Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Can't Endure Without It
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I unconsciously traced the sign of the cross.
"...Lord."
What the hell is this?
Is this the Elysia I've read about hundreds of times?
A slow laugh echoed from deeper inside the prayer room.
"The door."
Elysia said.
Her voice was low and drained of strength.
Not the clear, resonant tone she used in prayer, but a sound laced with the heavy breaths of night.
"Could you close it?"
"...Pardon?"
"It's cold if you leave it open."
No, in this atmosphere, the issue wasn't the cold or the heat.
But I nodded on reflex and shut the door. The sound of it closing reverberated through the prayer room. Even that noise felt strangely amplified.
When I turned back, Elysia was still watching me.
Her slightly unfocused eyes pinned me with precise intensity.
"...New priest?"
"...Ah, yes."
My voice cracked.
"Apprentice Priest Ian. Starting today, in service to the Saintess—"
"Enough."
Elysia flicked her hand dismissively.
Utterly casual, like brushing off an irritating report.
"Name. Title."
She lifted her glass again.
"Won't be around long anyway."
"...?"
My mind blanked out for a moment.
"Long... can't...?"
Before I could repeat myself, Elysia tilted her head back and took another sip of wine.
Her throat moved once more. Then, with a lazy squint, she spoke.
"...Saintess."
I took a cautious step closer.
Afraid even my footsteps might echo too loudly, I ended up walking on my heels.
"I have something to tell you."
"Don't."
"...Pardon?"
Elysia lifted her eyelids very slowly, as if it were a monumental bother.
"You lot always start with 'I have something to tell you.'"
I swallowed hard.
"Um... Saintess. First, may I light some incense?"
"No."
The refusal came without a hint of hesitation.
"...Pardon?"
"No."
Elysia swirled her glass, gazing at the red liquid sloshing inside.
"It just gets noisier if I do."
Noisier?
What did that mean?
"Then... the window at least—"
"No."
"...Yes."
I was at a loss for words.
The Elysia from the original story granted any request anyone made.
She was the type to extend a hand first, solve problems before they were asked, and smile ahead of everyone else.
But the Elysia now—
"Don't bother me."
Without even glancing my way properly, she tossed the words out.
"Just... stand there. Or leave."
"...Saintess."
As I called out again, Elysia's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
That tiny movement alone made it clear she was genuinely annoyed.
She let out a sigh.
"Why."
"...The alcohol."
The moment I brought it up, my heart plummeted.
This was directly tied to the reason I'd come to this world.
"Alcohol... harms the body. And the Saintess is the vessel of God—"
"So?"
"So... you shouldn't drink it."
Once I'd finished, Elysia went still for a moment.
Silence.
Incense smoke drifted lazily, and somewhere, the sound of dripping candle wax echoed.
Elysia smiled, very slowly.
"You."
"...Pardon?"
"Does this look like alcohol to you?"
"...It is alcohol."
"No."
She said it far too calmly.
"It's holy water."
"...Pardon?"
"When I drink it, it's holy water."
I froze, mouth hanging open.
"...Saintess. That's... logically—"
"Logic."
Elysia snorted softly, almost mockingly.
"Your favorite word."
She leaned deeper into the sofa.
"Does God move by logic?"
"..."
"Do miracles descend by logic?"
"..."
"Do people's sins vanish by logic?"
...No.
That's not it.
"Then..."
I finally managed to speak.
"Why does the Saintess drink alcohol?"
The question rang out in the prayer room.
Elysia's hand stopped.
Truly—just for a brief instant.
Her glass hung in the air, and her pupils quivered ever so faintly.
But it was as fleeting as a breath.
Elysia immediately tilted the glass and downed the rest of the wine.
Then, as if it were nothing, she said,
"Can't endure without it."
"...Endure what..."
Elysia looked at me.
Her violet eyes were sharper this time.
"Why do you want to know so badly?"
"...I..."
I pressed my lips together, then said,
"I want to... help you, Saintess."
The moment the words left my mouth, my heart pounded like mad.
"In the original sto— No."
I hurriedly corrected myself.
Spouting "original story" here would just make me look insane.
"The Saintess from before... wasn't like this."
That instant.
Elysia's smile froze.
The incense smoke seemed to thicken.
"Before?"
Elysia echoed.
"You know the me from before?"
"..."
I clamped my mouth shut.
There was nothing I could say.
All I knew was "her from the novel."
"Hey, come here."
"My name isn't 'Hey,' it's Ian."
"Annoying. Fine, Ian. Come here."
"...Pardon?"
"Closer."
Elysia draped her arm over the sofa's armrest and crooked her finger lazily.
Like beckoning a cat, utterly relaxed.
"Ah, no. I..."
I took a step back.
"Saintess, I'm an apprentice priest—and according to cathedral rules—"
"Rules."
