Chapter 1. Candidate and Candidate (10)
Chapter 1. Candidate and Candidate (10)
Come to think of it, in the original story there was no stalker following the Saintess around.
If there had been, would a story like that really have gone unused? It would have been perfect material for an episode where the protagonist beats the guy down and the Saintess falls even harder for him.
And if I thought about Lee Chae-eun, who was sharing a room with me right then, it was strange that a stalker would exist 'only for me.'
Her figure is similar to mine or better, and though she looks a little fierce, Lee Chae-eun has the kind of outstanding looks befitting a heroine, so it would make no sense for her to have no men obsessed with her.
Maybe in a harem story, a male character trying to cling to a heroine would be unpleasant for readers, so it was just left out...... Well, at least, given that she never brought up any memorable story like that herself, it's reasonable to conclude there wasn't one at the moment.
If it were Lee Chae-eun, she would have said something like, "I had a few guys like that too, you know? I beat them up and chased them off." That's just the kind of person she is.
"Hah."
I let out a deep sigh while wiping the window frame in the convent dormitory hallway.
If it was late May, then practically speaking, I had about three months left. Three months sounded like a lot, but since I'd need to find work and a place before Laicization, I'd probably spend the last month or so basically living like an outsider in a nun's habit. I'd have to go out and look around, after all.
......First, should I decide on a name?
In the original, the Saintess just kept using her baptismal name "Anna." In the main story she was simply a nun, so she never needed a secular name.
Then again, maybe there's no need to pick a separate name. Wouldn't it be enough to just roughly decide on a surname? Among my acquaintances in my past life, there were people like Peter or John who openly used their baptismal names as their own names.
"......."
A little ways away from me, there was someone wiping a different window frame.
Ria.
Yesterday, when I called her by name, she suddenly got annoyed, and then, as if she felt bad about it, she insisted on handling the cleanup herself.
But had that embarrassment still not worn off? From the moment she woke up this morning until now, Ria hadn't said a single word to me.
Right, she'd stolen the emergency rations I'd deliberately hidden, so she should have at least that much of a conscience.
When our eyes met, Ria gave an awkward smile and quickly moved her hands to wipe the window frame.
......In the original, Ria...... well, in the original she didn't necessarily use that baptismal name Maria, but anyway, at least up to the part I read, she remained a nun the whole time. For all their bickering, she ended up getting pretty close with the Saintess, and rather than going back to a house with a rigid, stubborn father, she chose to stay with her best friend even if they squabbled.
Maybe that had been a miscalculation on that 'father's' part. No matter how closely a Hero was connected to the Church, the prospect of his daughter ending up in a position where she might have to remain chaste for life would be frustrating for any parent in a very different way.
In the novel, whenever they were in the same place, they didn't even acknowledge each other, so up to where I read, their relationship never really normalized.
Here, the story would unfold a little differently. For one thing, my reason for staying here had disappeared entirely.
I wasn't too worried. Ria met the protagonist in early spring. Once that connection was made, they'd probably keep seeing each other without much trouble even after Laicization.
The problem was that I didn't know what would happen to me.
"......."
I looked toward Ria again. This time our eyes didn't meet.
Yesterday she said she'd introduce me to the Association.
Hmm...... I'd turned the offer down boldly, but thinking about it again, as long as the job didn't involve using Holy Power and was just clerical work, it might not be so bad.
I didn't have any particular experience in that area, but I had worked an office job in my Past Life. I was confident I could adapt.
The thing is, now that I was trying to ask for that favor again, my pride was a little wounded, and I was racking my brain over how to bring it up when—
"Sister Anna."
At the quiet voice calling me, I felt a chill run down my back. Even though the heating inside was running reasonably well, I couldn't help but shiver.
Still, at least I hadn't made that strangled squeak from my throat like I had last night.
"Mother Superior."
"I'm planning to go examine the injured person from yesterday once more. Will you come along?"
"Ah, yes."
I nodded.
"If you'd rather not come, I won't stop you. He was probably completely healed by your power, Sister. Even if some injury remains, it should be something Father or I can heal."
So far, there hadn't been anyone my Holy Power couldn't heal. Most of them had been perfectly fine even when checked the day after treatment.
But there had been exactly one exception. The patient had parasite eggs left inside his body, and the "parasite" was technically classified as a Monster but was practically an alien organism—a type immune to Holy Power. It had never been discovered before, so there hadn't been any proper countermeasure.
I heard that if I hadn't been beside him using my power the entire time while removing that parasite, that Hunter would have died.
In other words, the other side of a Gate was an unpredictable demonic realm.
"No, I should still check."
I answered with a slightly sour expression.
"Is that so......."
Mother Superior nodded, then turned and walked first.
As I fell in behind her, footsteps fell in behind me too.
I turned my head and saw Ria following behind me.
