No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!?

No, How Can an Atheist Become a Saintess!? – 30

EP.30

Chapter 3

Faith and Status (4)

The long meeting could be summarized in one phrase: a collection of testimonies. I didn’t know much about how canonization was carried out in the real world I lived in during my previous life. Honestly, the only time I’d shown interest in religion was in my childhood, and even then, I abandoned it for various reasons and never looked back. The extent of my ‘detailed knowledge’ about religion came from occasionally reading about religious figures on wiki sites.

Still, even if I didn’t know the exact process of canonization, it was clear that testimonies played an important role.

As a staunch atheist, I had firmly believed there was no such thing as miracles. If people claimed a miracle occurred, I would have assumed it was a coincidence misinterpreted as divine intervention, a simple misperception, or a con artist laying groundwork for a scam.

So, when it came to sainthood, the only thing left to rely on was those testimonies. Beyond that, it would probably involve verifying whether the person was corrupt or not.

But here’s where the problem lay—

“……”

The presentation didn’t just include text. There were photos and videos as well, naturally included as part of the materials. And on the screen, there I was, healing people.

The footage was a bit absurd, honestly. Since “divine power” didn’t show up on video, the only thing visible was me treating people. According to the common understanding of this world, while magic could sometimes be recorded, divine power could only be perceived by living beings. No matter how advanced recording technology became, it would capture only the effects of divine power, not the power itself.

As a result, some people theorized that divine power was a kind of psychological phenomenon. They weren’t saying it was fake or nonexistent, but rather that it was some kind of force beyond the laws of reality. When the brain processed this unexplainable force, it represented it as “light.” It was kind of an optical illusion—only much more vivid and undeniably real.

Honestly, I would’ve preferred to write it off as an illusion too, but the effects were tangible. Whether people believed in God or not, everyone could see it with their own eyes.

“Ohhh…”

Exclamations of admiration came from the clergy in the room.

Though the light of divine power wasn’t visible, the process of healing stood out even more clearly as a result. Wounds closed as if time itself were rewinding. While it wasn’t literal time reversal, the result was the same—injuries disappearing without leaving scars, as if the damage had never occurred.

In the footage, I was seen saving a group of injured people in just that way.

The second-most praised moment came when I shielded an injured person by covering them with my body as a large object flew toward us.

The most lauded moment, however, was when I collapsed from exhaustion after everything was done.

Everyone present in the room was either clergy or someone who had been directly helped by me or witnessed my actions. So, the atmosphere was overwhelmingly favorable.

But wasn’t this a little too biased? With things leaning so heavily in my favor, it felt like there wasn’t a single dissenting voice!

Not that this wasn’t technically advantageous, but still!

“……”

As I listened to the awed murmurs and exclamations of admiration from all directions, I felt like I might die of embarrassment on the spot. Like a person living in the barren modern world, I was uncomfortable with praise. Both giving and receiving it. Hearing people exclaim as if I had saved the world was seriously embarrassing in many ways.

“That concludes the presentation.”

As the video ended, the nun at the front turned to look at me. Her expression seemed to ask if I had anything to say.

All the clergy’s eyes were on me, and I felt my face heat up as I kept my mouth shut. The scenes in the video were true, so I had nothing to add.

“I see…”

The Cardinal murmured, his eyes settling on me with an expression that was hard to read.

It was a look of disbelief, as if he were thinking, “Her? Really?” And who could blame him? I was the one who had once sent him a letter overflowing with blasphemous declarations like, “The concept of God is flawed,” or “There can’t possibly be a God,” and “How do we even prove that the entity up there is purely benevolent?” Now, here I was, using what appeared to be divine power.

“Well then, next we’ll hear from those who are not affiliated with the Church. These individuals have either received direct healing from Sister Anna, who is currently being considered for sainthood, or witnessed her actions firsthand. Since divine power doesn’t appear on video, they’ll describe what they experienced themselves.”

So, there was still more humiliation in store for me.

I covered my face with both hands.

*

I had naively thought the ordeal would end with the clergy’s testimonies and the video footage. Instead, what followed brought me twice the embarrassment I’d already endured.

The Saintess Candidates, including Sophie, and the nuns and priests present described my actions in a straightforward manner. Perhaps it was because they had a certain understanding of divine power. To them, there was no need to passionately explain something as obvious as “one plus one equals two.”

However, the testimonies from those who were not clergy were a bit different.

“It was as if the light had been sent down directly by God—”

“I’ve never seen such a power before—”

“I’m sure it could even bring the dead back to life—”

…

Personal impressions tend to be somewhat exaggerated.

Unlike the clergy’s testimonies, this time, a nun occasionally intervened to moderate the descriptions and guide them back to objective accounts. I never thought I would feel grateful to the church members in such a situation.

