Ch.7The Saint Struggles with Modern Times

“Ooh…”

Towering buildings that seemed to reach up and pierce the sky.

Straight, smooth roads stretching into the distance.

Countless people passing by.

“This is… Seoul.”

Around the time when the sun hung at the zenith, Eila arrived in Seoul.

Normally, she would have arrived much earlier.

There was no speed limit like when walking on water, so she could have run at full speed.

Despite this, the reason she was so late was because she had smashed every gate she encountered along the way.

Thanks to that, she had also filled her stomach.

Eila looked around and fell into thought.

The first thing she needed to do was find information about the Hero.

“…There are so many people.”

It would be difficult to stop and ask each one of these many people individually.

In that case, there were three options:

The Adventurer’s Guild.

Government offices.

Information brokers.

The first would be easier to get information from, but the reliability of information increased with the latter options.

Additionally, information brokers usually demanded enormous amounts of money.

Even government offices required fees.

Eila rummaged through her pockets.

There was nothing.

Of course there wasn’t.

A sensation felt at her neck.

Eila ran her hand along her neck.

Attached to a chain, a blue jewel emerged.

Eila tucked the necklace back inside.

It was the only item from this world that the Hero had left behind.

She couldn’t sell it even if offered millions.

Eila let out a sigh.

‘Whether it’s information brokers or government offices, for someone like me with no money in this world, the guild is my only option.’

Eila was about to move her feet to find the Adventurer’s Guild when she suddenly stopped.

…Come to think of it, does an Adventurer’s Guild even exist in this world?

There was nothing like that in the stories the Hero had told her.

No, wait, it might have been established during the time the Hero was away.

Since there were things similar to adventurers called hunters, perhaps she could find something like a Hunter’s Guild?

But where should she go?

Eila closed her eyes and surveyed her surroundings.

The strongest-looking person among those nearby.

“…Found one.”

Northwest, approximately 10 to 15 meters away.

Eila opened her eyes and tensed her legs–

‘Come to think of it, if I suddenly drop from the sky, they’d be startled, wouldn’t they?’

Eila relaxed her legs and slowly walked toward the man.

Looking around was a bonus.

People, people, everywhere she looked, she saw people.

People forming a city, living their daily lives while smiling—

A smile formed on Eila’s lips.

She was simply happy.

The sight of people living their lives.

How hard had she run to restore this scene?

Of course, this was a different world.

Still, she was happy.

As she walked along with that faint smile on her face:

“…Oh.”

Across the street, she saw a large building.

Its classical atmosphere, almost like…

“Seoul… City Hall?”

City Hall?

Was that a type of government office?

Eila fell into thought for a moment.

Should she follow the man who was moving away to get information, or should she enter that place called City Hall?

Eila made her decision.

***

“Number 128?”

“Yes!”

At the City Hall’s civil service center.

Eila was sitting with a transparent, thin panel between her and the clerk.

“Um… what brings you here today?”

“Well… I’m looking for someone.”

“Someone? May I ask their name?”

“Ah, Kim Ji-woo… is the name.”

The sound of typing echoed.

“What is your relationship to them?”

“Pardon?”

“What is your relationship with Kim Ji-woo?”

“Do, do I really have to say that…?”

“If I don’t know that, I can’t help you.”

Eila’s face instantly turned red.

She felt like the clerk was mocking her.

Re-relationship?

How embarrassing…

“W-well… we’re… l-lovers…”

“Excuse me?”

“We… promised each other a future together…”

Eila mumbled softly with a flushed face.

However, the clerk’s expression grew increasingly stern as they heard those words.

“…I’m not asking about that kind of relationship. Do you have a family relationship certificate or a resident registration? If it’s not an officially documented relationship, I can’t provide any information.”

“…What?”

Eila’s mind went blank.

A little while later.

“Ugh…”

Eila walked with unsteady steps.

What? They won’t tell you unless you’re family or a relative?

How are you supposed to find someone then?

Besides, we’re going to be family soon, so what’s the harm in telling me now—

“…”

Her thoughts, which had gone that far, suddenly cooled.

Yes, they had promised a future together.

But that was a promise made in the other world.

It meant there was no connection to this place.

No connection.

Just thinking of that one sentence made her chest painfully cold.