Elysia closed her eyes tiredly, then opened them.
"You too, huh."
"...Pardon?"
"All of you."
Elysia set her glass down on the table.
"It's all 'rules' with you."
She reached out.
And lightly grasped the end of my sleeve.
Pluck.
Really, just with two fingers.
That tiny touch—my mind went blank.
"......!"
My heart leaped to my throat.
"S-Saintess...!"
I reflexively traced the sign of the cross.
"Y-You can't do this!"
"Why?"
Her voice was so calm it felt even more dangerous.
"The Saintess... must remain chaste—"
"Chaste."
Elysia repeated the word.
She lifted the corner of her mouth just a fraction.
"If I'm chaste, then what?"
"...Pardon?"
"If I'm chaste."
Elysia looked up at me lazily.
"Will God love me?"
Those words struck my chest like a blow.
I stared at her in a daze.
Elysia sighed again.
"Tired."
She let go of my sleeve.
As if she'd toyed with a plaything for a moment and lost interest just as fast.
"You're... too noisy."
"...Sorry."
"Yeah, if you're sorry."
Elysia sank deeper into the sofa's back.
"Then be quiet."
"Ah, yes."
I shut my mouth.
But I'm not the type who can stay quiet.
Especially not in front of my favorite character.
"Saintess."
"...Again."
Elysia's eyebrows furrowed.
"You."
She pressed her forehead.
"You... came here to mess with me?"
"No!"
I denied it sincerely.
"I came to bring you back to normal, Saintess!"
"...Back to normal."
Elysia muttered.
"Don't like that."
"Sorry! Then... redeem—"
"No to that too."
"..."
I fell silent.
With half-lidded eyes, Elysia drawled lazily,
"Just."
"..."
"Why do you all live so diligently?"
I had no answer to that question.
Because—
I didn't know either.
Back in my original world, I was just a reader raging in the comments.
And because of that, I'd possessed this body... and now I was flailing around trying to save my fave.
If she asked what the point of living diligently was, I'd have nothing to say.
And yet.
I opened my mouth.
"The Saintess... has to live."
Elysia's eyes slowly opened.
"Why."
"...Because."
I gritted my teeth.
"You have the right to be happy too."
A brief silence fell.
Elysia said nothing.
My words felt so arrogant that my fingertips went cold.
'The right to be happy.'
That was a line I'd written in the comments.
To say it to her face for real...
Elysia stared at me for a long time—
then let out a small laugh.
"...Right."
She rolled the unfamiliar word on her tongue.
"I have one of those too?"
"...Yes."
I answered in a trembling voice.
"You do."
Elysia turned her head.
In that moment, I caught the faintest tremble in her throat.
Truly, just a tiny quiver.
It resembled the tremble I'd loved in the original story.
But Elysia quickly reverted to her nonchalant expression.
"Ian."
"...Yes."
"You."
She reached out lazily and tapped the empty glass on the table. Clink.
"Tomorrow."
My heart sank.
"Bring something stronger than today."
"...No."
I answered right away.
No hesitation this time.
Elysia's eyes narrowed.
"Why."
"Because... you can't fall apart any more, Saintess."
"Fall apart."
Elysia smiled very, very slowly.
"Already have."
"...No."
I gritted my teeth.
"Not yet."
Elysia stared at me for a long while, then tilted her head back tiredly.
"Haa."
And tossed out,
"Really annoying."
That one phrase, strangely...
...wasn't so bad.
At least she hadn't kicked me out.
I swallowed.
"Saintess."
"Again."
"...Tomorrow, flower tea instead of alcohol."
"No."
"Then... honey water—"
"No."
"Warm milk—"
"No."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"...Then what do you want?"
With half-open eyes, Elysia drawled lazily,
"Alcohol."
"...Absolutely not."
"Hah."
Elysia laughed.
"You."
"Yes."
"Really."
She lifted the corner of her mouth.
"Think you can survive."
I couldn't tell if it was praise or a threat.
But I—
had already made up my mind.
This person.
Return her to the noble saintess she once was.
No.
Even not quite like before.
Just—
'Keep her alive.'
Elysia said with her eyes closed,
"Close the door."
"...Yes."
"Go."
"...Yes."
"Tomorrow."
"...Yes."
"Alcohol."
"...Absolutely not."
Elysia let out a tiny laugh without opening her eyes.
"Really... annoying."
I backed away quietly.
The moment I gripped the door handle, Elysia's voice came again.
"Ian."
"...Yes?"
"Your scent."
"...Yes?"
With her eyes still closed, Elysia murmured lazily,
"Not noisy... I like it."
...What?
That single phrase made my chest ache in a strange way.
I opened the door and stepped out.
The corridor was still silent.
But now, I felt like I understood a little why that silence was so terrifying.