Chapter 4. Escape and Service (13)

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

On the way back down from the rooftop garden.

Ria suddenly called out to me.

“You, let’s work together.”

“Huh?”

And the words that followed were even more nonsensical.

You know, I think I’ve heard words like that before.

That is… in some noir film.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Ria would involve me in organized crime, nor does it seem like she wants me to infiltrate among hunters.

It’s a story about doing ‘work,’ as the word implies.

Work.

If a person stays cooped up at home too much, their spirit tends to wither, and most of the reason for that ultimately stems from ‘lack of money.’

If one had an abundance of money and couldn’t manage their excess time, traveling the world and tasting all sorts of delicacies, would their spirit wither? If they played all the games they wanted and binged watched drama seasons, they would actually become emotionally enriched.

Since that’s not possible, one can only try to live such a life on weekends while working.

In that sense, I’ve never done any real work in this world.

While helping with church work can be considered work, frankly, it’s not a job that requires any expertise.

Even if it’s not a professional job, all work has its own expertise, doesn’t it? A salesperson has their own expertise, and a service worker has their own expertise.

Even so, I didn’t think that holding a broom and walking around the church was that professional. The work I did when I went for volunteer work was only slightly more difficult than that, but the type of work itself was the same.

“What kind of work?”

After contemplating the relationship between the work Ria was doing and the work I was doing, I asked.

“Hunter work.”

At Ria’s words, I blinked.

“Hunter work?”

Ria shrugged her shoulders at me, repeating it like a parrot.

“Your skills, I think they’re not bad. If you can do the work of one person, you’re actually just a plus factor in the party.”

“I-“

“Ah, ah.”

Ria waved her hand as if she knew what I was about to retort.

“I’m not saying you should charge for your holy power. Let’s think of that as a plus factor, something that comes along with it.”

Ding.

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened, and we stepped out. Most of the hunters had gone to do their jobs, so the hallway wasn’t crowded. Well, even if there’s a base salary, the amount of money coming in this month depends on performance, so most people would want to work hard to increase their performance.

Especially since the association buys materials at a favorable price. Of course, it’s a little cheaper than the market price for private transactions, but it’s attractive in that they always buy them stably. Even if there’s a private market price, you need someone to buy it.

“It seems like there are quite a few people with that ‘plus factor’?”

I’m not an idiot.

It’s common for the ‘plus factor’ to be so large that the person’s original value becomes irrelevant. When you’re in society, you can’t help but know that.

For example, the relationship with parents behind them. Or that a close relative is actually in a certain position in the company.

“There are.”

Ria said, puffing out her chest.

“For example, appearance.”

“…….”

“Why? No, really. Even if you buy one material somewhere, they give you one more as a bonus.”

No, well, I didn’t say anything.

Of course, Ria is pretty. In terms of face, I think I’m prettier, but Ria has a better figure than me, so maybe it’s a tie?

Somehow, I think Ria’s father being a hero, and Ria being the niece of a high-ranking person in this association, played a bigger role than her appearance… Well, even so, if that’s a ‘plus,’ then it’s a plus.

“Is that so?”

However, I still couldn’t completely shake off my doubt.

Of course, I have no doubt that my appearance will be a ‘plus.’ Honestly, I don’t want to go near Lee Si-yoon too often. I firmly believe that the reason Lee Si-yoon was able to get close to the Saint in various ways in the original novel was because of each other’s appearance.

Lee Si-yoon is just handsome, and in my case, I’m pretty, have a good figure, and most importantly, my appearance stands out. Even if the continent were different, I’d be a common race, but in this country, I’m a race that’s rarely seen.

It’s strange when I think about it.

I don’t know how the Saint in the original novel ended up working in this country, but I suddenly appeared at the age of five.

Setting aside the fact that I don’t have parents, there’s no narrative before that. Even the church tried to investigate my past, but my childhood wasn’t recorded even on the surrounding CCTV.

I just walked in from the blind spot of the CCTV and stared blankly at the church’s main gate.

……Well, that doesn’t matter right now.

Somehow, I feel like the ‘plus’ factor that Ria sees in me might not just be my appearance, but holy power itself.

“Strictly speaking, it’s difficult for us to become a party. Both of us belong to the church. We’re not official hunters.”

“I suppose so. Ria, you’re planning to use my status, aren’t you? For free dispatch requests.”

I know my rights. It’s just that I lost them all at the beginning and never had a chance to use them.

“You know well.”

Ria smiled at my answer.

“We’ll get ‘service fees.’ Of course, all taxes will be deducted, and there will be ‘donations’ to the church. It’s a win-win situation. In fact, it’s the church’s main source of income.”

“……Is that so?”

“Well, cases like ours are unusual, but the church periodically dispatches knight orders everywhere.”

