Chapter 1

Translator: Nox

<Episode 1>

"Is this the saintess's place?"

"Yeah. They say she's really skilled."

"But it doesn't seem like anyone's opening the door..."

"Right? Isn't it the right time?"

The early morning whispers, no different from usual, woke me up.

Ah. Looks like it's time to work today too. I roughly tied up my hair and stretched.

[Dorothy. How about eating breakfast first?]

"Breakfast doesn't sit well in my stomach. I'll wake up while working."

[I'm worried...]

[Yeah, Dorothy. You'll lose weight if you don't eat like that.]

[Sigh. She doesn't take care of her own body.]

Do they know that their noisy chatter in the morning is worse for health than skipping breakfast?

"Speak one at a time, my head hurts."

Even if I muttered in my mind, communication worked, but I deliberately spoke out loud to scold them.

If I protested silently, my voice would get buried in their noisy chatter.

The many voices buzzing in my head suddenly went quiet.

[We must have been too loud. Sorry.]

[No worries...]

I let out a deep sigh and got up.

I had to greet the customers waiting outside.

"Welcome."

"Ah, hello."

"You must have come from far away. You must be tired. Come in."

I said that since they clearly looked like travelers, but the three men and two women in front widened their eyes.

"H-How did you know?"

"She really is the saintess...!"

No matter how I thought about it, the people in this world were really good at jumping to conclusions.

I ignored it roughly and let them inside.

"Who would like to go first?"

"Yes, me, me."

"Sure. Everyone else, please wait here."

A house with three rooms.

As soon as you opened the door, there was a living room full of waiting chairs, and further inside were my bedroom and the 'shrine'.

Compared to when I first fell into this world, it was an incredibly luxurious house, yet it always left a bitter taste in my heart.

This really felt like becoming the 'shaman' I hated so much.

"What's your birthdate?"

Sitting across from the customer at the table, writing with a quill pen, and being called a 'saintess'... but...

"Ah, yes. I was born on April 12, 964."

[Born in the 60s? Must have lived a hard life.]

[That time was right after the war's aftermath, right?]

[Yeah. In 960, the neighboring kingdom invaded... It wasn't a huge war, so reconstruction was quick, but kids born in the next 10 years were tormented by ghosts created in the war, so their lives got really messed up.]

"...You must have had a tough time. Life didn't go smoothly, did it? Must have been really hard."

When I summarized what the gods were saying, the customer suddenly burst into tears.

"Sob. Y-Yes, that's right. I had such a hard time, sob."

[Oh dear, tsk tsk. Poor thing.]

[My goodness. She really had it rough. Dorothy, tell her to move house for now. There's a particularly bad ghost attached to her house, messing up the flow badly.]

[No, no. Tell her to throw away the pendant in the house. It's her grandmother's keepsake.]

[What pendant? She needs to move.]

[No way, why bother moving? The pendant is ghost bait. Can't you see that?]

"...First of all, you need to throw away the pendant your grandmother left you-"

"Dorothy, Dorothy!"

I was trying to gather and organize the gods' words when the door suddenly burst open. It was a devotee who frequently came to pray at our shrine.

"Don't open the door while doing a reading-"

"People from the Capital City, no, the Imperial Capital have come!"

"What?"

"They say they're taking the saintess!"

"...I see. So it's time."

The time had finally come.

The beginning of shaking off this shaman business and the gods' buzzing voices in my ears, reclaiming my freedom.

I stood up from my seat.

* * *

'Seon-nyeo. A shaman must know their own death day. On that day, you shouldn't go out; just pray at home.'

Mom had advised me that way, even though her daughter had no intention of becoming a shaman.

But I didn't want to become a shaman. I hated prayers, and I hated the colorful flags Mom always waved. I even thought it'd be better to die early from divine illness than become one.

However, as I flew through the air hit by the truck, only Mom's advice lingered.

'Maybe I should have stayed home and prayed properly.'

I'd said I'd rather die early than become a shaman, but when death actually came, I wanted to live.

Even rolling in a dung field, this world is better—must be true.

Park Seon-nyeo. Age 24.

A outdated name meaning the first-born daughter, neither good nor bad.

On my way to family court to finally change the name I'd been teased as 'Fairy Bodhisattva' for all my life.

I was killed by a dump truck.

'If I reincarnate, I'll obediently accept the divine calling.'

I knew it was too late, but for the first time, I prayed to the heavens.

Gods are capricious anyway, unlikely to grant my prayer, but I did.

If you let me live again, I'll really become Fairy Bodhisattva.

With that, amid the pain of my body shattering, I lost consciousness.

"...Miss! Miss!"

How long had I wandered in the darkness?

I opened my eyes at the sound of someone calling me.

"Ugh..."

My whole body ached.

Hit by a truck, it was natural.

Truck...

Wait. Am I alive right now?

"Gasp!"

"You're conscious? A young lady sprawled out here could get in big trouble."

"Huh?"

My blurry vision gradually cleared.

What entered my eyes was a foreigner.

I blurted out in panic without thinking.

"N-Nice to meet you?"

