No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

EP.10

Chapter 1

Candidate and Candidate (10)

In the original story, there was never a stalker chasing after the saintess. If there had been, wouldn’t that have made for a great storyline? The protagonist could have taken down the stalker, creating the perfect moment for the saintess to fall harder for him. Besides, with someone like Chae-eun sharing the same room with me, it’s strange that I’m the only one dealing with this kind of attention. She has a great figure, too—maybe even better than mine—and despite her assertive personality, she has the stunning looks you’d expect from a main heroine. So, it wouldn’t make sense for guys not to be all over her.

Maybe the author skipped over those parts because readers wouldn’t like other male characters clinging to the heroine in a harem novel. Well, at least based on the fact that she hasn’t mentioned anything, it seems safe to assume that she hasn’t had to deal with a stalker. Knowing Chae-eun, she would have already said something like, “Oh, I had a few of those losers, but I took care of them myself.” That’s just her style.

I sighed as I wiped down the window frame in the convent dormitory’s hallway. With the end of May here, I’ve got about three months left, practically speaking. Three months might sound like a long time, but with work and housing to arrange before I leave, I’ll probably feel like just another outsider in a nun’s habit by the last month, spending most of my time outside looking for places.

…Maybe I should start by picking a new name.

In the original story, the saintess simply went by her baptismal name, “Anna.” Since she was a nun throughout, she didn’t need a civilian name. I might not even need a new one either. Just picking a last name might be enough—some people I knew in my past life went by their baptismal names, like Peter or John, as if they were their real names.

A little distance away, someone else was wiping down a different window frame.

Ria.

Yesterday, when I called her by name, she got annoyed, but afterward, she’d insisted on handling the cleanup herself, as if to make up for it. Maybe she still felt a bit awkward about it—Ria hadn’t spoken a word to me since we woke up this morning.

It’s only fair. I did snag her secret stash of snacks, so she should feel at least a little guilty about it.

Catching me looking, she gave me a sheepish smile and quickly got back to scrubbing the frame.

…In the original story, Ria—well, she didn’t actually use her baptismal name, Maria, but anyway, at least up to the part I read, she stayed a nun. She had a rather close relationship with the saintess, and instead of returning to her strict father’s household, she chose to stay with her best friend, even if they argued sometimes.

It might have been her father’s miscalculation, in a way. Even though the hero had ties to the church, having his daughter in a situation where she’d possibly be required to remain celibate forever was probably another headache for him as a parent.

In the novel, they didn’t acknowledge each other much whenever they were in the same place, so it seems their relationship never fully recovered, at least not as far as I’d read. But things will likely go a bit differently here. There’s really no reason for her to stay here anymore.

I’m not too worried, though. Ria doesn’t meet the protagonist until early spring, so once I leave, we should be able to keep in touch without any issues.

But still…my own future is a bit more uncertain.

I looked over at Ria again, though this time, she didn’t notice.

Yesterday, she offered to introduce me to the association. I turned it down boldly at the time, but thinking about it now, maybe taking a simple office job there wouldn’t be so bad. I don’t have experience in that kind of work, but I did work in a company in my previous life, so I could probably adapt.

But just as I was turning over how to bring it up without bruising my pride too much, someone called my name.

“Sister Anna.”

The voice sent a chill down my spine. Though the room was well-heated, I couldn’t help but shiver. At least I didn’t make any embarrassing squeaks like last night.

“Mother Superior.”

“I’m heading over to check on the injured man from yesterday. Would you like to join me?”

“Oh, yes.”

I nodded.

“If you don’t wish to come, I won’t press. Your power likely healed him completely. And if any wounds remain, Father or I should be able to handle it.”

So far, there hadn’t been anyone my power couldn’t heal. Almost all were perfectly fine by the next day.

But there had been one exception—a man whose body still carried parasite eggs. The so-called “parasite” was more like an alien organism immune to sacred power. Since it had never been encountered before, there was no existing solution.

If I hadn’t kept expending my power continuously to fight it off, that hunter likely wouldn’t have survived. The other side of the Gate could be such an unpredictable and chaotic place.

“No, I should check anyway.”

I replied with a slightly reluctant look.

“Very well…”

Mother Superior nodded and turned, leading the way.

As I followed, I heard footsteps behind me. I glanced back to see Ria tagging along.

Since Mother Superior didn’t say anything, I assumed she was allowed to come. She’d been nearby during the treatment yesterday too. Maybe they thought it wouldn’t hurt for a hero to witness such power.

