Chapter 4. Flight and Service (3)

It's gotten a little hazy by now, but I still remember the novel's important plot points in my own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way.

As of the main story, the Saintess had already been the Saintess for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long time. I don't know whether she'd helped the protagonist shine by pouring her power into him the way I did for Ria, but I could tell that she'd been a much closer presence to him than I am now.

In that sense, I could say I'd at least avoided the original plot to some extent.

I'm not all that close with Lee Si-yoon, after all. Strictly speaking, we're acquaintances—and not even particularly close acquaintances at that.

But there are more incidents I need to watch out for than just the ones involving Lee Si-yoon. In the main story, the Saintess was already a widely admired figure, and because of that, she was also someone Lee Si-yoon held a bit of admiration for.

Was this incident connected to the main story too?

I decided that it was.

Obviously. If I'd drastically derailed this world's main story, the butterfly effect might have spilled over into that other world and caused political turmoil—but I'd never actually done anything like that.

If we were still before the main story began, and the relationships that formed before the main story were still being built, then this incident might well be one of those events.

Who was it?

Since there's a path open to a place you could call "another world," naturally there's also a heroine who came from that "other world."

And among them, it would be a shame to leave out an Elf.

The reason I know a fair amount about the "Elf world" is also because I read it in the novel.

"But there wasn't a princess."

Hmm.

I tilted my head.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"You do know that the things you consider 'nothing' often turn out to be pretty far outside ordinary common sense, right?"

That assessment is a little unfair.

I'm an extremely sensible person, someone who acts rationally and reasonably within the bounds of common sense.

If you had to pin it down, it's not me but this world that's unreasonable. Well, I'm willing to give it the benefit of cultural relativism.

"Because this is your first time going out this far?"

Ria made a strange guess.

"No matter how much I live inside the Church, I do get out sometimes for volunteer work and things like that, you know? I've even been as far as North Chungcheong Province."

When I squared my shoulders and said that, Ria let out a small breath with a slightly odd expression.

"Right, well...... you've certainly been far."

Well, someone like Ria might have even been abroad. Her Hero father is on the busy side, but her family is well-off. They have plenty of money. Even if they couldn't go on trips often, she probably has at least one memory like that.

If this car was our road to another world, then in a sense we were going "very far"—but neither the Church nor this country's government had any intention of sending a Saintess Candidate beyond it.

It was a bit harsh from my perspective, but hadn't the other Saintess Candidates personally singled me out, asking if I wasn't the Saintess? The government, which had surely already heard about that power from Hunters, wouldn't have wanted to send such a fine talent off to another world.

As a result, we were heading to a Gate somewhere in Gyeonggi Province.

In a negotiation, the disadvantaged party is the one who needs something, isn't it? Their country was facing the loss of their princess without our help, so the one in need was entirely on their side.

"Anyway."

I spoke while looking around.

The bus we were on was different from the minibus we'd taken before. This time it was almost the size of a regular bus. The interior, of course, felt like one of those express buses used for long trips.

The outside was just plain black with no particular markings, so it had a somewhat imposing feel, but the inside wasn't especially like that.

And that bus was packed with people.

Ria and I sat side by side around the third row from the very front, and behind us rode the Priest and the Mother Superior.

Several people who appeared to have been sent by the Church, and a few nuns who worked at our church, were also aboard.

But the people with the most out-of-place atmosphere among them weren't the ones dressed in clergy clothes like us.

"Why is Mr. Lee Si-yoon over there?"

At my question, Ria put a sly smile on her lips.

"Why? Happy?"

"No."

At Ria's words, I turned serious and answered flatly.

It's not me who's in danger—it's you.

In this world, I hadn't personally become invested in Lee Si-yoon.

But even so, my belief that childhood friends should end up together hadn't changed one bit.

The probability of me personally ending up with Lee Si-yoon converged infinitely toward zero, but the possibility of Ria falling for Lee Si-yoon was very, very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high. In the first place, liking a good-looking person isn't strange at all, is it?

......You two just go off somewhere I can't see and live happily together on your own. Well, if the story requires it, I suppose you'll inevitably run into each other.

"Hah."

"Hmm."

When I let out a deep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sigh and turned my gaze out the window, Ria made a scoffing sound.

I glared at Ria once, then looked back out the window.

It was a night with a beautiful moon.

*

The Gate wasn't much different from the one I'd seen at Bukhansan.

It looked like the surface of a lake made of mercury, lifted slightly and stood upright. Honestly, whoever first thought of going through it was a little amazing.

