Chapter 123

“Having a strong friend has its perks.”

One major perk is that you can go places others wouldn’t dare to.

…But then again, thinking it over, I realized that’s not something just any strong friend could do, especially not a girl my age.

As I was dragged by Ria’s hand, unable to do anything, a part of my secrets got exposed in front of her father, and from that moment until dinner, I didn’t utter a word to Ria.

After about thirty minutes of calming down, I questioned whether it was even worth getting that upset.

Like Ria said, I had already made it clear multiple times that I thought the concept of me being a ‘god’ was entirely mistaken.

I was the one who insisted there were beings in this world that people regarded as gods when, in fact, they weren’t. Ria’s father had probably heard some of that gossip.

But still— it felt a bit off.

The way he gave me a thumbs-up at the end left a sour feeling in my stomach. It seemed like there was a major misunderstanding going on.

With my tangled feelings in mind, half thinking about how to make up but not knowing how, the dinner hour crawled on until I finally came outside—

“Ugh!?”

Suddenly, my vision flipped upside down.

Being lifted off the ground doesn’t exactly bring about delightful feelings, especially when it’s not from some amusement park ride, but someone just picking you up from behind— that feeling of instability just amplifies everything.

But before I could even kick and protest, Ria had hoisted me onto her right shoulder. This made me feel like I was being kidnapped or something.

For a brief moment, I could see Ria’s backside right in front of me. Sure, due to our height difference, it wasn’t exactly in my face, but—

“Ria— Aah!?”

But before I could admire the view, Ria leaped up.

That’s right. Ria had the kind of skills to just hop over the massive wall of the church as if she was getting a secret stash of fried chicken. At this point, I’d question whether to even call it ‘skills.’ It was so far from my understanding of the world from my past life.

Regardless of what I was thinking, Ria took me up to the roof of the convent.

Down below, the sisters looked up at us with their mouths agape, but Ria seemed completely unfazed.

“What are you doing!?”

“I thought you’d talk to me if I did this.”

“What am I, some lovesick male mortal?!”

This isn’t even the kind of ‘I bother you because I like you’ scenario.

If it were that, I might have been able to manage. If Ria was acting in that way, I’d probably feel like I could accept it somehow.

“Whoa, hey, relax. You might fall!”

“Who’s—”

But I couldn’t even express my frustration, and I had no choice but to grip the hand Ria was offering.

The church we were in used to be a Catholic cathedral, but it became an official administrative entity with various boundaries.

Looking at its location, it was conveniently close to the main facilities of the city, but the downside was its proximity to the mountains.

In modern society, you might think it was an area filled with small buildings, but I wouldn’t find it strange if someone said this was all farmland back in the Joseon period.

Although a tram line was built a few years ago, the church happens to sit right in the middle between two stations, meaning you’d need to walk over ten minutes no matter which way you went. So, it’s pretty far from convenient transportation.

“Hmm. The view isn’t all that great up here.”

In fact, there was a rather close elevated road blocking a significant portion of the view. The original cathedral was built after levelling a rather tall hill, with the convent being constructed even further back, so, unsurprisingly, the scenery isn’t stellar.

Nonetheless, the crimson sky was beautiful.

“Well, that’s nice.”

“Um… ”

Ria lay back on the roof while still holding my hand. The tiled roof was honestly pretty uncomfortable to lie on.

But what could I do? Ria was lying down. Plus, she didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go of my hand.

Ugh, damn it. Ria holding my hand makes my heart soften again. Why does she have to look like that? If she were a bit more sinister-looking, I wouldn’t feel so weak.

…

No, probably not. It wouldn’t matter if Ria looked more menacing; I’ve spent too long around her and talked to her a lot for looks to be the only deciding factor.

Reluctantly, I lay down next to Ria. Well… once I got into position, it wasn’t impossible to lie down. Sleeping wasn’t likely, though.

“The stars will be visible soon.”

Looking at the slowly darkening sky, Ria spoke.

“…”

In a little while, the stars would start to appear.

Even the starlight that breaks through the light pollution of the big city has its charm. Especially on a dark cloudless night.

“…I think my dad has a ridiculous misunderstanding about you. I’m sorry.”

Ria said that with pure honesty.

Deliberately choosing a romantic spot, deliberately getting this close, and deliberately saying things like that does feel a bit like cheating.

But, unfortunately, I couldn’t completely reject the idea even knowing that. Because… it was Ria.

“Well… it is quite ridiculous, isn’t it?”

I let out a deep sigh.

“Of course, he thinks you’re just acting.”

“…Even being part of the church doesn’t mean you know everything that goes on inside it.”

Ria replied.

It’s fine to postpone the whole thing about her daughter becoming a hero taking over the family business to some later date. After all, if she has the skill, she can do it any time.

It was never Ria’s placement here that was to make her into a knight; it was for character-building.

Ria must have misinterpreted my talk of honor and reputation, leading her father to what seems to be a major misunderstanding.

Thus, he might think I was doing everything I could to persuade and help Ria onto the path of a hero. Even if he heard me saying that I don’t believe in gods, he’d probably think it was still not complete heresy. Otherwise, there’s no way he’d keep Ria next to me.

“…Is that okay?”

“For now. If I’m still boasting about it here ten years from now, then it might be a different story.”

“…”

“I’m being serious.”

“Huh?”

“Staying by your side and protecting you. I mean it. I really do think that’s my honor. At first, I was just a bit worried about you being in trouble, but now, well, I guess it’s become something more than that.”

Ria turned her head toward me as she spoke.

“What about you? Do you really think of me as a knight?”

“…Yes, I really do.”

Though there was so much I left unsaid.

I knew Ria would eventually fall for someone genuinely. Yet I had tried to separate that Ria from her feelings for me for less-than-pure reasons.

Whether that had truly worked or not, Ria had indeed grown distant from any love for Lee Si-yoon. At best, they were more like close acquaintances, and they hardly exchanged personal conversations.

And… oddly enough, I was feeling joy from that.

Couldn’t that be seen as sacrificing Ria? Just to achieve the development I desired?

To keep someone I might have even had feelings for close to me—

“That’s enough.”

Ria laughed.

It was a clear, pure laugh, without a hint of pretense.

…As a Saint Candidate, it was the kind of smile I could never rival.

“As long as you give your permission, I’ll be by your side. Well, even if you don’t permit it, I’m thinking of staying regardless.”

“…That’s just saying you’ll stick around, right?”

When I responded in disbelief, Ria let out a soft giggle.

We lay side by side for a while, gazing up at the sky.

Until the sun fully set, and the stars began to peek out one by one.

Just a moment ago, as if we hadn’t exchanged a word since dinner, there was still no real conversation happening.

But it didn’t feel like an uncomfortable silence.

There was simply no need for us to exchange words.

Though the air had turned a bit chilly, the hand that Ria held tightly, as if I might fall at any moment, was warm.

We were like that—

“Sisters! It’s time to come down now!”

—until the Sister Warden yelled at us from below, we just lay there, staring at the sky.

The twinkling stars were truly beautiful.

Even though there was a being more stunning than the stars right next to me—

It still felt a bit embarrassing to look over.