…True, the protagonist and his allies often relied on the saintess’ powers to save them, sometimes even to the point of saving their lives. Once we left the convent, there might be a time when we could help each other again.

*

The hunter, who had been in the basement yesterday, was now in a patient room within the main church building.

The church hadn’t entirely taken over the role of a hospital. Hospitals handled what they could, and the church dealt with what only the church could manage.

Special injuries like his could only be healed by saintess. In most cases, people died without timely treatment, and even if they received it, long-term care was often required.

But at least here, there were no patients in for long-term care. Lately, it seemed that most people who survived from such horrific injuries were brought here, where I could heal them completely.

While I didn’t know the exact reason for treating him in the basement, it seemed likely that his injuries were of a kind that shouldn’t be seen by others.

In any case, the patient room was empty except for that one man I’d seen yesterday and a few others who appeared to have come from the same association. There were also priests, including the parish priest, along with some nuns who were a bit more sympathetic toward me.

“Sister Saintess!”

The patient raised one hand, looking at me as if he were greeting a familiar friend. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable. To put it bluntly, he was a good-looking man, but I hadn’t really seen his face properly since it had been half-mangled the day before.

Honestly, I wasn’t particularly interested in getting a good look at him anyway. He was a man, after all, and I still preferred women.

Plus, while I was treating him with good intentions, it wasn’t out of some altruistic generosity. It was more like an obligation I couldn’t ignore. It was like calling 911 when witnessing someone getting hit by a car.

“How are you feeling?”

The Mother Superior was the first to speak. I stood a bit away from the man, while Ria, looking somewhat puzzled, stood beside me.

The man lying in bed tried to look at me, ignoring the Mother Superior, but she subtly moved to block his view.

The man in the bed didn’t seem very interested in the Mother Superior and craned his neck to look at me. However, she quickly sidestepped to block his view.

“Brother, how is your body?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. The priest said he wanted to check on me again just in case.”

It wasn’t until Mother Superior asked that he managed to respond.

“I see.”

The Mother Superior nodded and looked at the priest, who also nodded with a gentle smile.

“Well then, it seems you can head home soon. Sister Anna doesn’t charge for the power bestowed upon her by God, so the church won’t be accepting any offerings either. You’re free to leave.”

“Really? Ah….”

However, seeing the hesitation in the man’s expression after the priest’s statement made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

“Huh?”

Ria tilted her head, noticing my change in demeanor.

“Um, actually, there’s still a little pain—”

“Brother.”

Mother Superior interrupted the man, her voice turning stern.

The nearby nuns quickly moved to stand by her side, forming a barrier between the man and me.

“…Sister Anna, you may leave now.”

The priest directed his gaze toward me as he spoke.

“Understood.”

I gave a light nod and turned to leave, but then I heard someone springing up behind me.

“Wait, Sister Saintess!”

I didn’t bother to respond and hurried my steps.

“Sister Saintess, thank you so much! If you ever return to secular life, please consider joining our association—”

“Hey!”

At the man’s shout, one of his fellow association members jumped and quickly covered the patient’s mouth.

“…”

I chose not to respond and swiftly moved my feet to exit the patient room while the commotion ensued.

“What was that all about?”

Ria muttered, looking somewhat bewildered.

“It happens sometimes. There are people who misunderstand their devotion. They think their devotion is directed towards themselves rather than towards God.”

I replied.

“…”

Ria’s mouth hung slightly open as she processed this.

“So, like, toward the saintess candidate?”

“…”

I shot her a glare, and she quickly closed her mouth, then hesitated before speaking again.

“Still, there are guards or something, right?”

“I don’t have any. My ‘rights’ were stripped away. You know that, right? It was somewhat of a well-known incident.”

“Ah.”

Ria fell silent, her expression quite vague.

“Well, at least ever since that guy grabbed my hand when I was fifteen, I’ve always had someone looking out for me.”

I had heard that places like cafes often select employees based on their appearance. In the service industry, one must greet customers with a friendly smile, but sometimes, this leads to misunderstandings.

Whether or not their confidence was justified, some people would approach me regardless.

…In that sense, I was indeed causing trouble.

“Not everyone is like that. It’s really just one or two people occasionally.”

“Yeah.”

Perhaps the reason someone urged me to reclaim the rights of the saintess was precisely because of this. The longer I remained here as just a nun, the harder it would become to fend off people like that.

“Hah.”

I let out a light sigh.

…Ultimately, leaving seems to be the right choice. If I want to uphold my beliefs, that seems to be the way to go.