Academy Saintess of My Chūni Writing Days

1.

The Thanksgiving prayer ended just like that.

Of course, Christmas was still a holiday, and so many people had gathered for the Thanksgiving prayer that there was no way they would just head home. If it were late in the afternoon when the prayer meeting was about to end, it might have been different, but it was still midday. The streets were bustling as the crowd dispersed, enjoying the festive atmosphere of the 1st District.

Not that I had any intention of joining them.

I had never had a girlfriend, so I had always thought of Christmas as just a day off. My friends also didn’t have any intention of meeting same-gender friends on Christmas, so we would gather a few days later to drink and lament our lives.

Though now, as an unintended minor, that wasn’t something I could do.

But still, I was with my “friends.”

Of course, I first had something to do.

“Are we going back now?”

“Yes. We could only be here for this long from the start. If you had used the miracle’s power we received to keep us here, we could have stayed a few more hours.”

Of course, as soon as I received that power, I returned it to the people.

Even though Baal and Ariel had only been around for about a week, considering the incidents that erupted at the Central Church during that time, it was probably better to send them back sooner.

Maybe it was fortunate that I had been in a coma during that time. If I hadn’t, I would have been caught up in those incidents and been tossed around everywhere.

“I’m just thankful we could be together this long.”

Ariel smiled brightly at me as she said that.

… Well, I might feel guilty thinking, “I should send them back,” especially saying it to Ariel, who felt like she was a living embodiment of the word ‘Goddess,’ but still.

However, I still hadn’t figured out how to summon just one of them, Baal or Ariel. Every time I called the heavens, both of them would come like a package deal.

“You look like you’re having very irreverent thoughts.”

The sharp-eyed Baal said, looking at my face.

“What am I?”

I pouted in reply. Well, calling only one of them would feel a bit unfair. I wouldn’t want to be the bully who ostracizes one.

Not that Baal would be crying like a character left alone, though.

I sighed deeply, only to have my mouth suddenly covered.

No, technically speaking, it was my face that was covered.

To be a bit more precise, someone was hugging me.

“Thank you so, so much. Everything was possible because you were here. No matter how many times I say thank you, I’ll never convey that entire feeling.”

Uh… yeah.

My brain, which had just started operating again, realized that my face was buried in Ariel’s chest and suddenly activated the emergency stop function.

It wasn’t like anything was particularly dangerous; I think I recognized that if I regained my composure here, I would start squirming to escape from Ariel’s embrace. If I did that, Ariel would have probably let me go right away.

Well, it felt nice. Honestly, I didn’t think that just being in a woman’s body for less than a year would make me feminine all of a sudden. But aside from that masculine instinct deep in my chest, it made me think about how long it had been since I had been embraced by someone like this.

When I was little, I got a lot of hugs from my parents. I even hugged my mother when I came home from the army, and the same when I was discharged. Well, if I had had a girlfriend after becoming an adult, I might have had chances to be hugged, but since that wasn’t the case, I lived for a few years without any opportunities for a hug.

So, being embraced in such a pure way was truly a long-awaited thing. There was that time when Aurora and Linea were almost killed by demons, and I rushed in for a hug, and just yesterday, Rina gave me a back hug—not quite, but something like it…but honestly, there was no reason to feel bad about being hugged in a complimenting way.

The height difference between Ariel and me wasn’t that large, so standing felt a bit awkward… but it was so nice that I didn’t feel the need to complain about that at all.

The hand that had been gently patting my head slipped away. The darkened view was flooded with light again.

“I’ll be waiting for the day we meet again someday.”

As the light gradually brightened, Ariel smiled sweetly at me.

“Uh, yeah.”

I nodded.

And without meaning to, I glanced at Baal.

“….”

“….”

Baal was squinting his eyes and staring at me. Right, he was also someone who knew about my past life. Unlike innocent Ariel, Baal would have immediately figured out that my lack of resistance in Ariel’s embrace included a bit of lust.

“Should I hug you too?”

I shuddered instinctively at the thought.

“No.”

“That’s a relief.”

Baal replied with a light laugh.

“Well then, see you next time.”

“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With those words, the Goddess and Demon bid farewell and completely vanished into the light. The light blazed brightly like a flare for an instant before it vanished, and I stood there blinking, momentarily blinded.

When my vision returned to normal, the two deities were nowhere to be seen.

“….”

They’re gone.

Though they were never supposed to be here, thinking they’ve returned brought me both a sense of relief and a tinge of sadness. How often would I get to meet beings like them and other gods?

Wouldn’t it have been better to save their power and let them stay a few more days?

But just as that thought crossed my mind, I heard a sigh of relief from behind.

