Lucan, yawning and sitting on a chair with half-closed eyes, opened them fully as he saw a ten-year-old girl walking into the temple.
The girl had pink hair, though it was covered with dust, and she wore shabby clothes. Dust and bruises marked her hands, making her appear like a poor child who had been bullied by others. In fact, that was exactly what had happened.
"Um... Can I pray?" the pink-haired girl quietly asked.
"What?" Lucan, with one eye open, looked at her. "Speak a bit louder."
"I... want to pray," she said, a bit louder but still not enough for Lucan to hear clearly.
"I can't hear you; you have to be louder."
"I want to pray."
"Pray? Oh, then go and do it. Why are you even asking me this?"
Lucan frowned and waved his hand dismissively.
"Um... thank you," the girl said and then went forward, kneeling in front of the goddess statue.
Lucan closed his eyes, wanting to sleep. He had stayed up late the previous night reading novel, so he was feeling sleepy.
As he was drifting off, he felt a strange energy around him. When he opened one eye, he saw that a strange light was gathering around the girl.
"This isn't supposed to happen," Lucan thought for a moment. Suddenly, he felt wide awake as certain game memories from his past life came flooding back.
Lucan wasn't from this world but from Earth. On Earth, he was an ordinary man with a dream, and to achieve his dream, he worked hard every day.
Lucan's dream was to gain enough money to fulfill all his needs, and to have money for games and anime. He worked hard for several years at a company before he was able to save enough to quit his job and live without any financial worries.
He was happy and about to quit his job when he died. After his death, he found himself in this fantasy world and thought that, like in novels, manga, or anime, he would get awesome powers and beautiful women, but he got nothing.
He was just the second son of the Ironfist family. Initially, he thought it was still great because he believed he wouldn't have to work and could live a life of luxury, but his dream was crushed when he learned that only the eldest son could have luxuries while the others had to become commoners and work hard.
Lucan absolutely didn't want to work anymore. He had worked for several years to achieve his ideal life in the past life but died, and now in this new world, he had to work again. He refused, but he had no other option.
Luckily, his mother arranged for him to be a priest in this unknown city. All he had to do was look after the temple, and food and shelter were provided by the people's donations. So, he got a life where he didn't have to work.
However, this life was boring. He hoped this world had some games or anime, but there were no such things. There were some novels, so it wasn't entirely boring.
Anyway, he had a boring life, but now, looking at this girl, if his memories were right, then this girl was the protagonist of the story "Saint of the World."
Her name was Maris Dale, and she was the daughter of a rich merchant. However, she was the child of a one-night stand the rich merchant had. A year ago, her mother died, so her father took her into the main house.
Because she was the child of a one-night stand with some unknown origin, her stepmother and sisters bullied her a lot. They didn't give her enough food or new clothes.
As such, even though she was from a rich household, she lived like a poor child. Even her father, who knew of this situation, ignored her.
Now, she was here, awakening her saint's power.
"What should I do?" Lucan touched his chin and thought, "What would be the best thing to do to keep me entertained?"