The Gloomy Saintess Obsessively Clings to Death

As I kept looking at the saint, a concern came to mind.

“…Isn’t her fringe a little too long?”

Though she had pushed it behind her ears to keep it out of her face, its awkward length brought it right back to the front.

Moreover, her tousled hair was falling over her shoulders.

‘At this rate, she might end up eating her hair along with her noodles…’

I pulled a hairband out of the pocket dimension.

It’s been a while since I’ve tied hair; I’m not sure how well this will go.

Carefully, I reached toward the saint’s hair.

“Hyah—?!”

“Ah, sorry. I thought your hair might get in the way while eating.”

“…You startled me.”

The saint looked up at me with wide eyes, her ears flushed red.

I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“Do you want to do it yourself?”

“…I’m not good at it.”

“Then, do you mind if I do it for you?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the saint gave a small nod.

I slowly gathered her hair in my hands. Despite its disheveled appearance, it was surprisingly soft.

‘If I tie the fringe with the back hair, it should work.’

I lifted the saint’s fringe with my other hand. At that moment, our eyes met.

“Ah?”

“…Ah.”

With the fringe out of the way, her golden irises were fully revealed. They were as clear and bright as if glowing in the dim corridor lit only by the faint moonlight.

“You’re beautiful.”

“…Huh?”

The saint stared at me with her mouth slightly agape.

“Your eyes.”

“A, Ah—…”

She slightly lowered her head and glanced around, then covered her face with both hands like a broken doll. The face visible between her fingers was much redder than before.

It’s redder than the wrapping of a chocolate bar. It’s incredible how a face can turn this red.

“Could you lower your head a bit? It’s difficult to tie it with you like this.”

“Yes, like this?”

“Yes, that’s good.”

After combining the fringe and the back hair, I started tying it. The hair flowed softly through my fingers.

“If it hurts, please let me know.”

“It’s fine even if it hurts!”

“…That’s not fine at all.”

Since it’s the first time I’ve tied someone else’s hair, it feels somewhat clumsy.

Besides, I suspect this saint would endure pain without complaining, so I tied it gently on purpose. As a result, it turned out a bit too loose and messy.

‘This feels completely different from when I tie my own hair.’

…Well, as long as it doesn’t get into her mouth, it’s fine.

The saint seems pleased, clasping her hands while exclaiming in admiration.

“It looks good!”

“That’s good to hear.”

By now, the noodles should be fully cooked. As I opened the lid, the delicious aroma of steaming hot noodles wafted out.

“Wow…”

The saint stretched her neck to peer at the noodles. Her hair stayed neatly tied back, suggesting I did a decent job.

I scooped some noodles and broth onto the saint’s plate.

“You can eat now. Be careful, it’s hot.”

“Okay, thank you. I’ll eat well.”

“Yes, enjoy your meal.”

The saint nodded and carefully picked up the chopsticks.

‘Hmm, wait a moment.’

Should I have given her a fork instead?

In typical anime scenarios, most people struggle with using chopsticks. I had difficulties too when I first used them, with food constantly slipping through.

Just as I thought about fetching a fork at this point,

“Hoo, hoo—.”

The saint skillfully picked up the noodles with her chopsticks and smoothly brought a perfect strand into her mouth without dropping a single bit.

‘…What? She’s good at it?’

In fact, she was even more natural at it than me.

To be honest, I’m not very good at using chopsticks. Chun Sam, the secretary of Lady Bari, always frowned at my chopstick skills.

Without realizing it, I let out a sound of admiration.

“Wow, you’re good at using chopsticks.”

“Huh?”

“I thought you didn’t know how to use them.”

The saint blinked and looked at me. She finally seemed to catch on to something strange.

It feels like she knew I’d give her chopsticks she couldn’t use.

I flustered and quickly made an excuse.

“Ah, no, it’s not that I deliberately gave you something you can’t use. It’s just that I’m accustomed to using chopsticks… I forgot it could be difficult.”

