saint ch2

Reincarnated as a Saint (1)

The Orion Order, boasting the most flourishing power on the continent, worshiped Human God Orion.

A district in the heart of the empire, where the Order’s headquarters was established, was recognized as an extraterritorial area under the name of Sacred City. It was a center of faith where many people wished to see at least once before they died, and also the residence of numerous Cardinals and Archbishops, including the Pope.

Each and every believer living there was devout, taking pride in the fact that they were serving in the clergy. Yet, even uttering a sound felt sacrilegious, so they moved with caution. Unlike the quiet outskirts, the secluded conference room inside the Papal Palace was filled with heated debate.

Their fervor wasn’t directed towards theological interpretations or discussions on public policies that believers might easily imagine.

“Is that even possible? A Sacred Imprint appeared on a child who was left to die as an example?”

“Let’s not repeat ourselves, Lord Nerover. The deed is already done, and we must contain the situation!”

“We beat the Saint to a pulp! How are we supposed to fix this?”

“The Sacred Imprint manifested and healed the wounds, so he’s not exactly pulp.”

Words that were hard to believe coming from the mouths of clergymen were exchanged without a second thought.

“The child with the Sacred Imprint… Ronan. An orphan who came here from the Equazia region through the church.”

“Tsk… If we hadn’t beaten him, he would have been an easy Saint to handle.”

“That’s why I’ve been saying it all along. Using exemplary beatings to control Trainee Clerics is too risky.”

“Isn’t it obvious from the fact that we beat him? If we had left him alone, he would have become a seed of dissension within the Order anyway.”

“Right now, we need to discuss how to deal with this situation, not criticize the manual.”

They all spoke their minds, tearing at each other, trying to amplify their voices even slightly. Their behavior was no different from that of politicians in any kingdom.

“Is he even definitely a Saint in the first place? I heard the Sacred Imprint is strange.”

“It’s not Orion’s Sacred Imprint. But Divine Power is felt from the wound that appeared out of nowhere, so we can’t deny that it’s a Sacred Imprint.”

“Hmph… A human receiving a Sacred Imprint other than Orion’s. Is that even possible?”

“When you think about it, it’s not the Sacred Imprint of any other race either, so the Sacred Imprint itself is strange.”

“Could this be announcing the birth of a new race?”

“Out of the blue, a new race is born and it’s being announced through a human?”

“That means we humans should govern this new race well… something like that?”

“That makes sense.”

The debate over the Sacred Imprint continued for a long time. At some point, a clergyman opened the door to the conference room and whispered something to the clergyman seated at the head of the table.

“Hmm… That child… Saint Ronan has awakened, they say.”

The clergyman’s words brought a moment of silence to the conference room.

“We can know for sure if we ask the Saint.”

“Wait… We haven’t decided how to handle the Saint yet, have we?”

“He’s unlikely to have good feelings towards the church anyway, so what choice do we have? We’ll ask what we need to know and make him obedient.”

“Lord Telos always has that problem. We could excommunicate the clergyman who beat the child and coax him.”

“Does a brat even separate the Order from that clergyman?”

“Oh, come now, calling the Saint a brat. That’s too harsh. And isn’t it our calling, entrusted to us by God, to make that happen?”

Another man, who had been glaring at the man making the sign of the cross as if he were disgusting, shook his head and stood up from his seat.

“Do as you please. Call me when it’s time to torture him.”

“It seems Lord Telos has been in the Inquisition for too long.”

“Lord Maximilian, that’s enough. You know well what Lord Telos has contributed to the Order.”

“He was uncanny at finding heretics.”

The fact that those heretics were all people who had opposed the Order’s will was something that didn’t even need to be mentioned to the people in the room.

“Well, then, let’s go meet the Saint in question first.”

Having come to a temporary conclusion, the clergymen rose from their seats, tidied up their robes, put on benevolent faces, and began to leave the conference room.

No one would have imagined that they were the same people who had been uttering such gruesome words just moments before. They looked so composed.

* * *

An unfamiliar ceiling.

As a reincarnator, I had to say one of the top 100 lines, so I took a look around.

An incredibly lavishly decorated room, an extremely comfortable bed, and clothes with a soft texture.

In my last memory, I had encountered a divine being, who seemed so godlike that I didn’t doubt my reincarnation into another world. I immediately began to assess the situation.

A 5700-character long email? Never sent one.

An incredibly long hate comment? Never wrote one.

A mysterious note from the author? Never received one.

Okay, so it doesn’t seem like I’m possessing someone in a novel I was reading.

Next, I examined my palm, touched my face, and made a sound.

There was a strange pattern shining on my hand, but it was definitely a human hand. My face seemed to be human-shaped, and my voice was definitely male.

It was a bit thin, so I wondered if I hadn’t gone through puberty yet.

It was also true that I had possessed a human, not an object or a monster.

Looking around, it seemed like I was in a fairly wealthy noble family, so at least I wouldn’t have to worry about starving to death or being killed by a stray sword.

No cheat abilities? Cheat abilities?

If I had that, it would be perfect.

Just as I was agonizing over whether I should actually say the ‘Status Window,’ which was ranked number one among the top 100 lines that a reincarnator should say, the door opened and a person wearing stifling robes entered.

Correction.

He looked at me and went out again.

The person’s actions might have been absurd, but I didn’t have time to think about it because of the strange things that caught my eye.

