The Saintess Descends (2)

‘D-do you also love the Hero-nim, just like me, Lady Lillith?’

For a moment, my mind went blank hearing Celista blurt out such an absurd statement with a perfectly straight face.

This girl’s head is completely in the clouds, absolutely smitten.

Of course, it goes without saying that I’ve never once felt anything resembling romantic feelings, let alone attraction, toward Kyetmajosyegigot.

To begin with, the time I’ve spent with the Hero wasn’t particularly long, and we’ve only spoken alone twice-including yesterday afternoon. For someone to fall in love after just two encounters, at least one of those would have had to involve him saving my life-no, make that twice.

While it’s true that we share some common ground as fellow countrymen, making him slightly easier to get along with than other men, there were far too many issues for me to consider him a romantic prospect.

‘S-so… you do harbor feelings for the Hero-nim as well, Lady Lillith.’

‘……Huh?’

Taking my silence as confirmation, Celista continued spinning her own narrative. To avoid becoming the butt of Kyetmajosyegigot’s jokes later, I had to quickly deny it.

‘That sounds like something I’d regurgitate from yesterday’s meal-no, please don’t misunderstand, Saintess Celista. I’ve never once held such feelings for the Hero-nim.’

‘Y-you don’t have to be embarrassed, Lady Lillith. After all, Kyetmajosyegigot Hero-nim is so dashing and reliable that any woman would naturally be drawn to him.’

‘I’m not embarrassed-this is a genuine misunderstanding, Saintess Celista. I don’t have any deep connection with the Hero-nim, and there’s even less reason for me to feel romantically…’

‘You can be honest with me. I won’t tell anyone. And even if you did feel that way, I wouldn’t withhold my blessings from you…’

‘I said no.’

‘……Huh?’

‘I said no. How many times do I have to repeat myself?’

‘S-sorry…’

…Why is it that no matter how politely I try to say it, she just won’t listen? Seeing Celista finally shut her mouth only after I turned stern made me want to sigh.

The very premise that I’d fallen for the Hero was flawed. Even though a considerable amount of time had passed since I realized I’d been reincarnated, I couldn’t just erase the memories of my past life.

Having devoted my previous life to playing 『Luminor Academy』 as my life’s game, now that I was inside this world, those memories were bound to stay with me forever.

Just because I’d become a woman overnight didn’t mean I could suddenly start loving men-that was impossible from the start. And Kyetmajosyegigot, with whom I barely had any meaningful relationship, was certainly not a candidate.

If we’re talking about time spent together, the man I’ve known the longest isn’t the Hero-it’s Ethan. In fact, if we’re not limiting it to men, Ethan is probably the person I’ve spent the most time with. It’s not just the sheer length of time, but the depth of those moments as well.

From the King Serpent subjugation at the masquerade ball, to the bandit ambush on our way back, to the battle against demons in Grainstone Village, and even the Kraken subjugation on the Lake of Knowledge-the moments where we fought back-to-back, risking our lives, were overwhelmingly with Ethan.

Of course, considering the upcoming battle with Machart, there would come a time when I’d have to fight alongside the Hero, but Ethan would be there too. And one battle wouldn’t suddenly make me develop feelings for Kyetmajosyegigot. On the other hand, with Ethan, at least there’s built-up trust, so in a one-in-a-million scenario, I might consider it…

‘…….’

-Bzzzt, bzzzt!

‘L-Lady Lillith?’

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts before they could veer back to Ethan, I quietly added to my earlier statement.

‘Let me make this absolutely clear-I have no romantic feelings whatsoever for the Hero-nim, so you can rest easy.’

‘…But surely you feel something?’

‘Nothing at all.’

‘B-but aren’t Heroes and Saintesses supposed to be drawn to each other? You’re a Saintess, and Kyetmajosyegigot-nim is the Hero, so it’s only natural for the two of you to feel an instinctive pull…’

‘Where on earth did you get that logic? Please don’t spout nonsense.’

‘B-but that’s how it was for me… Even though I’m just a fake Saintess, I thought the title alone would make me drawn to the Hero…’

‘That just means you liked the Hero-nim from the start. Don’t hide your feelings behind excuses.’

‘……!!’

If this were a game, a ‘Poof!’ sound effect would’ve popped up as Celista’s face turned bright red in an instant.

‘Besides, I’m not particularly interested in the opposite sex, so you can rest assured that I won’t be your romantic rival.’

‘Not interested in the opposite sex? …Gasp, d-does that mean you and Lady Agnes are…?’

‘…That’s not it either. Just think of me as someone who isn’t interested in romance at all, okay?’

‘O-okay…’

Though she answered like that, Celista began eyeing me nervously, as if suspecting I might be into women.

Well, Celista is cute, so if this were my past life’s body, she might’ve been within my range-but that was only if I still had that body. The idea of women loving women in this body just didn’t make sense, no matter how I looked at it.

Still, I didn’t want any weird misunderstandings piling up, so I tossed out a plausible alternative to put her at ease.

‘One last thing-just so you know, I’m currently dating Young Master Ethan, so you really don’t need to worry.’

‘W-what…?!’

‘In fact, Young Master Ethan loves me, and I’m doing my best to respond sincerely to his feelings. Though I’m not exactly experienced in romance, so I’m not sure how well I’m doing.’

‘I-I see… S-sorry for misunderstanding…’

Mentioning someone else you’re interested in has always been-and still is-an effective way to reject a confession. …Well, since this is a medieval fantasy setting, I suppose ‘still is’ is the right phrasing.

Of course, Celista wasn’t confessing to me-she was just making wild assumptions about my relationship with Kyetmajosyegigot.

And to be fair, what I told her wasn’t entirely false. Right now, I have no intention of marrying anyone in this world, but if I had to pick, Ethan would probably be the most likely candidate.

…That is, ‘most likely candidate’-not that I actually plan to marry him. Just that it’s a possibility.

‘By the way, the Hero-nim you love already knows about this. So please don’t get any strange ideas.’

‘T-then why did you try to join Kyetmajosyegigot-nim’s party? If it wasn’t for him or anyone else, then what was your reason…?’

‘…That’s something I’d like you to ask the Hero-nim yourself next time.’

Since this was related to her status as a fake Saintess, explaining it myself might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.

Besides, the Hero was the one who set the condition that I join his party, so it’s his responsibility to explain. If I do end up joining, he’ll need to justify it to the other members-I’m sure he’s already come up with a plausible excuse or two.

As we talked, Celista and I finally arrived at the empty cathedral hall. Pressing her ear cautiously against the door, she nodded at me.

-Click, creak.

“…….”

“…….”

Celista, abusing her authority as a high priestess and Saintess, opened the empty cathedral doors and stepped inside.

Since summer break had just begun, the academy’s priests were taking turns going on vacation, so there was no one on night duty today.

‘L-let’s finish this quickly while no one’s around. Lady Lillith, this way…’

‘…Alright.’

Following Celista as she pulled me through the darkness, we moved deeper into the cathedral. Under her guidance, I underwent the Aurelia Church’s consecration ritual.

She had me kneel on the floor, recited the church’s doctrines, sprinkled holy water over my veiled head, and fed me a piece of bread and a sip of wine-where she got them, I have no idea.

After nearly thirty minutes of ceremony, we finally stepped back outside, and I was at last able to awaken as a Saintess.

It had been over six years since the day I realized I’d been reincarnated into this world.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Name: Lilith Rosewood

Title: Saintess of Prophecy』