Chapter 7. Favor and Calculation (2)

After hearing Ria’s cute grumbling, I accepted her opinion and consecrated Ria’s sword once more.

Now, it wasn’t just a consecrated sword, but a magnificent holy sword that any believer would covet.

Although the design of the sword itself looked like a mass-produced item rather than a holy sword.

Every time I placed Ria’s sword on my lap and stroked it with my fingertips as if to show off, Ria would tremble her shoulders and rage, but she still couldn’t bring herself to get angry.

To think she’d be so flustered when I touched her cheeks, when she herself was touching my cheeks.

I feel good about securing an offensive weapon.

However, I can’t use it often. I also had to be in the mood for it, and more importantly, if Ria got too used to it, the attack would lose its meaning.

Ria was sitting cross-legged on the bed, resting her elbow on one knee and glaring at me, but I wasn’t scared anymore.

In the original work, Ria had even thrown Lee Si-yoon around and ridden him-

“…?”

Hmm.

My mood suddenly soured.

Even though it was incredibly fortunate that Ria wouldn’t do such a thing to me, my mood inexplicably sank.

“…Huh?”

Seeing my expression suddenly turn sour, Ria tilted her head.

Well, even if I have other worries, at least I won’t tell anyone about this particular worry.

Let’s assume I have a male friend. I don’t necessarily want to date that friend openly, but still, that friend is very friendly with everyone around her, and although she has some peculiar traits, she’s a kind and good-hearted person. On top of that, she’s incredibly beautiful and has a great figure.

“She’s a bit eccentric, isn’t she? Doesn’t she seem un-girly?”

Probably, all my male friends would evaluate her that way.

That girl is the same. She doesn’t really treat the people around her as men.

Then, one day, she suddenly boasts about having a boyfriend.

That boyfriend would almost certainly be incredibly handsome and a great guy.

Only then would everyone around her sigh, thinking, ‘Ah, I should have confessed at least once.’

It’s not that I didn’t think about dating her immensely, but the reason I didn’t confess was not because she was eccentric and boisterous, but because she wasn’t the type of person who would date me.

“…?”

No, that’s a bit different.

Because she’s not an ‘opposite-sex’ friend, but a ‘same-sex’ friend.

I shrugged my shoulders and stood up, approaching Ria.

And I handed her the sword.

“Is this okay?”

“Uh, uh… Thanks?”

Ria tilted her head in bewilderment as she received her sword.

She probably doesn’t know what absurd worries I’m having because of her.

If she ever found out, how would she react? Would she dislike me for having such a personality flaw, when we’ve been living together?

Well, I don’t know. If this were a Japanese light novel, there might be one heroine among them who has an unusually high amount of physical contact with the heroine.

Somehow, I feel like Ria would punch me in the head.

I turned my body again and went to my desk.

Then I opened the drawer and took out a small bag from inside.

Inside, there were many small chocolates, each wrapped in foil.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

As I handed it to Ria, Ria replied, accepting it in bewilderment.

“I consecrated them one by one. Even if they’re not as good as the chocolate last time, they should be usable like healing potions.”

“…?”

Ria blinked her eyes blankly.

“Take one out and eat it whenever you need it.”

“Uh, no, I know how to use them.”

Ria looked at me with a perplexed expression.

“When did you make these?”

“Whenever I had free time. When Ria went to wash up, I had nothing else to do anyway, right?”

These chocolates were also given by Ria. They were carefully unwrapped without tearing the foil, imbued with holy power, and then re-wrapped.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Yours, didn’t you prepare any separately?”

“Ria, you’ll protect me, right?”

“…?”

Ria’s mouth fell open.

“Besides, I’m someone who knows how to use holy power directly. It’s better for the person who is actually at risk of getting hurt to have them all.”

“Ah, yeah.”

At my words, Ria replied in bewilderment.

Even though my escort has increased, Ria is still the one right next to me. I don’t want to change that. Because she is one of the few people I can fully trust.

“Um.”

As I sat back down on the bed, Ria called me in a rare, cautious voice.

“There’s really no danger to life or anything, right?”

