Chapter 3 – Rejecting the Hero’s Party

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After returning to the papal court, I flopped down onto my bed.

‘Ha… today was insane.’

The echoes of the explosions and the screams of the monsters still lingered in my ears. On top of that, the afterimages of the blinding light seemed to remain in my vision.

“…I’m seriously amazing.”

I muttered to myself without realizing it. Honestly, I didn’t expect to pull off a “holy AoE skill” so cleanly.

“Dies Lucis.”

Even as I activated the skill, I was worried, ‘What if it doesn’t work?’ But the result? The entire village was bathed in holy light and perfectly cleared.

‘Wow… to think this is my power. God really made me a top-tier cheat character.’

Honestly, the moment I wielded that power was thrilling. The surge of immense energy and holy force radiating from my body…

‘Yeah, it’s like that feeling when you one-shot a boss in a game.’

But the pleasant thoughts didn’t last long. I hung my head again.

“…But, f*ck. Why does it have to be the hero?’

That guy, the hero, reaching out his hand to me—his words still echoed in my mind.

“Saintess, won’t you join me?”

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.

.

‘Join you? What do you mean join you? Am I crazy enough to team up with you?’

I muttered to myself and waved my hand in the air.

“No! No, f*ck! I can’t stand that cliché.”

The typical RPG story where the hero and the Saintess team up to defeat the Demon King.

‘And then what? Are we supposed to have some pink-tinged romance or something?!’

I let out another deep sigh.

“When I was a guy, I didn’t realize how infuriating the Saintess role could be.”

That hero guy kept giving me those typical, overly friendly looks, but he probably had no idea what nonsense he was spouting.

“Won’t you join me?”

‘…What is that? Is that a confession or a party invitation? The way you say it so seriously is the problem!’

I shivered and hugged a pillow.

‘And you know what pisses me off the most?’

The game’s setting flashed through my mind again.

‘The origin of the Demon King is the Saintess.’

If you think about it, the more I hang out with that hero, the higher the chance I’ll become the Demon King, right?

‘This worldview is seriously messed up.’

If I stick with that hero, I’ll probably end up with an ending where he defeats me. Based on the game’s story I know, there’s even a development where the hero and the Saintess clashes over the Demon King’s power.

“…Ha, f*ck. That can’t happen.”

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

‘I need to find a way to live quietly. If I get tangled up with the hero, my life is over!’

Of course, there was still the question of whether I could handle the Demon King’s power on my own…

‘But I’ll think about that later.’

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.

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Just as I was desperately trying to sort things out in my head.

“Saintess?”

‘…Who is it now?’

Raphael’s voice came from outside the door.

“Saintess, the hero has come to see you again.”

“…What?!”

I threw a pillow at the wall and shouted.

“No! Tell him I don’t want to meet him!”

“But Saintess, the hero is very insistent…”

“I said no!!!”

My shout echoed through the room.

‘That hero guy, is he some kind of leech?’

I pulled the blanket over my head and muttered.

“…Please, just leave me alone, please.”

But even I knew this fight wasn’t over.

‘Ha, damn it. I want to escape this messed-up worldview.’

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.

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“Saintess, are you really going to avoid me like this?”

I sat at the table, sipping tea, and glared at the hero sitting across from me. To be precise, I pretended to serve tea politely while swallowing my anger.

‘Hey, you jerk. Why are you so obsessed with me? If I join your party, it’ll lead to a bad ending, you know?!’

The hero still looked at me with that serious, passionate gaze and said, “The power you showed in the village—that wasn’t just a simple blessing from the Saintess. You… are the only hope to fight the Demon King.”

‘Ah, f*ck. Hope or whatever… I don’t want to become the Demon King!’

I screamed inwardly while carefully setting down my teacup. Outwardly, I smiled as gracefully as I could.

“I’m grateful for your words, but I still have much to think about regarding my role. Am I not too lacking to join you, hero?”

The hero confidently refuted my words.

“Lacking? No. You are stronger than anyone. Didn’t you see that power? The light that wiped out the monsters in an instant. I was certain when I saw that.”

‘Hey, that was just me spamming an AoE skill and getting lucky! I just swung it around!’

The hero leaned forward slightly, studying my reaction. His serious expression was unbearably annoying, but the snacks Raphael had prepared on the table caught my eye.

‘The snacks are good… I’d like to order more of these.’

I picked up a madeleine and chewed it slowly, trying to act as dignified as possible. The hero sighed and continued.

“If you stay like this, Saintess… the world will eventually fall into the hands of the Demon King. And the only ones who can stop it are you and me.”

‘Oh, wow. This guy’s lines are so dramatic. But I’m the one in more danger because of the Demon King, you know?’

I shook my head and spoke again.

“Hero, that’s an overestimation. No matter how much I’ve been blessed by God… I’m still lacking. It’s too much for me to handle that power alone.”

The hero sighed and looked straight at me.

“Saintess, you don’t have to handle it alone. If we’re together, surely…”

“No.”

When I firmly drew the line, a look of surprise flashed across the hero’s face. But soon, he asked seriously again.

“May I ask why?”

‘Why? Oh, as if you’d understand even if I told you.’

I clicked my tongue inwardly but outwardly tried to act as holy as possible, deflecting the conversation.

“Joining you, hero… might not be God’s will.”

“Not God’s will?”

“You believe in me, but… what if I end up walking the wrong path? Can I bear that burden and responsibility?”

The hero’s gaze wavered. He opened his mouth as if he couldn’t understand.

“How could the path you walk ever be wrong?”

