Chapter 6. Friendship and Relationships (3)

It’s understandable that I’m conscious of Ria, when I think about it.

First of all, although I intended to make Han Yu-ri, the childhood friend heroine, my main partner, I didn’t dislike the other heroines.

The illustrations drawn by the author were all pretty. Each had their own story and their own struggles.

The setting of a childhood friend is sacred in itself, but in fact, it doesn’t suit me. After all, aren’t they ‘childhood friends’?

No matter how handsome a man I reincarnated as in this world, I naturally wouldn’t interfere between them. Good heavens, a male character who tries to butt into a pure love couple deserves to die. Every time I see such a character, I feel like my stomach lining, which I’ve worn out several times, is aching.

Then, what about the heroines remaining after that pure love ending?

Hmm, well.

In fact, in web novels, a harem also means that the protagonist accepts all the harem heroines. In reality, it’s just being a player, but isn’t it okay to fulfill such a dream within a novel?

Even if I don’t end up with other heroines, it’s a kind of unwritten rule not to show those heroines dating other male characters or getting married.

That’s… yes, it’s a kind of courtesy. Just as a writer doesn’t describe every single meal the protagonist eats, or doesn’t necessarily describe every trip to the bathroom, it’s realistic for pretty, well-built, and capable women to date other men after overcoming heartbreak, but there’s no need to go that far.

Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it to the imagination, rather than definitively stating it?

Isn’t it a bit too much to call that ‘nothing important’ or say ‘buy it in reality’?

“……Ugh.”

However, there was one problem with my head thinking such thoughts.

That’s exactly why I’m currently lying on the bed, clutching my head.

Even if someone claims one heroine as their main partner in a harem story, as I said a moment ago, they don’t want to see other heroines dating other men.

Even I, who can digest most genres as long as they aren’t NTR, BSS, or hardcore exploitation, am the same.

Therefore, rationally and logically speaking, it’s a bit awkward for me to fantasize about Ria.

Get out of my head!

……I wanted to shout that out loud, but unfortunately, Ria shares the same room as me. Even though the sound of water from the shower can be heard, Ria is originally a martial arts heroine with superhuman strength.

If I were to blurt out something strange, she would undoubtedly hear my voice through the sound of the water.

“Ggugeuk.”

Just mentioning the shower made me remember that Ria, who shares the same room, is currently showering.

It was a web novel serialized on Novelpia, and it was also a harem story, so it’s possible that Ria’s IF story was serialized later. It’s possible that nude illustrations were released there, but I’ve never seen them.

However, I could somehow imagine it. Isn’t the most powerful graphics card in the world said to be the human brain?

……Am I going through puberty?

I thought I was past that even in this world.

No, well, I know it’s an unrealistic story anyway.

The possibility of Ria and I getting together is almost zero. Not at all, I have my past life memories almost intact, so it’s natural for me to feel sexual attraction towards women, but Ria… what should I say, doesn’t she like men?

Because it was a harem story.

She even fought with the Saint all the time.

……No, I wasn’t this conscious of her until just a while ago, why am I suddenly like this?

Perhaps, it’s a lingering effect from going cherry blossom viewing with Ria a while ago.

No matter how rational and logical a person is, a person is still a person. It’s impossible to completely block or remove all the thoughts that instinctively come to mind. Just like how after watching a horror movie, the imagination keeps popping up, ‘imagination’ is hard to stop even in other categories.

“Hoo.”

However, no matter what, I didn’t want to think such things about a heroine.

I got up from my seat and sat cross-legged on the bed.

Then, I placed my hands on my knees and took a deep breath in and out.

Okay.

Let’s have peaceful thoughts.

Just as I was trying to fall into meditation while regulating my breathing, the shower door suddenly opened.

“!?”

I reflexively opened my eyes, and then quickly closed them again when I saw Ria coming out with a bath towel wrapped around her body, pressing her wet hair with a towel.

No, well, even though most of her body was covered… isn’t it a bit much?

