Chapter 19

“Honestly, I had my own plans.”

I knew that Lee Si-yoon would eventually come to the Cathedral. After being healed by the Saintess, I was aware that I would set up some flags, and those flags would continue to connect to far-off events.

Still, I declared I would stay for about a year or two because I thought I could dodge those flags.

And of course, I managed to do that quite nicely.

After all, I’m not a Saintess. I’m still a candidate, but I haven’t reached the position of a Saintess like in the main story, nor do I enjoy any of the perks associated with it.

Roaming about half-freely outside the Convent? Impossible. Charging into a Gate with weapons? Of course, that’s out of the question.

Due to institutional restrictions, my opportunities to get involved with the protagonist were somewhat blocked.

And naturally, Ria, who used to follow the Saintess around, couldn’t tag along since I wasn’t making an effort to meet Lee Si-yoon. In this way, one flag rooted in the heroine was effectively uprooted, while another had been at least partially snapped.

Well, it was a pity that I couldn’t completely crush all the flags from beside her, but at least that dangerously prominent flag raised by a certain group of readers—those who mindlessly called the closest Saintess the heroine—had been knocked down, right?

Anyway, as long as we didn’t intertwine like this forever, it wouldn’t be a big problem for me. The group of five who clashed the most fiercely in the story were the heroine, the Saintess, Lee Chae-eun, the Hunter Association president’s daughter, and the artisan who processes monster materials.

However, among them, the most threatening existed were just the Saintess and Lee Chae-eun.

The president’s daughter was just a randomly developed character chasing after pretty Lee Si-yoon without real sense. She did help the protagonist become a Hunter in the beginning, but that was it; her dialogue was generally quite annoying and didn’t win her any popularity.

As for the artisan… well, they were basically there just to fill numbers. Their role was practically non-existent.

Let’s say the ‘childhood friend’ position alone could overwhelm the rest.

Of course, there were plenty of women the protagonist rescued, and occasionally there were cases where it was mentioned they had feelings for him, but those were all extras that only appeared in one episode each.

“Huh, heh heh heh….”

Yes, things were a bit more complicated than I had thought initially, and while I couldn’t meet at the timing I desired, the situation was rolling on mostly according to my wishes.

“Did you eat something weird?”

“Ahem.”

While I was having breakfast, I chuckled. Ria, who was sitting right across from me, asked incredulously, prompting me to clear my throat quickly.

Then, I looked at Ria with a bit of sympathy.

Maybe she looked a bit pitiful.

Seeing her repeatedly ask me about my opinion on Lee Si-yoon, it was obvious she was interested in him, even if it wasn’t a crushing first love.

Isn’t it a bit late for a puberty phase? That’s typically how such interest surfaces back then.

But what can I say?

She should be here as a nun, after all. And since Ria was here because of me, as soon as I left, she’d have to stay here by my side.

Ugh, thinking like that makes my conscience ache a bit.

But what can I do? Just imagining Lee Si-yoon and Ria together already feels quite uncomfortable.

….

No, that’s not what I mean.

As I kept changing expressions while looking at myself, Ria quietly raised her right index finger.

“Eek.”

Startled by that gesture, I instinctively tucked my elbows tightly into my sides, and Ria finally seemed satisfied as she dipped her bread into the cream soup again.

This is a bit irritating.

Watching Ria eat her bread gracefully with a relaxed expression, I also began to dip my bread into the soup a bit roughly, causing my plate to shake and splattering soup on my nun’s outfit.

“Pff.”

“Ugh.”

After seeing me, Ria burst into laughter, and I ground my teeth.

Fine.

Today, I must practice no matter what—

—and once again, I lost.

Yup, that’s right. It was expected.

Thinking I could defeat someone who had wielded a sword for a lifetime with just a month of training was absurd.

While Saint Power is something I can use loosely since it’s connected to those above, the skill honed over a lifetime is deeply personal. If I could catch up with just a little training, then it wouldn’t even be called ‘skill.’

Ugh, as soon as I thought about Saint Power, the light flooded my face, so I waved my hands to disperse it away.

“Alright, that’s enough for today.”

As Ria said this and returned her sword to the scabbard at her waist—

“Uh, that’s it?”

Surprised by her remark, I blinked at Ria, and she nodded her head.

“Yeah. Let’s call it a day.”

“It feels like we trained only about half as much as yesterday.”

“Well, I’ll say you’ve been putting in effort for about two weeks. Your stamina has increased compared to the beginning, and you’ve become skilled at handling the shield too.”

But even so, I could barely manage to hold the shield grip with both hands.

Ria had not been putting her full power into swinging the sword at me.

