I am back – Chapter 137

I had been sitting in the café for a while, and by the time I stepped outside, it was already five in the afternoon.

We finished our work around three, and we had been wandering around looking for a café for about thirty minutes, which means we had spent a total of an hour and a half here.

Still, I thought it was a relief that time flew by while we were chatting about various things. If we hadn’t been able to do that, we wouldn’t have had dinner together.

Though it was still a bit early, I figured that if we kept walking while thinking about what to eat, another thirty minutes would fly by, and once we entered a restaurant to order dinner, even more time would pass. So, it didn’t make much sense to keep sitting in the café.

The weather outside was a bit chilly, but it wasn’t unbearable.

We continued our conversation as we walked. Most of it was pretty trivial. Although Young Miss Ga-young didn’t share any personal stories, I learned a bit about her interests. She loved dramas, and when she got hooked, she had to watch from the first episode to the last.

She preferred bread over rice, but she liked noodles even more.

If it came to movies, she would prefer horror films if possible… just little things like that.

Then, before I knew it, the conversation circled back to the volunteer activity we had done today.

“So, do you plan on doing volunteer work going forward?”

At Kalia’s question, Young Miss Ga-young nodded.

“Yes… but I have to go to school on Wednesdays…”

Since Young Miss Ga-young was still a student, she had to attend school on weekdays. In fact, even if she weren’t a student, the same would apply. To make a living, one generally had to work, and most jobs were during the weekdays. Though there are exceptions, like my sister and I.

That said, going alone to volunteer work felt a bit burdensome. An adult might brush off conversations with strangers, but for a teenager like Young Miss Ga-young, diving into a crowd of people to volunteer would be quite challenging in many ways.

It would be different if she had a friend of the same age to go with her, but the volunteers coming from the church were significantly older than Young Miss Ga-young.

“Hmm.”

Kalia quietly regarded Young Miss Ga-young, as if trying to assess something.

“If you want, I can go with you.”

Perhaps she was weighing whether Young Miss Ga-young was being sincere. If it were a mere empty comment, then making such an offer would not be polite.

“Pardon?”

Young Miss Ga-young blinked in surprise.

“I said I could join you for volunteer work if you want.”

She probably didn’t mean she would do volunteer work every week. It would be great if she could, but then she’d really have no time to rest. As a student attending school on weekdays, she’d often want to take a break on weekends.

After all, it’s unreasonable to force someone to help others without compensation every week.

“Uh, would that be okay with you? Your personal time…”

It’s a bit funny that a student is worrying about such things for an adult, but then again, reflecting on it, it makes sense.

Students at least have two vacations a year. Even if they volunteered on the weekend, they could think they’d eventually have a break.

But adults, especially working adults, find it tricky to carve out time during the weekdays. They say there are mandatory vacations, but not every workplace grants all their holidays generously.

“Hmm.”

Kalia looked at me with a somewhat troubled expression.

What should I explain? That’s how it seems.

Well, if I don’t match my words with those of my sister, things will get complicated later. Plus, unlike my sister, who had shared all those stories I had to tell, there was no reason to burden Young Miss Ga-young with such information.

“Actually, the four of us here were taking a break from our original work. So for a while, I can freely take some time out.”

Rather than making up a lie, it’s better to say it like this.

After all, it’s true.

Though they’re all young, they hold very important positions in the kingdom. In that sense, saying they were on break isn’t incorrect.

At the same time, however, they were also looking after me mentally, as requested by the Goddess. So, strictly speaking, it’s not entirely correct to say they weren’t doing anything.

That said, I couldn’t straightforwardly say that to Young Miss Ga-young.

“Oh, really?”

Although Young Miss Ga-young had been chatting just fine with my peers, it seemed the discomfort she initially felt hadn’t completely vanished after just a few hours.

Still, wearing a slightly cautious expression, she spoke to Pia.

“I can help too.”

“Ah.”

