Whenever I asked something, it was always “that’s a divine secret” this, “classified” that.
All the system ever did was pick the most unhelpful answers and tell me to increase my divine power—but I still managed to squeeze out a few pieces of information:
1. Ordell Kiris was born with weak power, so I need to receive strength directly from the Sun God in order to raise my divine power.
2. But the problem is, the Sun God who’s supposed to grant me that power doesn’t have enough strength—or intelligence, apparently—so I can’t get anything right now.
3. So I’m still stuck as a 2% divine power nobody.
4. To increase divine power, I need to gather followers and restore the Sun God’s strength.
After listing it all out, I looked at the notes and gave a satisfied smile.
“Information, my ass. Not a single thing here is actually useful.”
This AI that supposedly manages dimensions and even communicates with gods felt no different from some half-baked AI built on Earth.
Like, it’s better than nothing, but it’s not like it’s helping much either.
Clicking my tongue, I looked at the fifth and final note I’d jotted down:
5. The current point of possession is about one year before the original novel begins.
In other words, right now, the heroine Idella hasn’t awakened yet.
If I just wait a year, everything will solve itself. So why the hell did they drag me here?
Of course, the useless AI wouldn’t answer that either—claimed it was a “divine secret.”
Is there some urgent reason the Sun God can’t afford to wait until Idella awakens?
Maybe that’s why they possessed me into Ordell, who—aside from a select few—everyone else still thinks is the real saint.
“Honestly, if it were up to me, I’d abandon the quest and just run for it…”
Why should I care if the Sun God disappears or not?
What, am I supposed to feel bad for the god who hijacked my second life without permission?
I could just ditch all this, enjoy my life as a possessor, and when the real protagonists save the world, I’d clap and cheer from afar.
That would be the ideal happy ending.
“Well, first thing’s first. I need to go to the temple tomorrow.”
That’s where Ordell is currently faking her role as the saint of the Sun God.
If I’m going to quit being a saint, I need to talk to the high priest there first.
Honestly, the place creeps me out. There are people at that temple who’ll later help kill Ordell.
But if I want a peaceful possessor life, I’ve got no choice.
I’ll just have to put up with a little discomfort.
* * *
“God, I’m dying…”
But the next morning at dawn—
Before I even made it to the temple, I was already facing a death threat.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk.
Namely, from my stomach.
“Please… please let me live…”
The growl from my gut was so loud, it drowned out even the rattling wheels of the carriage racing down the road.
And it was all thanks to those bastard Kiris people.
“Take her away and lock her in her room. Don’t give her even a sip of water! And at sunrise, send her straight back to the Grand Temple!”
That bastard Count Kiris—Ordell’s so-called father—hadn’t just left me to starve all night, he’d dragged me out of bed at dawn and shoved me into a carriage.
With no food. Not even water.
How could someone be this cruel?
“I get that Ordell’s not his biological daughter, but isn’t this just too much?”
Yeah. Turns out Ordell wasn’t actually the Count’s real daughter.
She was a distant relative. The moment she awakened divine power, the Count adopted her as his foster daughter.
All so he could pass her off as a fake saint of the Sun God.
The Grand Temple was so desperate that they had no choice but to accept her.
But the only one who benefitted from that arrangement was the Count.
He abused and brainwashed Ordell to make sure she’d never betray the family.
And Ordell, in turn, rampaged around the temple, trying to assert dominance—and only made things worse.
Meanwhile, the Count basked in glory as the man who had produced a saint.
“No wonder the girl ended up so messed up.”
And the worst part came when the real saint—the heroine—finally appeared.
Ordell lost even the shaky grip she had on her position, and ended up viciously tormenting the heroine out of jealousy.
I used to cuss her out so much when reading the novel…
But now that I’ve actually entered her body and experienced the abuse firsthand… I kind of feel bad for her.
“The Kiris family has to go. No matter what.”
They’re a cancer. Staying with them is only going to drag me down.
Once I arrive at the temple, I’ll bow my head and apologize. Say I don’t deserve the position, and that I’ll step down willingly.
That’ll wrap everything up nicely—
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk!
Right on cue, my stomach roared like a beast that had been forgotten. I clutched my belly with a pale face.
“…Before all that, I need to eat. Just one meal.”
Right. I’m only doing all this to survive anyway. First thing after I arrive—I’m eating.
But I didn’t make it to the temple until a whole day later.
Having now gone nearly two full days without food, I glared at the knights escorting the carriage from outside.
Those damned Kiris lackeys. How could they not give me a single meal? Not even water?
This is straight-up torture. At this rate, my second life’s going to end in the most pathetic way possible.
“Uuuugh…”
As soon as the carriage stopped at the temple, I flung open the door and jumped out.
I was so nauseous I didn’t care where I landed—I just needed to lie down.
But instead of hitting the cold, hard ground, something soft and warm caught me.
Something that smelled… really nice.
Ah… I think I can survive if I just stay like this.
My survival instincts kicked in, and I clung to whatever it was that caught me.
“…Saint?”
A voice as sweet as honey rang out above me.
Ah. A person. Not one of the jerks in armor—this wasn’t one of the knights who starved me.
“M-My stomach… I’m hungry…”
Relieved, I clung to the soft warmth and collapsed into a sitting position.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk.
My stomach let out another deafening cry.
* * *
Thankfully, the person didn’t throw me off.
Far from it—in fact, they were kind enough to help me to a bedroom I assumed was mine… and even brought me food.
A meat-filled soup. Fresh fruit salad. Soft, buttery wheat bread. Delicious juice.
God, what a feast.
“Please eat slowly, Saint. I’m worried you might get sick.”
I was scarfing down the soup when the gentle voice startled me into freezing mid-bite.
I took a deep breath and slowly raised my head.
…Whoa. He was blinding.
The person I’d grabbed onto after leaping out of the carriage. The one with the soft voice and comforting presence.
Golden hair like melted sunlight. Green eyes like dancing leaves. A soft, gentle expression like spring weather.
Just from his appearance alone, I knew exactly who he was.
The head priest barely holding this poverty-stricken Grand Temple together. The real authority here.
And one of the male leads who falls for the heroine and eventually kills me.
Irik Dert.
“Ahem.”
Maybe it was because I knew he was going to kill me someday, but I suddenly felt a bit self-conscious and looked away.
That’s when I noticed his clothes—his upper robe, in particular—were completely wrinkled.
A priest’s outfit, meant to symbolize purity, looked like it had been mauled by a wild animal…
Wait—no way. Was that me?
“I-I’m so sorry! I wasn’t in my right mind earlier…”
Touching a high priest’s body without permission?! Even the old Ordell never went that far.
“Ah.”
Irik looked down at his crumpled robe, then turned to me with a strange expression.
“…It’s fine. You looked very exhausted. There’s no need to apologize for something like this.”
He was definitely suspicious—but honestly, who could blame him?
Irik Dert had been one of the people most frequently on the receiving end of Ordell’s cruelty.
The real issue was that he knew she was a fake saint.
He was the one who’d negotiated with the Kiris family to bring her into the temple.
So he had no choice but to quietly endure her tyranny. But now—seeing that same person suddenly apologize? Of course he’d be suspicious.
“High Priest, I… I have something to tell you.”
No reason to drag this out. If I’m going to say it, better do it now.
“I’m… thinking of stepping down from my role as the saint.”
Irik’s face went cold.