Chapter 169

“Sister?”

I flinched at the sudden voice calling me.

When I turned to see what was going on, a nun from the Department of Sacred Studies approached me with a worried expression.

Since I didn’t recognize her face, she seemed to be a newly arrived nun.

Everyone usually finds it difficult to interact with me…

Of course, I too became just like every other nun when I came here, so it wasn’t that there were no nuns who treated me normally.

It was just that they had gradually become comfortable after spending a long time together; they didn’t act like this upon seeing me for the first time.

It felt strange.

It seemed that there was no one at the academy who didn’t recognize me…

“Well… If you think about it, I’m the only one in the academy who is a blonde girl that always walks around with her eyes closed…”

There might be many blondes, but there wouldn’t be many who walked around with their eyes closed.

“[Thank you for your concern. I’m fine.]”

Not wanting to cause any worry, I replied that way.

Despite my response, the nun still seemed concerned and asked me to tell her if I needed someone to talk to.

I suppose you could say that’s what makes a cleric a cleric.

Being kind is the baseline.

It’s natural for a nun who has grown up like that.

Sometimes, being here makes me feel purified…

“[Thank you. So…]”

“My name is Teresa, Sister.”

“[Sister Teresa. Like I said earlier, really nothing is wrong.]”

“Is that so…?”

She seemed to have a lot on her mind, but after I kept insisting that everything was fine, she decided to leave, fleeing her spot.

Normally, nuns wouldn’t obsess this much, but seeing her act like that made me realize I must have been walking around with a worried expression, sighing heavily.

Only then did I notice that, with my divine power detection, everyone else around me was looking at me with worried expressions.

Ah… so many people have been watching me.

Well, I am a somewhat famous figure in the Department of Sacred Studies, so it’s not surprising that many people are constantly watching me.

However, feeling such intense scrutiny on everything I do isn’t exactly a pleasant situation.

Hmm… If I appear shaken because of Evan, it might create some bad rumors about him, so it’s better to be careful.

After all, the way I looked this morning could easily be interpreted as a woman who was shocked and fleeing after seeing Evan doing something inappropriate.

Well… it was Mirnel who caused that, so perhaps rumors about a romance between Mirnel and Evan won’t circulate.

Thinking that way made me feel a bit dirty.

I mean, I haven’t just been friends with him until now; the idea that I liked him was never there at the beginning, so it’s absurd to think it would jump straight to that after meeting.

In the games, I had been the default hero character, or when I chose the hero class myself, I did show some favor but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

“I need to be careful…”

Lately, it feels like the mask I wear to hide my emotions has become quite thin.

What used to pass without a care now seems to elicit exaggerated reactions from me, which are becoming noticeable on the outside.

It’s fine if it’s Evan, Stella, or Uriel, but I should be careful not to show this side of me to unfamiliar people…

To be honest, it would be best if those three didn’t notice, but it seems they’ve already figured it out…

I want to maintain my image as a saint as much as possible, but that seems difficult.

“Should I really seek counseling…?”

It’s not easy to make a clear decision by just worrying alone.

But if I tell someone about this, that would present its own problems…

The reason I’m struggling like this is precisely because of my original male gender, and I can’t reveal to others that I used to be a man.

If a saint were to suddenly say she was a man in her previous life, wouldn’t people think she was insane? Who would believe that?

That wouldn’t change even for my friends.

If anything, they would worry about me even more…

“Ugh…”

It’s all that damned elf’s fault.

I feel like I’ve said the same thing before, but let’s just say it’s my imagination.

Sigh.

*

Aria seemed strange.

Stella and Uriel thought so.

And Stella understood why.

‘He’s the man who has saved her multiple times; how could she not fall for him?’

Evan had shown himself to be the kind of person any woman would inevitably fall for.

Honestly, Stella thought that Evan would be a great match for Aria.

If it weren’t for that suddenly appearing elf, everything would have gone smoothly.

“Haah…”

After returning to the academy, Stella noticed that her dorm room was unusually dark after her first class ended.

“Aria?”

Aria, who had a habit of turning on the lights beforehand for when she returned, wasn’t doing so for some reason.

Worried that she might not have returned yet, Stella walked in, just in case, and saw the blanket unusually puffed up.

It looked as if a snake was swallowing an elephant…

This is…

‘So, so cute…!’

It was lethal…!

While she typically displayed the persona of a devout nun, there were occasions when she exhibited adorableness that made her impossible to dislike as a roommate.

There was no reason for Stella to dislike Aria anyway.

Aria must have already sensed her presence through divine power detection, but because she was not greeting her, Stella carefully approached and quietly sat down to announce her arrival.

“Aria?”

Just to be sure, she called out once, but there was no response.

Though she wasn’t the type to ignore someone, the lack of an answer suggested…

‘Could she be sleeping?’

It was rare for Aria to be asleep at this hour, so Stella hadn’t even considered it.

Stella lifted the blanket slightly to check Aria’s face.

“…”

Aria was simply sleeping with her eyes closed.

However, having spent a long time together, Stella could tell for sure.

Right now, Aria wasn’t truly asleep; she was only pretending to be asleep.

“Are you not sleeping?”

With that, she asked with a smile if she wasn’t awake.

At that, Aria flinched.

“[… How did you figure it out?]”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with you, so it’s only natural to notice.”

It had only been a little over a year they had spent together.

But during that time, they hadn’t merely known each other vaguely; they had shared meals and rest in the same room, so it was strange for Stella not to notice.

More importantly…

‘Is she, indeed… still heartbroken over that incident?’

Aria, it seemed, had no awareness of her feelings, but to those around her, it was obvious.

Well, it was natural that she hadn’t realized it.

Having lived her life as a nun from a young age, the feeling of love must be something completely foreign to Aria.

Stella hoped that things would turn out well with Evan and that Aria would find happiness.

After all, hasn’t Aria sacrificed too much in her life?

Therefore, Stella believed she deserved this level of recompense.

It was also her duty as a friend to show her the proper path and help her move forward.

‘Although I’ve never done such a thing…’

Speaking of duties as a friend, Stella had few people she could call friends other than Aria, Uriel, and Evan.

Among them, Aria was the closest.

Even so, she was willing to take considerable effort to help Aria understand what love was.

‘… I hope it helps a little…?’

Even though she also didn’t know much about love, having read various books, she believed she wasn’t completely ignorant.

She merely had the worry that Aria might change strangely because of her teachings.

It might be a good idea to lay the groundwork by mentioning that not all stories are correct and it’s good to filter them out.

Stella took a deep breath, feeling nervous, and opened her mouth towards Aria.

Hoping for a bit of comfort and to be of help.