Foreigner.

Uninvited guest.

In this world, a person named Eila did not exist.

A suddenly appearing, disconnected existence.

She knew this, but thinking about it again made her heart ache.

“Haah…”

She shouldn’t keep thinking like this.

She should always show a bright face, a smiling face.

She was tired.

Her head was dizzy.

Suddenly, her vision flickered.

Eila barely managed to straighten her body as she almost collapsed.

Was she tired?

Come to think of it, it had been over two weeks since she’d had proper sleep.

Even though she had cast blessing spells like [Fatigue Reduction], [Mental Stability], and [Vitality Recovery], blessings weren’t omnipotent.

Simply put, their effects had worn off.

She could feel the fatigue she had held back now pouring down on her.

Eila looked for a place to sleep.

The sun hadn’t set yet, but Eila’s body clock, which had endured two years in a world without sunlight, was adjusted to fall asleep immediately when desired.

As she struggled to lift her eyelids that were being weighed down by fatigue, Eila searched for a suitable place to sleep.

What caught her eye was a narrow, dark back alley.

“It’s dark…”

The alleyway, hidden by buildings, was deprived of the sun’s benefits.

“And narrow…”

Eila looked around. A narrow gap enclosed on three sides. The door right next to it was a bit concerning, but if she was careful about that door and the open front, there shouldn’t be any danger.

“Yaaawn~”

Eila yawned deeply.

She was at her limit now.

Hugging her sword, she curled up in the corner of the alley.

A few seconds after closing her eyes, the thread that had been stretched to its limit snapped, and Eila fell into sleep.

***

The campfire crackled as it burned.

The whitish smoke rose as if trying to reach the sky, but eventually dispersed and disappeared without even touching the clouds.

As if finding that disappointing, more firewood was added.

Crackle, crackle.

The amount of smoke increased, but still, it never reached the end of the sky.

Disliking that, even more firewood was pushed in.

Yet, the smoke couldn’t even reach the clouds.

“Haah…”

Will I ever be able to return…

“Hero, is something troubling you?”

“Whoa?! …Eila?”

“Yes, it’s Eila.”

White hair falling over her shoulders swayed.

Eila smiled as she spoke.

“You look troubled.”

“Just a bit tired… Eila?”

Eila immediately sat down beside me.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Aren’t you tired? You’re on watch duty tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

“It’s fine. I don’t plan to stay up all night either. Just, let’s stay together for a moment.”

“Oh, okay…”

“…”

An awkward silence hung in the air.

It couldn’t be helped.

Last night, I confessed to Eila and was rejected, so it would be stranger if the atmosphere was friendly.

More than that, why is Eila acting like this? Is this distance normal?

Even though it had been four years since I fell into this world, there was still much I didn’t understand.

“Um…”

Eila opened her mouth.

“Last night, that… what you said to me…”

Here it comes.

Damn, I was crazy.

Seeing Kurtz and Angelica being lovey-dovey, I just lost my mind…

I should have been more careful.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t consider your feelings…”

“…What?”

My apology seemed to elicit a strange reaction.

Eila’s eyes widened, then changed to what looked like a tearful expression.

“Why, why are you apologizing…?”

“Huh? Uh?”

Eila suddenly burst into tears.

I couldn’t understand what was happening.

Did I upset her somehow?

I desperately tried to comfort Eila.

If the other companions woke up and saw this…

…Oh, damn.

I don’t even want to imagine it.

After quite a long time of comforting Eila, she seemed to calm down and stopped crying.

“Sniff, I’m sorry… for suddenly crying…”

“No, no. It’s my fault…”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell again.

The sound of the wind and the burning campfire filled the air.

“Can I continue what I was trying to say earlier?”

Eila spoke up.

I nodded.

“Last night… that, what you said to me…”

Eila’s face turned bright red.

Her lips parted and closed repeatedly.

“Th-th-that confession! I mean!”

Here it comes…

The events of last night came back to me.

Although I was somewhat carried away by the momentum, I didn’t think the atmosphere was that bad, so I confessed to Eila.

After hearing my confession, Eila, with a flushed face, quickly ran away.

She was incredibly fast.

I swallowed.

It would definitely be a rejection…

Ah, I should have just kept quiet… Won’t this just make things awkward?

