Vol 1 - Chapter 2

Volume 1 Chapter 2

I recalled what happened a few days ago.

I was suddenly summoned by Father, who is the present head of the Cradeel* Household, and he commanded me to ‘attend to the Incompetent God.’

“Father, what do you mean by this!? Isn’t it the job of the Saintess to attend to the deities!!”

Aside from my father and I, a few priests from the Shrine were also present in the room, but I ignored them.

I pressed my father for an answer, disregarding stuff such as a young lady’s demeanor.

“I’m not even a Saintess, so why do I have to do something like serving the Incompetent God!? Besides, why do I have to be Amalda’s substitute!!”

“Saying ‘something like serving the Incompetent God’… That’s cruel, Eleanor.”

A maiden’s voice trembling in fury interrupted us.

When I turned around, it was the root of all evil – er, my childhood acquaintance. Amalda Ridge was the young lady of the baron household, and she was glaring at me.

“Even if he is incompetent, even if he had that appearance, he is…Crail-sama is still a deity. You should rejoice that you will be able to serve beside him.”

Amalda – no, the new Saintess Amalda-sama bravely said that while flipping her flaxen hair and placing her hand on her chest, which was abundantly full despite her petite stature.

I am not particularly tall, but because of Amalda’s shortness, she naturally had to look up at me.

Tears welled up in her blue eyes, and she bit her lip in an attempt to stop them from falling – Amalda was truly the perfect Saintess-sama.

I lowered my face, which had the words ‘I won’t back down!’ written all over it, and gritted my teeth.

‘Easy for you to say!’

Indeed, what Amalda said was correct.

Even if it was only hypothetical, addressing one of the deities protecting the country as “Incompetent God” was rude.

That deity also had the name “Crail” after all, so he should be addressed as such.

But –

Amalda, of all people, said that!? This was all her fault in the first place!!

Presently, taking care of the deities was an honorable job that only the Saintess was allowed to do.

A saintess was someone chosen directly by the deities, and considered as the partner appointed to be beside them.

Amalda was the saintess chosen by the Incompetent God.

During the ceremony of the Saintess Selection the other day, the oracle did say that ‘Amalda will become the Saintess of Crail-sama” – and that should have happened.

‘I never heard of someone being chosen by a different god immediately afterward!’

The next day after the oracle was handed down to Amalda, a new oracle came, stating that another deity desired Amanda.

Her partner was the Supreme God, the one who governed all the deities. He was Grand Verite-sama, the king of deities said to possess great looks and wisdom.

Of course, the Shrine unhesitantly decided that Amalda would be sent to Grand Verite-sama.

In that case, however, it was only natural that Incompetent God – er, Crail-sama would be left over.

Aside from the fact that his name appeared in the oracle, there was no way the Shrine could ignore his existence.

As a result, I was chosen among many people for some reason.

“Sorry it was abrupt, Eleanor – Nor-chan. I can understand Nor-chan’s surprise. I do not have any ill intention in saying this to you, but.… Nor-chan always wanted to be a saintess, right? And yet, your magical powers are insufficient… You did not have the talent for this, so you gave up, didn’t you?”

After saying that, Amalda casted her eyes down in sadness for a moment.

I’m sure she didn’t have an inkling that I inwardly  thought, ‘My bad for not having that talent, then!’

Amalda bit her lips as if saying she was also regretful, and shook her head.

“If the magical power is insufficient, she will not be able to endure the deities’ powerful divine energy, so she couldn’t serve as a Saintess. I know Nor-chan felt sad that you can’t become the Saintess, but it cannot be helped. It’s not suited for you. Despite that, I know that Nor-chan really wanted to be the Saintess. That’s why –”

While saying those words, Amalda raised her head, with an expression that looked as if she already prepared herself.

Seemed like she no longer wanted to stop her tears.

She stared at me directly with her eyes still wet.

“That’s why I recommended Nor-chan. If it’s Crail-sama’s divine energy, I believe Nor-chan’s limited magical power can also stand it, right? I thought this would be the only way Nor-chan can become a Saintess.”

“Besides”, Amalda continued on.

I no longer wanted to reply.

“For me, all the deities are equally precious, but apparently, that is not the case for other people.

Sadly, there are people who would flee irresponsibly because they did not want to serve an incompetent and ugly god…I do not want to leave the deity who chose me to the hands of such people.”

But if it’s Nor-chan.

While saying those things, Amalda stiffened her adorable face.

Amalda raised her head without hiding the traces of her tears, and with strong conviction, she fixed her gaze on me – her appearance truly befitting her title as the Saintess.

“That is why, I will entrust this to Nor-chan, my best friend. If it’s Nor-chan, I’m sure you will do a splendid job as my substitute. I believe it would be so… Even if your partner is someone hated by others to the point of fleeing, right?”

Afterward, she smiled as if she was free from any worldly desire, and all the priests surrounding her exclaimed in admiration.

“What profound thinking..”

“It is truly a beautiful friendship.”

“We can only entrust this to Eleanor-sama, then.”

I scoffed at the buzzing voices.

Indeed, Amalda’s words made sense.

It was answer reflecting her concern toward her dear friend who wanted to be a Saintess and the ugly, incompetent god.

Offering your bosom friend to an ugly partner would cause you extraordinary distress. Thus, it would become a big deal if you were to decide it was for the best despite being troubled.

It was a warm friendship between two women that was sure to make you cry. But –

‘I don’t remember being best friends with you!!!’

It was a story suitable for bosom buddies who have a great understanding of each other.

She was my childhood playmate as a matter of unpleasant necessity, but Amalda and I were not friends.

Making decisions in anguish and whatnot, I wish you don’t selfishly offer somebody else on your own.

Besides, Amalda, even though you cunningly became the Supreme God’s Saintess, how dare you push me to a deity that was exactly the opposite.

Rather than beautiful friendship, it’s nothing more than getting rid of the nuisance.

So even if you cry, even if you show a dignified smile, you’re still abandoning me.

“Why do I have to become Amalda’s substitute!!’

I screamed inwardly, but the opponent is the current Saintess-sama. The Shrine priests were also present.

I couldn’t retort impudently, so I turned my eyes to my father, imploring him to save me.

“Father!”

Please do something about this!’

I looked at my father pleadingly, but his frail body quivered and he answered me in a languid voice.

“…Please understand, Eleanor. This is already set in stone. Please consider that you’re doing this for Amalda, your best friend …Go serve the Incompetent God.”

She was absolutely not my best friend.

However, because of Father’s words –

I understood perfectly that I couldn’t refuse.

–––––––

T/N: Aah, I hate Amalda already. Can’t decide if she’s a GTB or a WL, maybe both lol. And oh, that father! Grr. Oh well, thanks to her self-righteous prattle, our ML and MC will have the chance to meet, though. So thanks, Amalda, keep up the good work! (o_o)/

*Cradeel was translated as Kuradeel in Sword Art Online. Should I do the same? Which di you prefer? :O

Few honorifics to note:

-sama: used to express the highest form of respect

-chan: cutesy honorific used for girls (and little boys) and in nicknames, as well

I usually omit honorifics depending on the context, but in this novel, I had to use them to express the characters reverence to the deities better 🙂

Hi everyone, Hanazakura here, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Releases for I Was Forced by the Saintess to Marry the Ugly God will be <b>every Tuesday starting next week</b> . This is temporary, I will do my best to update more frequently soon.

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