No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 81

EP.81 The Saintess and the Knight (5)

On the way back to the church.

Although it feels incredibly far away when you say 'another world,' it's actually much closer than going to the U.S. from Seoul. Thanks to the gate, that is. Of course, the gate isn’t located directly in Seoul. It’s a bit of a drive away, so our journey ended up being longer than usual.

Ria and I took seats somewhere in the middle of the vehicle.

I may not be a full-fledged Saintess, but after this incident, people seemed to realize just how important I was. Sitting at the very front would make me too vulnerable in case of an attack, while sitting at the very back would mean no soldiers behind me to offer protection. That logic makes sense and all, but from where I’m sitting, this spot feels like the worst of both worlds—no matter which way I try to escape, I’d be stuck for the longest.

Then again, anyone capable of combat in this world could probably slice through the bus’s metal frame without breaking a sweat. They could just pop open the side like a tin can and stroll right out.

Fifteen minutes into the ride, boredom started creeping in.

"Ria."

"Hm?"

"Have you ever thought about becoming a Saintess?"

I threw the joke her way.

"……"

Ria furrowed her brows and turned her head toward me.

"What? Do you hate the idea that much?"

I grinned.

I mean, I get it. She never had any intention of joining a convent in the first place. Even if she’s not interested in romance now, she probably wants to experience it someday.

…Damn, I want to experience it someday too.

Though, at least in this world, my chances might be a little better. Even if I rule out men, I am pretty, after all.

"Man, I ended up becoming an official Saintess candidate before I even knew it. All that struggling for nothing."

Half of that complaint was sincere.

The other half? Well… looking back, I probably never stood a chance of escaping in the first place.

The Cardinal butted heads with me not to undermine my authority, but to acknowledge it. And considering I was always a Saintess candidate, stripped of my rights but never released… the church never really intended to let me go.

"…I’m sorry."

Huh?

I turned to Ria again.

Her gaze had dropped to the floor.

It was the most defeated I’d ever seen her. Not just downcast—her expression looked like it had sunk deep underground.

"Uh…"

It felt like I’d just stepped on a landmine.

"W-Wait, you hate the idea that much? I was just kidding—"

"No, it’s not that."

Ria muttered.

"It’s just… the fact that you got dragged into all this so deeply… it’s kind of my fault, too."

"…Huh?"

I let out a confused sound without thinking.

Ria’s expression only darkened with guilt. I’d seen that look before—right after she saved my life. It was the look of someone who believed they’d done something terribly wrong.

"What do you mean, your fault?"

At my question, Ria fell silent again.

She glanced around for nearly five minutes, shifting uncomfortably, but there was nowhere to run—she was by the window, and I was on the aisle side.

Finally, she spoke.

"If I… hadn’t made that suggestion to you…"

"Hadn't made that suggestion?"

"Well, yeah. It’s obvious, isn’t it? You’d just be living your life outside the church."

"…Huh?"

What is she even saying right now?

"Ria."

I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice.

Ria instinctively leaned back.

Lately, she’s been reacting to me like this a lot. Honestly? It’s kind of funny… and cute. I mean, she’s gorgeous, so of course she’s cute. She is taller than me, but maybe that’s what makes it even cuter—there’s a gap, you know?

Still, I prefer the version of Ria who stands tall and confident. That Ria is more reassuring. If she’s going to be my knight, I’d rather see her lift me up with one hand and cut down enemies without hesitation. That would be way cooler.

…Am I relying on her too much?

"I’ll say it again: I have no intention of becoming a Saintess."

"……?"

Ria blinked.

"Even if I do end up as one, I’m not planning to stay in the church forever."

That’s right.

I have zero plans to spend my life in celibacy.

Not that I’m saying I’d just date anyone, or sleep with whoever. But if I really, truly like someone… well, I’d want to go all the way with them.

"Think about it. The only people who stay in the church permanently are those with deep faith. And that’s not me."

You need a strong sense of duty to stay in that position long-term.

"So… you're planning to step down?"

"If I finish what I need to do, yeah. Is there some rule saying I can’t?"

Ria’s lips parted slightly.

