What on earth is happening right now?
At the age of 34, I died in the line of duty—stabbed by a criminal I was pursuing.
A life cut short far too young. I should’ve left this world behind with such a glamorous title and stepped into a paradise full of dreams and hope…
“You idiot. I said you were lacking, and you’ve actually decided to become a complete fool?”
So where’s paradise, and why is there a middle-aged man I’ve never seen before cursing at me to my face?
Is this… my heaven?
“I told you, if you must die, then die at the Grand Temple! Why do you keep coming back to this house? What will it take for you to come to your senses!”
BANG!
The middle-aged man slammed the dining table violently, still spewing words I didn’t understand.
The extravagant dishes laid before him wobbled from the impact.
So, this place I’m in… it’s some kind of dining room?
A chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a long table covered in white cloth, antique candlesticks.
Isn’t this the kind of setup you only see in movies?
Even the man yelling at me and the people watching from behind were all dressed in lavish suits and gowns.
Is this the afterlife, or some early-modern fantasy romance world?
“I can’t bear to see your disgrace any longer. Lock her up immediately without a drop of water, and at sunrise tomorrow, throw her out to the Grand Temple!”
Well, at the very least, this clearly isn’t heaven.
Before I could even come to terms with this shocking reality, some women grabbed me by both arms and started dragging me away.
“Hey, wait a second—!”
CRASH!
…Huh? What the—?
Never mind whether this maid outfit I’m wearing is just cosplay…
Why am I being dragged off so easily? And by women who don’t even look that strong?
That doesn’t make sense.
Do muscle losses come with death?
“You’re absolutely disgusting.”
As I stood frozen in confusion, someone scoffed at me. A young man sitting in front of a luxurious meal.
“Do I really have to see your face here too? You don’t belong here, Ordell. Just get lost.”
Even though he looked much younger than me and was acting like a total brat, I couldn’t say anything back.
Ordell, Ordell, Ordell.
What is it with that name? Why does it sound so ominously familiar?
Why are they calling me that… as if it’s my name?
Ding!
【Welcome, User ■■■! I am the AI System that manages dimensions.】
Suddenly, a strange window popped up in front of my dazed eyes.
It looked exactly like those system messages you see when playing video games…
**【You have possessed a body in the world of Holy Idella. Starting today, your name is ‘Ordell Kiris’.】
【I am here to support your smooth possession life. I look forward to working with you!】**
“What the hell is this…”
This is nonsense.
I expected to go peacefully to heaven, but instead…
My second life has started—without any consent from me.
What the hell? Give me my heaven back.
* * *
I used to be a civil servant.
To be more precise, a police officer who caught bad guys.
Terrible pay, overtime the moment a case dropped.
Sometimes, I’d be on stakeouts for months. There was no such thing as work-life balance in my life as a detective.
My only comfort in that grim life was web novels.
With my irregular schedule, they were the easiest way to have fun on my own.
Holy Idella was my absolute favorite.
“…But now I think I’m going to hate it.”
Holy Idella is a romance fantasy novel about a heroine who becomes a saint and saves the world.
So, did I possess the body of that heroine?
Of course not.
Instead, I possessed Ordell Kiris—a petty villainess who causes all kinds of trouble, burns with jealousy over the far more successful heroine, and goes absolutely insane trying to ruin her…
Only to eventually be punished by the male leads.
The classic trashy villainess of every fantasy romance novel.
“Even her family situation is the worst.”
From the way people were scolding Ordell, I thought I’d ended up in an enemy’s house.
But no. This was actually Ordell’s own home.
And the middle-aged man who just ordered me to be starved? That was her father—Count Kiris.
Ordell was the black sheep of the Kiris family.
You could tell just by looking at this attic room I’d been dragged into.
Cramped and tucked away where the sunlight barely reached.
Dust piled up in every corner.
Furniture clearly gnawed on by rats, blankets stained yellow.
If you had to pick the absolute last person you’d want to possess in Holy Idella, Ordell would take first place without question.
“Then why, of all people, did I have to become Ordell?!”
Ding!
【The AI System has received your question.】
As I slammed my fist on the floor in frustration, another alert popped up with a system message.
I immediately grabbed at the damned window.
【Your soul broke through a 0.00018% probability and was chosen by the Sun God of this world to become an apostle. That’s why you’ve possessed this body.】
Oh, great. Just the right number to swear at.
So they want me to curse?
【Originally, you were supposed to reincarnate. However, the Sun God who brought you here was… a little lacking. So the only option was to possess an already existing body.】
“Lacking?”
What—his intelligence?
**【Correction: The Sun God currently lacks the divine power necessary for a full reincarnation.】
【That is also the reason why the Sun God summoned you to this world.】**
Alright. Let’s hear it.
What reason could possibly justify hijacking a righteous soul that was destined for heaven?
**【 “Revive the Sun Crawling from Death”!
The Sun Crawling from Death is on the verge of disappearing due to a lack of followers.
Become the saint who inherits its power, gather more believers, grow your divine power, and save this poor god and world from destruction!
Success Reward: Wealth, honor, and power as a saint.
Failure Penalty: Permanent disappearance of the Sun Crawling from Death and dimensional collapse.】**
So I get forcibly possessed into a saint-themed novel… and the mission is to actually become the saint?
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I let out a hollow laugh at the ridiculous premise.
Then I spotted a dusty mirror in the room.
Long, flowing pink hair.
Golden eyes that still sparkled even in this dirty room.
An elegant, cold beauty stared back at me with slightly upturned eyes.
If we were on Earth, she could’ve dominated the entertainment industry. But so what?
Her family life was crap, her inferiority complex was extreme, and she acted out in the worst ways—Ordell was a fake saint.
So you’re telling me to become the real saint, in the body of a woman who only has a sliver of divine power?
Why didn’t you just let me possess the heroine to begin with?
The poor Sun God’s temple only revived because the heroine suddenly appeared like a comet. She saved the world and led it to a golden age.
Sure, I didn’t expect the Sun God to have such a cringey name like The Sun Crawling from Death, but hey—if you leave the plot alone, the god revives just fine.
So why go to such trouble, using up your meager powers, to snatch me from heaven and shove me into Ordell’s body?
【That question is classified as a celestial secret. You must reach 40% divine power to unlock the answer.】
You forced me into this body, and now you won’t tell me the truth?
How is a weak person supposed to survive?
“How much divine power do I have right now?”
Ordell might be a fake saint, but she does have some divine power.
Sure, the novel described it as a measly amount, but she still acted the part until the heroine showed up, so surely at least 20%…
【Current divine power: 2%】
“…?”
I rubbed my eyes and checked again. But the miracle of 2% becoming 20% did not occur.
【To fully awaken as a saint, you must reach 100% divine power.】
So you dump me into a body with just 2% divine power and expect me to become a full-fledged saint and revive the temple?
Honestly… maybe the Sun God really is lacking in intelligence.
Let me know if you’d like the next chapter translated as well!
