Chapter 1
Chapter 1 – A Crooked Start
The men in silver armor were breathtakingly beautiful. Returning from what seemed like an eternal war against the monsters, their presence alone was radiant. A crowd like a sea of clouds had gathered to see the three heroes and the paladins who had defeated the Monster King. Tears of emotion welled up in the eyes of the crowd, weary from the long, arduous war. I, too, must have worn an expression no different from theirs.
“Such a crybaby.” Priestess Leah nudged me in the ribs as I sniffled, watching the three paladins stride majestically into the Grand Temple.
But how could I not shed tears at this sight? A perpetual trainee priestess of the Grand Temple, an insignificant, lowly orphan girl… and an extra, destined to be brutally killed by the rampaging heroes and become the catalyst for their awakening. All those miserable fates had now been averted!
***
I first became aware of my past life when I was ten years old. I was one of the pitiful orphans from the back alleys, taken in by the Grand Temple. The priests of the Grand Temple gave their affection equally to all the orphans. However, due to my unyielding nature, I couldn’t gracefully accept that affection. And so…
“She’s incredibly stiff, freeloading off our sympathy. She needs to know her place; she acts like she’s some noble’s youngest daughter.”
I was often subjected to such rebukes from the volunteers.
“Hey, isn’t your mom a wh*re and your dad a p*mp?”
I endured v*lgar taunts from the other orphans I was raised with. They were adept at teasing me with crude words they’d picked up from who knows where. It was something I could usually ignore, and that day was no different.
However, that day was particularly unlucky. When I continued to ignore them, an enraged, bulky boy threw a rock at my head. Struck by the well-aimed stone, I stumbled and hit my head on an old tree, losing consciousness. That day, I became aware of my past life.
I realized that my current life was within a novel, and that I was a lowly extra, destined to be brutally killed by the heroes and become the catalyst for their awakening. In a way, the day my head was cracked open by a rock was the luckiest day of my life. If I hadn’t become aware, I would have met the future of being brutally killed by the very heroes who saved the world.
For three days, I remained unconscious, lost in a dream, reliving my past life and the contents of the novel I had read there. From the day I regained consciousness in bed, I changed. Adelina, the sullen little girl with no redeeming qualities, became a master of survival, struggling to live.
“…It’s been a long time, such a long time….”
Memories of past hardships flashed through my mind, and tears welled up. As I dabbed at my moistened eyes with the hem of my white priestly robe and murmured in a choked voice, Priestess Leah’s expression became sympathetic.
“Yes… the suffering of the Imperial citizens has been long indeed.”
My inner thoughts were different, but I didn’t feel the need to correct her. I simply nodded and looked towards the altar where the High Priest stood, at the end of the majestic hall where the three heroes were walking. Beside the High Priest stood two dazzlingly beautiful young people, a man and a woman. The beautiful blonde twins were the Crown Prince and Princess, children of the Rubelon Empire’s Emperor, and that jewel-like princess was the heroine of this harrowing adult novel—Hestia Nox Rubelon.
The heroine of that particular novel, who purifies the three heroes who were driven mad by the Monster King’s tainted blood, accepted them wholly into her body, despite them having massacred everyone gathered in the temple.
The very one who, after agonizing over taking in three incredibly strong and virile men all by herself, eventually awakens to pleasure and welcomes a polyamorous ending with them all.
The effort I put into finding her early on, ensuring she grew up well, and even getting her noticed by the male protagonists could fill ten books.
The words I hammered into the male protagonists’ heads, warning them against consuming the Monster King’s blood, even if the heavens split in two or their limbs were severed, could fill an entire library if written on books.
The human will to live is truly this great. I am truly, without a doubt, a testament to human triumph.
After that long period of hardship, the end is finally in sight. Their clear, untainted eyes are proof that they didn’t consume the Monster King’s blood and completed their expedition cleanly. I’ve really worked hard, haven’t I?
My nose stung, and I sniffled. Unable to contain her emotions any longer, Priestess Leah began to weep, moved by my sniffling. She told me not to cry, and yet….
Almost simultaneously with the tears flowing down Priestess Leah’s wrinkled eyes, a wave of emotion spread through the crowd. People began to sniffle and wipe their eyes. Although their emotion was somewhat different from mine, I had no intention of stopping them.
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