Ch.1The Saint Opens Her Eyes

A white light envelops my entire body.

And then.

“????!?!”

I felt a chill.

Aila shuddered at the sudden temperature change.

The temperature wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

Something heavy was wrapping around my entire body.

My body was slowly being pulled downward.

“?!…??!”

No sound came out.

More precisely, it didn’t escape to the outside.

As I inhaled, something cold flowed into my nostrils.

I could see bubbles rising.

‘Water?’

Aila relaxed her body.

Then her body slowly sank in one direction.

The sword.

The holy sword on her chest was weighing her down.

The holy sword was heavy.

If I discard this sword, I could float up without even trying.

Aila gritted her teeth.

She couldn’t forgive herself for even momentarily thinking of abandoning the holy sword to save her life.

Abandon the Hero’s memento?

For Aila, that was more terrifying than death itself.

Calmly, she looked in the opposite direction of where her body was sinking.

A faint light was visible.

She bent her legs, then kicked up forcefully.

Splash!!

With the explosive sound of water bursting, air entered her body.

Opening her eyes slightly, she saw light directly, not refracted by water.

It was bright.

But that light didn’t last long.

The displaced water returned to its original state, pressing down on Aila again.

“This much, is nothing!”

She moved her body vigorously once more.

This time using her arms too.

SPLASH!!!!

With a sound incomparably louder than before, her body shot up into the sky.

An intense feeling of buoyancy, then impact.

“Cough! Cough!”

Water flowed out with each cough.

Droplets fell onto the green weeds…

“…plants?”

Aila’s eyes widened.

She lifted her head to look around.

Brown, green, blue, white, pink.

The grass beneath her feet, and trees and flowers in the distance.

Are they alive…?

No, that can’t be.

The world had ended. There were no living creatures.

She knew this fact better than anyone.

It had been a pilgrimage where they had to eat monster meat because there wasn’t even grass to forage, let alone animals.

Everything was barren, and the only signs of life were the howls of monsters waiting for a chance to tear at our throats.

Really?

“…It’s moist.”

Aila dug into the soil with her hand. It was moist and soft.

When she shook her hand slightly because it tickled, she saw a tiny insect scurrying away.

A living creature.

Tears fell from her eyes.

Aila wiped her eyes with her sleeve and stood up.

“…Huh?”

Something felt off.

A feeling of imbalance in her body… Her vision was strange too. Various parts of her body felt lighter.

“…Is it just my imagination?”

Aila bent down to pick up the holy sword lying on the ground.

“What…?”

Something was definitely wrong.

Aila immediately ran toward the lake.

The lake was clear. She hadn’t seen such a clean lake in almost four years.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

Aila looked at her reflection in the water’s surface and…

“…This can’t be.”

She froze.

Her neck. The skin that had rotted from the curse had returned to normal.

Her left eye. The eye that had festered from a monster’s poison had been restored.

Her hair. The straight hair she had grown to her waist to match the Hero’s preference was now shortened to shoulder length.

Her chest. It had become smaller.

And her face.

“…My face from when I was younger…”

More precisely, from 10 years ago. When she was 17.

My face from when I summoned the Hero.

“W-why…”

I don’t understand.

What’s happening?

“…Has time been reversed?”

That was the first possibility that came to mind.

The grand magic that the Great Sage and Grand Sorcerer had researched together.

I thought it had failed, but did it succeed?

If so.

I might be able to save the Hero!

“…Map.”

She quietly uttered the activation word.

Some of the magical power circulating in her body disappeared, and a translucent window appeared before her eyes.

The magic worked normally.

A spell that visualizes places she had been in the form of a map.

She had learned it because it was convenient for exploring inside gates or when traveling.

Aila stared at the translucent window that appeared.

“This is strange.”

The map was completely black except for the spot where she was standing.

The map shows all places she had been to.

In the final moment when they went to fight the Demon Lord, the map had shown all locations.

She had traveled everywhere to find potential survivors and to locate the Demon Lord.

But this place wasn’t marked on the map.

What could this mean?

