Chapter 2. Encounters and Opportunities (6)

Actually, I did have a plan of my own.

I knew Lee Si-yoon would come to the church at least once. I also knew that after being healed by the Saintess, he would raise a flag of sorts, and that flag would continue far into the future.

Even so, the reason ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I said I would stay for about one to two years was because I judged that I could avoid that flag.

And naturally, I was able to dodge it rather stylishly.

Wasn't I? I wasn't a Saintess in the first place. I was still a Candidate, but I hadn't risen to the position of Saintess like in the main story, and of course I had none of a Saintess's privileges.

Wandering around outside the convent half-freely? Impossible. Carrying a weapon and entering a Gate together? Obviously impossible.

Since the system itself blocked me, the means by which I could get entangled with the protagonist were cut off to some extent.

And naturally, Ria, who would have followed at the Saintess's side as her escort, couldn't go there either because I never went out of my way to meet Lee Si-yoon. That meant one heroine's flag ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been uprooted entirely, while another had been half-broken.

Sure, it was a little disappointing that I couldn't stay beside him and break every flag myself, but hadn't the most dangerous one already been broken? The one shouted about by a certain kind of reader—the sort who ignored literary devices entirely and insisted that the Saintess was the heroine simply because she was closest to him, without an ounce of reason or logic.

As long as we never got entangled with each other from here on out, I didn't have much to worry about. There were five heroines who clashed most fiercely in the story.

The Saintess, Lee Chae-eun, the childhood friend, the Hunter Association president's daughter, and the artisan who processed Monster materials.

But of those five, the only real threats were the Saintess and Lee Chae-eun.

The president's daughter was a heroine with a rather lazy setup, just popping out to claim the handsome Lee Si-yoon for herself. She did help the protagonist become a Hunter early on, but that was it—her dialogue was overall quite unlikable, so she wasn't popular.

As for the artisan...... she was there to round out the roster, I suppose. Her presence in the story was basically air.

You could call it a precarious position where the "childhood friend" label alone could crush her.

Of course, besides those, there were quite a few women the protagonist saved, and among them there were occasionally cases where it was depicted that they fell for him, but they were all just extras who appeared in a single episode.

"Heh, hehehehe......."

That's right.

The beginning had gotten a bit more tangled than I expected, and I hadn't encountered him at the timing I wanted—but still, things were rolling along more or less according to my will.

"What, did you eat something bad?"

"Ahem."

I let out a laugh while eating breakfast. Ria, sitting right across from me, asked that with a baffled look, so I quickly cleared my throat.

And then I looked at Ria with a bit of pity.

Seeing her like this, was she a little pitiful?

From how she kept asking me my opinion about Lee Si-yoon, it was obvious that she'd developed an interest in him, even if it wasn't quite love at first sight.

Wasn't this just a late bout of puberty? That was how people that age tended to show interest.

But what could I do.

As long as she was a nun, she had to stay here. On top of that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ria was here because of me, so if I didn't go outside, she had to remain by my side.

Ugh, thinking about it that way made my conscience sting a little.

But what could I do? Just imagining Lee Si-yoon and Ria standing together made me feel sick.

.......

No, that's not what I meant.

Seeing me change expressions this way and that while staring at her, Ria quietly raised her right index finger.

"Eep."

I flinched at the sight and pressed both elbows tight against my sides, and only then did Ria, with a satisfied expression, dip her bread into the cream soup again.

This was kind of infuriating.

Watching Ria eat bread elegantly with a relaxed expression, I dipped my bread into the soup a bit roughly too—and ended up shaking the plate, splattering soup all over my habit.

"Pfft."

"Ughk."

Glaring at Ria, who couldn't hold back her laughter at the sight of me, I ground my teeth.

Fine.

Today, I would definitely, in training—

*

—I lost again.

Yeah, that's right. It was only natural.

Thinking I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could beat someone who had spent a lifetime wielding a sword after only a month of training was just trying to take the easy way out.

Holy Power was connected to the Being Above, so I could use it without much effort, but skill earned through a lifetime of training belonged entirely to the person who had earned it. If a little practice were enough to catch up, it wouldn't even deserve to be called 'skill.'

Ugh, just thinking about Holy Power made light rise to my face, so I waved my hand around to scatter it.

"Alright, that's it for today."

Ria said that as she returned the practice sword to the sheath at her waist.

"Huh? That's it?"

At the unexpected words, I blinked and looked at Ria, and Ria nodded.

"Yeah. Let's stop here for today."

"It feels like we only trained about half as much as yesterday."

"Well, you've worked hard for about two weeks anyway. Your stamina's improved a lot since the beginning, and you've gotten used to holding the shield."

But even so, all I could do was brace the shield with both hands and hold on.

And Ria hadn't exactly swung her sword at me with full force either.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Ria.

"......Are you trying to be considerate of me?"

"Considerate?"

"Is it because I passed out after using Holy Power when training ended last time?"

