Fake Saintess, Real Saintess (3)

“……Huh?”

What the hell is this guy saying now?

The first emotion that surfaced when Gyeotmwa Josyegigot suddenly proposed that I join the Hero’s party was, naturally, ‘bewilderment.’

Just moments ago, I thought he had properly understood my refusal to join the Hero’s party, so I never expected him to suddenly present such an absurd condition.

“W-what kind of nonsense is that?!”

“This is the bare minimum condition I can compromise on. If you won’t even accept this much, then I won’t cooperate with your plan either. No, I might even actively interfere.”

“No way…!! I-I’d agree to most reasonable conditions, but that one is just too absurd! As someone who’s played through 25 loops in 『Luminor Academy』, I know better than anyone that joining the Hero’s party means being stuck grinding for at least a few years-who the hell are you trying to drag into this mess like some desperate ghost?!”

Even if it meant taking an Energy Bolt to the head, joining the Hero’s party was out of the question.

My desperate struggle to survive as Lillith wasn’t just to avoid being assaulted by Ethan in his pig-like state-it was also to prevent myself from getting entangled in the main academy storyline and ending up in the Hero’s party.

Back then, I figured there wasn’t much difference between being pinned down by Ethan or the Hero, and the idea of avoiding one man only to end up under another didn’t even exist as an option in my survival playbook.

But after all that effort to dodge both Ethan’s assault route and the Hero’s party route, now he wants me to join the Hero’s party? Absolutely not happening.

“S-so my body is your goal after all?! If you’re under some kind of misconception, let me make this clear-just because I join the Hero’s party doesn’t mean I’ll spread my legs for you like the in-game Lillith-“

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I have zero interest in your body, and I’m not trying to ruin your future plans. I’m just saying that if Celista doesn’t awaken as the Saintess, I’ll need you to join the Hero’s party.”

“B-but Celista is destined to awaken as the Saintess anyway, so there’s no need to drag me along just to clear the game-“

“I’ve read the walkthrough, so I know that much. But that’s only the case when there’s no real Saintess like you around.”

“……Huh?”

“Celista won’t awaken until the latter half of Part 4, which is about five years from now. Do you really think she can endure being labeled a fake Saintess while properly functioning in the Hero’s party for those five years?”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words. Honestly, I hadn’t considered that far ahead…

“What if Celista’s resolve weakens during that time, or she’s influenced in a way that prevents her from awakening as the Saintess? No, in fact, that’s highly likely. If a ‘real Saintess’ exists, she might never even develop the belief that she needs to become one herself.”

“T-that’s…”

“And even if Celista’s faith remains unshaken and she lasts those five years, what about the disgrace of being called a fake Saintess during that time? Do you think a simple apology or two will make up for that?”

“O-of course not…”

…Maybe I had been subconsciously denying it all along. Deep down, I might have vaguely realized that if I became the Saintess, Celista wouldn’t be able to awaken through sheer belief alone-but since that fact worked against me, my subconscious had deliberately avoided dwelling on it.

In the game, the reason Celista could still awaken even after Lillith’s awakening was because, by that point, her conviction that she could become the Saintess was already unshakable.

Conversely, if she witnesses me as the real Saintess now, while she’s still emotionally immature, awakening on her own would be nearly impossible, no matter how closely we follow the original storyline.

“B-but, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“Even if I join your party after awakening, Celista being exposed as a fake Saintess is inevitable, right? That’s something that can’t be avoided whether I join the Hero’s party or not, so shouldn’t we just prevent her from being consecrated in the first place?”

“Honestly, I’d prefer that, but it’s still better than you dying. If I knowingly let a fellow countrywoman die when I could’ve stopped it, I’d feel guilty later.”

“…Yeah, I guess so.”

“Also, while I’m keeping Machart alive for now because he’ll be useful for the story later, if your decisions start interfering with clearing the game, I can’t cooperate anymore. …And if you join the Hero’s party, there’s a way to protect Celista from disgrace.”