“I think… I didn’t give you an answer…”

Answer?

Is it something like “Let’s just be good friends”?

“No, you don’t have to answer…”

“I… like you too…”

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

Huh?

What did she just say?

“…You like me?”

I held Eila’s shoulders as I spoke.

Eila nodded her head very slightly up and down.

“Then why did you run away back then?”

“…I was just… embarrassed…”

She ran away for that reason?

I was dumbfounded.

I stared blankly at Eila’s face.

Golden shining eyes, snow-white hair, slightly drooping eyes…

Wait, didn’t Eila just say she liked me?

So are we dating now?

Eila and I…

“…Girlfriend?”

“!!!”

Eila’s body trembled greatly.

What I meant to just think had apparently escaped my lips.

Eila avoided my gaze and then bowed her head deeply.

“Y-yes… Girl, friend…”

What is this?

It’s cute.

“Eila, I like you. Your personality, your face, everything about you.”

“Ah, ahhh…”

Eila’s face turned red.

It was so red that I thought it might burst if it got any redder.

Even such an Eila was so lovable.

“Do you like me?”

I asked, and

Eila.

“…Yes.”

After a long silence,

“I, I also, like you… Very, very much…”

She said.

“…”

“…”

Silence fell.

But unlike before, it wasn’t a silence to break, but a silence to continue the emotions.

Eila raised her head, and our eyes met.

Her golden eyes, slightly wet with tears, shone more beautifully than stars.

“Ei, la.”

As if entranced, I brought my face closer to Eila’s.

“If you don’t want to, say so.”

Slowly, my lips approached Eila’s.

Peeking slightly, I saw that Eila had closed her eyes and was puckering her lips.

That sight was also too cute.

And so, as our lips were about to touch–

“Achoo!”

“Eeeek!!!?”

“Wh-who’s there?!”

“Ah, I’ve been caught.”

With a rustling sound, a shadow fell from the tree behind us.

Long blonde hair and pointed ears.

It was the elf archer of our party, Pinel.

“P-Pinel? H-how?”

“Well, I was just taking a night walk… and the atmosphere was quite steamy~”

Pinel smirked and made a circle with her left hand, then moved her right index finger back and forth through it.

“So, are you going to do it? If you say you will, I’ll get out of your way~”

“Ha, hahaha what are you talking about!!!!”

“Eh? You’re not? But the mood was so good?”

“I have no intention of doing that now!!!! And please stop that obscene hand gesture!!!!”

“Hmm~~ Okay~~~”

Pinel wore an expression like a child playing with a toy.

That crazy woman.

Who on earth said that elves were a noble race without sexual desire?

I’m guessing that person definitely hadn’t met Pinel.

If they had spent just three days with Pinel, they certainly wouldn’t have said such a thing.

I mean, she spouts lewd comments every 30 seconds.

That walking obscenity…

That personality was undermining all her other qualities.

Perhaps that’s what it takes to maintain balance…

It was a rather harsh balance patch.

“Well, since it doesn’t seem like I’ll get to see anything more interesting, I’ll go to bed~”

“Yeah, good night.”

Pinel stretched as if she had enjoyed herself enough and walked toward the tent.

Eila was crouching with her head bowed deeply.

She seemed to have been affected by that walking pornography.

“Oh, by the way.”

Pinel, who had been walking away, suddenly turned her head and extended her fist with the thumb out toward us.

With her thumb tucked between her middle and index fingers.

“Take it easy then! If you’re too loud, you might wake us up!”

“You crazy woman!”

I couldn’t help but shout.

It was autumn.

***

She dreams.

A happy dream, and therefore a painful one.

Her consciousness separates from the world.

Her body floats, and scenes pass by quickly.

From Eila sitting beside the Hero in front of the campfire, her consciousness slowly detaches and rises.

Forced awakening.

It still feels unpleasant.

But it can’t be helped.

Better to be forcibly awakened than to die while dreaming.

Flash.

Her eyes opened.

There was a man in front of her.

A man with shaggy black hair long enough to cover his eyes was reaching out his hand.

Eila immediately jumped up and landed behind the man.

The man whipped his head around.

His bangs obscured his eyes, making it hard to see, but he probably had a surprised expression.

Eila opened her mouth.

“…Who are you?”