Aila sighed deeply and looked up at the sky.

Not ashen, but a blue and clear sky.

Clouds, wind, and the sun.

“…The sun?”

Aila was shocked.

The sun was in the sky.

Not ‘suns,’ but ‘the sun.’

Not plural, but singular.

The Lord was looking down upon this world with only one eye.

‘Still not used to it?’

‘…Suddenly? Why do you ask?’

‘You keep looking at the sky, so I was just wondering.’

‘I’m used to it. Well, I was a bit surprised at first…’

‘Ah, I still remember. Clearly—‘

“The sun… there were two…”

It comes back to me as if it happened yesterday.

An unforgettable day.

The day I met the Hero, the person I loved.

‘Two suns? …Isn’t it hot!?’

Yes, that’s what the Hero said, and I replied.

‘Then in your world, aren’t there two suns?’

And the Hero said.

“Where I lived, there’s only one sun.”

Yes, just like now.

One sun.

Thud.

Her legs gave out. She couldn’t stand anymore.

A world she had never been to.

A world with only one sun.

And.

The hero summoning circle that emitted light.

All the facts pointed to one truth.

Why.

How.

Instead of the Hero, I…

“Ah, aah… uwaah…!”

‘I can go back, right?’

I’m sorry.

Even though it was the homeland you so desperately wanted to return to.

‘It’s something I have to do to go back, so don’t worry about it.’

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry we dragged you into our situation.

‘Well, it can’t be helped. It’s not your fault anyway.’

I’m sorry.

I should have found a way to send you back then.

‘So, in the world where I lived—-‘

I’m sorry.

‘…Ah, I want to go… home–‘

“…I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Droplets kept falling.

The sky was clear.

***

The sun was at its highest point.

Aila rose with vacant eyes.

“Lord. Please answer me, Lord…”

No matter how much she called, there was no answer.

She knew.

Prayers no longer reached Him.

She laughed.

Can a holy maiden who has lost her prayers still be called a holy maiden?

She felt weight at her waist.

The holy sword.

At the same time, the Hero’s last words came to mind.

I want to go home.

I miss my family.

She touched her necklace.

The Hero’s gift.

Apart from clothes, it was the only personal item the Hero had when summoned.

From what she heard, it was a gift from family.

For the Hero, this necklace was probably the only link to home.

She was happy when she received it, but…

“……”

Now, it felt too heavy.

Aila raised her head.

She still didn’t understand why she had come to this other world instead of the Hero, but there must be some meaning to it. It was the Lord’s will, after all.

Then what I should do is.

“There must be people here too, right?”

She leaped up.

The wind brushed against her face.

After the wind subsided, she looked around.

“The sea? Or a lake…?”

The horizon wasn’t visible.

Does that mean it’s an island?

She examined more carefully.

“…A building.”

In the distance, near where water met land, she saw a tall building.

She wasn’t sure if it was really a building, but such a shape couldn’t have formed naturally.

Her thoughts were quick, and her actions even quicker.

Aila kicked off the air and dashed forward.

The wind grew stronger, and the ground approached.

When she could no longer run through the air, Aila landed on the ground.

And just as she was about to leap into the air again.

Honk-!! Honk!!

“Whoa?!”

A loud noise came from behind.

“Hey! What are you doing in the middle of the road?!”

…Road?

This black surface is a road?

“Are you deaf?!”

A man was shouting.

A person she was meeting after several years.

Normally, she would offer a prayer of joy, but this wasn’t the time.

‘So this really is the Hero’s homeland.’

I’ve heard about it. Carriages that move without speaking.

Then is that tower I saw earlier an apartment?

No, before that.

“Should I move to the side?”

As Aila moved to the side, the man spat once and got back into his car.

With a loud vrooming sound, the car started to move away, but then…

“Huh?”

It changed direction and was coming back toward Aila.

The car stopped right in front of her.

“…Is something wrong?”

“Pardon?”

“What are you doing in the middle of this mountain road at this hour?”

“What time is it now?”

“Don’t you even have a watch?”

It’s 5 o’clock.

