CHAPTER 02
In my previous life, I was a tarot master.
I listened to my clients’ worries and, through tarot cards, guided them toward the path they should take.
That was my job.
It was not as if I had some special spiritual power that let me see the future.
My role was simply to interpret the meaning of the cards my clients drew and apply them to their current situation.
So there was no way tarot cards could be a sacred relic. More importantly, an object from my previous life should not even exist in this world.
‘Then what on earth is that?’
No matter how I looked at it, the thing inside the glass case was a tarot deck.
The very same one I had used in my previous life.
It was so familiar that there was no way I could mistake it. I had no choice but to swallow my confusion.
“Ria, what’s wrong? Could it be…?”
Robellina looked between me and the cards, her eyes slowly widening. It seemed she had noticed that I recognized them.
‘No! At this rate, I’m going to become the Saint!’
According to the original story, Robellina was supposed to become the saint.
I did not know why the sacred relic, which was originally supposed to be a holy water jug, had suddenly turned into a tarot deck. But one thing was certain.
The saint had to be Robellina.
I grabbed her hand and led her closer to the cards. Then I turned to her with hopeful eyes.
“Rina, don’t you feel anything when you look at these cards?”
Please.
I prayed that Robellina would recognize the tarot deck.
But my prayer was rejected before it could even reach God.
“I don’t know. I don’t feel anything.”
At her shaking head, my heart felt like it dropped to the floor.
Maybe it showed on my face because Robellina looked at me carefully.
“Actually, Ria, you’re the one who—”
“Th-this card…!”
A voice of astonishment came from the side, and I quickly turned my head.
The other Saint candidates had also gathered in front of the glass case and were examining the cards. And among them, one person stood out the most.
A woman with flowing golden hair.
Sierra.
She stared at the tarot deck inside the case, her red eyes trembling.
“I felt something when I looked at this card!”
“Is that true, Candidate Sierra?”
Even Cardinal Dale looked at her in surprise.
‘That’s impossible.’
I was not fooled by Sierra’s dramatic reaction. In the original story, she was nothing more than a minor villain. There was no way she could recognize the tarot deck.
It was practically an object from another world. How could she possibly know what it was?
‘She’s putting on a show.’
Fortunately, no one immediately declared, “Then Sierra must be the saint!”
Cardinal Dale decided to confirm it first.
“Candidate Sierra, what exactly did you feel when you looked at the card?”
“Just as Your Eminence said earlier, I felt as though this card belonged to me.”
“Then do you know how to use it?”
“Th-that is…”
It seemed she had not thought that far. Sierra trailed off, looking flustered.
Every sacred relic had its own unique power.
There were stories of one relic that brought rain to dry lands and another that made it easy to defeat monsters.
In the original story, the sacred relic was a water jug. Through it, Robellina awakened healing powers.
‘Compared to that, my tarot cards have no special abilities.’
As I thought that, a possibility suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Wait. If that really is a sacred relic, then even I only know that it’s a tarot deck. I don’t know its abilities either. That means I’m not the Saint, right?’
I almost let out a relieved sigh.
But then I remembered that Robellina had not recognized it at all.
‘Then why didn’t Robellina…?’
Could it be that the sacred relic was wrong?
“Hmm. Perhaps it would be best to take the relic out and examine it directly.”
Since no one, including Sierra, could properly answer, Cardinal Dale stepped forward. He opened the glass case and carefully took the tarot deck out.
He placed it on his palm as though it were the most precious treasure in the world, then began showing it to each candidate in turn.
He was especially cautious in front of Sierra.
“Candidate Sierra, do you still feel what you described earlier?”
Sierra bit her lip as she looked at the deck in his hands.
“…No. I don’t feel anything.”
“I see.”
Without hesitation, Cardinal Dale moved on.
Sierra, having effectively lost her chance, trembled as she clenched her fists.
“Candidate Robellina, Candidate Elia, what about you?”
“I do not feel anything either.”
