Chapter 7

“It’s hard to say Anna is in the best of reputations, since she usually strolls around the convent spouting all sorts of strange things,” Chaeun thought. “But at least it’s clear she isn’t at fault in this incident.”

After all, it was Chaeun who’d grabbed Anna by the wrist and dragged her away, and it was Chaeun who’d asked questions right in front of her.

The Sister Warden glanced between Anna and Chaeun.

Anna wore a smile that seemed to suggest she was somewhere far away in her thoughts. To be more precise, it looked like her soul had vacated the premises.

That smile seemed like some kind of defense mechanism, Chaeun mused.

Seeing Anna, the Sister Warden let out a deep sigh before speaking in a soft voice.

“Sister Anna, why don’t you head back to your room for now?”

“Understood, Warden.”

Anna replied a bit stiffly and walked in a stiff manner towards the dormitory.

Other sisters around her exchanged confused looks, unsure whether they should laugh or express concern.

“And… Sister Maria.”

The Sister Warden then turned to glare at Chaeun.

“…Come with me.”

The voice made the other sisters catch their breaths, but not Chaeun.

To be honest, Anna’s reaction hadn’t sat exactly right with her, but there was also a strange sense of relief.

While Anna was definitely an amusing character, she had a vibe of being deeply lost in her own little world.

The Sister Warden led them to the interview room, a place Chaeun had been to before.

After motioning for Chaeun to take a seat, the Sister Warden brought out a teacup and a pot of tea, just like last time.

She placed a cup in front of Chaeun, took a seat across from her, and said, “Sister, may I ask what you were thinking when you acted like you did earlier?”

“Um, well…”

Still unphased, Chaeun replied, “It’s kind of like… I thought someone needed a wake-up call since they were getting lost in their thoughts, so I figured I should step in.”

Chaeun recognized those scouts immediately. They had a unique air about them, even if she didn’t know their faces. While she had never personally dealt with them, some of her classmates had occasionally received offers from such types, and a few had even joined. In fact, she had a couple of friends already getting training under that very association.

“Sister, do you remember the conversation we had when you joined the convent?”

“I do remember.”

Chaeun exhaled lightly.

“You mentioned that if I could win over the heart of a Saint Candidate, I might convince the church to let me stay longer… something about easing my father’s concerns and being released from the convent.”

Hero Candidate.

The church considered her a valuable asset, but in the end, even if she became a hero, it was rare for one to truly belong to the church.

After all, living one’s life as a nun was something most people deemed a bit too arduous. On the other hand, the same went for priests or monks.

Telling someone with such exceptional abilities to live a life of total abstinence was a chore. They could be linked to the church, but remaining a private citizen was significantly more appealing.

If any ‘Saint Candidate’ within this cathedral truly acted with sincerity, the church could have likely attempted to recruit Chaeun through that individual.

The crux of the matter was—Anna didn’t seem to view the church as anything more than a means to an end.

No matter how temporarily she was kept in check, she would inevitably leave within a year or two, just as she claimed.

Up until now, being a Saint Candidate or a Saint had been a highly attractive status. It was true that once one entered that position, they were expected to live in abstinence, but anyone truly possessing such Saint Power would inherently be a faithful individual deep down.

Could a person with unwavering faith in God possibly refuse to accept the role of a Saint or Saintess?

Ironically, the very Anna who was branded as a ‘Saint Candidate’ had openly denied the existence of God several times.

There were rumors too. Apparently, a Cardinal had been so infuriated he had almost excommunicated her, but numerous people had stepped in to prevent that.

Word was floating around that this church housed a nun with the power to bring the dying back to life.

And there had been testimonies from people claiming they had seen God firsthand.

However, most of that information was fragmented and somewhat dubious at best. She looked like she would have a blast, denying God while possessing an incredibly powerful ability reserved for Saint Candidates?

Hunters valued information and rigorously trained to filter out useless tidbits. One wrong assumption in front of a monster could get a head bitten off. For Chaeun, that information was simply deemed entirely ‘useless.’

But Anna, having seen it firsthand—

“But… if she so firmly doesn’t want to be here, is there any reason to keep her at the church?”

After several meetings with Anna, Chaeun’s outlook slightly changed.

She kept chatting nonsense with dubious reasoning that became irritating from time to time, sometimes even a bit noisy, while casually altering her nun’s habit or dyeing her hair, living life on her own terms.

She didn’t appear noteworthy at all. There were instances when Anna’s self-doubts clashed with the divine light surrounding her, but Chaeun had already seen that type of light emitting from other Saint Candidates.

