Side Story: The Saint of the Slums

There was once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a saint in the slums. There was a girl living in poverty in the slums. Though poor, she was happy. The girl was kind, and the other children in the slums adored her for it. Her name was Marian. She was a girl with rare golden blonde hair and clear silver eyes, uncommon sights in the slums.

"Marian! Let's play today too!"

"Luca, didn't you skip Uncle's errand again? I'm not playing until you do it."

"Eee... Come on, that's no big deal!!"

The girl was mature beyond her years. She became a pillar for orphans with no one to rely on and shared her own portions with those struggling to survive. The girl had a dream. She recalled the words her late father had once spoken.

'One day, you'll meet true friends who share everything and lean on each other.'

The girl dreamed of adventuring across the wide world with those true friends. And so, she lived on like that today.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Today was the day to visit the church. By praying to the Goddess of Light, Celestia, at the church, she could receive bread and clean water. So, she headed alone to the Temple of Light.

Sitting on a wooden chair, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands before the statue of Celestia, and prayed.

'Please let all the slum children be happy.'

'Please let my mother live healthily.'

She offered prayers that might or might not reach, hesitated a moment, then made one more wish.

'...Please let me meet a true friend soon.'

Suddenly, vitality surged through the girl's heart. A golden energy enveloped her body, her silver eyes began to glow gold, and the energy shot toward the heavens.

"That energy... Is it the birth of a saint?!"

"Hoo... How could such a young child be fated to become a saint..."

At that moment, a priest standing before the statue of Celestia approached the girl.

"You possess the qualities to become a saint."

The rumor of the saint's birth spread across the continent in no time.

One day, while the girl was living her ordinary routine, a group of knights in platinum armor arrived before her. Leading them was an elderly man.

"Child, what's your name?"

"I'm Marian... Who are you?"

"I am the Pope."

"Po... Pope? What's that?"

Having grown up in the slums, the girl had no idea of the immense position the man before her held.

"You are the child chosen by Celestia. So, you must come with me to the Empire."

"...Huh? The Empire...?"

"Yes, let's go."

"W-Wait a minute! What about my mom? Can't Luca, Leo, and Sally come too?"

"Only those chosen by the gods may go there. Come now. You'll live much better than in this place."

The girl felt confused and repulsed. Suddenly chosen by the gods and forced to leave her family and friends? In response to the abrupt demand, refusal slipped from her lips.

"N-No! I'm happy with things as they are...!"

"..."

The face of the man called the Pope twisted harshly for a moment before smoothing over. Frightened, the girl shook off his hand and fled home.

"...Very well. We can't force the saint to come."

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

That day was just like any other, a peaceful routine. Some strange people had come by recently, but since I hadn't been caught, it was a relief. Today, I stood in front of Uncle Braun's shop to run his errand as usual.

But Uncle Braun's expression looked worse than usual.

"Uncle? Are you feeling okay?"

"Ah, no, I'm fine. Today's errand is a bit far. Is that alright?"

"Of course! I can handle it!"

I answered confidently, but for some reason, Uncle's face darkened even more.

"Un...cle?"

"Ah, yes. Just deliver this medicine to the house by the forest over there and come back."

"...Got it!"

Whistling, I set off. It was quite a distance to the forest, so I needed to hurry back before sunset.

"For dinner tonight... I'll ask for corn soup! Hehe."

I finally reached the house in the woods and knocked.

"Hello~? Anyone home?"

No matter how much I called for the owner, there was no answer.

"Uncle said just leave the medicine and go, so it should be fine...?"

I placed the medicine envelope by the door and turned back. The sky was growing dim, so I needed to hurry to avoid worrying Mom.

"...Huh?"

A little further, and the village came into view. But... black smoke was rising.

"..."

For some reason, anxiety gripped me, and I started running.

"Hah... hah..."

"...What?"

The scene before my eyes was unbelievable, so I rubbed them. But it didn't change.

Roaring flames—

"Kyaaah!! Help!!!"

"How did monsters get here...! What are the guards doing!!!"

The village was burning, hideous monsters devouring people. Fortunately, the platinum-armored knights I'd seen before had arrived to slay the monsters.

"Ugh... blegh..."

Overwhelmed by the gruesome sight I'd never witnessed before, I vomited what little was in my stomach.

"W-Wait... Mom, my friends...?"

The thought hit me, and I dashed into the village. Please be alive. The prayer I'd once made for bread now rose sincerely to the heavens. Even with my shoes torn and feet bare on the rough ground, I felt no pain.

Arriving home, the sight that greeted me... Yes, that's right. Mom was dead. Covered in black ash beyond recognition, but I knew it was her.

"M...Mom."

"Ah, haha... Don't joke. This isn't funny..."

The surrounding flames pressed in, but I had no time to care.

"M...Mom?"

I kept calling, then touched what I believed was her body.

"Ow, hot!"

