Chapter 1: Episode 1

It was when I was fifteen that I recalled my reincarnation.

“…It’s Saintess Rearing, isn’t it?”

There was a mobile game I used to play often in my past life.

‘Saintess Rearing’.

A simple game where there were many saintesses, and you combined them well to defeat demons.

As it was a game I liked, I had even grasped its worldview, so I was able to realize it.

…that this world was the world of Saintess Rearing.

Upon realizing this fact, I immediately went to see my father.

“Father! I want to learn the sword!”

I went to my father and immediately prostrated myself, begging to learn the sword.

“…?”

My father tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand my words.

Such a reaction from my father was natural.

My name in this life was Yuren Garcia. I was the only male child of the Garcia Count family.

In other words, the successor.

And this Garcia Count family. They were a famous merchant family that had made a name for themselves across the continent.

A typical merchant-turned-noble family that had accumulated wealth throughout their lives, becoming aristocrats thanks to that wealth.

That was the Garcia Count family.

As a merchant family, and being the only male child, I had learned about business strategies from my father since childhood, and I had told him numerous times that I would become a merchant.

But for that son to suddenly want to learn the sword.

It was understandable that my father would be flustered by his son’s sudden whim.

“The sword, all of a sudden. Is there a specific reason you want to learn it?”

“The world is a dangerous place these days, isn’t it? What if I encounter a demon while traveling for trade? I should at least have a means to protect myself.”

“There are many escort knights within the family.”

“Yes, I know. But there are still unforeseen circumstances, aren’t there?”

“Hmm… that’s true.”

The current world was indeed very fitting for the phrase ‘dangerous world’.

Perhaps because it was a world where the game was in full swing, demons and their worshippers kept invading this world.

Bad guys were disturbing the world.

There was a real possibility of encountering a demon while on a trade journey.

If that happened, at that moment, it would be the end of my life.

I absolutely needed a means to protect myself.

However, that wasn’t why I wanted to learn the sword.

A new goal and purpose had emerged for me, who had recalled memories of my past life.

‘I’m going to become a Hero…!’

A Hero referred to a being chosen by a god.

While there’s a strong modern perception that only one person can be a Hero at a time.

In this world, that concept was different.

As the game was online, there were many players—in other words, many Heroes in this world.

I had met and heard of over a hundred Heroes alone.

If you consider Heroes with some renown, there were over a thousand.

And if you include Heroes whose fame wasn’t known, there would easily be over ten thousand at least.

Heroes were that common.

And that meant.

‘That I, too, could become a Hero if I was lucky.’

Before recalling my past life’s memories, I had thought Heroes were fools who courted danger, but now, my thoughts were different.

I genuinely wanted to become a Hero.

I wanted to become a Hero and embark on adventures with the charming saintesses from the game.

This was why I intended to learn the sword.

It is said that.

‘In Saintess Rearing, a Hero becomes stronger simply by forming a party with good saintesses.’

Because saintesses fundamentally grant ‘Traits’ to Heroes.

To use an analogy, a Hero is a blank canvas, and a saintess is paint.

A good saintess, aside from her individual strength, referred to one who could dye the Hero’s canvas with paint of good colors.

In short, a Hero’s strength varied greatly depending on the saintess with whom they formed a party.

However, even if one became that strong, the limits could be seen as clear.

‘Because Saintess Rearing was also a game where player control was important.’

That’s why I’m learning the sword.

If one had good traits and excellent personal abilities, they would quickly stand out among other Heroes.

And a standout Hero had the advantage of being able to form a party with any good saintess they desired.

“…Can’t I?”

I gave my father a piteous look. I even forced out tears.

It might look like I was throwing a tantrum, which was unpleasant, but I was fifteen.

It was an age where it was perfectly acceptable to throw tantrums.

Furthermore, having been born a son in the Garcia family, which was blessed with good fortune, my father’s answer to my request was as good as set.

“…I’ll arrange for the most famous swordsman in the Empire to be your master!”

“Thank you, Father!!!”

****

First, to become a Hero, several preparations were needed.

The first step.

‘Believe in a god.’

A Hero, by definition, is a being born from a god’s choice. Therefore, believing in a god was essential.

What was important here was ‘which god’ one believed in.

As it was a world with countless saintesses, there were also countless religions, and a god existed for even the most trivial phenomena and actions.

In fact.

There were even cases where a country girl helping with farm work first encountered dice gambling, and at that moment, she was chosen by the God of Dice Gambling, becoming a ‘Tazza Saintess’.

There were that many types of gods, and I, aiming to become a Hero, had to choose one from among them.

“There’s no need to particularly worry.”

I had already decided the moment I resolved to become a Hero.

‘In Saintess Rearing, the game mechanic to pay attention to was the myriad of saintess characters and their corresponding combinations.’

For example, the combination of a Water-attribute Saintess and a Fire-attribute Saintess was the worst, while the combination of a Fire-attribute Saintess and a Wind-attribute Saintess was good.

Similar to how it was bad for a Hero, whose weapon was a sword, to be paired with a saintess who increased ‘Blunt Weapon Skill’ traits.

In this sense, party composition was an extremely important element in Saintess Rearing.

