Chapter 6. Friendship and Relationships (3)

The fact that I'm conscious of Ria is, when I think about it, unavoidable.

First of all, even though I pushed the childhood-friend heroine Han Yu-ri as the main love interest, that didn't mean I disliked the other heroines.

All the illustrations the author produced were pretty. Each of them had her own story, her own inner struggles.

The childhood-friend setup is sacred in and of itself, but for that very reason, it doesn't suit me. I mean, it's "childhood friend," isn't it?

No matter how much I've been reincarnated as a handsome man in this world, I obviously wouldn't come between them. Good lord, a male character trying to get between a pure-love couple deserves to die. Every time I see a character like that, the internal injuries of my stomach lining—which I've worn through time and again—start to ache.

In that case, what about the heroines who remain after that pure-love ending?

Hmm, well.

Honestly, in web novels, a harem basically means the protagonist accepts all the harem heroines. In reality it's just two-timing, but within a novel, isn't it fine for that kind of dream to come true?

Even if the protagonist doesn't end up with the other heroines, there's a kind of unwritten rule that you don't show those heroines dating or marrying other male characters.

That's...... yeah, it's a kind of courtesy. Just as, when writing a novel, you don't describe every single meal the protagonist eats, and you don't bother describing every single trip to the bathroom, even if it would be realistic for pretty, well-built, capable girls to get over heartbreak and date other men, there's no need to "bother" showing that.

Just don't nail it down—leave it to the imagination. How much better is that?

Calling that "no big deal" or saying "go live in reality"—isn't that a bit too harsh?

"......Grrr."

But there was one problem with thinking such thoughts in my own head.

That's exactly why I'm currently lying face-down on the bed, tearing at my hair.

No matter how much someone insists on a specific heroine as the main love interest in a harem story, as I said a moment ago, that doesn't mean they want to see another heroine date another man.

Even someone like me, who has built up tolerance by devouring just about every genre—as long as it isn't NTR, BSS, or hardcore humiliation stuff—is the same.

So, when I think about it rationally and reasonably, fantasizing about Ria is, well, a bit much.

Get out of my head!

......I wanted to shout that out loud, but unfortunately, Ria shares a room with me. No matter that I can hear the sound of water because she's showering right now, Ria is a martial-arts-type heroine with superhuman strength from the start.

If I carelessly blurted out something weird, she would definitely hear my voice through the sound of the water.

"Ugh."

I brought up the shower for no reason, and now I've gone and remembered again that Ria, who shares this room with me, is currently showering.

It was a web novel serialized on Novelpia, and it was also a harem story, so maybe Ria's IF story was serialized later. There might have been nude illustrations or something released there, but I've never seen them.

But somehow, I could imagine it. Don't they say the greatest graphics card in the world is the human brain?

......Am I going through puberty?

I thought I'd already been through all that in this world.

No, well, I know it's an unrealistic scenario no matter what.

The possibility of Ria and me ending up together was close to zero. I had almost all my Past Life memories intact, so even if it was natural for me to feel sexual attraction toward women, Ria was just...... how should I put it, didn't she like men?

It was a harem story, after all.

She even fought with the Saintess every single time.

......No, just a little while ago I wasn't this conscious of her, so why am I suddenly like this?

Maybe it's an aftereffect of going flower-viewing with Ria not long ago.

No matter how rational and reasonable a person is, people are still people. It's impossible to block or clear away every thought that instinctively rises in your head. Just as certain imaginings keep popping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into your head after watching a horror movie, in other categories too, "imagination" isn't something you can easily stop.

"Phew."

But even so, I didn't want to have those kinds of thoughts about a heroine.

I got up from where I was and sat cross-legged on the bed.

Then I placed my hands on both knees and took a deep breath in and out.

Okay.

Let's think peaceful thoughts.

Just as I was steadying my breathing and about to sink into meditation, the shower room door burst open.

"!?"

I reflexively opened my eyes, then saw Ria coming out with a bath towel wrapped around her body, pressing her wet hair with a towel, and hurriedly shut my eyes again.

No, well, most of her body was covered, but still...... isn't that a bit much?

I'd shared rooms with other girls briefly before, but none of them had acted like that.

"Huh? What?"

