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Chapter 27

Chapter 3: Faith and Status

Luckily, the Cardinal didn’t react immediately.

It seems the Saint Candidates had indeed gone to see the Cardinal after witnessing that scene, but it doesn’t mean they rushed over to drag me away right then.

I’m not quite sure why. Is it because they’re following some bureaucratic protocol, or does the Cardinal simply not believe what those Saint Candidates told him? Or could it be that my previous letter is still causing problems?

It could be all of those things.

Yet even with that in mind, I didn’t feel relieved.

“I feel like a criminal caught at the scene of the crime.”

“Huh?”

With my face buried in the bed, I mumbled this to Ria, who was lounging on her bed flipping through a book. She reacted as if I’d surprised her.

At first, she seemed to want to ignore my random comment, but eventually, unable to hold back, she shut her eyes, crinkling her brow, and slammed the book shut.

Then she got up, crossed her legs on the bed, and put her hands together.

“Huff.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Whooo.”

Then exhaled slowly.

“What’s with that reaction?”

When I turned my head to look at her, Ria opened her eyes and stared at me blankly.

“Well, I was just trying to clear my mind since I didn’t know where to start.”

“……”

“What exactly makes you feel like a criminal caught in the act?”

“That’s just how I feel. Anyway, I’m waiting for some kind of judgment.”

“Judgment…”

Once again, Ria wore that ‘I don’t know where to even start’ expression.

“Let’s ask. Do you really dislike the idea of becoming a Saint?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask….”

Well, could it be that I’m an atheist? Hmm.

That’s part of it, but to be honest, the position of Saint doesn’t seem all that appealing to me.

Despite appearances, I’m someone who has a lot of desires. Now that I’ve been reborn beautifully, I want to try having a girlfriend and maybe even marriage… though I’m not sure if that will ever happen, but I still want to experience something like that.

Of course, I want to enjoy various things that would naturally happen during that process.

But a Saint doesn’t get to do that. This is a recurring theme in the main story; the biggest weakness of the Saint, who had multiple intersections with the main character, was that a clergy member lives a chaste life and doesn’t get married.

Wait? Hold on a second.

“Honestly, even though you don’t believe in the divine, do you think there’s something above that? Isn’t that belief what gives you the power to do extraordinary things?”

Feeling an immense sense of discomfort, I sat up, and Ria asked me.

“That’s not belief.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a fact that there’s someone up there. It’s similar to how the Earth is round. Didn’t we have a similar conversation last time? I just don’t think that presence is a deity.”

“So… you’re saying there’s some omnipotent person up there who gives you power directly and lets you do things that others can’t, but you don’t think that person is a god?”

“I don’t know if they’re omnipotent, and I don’t know what they look like, nor do I know what kind of conversations we’ve had, so I can’t really believe it, but I think that presence exists nonetheless.”

I corrected Ria’s comment.

“Has anyone really had a proper conversation with that presence? Has it ever said ‘I am a god, and you all must believe in me’? As far as I know, most people just make assumptions.”

And that’s part of why I quickly lost interest in the scriptures of this world.

They’re just records of people gathering and speculating about what might happen.

At least in science books, there are established formulas, but scriptures are just books without any of that. That’s why they’re consistently being revised too.

While it’s commendable that a religion can change its content flexibly, I can’t fully trust that system when all its established beliefs just come from previous religions.

“The only thing I know is that presence seems to give a little more power when I help someone—Ah, come on!”

As I spoke of the entity above, once again, light descended upon my head, so I quickly waved my hands to disperse it.

I don’t know if it’s omnipotent, but I can tell it sure loves to talk about itself.

“……”

Ria, who had been countering everything I said a moment ago, was now gazing at me with a strange expression.

“What?”

“Uh, um, it’s nothing serious.”

With that, Ria scratched her head and laid back on her bed again.

Well, as long as she understood, that’s enough. After all, she probably doesn’t genuinely believe that.

No matter how seriously the existence of the divine is discussed within the church and how they’ve built a theoretical framework around that, in the end, every person’s image of God is different.

