Chapter 3

“Here we are.”

I said as I opened the door.

The place we entered wasn’t a church building, but another structure sharing the same property.

It seems the building used for worship and where the parishioners come to pray used to be a genuine Catholic cathedral.

However, it looks like just that ‘cathedral’ alone couldn’t manage a real orphanage, so many years ago they bought up several buildings behind it and built what looked like a small college campus.

It’s a bit absurd that a rather new and unfounded religion, not even thirty years old yet, decided to construct their building with such classic charm.

Originally called a convent, despite its outwardly vintage design, the interior was practically decorated unless that vintage look was absolutely necessary. Especially around the area where the nuns lived; it was literally just a ‘dormitory’.

Rooms for two and four were lined up, with a shared kitchen and a separate dining area.

There was also a dedicated prayer room just for the nuns. Unless they were helping with services or going out for volunteer work, they handled all their daily needs right in here. Except for volunteer activities, they hardly ever left the church grounds, aside from a few hours out on weekends.

“It’s a bit cramped compared to where you lived, huh?”

I said that while setting my suitcase down in front of the wardrobe. This would be the wardrobe that Lee Chae-eun would use from now on.

“Uh, well….”

Lee Chae-eun, who had wandered in while glancing around the room, wore a somewhat complicated expression.

She must be the hero’s daughter. Surely, their house must be incredibly lavish. A first-class Hunter would rake in a fortune, so a hero must be doing even better.

It wouldn’t be surprising if she was a bit shocked to suddenly find herself in such a small two-person room after living in a place like that.

“It’s not really that different from the dorm at the academy, is it?”

Hmmm.

Well, it might not be the same.

The original story wasn’t exactly an academy tale. After all, the male lead was a Hunter, not a student at an academy. Even if it’s not a serious academy-based novel, the events inside the Hunter Association roughly had the same vibe.

You attend classes, participate in practice, train, and in the meantime, get entangled with the heroines. That’s just part of the newcomer development process.

Ah, of course Lee Chae-eun and Saintess Anna—I mean, in this world, I was also attached to the convent in the original work, and I was in a similar situation of receiving classes.

It was only one or two times a week that the protagonist visited to audit lectures about Saint Power.

“……”

Come to think of it, meeting the protagonist should be soon.

“Uh, so…”

As I was lost in thought, I heard a voice calling me from the side.

“Anna, was it? What’s your family name?”

“I don’t have one.”

I tossed my veil onto the bed haphazardly and jumped in beside it, causing the not-so-luxurious mattress to creak slightly.

“Family name… Ah.”

At my answer, Lee Chae-eun fell silent.

Right. I have no family name. The reason is simple. I don’t have parents.

You could question how having no surname makes sense in modern society, but in this world, it does.

Everyone without parents is considered a child of the divine, thus should not be treated lightly… This was what the church priest had repeated several times, but that’s not really the case.

It’s just that it wasn’t specifically assigned administratively. While growing up in the convent, I was referred to by my baptismal name, and once I returned to the secular world, I could have whatever surname and name I wanted. My name is registered in the church administrative system, but it’s blank in the government system.

So there exists a ‘me’ and a baptismal name called ‘Anna,’ but the ‘name’ field is just empty.

This also has another effect.

The reason for entering the convent isn’t because ‘everyone’ is an orphan. Some are daughters of heinous criminals, and there are cases where both parents are alive but the child is brought here for protection due to certain political reasons.

So, it’s best to hide your true name. Here, we’re all called by our baptismal names. So whether you’re an orphan, a politician’s child, or the child of a serial killer, you’re just an ordinary practitioner here.

…Theoretically.

Theory doesn’t always match reality.

“You know the rules, right? Here we have to be called by our baptismal names. Do you have one? If not, you can just pick something pretty.”

While lying on the bed, I answered as I loosened the belt I had tightened down below my chest. The belt had emphasized the roundness of my chest, but once I loosened it, it was now slightly hidden by my clothes.

