Chapter 1

It was weather that brought the promise of rain. The entire sky was dark and the air felt thick with moisture, guaranteeing a heavy rainfall.

“Stop staring at the sky and fold the blankets.”

I had paused for only a moment, but Lily’s nagging came right away. Her ability to detect slacking off was amazing.

“….. Lily, do you think the client will come again today?”

I smiled playfully and asked Lily, who shrugged and answered, all the while busying her hands, pulling the laundry off of the clothesline.

“Well, he usually comes whenever it rains, right? And when are you going to use his proper title?”

“But he is a client right? A customer who provides the funds for our temple.”

“…You, if you use that title in front of the high priest, he’ll bite your head off.”

Lily shook her head with a flutter. As a matter of fact, I have already used those words in front of the high priest. And gotten my head pulled off… but I don’t feel the need to tell her that.

If I stayed still while staring at the sky again, I was bound to be caught by Lily, so I started moving my hand along the clothesline. In an instant, blankets piled up in the basket below.

While doing such simple and repetitive actions, my head started filling with worries about the guest who’s coming to the temple in a few hours. If I were to make another mistake today, could I really die?

It’s true that I’ve already died once before, but I really didn’t want to die again.

That is to say, I am a person who’s been in this world with memories of my previous life. Why are there so many cliché stories like this? The character dies in an accident and either possesses a villain in a book or gets blessed with a light love story.

So now you’d make the choice to live quietly regardless of your book’s storyline. The kind of story where you’d support the second male-lead in your heart. But in this way, my story is way off the mark from those.

I haven’t thought about it in a while, since it makes me a bit sad to remember, but in my previous life, I was doing my homework at the school library until late at night, and died on my way home. Walking through dark alleys with a tired, zombie-like body, I wandered into the path of a car that couldn’t slow down.

It’s all because of homework. When I turn in an assignment, I receive another assignment again, and I continue my life in this way, and even when I die, the offender is said to be an assignment.

Of course, there is some blame to be held by the car speeding in the dark alley, but it is homework that kept me in the library until that late at night, so the task itself is the root of all evil. By staying up every night, it hurt my health and even took my life.

Anyway, so the first time I woke up here, I was very hungry. The clothes I wore were tattered and there were no guardians around. I didn’t even have a home. Yes, the only thing I had in mind was an unknown orphan who was dying.

I wasn’t in a good enough state to marvel at the fact that I had made a dimensional shift, like in a cliché romance fantasy novel that I read in my spare time while doing assignments.

As soon as I entered this world, I was on the verge of starving to death. I wandered around like a zombie again, searching for food. Besides, I had arrived as a girl who seemed to be about eight years old, so this body didn’t have any strength.

I was confused about the place I saw for the first time; the strangers and even the sun. Finally, on the fourth day, I fell down at the mouth of an alley. As my cemetery, alleys seemed to play a crucial role, no matter the dimension.

I didn’t know what the original name of this child was, but I could only assume that I entered this body because the child had died. In the midst of losing my mind, I prayed for both the nameless unknown child and myself. It wasn’t a very good life, but since it was so pitiful, I wondered if I could go to heaven.

Then, a priest from a nearby temple picked me up as I lay there, on the verge of death. The priest prayed next to me, who was sick for days and days, and gave me porridge directly.

So I barely survived, but thankfully the priest offered for me to stay at the temple if I had no other place to go.

So that’s how I ended up staying at the temple for thirteen years. At first, I was just struggling to survive, so I told the priest that I believed in a god, but as I lived on in this world, there really seemed to be a god here. I’m not saying this because I’m a devout believer, but literally there is a ‘god.’ Some of the capable priests actually heal people using divine powers.

The temple I entered is called ‘El Nur.’ It’s a very small temple, so there are few believers, and even fewer capable priests, so it wasn’t home to many healers. However, El Nur picks up orphans, provides free education, and does a lot of welfare activities, so it receives support from the empire.

I lived well, in peace. It was a little lacking, but it was enough. The language here is difficult, so I had a hard time learning it, but I still spent my childhood amongst friends. Lily is also a friend who I’d met at the time, and she has been my roommate for ten years.

In the winter that I turned 17 years old, the priest who had picked me up upon recognition, asked me what I wanted to do and how I wanted to live. He said that it was okay for me to leave the temple, but if I wished, I could stay and become a priest.

This empire where I live now is in a state of peace, so in fact, it’s a lot more lucrative for priests to jump into commerce rather than to receive a small subsidy working in a temple. Because of this, many temples are lacking priests.

