No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 39

EP.39

Chapter 4

Escape and Service (5)

[Isn’t the childhood friend a defeat flag?]

[I’ve never seen a childhood friend in a harem story actually win.]

[Their chances are about the same as a blonde drill-haired noble lady, huh?]

No, I couldn’t agree with that.

The first heroine to appear in the story has to be the true heroine. Right?

Even though, let’s be honest, I’d probably spit up blood if the childhood friend character got herself a boyfriend.

The idea of a character with long-established buildup suddenly getting paired with someone else—or worse, a character with lots of buildup not ending up with the protagonist—was as bad as netorare.

If you flipped the genders, wouldn’t it be just another form of betrayal?

A heroine who wakes the protagonist up in the morning so he’s not late, blushes as she hands him chocolates on Valentine’s Day, and hopes for a Christmas date—how could such a character not be the true heroine?

“…Don’t you think so?”

“Don’t I think what?”

“That you’ve shattered the preconceived notions I held. Living in such a narrow world, trapped under the shadow of duty—you’re the only one who opened my eyes.”

…Don’t make me laugh.

The ideal heroine should be diligent and sincere. Even if she acts prickly at times, she needs that unmistakable aura of a main heroine beneath it all.

Being tsundere is not a defeat flag.

As time has passed and stories have evolved, the tsundere archetype has matured, shedding its early tendencies toward violence, vulgarity, and outright hostility. Today’s tsunderes are a refined breed; they retain only the faintest traces of their old mannerisms.

So, a little coldness toward the protagonist doesn’t mean they’re destined to lose.

Even if other heroines have their episodes placed earlier in the story, or they hold titles like “Saintess,” “Hero,” or “High Noble of a Foreign Kingdom,” it doesn’t matter.

In fact, it makes the shared moments and experiences with the childhood friend shine even brighter—

“Si-yoon, the truth is, there’s something I haven’t told you.”

“Something you haven’t told me?”

“I… I am actually the sole princess of the Elf Kingdom—”

“That was never mentioned before!”

Startled, I snapped my eyes open and sat upright.

“…Gasp.”

I quickly realized that the place I was in wasn’t where I’d collapsed earlier.

I took deep breaths, my shoulders rising and falling as I exhaled slowly.

And I pieced everything together.

Right. Those eyes.

The tear-shaped mole, fine, but those heterochromatic eyes—they were unmistakably the eye colors of that character.

Her hair hadn’t been in twin buns, but still.

In the original story, she wasn’t introduced as a princess, only as a noble.

Thinking back, her true identity had never been fully revealed. She was vaguely referred to as a “noble,” but there were no details about which house or how high her status truly was.

I’d just assumed the author had created a random elf noble character for flavor, but—

…Oh, I see now.

Thinking about it, that alone wouldn’t have been enough to compete with the other heroines.

A character who was merely “high-ranking” wouldn’t have much appeal on its own. After all, the other heroines weren’t lacking in beauty either.

No, she needed a compelling backstory. Ideally, something tragic enough to garner sympathy, something that would make her deserving of the protagonist’s help. Without that kind of hook, it’d be hard to justify dedicating an episode to her.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Eek!?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question from beside me, I let out an embarrassing shriek.

I turned my head to find Ria sitting there.

Clutching my startled heart, I let out a deep sigh.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Despite the strange noise I made, Ria didn’t tease me. She simply asked, her tone calm and curious.

And this time, she wasn’t lounging on her own bed as usual. Instead, she had pulled a chair over and was sitting next to mine.

Normally, she’d have a book in hand, passing the time by reading. But today, she held no book. Instead, her hand was clutching a clean towel. Had she been wiping away my sweat?

“…Have you been nursing me all this time?”

“Well, yeah, I guess.”

Ria, seeming a little embarrassed, flung the towel toward her bed with a flick of her wrist.

“Hah.”

“What’s funny?”

When I chuckled softly, Ria narrowed her eyes at me, asking sharply.

“Nothing at all.”

I replied, letting myself collapse back onto the bed.

Growl.

Right on cue, my stomach made its demands known. Well, it made sense—I had poured out so much energy earlier.

Thinking about that, it only just occurred to me that someone might have gotten injured during the chaos.

“Is there anyone else hurt? Someone hit by an arrow from the other side of the gate or something like that…”

“……”

But Ria didn’t answer. She just stared at me intently, her expression blank. It was scarier than when she glared—it felt like there was weight behind her gaze.