"……"

She fell into thought for a moment before finally answering.

"…No?"

Her expression was kind of funny—like she’d just realized something that had never occurred to her before.

I grinned.

Exactly.

There’s no rule saying I can’t resign. Because no one’s ever tried before. No one ever thought to.

That’s the conclusion I came to after thinking it over.

So what if I’m a Saintess candidate? I’ll just quit later.

Of course, I’ll do my best to avoid becoming a Saintess in the first place.

But if I do?

I’ll just walk away.

It’s never happened in this church before, but that’s only because the church isn’t that old.

I’ll be the first.

Even in the Catholic Church, there have been popes who stepped down voluntarily.

"…Huh."

Seeing my confident expression, Ria let out a short, incredulous laugh. And then—

“Haha!”

That laugh turned into full-blown laughter.

People around us started turning their heads, staring.

“And, you know, one way to avoid becoming a Saintess is to make someone else the Saintess instead. Don’t you think?”

“That’s so ridiculous.”

Ria rubbed the corner of her eye with her fingertips, shaking her head.

“Hey, if the only reason a Saintess has never quit before is that there’s no precedent, then doesn’t that also mean there’s no reason there can’t be two saints at the same time? That’s just another thing with no precedent, isn’t it?”

“……Oh.”

“The pope is officially limited to one person, sure. But a Saintess? Not really. There have been multiple holy figures existing at the same time throughout history.”

“Oh.”

I sat there, stunned, unable to come up with a proper response.

Ria chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“You say that after dropping something like that on me?”

“Well, you’re planning to quit anyway, aren’t you?”

Ria grinned playfully.

She said that like she had everything under control.

“…I can already tell things are going to get messy before I even get to quit.”

I pouted slightly.

Ria just shrugged.

“Don’t worry about that either.”

I turned my head toward her.

She was looking straight at me, smiling confidently.

“I’ll do my best to handle that too.”

“…So you’re saying you’ll do your best to stop it from happening?”

“Exactly.”

I blinked.

“Why? You’re… I mean, you’re a knight.”

A personal knight assigned to guard the Saintess candidate.

“Well, yeah, but I’m not just some ‘Saintess’s knight,’ am I? I’m your knight.”

“…….”

“So, protecting you means making sure things go your way, doesn’t it?”

My face suddenly felt warm.

Why?

I’ve called Ria my knight plenty of times before.

So why does it feel so embarrassing to hear her say it now?

Ria shrugged again and turned to look out the window.

“……”

Why does she get to act all normal while I’m sitting here flustered?

“…Hey.”

“……”

“Hey, Ria.”

I poked Ria’s side.

She flinched slightly.

“Ria, admit it. That thing you just said—it embarrassed you a little, didn’t it?”

She didn’t say a word, still keeping her face turned toward the window. Instead, she focused on swatting away my hand, which kept tickling her side.

Oh? So she is embarrassed.

And so, for the rest of the ride back to the church, our little battle continued—me attacking, Ria blocking.

“Ah, come on!”

Of course, in the end, she just overpowered me completely.

After holding back for a while, Ria suddenly turned toward me and launched a full-scale counterattack—both hands tickling my sides relentlessly.

“Ah! W-wait, Ria—hiiih!?”

The tickling was nothing like the little pokes she used to do before. I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

I was pretty sure I even let out some weird, embarrassing noises in between trying to suppress it.

Ria didn’t seem completely immune to embarrassment either—maybe it was the sound I made, or maybe it was the fact that people were now poking their heads out from their seats, staring at us.

Either way, she eventually stopped.

“Hah… Hhh… I swear… I will get my revenge…”

I leaned my head against the seat in front of me and muttered.

Ria just let out an exasperated little chuckle, then turned back to the window.

By the time we arrived at the church, night had already fallen.

Feeling a little drained, I stepped off the bus.

I was so ready to go straight in, take a shower, and pass out—

But then—

“Sister Anna, do you have a moment?”

A priest called out to me.

“…Huh?”

“The Cardinal is here at the church right now.”

“……”

At those words, I instinctively turned to look at Ria.

She gave me a calm, understanding nod.

And I let out a deep sigh.