Chapter 8. The Saint and the Knight (2)

“Now, let’s think about it.”

“…”

As I sat up from my seat and looked straight at Ria, she gave a slightly bewildered expression, but then adjusted her posture and sat down.

We ended up sitting cross-legged facing each other on my bed. And without even turning on the light.

Well, that doesn’t matter. There was no big problem in facing Ria anyway.

“Ria, I’m not just a target for protection.”

“…Really?”

“Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

Huh.

At my words, Ria let out a breath as if bewildered. I also became bewildered by the sound.

“What is it, Ria? You said I wasn’t without talent?”

“It’s not that you’re without talent, but that doesn’t mean a target for protection stops being a target for protection just because they know how to shoot a gun.”

Ria crossed her arms.

Good.

Still, her attitude has returned to normal. Let’s consider this a positive sign.

“While Ria was carrying me and running- why?”

As I was speaking, Ria flinched her shoulders again. Her lips trembled, and her eyebrows twitched.

No matter how I look at it, isn’t she about to burst into laughter? If not, she must be so embarrassed that she’s about to die, but considering the situation, there’s no reason for Ria to make such an expression.

“N-nothing, okay? Just keep talking.”

Her voice is trembling?

“What is it? If you have something you want to say, say it. Was my shooting a gun in that situation completely useless? Is it laughable?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

…Why is she being serious again?

Although Ria’s expressions and emotional expressions are quite rich normally, her emotions don’t change so rapidly like a teenage girl’s.

“Really? So it wasn’t completely useless?”

“Uh, well… there’s a little more potential for development? Something like that, um.”

Ria spoke somewhat hesitantly.

“Then isn’t that enough?”

“Huh?”

“Well, I’m definitely not saying I’ve become a full-fledged combatant, but I do have a way to deal with one or two approaching enemies for sure. Moreover, if the opponent is a monster, the holy power I receive and use can also be used as an attack method.”

“…”

“I have absolutely no intention of being a mere burden.”

“…I don’t think of you that way.”

“That’s how I feel.”

I leaned slightly towards Ria, resting my hands on the bed, and stared at her face. Ria leaned back slightly and rolled her eyes as if somewhat flustered.

“I don’t want to be dragged around helplessly and put Ria in danger.”

That’s right.

Ria is my friend. Perhaps, the first friend I made after coming to this world.

She’s the only one who talks back to me persistently without running away, even when I say things that might be annoying. She’s also the only one who considers me completely equal, without regard for my status.

…

And, it’s not just that, I didn’t want Ria to die. I don’t want anyone to die because of me. I certainly don’t want them to take that death for granted.

“The people who fight on the front lines are always like that.”

I haven’t seen it directly. The world I lived in, at least my previous life in Korea, was not a place where you should risk your life like that.

…It’s not that there aren’t such people. It’s not that such sacrifices are not noble. I can’t stop all of that.

I want to believe I’m not so bad as to take lightly the death of someone who sacrifices themselves saving people at a traffic accident scene or a fire scene.

So, I wish no one would say they’ll die for me.

Even though it’s a world where it’s become common sense for young people who have just become adults to become heroes and fight risking their lives as hunters, a world where many people want to stop what’s beyond, earn money, and become more successful-

The reason for that shouldn’t be me. I didn’t want that.

What’s more, if it’s my friend.

…If that person is Ria, I don’t like it.

“Ria.”

I looked straight into Ria’s face and deliberately spoke with force in my voice.

“If Ria is my knight, what am I to Ria?”

“…”

“Am I just a burden to be protected? Or am I like a weapon that can be used when needed?”

Ria shook her head. Ria, who showed an expression of being overwhelmed by me for the first time, but I wasn’t entirely happy about it.

I didn’t want to argue about this.

“If it’s neither, and if my position hasn’t been decided yet, I want to become Ria’s comrade. Not someone who unilaterally sacrifices her life for me, but a comrade who stands on equal footing, helping each other. A friend.”

“…”

Ria’s eyes blinked.

“Don’t you like that kind of relationship?”

Ria remained silent for a long time, then finally opened her mouth.

“…No. I don’t dislike it.”

I gave Ria a slight smile.

“Then, let’s do that.”

Ria finally nodded.

*

Deep night.

Perhaps the events of the day finally caught up with her as fatigue, as soon as we finished our conversation and lay down, Anna fell asleep.

Anna, who usually fell asleep as if collapsing after pouring out her holy power, Chae-eun thought it was more commendable that she had held on until now.

Listening to her regular breathing, Chae-eun fell into thought for a moment.

She recalled what Anna had said.

Not a burden, not just a protected being, but a comrade who relies on each other.

“…”

Until now, how had Chae-eun thought of Anna?

Even asking herself, the answer didn’t come easily.

That emotion was difficult to express in one word.

Friend.

That’s correct. Ria also considers Anna a friend. She cherished Anna. Anna, as a friend, Chae-eun hasn’t had friends before. Among them, there were those who could be considered equal in their own way.

A friend with heroic parents. A friend who was already preparing to be a hunter at such a young age and showing promise.

However, among them, there was no friend like Anna.

Why was that?

…Yes, perhaps it was because I had never met a ‘person’ like Anna in the first place. Someone who wants to save people without any conditions. Someone whose goal is not to rise high with their own abilities, but just to live an ordinary life, was the first I had met.

Even with all those conditions, that is.

Now, I think I understand the reason a little.

And that reason was frightening.

I wanted to unravel each of those complex emotions. Why I feel strangely embarrassed when I see Anna, whether it’s truly due to religious feelings, or if there’s something else, I wanted to know properly.

But, what if.

What if- Anna ultimately accepts what she has to do?

And if that means Anna ultimately sacrifices herself?

If she goes somewhere before I can figure out her identity.

“…An equal being, perhaps.”

Is that so?

Will Anna go ahead of Chae-eun, riding that light that descended from the sky?

Just like her mother did, will she only sacrifice herself for others and leave-

“…”

Once saved,

Ria covered her face with both hands.

Anna doesn’t know. She doesn’t know how Ria saved her. She only thinks that she crushed the chocolate in her mouth and put it in.

As she recalled that thought, all the other complex memories she had recalled before flew away.

In the end, Chae-eun couldn’t fall asleep right away and could only sleep after struggling on the bed for a long time.

It was truly by God’s grace that Anna didn’t wake up in the meantime.

…Or maybe it was good luck.

Ria thought belatedly that her thoughts seemed to be somewhat transferring from Anna.

*

One of the most annoying things since becoming this body is that whenever I try to think about something, light descends from the sky.

The problem is that it’s the same even when I’m inside a building.

Even without that, I have a lot to think about because of yesterday’s incident, and even the people around me are constantly talking about it, and unfortunately, the fact that I didn’t refuse it once seems to have acted as a catalyst, and the light is really coming down at all times, which is very troublesome.

…

Well, it seems unavoidable.

I’ve decided to accept my status, and I’ve decided to use that power if needed. It’s unreasonable to refuse holy power now.

Unfortunately, I thought about it during breakfast, and in front of the knights, hunters, officials, and representatives of the gnomes, light fell on my head.

I’m getting tired of waving my hands- I thought.

Swish, swish.

Ria waved her hand over my head.

The light that was falling on my head instantly turned into smoke and disappeared.

“…”

Should I say thank you-

No, wait a minute.

I looked at Ria.

Ria was eating her meal with a completely nonchalant expression- no, the important thing isn’t her expression.

Did she just disperse that light with her hand?

The only person who could do that until now was me…?