I squinted my eyes and looked at Ria.

“…Are you trying to be considerate?”

“Considerate?”

“You’re worried because I passed out from using Saint Power after training last time?”

“…Wow, you’re quite sharp today.”

Ria sighed and shrugged her shoulders as she answered.

“You don’t really need to do that. After all, patients don’t come here that often?”

“One just came after nearly a month, though?”

“Well, even so, it’s not like patients come regularly, right? And even if a situation similar to last time happens, it’s not going to be a big deal for me—”

But after seeing Ria’s eyebrows furrowed when I said that, I quickly shut my mouth.

“What are you going to do if you suddenly collapse and no one can catch you? You could really get hurt if you fall headfirst!”

“Well, Ria will be there beside me, right?”

“…Huh.”

Ria looked a bit stunned by my words.

Oh no, was my reasoning too logical or something?

But I wasn’t just saying that for the sake of it. The fact is that Ria is truly here for me, as my escort.

With an escort beside me, if the Saintess candidate stumbles and breaks her head, isn’t that a problem for the escort?

After pretending to shrug while Ria seemed lost for words, I walked over to the wall of the Convent and placed the shield down.

“Huff.”

And wiped the sweat off my forehead.

Having been through military training in the dead of winter in my previous life, I know very well that no matter how cold the weather, one can become drenched in sweat if they move diligently.

Yet it wasn’t even winter now; we were approaching April. As the sun started to warm up, it could end up being more exhausting than last month.

“Well, sure. I guess I should listen to the experts.”

Only after I said that did Ria nod her head in agreement.

Both of us took a moment to rest before picking up our weapons again and heading towards the storeroom.

“By the way, you.”

“Yes?”

“Are you really not thinking of becoming a Saintess?”

“…Why are you suddenly asking that?”

As I answered with a serious face, Ria rolled her eyes.

“Well, you know, if you become a Saintess, you can go outside relatively often.”

“Isn’t that precisely why I’m planning to stay here for about another year? If I become a Saintess, I might have to stay in the Convent for the rest of my life without being able to quit!”

There is the issue of stalkers, but once that problem is firmly resolved, I would let go of it without regret. I haven’t specifically decided what I would do afterward, though.

“Isn’t it that if I go outside, I could at least meet that Lee Si-yoon? He’s a Hunter, after all?”

“……”

At the mention of that, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.

Ah, I get the reason now.

This is a probing question.

It doesn’t seem like she’s completely fallen for him yet, but if she’s starting to develop interest in a guy, it’s only natural she’d want to see his face more. I, too… well, while I wouldn’t call it a first love, I have had my share of interests similar to that.

Eventually, I never spoke a word about it.

…But what’s important now isn’t that.

“I have no intention of becoming a Saintess, you know? If you want to go out, you can go willingly yourself, can’t you? A nun can always quit whenever.”

“Hey, when did I say I wanted to quit?”

Did she take it as me saying she should stop her escort duty? Ria spoke with a slightly hurt tone. Well, if she were to quit being a nun, she could never return to that life. Establishing such standards makes children from convents seriously ponder whether they want to be nuns for life or not.

So, is she still considering me a friend?

“I was just saying it casually.”

As I said that, Ria let out a deep sigh.

Somehow, seeing her look like a childish kid made me feel a bit off, but I decided to let it slide this time.

And a few days later.

That is, about a week after Lee Si-yoon was discharged—

“The National Hunter Association has sent a notice.”

Ria and I were suddenly called into the Interview Room.

Not the interview room in the Convent, but rather the one located in the main Church.

In other words, we were called to have an interview with the priest.

And in that interview room, besides the Sister Warden and the priest, there were quite a few unfamiliar faces. Most of them were well-dressed in suits, but all their faces were quite distinctive.

Many had large scars on their faces.

…Come to think of it, I’ve heard that Hunters often leave scars as badges of honor instead of healing them.

“It seems that the Hunters who were treated by our Church have recommended Sister Anna.”

Summarizing what the Sister Warden said while handing me the notice—

[There is a Gate in the middle of Seoul that needs to be handled immediately. However, this Gate has not disappeared for over six weeks. Inside it, there seems to be something more ferocious than any monster seen before.]

And very likely, that monster was the same one that had taken down Lee Si-yoon about a week ago.

“Sister, it doesn’t mean you need to go into the Gate.”

The Sister Warden said seriously.

“It means they want you to heal the Hunters near the Gate.”

I finished her statement.

And closed my eyes.

“Anna.”

Ria called my name from beside me.

Is she trying to warn me that it’s dangerous?

But—

“…If I don’t go, many people might be in danger, right?”

…Yeah.