When I turned around, it was Rina.

Not only me, but it seemed all the people nearby had heard it too, as everyone who had come to see off the Goddess and Demon was looking at Rina.

“What? Why? What?”

Rina blushed and stammered.

Well, I had also sighed in relief inwardly. It felt wrong to blame her for that.

“Then, I guess today’s work is done.”

I said while looking around at everyone in the room: Jian, Selena, Rina, Linea, Aurora, and Erica. In truth, not all the members of the fighting club were here, but that could wait until next year when I could ask my friends directly.

The Pope, who had barely come back to his senses, wore a look that might lead to another divine moment, but I tried my best to ignore him.

I decided to ignore Turner, who looked exhausted under his eyes.

At least, Andrea was smiling that refreshing smile unique to someone who had finished everything, making her far more pleasant to look at than usual.

“Since there’s still plenty of time left… let’s spend the remaining time however we want. We can either go out and enjoy the festival or rest in this room.”

As I said that, I shrugged my shoulders.

“….”

It seemed my statement wasn’t quite exciting enough to wrap things up, as everyone looked at each other in surprise and soon, smiles lit up their faces.

“Ahem.”

Linea cleared her throat, preparing herself.

“Well then, let’s give a round of applause for the hero who saved this world!”

Upon saying that, a sound that made me immensely embarrassed echoed around.

“Ah, don’t—”

Before I could finish my complaint, people had already started applauding enthusiastically.

Though it was just a small handful of gratitude from a few people, I felt a far greater shame than the Thanksgiving prayer I had received earlier from the stage.

My face flushed red as the applause continued, and just then, Aurora leapt into my arms.

Caught completely off guard, I couldn’t stop myself and fell on my backside.

Afterwards, Linea jumped into my embrace as well. Thankfully, Rina just looked at the two of them with a look of disbelief.

It was warm.

Just like when I embraced the two who had fought against the escaping demons, their bodies felt warm.

The applause was still continuing. I thought I heard someone cheering as well.

That was when I finally felt that everything had come to an end.

2.

Hugging is surprisingly a timing-sensitive action.

No matter how close friends you are, if it’s not a regular occurrence, it can become incredibly awkward right after. If it’s a must, it’s best to do it when everything is chaotic and emotions are overflowing, or like with Ariel, where they hug and disappear, one or the other.

If you hug someone when you’re supposed to share a room with them right after, that can create an awkward atmosphere. Besides, we weren’t really the type to hug each other often.

… Weren’t girl characters in typical TS stories hugging each other all the time? Even if not stepping into yuri, they typically create some atmosphere in most stories that allow for that.

Like I said before, physical contact among the nuns in this world often has many restrictions. A place forbidden to men. Only for women, and even then, if they grew up only together from childhood, there might be some sexual misunderstandings. It’s not just a matter of fictional settings; I’ve heard that there are indeed real-life situations where physical contact is often banned in monasteries and convents.

Well, that didn’t mean we were viewing each other sexually… but.

After the applause had died down and the hug ended, we were all left with slightly awkward expressions, unable to meet each other’s eyes.

Getting swept up in the atmosphere can be such a dangerous thing.

“Well, since we’ve finished all the business.”

Selena said, acting as if she didn’t see us, lost in thought with her arms crossed.

“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we all enjoy the festival together?”

“Huh?”

I asked in a somewhat dazed voice as I climbed back to my feet, brushing myself off.

“Honestly, everyone here seriously suffered throughout the battle against the demons.”

Sure, there were people who hadn’t been at the battlefield, but since people had congregated at the Central Church, it wouldn’t be wrong.

“So, let’s go out and have fun to relieve some stress.”

“But I’ll be recognized wherever I go.”

“Of course, you’d have to hide your face.”

I looked at Selena with a blank expression, but surprisingly, everyone seemed to think this idea was quite a good one.

“That sounds great!”

Aurora’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Yeah, taking some leisure sounds good.”

Slightly red-faced Linea cleared her throat and spoke.

Thinking again, it’s best not to do something you don’t regularly do.

“If we’re hiding our faces… do we wear masks?”

When I asked, Selena nodded in response.

“Do you know? There are quite a few people who wear masks during the year-end festival! The stories about Santa Claus are still valid, you know?”

“Yeah, but what about my glowing body?”

Of course, if I physically covered it, it could be hidden to some extent, but the soft light escaping from my face would probably make it look like I had an LED light on my mask.

“Well, that doesn’t really matter, right? The church will take care of it somehow.”

You can’t just think like that!

Watching Selena wave her hands nonchalantly while I rubbed my face in disbelief, someone tapped my shoulder.