With each touch, the flesh crumbled, losing its form.

"No... No... Sob... Mom... Wake up..."

As I cried amid the flames, two people burst through the door behind me and extinguished the fire around us.

"...Goodness."

It was the strange old man who'd visited days ago, the one called the Pope.

"Grandpa... No, Your Holiness the Pope..."

"Please save my mom..."

"...Child."

"You're someone important, right...?"

"...Even I can't revive the dead."

"Who's dead...? She's not dead."

"...Unless you're a saint."

"Huh?"

The girl clearly heard the Pope's mutter.

"No. We have no intention of forcing what you didn't want."

"...I'll do it. I'll be the saint."

A faint smile curved the Pope's lips as he spoke to the mage behind him.

"Preserve the bodies well."

"...Yes."

Thus, the girl who had lost everything chose a new life to reclaim it all.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Saintess, I clearly told you to memorize up to this point."

"But the amount is too much..."

"Saintess."

"...I'm sorry."

"We'll stop at 30 strokes of the rod today. If you fail next time, it'll double."

Adapting to imperial life was incredibly hard for a young slum girl. As time passed, she grew more alluring, and to match ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her appearance, she endured a murderous schedule. Starting from ignorance, she had to master the Empire's basic history, common knowledge, etiquette, and sacred rituals without slacking.

"Master all of Sacred Ritual Tier 2 by week's end."

"But I just finished Tier 1 today..."

"If you can't, there's no helping it. There's a limit to preserving your mother's body..."

"...A-Alright! I'll do it!"

"Are you angry right now?"

"No... I'm sorry..."

"This won't do. We'll redo etiquette training."

The more time passed, the more wounds accumulated on her body and mind.

"Say 'I'm sorry' each time you're hit."

Crack!

"Ahk!"

"Won't you? That one doesn't count."

Crack!

"A-Ah...! I'm sor—"

Crack!

The physical wounds healed perfectly with the priests' treatment, but the mental scars remained. She had no allies around her. Meals, study, ritual training, study, exams, meals, ritual training, sleep. In this hellish repeating routine, she forgot what positive emotions felt like. The young girl grew into an adult, and then she heard one piece of news.

"The demons are about to wage war. The saintess must join."

"...Pardon?"

Thus, she was pushed onto the battlefield. Her only experience with monsters was glimpsing the village burning as a child; the battlefield was utterly alien. Knights torn apart by monsters. Headless bodies. Ground soaked in monster and human blood. Everything was new to her.

"Kehk... Urp..."

Unaccustomed to the scenes, she began vomiting her scant stomach contents. Fortunately, this time she had comrades to protect her.

"Saintess, are you alright?"

"Ugh, how did a kid like this become saintess..."

"...Not very kind."

"Sigh..."

The Empire's greatest swordmaster, Kael. The Empire's greatest grand mage, Hera. The Empire's greatest martial artist, Jinwoon. The Empire's greatest archer, Cerne. All bore the title of the Empire's best as they stood on the battlefield. The girl steeled her mind and spirit. In the end, the five triumphed in the war and were hailed as heroes of peace.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Waaah! Look over here!!"

"Lady Hera, you're so pretty!!"

"Saintess! Thank you!!"

The five returned safely from the battlefield to the citizens' cheers. Seeing the many lives she'd saved with her own hands, the girl felt pride for the first time in ages.

'Surely... the church will welcome me warmly now?'

But contrary to her hopes, they were met with gazes mixed with fear and coldness.

"...Why?"

No more punishments like before, but no one treated her sincerely. Walking through the church, she overheard a familiar voice from a room.

"This time, a whopping 30 holy knights died."

"Damn it... Each one was a precious talent..."

"What was the saintess doing, not prioritizing the holy knights for healing..."

"But we can't punish her like before. If she uses her hero status to report everything we've done..."

'I never planned to...'

She felt wronged and sad. Desperate for even one word of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠praise or recognition, she trudged back to her room. She resolved: from now on, she'd fulfill their every demand until they had no choice but to praise her. It was a notion that might draw derisive laughs from others, but the girl was kind—too kind—and that's why she could think that wa—

Clunk.

"...Oh, this was still here."

Returning to her room in Arkteera, Marian picked up a book from the floor. It felt like an autobiography she'd stopped writing at some point. Marian immersed herself in memories once more as she read it.

"...Ha, looking back now, I see how stupid I was."

"If not for Noel..."

Marian finished the book and gazed at the blank pages yet to be filled, lost in thought.

"...Maybe I should write again after so long."

Smiling, Marian began the first sentence.

"...Hum. Gotta rewrite everything before Noel ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gets here."

Marian smiled as she filled the blank pages for a while, then wrote the final line and closed the book. As she did, the title from when she was younger came into view.

"Not planning to show this to anyone... but I should add to it now and then."

Marian closed the book, its contents ending like this.