Chapter 200

גלריה’s anxiety was closer to ‘worry,’ while Davi’s anxiety leaned more towards ‘fear.’

The exact source of that emotion can only be known if Davi tells me directly.

Davi is devoted to Glaria.

Hmm, no, actually that might not be the most accurate description.

Davi basically follows Glaria around like a little shadow, and Glaria just lets her.

When Glaria is in danger, Davi also puts her life on the line to lend her strength. Considering that fact, one could say it’s devotion, but the usual vibe isn’t that Davi is providing some grand assistance in Glaria’s life.

If always following her was said to mean “always there to help,” then sure, that would be devotion. However—when I often see Davi fainting while Glaria tends to her, it looks like the opposite.

Glaria still couldn’t understand why Davi followed her like that. Davi had always kept quiet about that story, so it remained a mystery whether Davi’s following Glaria was simply a result of conforming to a class-structured society or if it was because she genuinely wanted to be near the only elf in this world besides herself.

“Davi, are you okay?”

After finishing my conversation with Glaria, I turned to look at Davi, for I ultimately had nothing else to say.

Glaria, who had asked a question like, ‘You don’t call it a god, but you already believe, right?’ wore a bitter smile, yet she loosened her grip on my hand. It seemed a significant reason was Ria watching us hold hands intently from the side.

Maybe Maria was just giving us a passing glance, but hey, at least those around us are interpreting our relationship smoothly.

“Are you okay with going through the gate?”

I slightly turned to face Davi as I asked, and Davi paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Davi, if you really think it’ll be too tough, it’s okay to stay here.”

Glaria also turned her body towards Davi as she spoke.

Since all of us were in the room Glaria and Davi shared, Glaria ended up sitting on the bed facing Davi.

Davi glanced at Glaria’s eyes and lowered her head slightly.

She fidgeted with her fingers. Davi looked a couple of years older than Glaria, yet seeing her act like that also made me feel somewhat sympathetic.

…This might be a rude thing to say, but Davi’s overall impression seemed rather pitiful.

“Yes, I also want to go.”

Hearing Davi say that in a voice that sounded like she didn’t want to go at all, both Glaria and I sighed quietly, almost in unison.

“…Alright, I understand. But—”

Just as Glaria was about to say something, she closed her mouth. Instead, she just nodded quietly.

Turning back to me, Glaria said with a slightly stiff expression.

“Alright. I mean… to be honest, it’s a choice I can’t give up no matter the condition. Unless they really ask me to give up everything for the country, I should be in my hometown.”

That thought felt somewhat like a belief.

A hometown is ultimately a man-made concept. No matter how good it is, if you lose it, that’s the end. If I could survive even if I messed up over there, it would be rational and logical to do so.

But if I start reasoning it out like that, I could apply the same to my friends and family.

…That could be the case, or it might not be. It’s just people, after all. Glaria simply hopes for it.

And strangely enough, I found myself thinking about following after her and offering help.

After being questioned about something I did without any doubts, the more I thought about it, the weirder I felt.

“Yes, then I’ll keep that in mind. Once all the preparations are complete, I’ll talk to you again.”

Glaria nodded at my words.

*

As I pondered various thoughts and returned to the room—

Click.

I heard the sound of the door locking from the entrance.

It was a function I had never used even once while living in this convent… whatever you might call it.

There’s nothing to steal or hide in this room. No one would just barging in without knocking anyway, and most importantly, the only person who might come looking for me was the Sister Warden.

There was absolutely no reason for me to lock the door from the inside.

“Ria?”

When I turned around, somewhat flustered, Ria was standing right in front of me.

The two of us had a slight height difference. Ria’s body… was just a tad taller overall than mine. Height, figure—there was nothing lacking on my end, but perhaps as a result of years of training since childhood, this position made me look a little up at Ria.

And of course, Ria looked down at me.

Just a little, but I felt a sense of pressure.

“…Ria?”

I cautiously asked again.

“Didn’t you say you don’t believe in gods?”

Ria asked with a slightly stiff voice.

I sensed a somewhat precarious undertone in her tone.

I had no idea where or how it felt precarious.

…Ah, I see.

So, Ria has told me several times not to sacrifice myself. Last time, she even took my power away and cut down the enemy.