Thus, religions ultimately splinter into numerous sects. Even if a holy person led the original establishment of the religion, you can be sure that someone will twist that theory to suit their own agenda.

If only that entity above were genuinely nonexistent, or at least if it stated clearly that it wasn’t a deity, I might have respected that power instead. I wouldn’t be so inclined to exploit it as I do now.

Rather, the fact that it hasn’t revealed its identity is what makes it dangerous.

I fear that I, as a being with this intense power, could become an idol.

Ids are sanctified, and sanctity becomes a mystery.

If, somewhere far away, evil deeds are done in my name, I won’t be able to stop it. If there are even a few people in the church hierarchy trying to exploit my name, I’d be confined just like that.

A mysterious being that will never be reached. A perfect being everyone must follow. The sanctity that justifies every action. That’s the only power I possess. If dozens of people storm at me and bind me up, I won’t be able to resist. I’ll end up trapped in the tower, becoming a mere legendary figure. Regardless of whether I’m alive or dead.

While alive, I’d try to resist somehow, but what about after death?

Honestly, I’d prefer to be treated as a heretic running wild. The good deeds would be done as I follow my beliefs. People just need to use the sanctity that is scattered through me.

“……”

No, no, this isn’t the time to be worried about that. After all, the situations related to the Saint have already reached a point of no return.

The real important thing is the story about the original work that I’d forgotten.

In the original work, the incident where the Saint meets the main character is described very simply.

‘The Saint saved the protagonist from dying.’

That incident was probably either the one when I first met Lee Si-yoon or the event after I told him to let go of the Rank 7 Hunter involving that monster incident.

That’s when Lee Si-yoon first showed his prowess, as mentioned.

Of course, since his title was ‘Weakest Hunter,’ the protagonist wasn’t an overpowered character from the start.

However—because of that ‘random’ incident, it’s also true that people within the association started watching the protagonist closely.

…….

But this time, such stories never came up even once. It was only about me and my knight, Ria.

I cast a glance at Ria.

“What?”

Even while reading her book, Ria answered immediately. Her gaze was fixed on the book, yet she didn’t move, clearly a bit conscious of me sitting next to her.

“……It’s nothing.”

What if, what if indeed?

What if the time when Lee Si-yoon showed his prowess was actually due to the Saint’s powers?

What if the power the Saint created in the past was what was shared with Lee Si-yoon just as I shared the sanctity I created with Ria?

If that was the case, then maybe that’s why Lee Si-yoon was able to shine—

“……”

No, surely not.

I quickly brushed that thought away and slumped back onto the bed.

No way. There’s no way such an important event wouldn’t be mentioned in the main storyline. Even if I’ve only read up to the middle of that storyline, I recall the Saint’s arc was just getting underway in the hero’s individual episodes.

…….

I exploded with emotions and sent a funding message, but still.

No way, right?

It couldn’t be that the power I wrote about accidentally became the catalyst for some talent that lay dormant within Lee Si-yoon.

Going by clichés, the Saint could have known and intentionally given that power to Lee Si-yoon.

As a result, Lee Si-yoon, thinking it was his own talent, ended up contemplating his powers once more—

“……No way.”

I waved my hand dismissively at the air and flopped back onto the bed.

No way could it be so.

Even if Saint Power is said to be divine power, most of it is ultimately used for healing people.

Even if the moment that power enters a person’s body, they become near-invincible, that’s a different story when it comes to drawing out talents.

Feeling those thoughts swirl in my head, yet again, there was a presence shining down on my face, and I swatted it away with my hand.

Is it just because I’m thinking about Saint Power now?

“……”

Ria was watching me from the side with a blend of concern and disbelief, but I stubbornly ignored her.


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No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

아니, 무신론자가 어떻게 성녀가 되겠어요!?
Score 7.2
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Released: 2024 Native Language: Korean
It’s impossible for an atheist to become a saintess! I merely expressed my thoughts on a ridiculous novel, and I ended up reincarnating into that story… in the exact scenario I found most absurd. Ugh, this is too much!

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