That’s not the Hunter Association, but something the country does when it lacks manpower.

“It’s a Saint candidate’s privilege. A way to prove yourself.”

“……To prove that I have the qualifications to be a Saint?”

“No.”

Ria denied my words by shaking her finger.

“It’s to prove that you’re a ‘materialist.’ To distance yourself from the church’s work and cling only to money-related matters.”

“So… in the end, you want me to earn money with my holy power?”

“No.”

Ria placed her hands on her hips again and puffed out her chest. I unconsciously tried to suppress my gaze from drifting to that area and raised my eyes.

Ria’s face was filled with confidence.

“Use me.”

Ria tapped her chest with her hand.

“Your ‘knight’ happens to know the association people well, is the daughter of a hero, and even has excellent talent as a knight. Act as if you’re earning money with that. Hunters won’t hate you anyway, and at the same time, the public’s perception won’t be very good, and the church will have a headache?”

“……Oh.”

That sounds plausible.

Moreover, if you think about it, it’s not really exploiting her. Ria also has her own benefits.

Mainly from rebelling against her father.

“That’s good. Then, how should we split that ‘service fee’? 7 to 3, as usual?”

“……No, even so, isn’t that a bit too much?”

Ria looked aghast at my question.

“Still, it should be 6 to 4.”

“Yes?”

I tilted my head.

“With my skills, isn’t it too insufficient to take 4?”

“……Huh?”

“……Eh?”

Seeing me tilt my head, Ria also tilted her head, so I tilted my head again in the opposite direction.

“No, I mean, was your proposal that you would take 3? Not 7?”

“Even so, I have some conscience. How could I say I’d take 7? What do you think of me?”

“I thought you were lending your status for a price.”

“……?”

As I raised a question mark above my head, Ria sighed deeply and grabbed both of my cheeks with her hands.

“Mew.”

My cheeks were pressed, making my mouth like a goldfish.

“……Let’s make it 5 to 5. Half and half.”

Before I could even retort, Ria continued with a serious expression.

“Among hunters, it’s usually n-th division. That way, they try to match each other’s level. It’s a kind of unspoken rule.”

……Is that so?

“And, it’s natural to put forward a more advantageous position when negotiating.”

Is that so?

If that’s the case, didn’t Ria herself think she’d take 4?

No, more than that, I wish she’d let go of my cheeks soon.

*

What should I really do with this girl?

Chae-eun looked at Anna, completely unable to grasp the situation.

Yes, I understand that she decided to live conscientiously.

Honestly, I like it.

Good heavens, choosing to live virtuously as a way to defy God.

Unless one is truly twisted in their heart and gets annoyed when they see such upright people and doesn’t break them, one can’t help but think well of Anna.

But at the same time- I think she’ll have the same thought as Chae-eun.

What should I do with her?

Honestly, it might be most ideal for her to just live in the church. Isn’t her personality too excellent for dedicating herself to religion? Innocent and righteous.

…….

The thought, ‘I don’t want her to be tainted by society,’ crossed my mind.

But at the same time, Anna wants to go outside the church.

If so, I want to help her with that too. That is, even if the world is like this, I didn’t want such a good kid to receive no reward.

And at the same time, I feel a sense of rebellion.

The world isn’t like that.

The world I’ve seen isn’t as bright as you wish.

Like an adult who wants to tell a child who still believes in Santa Claus that he doesn’t exist, I wanted to tell this child with such absurd values.

Why can you think like that even when you grow up? Do you really not know the world? I wanted to tell her-

“…….”

But, seeing her struggling to escape from Chae-eun’s hands with a contorted face, such thoughts don’t continue.

“Puhah!”

As Chae-eun released her grip, Anna quickly pulled back.

“What are you doing!?”

“Ah, sorry, I did it without realizing.”

“Y-y-y-!”

Anna bristled, as if about to say something bad.

“Are you a gorilla or something!?”

“……Huh?”

A strange nickname, like one a primary schooler would give.

But Chae-eun couldn’t help but get angry at those words.

“Who’s a gorilla!?”

“Looking at your grip strength, you’re definitely a gorilla, so what’s the big deal!?”

Ah, really.

In the end, Chae-eun argued with Anna all the way to the office where Lee Si-yoon and other hunters were waiting.

“If I’m a gorilla, then you’re a soft and chewy pet rabbit?”

After saying that, I thought this nickname might not be very angering,

“R-rabbit!?”

For some reason, it seemed to work very well on Anna.

“You’re a rabbit that can’t even run away, right? And you’re so soft and chewy that you’d have some left if you bit into it. Your cheeks.”

“Soft!? Bite!? Are you serious!? Who are you calling fat!? Me, who is this beautiful!?”

Huh.

Really.

What should I do with this girl?

But even while thinking that, Chae-eun found herself enjoying the argument a little.