Chapter 12

“What is this supposed to be?”

I frowned at the mountain of books piled up in front of me, looking at Ria.

“It’s what you’re going to learn.”

“Me? Learn what?”

“Even though you’re living in the convent right now, you plan to return to the secular world eventually, right? So, it wouldn’t hurt to learn some useful information before you go out.”

“So, you’re saying I need to memorize something like the Encyclopedia of Creatures Beyond the Gate?”

That wasn’t the exact title, but it was pretty close.

“It’s good to know. If you don’t know about market prices, you might as well get hit on the head with a stick.”

Well, fair point.

Hunters don’t just do hunter stuff for no reason. The existence of the Hunter Association, which is practically a corporation, didn’t just pop up out of nowhere.

Often, the monsters coming through the Gate, or the ones invading from it, contain materials that are beneficial to humanity.

From rare ores that are hard to mine in reality, to magical stones that could never exist in our world to begin with.

Or maybe the monster meat is so delicious that it gets sold as a rare delicacy… or it’s just a special part that actually works as a genuine energy boost, not just a rumor.

The way hunters and the Hunter Association, not to mention ‘heroes,’ make a living is by harvesting and selling these high-value resources.

And, of course, there are plenty of scams out there.

“Even if you don’t work as a hunter, a lot of it is already being used in daily life, right?”

“…….”

I lifted the cover of one book slightly before putting it back down and heaving a long sigh.

“People often generically call the creatures beyond the Gate ‘monsters,’ but actual hunters have a different classification system.”

“Huh?”

“Even if they look like beasts, they are just regular ‘creatures’ that went through a different evolutionary process and can’t be defeated by saint power. The ones that hunters really classify as ‘monsters’ are those that use magic power as a source of energy, and they are really weak against saint power.”

I continued talking.

“There are intelligent beings beyond the Gate, too. There are only a handful that could form a nation, but they have their own complex cultures and histories.”

“……You know a lot.”

Ria looked at me with a complex expression and said that.

“Hehehe.”

I felt a bit of pride swell in my chest. Not long ago, I had insisted to Ria that there was no such thing as gods, and this time, I was able to completely defy expectations.

“Even if I look like this, I was in the top ranks in school. I did study pretty hard.”

To live in the secular world, I need to know the common sense of this world.

In fact, what I had read in the novels did help to some extent. Anyway, the only outcomes I’d seen related to the Gates were serious injuries, but at least I had a decent understanding of the practical knowledge involved.

Also—

One of the nuns who wasn’t great had studied really hard. I couldn’t bear the thought of her smirking at me after getting a better score than me.

If I wanted to stand my ground, I’d need to have some skills of my own.

That story didn’t need to be shared with Ria, though.

“Well, I’m not too knowledgeable about market prices, but I still have enough knowledge to survive outside, you know? Am I some kind of caged bird to you?”

Ria looked at me with narrowed brows, clearly deep in thought.

People have a peculiar view. Maybe it’s because of the world we’re in, but people get surprised that I was a Saint Candidate and that I can wield such powers.

And usually, the former is seen as ‘dismissible,’ while the latter is ‘impressive.’ There’s quite a gap between those perspectives, making it so that those who have seen me use saint power often have their perceptions flipped completely.

At least the priests and Sister Wardens who have seen that power for a long time treat me pretty normally.

…But I shouldn’t be talking about using my position in the convent as a shield.

“Hmm, really? Then, I guess there’s no need to memorize all this.”

“You planned to have me memorize it?”

I responded in disbelief, but Ria immediately changed the topic.

“So, have you ever trained?”

“Training?”

Is she trying to turn me into a hunter? Well, she might still be thinking about taking me to the association.

“…I’ve done a bit of that.”

I answered honestly.

This is a novel about hunters, after all. Naturally, I admired the protagonist. I had dreams of a hunter’s life. Honestly, when you enter a fantasy world, one would usually either start with a sword and shield or look into armor, right? This place was a world according to my standards.

There are sword-wielders, spell-casters, and people like me who can wield saint power.

It was one of the reasons I wanted to step outside the convent.

My rebellion to escape the ranks of sainthood was partly due to my atheistic beliefs, but at the same time, I longed for the life of an adventurer.