"A foreigner?"

"Tsk. Looks like she came from another country; how did she end up like this?"

The couple, who seemed like husband and wife, didn't understand my English and shook their heads.

Listening, it was a language I'd never heard before. Yet I could understand it.

I was dumbfounded.

"Let's take her to the guard post first."

"Yes, dear."

Before I could grasp the situation, the couple helped me up and put me on a small cart.

Riding the bumpy cart, I began to realize what this world was.

"Theme park... right?"

Streets lined with cute European-style houses, a small fountain with intricate carvings.

The clothes of the people walking around.

It was very similar to the theme park I'd visited once as a child.

"Hit by a truck, why am I in a theme park?"

[Dorothy.]

As I muttered blankly, a voice with a sacred feel came from somewhere.

It was so clear I looked around, but no one was there.

'Someone must be calling a kid named Dorothy.'

I lost interest quickly.

Soon the cart stopped.

"Miss, this is the guard post. Go in and explain your situation. Not sure if there's someone familiar with foreign affairs, but... at least you'll get a place to stay."

"Poor thing. Stay healthy, okay?"

The kind-hearted couple gave me various advice and vanished.

"Theme park... it has to be, right?"

I entered the low building called the guard post.

Maybe this guard post was the info desk or exit?

"What brings you here?"

A burly man immediately blocked my path as I entered.

"Yes? Ah, where's the info desk?"

"Info... desk? If you mean reception, it's over there. Looks like... go to that tired-looking brown-haired guy."

"Yes... uh."

His gaze blatantly scanning me up and down made me uncomfortable, so I hurried over.

In front of the tired-looking brown-haired man was a sign: 「Vagabond Relief Project」.

Vagabond...? Me?

No way. I just want to get out of this theme park and figure things out.

As I turned to go elsewhere, the desk man called me back.

"What's your name?"

"Yes? I'm not a vagabond-"

"Name."

The man cut me off in a tired voice.

His gaze fixed on the desk seemed soulless, without even a spark of life.

I reflexively answered.

"Park, Seon-nyeo."

"Saintess?"

At that, the man looked up.

I was reflected in his round eyes. He stared at me quietly.

I knew Seon-nyeo was a weird name, but did he have to stare like that?

"Pft... Pfft hahaha!"

The man soon burst into loud laughter, his face full of mockery. His laughter filled the lobby.

"Ah, impressive. I've heard all sorts of nonsense from vagabonds, but 'saintess' is a first. A term from the founding myth. Ahaha."

"Nonsense?"

"Heh, heh. Take this paper and go over there; they'll give you temporary lodging. Luckily, they've designated a place for nameless vagabonds recently."

The man handed me the paper while wiping tears.

"Excuse me. I want to leave here."

"Just turn around and walk out."

The man replied as if it was a stupid question.

"No, I want to leave this theme park. What is this place?"

"It's the guard post. What's a theme park?"

The actors here are really committed to the concept.

I rubbed my aching neck and tried to calm down.

[Dorothy. Can you hear me?]

"Agh, who's keep calling Dorothy? Who's Dorothy?"

Frustration was building up. Surprised by my sharp tone, the desk man whispered to the person next to him.

"...Senior. The Vagabond Relief Project doesn't include mental treatment, right?"

"No budget for that. We're just starting; even handling registrations is tough."

"She looks serious..."

What are these people saying right now?

[Dorothy. Can you hear me?]

Wait. This feels similar to the occasional voice of a god I've heard before?

A chill ran down my spine.

Something's off.

[You must be confused after suddenly falling into this world. Calm down first-]

"...Who are you?"

[I'm Agatha. A god protecting the Empire.]

"...Em...pire?"

[This is the Manpelline Empire. And you... you're not from here. You appeared suddenly. I've never seen a being like you before.]

"Manpelline!?"

I realized it the moment I heard it.

Manpelline Empire!

The empire from the romance novel I'd read over and over because it was so fun. And Agatha was Manpelline's guardian god.

The novel was a standard romance.

The love story between a country baron's daughter from the countryside who came to the Capital City to debut in high society, staying at her relatives', and a young count who never gave his heart to anyone.

The reason I enjoyed this ordinary novel so much was separate.

It was thanks to the emperor, a longtime friend of the count: Theodor Elliott.

The emperor loathed the overly pious atmosphere of the Manpelline Empire steeped in deep faith, and upon ascending the throne, he pushed for separation of church and state, and a scientific revolution.

Elevators became commonplace, tunnels and waterways were dug. Trains and automobiles were developed, and shipbuilding advanced, making trade bustling and giving port cities a unique vibe.

As new culture and science changed lives, the novel was filled with excitement and thrill. The vibrancy unique to an era of upheaval invigorated even the reader.

I, who was fed up with gods and shamans, empathized deeply with the emperor's religious aversion and read the novel with great interest.

And now I'm inside that novel?

"...Crazy."

[It's okay. Nothing dangerous right now, so let's stay calm?]

Agatha soothed me in a gentle voice.

Not content with possession, I, who died avoiding gods, now faced them head-on.