Given that Mother Superior didn't say anything, that probably meant it was fine for her to come. She'd been nearby during the patient's treatment yesterday too.
Was it because she was a Hero, so there was no harm in letting her see this kind of power?
......Well, the protagonist and his companions all had their lives saved at least once thanks to the Saintess's Holy Power.
Even after Laicization, there might come a time when we could help each other.
*
The Hunter who had been in the basement yesterday was now in a patient room in the church's main building.
The Church hasn't completely replaced hospitals. There are things hospitals can handle, and there are things only the Church can handle.
Special injuries like yesterday's can only be treated by clergy. In fact, I heard that most people die because they don't receive treatment in time. Even if they are treated, they require long-term care while their condition is monitored.
But at least this church didn't have any long-term patients like that. Apparently, almost everyone who survived something that horrific had been coming to our church lately. If they reached me, I could save them.
Even "almost everyone" only amounted to a few people a year, though.
As for why they were treated in the basement, well, I wasn't really sure. Was it because their wounds would cause problems if other people saw them?
Anyway, for that reason, in the empty patient room there was exactly one person—the man I'd seen yesterday—and a few people who seemed to have come from the same Association.
Father was there too, and the priests who assist the head priest were also present, and a few nuns who were somewhat more favorably disposed toward me had come out as well.
"Saintess!"
The patient said that and raised one hand. He looked as though he were casually addressing someone he knew well, which put me off a little. If I had to be fair, he was handsome. Yesterday, though, half his face had been mangled, so I hadn't gotten a proper look.
No, more than that, I hadn't wanted to get a proper look. He was a man, after all. I still preferred women.
Besides, even though I treated people out of a certain amount of goodwill, it wasn't because I was truly big-hearted enough to help. If I had to put it precisely, 'I had no choice' was more accurate. It was about the same feeling as seeing someone get hit by a car and calling 119.
"Are you feeling any better?"
Mother Superior spoke first. I stood keeping some distance from the man, and Ria stood beside me with a slightly puzzled expression at my behavior.
The man lying in bed craned his head to the side to look at me, as if he had no interest in Mother Superior standing in front of him, but Mother Superior subtly stepped sideways and blocked me from his view.
"Brother, how is your body?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. Father said he wasn't sure, so he treated me once more."
Only after Mother Superior asked that did the patient finally answer.
"Is that so."
Mother Superior nodded and looked toward Father, and Father also nodded with a benevolent smile on his face.
"Then it seems you may return soon. Sister Anna does not wish to charge for the power God has granted, and the Church will not collect any separate offering, so you may leave as you are."
"Huh? Ah......."
But seeing the man hesitate at Father's words made me a little uncomfortable.
"Hm?"
Seeing my expression change, Ria tilted her head.
"Ah, um, actually, there's still a spot that hurts a little—"
"Brother."
Seeing the man about to make some excuse, Mother Superior spoke in a slightly stern voice.
The nuns nearby quickly moved to stand beside the Mother Superior, forming a wall between the man and me.
"......Sister Anna, you may return now."
Father looked at me and said that.
"Understood."
I bowed slightly and turned around, and behind me I heard what sounded like someone springing up from the bed.
"W-wait a moment, Saintess!"
I didn't bother answering and quickened my steps.
"Saintess, thank you so much! Please, after Laicization, come to our Association—"
"Hey!"
At the man's shout, someone beside him who seemed to be an Association colleague panicked and clamped a hand over the patient's mouth.
"......."
I didn't bother answering. Taking advantage of the distraction, I quickly left the patient room.
"......What was that?"
Ria muttered with a slightly dazed expression.
"It happens sometimes. People who misunderstand the direction of devotion—thinking it's directed from me to themselves, rather than from themselves to God."
"......."
Ria, who had been walking beside me, let her mouth fall slightly open.
"So, toward a Saintess Candidate?"
"......."
When I glared at Ria, she quickly shut her mouth, then opened it again.
"Still, an escort or something, you know?"
"I don't have one. My 'rights' were stripped. You'd know that, wouldn't you? It was a fairly famous incident."
"Ah."
Ria shut her mouth with an extremely awkward expression.
"Well, still, ever since a man about thirty years older than me grabbed my hand when I was fifteen, they've always protected me like that, so I'm grateful."
I'd heard that places like cafes often select part-timers based on their looks.
Naturally, since it's a service job, you smile kindly and attend to customers—but sometimes, people appear who mistake that service for something more.
Whether or not that confidence has any basis, there are always people who try to make a move.
......In that sense, yeah, I was a nuisance.
"It's not everyone. It's really just one or two people occasionally."
"Uh, yeah."
Maybe that's why she told me to reclaim the Saintess's rights.
Because the longer I stayed here as 'just a nun,' the harder it would become to fend off people like that.
"Hah."
I let out a light breath.
......Leaving really was the right choice after all.
If I wanted to live by my convictions, that seemed to be the right thing to do.