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I was once a hollow saint – chapter 1

「Tiana, you truly are beyond incompetent.」

「I’m…really sorry」

I hung my head low and placed my hands on the chilly floor.

The Great Saintess Sylvia-sama, standing in front of me, looked at me and snorted in disgust.

「fufufu, well, our Tiana here has very little magical power, please cut her some slack.」

「I can’t help but wonder why she is still in the same position as us as a saint」.

I can hear two saints like me giggling at Sylvia-sama’s side.

「Even though she’s just a hollow saint.」

Such remarks cut like thorns into my heart, making it ache.

─ ─ I, Tiana Everett, am one of the saints of the Kingdom of Fallon.

I was born with the holy magic attribute that only saints can use and an enormous amount of magical power, so I was taken in by the temple when I was two years old.

I was said to be a candidate for the next great saintess, but my magical power has dwindled through the years, and now, at the age of seventeen, it has almost completely dried up.

Despite my status as a saint, I was unable to heal anyone’s illness or injury, exorcise demons, form wards, or purify the land.

「You useless piece of shit, get the hell out of my sight.」

「I’m….sorry」’

My days are spent cleaning and doing laundry as I endure insults and beatings from others around me. I spend my time hiding out at the temple because the public would get uneasy if news spread that the saints’ power could have been lost.

I have come to be known as the “incompetent hollow saint” in the Temple of Fallon.

(Why did I lose my magical power?)

Magical power may increase with age and growth, but it never decreases. I had no idea what was going on with me, and despite being a saint, I was claimed to be punished and cursed.

「……!」

A sharp pain shoots through my body as I am stepped on the back of my hand by a high heel. I had no choice but to bite my lip and endure the pain, because resisting or running away would only make Sylvia-sama even more upset.

(I am helpless and weak, I can only apologize, I can only endure in this way.)

「You should be thankful to me for placing you, who can do nothing, in the temple as a saint.」

「Thank you, thank you……」

I was able to twist my words of gratitude as Sylvia-sama ordered me to raise my face.

When I slowly raised my face, my gaze locked with that of Sylvia-sama, whose red lips were arched.

I have lived with Sylvia-sama since before I can remember, but I have never seen her smile at me.

I had an incredibly bad feeling.

「But that is all over for today. I’m going to give you a great job.」

I was puzzled as to what she meant, but Sylvia-sama continued,

「You will go to the Reavis Empire, of course, as a saint of our country.」

「What?……」

I gasped, and across from me, I noticed the two saints standing beside Sylvia-sama pouting.

The Reavis Empire is a kingdom not far from here that formerly produced many saints and great saintesses and was more prosperous than any other.

However, after the death of the former great saintess, no saints were born, the number of demons increased, plagues spread, crops did not grow, and now people call it “the cursed land.”

I have heard that, because of this, there is a widespread tendency to disrespect the empire.

（w, what’s …… the point of me going to such a country as a saint with no power?)

「Sylvia-sama, even if Tiana went to such a country, there is nothing she could do, is there not?」

「You’d be right about that. But His Majesty insists on sending the saint alone to the empire. So I can’t go against what he said and send you two with her.」

Saints were highly valued in every country.

In our country, we have the Great Saintess Sylvia-sama and three other saints, including me, but I’ve heard that in other countries, having only one saint is ideal.

But who am I kidding? I am a failure as a saint. I don’t deserve to be counted as one of them.

「And our Tiana here is a saint with the attribute of holy magic. No one can deny that.」

「She is indeed. Her magical power is pitifully low though.」

「But, but, isn’t that going to be a problem for the empire?」

When I expressed my opinion in a fearful manner, Sylvia-sama dismissed it as if it was nothing.

「Even if the empire is in trouble, it won’t affect us in any way. That empire will crumble on its own anyway even if we left it alone.」

「That’s…..!」

「You’ve never been able to do anything before, but for the first time you’ll be useful to our country. Rejoice!」

My vision blurred with despair, and my eyes went black.

It was obvious how I would be treated if I went to a country that was suffering and seeking help from the saints, and I could do nothing to help them.

(I might incur the wrath of the entire country, and if I did poorly, I might end up worse off than I am now. ……)

I shuddered at the mere thought of it and pleaded with Lady Sylvia to reconsider.

「Oh, please, please,… I’ll do anything but that, anything…. ugh!」

But Sylvia-sama hit me with all her might with her rod, and I collapsed to the floor.

「What do you mean “I’ll do anything?! ” Need I remind you of how useless you are? You got some nerve saying that」

「….kuh kuh kuh…”」

Sylvia-sama approached me, grabbed me by the hair, and pulled my face close to hers.

「Three days. Three days from now and the Empire will come for you, so get ready. You know what will happen if you try and run away, don’t you? Come on, you two, we’re leaving.」

「We will continue to do our best in this place for Sylvia-sama!」

「But I don’t want Tiana to be gone, because then there would be no one to take care of the rods.」

「Yeah, it’s a shame, I used to polish them with what little holy magic she had.」

I was rolling around on the floor, staring at the three of them as they left, talking happily, and tears streamed down my cheeks.

「What should I do?….」

My murmurs did not reach anyone’s ears and silently vanished into thin air.