Chapter 4. Flight and Service (2)
Chapter 4. Flight and Service (2)
"Why?"
I muttered the question to no one in particular as I paced restlessly around the dorm room.
"How did all those people end up crowding in like that? People who normally never showed any interest?"
Today's service had been a very, very great success.
Well, in a world where the existence of God is accepted as common sense, of course plenty of people come to worship. Even when it isn't the weekend. People who already had faith probably deepened it, and some who didn't probably found faith too.
But today had been completely different from usual.
No matter how faithful someone is, coming to church on a weekday is hard. Plenty of people would rather sprawl at home even on weekends, so coming to church right after work on a weekday isn't something you can do without real fervor, is it?
"Surely it isn't because of me?"
"Of course it's because of you. They say you're pretty, don't they? There are bound to be people coming because they want to see you. Why not hold a handshake event?"
Lying on the bed and flipping through a book, Ria answered in a thoroughly indifferent tone.
"......."
When I glared at Ria, she let out a little snicker.
"Well, think of it as the debut effect. You're the Saintess Candidate a Cardinal actually bowed his head to, after all. In people's eyes, you'll look like a certified candidate. No Saintess Candidate has ever had that happen before."
"......Eek."
I clutched my head and crouched down.
"Good grief, you little dummy."
Ria patted my head with her hand as she spoke. I snapped my head up and glared at her, but Ria's expression didn't show the slightest hint of fear.
Well, of course not. Damn it, I can never beat Ria in a fight. Not unless she decided to suplex me from over there.
Only three days had passed since our trip to Myeongdong, and although I'd trained in the meantime, there was obviously no way my skills could have shot up that much in such a short time.
At least I'd gotten a mock firearm from Ria—a pink pistol-shaped lump of rubber—and trained my stance, so my shooting posture had become passable.
"What am I, someone's pet hamster?"
"Well, you do eat what you're given as well as a hamster."
"......."
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, then decided to just change the subject.
I sprang up from my spot and paced from one end of the dorm room to the other, hand on my chin, lost in thought.
"......Do you think they'd allow it if I said I wanted to go do volunteer work on the other side of a Gate?"
"So now you're thinking of running away to a whole other world?"
I'd already run away to another world myself, so couldn't I be allowed to run a little more?
Still, I knew there was no paradise. For an Atheist, there's no heaven and no hell. Beyond a Gate, it would just be "another world."
Of course, it could be "like heaven," or it could be "like hell." And statistically speaking, the odds of it being "like hell" were overwhelmingly higher than the odds of it being "like heaven."
Well, that's just how nature is.
Still, if it was a place where people lived, wouldn't it be a little better? Plenty of Hunters looked favorably on me, after all.
"Probably not."
But that hope of mine was shattered to pieces by Ria's very next words.
"People know how important talented individuals are. A person like you, whose mere presence nearby puts people at ease, could go to another world and never come back. Would they want to put talent like that in danger?"
That was a fairly reasonable point.
When a Gate appears, someone has to scout beyond it, which is why Hunters exist. And regardless of a Hunter's ability, someone has to take on that work, so that's why they do it—but there's no need to deliberately send someone who doesn't "have to" go and put them in danger.
But in the original, the Saintess crossed over as if it were only natural, didn't she?
Still, I couldn't exactly start talking about "the original" in front of Ria.
Something must have happened before the start of the original that made it possible for the Saintess to cross over too.
So.......
"Right. That's it."
"Hm?"
When I spoke as if I'd realized something, Ria blinked.
"There are cases where other civilizations exist beyond a Gate, right?"
"There are."
"And they have exchanges with this country."
"They do. Limited ones, though."
"Then couldn't I just slip in with one of those exchanges and go?"
"......."
Ria stared at me with the most dumbfounded expression of all the dumbfounded expressions she'd worn so far.
"Are you planning to illegally immigrate or something?"
"Ah."
Would it come to that?
"Just because it's beyond a Gate doesn't mean it's empty space, and just because the nations beyond have somewhat lower technology doesn't mean we're in a one-sided invasion relationship with them. Other countries are watching, you know?"
That...... I knew. It was something we learned as common knowledge in school here, and more than anything, I'd read about it in the original.
