No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 79

EP.79 The Saintess and the Knight (3)

I had no choice but to accept my position as a Saintess candidate, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. Just because I acknowledged the situation didn’t mean my brain had been rewired to accept it wholeheartedly.

“……”

And so, here I was—sitting in a church, staring blankly ahead. Not the church I lived in, of course. We were still in the land of the gnomes.

The recognition I had received was overwhelming. Even I thought it was a bit much.

I had thrown myself into danger—real danger—to the point of nearly dying. The church members who had followed me, as well as the gnomes, were completely shaken by the whole ordeal.

Since people had already accepted the idea that I could see the future, the situation had only escalated further.

……

Well.

I had seen something, after all.

But I didn’t believe it was an actual prophecy. More like a warning from the entity above, showing me what would definitely happen if I did nothing.

If it had been a true prophecy, I wouldn’t have been able to avoid it.

It was like spotting a runaway truck with faulty brakes heading straight for a pedestrian at a crosswalk. Someone aware of the situation could at least try to warn the person in danger. Of course, that would require both the ability to see the truck coming and the ability to warn the pedestrian in time. In that sense, I suppose it was a pretty rare ability.

“Then—Saintess?”

The Gnome archbishop, who had been reciting what seemed like a mix of a prayer, a letter of gratitude, and an introduction, called out to me.

……

Wait, me?

“Huh? Me?”

Half-asleep, I jolted upright in surprise.

I hadn’t actually dozed off, so it wasn’t a huge issue. That wasn’t what had caught me off guard.

“Uh……”

The archbishop hesitated, as if unsure why I was staring at him with wide eyes.

“Y-Yes, Saintess?”

“……”

I ran a hand down my face and let out a sigh.

“I am not a Saintess.”

The entire church erupted into murmurs.

I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of religion the gnomes followed. Back in Korea, we hadn’t been taught much about the religious beliefs of other races.

But I did know one thing. Despite their differences, all the various races seemed to worship the same divine entity.

Rather than being sects that had branched off from a single origin, their religions had actually developed separately—only to converge on the same deity. Like some sort of theological parallel evolution.

So, it wasn’t entirely strange that they used the title "Saintess" here as well…

The archbishop’s expression grew complex. He seemed to be trying to gauge whether my statement had some kind of political implication.

Of course, I had no such intentions.

If someone else decided to twist my words for political purposes, I couldn’t stop them—but for now, I had no intention of accepting the role of a Saintess.

I rose from my seat.

Ria, who had been silently sitting beside me, also stood up.

She wasn’t in full battle gear like when we went into combat, but the way she stood—her hands neatly folded, her posture straight and unwavering—radiated the aura of a dignified knight.

……

For some reason, a few of the church knights in the audience gazed at her with thinly veiled admiration. But I decided to pretend I hadn’t noticed.

"Is it my turn to speak?"

"Ah, yes."

The gnome archbishop, who had been deep in thought while looking at me, stepped aside.

"Then, the Saintess… Candidate will now speak. Please welcome the hero who made a tremendous contribution to this incident and demonstrated the true essence of self-sacrifice with a round of applause."

Self-sacrifice.

Another word that rubbed me the wrong way.

A polite round of applause followed. The way people looked at me varied slightly, but the underlying emotion was the same.

Curiosity.

The people from Earth were less curious—they either already knew me or had at least seen my abilities firsthand. The knights were similar, most of them having witnessed my power back in the Oasis. So naturally, they wondered. From their perspective, I was practically a Saintess—so why was I so determined to reject the title?

The gnomes, on the other hand, were looking at me with unfiltered fascination. To them, I was an unknown entity.

That curiosity was probably a major reason they had summoned me here in the first place. Of course, there were practical concerns as well. Much like climate change back on Earth, they likely wanted to see if I could help avert a crisis that, if left unchecked, would inevitably lead to their destruction.

And, of course, there was always the question of how I would repay that debt.

"I’d like to start by thanking you for arranging this gathering."

Not that I was particularly grateful. Standing in front of a crowd wasn’t exactly my idea of fun.

"And before I begin, there’s something I want to make absolutely clear. I am not a Saintess."

A collective wave of confusion spread across the room.

…Well, that was to be expected.

Honestly, at this point, I knew how ridiculous it sounded for me to keep insisting I wasn’t a Saintess.

That entity above clearly favored me. When I had offered to take Ria’s place, it had genuinely worried for me. Yet at the same time, it had answered my prayers.

I still couldn’t say I trusted it completely. But I was beginning to understand—at least vaguely—that what it wanted was the survival of this world, including both humans and gnomes.

Still, like I said—not one hundred percent.

And I wasn’t ready to give up on my own dreams just yet. One day, I wanted to throw off this nun’s habit, walk away, and live my life on my own terms. Maybe even fall in love, get married… do all the things that come after that.

Obviously, not with a man.

If I accepted the title of Saintess, a whole host of complications would follow.

"As of now, I am merely a candidate, undergoing evaluation to determine whether I’m worthy of the position. Until my own church officially recognizes me, I am just a simple nun. So please, calling me by such a grand title feels… excessive."

That seemed to help them understand, at least a little.

It made sense when you considered how complicated church politics were. In other words: don’t mess up my future.

"……"

I paused briefly before speaking again.

"And—there’s really no need to thank me so much for what I did."

The room fell into silence.

"What I did was simply act as a vessel for the power that the entity above granted through me. If gratitude is due, then it should be directed toward them, not me."

My vision blurred slightly.

A soft glow was descending upon me once again.

Seriously, their taste is terrible.

"And if it weren’t for the many people who ensured I could complete my task, the divine power channeled through me wouldn’t have been able to manifest at the crucial moment."

I glanced slightly to my side.

Ria stood there, still expressionless. Always a professional in moments like these.

I looked toward the knights, then at the gnomes who had been introduced earlier. Some lowered their gazes, while others smiled as if amused.

"So, the ones who truly accomplished something remarkable in that moment weren’t me, but those who made it possible for me to be there. They are the ones who deserve your gratitude."

With that, I let out a small breath.

No one seemed to object to what I said. Good. That meant I hadn’t accidentally stepped on any landmines.

But for some reason, the light shining on my face was growing uncomfortably bright. I raised my hand slightly, but someone else moved before I could. With a swift motion, Ria waved her hand in front of me. The overwhelming light instantly dissipated into thin wisps of smoke.

"……."

I stared at her, momentarily dumbfounded.

Ria, having effortlessly dispersed the glow, returned to her usual stance, expressionless as ever.

What the hell.

Why is she being so nice all of a sudden?

More importantly—what was that just now?

Had she somehow absorbed so much divine power that she could now interfere with it?

When I asked her about it before, she had just shrugged and said she wasn’t sure herself.

…Well, whatever.

If this meant Ria finally understood me, I wasn’t going to complain. It just meant I had gained an ally.

Perhaps because of Ria’s unexpected action, the audience had fallen into an even deeper silence. I allowed myself a small smile at that. Then, I continued my speech.

At first, my nerves had been on edge. But after seeing what Ria had just done, they settled a little. Thanks to her, I managed to finish without trembling.

Once everything was over and I returned to my seat, I quietly turned to Ria and smiled. She averted her gaze slightly. But in that fleeting moment, I caught it. The corner of her lips twitched ever so slightly upward before she quickly suppressed it.

For some reason, that small reaction left me feeling strangely warm inside. I had to resist the urge to let my own lips curl up in response. But judging by the slight strain in my expression… I was probably failing—just like her.