Ria herself spoke nonchalantly, as if it were nothing.

"If you've washed, you should have dried yourself off before coming out!"

When I finally answered, Ria laughed as if I were being ridiculous.

"What's the big deal? We're both girls."

"No, that's not how it works in a convent, okay?"

Honestly, I don't know how it is elsewhere. Don't people normally show at least minimal consideration even among the same sex? Even if you sleep in just your underwear, don't you at least wear clothes during everyday life?

"I'm wearing underwear too."

"Is wearing underwear the problem here? The problem is that you're only wearing underwear, isn't it?"

"I've got a towel on too."

"Th-that, we don't call a towel clothes, do we?"

"No, why are you being so sensitive? This much is—"

"......Hey, Ria. Have you ever lived in a dorm? Or lived with a friend?"

"......No."

I smacked my forehead with my hand.

Of course, my eyes were still closed.

"Oh, was that not allowed?"

"No, saying it's not allowed is a bit much, but still, aren't you embarrassed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at all?"

Well, they say close friends go to the bathhouse together, but I've never been to a women's bathhouse, so I wouldn't know. At least I have that much conscience.

Setting aside the fact that I never had the chance to go in this world.

Speaking of dorms, Ria has probably never been to a public bathhouse either. Isn't that obvious? The bath at her house is enormous and far more comfortable to use.

"But I've seen you before."

"I have never come out covering myself with just a towel!?"

For the record, I actually care quite a bit! Even if I sometimes get a little disheveled—

Furious, I snapped my eyes open, and ended up seeing Ria's figure head-on.

Just as much as her face was pretty, her body was naturally pretty too. I mean, because of the towel, I couldn't see the way her waist tapered in, but if anything, that stimulated the imagination.

In the end, I collapsed face-down onto the bed again.

As I buried my face and thrashed, unable to contain my frustration, Ria laughed.

I will have my revenge.

Someday, I will definitely get revenge.

I don't know what I'd have to do to make Ria feel embarrassed, but I'll get revenge no matter what.

......Still, if there's a silver lining, I suppose that's one.

Thanks to that, my worldly thoughts flew away a little.

I wasn't particularly grateful.

*

I was a Saintess Candidate and not yet a Saintess, but if someone in the Church possessed power, it was only natural for them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to help with the Hunters' work.

No matter how capable the Hunters were, that didn't mean the government or the Church didn't take a cut at all. The government, for various reasons, to secure tax revenue—and the Church, to secure income other than the donations and offerings from believers.

I don't know much about the taxes the government collects each year or how they're used, but it was true that the Church had difficulty operating on donations ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from believers alone.

Concepts like tithing haven't disappeared in the modern era, but that's ultimately up to the giver's freedom. In the first place, there's no record of anyone having a direct conversation with the "God" they claim exists, so the justification for collecting money that way is somewhat weak.

It was not hard to understand why they sold Holy Water or treated patients in place of hospitals and received enormous donations.

"So, are you okay with it?"

"Huh? With what?"

Ria suddenly asked me as I sat blankly with my textbook on the desk, and I tilted my head.

"Your power, I mean. When you actually use your power, the money goes to the Church."

Well, I suppose so.

Actually, the healing I'd done up to now probably wasn't entirely free either. Since there were regular donations given like a monthly subscription, people could rush straight to the church where I was staying without asking questions or haggling.

"......."

I couldn't bring myself to answer that.

In the past, quitting as a nun would have been the end of it, but now the situation had changed.

I just spread my textbook open on the desk.

Lecture time.

It wasn't an academy, but since we'd ended up moving around with Hunters, we attended classes too, to acquire at least the minimum common knowledge. Aside from the fact that the content was related to the work Hunters do, the atmosphere was surprisingly similar to a university lecture.

Right now, we'd come to this Association building—which wasn't too far away—to attend temporary lectures, but apparently once a proper curriculum was set for Ria and me, they would send someone to teach us.

It was like that in the original too. Separate lectures were held just for the protagonist's party.

That was the reason the protagonist, Lee Si-yoon, could come and go from the Church with relative freedom.

.......

Oh, but wait—at this point, Lee Si-yoon still hadn't awakened that power, right?

How is this going to play out from here?