The man spoke with an incredulous tone.

‘It seems the concept of time is the same here. Well, the Hero said so too…’

“So, what are you doing alone at this hour?”

“I was on my way to town.”

“Town? Where?”

“Over there. The town near the water.”

“You’re walking there at this hour?”

The man sighed once.

“Would you like a ride, if you don’t mind?”

“Is that really okay?”

“Well, if you’re fine with it…”

There’s no need to refuse kindness, right?

I could use magic earlier, so I can resist if necessary.

Aila opened the back door of the car and got in.

It was similar to opening a carriage door.

But the interior was different from a carriage.

The car started moving.

The ride was very smooth and comfortable.

Is it because the road is even?

“But why were you in a place like this? Did you get lost?”

“…Maybe I did.”

Lost.

Isn’t that the perfect description for her current situation?

Lost her way, lost the person she loved, thrown into this world without knowing what to do.

If it weren’t for the stories about his homeland that the Hero told whenever he was bored, she would have wasted quite a lot of time not knowing what anything was.

“You should get home quickly. There’s already a lot of talk because of the dungeons…”

“I don’t have a home.”

“…Then why are you going to the city?”

Why.

How.

That story ended earlier on the mountaintop.

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Someone?”

“Yes, someone.”

A world the Hero should have come to.

A world where the Hero should have returned to live a happy future with family and friends.

It’s not a world I should have come to, but for some reason, I was the one who arrived.

‘Everyone must be waiting… If I return after five years, will they be surprised?’

So, at the very least, shouldn’t I deliver news to the people waiting for the Hero?

Shouldn’t I tell them what a wonderful person the Hero was and what beautiful things he accomplished?

Then, perhaps I can go to meet the Hero with my head held high.

“I’m looking for the important people of someone important to me.”

The man made a face as if she was talking nonsense.

Aila couldn’t see it.

***

“Thank you for the ride. As for payment…”

“Don’t need it. We were going the same way anyway.”

“…Thank you.”

The car drove away.

Aila quietly prayed.

May the Lord’s blessing be upon you.

“Now then.”

To find someone, going to an adventurer’s guild or a government office would be the fastest way.

“He said there’s no guild here…”

As she was wondering what to do.

A man’s voice was heard.

“Hey! What are you doing? Didn’t you hear that civilians need to evacuate?!”

“What?”

The man who suddenly appeared grabbed Aila’s wrist and tried to drag her somewhere.

Since she didn’t sense any malice or ill intent, Aila prioritized dialogue over resistance.

There was also something that needed correction.

“Wait, let go of me first! And what do you mean by civilian?”

Yes, not a civilian, but a holy maiden.

It might seem strange to cling to this title now, but it can’t be helped.

The Hero died to save the holy maiden.

She must remain a holy maiden.

That’s what she meant, but the man seemed to interpret it differently.

“What? So you’re a colleague?”

The man’s eyes scanned Aila’s entire body.

His gaze stopped at a certain point.

Her waist, or more precisely, the holy sword.

“Carrying a sword too, so you must be a colleague…?”

“Colleague? First, let me explain…”

“We can explain while moving! Time is of the essence!”

The man ran off.

Aila, unable to process the sudden change in situation, stood dazed.

Then the man’s shout was heard again.

“Hurry up! People are going to die!”

Die.

Upon hearing those words, Aila ran toward the man.

“Oh, wow… you’re fast.”

“Explain. Who might die?”

Aila, who had already caught up to the man, said this.

The man, panting, replied:

“The dungeon’s scale is different. It’s not D-rank, it’s probably C-rank at this level…”

Dungeon?

D-rank?

Both were unfamiliar terms, but they weren’t particularly important to Aila.

What was important was what the man muttered next:

“Everyone’s in danger, we need to hurry.”

Danger.

Aila’s body tensed.

Saving people.

That’s what a holy maiden does.

“Let’s go quickly. Which direction?”

“Just straight ahead…”

“Hold on tight.”

“What? W-whoa!!”

Aila embraced the man and dashed forward.

At the speed of light.