Chapter 05
The Saintess Decides to Save the Temple
In front of the attendants who helped with the work of the Great Temple, there was only a bowl of soup that was almost no different from water, without even a single solid ingredient, and a hard piece of rye bread.
What kind of miserable diet is this for growing children?
I stared blankly at the children’s bowls before looking at the meals of the priests sitting nearby.
Oh my god. It’s not just the children who are starving.
Whether they were apprentice priests or full priests, were they all eating nothing but a bowl of soup?
Did they at least give the children one extra piece of rye bread because they’re children?
“……Have the children always eaten like this?”
I asked Ayrik in shock, and he answered with red cheeks.
“We are short on funds……”
He also clearly looked ashamed of the fact that they had no choice but to provide such food to the children.
I smacked my forehead repeatedly.
I shouldn’t blame Ayrik. The reason they’re short on funds is because of Ordel’s extravagance.
Adults eating nothing but watery soup? That wasn’t my concern.
If they were really hungry, they were adults who could work and earn money to feed themselves.
But children were different!
How could children who still had so much growing to do eat meals without even meat?
“Did you hear from Priest Dietrich? I said I would sell the things I own.”
“Yes. We will proceed according to the Saintess’s wishes.”
“Please do it as quickly as possible. And if possible, use that money to improve the quality of the meals first. Especially the children’s meals.”
The food I had eaten here was far too different from what everyone else was eating now.
Thick soup filled with meat, soft and tender wheat bread, fresh salads with different toppings every time, and delicious juice made by squeezing fresh fruit myself.
Only now did I realize.
I had been living comfortably on everyone’s sacrifice.
If I had not come to the dining hall, I would have never known this until the very end.
“From now on, give me the same meals as the other priests. If you have enough room to worry about my meals, give that much more to the children.”
I looked at the children with a troubled expression.
They were all so thin, as if they had never had enough food to eat. It was heartbreaking to see.
And to think that all of this was because of the owner of this body, Ordel.
This is driving me crazy.
Leaving Ayrik behind as he repeatedly asked me if I was really sure this was okay, I left the dining hall.
Before returning to my bedroom, there was something I absolutely had to check.
As I strode through the temple, everyone who encountered me either fled in fright or threw themselves face-down on the floor.
I felt a little sorry about it, but I had no time to worry about that now.
“This is driving me insane.”
After walking around the Great Temple, I finally headed toward the place marked as ‘Garden’ on the map system.
Then I let out a hollow laugh.
“You damn system. How is this a garden?”
Was this supposed to be a garden when there were no flowers, only sparse weeds?
Even the dirt and gravel were not properly maintained, making the place extremely filthy.
This completely neglected state showed the reality of the current Great Temple of the Sun God in the most obvious way.
And the garden was not the only problem.
The pillars that were supposed to display the dignity of God were broken in various places, and instead of being clean, the corners were filled with dust and cobwebs.
Ordel’s room had been so luxurious, but the Great Temple that contained that room was slowly rotting away.
The extreme difference between the two looked incredibly strange.
I held my head and sat down on the ground.
The Great Temple of the Sun God is poor.
I already knew this fact.
But even knowing it, I had never paid attention to it.
After all, everything would be solved once the heroine, Idella, appeared.
……I had never once thought that until then, the people of the Great Temple would continue suffering in poverty.
“I was stupid.”
Maybe I had deliberately tried not to think about it.
Because I was angry at the Sun God for forcing me to begin a second life without even asking for my consent.
But after seeing all of this……
How can I just ignore it?
I had been sitting there with my face buried in my knees, but then I raised my head.
A quest window appeared before my eyes according to my will.
【<Quest> Please save the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’!
Currently, the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ is in danger of disappearing due to the insufficient number of believers.
Become the Saintess who has inherited the power of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death,’ increase the number of believers, and increase your divine power to save the poor god and the world from destruction!