At a glance, it just looks like a somewhat peculiar objet d'art. Until you see something come through from the other side, it usually just looks like a liquid that might be extremely harmful to the body.

Earlier, when I'd asked about Lee Si-yoon's presence, Ria had immediately started teasing me, so I'd forgotten to hear the reason—but it seemed his role was to escort me.

"Because Hunters are the people best able to respond when something unexpected pops out from beyond a Gate."

According to Ria, that was why.

It wasn't an unreasonable explanation. The Knight Order was also created to deal with beings from beyond Gates, but Hunters had overwhelmingly more real combat experience.

Apparently it was because various interests had gotten tangled up, but honestly I didn't want to know the details that badly, so I just nodded.

Poke.

"Eek!?"

At the pain digging into my ribs for the first time in a while, I quickly stifled a scream.

But there weren't many people nearby who could have missed the strained sound that escaped through my clenched teeth.

Everyone looked at me with expressions asking what was wrong, so I forced a smile onto my lips.

Once I saw their gazes return to normal, I glared at Ria.

"What?"

"Nothing, just. Wondering if you were thinking about going over to talk to him."

"Who, Lee Si-yoon?"

When I asked in a baffled voice, Ria shrugged.

Why would she think that?

But the answer came to me without much thought.

Not as much as ordinary nuns, but Ria had also spent a long time away from men. It wasn't that she never saw men at all, but the men you could see inside the Church were usually congregants you were forbidden to talk to, or elderly Priests.

Ria was clearly described as having no ex-boyfriend, and she wasn't actually the type to be boy-crazy—but you know how people say that in the military you suddenly start watching girl groups you never used to watch, and the beauty of passing women seems several levels higher.

And if the man in question was "genuinely handsome," the same age as us, and even an acquaintance, then even if she had no intention of actually seducing him, she might at least want to say hello.

But maybe she'd noticed Ria and me stealing glances, because Han Yu-ri stared straight at us, then quickly grabbed Lee Si-yoon's wrist beside her.

And she dragged him as far away as possible, putting distance between us.

Good, very quick on the uptake.

I nodded with a satisfied expression and turned around.

"Uh, hey."

Ria, a little flustered by my behavior, followed after me.

Sorry, Chae-eun.

I have no intention of pairing you up with Lee Si-yoon.

So I don't want to be the Geum Tae-yang who butts into a childhood-friend couple...... or is it Jeok Tae-yang? Hmm, it's not like he's actually tanned, but let's just go with that.

Anyway, what I'm saying is I don't want that.

Ria's face hardened a little, as if she was displeased that I hadn't talked to Lee Si-yoon, and it was a bit scary—but I tried not to look directly at her face as I headed toward the Gate.

*

"......They're really making us wait."

One of the Hunters grumbled.

"They said she's a princess. She's probably taking a little time to slip out in secret. Sounds like there are political enemies too."

"Still, isn't she too late for someone who came to ask for help? Maybe they're actually looking down on us......."

"Hey, hey."

Seeing the Church people's gazes turn toward them, the Hunter who'd been listening tapped the arm of the Hunter who'd been talking.

The Hunters who saw me quickly shut their mouths.

Hmm, did they think those words had hurt my feelings?

I don't really care.

While I was staring blankly toward the Gate with those thoughts—

"Wait."

For some reason, Ria reacted.

Ria's expression stiffened, and she quickly rose from her seat, drew her sword, and stepped in front of me.

It wasn't just Ria. The Hunters who'd been chatting about this and that also immediately shifted into combat readiness.

"Ria, what's—"

But before I could finish speaking, a human face suddenly popped out from beyond the Gate.

At first I thought it was a neat-looking white woman, but only after her body had fully emerged did I realize she wasn't "human."

Ears long enough to be clearly visible even from a distance.

In that person's arms was—a woman whose body was blackened with rot in various places.

"Good heavens."

I tried to step forward, but Ria moved her feet and blocked my path.

"Ria?"

But no sooner had my words ended—

Whoosh.

An arrow flew in from beyond the Gate.

It grazed past the woman's ear and lodged in the ground, but if it had hit, it would have killed her instantly.

The woman's body was covered in blood, too. Arrows were stuck in her back almost like a porcupine's quills.

So many that you had to wonder how she'd made it this far.

Before anyone could shout anything, people moved swiftly.

People running to the woman struck by arrows. People carefully receiving the person from her arms. People standing guard in front of the Gate.

"Don't you dare step forward first."

Ria glanced back at me as she spoke.

Her expression was a little frightening, so I nodded before I knew it.