The new saint felt miserable. Her life somehow felt like an absurd joke.

"Father, mother... what do I do now?" she asked, looking blankly, her eyes tearful.

The ceremony ended, and the temple expelled everyone, without exception. Every person inside the temple returned to the place they had entered.

The new saint returned to her hometown's temple and collapsed.

Those from the same village who had witnessed the ceremony and knew the truth also returned and saw the new saint in shock. They were still recovering; however, some kneeled and lowered their heads.

The villagers who had not attended the ceremony looked at them in confusion, not understanding the situation. A deathly silence enveloped the temple.

"Ah, two weeks ago, I scolded him for stealing apples... will I be imprisoned?" someone lamented.

"I changed his diapers, I can assure you, he's a boy," whispered a middle-aged woman to another.

"This village will have new festivities, how annoying," the village chief slapped his face in frustration.

The thoughts of many were in chaos. A boy they had known all their lives, seen naked, scolded, and was a cheeky bandit was now the mother of all races. Even the kings could not speak to him as an equal.

The thoughts of the new saint's parents were also in chaos. Their son, who was the fruit of their love and was rude and crude, now had the role of embodying terms like purity and the beloved daughter of the goddess.

The thoughts of the new saint... became stagnant at some point in time. She was blank as she tried to remove her wig, but for some reason, she couldn't.

However, in this sea of people who had lost their composure, there was a man who remained calm.

"First things first. It won't be long before the paladins come and take Clai... sorry, the saint. You must prepare. Don't worry, I'll accompany and protect you, I promise, saint," said the village priest.

As a member of the church, he had attended the ceremony and already knew the situation.

With calmness and solemnity, he accepted the situation as the will of the goddess.

He closed his eyes and knelt before the statue of the goddess.

"Thank you, goddess! I knew you wouldn't abandon this pious child. Finally, I can leave this place. Now I'll enjoy my life in a palace! Fufufufu," he thought happily as he danced.

His faith was absolute... and so was his ambition. He would not hesitate or question the reasons. Those were not matters for mortals. He would just take advantage.

He had been stuck in this small village for 25 years and had never managed to get transferred. However, now the new saint came from the very village he was in charge of.

That could be conveniently interpreted as his teachings guiding the saint to connect with the goddess. "Subarashi!" he exclaimed.

"Me? Is this a dream? Have I become the saint? Do I have to leave? Why should I leave? I don't want to! Ouch," she still didn't want to accept the situation.

She winked with all her might at the wig, originally silver but now turned gold, but it was useless. The wig fused with her hair and radiated holy power.

Her back was soaked in sweat for the third time that day.

Fearing a disturbing thought, Clain began to check his hidden parts. He lifted his dress. He touched his chest and groin.

"No, no, no... it's still there! Great," he sighed in relief.

"Saint, calm down, that is improper of you! Remember to behave, you are a pure and righteous lady!" a drunken, mocking villager spoke.

The relief and calmness that Clain had regained evaporated upon hearing the man's voice. His eyes turned red, and he scolded.

"You, damn it. This is all your fault! You were the one who gave me the idea to carry out this nonsense! You must take responsibility somehow!"

The drunken man tipped back a mug of beer.

"Don't blame me, boy... or girl? What are you now? What a dilemma. Anyway, you were the one who took a drunkard's nonsense seriously, wahahaha," he laughed.

Clain clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He looked at his parents, who were still pale and had not said a word, searching for hope.

How did all this happen? Why did his attempt to protect lead to this chaos? The parents had no answers.

"Saint, you must accept the will of the goddess. The immense wisdom of the goddess gave you the role of the mother of the world... regardless of your gender. Perhaps this was all the goddess's plan..."

Clain listened to the priest's babble and rolled his eyes. He thought this man was hopeless.

"What plan? My sister's illness? Her inability to enter the sacred space? Tell me, priest, are you saying that everything was a plan for me to disguise myself as my twin sister and send me to the sacred space? Why would the goddess go through all that trouble? Nonsense! If I were the destined saint, I would have been born a woman, not a man!"

That's right, the new saint... the boy named Clain had not entered the ceremony to blaspheme or mock the sacred ceremony. He would never dare to. The protection of the demon king's seal and peace in the world were maintained thanks to the saint's work. The role of the saint deserved respect and reverence.

No, his actions were purely driven by pure and protective motives.

In Clain's family were his two parents, him... and his twin sister.

A common and ordinary peasant family.

They survived by managing the village's only inn.

His father was a former adventurer who traveled from place to place. One day, he rescued a young lady who had been kidnapped by goblins, who turned out to be the daughter of a viscount. They fell in love and escaped because their love was impossible.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Some time later, she became pregnant, and they settled in this small village, leaving behind the lucrative but dangerous life of adventuring.

A common and cliché story.

From their union and love, a pair of healthy and happy golden-eyed, silver-haired twins were born. A boy and a girl.

The children's growth flowed naturally.

They walked at one year old.

They spoke at two years old.

They ran at three years old.

Always inseparable.

In a village of 300 people like this, everyone knew each other, and everyone saw them grow. Every boy and girl in the village was like part of each family.

Four years ago, Clain's sister's health began to deteriorate for no apparent reason.

