I Level Up With In-app Purchases

EP.99 By the Words of the Saintess (1)

“Thank you. Sob…! Thank you so much, Saintess. How can I ever repay this grace…!”

“Don’t think of it as difficult. Just enjoy your happiness comfortably. That’s enough for me.”

“Sob… How could such a miracle happen in my life… Sob… I’ll live diligently. Thank you!”

A man crying profusely, barely able to speak properly.

The sisters behind him skillfully support him and guide him outside.

“Is he the last one for today?”

“Yes, Saintess. You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all. I just sat here and used my ability, that’s all.”

“No, that’s not true. If it weren’t for you, Saintess, how could all those people have been saved? It’s thanks to the miracles you’ve performed.”

I smiled shyly at the praise that made my face flush.

Since I no longer needed to use my ability, I decided to ask if I could be alone for a moment.

“Would it be alright if I rested alone for a bit?”

“Yes, of course. Please rest comfortably.”

Click-

After everyone had gone outside.

“Phew~”

It felt like something had been choking me, but now I felt much more at ease.

While I love and care for the Church, I couldn’t help but feel burdened on the other hand.

It’s because I had unintentionally become the leader of the Church.

‘Me, a Saintess and the leader… How did it come to this?’

It truly happened in a daze, somehow the situation had turned out like this.

I thought I needed to change the Church, but I didn’t know it would result in me becoming the leader.

Even when I tried to persuade the former leader, I thought they would return to their position soon.

“I’m not that great of a person, you know.”

I unconsciously fiddled with the holy relic hanging from my necklace.

After wearing the holy relic, I gained the power to create unbelievable miracles.

But the root of this power ultimately came from the holy relic.

So in the end.

“It’s not that my ability is great, you see.”

An ability created by the holy relic.

Yet people thanked me excessively and showed respect for being saved.

‘It’s not entirely my own power, though.’

The amazing thing about the holy relic is that it grows one’s ability just by wearing it.

If I hadn’t met the old man, I would still be a healer with abilities similar to others.

If I were truly a great person, I wouldn’t feel this discomfort.

But I couldn’t disappoint the people of the Church by revealing my true self.

‘So many people have come to depend on me.’

In fact, such things didn’t just happen here.

When I was conscripted to help at the frontlines of crisis situations, even there, the soldiers expressed excessive gratitude for being saved.

And at some point, they even became my followers and joined the Church.

It felt uncomfortable, as if I was receiving payment for healing them.

There were even times when I felt awkward because those who joined the Church this way made large donations.

It was a grateful thing since more Church members were saved thanks to their donations, but still.

‘Should I not have accepted the position of leader?’

After the former leader fell from grace and unintentionally couldn’t keep their position.

I tried to give up the leadership position to someone else, but everyone earnestly asked me to take the position.

What could I do when they said there was no one else suitable for the position but me?

‘Since I was the one who noticed the former leader’s problem, I thought I should take responsibility.’

I was taught that one shouldn’t pass on tasks they don’t want to do to others.

So following that teaching would be the right thing to do.

That’s how I became both the leader and Saintess of the Church, and I didn’t hesitate to use my ability for the Church members.

Fortunately, it hasn’t been discovered yet that I’ve used my ability for personal matters.

When people leave after receiving ‘baptism’, the Church members give them strict warnings, and it seems to be working well.

While it’s joyful that Church members receive baptism and are saved, the increasingly excessive attention directed at me was becoming a heavy burden.

‘I’ll have to enlist soon too, I’m worried.’

I know well how painful it is to lose someone you depend on.

The former leader shows no signs of returning to their senses.

It was difficult to entrust the Church back to such a person, so in the end, I had no choice but to take responsibility for the Church myself.

“The former leader was truly amazing.”

They endured in this heavy position for so long, and in the end, they couldn’t bear it and ended up like that.

I should have been by their side to help, even if just a little…

I regretted not being able to support the former leader in the past.

“I need to stay sharp if I don’t want to fall from grace too!”

I clenched my fists tightly.

Even after enlisting, I have no intention of neglecting the management of the religious Church.

…Although right now, I was planning to go do something else.

I couldn’t neglect spending time with him just because the religious Church’s work was busy.

‘If it weren’t for Uncle, the religious Church wouldn’t have come this far in the first place.’

Going to meet Uncle was one of the most important things.

If he hadn’t lent us the sacred object, the leader would still be accumulating sins within the religious Church.

It’s chilling to think about that.

‘It’s good that we were able to correct things even now.’

How fortunate that we could change things before it was too late?

After smiling contentedly, I checked the time and got up.

The work at the religious Church starts late in the evening on weekends, for security reasons.

In other words, by the time work is finished, it’s close to midnight.

‘I must definitely meet and greet him today.’

I don’t know how much we’ve benefited from the borrowed sacred object.

I felt very sorry for visiting at such a late hour, but if not now, I wouldn’t have a chance to meet Uncle.

Today too, I left work receiving polite greetings from the members of the religious Church.

Lost in various thoughts, I arrived at the general store in no time.

Knock knock knock

“Uncle, I’m here.”

How long had I been knocking on the first floor of the general store?

Uncle came down from the second floor and opened the door.

