Chapter 45

Sure. To be honest, I did have some desire to get involved with the protagonists.

After all, this was the novel I had read. I quite liked it, to the point of offering affectionate advice to the author.

Of course, it was common sense that they were childhood friends, but that didn’t mean I disliked the other heroines. I just hoped they wouldn’t get tangled up with the protagonist; they were all good folks with their own circumstances.

If I hadn’t read the original novel and didn’t know that Glaria’s true nature wasn’t that bad, I probably wouldn’t have stepped forward to help like this.

… Even though, in my standards, it was quite an old novel.

“So… um, Glaria? Lady Glaria?”

“Just Glaria is fine.”

“……”

I wasn’t sure what the differences in appearance were among elves from that world. Would there be elves with different skin colors? Even if there were, I might not be able to tell. If civilization had developed in an isolated environment, I might not have seen people who looked different.

But it seemed that even Glaria thought Lee Si-yoon was quite handsome.

No, more than that—didn’t his speech change? It was like that in the original too.

“So… um, Sister?”

“Yes, Brother.”

Lee Si-yoon calling me that felt a bit more comfortable. It wasn’t just because of him being a higher-ranked person; it was mainly because I was a nun.

Regardless of the presence of a state religion, people naturally become more cautious in their words and deeds before those who belong to a religious institution.

“You’ll be traveling together for a while; is that okay?”

“Of course.”

I nodded.

Now that I was here, there was really nowhere to retreat. I’d rather stay beside Glaria and keep a watchful eye on her to prevent any strange advances towards Lee Si-yoon.

Whoosh.

Feeling a presence come up beside me, I quickly turned my head. Seeing my face suddenly whip around made Ria step back a bit, probably surprised. It was indeed a close distance. It seemed she was about to whisper something in my ear.

But there was something else that caught my attention more.

“… You were trying to poke me in the side again, weren’t you?”

As I shot a light glare at Ria, her eyes blinked once.

“No, um, I wasn’t trying to…”

Given that she wasn’t raising her finger, maybe she wasn’t, but I was someone capable of learning. After all, Ria was incredibly quick-witted.

Yeah. And that quick wit had been best utilized in the novel too.

I’m not just talking about her helping Lee Si-yoon in fights.

In the story, the heroine who stole Lee Si-yoon’s first kiss was none other than Ria, or rather, Lee Chae-eun.

It might not qualify as a proper kiss. It was more like a peck, or a smooch, at best.

But even rationalizing it like that, a kiss was a kiss. I doubt any reader would say, “Well, since their lips just barely touched, it’s not really a kiss,” right?

Squinting my eyes, I looked up at Ria, then swiftly turned my body.

For a moment, the sound of footsteps stopped, and Ria quickly followed behind me.

She didn’t speak or anything.

*

Even though the setting is modern, it’s still fantasy.

There was a forge within the guild. It wasn’t your typical medieval fantasy forge, of course. Instead of a human wielding the hammer, there were automated machines doing the pounding, and there was no huge furnace bubbling with molten iron. It looked more like a giant coffee pot.

What gave it a forge atmosphere were the various materials hanging inside it.

Large beast horns hung from the ceiling, and the table was filled with gemstones emitting colors I had never seen before.

All of them seemed to come from beasts or ores that didn’t exist in this world.

And there, pedaling to swing an artificial hammer, was a short-haired woman.

If we were to judge based on body shape, she had a less pronounced figure than mine, but still, she was quite well-balanced and definitely not small in reality.

In fact, her arms visible beyond her tank top were well-toned, so it seemed like many would find her attractive, especially since her face was pretty. Short hair often divided opinions among readers, but still.

“Oh, Si-yoon is here!”

The woman, who had shouted like a lumberjack while raising one hand, got up from her seat and charged straight at Si-yoon, putting him in a headlock.

A headlock, of course, meant that her chest and other parts would inevitably touch him.

“Uh, sis!”

Han Yu-ri, looking a bit uneasy, quickly tried to intervene, but the woman didn’t easily let go of Lee Si-yoon.

Lee Si-yoon didn’t seem to mind too much, his face turning red.