Reward upon success: Wealth, honor, and power as the Saintess
Penalty upon failure: The eternal disappearance of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ and the destruction of the dimension】
The failure penalty that I had deliberately ignored until now.
The important reason the Sun God had called me instead of waiting for the heroine to appear one year later.
And the system’s warning that if I failed, not only the Sun God but this entire dimension would disappear.
Putting all of this together, I could reach only one conclusion.
“So this world isn’t going exactly the same way as the novel <Holy Idella> that I read?”
If it were exactly the same world, there would be no reason for the Sun God to use his already insufficient power just to summon me.
【This question can only be answered with ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ according to the will of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death.’】
【The answer to the question is ‘Yes.’】
【If you want a detailed explanation, reach 40% of your divine power.】
I couldn’t get the detailed explanation right now, but at least it meant my guess was correct.
“Ha-a-a-a-a. This is driving me crazy.”
If I ran away, the Sun God would disappear, the Great Temple would collapse, and for some reason, this entire dimension would also be destroyed.
I wasn’t thick-skinned enough to think nothing of all of that.
Most importantly, if the dimension was destroyed, wouldn’t I, who was living in this world, die too?
Even though I had been forcibly possessed, I didn’t want to die young again.
I want to live until I’m old too!
So what choice did I have?
I had no choice but to work hard at my second life.
More than anything, I couldn’t just leave those children starving like that.
“Hey, System. Can you add something to the reward for completing the quest?”
I wasn’t particularly interested in having a successful life as the Saintess.
In the first place, all I had to do was keep the Sun God from collapsing during the one year before the heroine appeared.
I didn’t care if the heroine took all the wealth and glory as the Saintess.
There was only one thing I wanted.
“When I die in this life, send me to a heaven where I can really do nothing and rest comfortably.”
I absolutely didn’t want a third life.
Please, just let me live peacefully in heaven.
【The AI System has received the user’s wish. I will deliver the wish to the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death.’】
How many minutes had passed while I waited?
The system returned with an answer.
【The ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ has accepted the user’s wish. The quest reward will be changed.】
【<Quest> Please save the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’!
Reward upon success: Wealth, honor, and power as the Saintess, and guaranteed choice of the user’s afterlife】
I smiled with satisfaction at the changed reward.
“Good. I’ll accept the quest. I’ll work hard to build up this damn temple.”
【The user has accepted the quest. From now on, the user has become the Saintess of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death.’】
【The ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ has given the user a reward for accepting the quest. Would you like to check it now?】
Oh, a quest acceptance reward?
At least the Sun God has a conscience.
“But not right now.”
Whatever the reward was, I couldn’t receive it out in the open like this.
Someone had been watching me for a while now.
It was probably someone who couldn’t even come out into the garden because of me and was only watching me cautiously from the corner.
This is a problem.
Since I was going to continue living here, I needed to repair my relationships with the people.
But I wasn’t sure if that would even be possible.
I sighed and quietly returned to my bedroom, trying not to attract anyone’s attention.
The place where Ordel had left.
Two men appeared there.
“What on earth was she doing here?”
Dietrich looked down at the ground with a puzzled expression.
The Saintess’s footprints were left on the unmaintained dirt garden.
The footprints were deep, as if she had been there for quite a long time.
“Honestly, at first, I thought she was crying.”
Though he couldn’t believe it at all.
After Ordel had rushed out of the dining hall, Ayrik and Dietrich had been worried about her and secretly followed behind her.
And they had been shocked when they found her here.
Ordel.
The Ordel who had never once shown weakness.
The Ordel who would throw things and become furious whenever she thought someone was looking down on her even slightly!
She had been crouching on the dirty ground with her face buried in her knees.
Dietrich had been so shocked that he unconsciously grabbed onto Ayrik’s clothes.
But Ayrik looked even more shocked than he did.
Dietrich glanced up at him, who was standing beside him.
Ayrik’s face was frighteningly stiff as he stared down at the Saintess’s footprints.