In such a situation, I replied that I would remain in the temple as if it were the only natural option. I wouldn’t entertain the idea of going outside to live a hard life, and I didn’t have the confidence to take a chance. I just wanted to live here in safety. Besides, I had already gotten attached to Priest Timotheo, who had picked me up and saved me.

So, I had a baptismal ceremony to become a priest. But in the process, I realized that my choice was very wrong.

My divine power is strong. It is truly, tremendously powerful, even beyond El Nur’s number one priest. My level was more comparable to the priests of Abnel, the state religion. The moment I put my hand on the crystal ball to measure my divine power, I thought to myself as I saw the light that spread brightly and flooded the whole room with a white glow:

Oh, I’m doomed.

That’s right. I passed up the golden opportunity to leave the temple and voluntarily surrendered myself over to become a faithful servant. It wasn’t because El Nur’s doctrines resounded in my heart, nor was it that I had a special sense of mission… but it was as the unexpected Dimension-Migrator. Somehow, I celebrated my ten-year anniversary of transmigration in this way.

Just like that, I was bound to El Nur. I became the first pick for missions, being sent place to place. Priest Timotheo, who brought me in, became the high priest. After that, if even just a lesser nobleman visited the temple, the High Priest and I had to politely welcome them.

The High Priest sometimes held my hand tightly with a thrilled face and said, “You are the hope of El Nur.” But it only made me regret my decision even more deeply.

He was certainly a generous and compassionate person, but the face he made when he told me to go make money by sending me to dangerous places….

“Ah, it’s all done. Let’s go inside now!”

As I was idly going through the laundry, I heard Lily’s loud voice. The children in front of her quickly began to pick up the baskets. I wobbled once, holding the basket in front of me. It was too bulky to carry with my mind wandering.

“Lily, do you have any work left for today?”

“Yeah, I just need to clean up the room where the Duke will stay, then I’m done.”

“Wow, I’m really jealous.”

“I envy you. You just need to sit there, right? You don’t even have to organize anything else.”

“But even just sitting down is a problem. Imagine having to sit by a sleeping person who wakes up from the slightest disturbance. If you make a sound and accidentally wake him, you could die instantly.”

This was a really serious issue, but even with my impassioned speech, Lily responded as if she heard something funny.

“Ah, he isn’t one who kills so easily right? He’s the leader of the empire’s knights.”

“No, it’s precisely because he’s the knight commander that I’m worried.”

“I wonder if he would bother to kill you though. Aren’t you a priestess representing El Nur? Of course, if you’re the Duke, you can easily bury the rumors, but it will still be a nuisance to have to clean up.”

“Aha.”

Right. Killing me could be bothersome. Such a positive approach is possible. I nodded, feeling deeply enlightened.

“Thanks for the helpful advice.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lily laughed. It was a really restorative moment. It was actually hard to imagine that the Duke would kill people so easily, so I was more confident that he would spare himself the inconvenience of killing me.

“Ah, Renée. It’s raining. Hurry, bend over to protect the basket.”

“I can’t believe it, my human rights are trumped even by blankets.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

I was already the duke’s doormat, but now my value is being pushed back behind an inanimate object. It’s difficult to determine which of the two is more miserable. But when I realized that these sheets were for the duke, I leaned forward to bear the rain instead. In an instant, my back was drenched.

It was heavy rain.

* * * * * * *

Upon arriving inside the temple, I placed the basket down and straightened my waist. “Ughh,” my groan full of pain escaped out into the temple. Leaning over to prevent the sheets from getting wet made my back sore. On top of that, my clothes were soaked through, so only the blankets were dry. I found myself loathing the blankets very much for some reason. I stared at the basket with resentful eyes.

“Are you really having a staring contest with some sheets?”

Lily looked at me reproachfully and struck my shoulder. Meanwhile, the kids who had arrived earlier approached us busily handing us towels. I thanked them, gratefully accepting and gently wiping my dripping face. I squeezed out the grayish brown hair I had gotten used to, watching the water trickle out.

As I glared at the dry, fluffy blankets again, I heard a voice calling me. His voice rang out loudly to overpower the sound of rain.

“Renée.”

“… High Priest.”

High Priest Timotheo laughed gently when he found me. As I was neatly combing my slightly grayed hair, Lily was told to change her clothes before working to avoid catching a cold, since there’s still a little time left before our guest arrives.