The Cardinal listened intently to each testimony, setting aside any initial biases or personal impressions to objectively assess the situation.

After several rounds of testimony, the next person to step forward was—

“Ah, hello.”

The girl, who had tied her hair properly this time, looked far more polished than when I’d first seen her.

She was as pretty as I remembered from the original story, though her chest was a bit smaller and her presence slightly less dazzling than that of the Saintess. Still, her neat black hair and composed appearance were a perfect reflection of her personality.

Her dark eyes briefly met mine—

Huh?

And in those eyes, I sensed something, a kind of… determination.

In novels, a heroine’s determination usually appears in scenes related to the male protagonist. Either when the male protagonist is in mortal danger and she decides to sacrifice herself, or—

Or when she faces a rival heroine.

Of course, there was no enemy threatening Lee Si-yoon’s life right now.

“My name is Han Yu-ri. I’m a 6th-grade hunter, and I was with Si-yoon… Hunter Lee Si-yoon when he was healed.”

“I see. It’s impressive to have already advanced a grade at such a young age.”

The Cardinal replied gently, clearly aiming to put her at ease.

“…Not really. That day, when Hunter Lee Si-yoon was attacked, I couldn’t do anything…”

“We’ve already heard that the situation was beyond what a Rank 6 Hunter could handle. Surviving such an ordeal was an accomplishment in itself.”

The Cardinal said, his tone comforting.

“Thank you.”

She replied, bowing slightly.

“Now, could you recount the events of that day in detail once more?”

A nun asked.

Han Yu-ri nodded and began her testimony.

For the most part, her account aligned closely with what I remembered of the incident. However—

“She looked exactly like a Saintess from a storybook, sacrificing herself to save others.”

“…”

She added that comment.

I couldn’t say anything about her personal impressions, but her expression conveyed a determination to see me elevated to the position of Saintess.

Could she be misunderstanding my intentions? Does she think I have an interest in Lee Si-yoon? And so, she’s trying to secure my position as a Saintess to keep me away from him…?

In the original story, she did have a rather jealous personality.

A part of me wanted to stand up right then and there to clarify. ‘I have no interest in him whatsoever, and I’m actually rooting for you two childhood friends to get together.’ But saying such a thing would inevitably lead to questioning how I even knew about their relationship.

Moreover, throwing a tantrum about not wanting to be a Saintess might lead to even more misunderstandings.

Han Yu-ri finished her testimony and stepped down, looking quite satisfied with herself. If she had overstepped or exaggerated at any point, I could have countered her claims, but she had stuck strictly to the truth. She likely understood that fabricating or embellishing her story would have undermined her credibility.

After her, a few more people came forward to testify.

Finally, the nun presiding over the session addressed us all.

“With this, we have heard and seen all the testimonies and evidence.”

Her eyes swept over everyone present before she continued.

“Now, we will proceed to the next phase.”

The next phase?

Were they planning to send me to the Vatican to prove my divinity? While I wouldn’t mind visiting the Vatican as a tourist someday, I definitely wasn’t interested in going there for this reason.

But when the nun explained the next steps, my thoughts snapped into focus.

“Assuming a symbolic position within the Church is not something to be taken lightly. Therefore—”

In summary, they intended to test my qualifications.

They would scrutinize my life in detail to uncover whether I had ever engaged in any questionable or impure activities.

And the person appointed to oversee this process was—

“The Devil’s Advocate.”

…Indeed.

This confirmed that the Church was at least somewhat concerned about the potential corruption of those at its upper echelons. To prevent such corruption, the Church had created a role specifically tasked with investigating candidates aspiring to become Saintesses, scrutinizing their good deeds, and opposing them where necessary.

Interestingly, there was no requirement for this person to be a member of the clergy—in fact, it was preferable if they weren’t. Therefore, the Church would invite someone external for this role—

Bang!

Before the explanation could finish, the door burst open.

The person who entered was panting heavily and exclaimed.

“I-I’m so sorry! I misread the train schedule, and—!”

The person, dressed in a suit, looked disheveled from running. She was relatively young, but I recognized her face—not from the original novel, but from this world’s TV programs.

In the world I lived in, there were people like her. People who denied that the Earth was round and claimed it was flat. While their claims weren’t correct, such assertions often piqued people’s interest. These people would gain a certain level of notoriety and occasionally appear on television, usually as the subject of ridicule on late-night cable shows.

…That’s right.

The woman who had just entered was this world’s equivalent of a “flat-Earther.” Except her cause wasn’t the flat Earth theory—it was atheism.

For the first time in ages, I felt a ray of enlightenment illuminate my mind. And then I realized that the light I was feeling was actually shining above my head, and I quickly brushed it away with my hand.