The Truman Show – 1

Holy Saniso Week, which had been quite an event, passed without any special incidents.

The lively atmosphere of the stadium and the works recreating the miracles of Saint Saniso, which had been placed throughout the Order, all vanished without a trace as soon as Saniso Week ended.

As a result, the silence and solemnity that had briefly left returned to the Order after a long journey.

My daily life also returned to normal. The number of meals with nobles, which I had managed to reduce, increased again.

The Pope repeatedly apologized.

If I had acted according to my personality, I would have flipped the table, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so when an elderly man, much older than me, bowed to me and acted so humbly.

In fact, I was getting a little tired of playing the Saint lately.

Everywhere I went, I was bombarded with attention, and I had to be mindful of my surroundings with every action.

I can understand, at least a little, the struggles of celebrities, which I hadn’t really empathized with before.

“Hoo… another day is over.”

Perhaps it’s because of the emotional labor, but I feel extremely fatigued after work.

“Good work.”

The only time I can relax is when I’m in my room.

Even though Sister Maria is there, it’s still more comfortable than the Chapel or the dining hall.

Besides, the distance I initially felt from Maria is gradually decreasing, so being with her isn’t that uncomfortable anymore.

It seems Maria feels the same way. Unlike when she used to tremble like a new recruit when talking to me, she now speaks normally and even exchanges occasional jokes.

I guess the results of the competition gave her a lot of confidence.

I mechanically sat down in my chair, and Maria skillfully brewed coffee.

It wasn’t as good as Emma’s, but it seems her skills are improving as she does it more often.

“…Sister Maria, would you like a cup too?”

When I asked Maria, who was pouring the coffee and staring intently at me, she smiled and shook her head.

Lately, Maria has been watching me quietly quite often.

She just stares without doing anything else.

“Ah, Saint.”

Maria clapped her hands and said as if she had forgotten.

I take a sip of coffee and wait for her next words.

“I’ll go move the laundry.”

“I guess there’s training for the novice nuns today too.”

“Yes, it’s frequent around this time.”

“Go ahead. I’ll finish my coffee.”

“I’ll be right back.”

I slightly raise my cup and nod, and Maria leaves the room.

I can hear Maria’s footsteps fading away as she takes the laundry.

Her footsteps are a mix of anxiety and joy.

“‘I’ll be right back,’ huh…”

I wonder if she’ll really be back soon.

Whenever she takes my laundry, she’s gone for at least 30 minutes.

Well, it’s not surprising or suspicious anymore.

I already anticipated that Maria would be obsessed with me in this dimension.

What I’ve realized while wandering through various dimensions is that events will eventually happen in some way, and through those events, someone will become obsessed with me.

Assuming I can’t avoid the obsessive woman, what should I do?

Should I run away? Should I confront her?

What I learned from Garam is that unconditional rejection is an act that releases the brakes on their nature.

So, how should I act?

I decided to build a friendly relationship.

If I can’t stop the obsession, I’ll make it so that even if they are obsessed, it won’t be a big threat.

My position as Saint and the bond I built with her by teaching her swordsmanship.

That will make her hostile to the world, but not to me.

“……”

While thinking about this and that, a piece of paper on the table caught my eye.

A list written in letters I couldn’t read.

–

I have kept in mind that you said you wanted to do relief work.

–

Here are the candidate sites, so please tell me which one you would like to go to, Saint.

I received it from the Pope this evening.

Where should I go? Since I’m going out anyway, I think it would be good to do some proper volunteer work.

Then I should go to the poorest neighborhood.

“So, when is she coming back?”

Looking at the coffee I had already half-drunk, I waited for Maria to return.

Maria returned to the room 40 minutes after going to take care of the laundry.

She was breathing strangely heavily.

“The smallest place is ‘Elten’ village.”

I handed the list to Maria, who returned with a flushed face, and after hearing my explanation, Maria chose the third candidate, ‘Elten’ village.

“Is it far from here?”

“It’s usually about 4 to 5 days away. But the villages on this list are relatively safe to travel to.”

They can’t send me to a place that’s too far or where the security is bad.

I think that’s the Pope’s intention. Well, I don’t intend to insist on going far anyway.

“Just because a village is small doesn’t mean it needs help… Is there a place with a lot of poor people?”

At my question, Maria pondered for a moment and then chose the fourth candidate.

“Then it would be ‘Madini’ village. I heard it’s located on the way to each village, so there’s a lot of traffic.”

The more people there are, the more gaps there will be.

Especially if there are a lot of people passing through, there will be children abandoned there, and people who dream of a new life and come to the village without a plan.

But I have a strange feeling.

“Yes, but… it’s strange.”

I frowned and said to Maria.

“What do you mean?”

Maria tilted her head and looked at me.

“It’s like I’ve heard of Madini village before.”

Where did I hear it? It’s like I can almost remember.

I definitely heard it today…

“Ah!”

I remembered.

Today, I visited the novice Priest classroom to see Antonio.

It was to keep a previous promise.

But the boy wasn’t in the classroom, so I asked the Priest in charge about him.

-Antonio couldn’t adapt and returned to his hometown.

I had heard that many children can’t adapt to life in the Order at a young age and return home.

I felt like an adult who couldn’t keep a promise, and I felt bitter.

-I see. Where is Antonio’s hometown?

I just asked casually, without any particular meaning.

-‘Albainin’. It’s near Madini village.

“Albainin next to Madini…”

“Saint?”

“Sister Maria. How far is Albainin village from Madini?”

“I haven’t been there myself, but… I think it would take about half a day.”

Maria estimated the distance with her head.

“I understand. Then let’s go to Madini village.”

“Yes. I’ll let them know.”

I look at Maria’s face as she takes the list.