"......You're quick on the uptake at times like this."

Ria let her shoulders droop slightly and answered with a deep sigh.

"There's no need for that kind of consideration, you know? It's not like many patients come here anyway—only a few a year."

"One more came after barely a month, didn't they?"

"Well, even so, patients don't come on a regular schedule, do they? And even if something similar to last time happened, nothing serious happens to me anyway—"

But when I saw the frown forming between Ria's brows as she watched me say that, I quickly shut my mouth.

"What are you going to do if you suddenly collapse and no one can catch you? If you fall headfirst, it could be really bad, you know?"

"Well, wouldn't Sister Ria be right next to me then too?"

"......Huh."

At my words, Ria made a slightly dumbfounded expression.

Oh dear, was my logic too sound?

But I wasn't saying something I didn't mean. Ria really was here because of me. As my escort.

If the escort was right beside her and the Saintess Candidate tripped, fell, and cracked her head open, wouldn't that be the escort's fault?

After shrugging at Ria, who had somehow gone quiet, I went over near the convent wall and stood the shield up.

"Phew."

And then I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

In my Past Life, I'd entered army basic training in the middle of winter, so I knew very well that no matter how cold it was, moving hard enough could still leave you drenched in sweat.

But it wasn't the dead of winter now—it was gradually approaching April. The sunlight was slowly getting warmer, so I might tire out more than last month.

"Well, fine. I should follow the expert's advice."

Only after I said that did Ria nod.

The two of us rested for a moment, then picked up the training equipment again and headed to the storage shed.

"By the way, you."

"Yes?"

"Do you really have no intention of becoming the Saintess?"

"......Why are you suddenly asking that?"

When I answered with a straight face, Ria rolled her eyes.

"No, well, if you become the Saintess, you can go outside relatively often."

"Isn't the reason I'm staying here for about another year precisely so I don't have to go outside? If I became the Saintess, I couldn't even quit and might have to stay in the convent for life."

I called it a stalker problem, but once that issue was definitively resolved, I would undergo Laicization without any lingering attachment. I hadn't decided what to do after that, though.

"If you go outside now, couldn't you meet that Lee Si-yoon kid? He's a Hunter, isn't he?"

"......."

My eyes narrowed on their own at those words.

Ah. So that was what this was about.

She was fishing for a reaction.

It didn't seem like she'd completely fallen into romantic feelings yet, but if she'd developed an interest in a man, it was only common sense that she'd keep wanting to see his face. I...... well, it wasn't like I'd never been interested in someone that way, even if it wasn't quite a first love.

Though in the end, I never managed to say a single word to them.

......That's not what matters right now.

"I have no intention of becoming the Saintess, you know? If you want to go out, you can go out by yourself, can't you? A nun can quit at any time."

"Hey, when did I say I wanted to quit?"

Apparently taking it as me telling her to quit being my escort, Ria spoke in a slightly hurt voice. Once someone left the convent, she couldn't return as a nun. There had to be a rule like that so children raised in the convent would seriously consider whether they wanted to remain nuns for life.

Well, so she did think of me as a friend, at least?

"I was just saying."

When I said that, Ria let out a deep sigh.

Somehow, the way she looked at me like I was an immature child didn't feel great, but I decided to let it slide this time.

*

And a few days later.

That is, about a week after Lee Si-yoon was discharged—

"An official document has arrived from the National Hunter Federation."

Ria and I were suddenly summoned to the Interview Room.

Not the Interview Room in the convent, but the Interview Room in the church's main building.

In other words, to a meeting with the Priest.

And in that Interview Room, not only the Priest and the Mother Superior but quite a few unfamiliar people had appeared. Most of them were properly dressed in suits, but every one of their faces was extremely distinctive.

Many of them had large scars on their faces.

......Come to think of it, I'd heard that Hunters sometimes considered those scars medals of honor and left them unhealed.

"It seems the Hunters who have been treated at this church so far recommended Sister Anna."

To summarize the official document that the Mother Superior pushed toward me while saying that—

[There is a Gate in the middle of Seoul that must be dealt with immediately. But this Gate has not disappeared for over six weeks. Inside, something more vicious than any Monster seen so far seems to be lurking.]

That was it.

And that Monster was very likely the same one that had put Lee Si-yoon in that state about a week ago.

"It does not mean they are asking you, Sister, to enter the Gate."

The Mother Superior spoke with a serious expression.

"It means they hope you will heal the Hunters near the Gate."

I said, as if finishing her sentence.

And then I closed my eyes.

"Anna."

Beside me, Ria called my name.

Did she want to say it was dangerous?

But—

"......If I don't go, a lot of people will probably be in danger, won't they?"

......Yeah.

Apparently, the "incident where Lee Si-yoon's life was saved thanks to the Saintess" hadn't ended back then.

And apparently, Lee Si-yoon hadn't been the only one who owed his life to the Saintess that day.