Robellina answered honestly without delay.
Part of me wanted to scream, ‘Look a little longer!’ But Cardinal Dale had already stopped in front of me, so I had to clear my thoughts.
I stared at the tarot deck he held out.
‘Hmm. As expected, I don’t know.’
I smiled brightly and replied,
“I’m not sure either. Your Eminence, perhaps the sacred relic has been mistaken for—”
Flash—
Suddenly, the tarot deck burst into light, illuminating the entire room.
As the light rushed toward me, my vision flickered. Shocked voices echoed around me, but I could not make out what they were saying.
In the middle of the chaos, I heard it clearly.
—…at last.
‘What?’
A warm voice echoed in my mind. Its tone was filled with joy.
I could not catch the full sentence, but I could feel the emotion within it.
It was like someone who had waited a long time had finally found the one they were looking for.
And just as the light began to fade—
Thud.
The strength left my legs, and my consciousness started slipping away.
“Ria
“Rina…”
Even as my eyes closed, I tightly held Robellina’s hand and mouthed the words,
‘I think… I’m screwed.’
With that, I completely lost consciousness.
***
“…Huh.”
When I came to my senses, I shot upright.
This was my room. It was 7 a.m. I was still in my pajamas.
With those three clues, I reached one conclusion.
“What the heck. Was it a dream?”
That made sense. There was no way the sacred relic would suddenly turn into tarot cards and make me the saint.
Letting out a laugh, I jumped out of bed.
“This is no time for that! I’ll be late for the Saint Selection Ceremony!”
The ceremony started at 8 a.m. Remembering that, I quickly changed into my priestly robes.
After tidying my hair, I prepared to head to the Room of Selection for the final trial.
“I can’t be late. It’s the historic day Robellina becomes the saint.”
“The saint’s name is Robellina?”
“Yes! She’s my friend, and today she’ll finally become the saint—eek!”
Proudly answering as I turned around, I nearly screamed.
A strange man was sitting on my bed with his legs crossed.
‘A man in the dormitory for female priests?!’
My heart pounded wildly.
Trying my best to stay calm, I asked,
“H-how did you get in here? No, more importantly, who are you?”
“Me? I used magic.”
“Magic? Are you a mage?”
“Yep.”
He answered casually, as if what he had done was completely normal.
In this world, there are two kinds of power: divine power and mana.
Both are considered mysterious, but priests who use divine power regard those who use mana as heretics.
According to temple doctrine, mana is a corrupted force born from humans worshiping the wrong power.
Those who use mana and perform various abilities are called mages.
And the man in front of me was one of them.
I did not expect him to so openly declare himself a heretic in a place that despised them.
‘I’ve never seen a mage before.’
Since transmigrating into this world, I had lived almost entirely within the temple. I had snuck out a few times, but I had never met a mage.
‘Well, I only ever went near the temple anyway.’
I looked at him with curiosity.
But it seemed I was not the only one intrigued.
“You’re not even on guard after I said I’m a mage?”
“Huh? Oh, I don’t really have prejudice against that kind of thing.”
“…Are you really a priest? From your perspective, I’m a heretic. You can just brush that off as ‘no prejudice’?”
He stared at me in disbelief.
Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched my cheek.
“Well, I guess so.”
“Fine. You’re strange, but whatever.”
“I’m not that strange…”
“Anyway, where’s the Saint? I came to see her.”
His tone made it sound as if he had come to see some rare exhibit.
I froze for a moment.
“From what you said, her name is Robellina. Where is she now?”
“…What are you planning to do to the Saint?”
“Nothing at all. I’m just here out of pure curiosity.”
He shrugged at my suspicious glare.
As I continued staring at him warily, something suddenly clicked in my mind.
‘Wait.’
A mage. And he came just to see the Saint out of curiosity.
There was a main character in the early part of the original story with those exact traits.
‘No way… the Magic Tower Master?’
One of the male lead candidates.
The Master of the Magic Tower, Nine Oferte.