Though the Sister Warden had made a proposal when she first came here, it was obvious that granting it or not would leave Chaeun’s overly rigid father sulking for a long while. After all, merely helping Anna live as she wished seemed like a less boring endeavor.

As for the scouts? Well, clergy wielding healing powers for the injured were always in demand. And as a Saint Candidate, she’d be a cut above the average priest with even the slightest ability.

If news of such talent was about to leak out, they’d inevitably flock to her. They must have heard the rumors too.

“…”

But upon hearing Chaeun’s words, the Sister Warden sipped slowly from her cup, delaying her response.

“Sister.”

After a moment’s pause, the Sister Warden finally spoke up.

“I don’t particularly like expressing myself this way, but… you’ve not been with Sister Anna for even a week, have you?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Chaeun shrugged nonchalantly, and the Sister Warden continued in a more serious tone.

“I’ve known her for 15 years. And during that time, I’ve seen what kind of person Anna is, and what she is capable of.”

“…”

With that much said, Chaeun could hardly contest.

It was hard to believe based solely on her observations, but whom would she dare counter after hearing it from someone who’d spent 15 years beside her?

“I believe in her. Sister Anna has a more faithful heart than anyone I know—even more so than I or even priests.”

“She does keep denying her own heart for some reason.”

This story had likewise been hard to believe until she saw it for herself.

“So just the other day, I tried to talk to her under the guise of a bit of intimidation. Either stay or leave right now… it didn’t yield any notable results.”

In truth, the reason Anna was being paired with Chaeun wasn’t solely due to the Sister Warden or priest’s full confidence in her; it was partly because of her father’s request.

To straighten out the troublemaker, it was advised to keep her close to the most faithful.

Chaeun’s protests, as well as her acceptance of the Sister Warden’s plea, all stemmed from that reason.

“If you believe that much, I’ll do my part to help.”

Chaeun let out a deep sigh.

“You know how stubborn she is… right?”

The Sister Warden broke into a bittersweet smile.

No further conversation transpired.

Considering both parties had their own desires but were at an impasse, it was hardly surprising.

As both sipped their remaining tea in silence—

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the interview room door in a rather impatient manner.

[Sister Warden!]

The voice sounded rushed.

It wasn’t Anna’s voice.

[Warden, it’s an injured person! Right on the brink of death!]

Upon hearing that, the Sister Warden jumped out of her seat, and Chaeun followed suit in surprise.

The Sister Warden walked to the door and flung it open.

On the other side stood a young nun, panting as if she had raced there.

“Sister Anna is—”

“She’s already on her way!”

“Got it! I’ll hurry too. Sister, please return to your room!”

“Ah, yes!”

Having sent the nun back to her quarters, the Sister Warden turned to Chaeun and said, “Sister Maria, this is a great opportunity. Would you like to go see what Sister Anna can do?”

Chaeun blinked in surprise.

…

That was the first time she saw the Sister Warden run.

Though Chaeun could still catch up at her own pace, the Warden must have been giving it her all.

That was an indicator of just how urgent the situation was.

The two headed deeper into the church. The term “deeper” literally meant descending underground, as they were heading down toward the basement.

By the time Chaeun and the Sister Warden arrived, Anna and some priests were already by the patient’s side, likely accompanied by a few elderly nuns who had been helping to relocate the injured man and his comrades.

To Chaeun’s surprise, the patient wasn’t as blood-soaked as she had anticipated.

His clothes were torn, and his head was soaked in blood, but the wounded areas were unexpectedly clean. With water drenching his body, it seemed he had been cleaned with holy water, although the wounds had already begun to fester black.

Chaeun had never seen such wounds firsthand, but she understood the nature of the injuries from what she had learned.

Some gates led not just to higher levels of danger but also to places filled with all sorts of deadly toxins.

It would have been nice if they could feel that ominous energy emanating from the sights of the gate itself, but after all, a gate was merely a doorway to another world. Typically, the domain beyond it was as expansive as Earth itself.

Thus, venturing into newly discovered caves or forests and experiencing such calamities happened often, typically to exploratory teams.

Chaeun looked at the injuries and thought, Oh, this won’t do.

The rate of decay was visually detectable. Despite pouring holy water, the wounds showed no sign of healing. Without a few moments’ time, the injured man would surely be unidentifiable.

It was possible to tackle a single injury by extreme measures, but the poor man had injuries all over his body.

“You’re lucky. It’ll be alright.”

However, Anna, kneeling beside the injured man, said something that didn’t align with common sense.

Chaeun blinked in confusion.