I’ve shared rooms with other girls briefly before, but no one acted like that.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

Ria said nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong.

“If you’ve washed, you should have dried yourself off!”

In the end, when I replied with that, Ria laughed as if she found it absurd.

“What’s the big deal? We’re both women.”

“No, it’s not like that in the convent!”

Actually, I don’t know about other places. Don’t people generally exercise at least a minimum of care even with the same gender? Even if you sleep only in your underwear, you wear clothes when you live normally, right?

“I’m wearing underwear too.”

“Is wearing underwear the problem now? It’s the problem of wearing only underwear!”

“I’m wearing a towel too.”

“Don’t we not call towels clothes?”

“No, why are you being so sensitive? This much-“

“……Excuse me, Ria. Have you ever lived in a dormitory? Or lived with a friend?”

“……No.”

I hit my forehead with my hand.

Of course, my eyes were still closed.

“Uh, was I not supposed to do that?”

“No, it’s not that you’re not supposed to, but isn’t it still very awkward?”

I don’t know if people go to bathhouses together when they’re close friends, but I’ve never been to a women’s bathhouse, so I don’t know. At the very least, I have that much conscience.

Putting aside the fact that I had no opportunity to go in this world in the first place.

Speaking of dormitories, Ria probably hasn’t been to a public bathhouse either. Isn’t that natural? The bathtub at home must be incredibly large and much more convenient to use.

“But, I’ve seen you before.”

“I’ve never come out covering my body with just a towel!?”

Even if I look like this, I’m quite considerate! Even if there are occasional lapses-

Out of frustration, I opened my eyes wide, and in the end, I ended up looking directly at Ria’s appearance.

Just as I said her face was pretty, her body was naturally pretty too. Well, you couldn’t see her waist cinched in because of the towel, but rather, that stimulated the imagination.

I ended up face-planting on the bed again.

As I wriggled, unable to overcome my frustration with my face buried, Ria laughed.

I’ll get revenge.

I will definitely get revenge someday.

I don’t know how I’ll make Ria embarrassed, but I’ll definitely get revenge.

……Still, maybe it’s fortunate.

Thanks to that, my worries have been somewhat alleviated.

I wasn’t particularly grateful.

*

Although I was a Saint candidate and not yet a Saint, it’s natural for someone with power in the church to help with the hunters’ work.

No matter how competent the hunters are, it’s not like the government or the church doesn’t get involved at all. The government does it for various reasons, to secure tax revenue, and the church does it to secure other income besides donations and contributions from believers.

I don’t know how the taxes the government collects annually are used, but it’s true that the church alone is difficult to run solely on donations from believers.

Concepts like tithing haven’t disappeared even in modern times, but that’s entirely up to the person who pays. Since there’s no record of them having direct conversations with the ‘God’ they claim, their justification for collecting money is somewhat weak.

It’s not entirely incomprehensible that they sell holy water or receive large donations for treating patients instead of hospitals.

“So, are you okay?”

“Huh? What?”

As I sat blankly with textbooks on the desk, Ria suddenly asked me, so I tilted my head.

“It’s your power, right? If you use your power, the church will take the money.”

Well, that’s probably true.

In fact, even the treatments I’ve done so far probably weren’t entirely free. Since there are regular monthly donations, they could have come to my church without question, right?

“…….”

I couldn’t answer that question.

Before, I could just quit being a nun, but now the story is different.

I just kept my textbooks open on the desk.

Lecture time.

Although it’s not an academy, since we’re going around with hunters, we also take classes to have at least minimal common sense. The content of the classes is surprisingly similar to university lectures, except that they are related to what hunters do.

For now, we are temporarily attending lectures in this association building, which is not far from us, but it seems they will send someone to teach us once a proper curriculum for me and Ria is established.

It was the same in the original work. Separate lectures were held just for the protagonist’s party.

That was the reason why the protagonist, Lee Si-yoon, could freely enter and exit the church.

…….

Oh, but here, Lee Si-yoon hasn’t awakened his powers yet.

How will it unfold from here?