Whenever I ask anything, it's always "That's a heavenly secret" or some nonsense.
It's basically a system designed to say only the most annoying things like "raise your divine power," but still, after pestering it enough, I managed to get a few pieces of information.
1. "Ordel Kyris" is born weak, so I need to receive power from the Sun God to strengthen my divine power.
2. But the problem is, the Sun God, who's supposed to give me power, doesn't have enough intelligence to channel it to me right now.
3. So I'm still a nobody with only 2% divine power.
4. To raise divine power, I need to gather followers to strengthen the Sun God.
After lining everything up, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Useful my ass. There's nothing here that's actually helpful."
It claims to be an AI system that manages dimensions and communicates with gods, but honestly, it doesn't seem much different from an AI made on Earth.
So yeah, it's better than nothing, but not exactly useful either.
I clicked my tongue and looked at the fifth item I'd added at the end.
The point in time when I possessed this body is about one year before the original story begins.
In other words, it's before the heroine, Idella, awakens.
If I just wait a year, everything will sort itself out—so why bring me here now?
And this useless AI won't even tell me, claiming it's another "heavenly secret."
Does the Sun God have some earth-shattering reason why they can't wait for Idella to awaken?
Maybe that's why they possessed me into Ordel, someone everyone but a few believes is the real Saint.
"I honestly just want to ditch this whole quest and run away…"
Seriously, why should I care if the Sun God disappears or not?
What's so great about a god who threw me into a second life without my consent?
My ideal happy ending would be to run away, enjoy the possessed life a bit, then clap and cheer from a distance when the protagonists save the world.
"Well, guess I have to go to the temple tomorrow first."
The Sun God's temple, where Ordel is pretending to be a Saint.
If I want to quit being a Saint, I'll have to go there and talk to the High Priest.
To be honest, it's uncomfortable since there are people there who were involved in Ordel's death…
But for a smooth and easy possessed life, there's no helping it.
I'll just have to endure the brief discomfort.
"Ugh, I'm dying here…"
But the next morning at dawn—
Even before I could get to the temple, I was already being tormented with a death threat.
Growwwlllll.
An overwhelming hunger so loud it drowned out the sound of carriage wheels on the road.
"Please… spare me…"
The growling of my stomach, crying out for food, was that loud.
This is all thanks to those awful Kyris bastards.
"Drag her out right now and lock her in a room with no food or water! And at sunrise tomorrow, kick her out and send her straight to the temple!"
Ordel's adoptive father, Count Kyris, didn't just starve me all night—he dragged me out of bed at sunrise and threw me into a carriage.
Without even a sip of water, let alone a meal!
How can a person be so cruel?
"Even if Ordel isn't his real daughter, this is way too much!"
That's right. Ordel isn't the Count's biological daughter.
She's from a distant collateral branch. Once she awakened her divine power, the Count immediately adopted her.
So he could use her as a fake Saint for the Sun God's temple.
Due to its desperate circumstances, the temple had no choice but to accept Ordel as the Saint.
But the only one who benefited from this was the Count.
To make sure Ordel couldn't betray the family, they abused and brainwashed her.
Ordel, in turn, lashed out at the temple to make sure no one looked down on her, which only made things worse for the Sun God's temple.
Only the Count basked in glory, boasting that his family had produced a Saint, and his success continued to climb.
"No wonder she turned out this way."
It was especially dramatic when the true Saint—our heroine—finally appeared.
Once Ordel lost the position she had barely held onto, she lashed out at the heroine viciously.
Even I, reading the novel, had cursed her out a lot back then...
But now that I've actually entered her body and experienced the abuse myself... I feel a little sorry for her.
"I'm cutting off the Kyris family, no matter what."
They're nothing but a cancer. Keeping ties with them will only hurt me.
Once I get to the temple, I'll just beg for forgiveness, admit I was wrong, and say I clearly have no qualifications, so I'll step down quietly.
That should lead to a happy ending for everyone...
Groooowl.
At that moment, my stomach let out a thunderous cry, demanding to know if I'd forgotten about it. I clutched my abdomen with a pale face.
"...First, let's just ask for a meal."
Right. Everything I'm doing here is to survive. I need food first...
But I didn't arrive at the temple until a whole day later.
Having barely eaten in nearly two days, I glared at the knights escorting the carriage from outside.
Damn those knights from the Count's house. How could they not give me a single meal or even a sip of water?
Isn't this straight-up torture? At this rate, I'll end my second life in the most pitiful way.
"Ughhh..."
As soon as the carriage reached the temple, I threw the door open and jumped out.
Motion sickness was hitting me hard, so I thought I'd just flop onto the ground... but—
Instead of hard earth, something soft and warm wrapped around me.
It even smelled nice, and the nausea began to subside.
Ah... with this, I think I might live...
My survival instincts kicked in, and I clung tightly to whatever had embraced me.
"...Saint?"
Then, a sweet, gentle voice rang out above my head.
Oh, it's a person! And not one of those knights, thank god—it's not cold armor!
"I'm... I'm so hungry..."
Feeling relieved, I clung to the warmth that embraced me and sank to the ground.
Groooowl.
Along with another loud growl from my stomach.
Thankfully, that person didn't toss me aside.
Far from it—incredibly enough, he even helped me to what I assumed was my bedroom, and brought me food right away.
Soup with chunks of meat, a fresh fruit salad, soft and buttery bread, and delicious juice.
Ah, what a feast.
"Please eat slowly, Saint. I'm worried you might upset your stomach."
As I hurriedly shoveled soup into my mouth, I froze at the sound of the voice before me.
I took a deep breath, then slowly lifted my head.
…So dazzling.
The person I'd clung to the moment I got off the carriage. The source of that sweet voice and comforting warmth.
Golden hair that seemed to be woven from pure sunlight, green eyes like vibrant foliage, and a gentle expression as soft as a spring breeze stared back at me.
Even just by appearance, I could tell who he was.
The high priest barely keeping this poverty-stricken Sun God temple running. The real power behind the scenes here.
And later on, one of the male leads who falls in love with the heroine—and kills me.
Iric Dert.
"Ahem."
Maybe it was because he's someone who'll kill me in the future, but I suddenly felt awkward and shifted my gaze.
That's when I noticed his clothes—his upper garments were thoroughly crumpled.
Why does the High Priest's robe, symbol of purity and order, look like that? Like it had been… yanked or clawed at somewhere...
Wait. Don't tell me…
"I-I'm so sorry. I wasn't in my right mind earlier…"
I had grabbed the High Priest of all people. Even the rampaging Ordel never went that far!
"Ah."
Looking down at his nearly wrinkled-to-ripping clothes, Iric gave me a strange look.
"…It's all right. You looked very exhausted. You don't need to apologize for something like this."
His eyes were suspicious—understandably so.
Iric Dert was one of the people who had suffered most from Ordel's temper.
And he knew she was a fake Saint.
After all, he was the one who had negotiated with Count Kyris to install Ordel in the temple.
That's why he'd silently endured her outbursts—but now, that same Ordel suddenly apologizing? Of course it would be suspicious.
"High Priest, I have something to tell you."
No reason to delay it any further. If I have to say it, it's better to do it now.
"I'd like to step down from the position of Saint."
Iric's face went rigid.