CH 1

Chapter 1: The demise of a young woman who impersonated the saint

Looking up, I see the guillotine blade gleaming dully.

“The crime of defrauding the saint is grave, and there are no mitigating factors.”

The charges against me are read aloud by the executioner. “Kill!” yells a section of the crowd. “Kill” and “Kill” one after the other.

“Therefore——the penalty is death!”

The crowd immediately erupted in applause. Some of them blew whistles.

——How did this happen?

■□■

On my way home from junior high school one day, a magical circle appeared at my feet, and I was transported to another world as the “saint”.

I was suddenly made a saint, but in reality, I was just a little girl who couldn’t do anything because I lacked any special abilities.

But the adults who called me assured me that everything was fine.

——Once upon a time, there was a god who summoned a beautiful black-haired saint from another world full of demons to save the world and bring peace and tranquility to it.

That is a fairy tale that everyone in this country is familiar with.

“We need a strong light.”

According to them, the country is now at war with the demons and is in a bad state. This is where the fairy tale comes into play.

The plan was to make it appear as if the saint from the fairy tale had appeared to inspire the soldiers and turn the war around.

“Would you be a beacon of hope for this country?”

I nodded in agreement, because I had been promised food, clothing, and shelter for the duration of my stay, as well as a return to my world after the battle.

I was lavishly fed and dressed in gleaming costumes, and I was in high spirits.

And yet another reason for me to get worked up.

I had been assigned a personal knight as my bodyguard.

His name was Garen. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Garen, who was four years my senior and had a handsome face.

Garen called me Mika, which is difficult for people in this country to pronounce—not Saint-sama, or Myka, but Mika.

“Oh, Mika.”

When our gazes met, he called out my name, looked up, and smiled.

I was terrified of standing on the battlefield with the demons as the saint, but he held my hand until I fell asleep, and the warmth of his hand saved me.

The demons——Because of its name, I expected it to look more like an animal, but it was different; it looked more like a human, or nearly so.

The only distinction is that its ears are slightly more pointed than a human’s. People around me mentioned other subtle differences, but they didn’t appear to be any different from humans.

For me, who was born in the peaceful era, it was difficult to inspire the soldiers on the battlefield, which appeared to be nothing more than a human-to-human conflict. I became nauseous and dizzy several times after smelling burning flesh for the first time.

But Garen helped me through my weakness, and I was able to stand.

——But then “the day” arrived.

It was raining that day.

It’s been a year since I was summoned, and we’re in a precarious situation where we’re gradually moving from being outnumbered to being outgunned.

Then a being appeared, and everything was turned upside down.

■□■

I looked away from the guillotine and made eye contact with ‘her’. Garen took a step forward to shield ‘her’ from my gaze, glaring at me.

I couldn’t help but laugh at his attitude.

How could I, a simple girl, go up against the true saint?

——Yes, the true saint, the one sent by God to destroy all demons, had appeared.

That day, it rained. Suddenly, the rain turned into flowers, and the entire area shone brightly. Because of the bright light, I closed my eyes, but when I opened them again, I saw a beautiful girl with dark hair.

She referred to herself as the saint, and she and the soldiers destroyed the demons one by one with magic.

Unlike her, who stood at the front and killed the demons, I stayed in a corner of the battlefield and tried to cheer up the soldiers as I had before.

“Hey, are you really a saint?”

“Eh…?”

God did not choose me. I only became the saint because adults around me referred to me as such.

“You can’t fight or use healing magic like Saint-Sama over there—so, what makes you a saint?”

As the war is being settled by her, it’s my presence that stands in the way.

Garen’s previously friendly demeanor had gradually shifted.

“Garen.”

“What’s the matter, Mika?”

“Garen.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Garen.”

“What is it?”

“Garen.”

“I’m very busy right now—can we discuss this later?”

“Garen.”

“How come you can’t do anything in comparison to Saint-sama?”

Garen somehow went from being my bodyguard to Saint-sama’s bodyguard. And as soon as the war ended, I was arrested.

——as a sinner for impersonating the saint.

■□■

And here we are.

I avert my gaze from Garen, who is still staring at me, and wonder if it was a lie that after the war I would return to my world.

“Do you have any last words?”

In the first place, I never lied. I wanted to say it aloud, but I didn’t have the strength.

“Nothing in particular.”

“Then, good.” and the blade of the guillotine is dropped.

The last thing I wanted to wish for was that it would not hurt.