When I turned, Andrea was standing there.

“Well, worrying won’t help you get things done. Just go out and enjoy yourself. Just like the next Saintess over there said, the church will take care of everything.”

“Who’s the next Saintess?”

Selena asked, irritated.

By the way, it seems like the church hasn’t given up on Selena’s canonization yet. Of course, there could have been a chaotic situation if they had tried to force it, leading her not to show up for her own canonization. So, it seems they’ve put it a bit on hold for now.

“How does that work…?”

“Who knows.”

Andrea shrugged at me.

“It’s Christmas. Isn’t it fine to hope for one more small miracle?”

“Ah…”

Seeing Andrea from the Inquisition saying such things made me rub my face again.

I glanced at Rina, but Rina just shrugged as well.

“… Fine.”

Oh well, whatever.

“Alright, let’s go. No matter what happens.”

I answered like that.

The people around me laughed. It was like watching a cute little sister pouting, and honestly, it made my stomach twist a bit.

Alright, let’s see if things turn out as these people say.

If something goes wrong, I’m sure they would somehow make it right.

3.

“See? Not a problem at all.”

Just as Selena said, even though we were in the middle of the festival, no one recognized me. I was just standing there wearing a thin plastic mask.

By the way, I couldn’t do anything about the light coming from behind my head. It wasn’t pouring out like it did during the Thanksgiving prayer, but Christmas was still ongoing. People were probably praying for me across the country, in different time zones. So, I couldn’t hide that divine power.

Even so, no one’s gaze was directed at me.

“… No.”

That wasn’t exactly true. There were definitely people who noticed the light coming from my body. Some looked at me from the corner of their eyes while subtly moving closer.

But even so, no one approached me en masse, causing a melee in the street.

“You said the church would take care of it.”

Aurora held my hand and walked by my side, while Selena smiled.

“What happened?”

It seemed like people passing by were recognizing me. In fact, just a moment ago, someone had handed me a balloon, which seemed to come from an elderly man selling them on the street, and he hadn’t even asked for money.

Holding the string of the helium-filled balloon floating up high, I tried to hide my awkward expression under the mask when Andrea, dressed in casual clothes, spoke.

“I asked for permission in advance.”

“Permission? From everyone here?”

“Probably from everyone around the world.”

Andrea smiled at me.

“While you were out cold, we kept telling numerous broadcasts across various channels that when the Goddess awakens, she’ll likely want to enjoy the festival. But if the people around her pay too much attention to her, she won’t be able to enjoy it.”

“….”

“Though she’s the hero who saved the world, she’s still at an age where she likes to have fun. The year-end festival is the largest and longest-running festival. If someone who saved the world can’t enjoy it, that wouldn’t be right, would it?”

Huh.

… Honestly, it was a bit touching to think they had considered that much.

I could see that Linea and Aurora were wearing masks, but even beyond that, I could tell they were smiling brightly. Jian and Erica, along with Paul-san, who followed us under the pretext of guarding, and even Andrea were all wearing smiles without shadows.

It wasn’t just us.

The performers on the street, the people dancing together, those selling things and food from shop stalls, and even the police and knights mingling among the crowd.

Everyone was smiling brightly.

The awful problems that weighed on everyone were gone.

And I was the one who had made that happen.

… No, it’s probably because all these people were here that I was able to protect it.

If there hadn’t been people praying for me, we would have surely lost that battle.

My nose tingled.

“Ah, by the way.”

Andrea added as if to follow up.

“The one who first brought this up was that Saintess over there. She claims she was just complaining that she couldn’t enjoy it, but.”

“Wh-why are you suddenly bringing that up!?”

Rina, who had been walking a distance away from us, yelled. The heads of the people who were trying to avoid gazing our way turned towards us helplessly. Rina hurriedly cleared her throat.

“I-I really thought I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it! It’s not fair!”

I squinted my eyes at Rina.

That’s such a lie. She never liked that kind of subject.

But, well.

Fine. I could at least let this one slide.

“Rina.”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“….”

When I said that, I could see Rina’s eyes quiver, visible through the eye holes in her mask.

Ultimately, Rina seemed to struggle to come up with a reply and hurriedly pulled away from us. But still, she walked in sync with our pace.

“Hey! I want to eat that over there!”

Aurora seemed to have spotted something delicious and tugged at my wrist.

“You don’t have to rush. We have plenty of time.”

“But the food will disappear quickly!”

Had she actually enjoyed a festival once before?

Well, fine.

Since it had come to this, enjoying the festival in a pure sense wouldn’t be so bad either.

I smiled and cheerfully followed Aurora.

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