And the god I chose to maximize these combinations was.

‘Eleanor, Goddess of Harmony and Oaths.’

Eleanor, the Goddess of Harmony and Oaths.

A Hero chosen by Goddess Eleanor becomes an exceptionally blank canvas, even among other blank canvases.

An exceptionally blank canvas meant that the traits granted by saintesses could be maximized.

Of course, the drawbacks were also clear.

The penalties from disharmonious and incorrect combinations were extremely severe.

Despite these drawbacks, they posed no problem for me.

Because I knew what a good saintess was, and which saintesses needed to gather to form a good combination.

“If I’ve decided, I should act immediately.”

After organizing my thoughts, I went to find the Church of Harmony and Oaths, abbreviated as the JoMaeng Church.

And that very day, I became an honorary devotee.

The reason I became an honorary devotee in just one day?

That was—.

“Hahaha, Brother, your sincerity must have surely reached Goddess Eleanor.”

It was the offerings.

****

The second step to becoming a Hero.

Prayer.

While making monthly offerings, I also prayed daily.

‘Please make me a Hero! You definitely won’t regret it, Goddess!!!’

It was a materialistic prayer, but it likely wasn’t a bad condition even for Eleanor, the Goddess of Harmony and Oaths.

After all, the Hero she chose would be the one to defeat the Demon King.

Furthermore, separate from this daily routine.

A new task was added to my schedule.

Sword training.

My father succeeded in inviting a master for me.

But.

It seemed my father had put too much effort into it.

“This is the sword master you wanted. I brought her here with great difficulty, so you’d better do well.”

“…Count Garcia, are you saying this boy is the child I am to teach?”

“Please take good care of him, Lady Helna.”

“Hmm…”

Burning red hair. That powerful gaze that made one breathless just by looking at them.

And finally, even the name ‘Helna’.

I felt a shiver.

It wasn’t because my master was someone who exuded an intimidating aura, seeming strong even by appearance.

I… knew this person.

‘The Sword Maiden is my master!’

In terms of rank, she was one of the S-class Saintesses. A saintess with the epithet ‘Sword Maiden’.

Her position was vanguard.

She was a woman with excellent sword skills, befitting her epithet.

“Please take good care of me from now on!!!”

It was my first time facing a named Saintess.

However, the only flaw was that she was somewhat different from the ‘Sword Maiden’ I truly wanted to meet.

“Oh-ho. For a merchant’s son, you have quite a good voice. Ah… is it because you’re a merchant’s son that your voice is good?”

Unlike her youthful appearance, a deep, aged aura emanated from her way of speaking.

…That’s right.

Helna’s epithet ‘Sword Maiden’ had one more word attached to it.

That was ‘Former’.

In short, she wasn’t the ‘Sword Maiden’ but the ‘Former Sword Maiden’.

Since Helna’s daughter had inherited the epithet ‘Sword Maiden’, Helna was now the ‘Former Sword Maiden’.

‘…But for someone who even has a child, isn’t calling her a ‘Maiden’ a bit unethical?’

“…Your gaze is displeasing.”

As if she had read my impolite thoughts, Helna, my (soon-to-be) master, frowned and glared at me.

“Pardon?”

“It’s a displeasing gaze, I mean.”

‘…Hmm, is it that bad?’

My eyes were very thin, like my father’s, but they shouldn’t give off such a bad impression.

I looked at my father, hoping he would refute Helna’s words.

But my father simply averted his gaze.

‘…Really? Even my son-doting father is reacting like that?’

Unaware of my troubled feelings, Helna continued speaking indifferently.

“Though I have become blind to money and will teach you, if you have no talent, I intend to quit immediately. I have conveyed this to Count Garcia as well.”

“…Really?”

To confirm the truth, I looked at my father once more.

My father, who had by then turned his gaze to me, nodded, letting me know that the words of the Former Sword Maiden were true.

“Pick up a sword.”

“But, I don’t even know how to hold it yet?”

“Let me tell you in advance, I detest useless questioning. Make sure I don’t have to say something more than once.”

Gulp…!

For now, following the Former Sword Maiden’s words, I awkwardly picked up a sword and aimed it.

Praying that I had talent.

Helna, who had been silently observing for a long time, had a faint smile appear on her lips.

“…You’re quite capable.”

At Helna’s sudden praise, a simple thought—’I had talent in swordsmanship after all’—came to mind, and at the same time, I looked favorably upon Master Helna, but.

‘Is this right?’

…From the very first day of training, that thought was completely overturned.

“Not yet! Keep running!! Effort and perseverance never betray you!!!”

Helna’s training method was simple beyond measure, but its intensity was insane.

She was someone who, from the very first day of training, made me undergo such intense training that my entire body felt like it was melting.

“Hah… ugh…!”

I had forgotten how many laps I had run by now.

I was out of breath and dizzy. The whole world was spinning.

“He-Helna… M-m-master…! N-now… I-I’ve reached my limit…!”

“No. Yuren, as long as coherent words are coming out of your mouth, you haven’t reached your limit yet. So stop talking and keep running!!!”

On the first day of training.

I experienced fainting while running for the very first time in my life.