Could it be that she’s angry because I stepped up to sacrifice myself again?

“Ah, well, you see…”

As I stammered and tried to take a step back—

—I realized I couldn’t at all.

Ria’s hand was wrapped around my waist. Recently, Ria had been grabbing my waist more often. I never asked her why—maybe I just thought it was simply comfortable for her to hold.

Ria pulled me tightly towards herself, almost as if she didn’t want me to escape.

Our bellies pressed together. The position was somewhat awkward for both of us. I might be a bit shorter than Ria, yet the difference isn’t that big. Objectively speaking—both of us were, in various aspects, quite ‘tall.’

Feeling something soft pressing against me, I could feel my face turning red.

Ria was the same. Her face was definitely flushed. But at the same time, she still looked angry.

“Is it because I said I’ll go through the gate?”

I asked uncertainly.

“…”

Ria’s eyes narrowed.

“What I was saying isn’t about that, you know? Well, I’m considering going over the gate too, so it’s not like I was going to say anything. But if you mess around over there, of course, I’ll be angry.”

Somehow, the words of her being angry made my heart skip a beat.

Ah, I vowed several times to be good, and I thought I kept those promises in my previous life well enough.

Yet ever since I came to this world and met Ria, I feel like something is falling apart in various ways.

Ria being angry at me means she’s worried about me that much. Somehow, I ended up feeling a tiny bit of joy in that.

…

No, saying it’s ‘a tiny bit’ is actually a lie. I was thrilled to the point of trembling slightly.

I’ve met many people who think differently than me. My family, despite being my family, never fully understood my thoughts and cast curses instead. I felt longing for them, yet I recoiled every time I met them again.

Ria thinks differently from me too. But at the same time—she genuinely cares for me.

“What I want to say is.”

Ria spoke while looking straight at me.

“It’s about your faith.”

“……”

I stared at Ria for a while.

“My thoughts haven’t changed.”

Right. That much was true.

I acknowledge that existence. I have no choice but to admit there’s a being that genuinely cares about people. There’s no animosity towards me, and in that sense, they’ve already dealt me quite a blow.

However, at the same time, I don’t have any strong feelings about that existence not being a god.

If that’s the case, then there’s no need for me to change my thoughts.

I can simply trust them a little more than before…

“Honestly?”

“…Yes, but… why do you keep asking that several times?”

Ria looked straight at me, her eyes still narrowed.

“If, and only if, you start saying you’re going to ascend or whatever because your mind has changed—”

“…No, that can’t possibly happen.”

“The first saintess did that.”

Is that so? I just heard there were several hypotheses.

They say she died, but since her body was never found, there are simply various theories out there.

She achieved quite a remarkable feat during her time, and while she stayed in this world, countless lives were saved.

The circumstances surrounding her disappearance are unclear.

Many testimonies suggest that she vanished after resolving a situation with her own power.

The church has a majority that believes in the so-called ‘ascension’ theory. There are those who say she ‘died’ and some who claim she ‘went into seclusion.’ In either case, no body has been left behind. The church continues their searches, but since the ‘ascension’ faction holds the majority, most remain skeptical.

…Ascension, huh.

If I were to exhaust all my saint power and my body shattered completely, could that be considered ascension?

Not ‘death.’

“…Regardless of what happens to you, I’m going to keep pulling at your ankles.”

Ria declared.

“…Really?”

“Really. I’m… your knight.”

At those words, my heart raced again. Did Ria feel it too? I thought it’s possible considering she has the blood of a hero.

The duty of my knight is to protect me.

And the word ‘protect’ means—ensuring I don’t die.

Whatever that means.

The person I like the most says this to me.

“I know.”

I whispered.

“And that’s why it’s reassuring.”

“……”

Ria’s eyes widened again.

For a moment, Ria looked at me with an entranced gaze.

*

Ria looked into Anna’s eyes.

Eyes calm like a lake.

Those eyes were surely telling Ria again with certainty.

That they trusted her.

Gazing into those eyes, Ria thought—

—You said that.

To protect Anna.

Yes. That’s what I’ll do.

No matter how many times, no matter what happens.

I won’t let you go back to them.

As long as I’m alive.