Chapter 6
There was only a bowl of soup that was practically nothing but water, without even a single solid ingredient, and a hard piece of rye bread in front of the acolytes who helped with the work of the Great Temple.
What kind of miserable diet is this for growing children?
As I stared blankly at the children’s bowls, I looked at the meals of the priests sitting beside them.
Oh my god. It’s not just the children who are starving.
Apprentice priests and full priests alike are 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?
“……Did the children always eat like this?”
I asked Airik in disbelief, and he answered with reddened cheeks.
“We are short on funds…….”
It was obvious that he was also 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 Airik. The reason they’re short on money is because of Ordel’s extravagance.
Adults eating nothing but watery soup? That had nothing to do with me.
If they were really hungry, they were adults who could work and earn money to feed themselves.
But children were different!
These children still have so much growing to do, and they’re eating meals without any meat!
“Did you perhaps hear from Priest Dietrich? I said I was going to sell some of the things I own.”
“Yes. We plan to proceed according to the Saintess’s wishes.”
“Please do it as quickly as possible. And if you can, use the money to improve the quality of the meals first. Especially the children’s meals.”
The food I had eaten here was completely 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.
Only now did I realize.
I had been living well all by myself on everyone’s sacrifice.
If I had never come to the dining hall, I would never have known about this until the very end.
“From now on, please give me the same meals as the other priests. If you have enough time and resources to worry about my meals, give that much more to the children instead.”
I looked at the children with complicated feelings.
They were all so thin, as if they had never had enough food to eat. It was heartbreaking to see.
And to think all of this was because of Ordel, the original owner of this body.
This is driving me crazy.
Leaving behind Airik, who asked several times 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 walked boldly through the temple, everyone who encountered me either ran away in fright or immediately threw themselves onto the floor.
I felt a little sorry, but I had no time to worry about that right now.
“This is seriously driving me crazy.”
After looking around the entire Great Temple, I finally headed toward the place marked as ‘Garden’ on the map system.
And then I let out a hollow laugh.
“You damn system. How is this a garden?”
A place with nothing but a few weeds scattered around is called a garden?
Even the soil and gravel had not been properly arranged, making the whole place extremely dirty.
This completely neglected appearance showed the current reality of the 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 a god were broken in several places, and instead of being clean and pure, the corners were filled with dust and cobwebs.
Ordel’s room had been so extravagant, yet the Great Temple that contained that room was slowly rotting away.
The extreme difference between the two looked incredibly strange.
I grabbed 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 that, I had never paid any attention to it.
After all, everything would be solved once the female protagonist, Idella, appeared.
……I had never once thought about how the people of the Great Temple would continue suffering in poverty until then.
“I was stupid.”
Perhaps 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 something like this…….
How could I ignore it?
I had been sitting there with my face buried in my knees when I raised my head.
A quest window appeared before my eyes at my will.
【<Quest> Please save the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’!
The ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death’ is currently at risk of disappearing due to an insufficient number of believers.
Become the Saintess who inherited the power of the ‘Sun That Crawled Out of Death,’ increase the number of believers, and strengthen your divine power to save the pitiful 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 I had deliberately ignored until now.
The important reason the Sun God had called me here instead of waiting for the female protagonist 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 following the exact same path as the novel <Holy Idella> that I read?”
If this were exactly the same world, there would be no reason for the Sun God to use his already insufficient power to summon me.
【This question can only be answered with ‘Yes/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 current divine power.】
I couldn’t get a detailed explanation right now, but at least it meant my guess was correct.
“Haaaaaaah. This is driving me crazy.”
If I ran away, the Sun God would disappear, the Great Temple would be destroyed, and for some reason, this entire dimension would also be destroyed.
I wasn’t strong-hearted enough to take all of that lightly.
More importantly, if the dimension was destroyed, I would obviously die too, since I was living in this world.
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 importantly, I couldn’t just leave the children starving like that.
“Hey, System. Can’t you add something to the reward for completing the quest?”
I wasn’t particularly interested in having a successful life as a Saintess.
In the first place, all I had to do was keep the Sun God from collapsing for one year until the female protagonist appeared.
I didn’t mind if the female protagonist 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 do absolutely 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. We 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 right to choose the user’s afterlife】
I smiled with satisfaction at the changed reward.
“Good. I’ll accept the quest. I’ll work hard and 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 quest acceptance reward. 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 in such an open place.
Someone had been watching me for a while now.
It’s probably someone who couldn’t even come out into the garden because of me and is only watching from the corner.
This is troublesome.
Now that I was going to continue living here, I needed to repair my relationships with the people here as well.
But I wasn’t sure if that would even be possible.
With a sigh, I quietly returned to my bedroom, trying not to attract anyone’s attention.
At 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 visible on the untidy dirt garden.
The footprints were deep, as if she had been there for quite a long time.
“To be honest, at first, I thought she was crying.”
It was hard to believe, though.
After Ordel had stormed out of the dining hall, Airik and Dietrich had secretly followed her because they couldn’t help but worry.
And they were 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 even slightly disrespecting her!
She had been crouching on the dirty ground with her face buried in her knees.
Dietrich had been so shocked that he unconsciously grabbed Airik’s clothes.
But Airik looked even more shocked than he did.
Dietrich glanced up at the man standing beside him.
Airik’s face was frighteningly rigid as he stared down at the Saintess’s footprints.