‘Ha… that’s exactly what scares me. It’s not just the wrong path… there’s literally an ending where I become the Demon King!’

I picked up another madeleine and slowly chewed it.

“I don’t know yet.”

And I thought to myself.

‘In the game, the bad ending is me becoming the Demon King, and the happy ending is marrying you. Both are the worst, you know?’

I smiled gracefully again and said, “So, hero. I still want to find my own path. My own way.”

The hero pursed his lips and looked at me. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but eventually, he sighed.

“…I understand. But someday, Saintess, there will come a time when you need my help. Please come find me then.”

‘That’s never going to happen. I’ll survive here without getting tangled up with you.’

I nodded politely and replied, “I’ll keep that in mind, hero.”

The hero didn’t say anything more and stood up.

“Then I’ll take my leave for today. Please… consider my offer.”

I took another sip of tea and smiled.

“Yes, I’ll think about it.”

As soon as he left the room, I quietly muttered into the air.

“I’d rather die, you jerk.”

Then I picked up another madeleine and mumbled to myself.

“…Whether it’s the marriage ending or the Demon King ending. I’ll stop it myself.”

Raphael looked at me with an awkward smile.

“Saintess, the hero seemed really sincere…”

I cut him off sharply.

“Raphael, do we have more snacks?”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t change the subject. Can you bring me more madeleines and tea? These are seriously so good.”

‘This messed-up worldview is exhausting me… at least I should eat well.’

I resolved while endlessly munching on snacks.

‘I’ll find a way to avoid both those damn endings. Just wait and see.’

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“Saintess, someone else has come to see you this time.”

Raphael’s voice knocked on my door again.

I pulled the blanket over my head and sighed.

“Who is it this time? Is it the hero again?”

“No. This time… it’s a friend of yours.”

“…What?”

I took the pillow off my face and stared blankly at Raphael.

“A friend? A friend? Where would I have a friend here?”

Raphael smiled slightly and said, “He says he lived with you at the church. As soon as I approved the visit, he came right over…”

At that moment, the door swung open.

“Hey, Elysio! So you’re really living here as the Saintess, huh?”

A familiar voice. My body instinctively froze at the sound.

‘…This voice, could it be?’

Standing at the door was none other than the friend who had introduced me to this game. He was also wearing church robes, but his usual mocking smile was plastered on his face.

“Huh? It’s Elysio, right? Oh yeah, I should call you Saintess Elysia now, huh?”

He chuckled as he approached me.

“Hey, you jerk… what are you doing here?”

I stood up, dumbfounded. My friend was still looking me up and down, snickering.

“Ha… you really turned into a girl? You were just a decent-looking guy when we were at the church together. Becoming the Saintess really made you glamorous, huh?”

“You little…”

I felt my face heat up and gritted my teeth.

“Are you mocking me right now? You’re the one who got me into this game!”

“Hey, when did I mock you~? I’m just amazed. Wow… but seriously, is it true you became a girl? So… you don’t have it anymore?”

“You son of a… if you say that one more time, I’ll blast you with an AoE holy spell.”

When I let a bit of light flicker at my fingertips, my friend pretended to be scared and waved his hands, stopping his laughter.

“Oh, scary. You really are the Saintess, huh? But you’re more like… a Saintess who curses more than anything?”

“You’re the one who made me like this!”

“Haha, what did I do? You said the game was fun and started playing it too. But I didn’t know this kind of story would unfold in our lives.”

I glared at him, suppressing my anger.

“Hey, so what are you doing now?”

“Me? I’m just living an ordinary life as a priest, helping out at the church.”

“…If you’re in this world too, what’s your deal? You’re not some Saintess or something?”

My friend snorted and waved his hand.

“Nah, I just applied to be a Saintess candidate and got rejected right away. Lucky for me, I avoided ending up like you.”

“…Thanks a lot, you jerk.”

I sighed and glared at him. My friend, still unable to stop his laughter, picked up one of the snacks on the table.

“But seriously, Elysio, you’re amazing. Becoming the Saintess, casting AoE holy spells, saving the village? You’re practically the main character, huh?”

“F*ck, I don’t need that main character energy.”

“And you’re already tangled up with the hero, right? Are you following the official story now?”

“Don’t bring that up. I don’t want the bad ending where I become the Demon King, and I don’t want the marriage ending either. I just want to live quietly.”

My friend smirked and scoffed at my words.

“Hey, if you’re scared of those endings, you better avoid them. Or just team up with the hero and clear the game properly.”

“Why should I? I don’t need that, so just leave me alone.”

“Aww~ that’s harsh. Didn’t you miss me?”

“…Not even a little.”

My friend, still grinning, plopped down across from me.

“But it’s still nice to see you, right? We’re both stuck in this hellish game, so we should stick together. Won’t you help me out, Saintess?”

“I refuse. You figure it out yourself.”

I took another sip of tea and slammed the table.

“You’ll probably live smoothly like a game NPC anyway. That’s fine. I’ll handle things on my own.”

“Hey, you’re really mean.”

My friend raised his hand and grumbled.

“But I’ll at least get some entertainment out of watching you. Well, I’ll come back later. Stay alive until then. And don’t become the Demon King or anything.”

“…Get lost, you jerk.”

He burst out laughing and walked out the door. I glared at his retreating figure and muttered to myself.

“Seriously… when I think about how that guy dragged me into this worldview…”

I pulled the blanket over my head and sighed again.

“…I’ll really blast him with holy light someday. Just wait and see.”

 

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Wouldn’t it be funny if the friend is god? Heh.