Chapter 68

“Listening to Ria’s cute little complaints, I decided to grant her request and bless her sword once again.”

Now, it had transformed from just a blessed sword into a magnificent holy sword that any believer would covet.

Ironically, the sword’s design looked like something that had come off an assembly line rather than a legendary weapon.

Every time I placed her sword on my lap and nonchalantly brushed my fingers over it, Ria trembled with rage, but she still couldn’t bring herself to explode.

It’s rich for her to be so touchy when she’s the one messing with others’ faces, right?

I’m feeling pretty good about having secured a means of attack.

Though I can’t just use it all the time. I had to leverage the situation, and more than anything, if Ria got too used to it, the attack would lose its meaning.

There she was, sitting on the desk with one elbow rested on her knee, giving me a glare that wasn’t very intimidating anymore.

In the original story, Ria once took a leap at Lee Si-yoon, but—

“……”

Hmm.

Suddenly, my mood took a nosedive.

It’s a huge relief that Ria wouldn’t do something like that to me, yet strangely, it felt like a weight had descended.

“……Huh?”

As I made a face that clearly expressed my funk, Ria tilted her head in confusion.

Well, even if I had other worries, I wouldn’t bother telling anyone about this.

Let’s suppose I had a friend of the opposite sex. I wouldn’t really think about dating them openly, but they’re someone who’s super sweet around others and just a bit quirky, but overall, a good kid. Plus, they’re incredibly pretty and got a great figure.

‘Isn’t that one a little out there? Doesn’t seem girly, does she?’

Yeah, the people around might all think that.

Same goes for that girl. She hardly treats the guys around her like actual guys.

Then suddenly, one day, she brags about having a boyfriend.

That boyfriend would probably be drop-dead gorgeous and an all-around nice guy.

Only then would the others sigh, thinking, oh, I should have confessed or something. It’s not like they were dying to date her, but deep down, the reason they didn’t confess was that they felt she wouldn’t date someone like them.

“……”

Actually, maybe that’s a bit different.

I’m not talking about a ‘friend’ of the opposite sex, but rather a ‘friend’ of the same sex.

I shrugged and got up from my seat to go over to Ria.

Then I handed her the sword.

“How’s this? Is it okay?”

“Uh, uh… Thanks?”

Ria took her sword with a dazed look, cocking her head in confusion.

She probably has no idea I’m fretting about such trivial stuff because of her.

If she found out, how would she react? Would she hate me for secretly harboring such senseless concerns?

Hmm, hard to say. If this were a Japanese light novel, maybe there’d be a suspicious heroine with a lot of physical contact with the main character.

Somehow, I could totally see Ria punching me in the face.

I turned back toward my desk.

Then I opened a drawer and pulled out a small bag.

Inside were small chocolates, each individually wrapped in foil.

“Here you go.”

“Huh?”

As I handed it to Ria, she took it in surprise, answering, “You blessed each one? Even if it’s not as good as the last chocolates, you might be able to use them like healing potions.”

“……”

Ria blinked in disbelief.

“Just take one whenever you need it.”

“Uh, no, I know how to use it.”

Ria looked at me dumbfounded.

“When did you even make these?”

“Whenever I had some free time. Since whenever Ria goes in to wash up, I have nothing to do, right?”

This chocolate was also given by Ria. I carefully unfolded the foil to infuse it with Saint Power, then rewrapped it.

“What about yours?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you have anything prepared?”

“I’m going to protect Ria, right?”

“……”

Ria seemed a bit flabbergasted.

“Plus, I already know how to use Saint Power. It’s way better that someone who might actually get hurt carries it.”

“Ah, okay.”

Ria responded, still a bit startled.

No matter how weak my protection might seem, the one sticking right next to me has to be Ria. I don’t want to change that. She’s one of the few people I can trust fully.

“Hey.”

As I sat back on the bed, Ria called me in a surprisingly cautious tone.