With the status of a saintess, I can’t go far at all. I couldn’t even interact with the races that live only beyond the Gates.

The dream of wandering freely through the world, forming parties with people, exploring new places, and interacting with civilizations I’ve never encountered—it’s not just my thought. It’s a job that many would dream of. Like wanting to be an astronaut as a child, but more realistic and feasible.

“But sadly, it seems I lack that talent.”

I think I’m at least average, but sadly, I don’t have the skills to become a ‘hunter,’ a pioneer of the times. It’s ‘more feasible than being an astronaut,’ but it’s still a profession that not just anyone can have.

Not every church has a Knight Order stationed, but they periodically send instructors to scout for talent. They do light training for hopefuls to see if they have any potential.

As a child, you could go in like you were casually attending a taekwondo class, but when you grow up, you could get real, serious training, but sadly, I’ve never been singled out.

The program is also run to boost everyone’s physical fitness, so I could train consistently, but…

…I have a feeling the instructors that come to our church don’t think too highly of me. Well, what can I say? I’m close to someone who has openly opposed the Cardinal.

It’s only natural that they would keep a distance, given that it’s a group that operates on the direct orders of those above.

My skills just aren’t enough to go through the risk of being selected.

I did think about showing my powers to the Knight Order instructor, but who knows.

…I always try to maintain rational and logical thinking, but sadly, I still have a huge aversion to my status as a saintess.

I don’t want to join a party ‘as a saintess.’

“What kind of weapons have you handled?”

But surprisingly, Ria didn’t give up on my storytelling, nor did she scoff.

“Um, seeing as this is a church, the first weapon I handled was a sword.”

And I quickly realized that swinging a proper sword wasn’t as easy as it looked. Above all, swinging that piece of metal, which weighed just over 2 kilograms, was not easy at all.

…And one of the nuns who had been dismissive towards me got praised for her swordsmanship, and now she struts around whenever she’s before me. Rumor has it that she might be scouted straight into the Knight Order instead of going secular this year.

“Then the next weapon I tried was a mace.”

Bludgeons were a bit simpler to wield than swords, but unfortunately, that was about it.

What I could handle was something that other nuns could also do, so I couldn’t stand out much.

My skill level was that of someone who learns close combat techniques as a hobby, nothing more.

There were limits to increasing my physical strength. I did my best to try running and some strength training, but there were definitely nuns who were way more talented in that area than me.

Rumor has it they’ll probably scout her into the Knight Order, too. Just for the record, our relationship is pretty casual.

As I tried several times in vain—

“I did try talking about guns once.”

“Guns?”

That’s right.

Even if I look like this, I’m an active duty member of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Just your standard infantryman without any special skills. I have the ability to hit a target 200 meters away with the naked eye.

Unfortunately, I’ve never managed to hit a target at 250 meters, though.

“It seems it’s quite difficult to bring firearms into the church for various reasons. But really, you only need to move your finger a bit to use a gun, right?”

I shrugged.

Some hunters handle firearms as well. There are heroines following the protagonist who also handle different types of guns.

The Knight Order also can’t just casually use firearms. Of course, that makes sense, but if these guys that are essentially a military organization start arming themselves with guns and launching them, the government would have issues.

For all these reasons, my words were neatly ignored.

“You confident?”

“Well, I’m not completely devoid of confidence. I’m actually pretty focused, you know.”

Of course, I haven’t shot a gun before, so I said it as a way of being vague.

Thinking about whether she would say something like “Do you think it’s that easy?” Ria simply nodded.

“Alright, I get it.”

Ria picked up the stack of books from my desk again and spoke. Even though it seemed heavy because it wasn’t just one book, she lifted it without effort, making her look like an actual hero candidate.

For some reason, her last comment stuck with me, but I just nodded in response.

And I really hope that now that I’ve just graduated high school, someone could stop bringing me textbooks to study.

A few days later.

“Here.”

Ria dropped something in front of me and said, “Try shooting this.”

“Huh?”

I looked down at what Ria had placed and saw… a gun.

“…It’s a handgun.”

“Right.”

Ria nodded without changing her expression.

“…….”

Wait, I’ve never even touched a handgun before.