SSBF 01

“Is this the Saintess’s house?”

“Yes. They say she’s very gifted.”

“But it doesn’t look like the door is open…”

“You’re right. Is it not the right time?”

The whispering that woke me up early in the morning was the same as always.

Ah. It seems it’s time to work again today. I loosely tied up my hair and stretched.

[Dorothy. Why don’t you eat breakfast before you start?]

“I don’t have much of an appetite in the morning. I’m trying to wake up a bit while I work.”

[I’m worried…]

[Right, Dorothy. You’ll lose weight if you don’t eat.]

[Oh dear. Not even taking care of your own body.]

Do they not know that their noisy chatter is worse for my health than skipping breakfast?

“Please speak one at a time. I have a headache.”

Even though I could communicate by just muttering in my mind, I deliberately voiced my complaint out loud. I felt like my voice would be buried amidst their noisy chatter if I protested internally.

The many voices buzzing in my head fell silent at once.

[It must have been noisy. I’m sorry.]

[No, it’s okay…]

I let out a deep sigh and got up.

I had to greet the customers waiting outside.

“Welcome.”

“Oh, hello.”

“You seem to have come from far away. You must be tired. Please come in.”

I said that because they were clearly dressed as travelers, but the three men and two women standing in front of me widened their eyes.

“H-How did you know?”

“You truly are the Saintess…!”

No matter how much I think about it, the people of this world are really good at misunderstanding.

I roughly ignored them and ushered them inside.

“Who would like to go first?”

“Yes, m-me.”

“Alright. The rest of you, please wait here.”

It was a house with three rooms.

Upon opening the door, there was a living room with plenty of chairs for waiting, and further inside were my bedroom and the ‘shrine.’

Compared to when I first fell into this world, it was a luxurious house, but I always felt uneasy.

This really felt like I had become a ‘shaman,’ something I hated so much.

“What is your date of birth?”

I was sitting across from the customer at the table, writing with a quill pen, and being called a ‘Saintess,’ but…

“Ah, yes. I was born on April 12, 964.”

[Born in the 60s? Must have had a hard life.]

[If it was then, the aftermath of the war would still be lingering, right?]

[That’s right. The neighboring kingdom invaded in 960… It wasn’t a huge war, so reconstruction was quick, but the children born in the following 10 years were tormented by the ghosts created by the war, so their lives were quite tangled.]

“…You must have gone through a lot. Your life hasn’t been easy, has it? How difficult it must have been.”

When I summarized what the gods were saying, the customer suddenly burst into tears.

“Sob. Th-That’s right. I’ve been through a lot, sob.”

[Oh dear, tsk tsk. How pitiful.]

[Goodness. She really struggled. Dorothy, tell her to move. There are a lot of ghosts attached to that house, so the flow is very bad.]

[No, no. Tell her to throw away the pendant in the house. The one her grandmother left her.]

[What about the pendant? She needs to move, I tell you.]

[No, why bother moving? The pendant is perfect ghost bait. Can’t you see that?]

“…W-Well, for now, it seems like you need to throw away the pendant your grandmother left you-”

“Dorothy, Lady Dorothy!”

As I struggled to gather and organize the gods’ words, the door suddenly burst open. It was a devotee who frequently came to our shrine to pray.

“I told you never to open the door while I’m giving a reading-”

“The capital, someone from the capital. No, someone from the Imperial Palace is here!”

“What?”

“They’ve come to take the Saintess!”

“…I see.”

The time has finally come.

The beginning of regaining my freedom, shaking off this shaman act and the buzzing voices of the gods in my ears.

I rose from my seat.

‘Seon-nyeo. A shaman must know the day of their death. On that day, they shouldn’t go outside and should only pray at home.’

My mother had given me that advice, even though her daughter had no intention of becoming a shaman.

But I didn’t want to become a shaman. I hated praying, and I hated the five-colored flags my mother always waved around. I even thought it would be better to suffer from spirit sickness and die early than to become a shaman.

However, as I flew through the air after being hit by a truck, my mother’s advice echoed in my mind.

‘Should I have just stayed home and prayed quietly?’

I said I’d rather die early than become a shaman, but now that death was upon me, I wanted to live.

It seems the saying that it’s better to live in this world, even if it’s a dog’s life, is true.

Park Seon-nyeo. 24 years old.

A name that meant the firstborn daughter, and a dated name that was neither good nor bad.

On my way to the family court to finally change that name, which had been the source of ridicule as ‘Seon-nyeo Bosal’ (Shaman Seon-nyeo) all my life…

I died after being hit by a dump truck.

‘If I’m reborn, I’ll just quietly accept the spirit possession.’

I knew it was too late, but for the first time in my life, I prayed to the heavens.

I prayed even though I knew the gods were capricious and wouldn’t listen to my prayers.

If I’m reborn, I’ll truly become Seon-nyeo Bosal, so please, just let me live.

With that, I lost consciousness, accompanied by the pain of my whole body shattering.

“…Hey. Miss!”

How long had I been wandering in the darkness?

I opened my eyes at the sound of someone calling me.

“Ugh…”

My whole body was stiff.

That’s natural, considering I was hit by a truck.

Truck…

Wait a minute. Am I alive right now?

“Gasp!”

“Are you alright? A young lady like you could get into big trouble lying around in a place like this.”

“Huh?”

My blurry vision gradually cleared.

What I saw was a foreigner.

Words tumbled out of my mouth in surprise.

“N-Nice to meet you?”

“Is she a foreigner?”

“Tsk tsk. It seems she’s from another country. How did she end up like this?”

The two foreigners, who looked like a couple, shook their heads, unable to understand my English.