While I was absent-mindedly observing this, Lee Chae-eun blinked and responded as if she had just remembered.

“Uh… I do have one.”

Of course, I knew that. I was just saying it for effect, thinking it would sound more natural to say I didn’t know.

“Can’t we choose a different one?”

Huh?

“Is there a reason for that?”

I hadn’t expected such a reaction, so I turned my head towards Lee Chae-eun and asked.

“Um… no, it’s just… I don’t like it much.”

“If you didn’t have a baptismal name, maybe I’d understand, but if you were baptized and assigned a name, it should be registered in the church administrative system. That’s not something I can change.”

Sure, if we go through the administrative procedures, that might change, but I don’t know the ins and outs of that.

And likely, Lee Chae-eun wouldn’t even think about changing her baptismal name. Once she returns to the secular world, she could just use her own name.

“…Maria.”

“You don’t like that name?”

“Isn’t it a bit… tacky?”

Haha.

Of course, it’s not the same ‘Maria’ as the Christian saint of old, but still, it’s the name of a saint based on the country’s state religion.

Just for reference, in the original work, I was simply called Maria when not referred to by name.

Was it originally a name that wasn’t very liked?

“Then I’ll call you Ria.”

I said casually.

“Ria?”

“You know, it’s Maria, just shortened to Ria. Do you dislike Ria too?”

“No, can you really shorten a saint’s name like that?”

Is it really her talking, the one who just dismissed the saint’s name as tacky a moment ago?

“The saintess has a wide heart, so I’m sure she won’t mind if you call her by a little shortening, right?”

I casually tossed my socks off from my feet onto the floor beneath the bed.

“……”

Lee Chae-eun sat on her bed, looking unsure how to respond to my words.

Her head was still hidden beneath the veil.

“That veil looks suffocating; why don’t you take it off?”

“Uh, okay.”

This time, she took it off without further questioning. Was it that suffocating? Or maybe she decided it was okay after seeing me take mine off so casually.

Life in the convent, after all, is something that ordinary people wouldn’t know about.

Honestly, I don’t really know what life in a convent was like in my past life. This convent is the only one I’ve experienced.

But according to how things should be, I mean, if following the ‘rules’, one shouldn’t take off the veil while living there. It’s to keep one’s body and mind pure and not reveal one’s own color, meaning that hair should be kept covered all day long.

During work hours, it would be difficult to be lying around like this with my socks off on the bed; only today do I have time because I’m showing Lee Chae-eun around.

On a normal day, we’d be busy cleaning various areas of the cathedral or making holy water.

“…So, um.”

As I began to nod off on the bed, Lee Chae-eun opened her mouth to speak.

When I turned my head, I spotted her bright red hair.

The short bob style, with one side tucked behind her ear, looked more graceful than I expected. Not that the strong image completely vanished, though.

“Don’t you have anything you should be doing? I’ve heard it can get a bit busy around the convent with things to do.”

“Right now? Hmm, I can slack off a bit—what’s the harm?”

“Is that so?”

“Well, there’s someone up there looking down on us who is so great that He forgives all our sins, so doesn’t it seem fine to postpone some duties? After all, He’ll forgive us anyway.”

Lee Chae-eun’s expression became complex at my words.

It’s a bit sorry for someone who braced themselves for something more intense and even prepared to argue with me if we clashed, but I absolutely have no intention of becoming that earnest saintess from the original story.

In the original, whenever Lee Chae-eun did something a nun shouldn’t, the saint would lecture her, and they would often bicker. But looking at the expression now, it seems like she’s the one who might call me out first.

For some reason, seeing me wave my hand to disperse the white light shining down on my face made Lee Chae-eun look even more flabbergasted.

Yeah, I’m totally doing great here.

Nothing works quite like a mirror for persuasion.

If I show them something more extreme, they’d probably think this is pushing it a bit.

This was a theoretically perfect plan.