In front of the young pages who assisted with temple work was nothing but a bowl of soup so watery it was practically flavored water—and a single piece of hard rye bread.
What kind of pitiful meal was this to serve growing children?
As I stared blankly at the kids’ bowls, I glanced over at the meals of the priests sitting nearby.
Oh god. It wasn’t just the kids going hungry.
Both apprentice and official priests were eating nothing but soup?
So the kids were lucky to even get a piece of rye bread on the side?
“…Have the children always eaten like this?” I asked in stunned disbelief.
Irik flushed and answered, “…We’ve been short on funds…”
It was obvious he was deeply ashamed of having to serve such a miserable meal to the children.
I smacked my forehead.
This wasn’t Irik’s fault. The shortage of funds was because of Ordell’s extravagant lifestyle.
Adults eating thin soup? Not really my business.
If they’re hungry, they can go work and earn their own meals.
But kids? Absolutely not.
Children who still needed to grow shouldn’t be eating meals without a trace of meat!
“Did High Priest Dietrich tell you? That I plan to sell all my possessions?”
“Yes. We intend to carry out your wishes.”
“Please do it as quickly as possible. And if you can, use the money to improve the quality of meals—especially for the children.”
The meals I’d been served since arriving were nothing like what everyone else was eating now.
Thick soup brimming with meat, soft and fluffy wheat bread, fresh salads with different toppings every time, even fruit juice squeezed by hand.
Only now did I realize—
I’d been living in luxury, eating well off of everyone else’s sacrifices.
If I hadn’t come to the dining hall, I never would’ve known.
“From now on, serve me the same meals as the other priests. If there’s any extra room in the budget, give it to the kids instead of me.”
I looked at the children with a heavy heart.
They were all pitifully thin, as if they hadn’t had a proper meal in ages.
And to think it was all because of the original owner of this body—Ordell.
Unbelievable.
* * *
Leaving behind Irik, who kept asking if I was really okay with it, I stepped out of the dining hall.
Before returning to my bedroom, there was something I needed to check for myself.
As I strode through the temple grounds, people either fled in panic or fell flat on the ground as soon as they saw me.
I felt bad, but I didn’t have time to worry about that right now.
“…This is insane.”
After touring the Grand Temple, I headed to a place marked ‘Garden’ on the system map.
Then I let out a hollow laugh.
“You damn system. What part of this is a garden?”
This place didn’t have a single flower—only a sparse scattering of weeds.
The soil and gravel weren’t even properly leveled. It was an utter mess.
This complete lack of maintenance revealed just how decayed the Sun God’s Grand Temple truly was.
And it wasn’t just the garden.
The pillars meant to evoke divine dignity were cracked and chipped, and rather than being clean, every corner was filled with dust and cobwebs.
Ordell’s bedroom had been so extravagant… yet the temple that contained it was rotting from the inside.
The contrast was so stark, it was grotesque.
I clutched my head and slumped to the ground.
The Grand Temple of the Sun God was poor.
That much I already knew.
But even knowing it, I had never shown any concern.
Because everything would be solved once the heroine, Idella, appeared.
…I never once considered that, until then, the people of the temple would continue to suffer in poverty.
“…I’ve been a fool.”
Maybe I hadn’t wanted to think about it.
I’d been too angry at the Sun God for starting my second life without asking for my consent.
But now that I’d seen all this…
How could I just look away?
Still sitting on the ground, I raised my head.
A quest window popped up before my eyes at my command.
【<Quest> “Resurrect the Sun that Crawled Back from Death”!
Currently, the Sun that Crawled Back from Death is at risk of vanishing due to a lack of believers.
Become the Saintess who inherits its power. Increase the number of worshippers, strengthen divine power, and save the pitiful god and this world from destruction!
Reward upon success: Wealth, fame, and power as the Saintess.
Penalty upon failure: Permanent erasure of the Sun that Crawled Back from Death, and the destruction of the dimension.】
The failure penalty I’d been trying to ignore all this time.
The serious reason the Sun God couldn’t wait for the heroine and dragged me here instead.
The warning from the system that failure would lead not just to the god’s erasure but to this entire dimension being destroyed.
Putting all that together, I could only reach one conclusion.
“So… this world isn’t progressing exactly like the novel Holy Idella, is it?”
If it were following the original story exactly, the Sun God would have had no reason to waste power to summon me here.
【This question can only be answered with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ according to the will of the Sun that Crawled Back from Death.】
【Answer: Yes.】
【For a detailed explanation, please achieve 40% divine power.】
So I couldn’t get the full explanation yet, but at least that confirmed my guess was right.
“Ughhh. This is insane.”
If I run away, the Sun God disappears, the Grand Temple collapses, and for some reason, this entire dimension gets wiped out too.
I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to be indifferent to all that.
And if the dimension gets destroyed, I obviously die too.
Even if I was forced into this second life, I didn’t want to die young again.
I want to live a long, peaceful life too!
So, what choice do I have? I’ll just have to live my second life properly.
And more importantly—I couldn’t stand by and let children starve.
“Hey, system. Can I add a condition to the quest reward?”
I had no interest in wealth or honor as a Saintess.
All I had to do was keep the Sun God alive until the heroine arrived a year later.
Let the heroine have all the glory. I only wanted one thing.
“When I die in this life, send me to heaven—someplace where I can rest peacefully, doing absolutely nothing.”
A third life? No, thank you.
Just let me live out the rest of eternity in blissful peace.
【The AI system has received the user’s request. The wish will be forwarded to the Sun that Crawled Back from Death.】
How long had I waited?
Eventually, the system returned with a reply.
【The Sun that Crawled Back from Death has accepted your request. The quest rewards have been updated.】
【<Quest> “Resurrect the Sun that Crawled Back from Death”!
Success reward: Wealth, fame, and power as the Saintess, as well as the right to choose your afterlife.】
I smiled in satisfaction at the updated reward.
“Great. I accept the quest. I’ll whip this damn temple into shape.”
【User has accepted the quest. From now on, you are the Saintess of the Sun that Crawled Back from Death.】
【The Sun that Crawled Back from Death has granted you a reward for accepting the quest. Would you like to view it now?】
Oh? A reward just for accepting?
I guess the Sun God has at least a little conscience.
“…But not right now.”
Whatever the reward was, I couldn’t afford to receive it out in the open like this.
Especially since someone had been watching me for a while now.
Probably someone too scared to come out into the garden because of me, just lurking around the edge.
This was going to be a problem. Now that I’d decided to stay, I’d need to rebuild relationships too—but I wasn’t sure I could pull it off.
Sighing deeply, I quietly returned to my room, making sure no one noticed me.
* * *
The place where Ordell had just been.
Two men arrived there.
“What… was she doing out here?” Dietrich asked, looking puzzled as he stared at the ground.
On the untended garden soil were the Saintess’s footprints.
They were deep—she must’ve stayed here a long while.
“To be honest… I thought she was crying.”
Though it was hard to believe.
Ever since Ordell had stormed out of the dining hall, Irik and Dietrich had followed her in secret, worried about her behavior.
And when they found her here, they had been stunned.
Ordell—the woman who never showed weakness.
Ordell—who would throw objects in a rage if she thought someone looked down on her even a little.
Was now crouched on the dirty ground, her face buried in her knees.
Dietrich had been so shocked that he’d instinctively grabbed the hem of Irik’s robe.
But Irik… looked even more shocked.
Dietrich glanced up at him.
Irik’s face, as he stared down at the Saintess’s footprints, was grim to the point of being frightening.