Chapter 171

Chapter 16. Gratitude and Recompense

The recovery period turned out to be longer than I expected.

In fact, my overall condition had improved significantly. My body’s healing ability was on a whole different level compared to an ordinary person.

However, the wounds on my hand weren’t healing easily.

The hole itself… well, it had closed up. It had closed up, but that didn’t mean the wound got smaller or anything. Inside it, tender flesh had filled in as if it might break open again at any moment. Previously, I had healed all the way down to a faint scar, but now it looked like a wound that had just finished treatment for burns.

With a gaping hole in the middle, you might think there would be issues with the bones, but even with that hole large enough to see through, my hand had been functioning normally. This could be considered a kind of miracle, I suppose. Thank goodness for that.

…Yeah. Miracle.

People had started calling my power that at some point.

It was different from Saint Power. The term had been used to mean holy power and was applicable to everyone. From common nuns to high-ranking priests, anyone with faith could wield Saint Power, even if there were differences in levels.

But… it seemed the priests interpreted my power a bit differently.

That was somewhat strange.

First off, not many priests had seen my power properly. Of course, the knights who followed me around whenever I went far away had likely seen it at least once, but unfortunately, my power wasn’t the type that would be recorded in videos.

Plus, what happened this time was a power that I used while crossing over to another world in a situation that was completely unexpected, so there were only witnesses like Ria, my friends, and ‘Anna’ and Mari.

Moreover, these witnesses didn’t testify about that power at all because of my and Ria’s request.

In other words, no one had actually seen the ‘Power of Existence’ that had drawn the hole in my hand.

“So why do you believe it!?”

Despite that, those people interpreted it so casually as ‘Ah, you must have seen a holiness that cannot be fully explained in words.’

That’s right.

They had never seen it themselves and hadn’t even heard any testimonies about that power, and yet they just believed in it!

No, why would you believe in that power with absolutely no credible basis in the first place?

“Isn’t that right!? You think so too, don’t you, Sister!?”

I ranted passionately at Choi Soo-bin, the self-proclaimed ‘advocate of evil,’ who had come to see me after a long time.

To be honest, until I reached ‘this position,’ I had found this person a bit… off-putting. After all, they were someone who denied the existence of power outright.

Judging by the standards of my previous life, they were much like those who claimed the Earth was flat.

The only reason this person’s position still existed was that I persistently refused to become the Saintess. In reality, being ‘the advocate of evil’ wasn’t a profession but more of a temporary position. This person made a living appearing on various broadcasts as a head researcher or through sponsorship.

But now…

I had pretty much no one else to lean on but this person. Inside the Church, people had believed me to be the Saintess for quite a while, and if I didn’t do anything, it seemed I might end up rising to the status of a ‘Holy One.’

“…Um.”

The advocate of evil gazed at me with a subtle expression as I spoke.

Seeing that expression of his made me feel somewhat uneasy.

“…What’s wrong?”

Last time, he had definitely insisted that the whole situation could be explained away as mere coincidences. Yet now, that firmness was nowhere to be seen.

He stared at me for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“To start, over the past few months, I’ve been investigating the phenomena that you claim to be Anna’s… power.”

Saying that, he pulled out a tablet from his bag and displayed various materials in front of me.

Most of them were testimonies from hunters.

“About those powers you claim to be Saint Power.”

“…Well, there wouldn’t be any photos or videos, would there?”

“That’s true. If you saw it in person, it would be a different story.”

“Even if you saw it in person, you’d only see light, wouldn’t you?”

“That’s true, but…”

The advocate of evil gave a bitter smile and continued.

“One thing is certain; if Anna hadn’t been there, many people would have died.”

“…”

Well, that’s true, but…

“I watched the footage of how you handled the existence that claims to be of the Demon Race. Yes, if you think the Church manipulated it, you could see it that way. Even if the Beastman Princess herself testified, if someone claims it’s not proof, that could very well be the case.”

I was at a loss for words. The meaning of that was also an expression of ‘it could be, but I don’t think so.’

“There were similar incidents in both the Gnome and Dwarf kingdoms. While Saint Power isn’t captured on film, Magic Power can be. And whenever people were about to suffer because of that Magic Power, Anna was always nearby.”

That was… true, but…!

“The advocate of evil might look like a mere scarecrow at first glance, but in reality, I hold quite a lot of authority. The Church people don’t scold me for rejecting holiness; they simply provide every bit of information I want to see from start to finish.”

“So does that mean you’ve developed faith?”

“Um, well…”

Choi Soo-bin glanced up at the ceiling for a moment.

“To be honest, I still don’t believe much. I find it hard to differentiate this religion from other religions. I probably will never understand the reason to blindly worship a being like a deity that I cannot see. If it has human-like emotions, it could betray just like a person.”

“Then…”

“…I’ve thought a lot about my position as the advocate of evil, you know? Initially, I thought it was a position to outright deny sanctity, but that’s not the case at all. Placing an atheist like me here means you want an objective evaluation of Anna, who will become the next Saintess without the bean pod of faith. No matter what I say, faith wouldn’t have wavered from the start.”

“…”

“And reflecting on all that Anna has done until now, I couldn’t find any flaws in her as someone who could sit above that. Even if all that power you wield is simply borrowed from someone else, you’ve never tried to seize power or exploit anyone with it.”

Choi Soo-bin let out a light breath.

“Moreover, having grown up here from a very young age, you haven’t committed any… wrongdoings.”

“If we get technical, I had been claiming that the concept of deity doesn’t exist.”

“I’m sorry, but as an atheist, I don’t see what’s wrong with that statement. If the Church people heard that and still tried to place the Saintess in that position, it would mean they don’t think of that as a flaw either.”

“Uh…”

I glanced around, feeling a bit lost.

“What if… if I, um… break the vows of being a nun and fall in love with someone?”

“…”

Choi Soo-bin stared at me for a moment.

Then, with a look of disbelief, he scoffed and said.

“Then it would be something to celebrate.”

“…”

“Do you think an atheist would consider someone else’s love a ‘flaw’?”

Well…

No, that’s true, but.

I was truly at a loss for words.

*

So, once my light conversation during recovery wrapped up, an enormous sense of boredom washed over me.

It felt like the last safety net had been ripped apart.

Is that so? Did I need to commit some wrongdoing to ensure I wouldn’t qualify as the Saintess?

But that would contradict my beliefs. After all, I had climbed up here while keeping those beliefs intact. Now to commit wrongdoings just to avoid becoming the Saintess didn’t sit right with me.

…

Well, there are a few methods, but…

“…Hey, Ria.”

“Yeah?”

“The movie’s over, so can I start heading back to my bed?”

I asked in a rather serious tone.

Indeed.

Usually, I often fell asleep while watching movies. I had gotten so used to life in the convent that by the time bedtime rolled around, I couldn’t resist the creeping sleepiness.

Even after the movie ended, Ria insisted on watching the entire ending credits, while I typically couldn’t last to the end.

But maybe because I had been resting so much these past few days…

I hadn’t been sleeping well at night lately, and as a result, today, I had my eyes wide open even after the end credits had concluded.

For some reason, it seemed Ria had no intention of sending me back to my bed.

Without removing her right hand from my shoulder, she carelessly shifted the tablet with her left hand over the edge of the bed to place it on the floor. Our bodies stuck together tightly in the process.

“It’s winter now.”

“…It is winter, isn’t it?”

“It’s cold.”

“…Well, that’s because it’s winter, right?”

“But here, the heating isn’t ondol style.”

“…”

“Two people cuddling together is warm and nice.”

Um…

Excuse me?

Is that really what you consider a sensible statement?