So, Lily and the other children headed to the annex of the temple, which is used as a dormitory for the priests. Only I was dragged out by the high priest and had to go somewhere else. I was wet too, but he didn’t even acknowledge me when I expressed that I wanted to change my clothes, too. sniffle, sniffle My human rights were constantly being undermined.

At the end of the walk, we ended up at the temple office. Honestly, from the moment the high priest singled me out and dragged me to this place, I had a rough idea of what was going to happen. Because I’ve had plenty of experience.

“…Renée.”

We sat face to face across his desk, but the high priest, who hadn’t opened his mouth for a long time, slowly called out to me. It was strange to have him call me with his hands together as if in prayer, I couldn’t help shaking my head at the sight.

“If you want me to go somewhere and work, tell me quickly. You’re making me nervous dragging it out like this.”

“In fact, I’ve always almost half-forced you out, but….”

His dry answer was slowly coming out, but suddenly lightning struck. It hasn’t been long since it starting raining, so the thunder seemed to be an ominous warning, making me even more anxious.

“This time, I will respect your opinion as much as possible. Do you know where the kingdom of Vios is?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that a small country on the western border? I heard that their economic situation isn’t good these days.”

“Yeah, that place. It declared war.”

“…….?”

“Rather than ending in poverty and suffering, it seems that they’re using their last bit of strength to start a war. However, since Vios has never been a threat, our security of the western border has been weak. Because of this, their attack was successful.”

It was a little, no, a very embarrassing story. Rather than worrying about the war, Vios was really a small country, only one-tenth the size of the empire. No, no matter how the last attack was….

“So they decided to send reinforcements from the capital. They’re sending Abnel’s Paladin General and Duke Willard. “

“Really? No, to subdue such a small kingdom they’re sending both the paladin leader and an imperial duke? Besides, isn’t the paladin knight leader the imperial prince?”

“It’s not just about handling those who crossed the western border. Their aim is to absorb Vios’ territory into the empire while subjugating it.”

There it is. The reason why High Priest Timotheo is dragging on his introduction became clear.

I narrowed my eyes. An embarrassed smile hung from the priest’s face, who tried to explain the background a little more. He finally got to the point quickly.

“They decided to send twenty healers.”

“….if it’s twenty healers that are needed, Abnel has more than plenty to cover it, right? Besides, with the leader of the paladin knights participating, of course Abnel would want to send their best support.”

“That’s right. But, since they can’t receive manpower from only one temple, other temples are ordered to provide support.”

The high priest looked at me and emphasized again.

“It’s just subduing a small country. As you’ve said, it’s a very safe war with the presence of both the Paladin General and the Imperial Knight General.”

“I refuse.”

“Re-Renée. Think carefully. There really are very few casualties.”

“A safe war. Don’t talk about something as non-existent as hot ice.”

The high priest’s face filled with embarrassment at my firm answer, but I had no intention of changing my opinion. Just in time, the sound of loud rain pelting the ground seemed to represent my determination.

I am a person who pursues safety and comfort over anything else. A safe life is best. In my past life, I listened to people telling me that even if I was exploited, I should accept willingly and take it as life experience. Now, I want to live my life without such passion. Just with the basic treatment of getting a fair price for fair work.

Why must you live only with great passion? Enthusiasm, creativity, and infinite imagination. I am a person who lacks the power to endure hardship, so it’s impossible.

Unexpectedly, my divine power is very high, but fortunately El Nur isn’t very famous, so I’m not called to too many places.

So I’m living in my own way, reaching satisfaction with my current life. But now he’s telling me to go to war? Until now, even with my level of divine power, I’ve treated only sick aristocrats or minor injuries, so how can he tell me to go to war and treat the dying as if it’s nothing!

“High Priest. I’m afraid of war. I don’t want to be in a situation where people might die before my eyes. You said you’d respect my opinion, so please don’t force me. I’d rather do something else during that time.”

Suddenly the room flashed white. The sound of thunder had been rumbling intermittently, but I still became disconcerted when lightning abruptly turned the entire field of view white like this. And then I heard the priest’s voice.

“Three-hundred gold.”

Kwaaang The sound came down as if tearing the earth. It was such a huge thunder that it made my whole body vibrate. For a long moment, my ears fell deaf in the aftermath of that thunder, which seemed to announce the birth of a hero.

But I heard clearly what the high priest said.

“If this campaign is successful, they decided to give each healer three-hundred gold in honor of their hard work.”

Trying to buy people with money!

…was something I couldn’t say.