“You’re not really in any life-threatening danger, right?”

Maybe I prepared too thoroughly, and that made Ria a little anxious.

“I’m just being cautious, that’s all.”

…Yeah.

It’s not an academy story or something, but this is a novel about going through the Gate, after all.

After all, in every civilization featured in the story, there was always a conflict on the verge of breaking out, and it would usually burst just when the main character’s party visited.

Even if my visit was brought forward, I can’t afford to let my guard down.

“…Alright.”

In the end, Ria didn’t fully understand, but she definitely took the chocolate.

*

The schedule with the government was coordinated, and we were set to visit the Gnome civilization by the end of May, almost June.

The Gnomes essentially adopted a republic system.

So, it means the Gnomish nation is a republic. But that doesn’t mean it’s like the Republic of Korea. They didn’t have a president.

They united their tribes to form a nation, and each tribe selected a representative, adopting a system resembling a general council. The story didn’t provide much explanation beyond that, so I wasn’t sure how it all worked.

However, no matter how much of a council it was, there was always a chief.

“We, the Gnome Tribal Federation, sincerely welcome you, Saint Candidate Anna.”

The person right in front of me looked like a gnome doll you’d often see in Western movies, dressed in early 20th-century bourgeois capitalist fashion; that’s the impression I got.

He was about my waist in height. He had a scruffy beard and a mass of white hair that seemed to have thinned out significantly in the middle.

“…I’m Anna. Thank you for the invitation.”

I replied this way and lightly bowed.

“I’ve heard that the Gate from your church to our land is quite far away. It must have been a long journey for you, so today, please take the time to rest from your travels, and perhaps we can have a more detailed conversation tomorrow. However, we will be hosting a welcome banquet tonight. It would be an honor if you could attend and grace us with your presence.”

That Gate wasn’t that far though. About a three-hour drive.

Still, there was no need to dive straight into business. We needed a way to gauge each other’s impressions.

Especially the Gnomes; they’d want that.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I replied politely.

The Gnome chief nodded gallantly and escorted me a bit further away.

He seemed to understand well what a ‘nun’ represented, so I thought I couldn’t let my guard down.

…

Honestly, I’m not sure what it even means for me to let my guard down.

*

“This room… is cramped.”

“It’s considered an extra-large size for Gnomes.”

There were two beds, but they were squished together as if they had been forced in. If someone was a fidgety sleeper, it wouldn’t take much to invade the other’s space.

On top of that, while the furniture worked for us, it felt unusually small.

It’s unavoidably that way. Not every Gnome has seen a human. They probably thought, ‘They’re this height, so let’s make things this big!’ So a little discrepancy is to be expected.

I quickly unpacked my belongings.

“By the way, a welcome party?”

“Well, we’re nuns, so we’ll end up participating in the same old clothes like always.”

“Yeah, I knew as much.”

Is she planning to wear something on top of her nun’s habit?

If I were a Saint, I’d have separate clothing for that, but that’s not the case yet.

“Are you going to dance?”

“……”

As I tidied up my things, I looked up at Ria, who had a bizarrely excited expression on her face.

“…Don’t.”

I warned her.

“Why not? There’s no rule against a nun dancing.”

“……”

Isn’t there?

Or maybe not? I’m not sure.

“Besides, knowing how to social dance is useful. You might get to use it somewhere.”

“What kind of crazy person asks a nun to dance?”

That’s one thing I could definitely say for sure.

Plus, social dance? What are we, in the medieval era?

“But they’re Gnomes, right?”

Yet at my expression, Ria shrugged.

“And also, the people in these clothes looked like they were from the early 20th century. Or maybe the late 19th century? If their civilization is similar to that period, they could probably do social dances.”

“……”

No way, right?

As Ria giggled at my stunned face, she continued.

“…Anyway, nobody’s going to ask a nun for that kind of thing.”

“Let’s wait and see about that.”

I said with a scowl, but Ria was still just grinning at me.