“……Huh?”

What does me joining the Hero’s party have to do with protecting Celista from disgrace?

As I puzzled over this seemingly unrelated point, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot continued explaining as if it were obvious.

“First, just by traveling with Celista, she can keep pretending to be the ‘real Saintess.’ To ordinary people, they’ll only sense the holy aura of divine power, and in crowds, they won’t be able to tell who it’s coming from.”

“Ordinary people might be fooled, but what about church-related events? For Celista’s sake, we’ll obviously have to visit churches a few times.”

“…We’ll have to be careful with those events, of course. But with the help of the high priests who originally endorsed Celista as the Saintess, hiding it won’t be impossible.”

“……”

“More importantly-and this is the main reason-I want you in the Hero’s party so that even if Celista is exposed as a fake Saintess, we can protect her until the very end.”

“…How?”

“Let’s assume that while traveling with me in the Hero’s party, it’s eventually revealed that you’re the real Saintess and Celista was a fake.”

“……Right.”

“Then Celista will naturally face accusations like, ‘How dare you impersonate the Saintess and profit from her reputation all this time?'”

“…Yeah, that makes sense.”

“But if that happens, all you have to do is say one thing: ‘Celista was only playing the role of the fake Saintess to protect me from demon assassinations.’

With just that one line from you, Celista won’t face unnecessary blame-instead, she’ll be praised as the brave girl who risked danger to protect you all this time.”

“……Ah!”

Hearing this explanation, I finally understood why Gyeotmwa Josyegigot wanted me in the Hero’s party.

It wasn’t just about needing a Saintess-he was worried about Celista, the priestess herself, from the very beginning.

Seeing how much he cared for Celista, despite his bratty exterior, made him suddenly seem different. I’d thought he was just a Hero in appearance, but his mindset was genuinely heroic.

“And if we’re going to use the excuse that Celista was acting as your stand-in, you obviously need to be active in the party too. If the real Saintess just sits back while her stand-in does all the work, no one will buy that flimsy excuse.”

“O-oh. I understood what you meant earlier. I was just… a little surprised.”

“Surprised by what?”

“I thought you were just focused on clearing the game to return to your original world, but I didn’t expect you to care so much about characters like Celista too.”

“…What else could I do? Celista is someone who’s sacrificing herself, unable to reveal that she’s a fake Saintess, all for my sake. Of course I have to do everything I can for her too. The same goes for Silena and Seraphine.

While I’m here, I can at least protect her from the fake Saintess accusations, but eventually, I have to return to my original world. So I need to make sure Celista has a safe environment even after I’m gone.”

…With his resolve this firm, it would be utterly irresponsible of me to say, “Sorry, I can’t do that.”

Even I’m not shameless enough for that. After all, what I’m about to do increases the chances of Celista being exposed as a fake Saintess, so it’s only fair that I take responsibility.

In the grand scheme, it might just mean a few years of hardship for me, but my choice could bring Celista a lifetime of suffering. Worse, she might not just face lifelong humiliation-she could be punished for impersonating a Saintess.

With that in mind, I couldn’t help but steel my resolve.

“Fine. I owe Celista that much at least.”

“Don’t go back on your word later when everything’s settled.”

“I won’t. I’m not so shameless that I’d run away when the tables are turned, especially after relying on others to survive.”

“‘Shameless bastard’ should be ‘shameless bitch’ in your case.”

“…Whatever.”

“Keep your promise. If Celista can’t awaken as the Saintess, you’re joining the Hero’s party.”

“I got it. If Celista can’t awaken as the Saintess, I’ll join the Hero’s party-“

-Thud, clatter!

“…N-nooo…!!”

“Joining… the… party…?”

“……Celista?”

“T-that’s not allowed!! N-no matter who you are, Lillith-nim, I-I can’t hand over the Hero-nim to you!!”

“……”

“……”

Mid-conversation with Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, Celista suddenly burst in, leaving both the Hero and me speechless.

…Wait, how much did she overhear?