It was a sight that made my eyes narrow naturally.

Then, as I was looking and squinting at her—our eyes met.

“Huh?”

The blacksmith woman opened her eyes wide when she saw me. Did she think I was squinting like I wanted to fight?

She quickly let go of Si-yoon and walked directly toward me.

I was momentarily startled, but her expression didn’t appear dark, so I didn’t back down.

Though even if I hadn’t, there was someone who stood between us.

“……”

“Ria?”

Ah, right, of course.

In the church, there wouldn’t be anyone to directly attack me, and most of the people I faced had met me at least once or twice.

Above all, not many people come this close to me. If someone like Si-yoon, Han Yu-ri, or Glaria had approached me with a somewhat stiff expression, Ria would have slipped in between us just like this.

“Ria, wait a moment.”

I spoke softly while tapping Ria’s back. She flinched a little at my reaction and turned to look at me.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to react like that. There shouldn’t be anyone in here who would hurt me.”

“Still…”

“If there really was someone who intended to do that, Ria would have already noticed and drawn her sword, right?”

At my words, Ria took a moment to find a response before nodding.

Was she feeling a bit tense while escorting me? Well, normally, although she was cheerful, Lee Chae-eun was someone who took her work seriously.

As Ria moved aside, the person who had been blocking the way looked a bit flustered, glancing back and forth between me and Ria before carefully opening their mouth.

“Um, so, is it okay to talk to you?”

“Yes, of course.”

I almost joked about the previous situation but decided against it. That would make Ria a bit uncomfortable.

After I lightly nodded, the person came straight up to me and grabbed my hands with both of theirs.

“Really, thank you.”

“Huh?”

I didn’t feel any hostility, but I didn’t expect this kind of reaction.

In fact, I had held onto more animosity and wariness toward them, so I was even more taken aback. I knew who they were, piecing it together from the descriptions in the novel and the current situation. If I hadn’t read ahead, I wouldn’t even know who was standing before me now.

So the first thing I heard in this situation was a thank you.

“That day, if you hadn’t been there, my younger sibling wouldn’t have made it back alive.”

“Ah…”

I see.

So that was the setup.

Even without me, they might have made it back. They could’ve lost arms or legs but still received Saint Power if it were available.

It would make sense that a Saintess was there, and even if not, there would have been Saint candidates.

… Unless some part of their insides had burst out or torn, damaging an artery and causing them to lose too much blood, in which case things might have been different.

“Glad to hear that.”

I nodded.

If someone was thanking me, it would mean that person, regardless of the scenario, had received help through their sibling.

I can’t remember, though. I can’t remember all the people I’ve healed.

But at least one life could continue. And there’s someone grateful for that fact.

So, isn’t that enough?

*

Thinking about it, my influence was much greater than I had initially thought.

I had mostly focused on my own status, but the people here were all individuals who had been near that gate back then.

Like that person earlier, some had received help for their family, and some had managed to survive themselves.

To them, I was literally a benefactor.

“……”

I don’t really expect thanks when helping, but still, I don’t dislike receiving thanks.

I’m pretty vain like that, you know.

“Anna, you’re amazing…”

“Ah, no, it’s not really my strength, haha…”

Seeing others around me complimenting and thanking me, Han Yu-ri said with a bit of admiration. Even though she had been there at the time, seeing people show gratitude was a different matter altogether.

The people fighting were focused on their battles, so they didn’t have time to see how many were hurt.

Glaria looked back at me wide-eyed again. Was she re-evaluating the information she had about me?

Well.

Honestly, it didn’t feel too bad that no one was calling me “God,” even if people showed thankfulness.

Eventually, as I made my way around the guild building, my mood had improved quite a bit.

…

Wait, what was I trying to do again?

Oh, right! I was trying to keep an eye on things.

…

Well, it didn’t really matter now, did it? Glaria seemed to be focusing more on me than on Lee Si-yoon anyway.

For some reason, Han Yu-ri also didn’t have a sweet atmosphere with Lee Si-yoon, but that was something those two would sort out themselves.

“……”

Ria was watching me with a slightly different expression than the others.