Chapter 70

“I usually stare at the sky, but today…”

Ria has been looking at me for a while now.

To be precise, ever since she learned that priests can dance joyfully in this world.

No, priests here don’t even wear habits like us, right? Their outfits are just dresses, and the dancing looks a bit different from the social dances we know.

But it seems Ria is strangely fixated on that idea.

“…Ria, do you want to dance?”

Having filled my stomach to a certain degree, and not being overly hungry, I was sitting at the table, taking a little break. Naturally, since I was sitting and resting, Ria was by my side doing the same.

“Is that a dance request?”

“No, it’s not!”

I replied incredulously and looked at Ria.

Speaking of which, what did Ria do in the original story?

….

It seems she did make a dance request to Lee Si-yoon. Right, there was a scene like that. Although it wasn’t in Gnome Country.

Since the Saintess was wanting to be by Lee Si-yoon, Ria, who was there to protect her, was naturally close to him too. In that moment, Ria made a dance request to Lee Si-yoon, and the Saintess, seeing that, was horrified and caused a commotion. It was quite a typical scene.

Among the hunters who followed us, Lee Si-yoon and his group naturally blended in as they were probably the ones I felt most comfortable talking to during the request at the church.

Though they were not actually sitting here.

Glaria was sitting apart from us, but she also wasn’t near Lee Si-yoon. The place we were sitting was reserved for high-ranking folks. Although I had some acquaintance with them, the hunters had no official titles, so they were sitting somewhat distanced, closer to the Knight Order.

At least that reassured me. If Lee Si-yoon and Han Yu-ri were together, it would surely advance their relationship.

Yeah, it was the same in the original work.

I felt a bit happy despite everything. After all, it was the novel I had enjoyed reading until the end. Ria in front of me, even though I didn’t ship her with anyone, was not a character I disliked. Who could dislike a character that is pretty, has a great figure, and is capable?

I chuckled alone, then looked at Ria, feeling a bit awkward.

“Ria, do you like dancing?”

“Huh? Well, yeah, I do.”

Oh, I see.

It seems her words to Lee Si-yoon weren’t just simple flirting in the original work.

“Ria, you graduated from middle and high school, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right?”

When I brought that up, Ria seemed a bit flustered and blinked her eyes.

I leisurely looked towards the people dancing while speaking.

“Did you happen to join any clubs?”

“Yeah.”

“Dance club?”

“Does it look like it?”

“I heard you like dancing.”

She probably learned swordsmanship naturally from her father. Maybe she learned a bit from her mother when she was very young.

But thinking about it, basic education in Korea hasn’t changed much since the Gate incident. Perhaps there would have been some classes added, with existing content slightly expanded.

It could be that since it’s a web novel, it’s a bit more idealistic—a school great for enjoying youth.

“Ah, just to clarify, our school was a girls’ school. Both middle and high school.”

“…Is that so?”

I didn’t ask, so why bring that up?

“I just thought you might ask about first love or something.”

At that, I snorted.

In the original work, Ria’s first love was Lee Si-yoon. It was explicitly stated that she had never experienced a romance before.

So, while she was bold, she ended up getting shy at crucial moments, making progress slow for the heroine. The true heroine nearly usurped her position while pretending to be demure and steadily closing in.

In this world, it seems…

Neither of those seem applicable. If Ria fell in love with Lee Si-yoon, he would have been talking about her nonstop until the Saintess got sick of it. The Saintess had seemed like she would almost get a complex about it.

And vice versa for the Saintess.

“….”

Making a dance request to someone you like. Lee Si-yoon is just that kind and oblivious, so he would have accepted it naturally.

Here, though…

If I don’t dance with her, she won’t be able to dance either. If I just sit here, Ria will also just sit here.

That…makes me a bit uneasy.

“…I’ll ask one more time. Do you want to dance?”

At my question, Ria stared at me intently and then her eyes widened a bit late.