In fact, most people found it easiest to approach Pia among my colleagues. She naturally had a way of putting others at ease. Of course, if they knew Pia was actually one of the highest-ranked Saintesses in the church, they’d probably freak out.

But… that usually only applied if they were older than Pia or at least her age.

Although she’s younger than me, Pia certainly appears mature enough to those looking at her through the eyes of teenagers.

So when Pia approached her using honorifics, it’s no surprise that high school student Young Miss Ga-young would feel uncomfortable. Sure, there are many adults who use honorifics with students, but those adults don’t usually try to be ‘friends’ with students right off the bat.

Well, Pia does look younger than her actual age.

“Ah, um, thank you…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.”

Pia said.

“Just feel free to talk.”

However, even though Pia said that, Young Miss Ga-young looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Well, it’s not easy to suddenly be asked to get close by a stranger they just met.

I know Pia well, so I understand what she’s thinking, but for someone encountering Pia for the first time, it’s only natural to feel suspicious of why she’s being so friendly.

“Uh, um, just give it a bit more time…”

“Ah…”

At Young Miss Ga-young’s words, Pia’s enthusiasm visibly deflated. Seeing Pia like that, Young Miss Ga-young seemed even more flustered.

“Uh, hey,”

Dana quickly intervened, grabbing Pia’s arm and pulling her away from Young Miss Ga-young.

“Let’s just give her a little time. We’ve only just met a few hours ago; it doesn’t seem right to pry too soon.”

“Still…”

It looks like Pia wants someone to call her ‘sister.’

I felt like Pia, who had been by my side all this time would continue doing so, but the truth is, they were all colleagues who had a place to return to.

Who knows how long they’ll be here? It’s only natural they’d want to progress their relationship as quickly as possible.

“…Okay, I understand.”

But it seems Pia immediately understood what Dana was saying.

No matter how much one might wish for something on their own, it all ends if the other party refuses.

Especially, human relationships can’t be built up so quickly like that.

“I’m sorry. I rushed things, didn’t I?”

Pia, saying that, looked much more mature than before.

…Well, she is an adult.

“Uh, n-no… I should be the one apologizing.”

Young Miss Ga-young said sincerely at Pia’s words.

Over the past few weeks, I felt like I was getting to know Young Miss Ga-young’s true personality much better than I had in a single day.

After all, the relationship between people who only work together day in and day out and one that meets on their days off is bound to differ.

Even if it’s every day, we only see Young Miss Ga-young for at best a few hours. Such a short time isn’t enough to fully grasp a person.

“So, is that alright?”

“Yes?”

“I’m asking if it’s okay for me to accompany you to volunteer work.”

“Ah…”

Young Miss Ga-young hesitated for a moment,

“Yes!”

And then a big smile spread across her face.

Ah.

Pia’s fingers were fidgeting.

She had an adult expression, but it looked like her heart was just itching to reach out and hug.

Well, then again, Pia had experience standing in front of the public as a Saintess, so managing her expressions must be rather easy for her.

Dana and I exchanged glances.

Dana let out a bit of an exaggerated sigh.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

*

Since Young Miss Ga-young preferred bread over rice, and noodles over bread, dinner naturally turned into a noodle dish.

However, I couldn’t just send her off with some random meal, so we went to quite a nice place.

Coincidentally, the place we ended up at was an Italian restaurant.

It was pricier than the spaghetti place we first went to. Although it was a bit farther from where the church was, we had indeed walked long enough.

Young Miss Ga-young had a look on her face as if she wondered whether it was okay to eat here, but once we started our meal so casually, she quickly picked up her fork.

It seems her love for noodles was genuine.

Come to think of it, I realized I didn’t actually like tomato sauce all that much, and my sister still didn’t know that.

Well, I had no intention of telling her anytime soon.

I might get found out by my sister one day.

But until then, I’d like to keep pretending I love tomato sauce.

After all, I still can’t forget the joyful expression on my sister’s face when she first bought me a meal.

In that sense, Young Miss Ga-young, who said she would eventually tell her secret, might actually be braver than I am.