“…Let me ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“You said you wouldn’t use that power on yourself, right?”

“……”

I remembered saying something like that.

Well, to be fair, I hadn’t entirely kept that promise. The moment I gathered enough energy to touch, I had used it immediately on myself and Ria.

It was necessary—I needed to stay alive if I wanted to save others. And, honestly, I didn’t want to die either.

Even so, it was true that I’d prefer not to use it on myself unless absolutely necessary.

“And yet, even thinking that, you charged forward without a second thought?”

“…I’m sorry.”

I mumbled, fiddling with the tips of my fingers.

I knew acting like that wasn’t right. It wasn’t rational in the slightest. And with so many people around trying to protect me, running into danger only put them all at risk.

But when I see someone injured, it’s hard to just stand by and do nothing.

It’s something I’ve felt since my past life. At this point, it’s almost a habit I can’t break.

“……”

My honest apology seemed to catch Ria off guard. She stayed silent for a moment, simply staring at me.

Then, she relaxed her posture, leaning back against the chair.

“At least you understand.”

Her words made me instinctively shrink my shoulders.

But the words that followed weren’t ones I disliked hearing.

“…Last time, you called me your knight, didn’t you?”

“…Isn’t that true?”

I asked hesitantly, unsure if she had grown tired of it. But Ria only let out a small, amused laugh, as if the idea was ridiculous.

“Well, yeah. I’ve never quit that job, after all.”

Ria answered, her tone casual, but after a moment of thought, she looked at me and spoke again.

“Do you remember the day I first said I’d be your knight?”

“…I do.”

In the midst of everything that had been weighing on me, I couldn’t express how much relief her words had brought me at that time.

I had often thought about leaving the church… and yet, the thought of stepping outside frightened me.

It wasn’t as though I hadn’t lived independently in my past life. I had gone out into the world, found work, and lived without my parents’ help.

But it had never been easy. Establishing myself without relying on anyone, especially after cutting off most of my friendships, had been a challenge.

And of course, back then, the people around me were also young—kids my age couldn’t offer much help, even if they wanted to.

That’s partly why I had become so wary of stalkers.

When I was a man, it wasn’t much of a concern—but now, things were different.

The idea of suddenly losing the safety net around me while facing such dangers was terrifying. Maybe that was why I was so desperate to run away.

“I meant it, you know. What I said back then. It wasn’t just to keep you here a little longer.”

“…Oh.”

“Sure, part of me wanted to follow through because I figured I’d become a hero someday anyway. But I wasn’t just saying it for that.”

Ria went quiet for a moment, then added,

“I know someone. Someone like you, who charged in to save people no matter what, and ended up dead.”

“…I know.”

Of course, I did.

It was the reason Ria had come to the church in the first place.

It was about Ria’s mother.

Ria’s mother had been a hunter—not a church member, but an exceptional first-class hunter on par with Ria’s heroic father.

She wasn’t just skilled—her character was equally admirable. She was so remarkable that even the greatest hero, after working with her just once, had fallen for her completely.

And in stories like this, when someone like that dies, there’s usually only one reason for it.

“Let me be blunt. You’re weaker than she was. I mean, I’m not stronger than her either, but at least I know how to fight.”

Ria looked at me with a bitter smile.

“I’ve got my own responsibilities, and you’re planning to leave the church eventually, so I won’t be following you around forever. But if I heard that someone I used to share a room with died for the same reason as her… yeah, I’d probably have some restless nights.”

“……”

“At least while I’m here, don’t go rushing off to die, okay? Save that for when you’ve got a weapon in your hand.”

“…Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Knowing why Ria was saying this, I didn’t feel the need to argue further.

For a brief moment, an awkward silence hung between us—

Growl.

—but it didn’t last.

My stomach, apparently done waiting for our conversation to end, let out a loud, insistent noise.

Ria chuckled softly before standing up from her chair.

“Alright, how about we grab something to eat? Want something other than ramen tonight?”

“Something else?”

“How about chicken? We could just have it delivered over the wall, couldn’t we?”

“Ch… Chicken…!?”

I wasn’t sure if that was even possible, practically speaking.

But somehow, with Ria, it felt like it would be easy enough.

I mean, sure, even if the Mother Superior was cool with us, this was definitely against the rules.

…But how could anyone resist fried chicken on a hungry night like this?