Chapter 10

Sure, here’s the translation:

Well, thinking about it, there wasn’t really a stalker clinging to the saint in the original work.

If there had been, would such a story really not have come out? It would’ve been a great plot point for the protagonist to take them down and for the saintess to fall for him.

Moreover, considering Lee Chae-eun, who shares a room with me, it’s weird that there’s a stalker just for me.

Her figure is similar to mine or even better, and though she looks a bit tough, as a heroine, her beauty is outstanding, so it makes no sense that there wouldn’t be any guys going crazy over her.

Maybe the author omitted the male characters trying to cling to the heroine because it would upset the readers… Well, at least from the fact that she hasn’t mentioned such memorable stories, it seems like there hasn’t been one recently.

If it were Lee Chae-eun, she’d probably say, “I’ve had a few of those guys, you know? I chased them off myself!” That’s just her personality.

“Haah.”

While cleaning the window frames in the convent dormitory, I let out a deep sigh.

If it’s the end of May, does that mean there’s practically three months left? Even though it’s three months, since I have to secure a job before returning to reality, I’ll probably end up like an outsider in a nun’s habit for the last month anyway. I’ll need to go out and check around and about.

…Should I decide on a name first?

In the original story, the saintess was simply called “Anna” as her baptismal name. In the main story, she was just a nun, so there wasn’t any need for a worldly name, really.

Well, maybe I don’t need to define a separate name after all. Perhaps I just need to sort of establish a personality? Among my past life acquaintances, there were some like Peter or John who openly used their baptismal names as their names.

“…”

Someone else was there, somewhat distant from me, cleaning another frame.

Ria.

Yesterday, when I called her by her name, she immediately got annoyed, and perhaps feeling guilty, she volunteered to clean up afterwards.

But has that awkwardness not faded yet? Since Ria hasn’t said a word to me since she woke up this morning.

Yeah, I did steal the emergency rations I had hidden away, so she should at least have that much of a conscience.

As our eyes met, Ria awkwardly smiled and quickly moved her hands to wipe the frames.

…In the original story, Ria… well, she didn’t specifically use that baptismal name Maria, but until at least the part I read, she was always a nun. For various reasons, she got quite friendly with the saintess and preferred to be around her than return to a household with a closed-minded father.

That might’ve been a miscalculation on the “father’s” part. No matter how the hero is connected to the church, thinking that his daughter would have to maintain her purity for life in such a situation must put parents in a different kind of stress.

In the novel, whenever they were in the same place, they didn’t really acknowledge each other, so it seemed like their relationship didn’t get normalized until the parts I read.

Things will be a bit different here. For various reasons, the very reason for being stuck here has disappeared.

I’m not overly worried. Ria met the protagonist during early spring, after all. Once a relationship starts, it’ll probably be fine for them to continue seeing each other without issues even after returning to reality.

The problem is, I don’t know what will happen to me.

“…”

I looked back at Ria. This time, we didn’t meet eyes.

I had promised to introduce her to the association yesterday.

Hmm… I proudly declined, but thinking about it again, if I’m not a role that uses saint power but just a clerk, wouldn’t that be alright?

I don’t have any specific experience in that area, but I’ve worked in a company in my previous life, so I believe I can adapt.

Now that I’m about to ask again, I’m feeling a bit of pride issues as I was getting my head around how to bring it up.

“Anna sister.”

At the quiet call, I felt a chill run down my back. Even though the indoors had decent heating, I was trembling.

At least I didn’t let out that groaning noise I did last night.

“Sister Warden.”

“I’m planning to check on the injured person we saw yesterday once more. Would you like to come along?”

“Oh, yes.”

I nodded.

“I won’t stop you if you wouldn’t like to come. I believe he’s already been healed by your powers. Even if there are remaining wounds, I doubt that either the priest or I wouldn’t be able to heal them.”

Up until now, there hasn’t been a person I couldn’t heal with my saint power. Most of them were fine even the day after the treatment.

But there was one exception. It was someone who had parasite eggs remaining in their body, and it turns out that ‘parasite’ was something akin to an alien life form that had immunity to saint power. Until then, it had never been discovered, so there were no corresponding measures to take.

If I hadn’t been using my power to remove that parasite while next to them, I heard that the hunter would have died.

That means that the world beyond the gate is so unpredictable.

“No, we need to check nonetheless.”

I replied with a bit of reluctance.

“Is that so…?”

The Sister Warden nodded her head and then turned to walk ahead.

As I followed behind her, I heard footsteps coming up behind me.

Looking back, Ria was following behind me.

Since the Sister Warden doesn’t seem to say anything, I guess that means it’s okay for her to come. She was near when we treated the patient yesterday anyway.

It wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on the powers of a hero, right?

…Well, the hero and his companions. Thanks to the saintess’s power, they’ve all survived at least once.

Even after returning to reality, there might come a time when we could help each other.

*

The hunter who was in the basement yesterday was now in the infirmary in the church main building.

The church hasn’t fully replaced the hospital. The hospital has matters it can solve, and the church has matters it can solve.

Special injuries like the one yesterday could be treated by the priests. In fact, most of them reportedly die because they can’t get treatment in time. Even if treated, they need to go through long-term care while monitoring the condition.

But at least there are no long-term care patients in this church. In fact, it seems that recently, patients who survived in such a horrific situation tend to come here. Because they can survive if they meet me.

Even though “almost all” basically means a few people a year.

I’m not really sure why they insist on treating down in the basement. Maybe it’s a wound that would be troublesome if seen by others?

Anyway, due to such reasons, in the empty infirmary, there was just that one person I saw yesterday and a few others who seemed to have come from the same association.

There were also priests and priests assisting the head priest, and a few sisters who seemed to be a bit friendlier toward me.

“Saintess!”

Said the patient as he raised one hand. He had an expression like he was speaking to someone familiar, so it made me a bit uncomfortable. If I had to describe him, I’d say he’s a handsome man. Yesterday, his face was half crushed, so I couldn’t really see it properly.

No, rather, I didn’t even have any desire to look at him closely. He’s a man, after all. I still prefer women for now.

Moreover, while I’m giving treatment with a good heart, I’m not really generously helping out. If anything, it’s fair to say it’s something I can’t avoid. It’s like reporting someone who got hit by a car.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

The Sister Warden was the first to speak. I stood a little away from the man, and Ria stood next to me with a slightly puzzled expression about my behavior.

The man lying in bed turned his head sideways to look at me like he had little interest in the Sister Warden right in front of him, but she subtly stepped to the side to block his view of me.

“Brother, are you feeling alright?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. The priest said he wasn’t sure but treated me again.”

Only after the Sister Warden asked did the patient finally answer.

“Is that so.”

After the Sister Warden nodded and looked at the priest, he also nodded with a gentle smile on his face.

“Then it seems like you may be able to leave soon. Sister Anna doesn’t request anything in return for the powers given by God, and the church won’t be collecting any donations separated from this either, so you may go as it is.”

“Eh? Ah….”

However, seeing the man hesitate at such words from the priest, I started feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“Hmm?”

When Ria saw my expression change, she tilted her head.

“Ah, well, actually, there’s still a bit of pain—”

“Brother.”

Seeing the man trying to make an excuse, the Sister Warden said in a slightly stern voice.

The nearby sisters hurriedly moved to form a wall between the man and me, huddling next to the Sister Warden.

“…Sister Anna, you may step away now.”

The priest said, looking toward me.

“Understood.”

I gave a light nod and turned my body, when I suddenly heard someone jump up behind me.

“W-wait a second, Saintess!”

I didn’t respond and quickened my steps to leave the infirmary.

“Saintess, thank you so much! If you could just come back to our association after returning to reality—”

“Hey!”

At the man’s shout, one of the other association members nearby hastily covered his mouth.

“…”

I didn’t reply and quickly moved my feet to exit the patient room.

“…What was that?”

Ria muttered with a somewhat dazed expression.

“Sometimes, there are people who misunderstand that devotion is directed at themselves rather than to you.”

“…”

Ria, who had been following beside me, opened her mouth slightly.

“So, it’s directed at the saint candidate?”

“…”

As I glared at Ria, she quickly shut her mouth and opened it again.

“Still, you know, there’s a guard or something, right?”

“There isn’t, for me. My ‘rights’ have been taken away. You already know that, right? It was quite a famous incident.”

“Oh.”

With a somewhat ambiguous expression, Ria fell silent.

“Well, at least since I was fifteen and a thirty-year-old man grabbed my hand right after, I can say that I’m fortunate to be surrounded by such protection.”

I heard that cafes often choose part-time workers based on their looks.

Of course, since it’s a service industry, they greet customers with friendly smiles—sometimes, people misinterpret such kindness.

Regardless of whether or not there’s backing for their confidence, there will always be those who push forward.

…In that sense, yeah, I’m quite the inconvenience.

“Not everyone is like that. It really happens just occasionally with one or two people.”

“Uh, right.”

Maybe that’s why someone told me to go reclaim the saint’s rights.

The more I stay here as “just a nun,” the harder it will get to stop people like that.

“Haah.”

I let out a light sigh.

…Yeah, it seems leaving is the right choice. To live and uphold my beliefs, that seems to be the right way forward.