They Want Me to Become a Saintess!!
I stared blankly at the status window floating before my eyes.
The Goddess Lumentis has chosen you as the next Saintess candidate.
Will you accept the divine calling?
No. Absolutely not. Hell no.
I shook my head so hard I thought it might fall off. The status window flickered for a moment before displaying a new message.
Refusal is not possible. The selection has already been completed.
Congratulations. You are now the official Saintess candidate.
“What the actual—?!”
I jumped up from my chair, knocking it over with a loud clatter. My heart was pounding like a drum. This had to be some kind of sick joke. I mean, come on. Me? A Saintess? The one who’s supposed to stand beside the Hero and save the world from destruction?
I’d only been in this world for three months. Three months since I woke up in this body after getting hit by that stupid truck. And now this?
I just wanted to live a quiet life, damn it. Maybe open a small bakery or something. Why is the Goddess doing this to me?
The status window didn’t disappear. Instead, it expanded, showing my new stats in glittering gold letters.
My jaw dropped. Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine divine power? At level one? That was ridiculous. Even the final boss in the original story didn’t have numbers like that. And infinite mana? What kind of broken character sheet was this?
I pinched my cheek hard. It hurt. This wasn’t a dream.
“This is bullshit,” I muttered, running a hand through my long silver hair. The hair that definitely didn’t belong to the twenty-eight-year-old Korean man I used to be. “I didn’t ask for any of this. I just wanted to eat good food and read web novels in peace!”
The system, as if sensing my distress, helpfully displayed another message.
Main Quest: Path of the Saintess
📍 Objective: Complete the Saintess Initiation Ceremony
🎁 Reward: Hero’s Companion Title, Legendary Staff, +5000 Divine Power
⚠ Failure: World Destruction (Bad Ending)
I stared at the words World Destruction for a long time. Then I screamed.
“Are you kidding me?! This is coercion! This is divine bullying! I want to file a complaint with the Goddess!”
Of course, no one answered. The system window simply faded away, leaving me alone in my small room in the temple’s outer quarters. The white robes I was wearing felt heavier than before. Everything felt heavier.
I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. My name was now Levia. A girl with silver hair and golden eyes. The body I’d reincarnated into after that truck accident. I’d been so happy when I realized I could start over. No more soul-crushing office job. No more nagging parents asking why I wasn’t married yet. Just a peaceful life in a fantasy world.
But the world had other plans.
They want me to become a Saintess.
I covered my face with both hands and groaned. “I don’t want to. I really, really don’t want to. Can’t they pick someone else? There must be tons of pure-hearted girls out there who’d love this kind of thing.”
Apparently not. The Goddess had chosen me. Or rather, she’d chosen this body. The original owner of this body had been a sickly orphan raised in the temple. She was supposed to have died quietly last month. Instead, I woke up in her place.
And now I had to deal with this mess.
A soft knock sounded at the door. I quickly sat up, trying to compose myself.
“Come in.”
The door opened, revealing a middle-aged priestess with kind eyes. She bowed slightly.
“Lady Levia, the High Priest is calling for you. He says it’s time to begin your formal training as the Saintess candidate.”
I forced a smile. “Already? That’s… fast.”
“The Goddess’s will moves swiftly,” she replied with a serene smile. “Please follow me.”
As I stood up and followed her down the sunlit corridor, I could feel the weight of countless expectations pressing down on me. The other priests and priestesses we passed all bowed deeply, their eyes filled with awe and reverence.
This is going to be a nightmare.
I clenched my fists inside my sleeves. I’m not going to become a Saintess. I’ll find a way out of this. There has to be a way. Maybe I can fail the initiation on purpose. Or run away. Or—
The system chimed again, as if reading my thoughts.
Divine Protection (Passive)
Prevents the Saintess candidate from abandoning her duty. Any attempt to flee or reject the role will result in severe divine punishment.
My steps faltered. The priestess turned to look at me with concern.
“Are you alright, Lady Levia?”
“...I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Just… thinking about how blessed I am.”
She beamed at me. “Indeed. The Goddess has chosen well.”
As we continued walking, I screamed internally.
This is a trap! A beautifully wrapped, divinely ordained trap!
I had no idea how I was going to get out of this. But one thing was certain.
I was not going to become a Saintess.
Not if I had anything to say about it.