Listening to them, it was a language I had never heard before. But I could understand it.

I was dumbfounded.

“Let’s take her to the guard station for now.”

“Yes, dear.”

Before I could grasp the situation, the couple helped me up and put me in a small cart.

As I sat in the rattling cart, I thought I understood what this world was.

“A theme park… right?”

The streets lined with cute European-style houses, the small fountain with intricate carvings.

The clothes of the people walking around.

It was very similar to the theme park I had visited only once when I was young.

“I was hit by a truck, so why am I at a theme park?”

[Dorothy.]

As I muttered blankly, a voice with a sacred feeling reached my ears.

It was so clear that I turned my head, but there was no one there.

‘Someone must have called a girl named Dorothy.’

I quickly lost interest.

After a while, the cart stopped.

“Miss, this is the guard station. Go inside and explain your situation. I don’t know if there’s anyone familiar with foreign affairs… but you should at least find a place to stay.”

“Poor thing. You must stay healthy and well.”

The kind couple gave me various words of advice and then disappeared.

“A theme park… it must be, right?”

I entered the low building called the guard station.

Could this guard station be the information desk or the entrance?

“What brings you here?”

As soon as I entered, a large man blocked my way.

“What? Uh, where is the information desk?”

“Information… desk? The reception area is over there. By the looks of it… you should go to that tired-looking brown-haired man over there.”

“Okay… uh.”

Uncomfortable with his blatant up-and-down gaze, I quickly moved my feet.

A sign that read “Vagrant Relief Project” was attached in front of the tired-looking brown-haired man.

Vagrant…? Me?

Oh, come on, that’s ridiculous. I just want to leave this theme park and figure out what’s going on.

I turned around to go somewhere else, but the man at the desk called me back.

“What’s your name?”

“What? I’m not a vagrant-”

“Name.”

The man cut me off with a tired voice.

His gaze, fixed only on the desk, seemed devoid of not only energy but even a soul.

I answered reflexively.

“Park, Seon-nyeo.”

“Saintess?”

At those words, the man raised his head.

My reflection appeared in his round eyes. He stared at me silently.

I know the name Seon-nyeo is strange, but does he have to stare that much?

“Pfft… Pwahahaha!”

The man then burst into loud laughter, his face clearly showing amusement. His laughter filled the lobby.

“Oh, that’s amazing. I’ve heard all sorts of nonsense from vagrants, but Saintess is a first. Impressive. Using a word that only appears in founding myths. Hahaha.”

“Nonsense?”

“Heh, heh. Take this document over there, and they’ll give you temporary lodging. It’s fortunate that a place has recently been designated to house nameless vagrants separately.”

The man handed me the document and wiped his tears.

“Excuse me. I want to leave this place.”

“Just turn around and leave.”

The man answered as if I had asked something strange.

“No, I want to leave this theme park. What is this place?”

“The guard station. What’s a theme park?”

The actors here are really committed to their roles.

I massaged the back of my aching neck and tried to calm down.

[Dorothy. Can you hear me?]

“Ugh, someone keeps calling for Dorothy. Who is Dorothy?”

Frustration was starting to get to me. As if startled by my agitated tone, the man at the desk whispered to the person next to him.

“…Senior. The Vagrant Relief Project doesn’t include mental health treatment, does it?”

“We don’t have the budget for that. It’s already difficult just receiving applications since the project is in its initial stages.”

“She seems serious…”

What are they talking about?

[Dorothy. Can you hear me?]

Wait. This… feels similar to the voice of a god I’ve heard sometimes.

A chill ran down my spine.

Something is strange.

[You must be confused, suddenly falling into this world. First, calm down-]

“…Who are you?”

[I’m Agatha. The guardian deity of the Empire.]

“…Em…pire?”

[This is the Manfelline Empire. And you… you’re not from this place. You appeared suddenly. You’re the first being like you I’ve ever seen.]

“Manfelline!?”

I realized it as soon as I heard it.

The Manfelline Empire!

The name of the empire in the romance novel I had enjoyed so much that I reread it several times. And Agatha was the guardian deity of Manfelline.

The novel was a typical romance.

The love story of a baron’s daughter from the countryside, who came to the capital to stay with relatives for her debut in high society, and a young count who wouldn’t give his heart to anyone.

There was another reason why I enjoyed this ordinary novel.

It was thanks to Emperor Theodore Elliot, a longtime friend of the count.

The emperor abhorred the overly religious atmosphere of the Manfelline Empire, and as soon as he ascended the throne, he led the separation of church and state and a scientific revolution.

Elevators became commonplace, tunnels and waterways were dug. Trains and automobiles were developed, of course. Shipbuilding technology also advanced, making trade active and giving port cities a unique atmosphere.

As lives began to change with new artifacts and scientific technologies, the excitement and thrill of many were naturally woven throughout the novel. The unique vibrancy of a period of upheaval seemed to invigorate even the reader.

Disgusted by gods and shamans, I deeply empathized with the emperor’s aversion to religion and found this novel very interesting.

But now you’re telling me I’m inside that novel?

“…Crazy.”

[It’s alright. There’s nothing immediately dangerous, so let’s try to calm down, shall we?]

Agatha soothed me with a gentle voice.

Not only was I possessed, but after dying while avoiding gods, I ended up facing a god head-on.

T/N:

Note: This is a play on words.

성녀 (Seong-nyeo) means Saintess.
선녀 (Seon-nyeo) means Fairy or Celestial Maiden, and is also the protagonist’s original Korean name (Park “Seon-nyeo”), which was misheard as Seong-nyeo when she first arrived.