“You’re here.”

As always, his expression was impassive.

Uncle wearing a shabby navy T-shirt and cotton pants.

‘He’s so handsome.’

Others might frown at his shabby appearance, but in my eyes, he was the perfect man without a doubt.

As I entered the general store, the faint lingering scent of Uncle tickled my nose.

It seemed like Uncle’s scent was mixed with the smell of alcohol.

“Have you been drinking?”

“Yeah, a little with a friend. We’re drinking right now.”

“With your friend? Ah… should I leave then?”

I couldn’t express my gratitude while being a nuisance.

I thought about just going back to the religious Church and sleeping.

But Uncle said it was fine and told me to go up to the second floor.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I said it’s fine. Come in.”

At Uncle’s words, I climbed the stairs with a pounding heart.

“Ah?”

“It’s a bit messy, but sit anywhere. You came because you’re hungry, right?”

I heard Uncle’s questioning voice, but I couldn’t answer.

I didn’t know that the friend he mentioned was a woman, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be someone I knew.

“Teacher Rebecca?”

“Huh?”

“You two know each other. Chat for a bit.”

“What’s going on here? Why are you here at this hour?”

Teacher Rebecca’s gaze sharpened.

“What do you mean, what’s going on? It’s just someone I know coming over. You two hang out.”

Uncle didn’t seem to grasp the situation and wasn’t even flustered.

Even if I had given permission, isn’t he being too nonchalant?

I felt a little hurt.

Last time, I had held back because I didn’t want to show Uncle an unsightly side of me.

“Someone you know? A minor comes to your house at this late hour, and that’s all you have to say?”

“You’re making a fuss after drinking delicious alcohol. Stop saying useless things and take care of the kid. Sit anywhere over there.”

“……”

Although Uncle always made something delicious when I visited him, I didn’t want to eat at a moment like this.

“I’m fine.”

“What do you mean you’re fine? You don’t need to eat?”

“I meant it’s okay for me to come here late at night. Right, Uncle?”

“Huh?”

I said while staring intently at Teacher Rebecca.

“Our relationship is close enough for that. But is this the same situation as last time?”

“Last time?”

Uncle seemed not to remember the recent incident.

But I still hadn’t forgotten.

When I came to see Uncle, wasn’t he talking with a courtesan woman at the general store?

It’s a pity that we couldn’t bring her into the religious Church, but I remember feeling proud because we saved many people around that woman who were in pain.

Uncle, belatedly recalling that incident, speaks as if he finds it ridiculous.

“You still remember that? This situation is different from then. She came to do business with me, and this one is a friend. Why are you making such a strange misunderstanding?”

“I’m really fine. You don’t need to lie.”

I was about to say that if he was lying, there was no need to commit such a sin.

But Teacher Rebecca interrupted.

“What kind of relationship do you two have? The way you’re talking is just too suspicious.”

“We’re in a relationship with a promised future.”

“A customer of the general store.”

Uncle and I spoke simultaneously.

However, the content of what we said was completely opposite.

“This is crazy.”

When I saw him with a woman last time, I calmly let it go, but the situation with Teacher Rebecca was a bit different.

‘She’s a much more impressive person than someone like me. And the way he looks at her is completely different from how he looked at that woman.’

Uncle’s gaze towards Teacher Rebecca was full of affection.

If he dates someone like her, he’ll quickly forget about a troublesome woman like me.

Moreover, Teacher Rebecca was extremely popular among students.

The fact that he was drinking with someone like her at this hour meant that their relationship was not ordinary.

A sense of crisis washes over me.

If things continue like this, I felt I would become a worthless person who couldn’t even properly repay the kindness I’d received.

But I slightly regretted it because Teacher Rebecca’s expression was not very good.

‘Was it right to hide it?’

But I had already honestly confessed our relationship.

It was beyond the level where I could smooth things over by saying it was a joke.

“Do I need to take you to the guard station?”

“Please don’t do that, teacher. And I’m really okay. Being a second wife is enough for me.”

“What? Se-second wife?! What am I hearing right now? You, explain this to me.”

“Well, you see…”

“You know, I have to enlist for 10 years. It would be too much of a sacrifice for Uncle to be alone during that time, so I already told him that I’d be fine as a second wife. I just couldn’t ask for your understanding in advance, so I’m doing it now.”

I was anxious because the teacher was such a good person that she might forget about someone like me and live well, but I thought if I asked for understanding in this situation, there wouldn’t be any unfortunate incidents later.

I’m sick and tired of being abandoned.

“This won’t do. This is clear-cut. Come here. We’re going to the guard station.”

“Hey!”

Teacher Rebecca tried to grab Uncle.

Feeling that I wouldn’t get permission if things continued like this, I urgently grabbed the teacher’s legs with both arms.

“Teacher! Please allow me to become Uncle’s second wife in 10 years. I’ll definitely come back alive!”

“Wait, wait! What are you doing? Why are you asking me for something like that!! You bastard!! You’re not coming? You’re running away after putting this child in such a state?”

“You two figure it out yourselves. I don’t know anything about this.”

“Aaaaah!!!”

Uncle ran away without looking back.

I tightened my arms as if I would never let go.