No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 14

EP.14

Chapter 2

Encounters and Opportunities (1)

Something felt off.

To put it bluntly, I had a nagging feeling I was in the wrong place. And honestly, if I hadn’t enjoyed that novel so much, I wouldn’t have kept reading it all the way to the latest chapter. I was invested in the characters, curious about which one would end up with the protagonist. I’d even had heated discussions with other readers, debating who should be paired with whom. Of course, my rational and logical opinion was that no one but the childhood friend should end up with the protagonist.

Among the many theories of literature, there’s one by the great Russian author Anton Chekhov, known as “Chekhov’s Gun.”

In simple terms, it means that if a gun appears in the first scene of a story, it must be fired later on.

In film, an unexpected object can slip into the frame—another camera, the reflection of the crew in a mirror, or random actions by passersby. Depending on the production conditions, these elements can’t always be edited out.

But in writing, every detail is there by the author’s intent. If there’s a bustling crowd, you can simply say, “There were many people,” without describing each individual in detail. But if you focus deeply on one person, there should be a reason for it, whether it’s foreshadowing, a symbol, or something that will have significance later on.

This applies even more to web novels, which are generally limited in word count.

The “childhood friend heroine” is Chekhov’s gun: a loaded weapon waiting to be fired.

Typically, the childhood friend is the first to appear, constantly sharing sweet memories with the protagonist, and regardless of whether she’s a tsundere or not, it’s revealed that she has liked the protagonist since childhood. All these foreshadowings must be utilized in the story, right?

Logically speaking, the heroine who appears most frequently and has the most foreshadowing of ending up with the protagonist is almost always the childhood friend. But from a rational standpoint, the heroine who is introduced first is bound to have more fans.

How could the childhood friend heroine be dismissed? After all that buildup, how did she get pushed aside so easily in favor of the saintess? I couldn’t understand it. The saintess’ combat skills weren’t much better than a “spinning mace technique,” and her main contribution was her divine power. Falling for her after a few heals? It’s like a suspension bridge effect gone wrong.

Unless the story had an NTR tag, the protagonist was always meant to end up with the childhood friend. I even messaged the author about it, in excruciating detail, right before I sent my crucial message about atheism.

“…”

“Hey. What’s with the look?”

Maybe that was why. Right now, I was seriously wondering if my current situation was part of the author’s—no, the god of this world’s—plan.

“Hey.”

A sudden poke to my side—no, not just my side but right between my ribs—made me squeak involuntarily. Though I somehow kept my mouth shut, the sound that came out was still embarrassingly close to a squeal. I quickly looked around.

None of the nuns sweeping the courtyard were looking our way. Several nuns were already gone. They had either left the convent or were preparing to leave.

The very young nuns, those around five years old or younger, didn’t interact with us much. They were in a separate childcare facility in another part of the church.

“What are you doing?”

I snapped, rubbing the spot between my ribs and glaring at Ria, who looked back at me as if I were the one acting out of line. She gripped her broom’s bamboo handle, mirroring mine, with an exasperated look on her face.

“I’ve been calling you forever, and you didn’t answer. You were just sweeping away with this spaced-out look on your face. Look at this.”

I glanced down. Apparently, I’d been sweeping so robotically in one place that the sand had piled up, and stiff lines from my broom marked the ground. The hard-packed dirt wasn’t exactly damaged, but my bamboo bristles had scored lines across it. Sighing, I brushed the marks away with my foot.

“What’s up? Still thinking about that guy you saw earlier?”

She teased.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, the one who said he was our age.”

A laugh slipped out of me at that. I pride myself on being rational, but I understand some people are drawn to attractive strangers at first sight. After all, when meeting someone for the first time, there’s not much else to go on besides their appearance. And sure, the “protagonist” in this world was described as handsome, but…

“Why would I?”

I responded with a scoff. Moving the broom a bit more roughly, a sharp sound came from the ground. Despite my obvious display of disinterest, Ria seemed unconvinced.

“I mean, usually when guys talk to you, you don’t bother replying, right? Last time, didn’t you hide behind the nuns?”

It was that strange in-between season where the snow had stopped falling but the morning air still held a chill. Sweeping, I wondered why I had to deal with a conversation like this right now.

“Ria.”

And my rational mind quickly reached a conclusion.

“Are you interested in him or something?”

“What?”

As expected.

Ria’s exaggerated reaction to my question was typical of what women did when they didn’t exactly dislike someone but found it a little embarrassing to show they liked them openly. It’s not like I’d spent my previous life surrounded by women, but I’d watched enough dramas written by female writers to recognize the signs. The female lead usually responded with an exaggerated “What are you talking about?” whenever someone asked if she liked a guy.

“Well, it makes sense. Objectively speaking, he’s got a good-looking face.”

And not just the face—he had the physique too, which was inevitable given that maintaining stamina is essential for a hunter. Unfortunately, I didn’t immediately recognize him as the protagonist just by his looks. Illustrations in web novels tend to be two-dimensional, and since most illustrations on Novelpia lean toward Japanese manga-style, it wasn’t like I had a clear image to go off. Actually, there wasn’t even an illustration of the male lead’s face. Authors often prioritize creating character art for heroines over the protagonist.

So, the only reference I had for the protagonist’s appearance was the SD version of his face from some emoji pack. It’s no wonder I hadn’t recognized him immediately. When I’d poured divine power into his bloodied face, I was more surprised to see how handsome he was than anything else. And when his torn clothes revealed his physique, my only reaction was wondering how dedicated he had to be to keep up a body like that.

On the other hand, for Ria, who was originally one of the heroines, her reaction was pretty natural.

“Well, I never even said a word to him.”

“It’s normal for nuns to develop romantic ideals about men. I get it.”

I replied.

One of the nuns I shared a room with didn’t fight with me purely over matters of faith. She constantly talked about men, which annoyed me so much that I requested a room change.

Not all nuns are like that, but some nuns going through puberty show such tendencies more prominently. I don’t understand how people can brag about meeting a guy while volunteering, especially during such a short outing. How is it possible to meet a guy, let alone have anything happen, in such a brief period? Unless the guy has a severe case of premature ejaculation where everything is over in a matter of seconds or a minute, it’s almost impossible.

…Anyway, that wasn’t quite the point I was trying to make.

“…I’ve only been here a little over a month.”

Ria muttered, seemingly in disbelief.

“If you were popular before, then that’s enough time to attract attention.”

I pointed out.

“Wait… Popular? Me?”

She looked genuinely surprised.

“Of course. Hunting is a male-dominated field, right? And you’re young and have that kind of look men find attractive.”

“Uh…”

She murmured, as if realizing something for the first time.

What’s with the sudden modesty? I had my own pride in my appearance, but Ria was a level beyond that. The difference was subtle, but if we both wore fitted clothing, you could see it clearly. It wouldn’t be strange if she had a few guy friends, though the novel hadn’t exactly depicted that. Still, I bet there were guys with secret crushes on her.

“…”

Leaving Ria to her silent contemplation, I finally had a moment to savor the peace of the morning, allowing my thoughts to drift back to where they’d left off. Now, what was I thinking about? Oh, right—the logical argument for why the childhood friend should end up with the protagonist.

Let’s continue that train of thought, shall we?