"If any one country started invading a nation, other countries would start invading beyond the Gates too. And once that invasion happened, who knows what would come next. So far, the nations beyond the Gates mostly have lower technology than us, but who knows—one day a Gate might open near a country from around the 26th century."
Justification sometimes collapses completely under the logic of force, but conversely, if there are many places where relations stay good, then in such a moment we might be able to receive help.
And actually, there was no need to usurp a nation or anything. Far more often, the space beyond a Gate was empty.
"And the beings beyond aren't necessarily all human, either."
"I've heard there are races like Elves."
And I'd also heard that this Elf race generally didn't have very pleasant personalities. They ran an extremely powerful monarchy, and their nobles supposedly had the feel of the typical arrogant nobles from comics.
Strictly speaking, modern society is a "society without lower people." Well, that isn't perfectly upheld, but legally, at least, that's how it is.
But when Elves hear that, they apparently think, "Then these people are a society without nobles."
In other words, they see it as "no nobles, so everyone's a commoner."
In terms of numbers, our side was overwhelmingly larger, and our technology was better, so they didn't openly treat us with contempt.
"Hm."
......Going there recklessly also seemed a little questionable.
"Then what do I do......."
"......Isn't there an option where you just accept it?"
Ria asked.
I flopped back onto the bed again.
Maybe she felt a little sorry for me in my completely dejected state, because Ria crawled over to her desk and opened a drawer.
Then she took out a piece of chocolate.
"Want some?"
"Yes."
"You really need to learn how to decline sometimes."
*
Ironically, an opportunity came to me not long after.
Fortunately, the people who came to the service were at least believers, so although they kept glancing my way, no one openly tried to talk to me.
More than anything, Ria was always glaring around near me.
Ria had already been as famous as I was before, and Ria's father was far more famous than that. Since she was also famous for her skill, people naturally couldn't approach her easily.
So up to that point, there wasn't much of a problem—
"A high-ranking person?"
Ria tilted her head and asked.
The Mother Superior and the Priest nodded.
We weren't in the convent Interview Room as usual, but out in the chapel. It wasn't strictly forbidden for a priest to be alone with a nun, but still, talking in a way that didn't invite suspicion was the most comfortable for everyone.
"......Did this high-ranking person happen to get cancer or something?"
When Ria asked again, the Priest shook his head.
"If that were the request, we would have refused from the start. Once you grant one, there's no end to it. More than anything, that kind of illness can be treated without Sister Anna's power."
The two of us nodded.
Then we tilted our heads together.
"Then, a car accident......?"
"Rather than that, it was reportedly an assassination attempt."
"An assassination attempt."
Somehow, the thought that this probably wasn't a story from our world came to me immediately.
"Yes. A princess of some nation...... that is, she reportedly drank poison."
"Poison."
A very, how should I put it, classic method.
Not that poisoning suicides or murders don't exist in this world too.
"How critical is she?"
I asked.
"I heard she’s in danger beyond what ordinary treatment can handle. Fortunately, they had a few bottles of Holy Water we’d sent over, so I’ve heard they’ve managed to keep her alive."
"So Holy Water can't fully cure her."
"That's right."
The Priest nodded at my question.
But still, something was a little strange.
"If it was an assassination, there's no reason to merely attempt it, is there? They could have used a more certain method than poison. If they knew about Holy Water or Holy Power, they would have known it would fail."
At my words, the Priest and the Mother Superior looked at each other.
Then they looked at me at the same time.
"That's why this separate request came. In that world, the existence of this world isn't 'common sense.'"
Ah.
"The person who attempted the assassination is probably someone somewhat distant from that royal family, or possibly a figure from another nation."
"......."
Ria and I fell silent.
"They say she'll have difficulty lasting the coming week. What will you do?"
I tilted my head again.
"Is there really any need to ask?"
"Pardon?"
"I mean, if there's a dying person, and I can save them with my power alone, and I've heard the news, then there's no helping it. At that point, not helping is no different from killing them."
For some reason, Ria let out a light sigh at my words, and the Priest and the Mother Superior glanced at each other with careful expressions.
......Why?
Hadn't they already brought me here? I just had to go and use Holy Power.
Watching that subtle atmosphere, I tilted my head the other way.