“Huh, you seriously want to dance?”

“I don’t want to, but…”

I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes, trying to make my answer appear slightly playful. I didn’t want to outright say I truly didn’t want to dance.

“Well, if someone asks for a dance, I might have to oblige. There’s a saying, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do.’

“Huh.”

Ria laughed as if amused.

But soon after, she stood up and came toward me.

Then she extended her hand.

“Will you dance with me?”

“Just a warning, I’m really bad at that kind of thing.”

I lightly placed my hand on hers. It was soft yet somewhat firm. A fighter’s hand.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Ria lightly tugged at my hand and spoke.

“I’ve trained you, right? You’re not without talent.”

“….”

W-well, that sudden praise doesn’t really yield any results.

I reluctantly pouted, getting up along with her pull.

*

The pleasant scent… is it because of Anna’s Saint Power?

Chae-eun thought softly while resting her hand on Anna’s waist.

It was very faint, but it smelled like flowers. She wondered if it was shampoo, but after all, Chae-eun used the same shampoo and body wash as Anna. It wasn’t anything particularly expensive, so there wasn’t really a reason to feel special about it.

Anna was glancing up at Chae-eun, her face slightly flushed.

She still wore a veil on her head, but it was obviously just haphazardly arranged.

Her shining blonde hair and the bridge of her nose were clearly visible.

That bridge seems a bit foreign. Anna seems to want to appear like someone who plays, but she completely fails to maintain that attitude.

The closeness felt soft. She usually wore a slightly form-fitting habit, so I could guess her figure, but as I placed my hand there, her waist was thinner than expected.

Where does all that food she eats go?

….

Chae-eun narrowed her eyes.

A faint glow danced on Anna’s face. It didn’t seem like it was reflected light from the chandelier.

The weak light of Saint Power.

Yeah. That must be it. I wonder if it isn’t stressing her body too much?

Perhaps sensing the light falling on her face a little late, Anna instinctively tried to wave her hand, but realizing she was firmly held by Chae-eun, her face reddened even more.

It seemed she was too flustered to even think about taking her opposite hand off Chae-eun’s waist.

That sight was a bit amusing, so Chae-eun toyed with the thumb of her hand resting on Anna’s waist. Anna’s body flinched at that movement.

Glimpse.

Anna glared at Chae-eun.

She really is sensitive all over.

Chae-eun, smiling, tilted her head closer to Anna.

“…!?”

Anna’s eyes widened in shock.

Seeing her flustered, it looked like she imagined something weird.

“You dance well.”

Chae-eun said that and smiled.

Whatever she was thinking, Anna’s face slowly turned red from her neck up. Then she quickly lowered her head only to raise it again.

If she bent her head too much now, Anna’s chest would show.

Well, it would be mostly covered by the somewhat loose-fitting habit—hmm, maybe she is aware of the contact?

Seeing one of the most demure women in the world having all sorts of strange thoughts in her head was a bit enjoyable.

These days, Anna had been teasing Chae-eun first often, so it felt a little refreshing.

“….”

It looked like Anna didn’t know what kind of expression to make, changing her face here and there, ultimately choosing to glare at Chae-eun with wide open eyes.

Chae-eun chuckled at that expression.

Of course, Chae-eun was the one who suggested dancing first, but it’s not like Anna’s the one who accepted it, right?

Feeling the atmosphere a bit awkward for a conversation and wanting to enjoy it even more, Chae-eun slowly led Anna along, still holding her hand.

As expected, Anna was a bit awkward at first, but she eventually followed Chae-eun’s movements well.

If she practiced, she’d be able to move much more gracefully.

Clearly, she has potential.

Watching Anna, who was supposed to have no talent, Chae-eun thought to herself.

“….”

Anna maintained her flushed face right to the end, even at her ears.

Chae-eun thought, at least her face wasn’t reddening like that.

If others were watching, they would probably see Anna alone as the one who was red.