Strange things were floating around the man who I had momentarily encountered.

Elson Torian.

That must be the man’s name?

Below that, it said that he was a General Clergyman of the Orion Order.

Order?

Is this a church?

I quickly went out and couldn’t read what was below that, but I could easily guess that it was information about the man.

Moreover, the aura around the man, which had been calmly subdued until he entered, turned crimson as soon as he saw me.

For some reason, I could tell that it was a feeling of embarrassment.

Judging the other person’s emotions and psychology?

Isn’t this a guaranteed win cheat?

Has the era of easy mode for my life, starting with reincarnation into another world, finally come to me?

If this were a novel, it would be a failing grade of easy mode.

There was no original novel, so I didn’t have to stop anything or twist the story. It was a classic fantasy possession, and the target was a noble boy or a clergyman.

A cheat ability to identify people and judge emotions?

I could already picture a future where I would do nothing but gather talented people and sit back and enjoy the benefits.

“So… isn’t it about time for Elson, who just left, to bring people?”

Isn’t that a cliché in possession stories?

When you come to your senses and find yourself in another body, there should be someone to tell you whose body it is and what kind of person they are.

Personally, I’d bet on a prodigal nobleman.

That way, readers won’t care when the original owner dies.

To possess someone, you either have to share the body with the possessed person, or you have to kill the original owner by possessing them.

Either way, the fact that I stole the body of someone who already had an owner doesn’t change.

To dilute that uncomfortable feeling, the possessed person should be someone who deserves to die, right?

…Oh, maybe not, since it’s not in a novel?

That’s a bit of a shame.

I admit it.

Having possessed someone under unbelievably favorable conditions, I was underestimating this world.

I was in a state of unwavering belief that everything would turn out in my favor.

“Oh, Saint Ronan. It’s an honor to meet your precious self.”

“Saint Ronan, it is truly an honor to meet someone blessed by God.”

As I watched the people who came in one after another kiss the pattern on the back of my right hand and pay their respects, I couldn’t help but have dozens of question marks floating in my head.

Because…

Levia Kramati

Maximilian Kristen

Nerover Igbalder

…

..

.
All the people who came into the room had the titles ‘Cardinal of the Orion Order’ or ‘Archbishop of the Orion Order’ under their names.

…Cardinal?

The big boss after the Pope?

And Saint?

Am I a Saint?

But why…

Under normal circumstances, I would have been happy to have possessed someone of noble birth.

However, the problem was that I could vaguely see people’s emotions.

All these people had various emotions towards me, but there was not a single friendly emotion among them.

Everyone was suspicious of me, had an unpleasant sense of interest, and was only thinking about how to use me.

One of them was even feeling lust towards me, so that says it all… Ugh, what is this!

I felt like I was going to lose my mind from the sudden increase in letters and colors, and the cunning and malice that those colors held.

“Oh dear, it seems the shock was too great.”

“Don’t worry, Saint Ronan. The clergyman who disciplined you privately will be excommunicated immediately. You are safe.”

The Cardinals said a word each, taking my silence as such, but I didn’t have the energy to answer.

In the meantime, as if the Cardinals’ words were a trigger, many memories suddenly came to mind.

This body’s name is Ronan.

An orphan with nowhere to go, raised in an orphanage built by the church.

Normally, it’s difficult to live a normal life even if you’re raised in an orphanage, but the bishop of the Orion Church, recognizing Ronan’s extraordinary intelligence and faith, took Ronan in.

Realizing that this was an unparalleled opportunity, Ronan worked to death, and surprisingly, one day, Ronan was able to possess a weak Divine Power.

Divine Power manifested at a young age is a symbol of talent and faith.

The bishop immediately sent Ronan here, where the headquarters was located, and after passing the theological examination and the Divine Power certification test, Ronan was soon selected as a Trainee Cleric at the headquarters.

For several years, Ronan received the teachings of the church along with Trainee Clerics of similar circumstances gathered from all over the country.

At some point, the intelligence that had helped Ronan until now became a poison to Ronan.

The more Ronan studied, the more Ronan’s intelligent mind derived numerous errors commonly found in theology and the various atrocities committed by the Order, disguised as achievements, and Ronan fell into confusion.

In the end, Ronan asked the priest a question to find an answer to a problem that Ronan could not solve alone.

What came back was a harsh beating that could have killed even a Saint.

Ronan, who had been punished to the point where all the bones in his back were crushed, was left in a solitary cell without food or treatment.

…Damn it.

It became clear at this moment that this world was not the ‘super easy baby mode that even newborns can do’ that I had imagined.

Ronan died in that cold solitary cell.

“Saint Ronan?”

One of the Cardinals’ words awakened my mind.

The Cardinals surrounding me were looking at my appearance, where I was clenching my teeth and clutching the bedsheets, with meaningful eyes.

Their shadowy eyes were so terrifying that they could put most horror movies to shame.

Surprisingly, instead of panicking at the sight, my mind became clearer.

Get a grip, me.

No, Ronan.

First, I have to live.

I never imagined that upon regaining consciousness inside such a luxurious-looking building, a death flag would immediately be raised.

Did they fail to adjust the difficulty level or something?

If this were a novel, wouldn’t it already be doomed?

People don’t read it if it’s an unstimulating easy mode, but they also don’t read it if it’s a hell mode that exceeds the spicy flavor quota!