the spot.

"The Hero, too, perhaps..."

He might have been living out there among them. With friends. With family. Or maybe he had taken someone else as a lover here. He had been such a wonderful man....

"Hurry up! What are you standing around for?"

"...I'll be right there."

Far ahead, Kang Seon-ah was shouting. Eila set her feet moving again.

"You get lost or something?"

"I just thought it was a beautiful view."

"That so? You're a weird one, too."

The two of them talked of this and that as they went—or rather, Kang Seon-ah talked at her, which was close enough to count as conversation. The place they arrived at was one Eila knew.

"We're here."

"...City Hall."

She had come here searching for the Hero, felt nothing but shame, and fled. Not a good memory. And something was wrong. The doors were shut tight.

"Come on."

"Yes...? The door is locked."

"Follow me and you'll see."

Eila followed without another word. Kang Seon-ah circled the high brick wall, then suddenly stopped and rapped on it.

"......What are you doing?"

"Shh. ...Not here?"

A hard sound answered. Kang Seon-ah pressed her ear to the wall and kept knocking. Thud. Thud. Thud. Tok.

"Ah. Found it."

Where the sound had suddenly gone hollow, she kicked hard. Eila, startled by the spectacle, was just about to cry out—

A heavy rumble rolled through the stone.

"Wh-what?"

"In we go."

With that groan, the wall split open. Kang Seon-ah jabbed a finger at the gap as if to say get in, and Eila, dazed, slowly stepped through.

On the other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠side was a corridor. Physically impossible. Which meant something magical. Eila looked around: an empty hall, and a door ahead.

"Hup."

When Kang Seon-ah came through after her, the wall shut again without a sound. Eila turned to her.

"Wh-what is this...?"

"A secret entrance. Every guy's dream."

"But why would something like this be in a place like—"

"Call it the business of people upstairs... We're here."

The door opened, and light spilled in. She blinked against the glare and found herself somewhere familiar. Inside City Hall. A man sat across from them.

"You've arrived?"

"Yeah."

To the man's polite greeting, Kang Seon-ah answered with her middle finger.

"Is this the person you spoke of?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's make this quick. I've been on standby since yesterday, and I'm tired."

"Right. Hey. Sit over there and do whatever that bastard tells you. Got it?"

"Where are you going?"

"Just stepping out for a smoke."

With Kang Seon-ah gone, Eila sat where she had been told. Across from her was a stiff-looking man with neat blue hair.

"...You're here to have an identity made."

"Yes."

"Shall I issue you a foreign resident number, or would you rather apply for naturalization outright?"

"...Pardon?"

"Or if not that, we could swap in a suitable identity..."

"Excuse me. Could you explain a little more carefully?"

The man blinked.

"Ah, sorry. I'm tired. Force of habit."

With that brief apology, he began to explain. Honestly, it was hard to follow, but she managed to grasp the important parts. A foreign resident number would guarantee an identity, but she would not receive the benefits granted to this country's own citizens. Naturalization was the safest path and offered the most, yet the procedures were long and tangled. Buying an identity was the fastest and easiest, and the risk was just as great. If she understood that much, it would do.

Eila sank into thought.

"...I'll take the resident number."

That was her choice. She had never meant to claim any benefits in the first place. Naturalization troubled her—a process that might drag on for weeks, with no telling how many. Buying a name would be quick and simple, but living the rest of her life under an identity she had purchased did not sit well with her. She did not want to live as anyone other than Eila.

The man nodded and began to type.

"Is that so? Then first, your name and date of birth."

"My name is... Eila. I have no family name. I'm seventeen this year. My birthday is the fourth of July."

"Eila... a fine name. No surname. Born July 4, 2011... Huh?"

He narrowed his eyes at the screen. Then, pale-faced, he began to contact someone. He kept his voice to a whisper, but he could not escape Eila's ears. He sounded urgent.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah, n-no. Just a moment. If you could wait a moment..."

"All done?"

"Ah, Ms. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kang Seon-ah..."

"The hell? You look like you got caught doing something stupid. What'd you do?"

"...If both of you would please wait here a moment, I'd be grateful."

"......You son of a bitch. What did you do."

"I have only done my duty as a public official.... Please calm down. Just until someone from the Association arrives..."

"Hey. You done talking?"

"P-please calm down!"

Eila had been sitting still, unable to follow any of it. As the air grew sharper she rose and moved to stop the two of them.

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Association? You called someone in? You ungrateful little shit...!"

Kang Seon-ah seized the man by the collar. He shouted as if he had been wronged.

"How could I forget what I owe you? But I had no choice! This is the kind of thing that could actually cost me my head!"

"The fuck are you on about? I'm getting an ID made for some girl I picked up off the street—why the hell would your head come off for—"

"Enough."

The fist Kang Seon-ah had been driving at the man stopped in midair. Slowly, she turned.

"Any further, and I'll treat it as obstruction of official duty and subdue you on the spot."

"......"

"Th-the President?! Why did you come in person..."

The Association President?

Eila knew it at once. Of everyone here, this man was the strongest. From him she could feel nothing at all—proof that he held himself under perfect control. Without question, a powerhouse. She swallowed.

"...White hair. Golden eyes. Exactly as reported."

"Yes. That's correct."

"Good."

The man who had appeared so suddenly—the Association President—snapped his fingers.

And then—

"You crazy bastard!!"

Space shattered.

The world cracked, broke apart into pieces, and those pieces changed color before fitting themselves back together.

"Th-this is..."

"Sit. ...Well. You're probably already sitting."

Eila was in a chair. Not the chair from before, and not the same scene. A pitch-black room. A mirror fixed to one wall, and a door visible behind the man's back. The air was nothing like that other time, and yet the place was familiar. An interrogation room—wasn't that what they had called it?

She looked at him. Kang Seon-ah was gone. So was the man who had been speaking with her. The only people here were Eila and the one called the Association President, who had dragged her to this place. He sat, and he spoke.