Perhaps because I prepared so thoroughly, Ria seemed a bit anxious.

“I’m just preparing for the worst-case scenario.”

…That’s right.

It’s not an academy story, but isn’t it a novel about going beyond the Gate in the first place?

Moreover, almost every civilization mentioned in that novel had a conflict on the verge of erupting, and it would erupt precisely when the protagonist’s party visited.

Even if the period I visit is advanced, I cannot let my guard down.

“…Okay.”

In the end, Ria didn’t seem to fully understand, but she definitely took the chocolates.

*

The schedule with the government was coordinated, and our visit to the gnome civilization took place at the end of May, almost at the beginning of June.

Gnomes are fundamentally people who have adopted a republican system.

In other words, the land of the gnomes is a republic. However, that doesn’t mean it’s the same as the Republic of Korea. Gnomes didn’t have a separate president.

Tribes united to survive and form a nation, and therefore, they adopted a form similar to a parliament where one representative from each tribe is elected and gathered. In the novel, there was no further explanation, so I didn’t know exactly how it worked.

However, even in such a parliament, there is a leader.

“Our Gnome Tribal Federation sincerely welcomes Saint Candidate Anna.”

The person standing at the very front, well.

If a gnome doll, often placed in a garden in front of a house in Western movies, were dressed in the capitalist attire of the early 20th century bourgeoisie, they would likely give off this impression.

His short stature reached about my waist. His chin was covered in a thick beard, and his white hair was receding, revealing a significant amount of scalp underneath.

“…I am Anna. Thank you for the invitation.”

I replied, bowing my head lightly.

“I heard that the Gate from Sister Anna’s church to our country is quite far away. You must have had a hard time traveling, so how about relaxing and recovering from your journey today, and we can have our main discussions tomorrow? Ah, but there will be a welcome banquet in the evening. It would be an honor if you could attend and grace us with your presence.”

The Gate wasn’t that far away. About three hours by car.

Still, there’s no need to get straight to the point. We need a way to gauge each other’s impressions.

Gnomes, in particular, would be like that.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I replied politely.

The gnome leader nodded like a gentleman and escorted me, keeping a slight distance.

He seemed to understand well what a ‘nun’ was, so I thought I still couldn’t let my guard down.

…

No, I don’t know if it’s of much significance for me to let my guard down.

*

“The room… is small.”

“For a gnome, it’s extra large.”

Although there were two beds, they were placed almost touching, as if they had been forced in. If one has restless sleep, it would be nothing for one to encroach upon the other.

Moreover, although the furniture was usable for us, it was all subtly small.

It can’t be helped. Not all gnomes have seen humans. They must have estimated, thinking, ‘With this height, they should make it this big!’ so subtle errors are unavoidable.

I quickly unpacked my luggage.

“By the way, a welcome ceremony.”

“Since we’re nuns, we’ll participate in our usual attire anyway.”

“Well, I know that.”

Will she think of wearing something over her nun’s habit again?

If I were a Saint, there would be separate clothes for Saints, but that’s not the case yet.

“Are you going to dance?”

“…?”

I stopped organizing my luggage, looked up at Ria with a bewildered expression.

Perhaps thinking that she had been on the receiving end from me for the past few days, Ria was looking at me with a strangely excited expression.

“…Don’t.”

I warned her.

“Why? There’s no rule that nuns can’t dance.”

“…?”

Isn’t there?

Uh, no? I don’t know.

“And it’s good to know social dancing once. You can use it somewhere.”

“What kind of crazy person would ask a nun to dance socially?”

That much, I could say for sure.

Besides, social dancing. It’s not like it’s the Middle Ages.

“They’re gnomes?”

However, seeing my expression, Ria shrugged her shoulders.

“Besides, the clothes they were wearing looked like those of people from the early 20th century. Or maybe the late 19th century? If it’s a civilization similar to that era, they might dance socially.”

“…?”

Uh, I don’t think so.

Certainly, in the novel.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Ria giggled.

“…Anyway, no one asks nuns to do that kind of thing.”

“Let’s wait and see.”

Even though I said it seriously, Ria just kept smiling.