“Aah, I see.”

The saint chuckled softly at my excuse.

“I can use chopsticks. Along with other utensils.”

“Other utensils?”

“Yeah. This is a place where people from various worlds and non-human beings gather, so the types of utensils are diverse.”

Her cryptic words filled me with questions.

If this world includes non-human entities, it must be a place where different races coexist.

Still, different worlds?

Though worlds can occasionally interact with each other, it’s usually hard to sustain such connections because it creates management issues. That’s one reason why they’re normally kept isolated.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be handling ‘inter-world transfers’ as part of my job.

As far as I know, the only place where all worlds with life are freely interconnected is the Spirit Realm.

Since the Spirit Realm is connected to every world, it makes sense.

Yet, how is this world connected to others without being linked to the Spirit Realm?

‘How absurd…’

Earlier, the saint mentioned there was no way out to other worlds.

If this world has connections to other worlds but cannot leave them, doesn’t this sound like some paradoxical “open church but closed” nonsense?

My doubt must have shown on my face.

The saint fidgeted and put down her chopsticks.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it and keep eating.”

“No, I’ve eaten enough.”

“What nonsense…”

When I glanced at the cup noodles, I had to agree with her. There was barely one fist-sized portion of noodles left.

‘If I’d given her a regular-sized cup of noodles, it would’ve been a disaster…’

I glanced toward the saint—her slender figure with only her slightly rounded belly betraying the feast she just had.

‘Guess she won’t be saying I’m hungry anytime soon.’

Deciding to finally clear up the doubts I’d harbored all along, I asked:

“Could you please continue what you were saying earlier?”

“Yeah, so… we can’t leave this world.”

“We can’t leave?”

She nodded.

“All the mages and those who know how to cross dimensions tried various methods—but all failed.”

“…Just like when I failed to open the gates to the Spirit Realm?”

“Yeah. From what I know, everyone felt like something was blocking them…”

At her words, I unconsciously tilted my head.

‘Blocked? But that’s obviously expected.’

Crossing dimensions is never easy. Forcibly defying universal laws and trying to teleport usually results in resistance.

It’s much more difficult than swimming upstream against a giant waterfall.

…But I’m different; I’m the god authorized by the cosmos.

So it shouldn’t be possible for me to be blocked.

I tried opening the gates to the Spirit Realm again.

The massive energy gathered and then twisted, scattering as if forcibly pressed down.

‘Is this what it feels like to be blocked?’

No matter how many times I tried, the result was similar. The more I tried, the faster the energy dissipated.

Then I attempted to open a portal to another dimension.

The result was the same.

No, in this case, the shape didn’t even form—different from the gates to the Spirit Realm.

It felt as if my power had hit a solid wall, completely obstructing its flow.

“…What is this place, exactly?”

This world wasn’t simply closed off. A strong will seemed to block all outside connections.

But she clearly said it: beings from all sorts of worlds gathered here.

I quickly grabbed the saint’s shoulders.

“Lady Saint, you did say earlier that creatures from multiple worlds exist here, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“From multiple worlds. How do you know? Are you certain?”

Surprised by my urgent question, she blinked for a moment, but then nodded firmly.

Her eyes held an inexplicable sadness and unshakable certainty.

“I was originally alone in this world.”

“Alone?”

“Yes.”

Her voice wavered.

“I’ve always been alone, but I wanted to leave here because there was something I really wanted to see…”

As she continued speaking, tears filled her eyes.

“So I asked…”

“What?! You asked… something, like a god?”

“…A dragon.”

“……What?”

Is this a dream?

I pinched my cheek hard.

It really hurts.

With my mind half gone, I listened to the saint’s words.

“Through that, a rift in dimensions was formed. People started coming through that rift—humans arrived, elves arrived, strange machines arrived…”

“Aah…”

Mechanically, I nodded. It seemed like I understood, yet my head was still a mess.

‘What exactly is this world?’