Chapter 79

I thought I had no choice but to accept the status of a Saint Candidate, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely on board with it.

Just because I accept the situation doesn’t mean my brain gets rewired.

……

So here I was, sitting in the Church with a dazed expression on my face.

This isn’t the Church I call home. We’re still in Gnome territory.

The public work I established is way too grand. To be honest, even I think it’s a bit over the top.

Considering I threw myself into a situation where I could’ve died, the people from the Church and the Gnomes who followed me are completely flustered.

Everyone seems to have accepted the notion that I can see the future as an undeniable fact.

……

The truth is, I really have seen it.

But I don’t think of it as an ‘actual’ prophecy. It’s more like a warning from a higher being showing me what will definitely happen if I just sit still in the next moment.

If it really was a prophecy, avoiding it would be impossible.

If you see a brake-failed truck coming from afar and there’s someone crossing the street, the one who knows about the truck can warn the person crossing.

Though, to do that, you need to have the ability to see the truck and the ability to warn the person crossing at the same time, which is kind of impressive in a different way.

“Then—Saintess?”

The Gnome Archbishop, who had been reading a speech that was hard to tell if it was a prayer or gratitude or an introduction, called my name.

……

Me?

“Huh? Me?”

Startled out of nearly dozing off, I blurted out.

For real, it didn’t matter much if it was me. That wasn’t what shocked me.

“Um……”

The Archbishop stuttered for a moment, looking as if he didn’t quite grasp why I was staring wide-eyed at him.

“Y-yes, Saintess?”

“…….”

I rubbed my face with my hand.

“I am not a Saintess.”

At my words, the Church buzzed with whispers.

I don’t really know what the Gnomes’ religion is exactly. In fact, they never taught much about other races’ religions back in Korea.

But I do know one thing. The beings worshipped in these two different races are fundamentally the same.

Rather than a different religion that branched out from one source, it’s more like they started from different places but ended up believing in the same god. A convergent evolution, if you will.

So it’s not surprising that they use the term ‘Saintess’ here……

The Archbishop’s expression grew strange, as if he were weighing whether my statement had any political implications.

Of course, there is no political intent behind my words. If someone were to twist it that way, there’s nothing I could do, but at least for now, I have no intention of being a Saintess.

I stood up from my seat. Ria, who had been silently sitting next to me, also stood up.

Her appearance wasn’t equipped like a warrior heading into battle, but standing straight with her hands clasped together, she did resemble a steadfast knight.

……For some reason, the Church knights in the audience looked at Ria with a sense of envy, but I decided to pretend I didn’t see.

“Is it my turn to speak?”

“Ah, yes.”

The Gnome Archbishop stepped aside, lost in thought while looking at me.

“Then, the Saintess…… Candidate will speak. Please give a round of applause for the hero who has made a tremendous contribution to this incident and demonstrated the model of self-sacrifice.”

Self-sacrifice.

Yet another word I don’t like popped up.

A light round of applause followed. The expressions in the eyes looking at me were all slightly different, but the feeling itself was the same.

Curiosity.

The people who came with me from Earth seemed a bit less curious. Some know about me; others, even if they don’t know me well, have seen my power.

The knights were similar. Most of them had been present when they witnessed my power at the oasis.

So they must be curious. From their perspective, why is someone who’s practically a Saintess rejecting such a title?

The Gnomes, on the other hand, had eyes filled with curiosity about my existence. To them, I must be a truly unknown entity.

After all, the reason they called me over here was likely due to that curiosity. Of course, for the Gnomes, there are practical reasons too. They might want to see if they can find a solution to problems that will surely lead to destruction, like global warming.

How would they repay me for that? That thought must be lurking somewhere in their minds.

“First of all, I’d like to thank you for arranging this occasion.”

Honestly, I’m not that thankful. Among people, this is far removed from my hobbies.

“And before I start talking, I want to clarify one thing. I am not a Saintess.”

With my words, question marks rose in the minds of the audience simultaneously.

……That’s right. To be honest, at this point, it’s kind of silly for me to insist that I’m not a Saintess.

The being above clearly cares about me. When I said I’d take Ria’s place, they were genuinely worried but also granted my prayer.

I still can’t say I believe it one hundred percent, but at least I vaguely understand that what this being wants is the existence of this world, including humans and Gnomes.

However, to reiterate, it’s not ‘one hundred percent’ certainty.

And I don’t want to completely give up on my dreams yet.

Someday, I want to take off this nun’s outfit and go out—living the way I want to live. Preferably meeting someone I like, maybe marriage, or whatever comes after that. Anyway, I want to do lots of things. Naturally, that someone wouldn’t be a man.

If I’m a ‘Saintess’, various problems would follow from that.

“For now, I’m just a candidate undergoing verification for whether I deserve to step up, so until the order I belong to acknowledges me, I’m merely a nun. Therefore, I think being called by such a title is too much.”

People seemed to start to understand that a little.

If you consider that the power structure within the order is not simple, it’s a statement that can be roughly understood.

It means, ‘Don’t get in the way of my future’.

“…….”

I took a brief pause before continuing.

“And—there’s no need to thank me too much for what I did.”

The room fell silent.

“What I did was merely enact the power that being above showed through me at that time. So I believe that thanks should be directed at that higher being rather than me.”

My vision started to fade a bit.

A light was pouring down onto my face.

Man, talk about bad taste.

“Also, if there hadn’t been many people to allow me to fulfill my role there, the Saint Power that came down through me might not have exerted its full strength at a crucial moment.”

I glanced subtly at Ria next to me.

Ria still had no expression. She completely acted like a pro in times like this.

I looked briefly at the knights of the Church, who had been introduced as present. Some averted their eyes just a little, while others smiled as if finding it amusing.

“So, the ones who really accomplished something wonderful at that moment were not me, but all those who assisted me in being there. It is only right that thanks goes to them.”

Having said that, I let out a small sigh. Nobody contradicted my words, which meant I hadn’t stepped on any landmines.

However, the light that kept shining in my face became annoyingly bright.

As I raised my hand slightly, someone moved before me.

Ria’s hand swooped in front of my face. The bright light evaporated in an instant, scattering away like smoke.

……

I looked at Ria with a slightly dazed expression.

Ria, who had removed the light from in front of my face, seemed to return to her original pose, standing expressionless as if nothing had happened.

What the heck.

Why has she been so kind all of a sudden?

Not to mention, what was that power?

Could it be that receiving so much Saint Power has allowed Ria to also tap into the divine? She claimed she didn’t know when I actually asked her about it.

……Well, whatever.

If Ria finally understands my feelings, that’s not a bad thing. It means I’ve gained a companion.

Seeing the audience sinking even deeper into silence, perhaps due to Ria’s actions, I gave a slight smile.

Then, I resumed the prepared speech.

At first, I was nervous, but after seeing Ria’s actions, I felt a bit steadier.

Thanks to that, I managed to face the situation without trembling.

After finishing the story, I returned to my seat.

I quietly gazed at Ria’s face and offered a small smile.

Ria slightly turned her head, avoiding my gaze.

However, in that moment of avoidance, I distinctly saw her lips curl up slightly.

A bit satisfied, I felt a strange fluttering in my heart, so I had to put in some effort to keep my own lips from curling up.

Like Maria, my lips were probably also slightly curling upward.