Oh, is she trying to comfort someone about to leave this world? To make them feel at ease, even in their final moments?

But the next action Anna took was completely the opposite of what she had shown Chaeun until now.

With reverence, Anna knelt and stretched out both hands.

Now that she thought of it, Anna wasn’t even wearing a veil on her head. Was it possible that the veil she had hastily tossed on had fallen off as she ran?

She was clearly hot and sweaty as her hair clung to her temples and neck.

“There’s nothing to worry about. You’ll recover, brother.”

Anna calmly assured in a voice laced with warmth.

And then—

And then, there was light.

Many people believed that Saint Power was proof of the existence of God. And that was a valid statement. Though God had never referred to Himself in such terms, those who felt God’s presence in proximity could use that power more effectively.

Anna—the Saint Candidate who had vehemently denied God— was using that very power.

This was not simply a proof; the mere presence of that light conveyed a profound certainty—an intensity not rivaled by anything so far.

If there were any evils present, it was strong enough to purify them all the way down to their last remnants; Chaeun had never seen such a level of power despite all her encounters with clergy.

The light illuminated the somewhat dim basement. For just a moment, Chaeun felt like she was basking under a brilliantly clear summer sun.

The light gradually dimmed.

As Anna’s hands retracted the light, and it disappeared completely, even Chaeun felt a twinge of regret.

“…”

Silence descended upon the room—

“… Hah!”

Suddenly, the patient who had been on the brink of death exhaled.

It was at that moment Chaeun realized that the patient bore no remaining wounds.

“… Thank you.”

Some voice muttered.

“Thank you.”

“Oh God.”

It was a voice that almost sounded like a prayer.

It was a voice so familiar it seemed as though it had seen this scene a few times before.

“You should be just fine now.”

Guided by Anna’s voice, Chaeun looked down once more.

Anna was speaking with her hand resting on the shoulder of the man who had only just regained his senses but wasn’t quite back to reality yet.

“… Saintess.”

“…”

“May God’s blessings be upon you.”

“… And upon you, brother.”

Seeing Anna like this, Chaeun blinked in astonishment.

It seemed like Anna felt her job was done.

Most people in that room were on their knees, offering prayers of gratitude.

A prayer of thanks directed at God.

The power Anna had used was indeed a divine one.

…

Chaeun felt something unusual deep within.

As Anna gave a slight nod to the Sister Warden behind her, the Sister Warden also bowed her head, hands clasped in reverence toward Anna.

For an instant, Anna’s and Chaeun’s eyes met.

Anna shrugged, as if it was no big deal, even though her forehead was glistening with sweat.

Then, without much ado, she left the basement.

Once more, Chaeun sensed a dissonance.

In a daze, she turned on her heels and followed Anna.

“Wait up.”

She called out, gripping Anna’s arm as she climbed the stairs.

“What?”

Anna turned back with a slightly surprised expression, and Chaeun blurted out her question without thinking.

“You don’t believe in God, do you?”

“Um… to be precise, I don’t think the existence up there is God, but it’s somewhat close. The concept is just a bit fuzzy in my mind.”

Chaeun chuckled in disbelief at Anna’s response.

“Then what was that back there?”

“That was probably the power of whatever is up there.”

“…”

Chaeun was momentarily stunned, staring at Anna.

“What’s wrong?”

“I mean… why would you—”

Chaeun pondered for a moment before managing to stammer out her thoughts.

“Your thoughts…? Like, saying you don’t believe in God while still saving someone right in front of you? You’ve been swatting away that light every time it shone upon you.”

“Well, yeah. That’s kind of something like pride for me—an ego too.”

“But still?”

“But still?”

Anna tilted her head in confusion, as if unable to grasp the question Chaeun was trying to convey.

“It’s about pride and ego; those reasons come into play.”

“So what makes you take action like that?”

“Do my feelings of pride allow me to save that person?”

“… Oh.”

“Is it really going to help if I focus on my ego? Would that person suddenly get up and walk away healthy?”

“…”

“If it means I can save a life by letting go of my pride, what’s the harm? It’s nothing special.”

Chaeun was left speechless.

“Oh no, not again.”

As a light suddenly glimmered around Anna’s face, she waved her hands dismissively.

As soon as Chaeun released her grip, Anna turned to head toward the dormitory again.

“Oh, seriously…!”

As a beam of light began to shine directly from her head, Anna stopped, rotated her head like she was trying to spin the fixture around.

Objectively speaking, it did appear quite comical…

But Chaeun couldn’t bring herself to laugh at Anna in such a state.

Now she finally understood what the Sister Warden had meant.