Mild symptoms like dizziness, body temperature spikes... until the failure of movements and a pain that seemed to consume her from the inside.

The priest, who examined her and tried to heal her, was powerless. His sacred power had no significant effects.

The girl began to suffer from long-lasting dreams of days and weeks. Every time she opened her eyes, she looked confused as if her reasoning had failed.

The mother returned to her noble family, whom she had abandoned, to kneel and ask for help, but she was rejected and expelled. Her former family rejected her for choosing to run away with a commoner.

In just one year, the girl's health reached its lowest point. She closed her eyes and never opened them again. Fortunately, she was still alive thanks to the priest's sacred power. His meager sacred power at least served for that, though she was more of a corpse than a living person.

Clain remembers the last words that came from his sister's lips.

"Clain... come... closer," she whispered.

"More... more... shit, I'm not... going to... stab you. More," Clain stepped closer.

"Wh-what do you want, you asshole? What will you tell me?" Clain asked.

His sister grabbed his neck and... kiss. She kissed him on the lips.

Clain's eyes opened wide. His heart raced in confusion. He thought she was going to slap him or something, not this! He quickly pulled away.

"Shit, gross! You're a pig! Why are you kissing me?! We're siblings, you bitch! And your mouth stinks!" Clain complained frantically. He didn't understand; nor did he want to; the mess his sister had just made.

His sister didn't say anything. She just looked at him calmly while smiling faintly.

The parents, who saw this, were stunned and covered their mouths. They never knew what to do with these twins of theirs. Always doing and getting into strange things.

Her bony finger pointed to the sword in Clain's hand. Two tears slid down her thin and pale face. Her smile reflected loneliness and a difficult decision.

"Sword... please... use it and... everything... will... end-"

Her voice was almost inaudible and hoarse. Every sound she made seemed to tear at her throat and rip away her last moments of fleeting sanity. She closed her eyes.

Clain sweated all over his body every time he remembered that moment. He tried to suppress it and not think about it.

What did his sister mean? Did she want him to kill her and end her pain? To Clain, her words meant the renouncement of her life. The will to sleep forever and escape the infernal pain.

But how could he renounce her? As a twin, he felt a deeper connection with her than with anyone else, even more than with his parents.

He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want her to die. He wanted to help her and heal her. He wanted to be her hero and for her to know that as her older brother, he would do everything he could to make sure she didn't suffer and was happy... except to be something more than siblings, that he could never do. Never!

But there was nothing he could do at that moment. They didn't have the money to go to expensive places to get her healed. There was nothing like insurance or volunteer campaigns that could cure such destructive diseases as hers.

He had to get a lot of money. So much money that he could build a castle of gold.

He remembered that the fastest way to become famous and earn a lot of money was to be an excellent swordsman. There were many ways to earn money and fame using a sword. Adventurer, knight, mercenary, bandit, raiding commerce guild branches, kidnapping the pope. Both correct and incorrect ways.

"You want me to use my sword? Fine! I'll use it."

So he decided to become a great swordsman. It would take many years, however.

He wasn't sure how long his sister would hold on and if he could achieve his goal by then.

Every day was filled with frustration and the urge to hurry. His father returned to his adventurer job. Clain occasionally accompanied him to gather more money, though the amount was miserable.

That's why when the news about the trip to the temple of the goddess was announced in the village, Clain hoped that his sister could be healed by going to that place with the sacred will of the goddess.

They were not the only ones to think this way. Many families took advantage of the ceremony to bring sick daughters or relatives to be healed. And it worked.

Some families even sold spots as companions and made a lot of money. But that's beside the point.

So they prepared his sister for entry into the place.

Their hopes were shattered.

There was one unique requirement to enter the place... to accept the goddess's welcome.

His sister, unconscious and half-dead, didn't have the capacity to accept the goddess's invitation.

And that wasn't the only problem.

"I... I don't know if it's the right time to say this, but the church asked for a list of candidates who met the conditions. I thought she could attend, so I signed her up... If she's missing, it would be considered a crime against the goddess. All of you... would fall into her maternal arms," the priest said.

As their hopes shattered, this news from the priest terrified them to death, almost literally.

"But... my sister can't attend because of her condition. We're not disrespecting the goddess," Clain replied.

The priest sighed and shook his head in resignation.

"Her inability to attend the ceremony can be seen in many ways, foolish boy."

Fearing the consequences of not attending the ceremony, they racked their brains for a solution.

"What if we escape? Remember? Like when we fell in love and you took me...," suggested Clain's mother.

"I don't think that's an option. Once they start looking for us, we'll already be dead," Clain's father explained, somewhat embarrassed by the exposure of his intimate past.

An enemy wanted for a crime against the goddess was already a dead man; he just didn't know it yet.

The time for the ceremony approached.

The drunkard burped, half asleep, and said, "What's the problem? Aren't you a dead ringer for your sister? You're more of a girl than a boy. Why don't you pass yourself off as your sister? There's no difference!"

Everyone looked at the drunkard as if he were an idiot. Wouldn't that get them into more trouble? They wondered. A second later, they looked at Clain. In fact, anyone would confuse him for a girl. A beautiful girl who could even break sacred vows.

They began to consider the idea more and more. They were already in a life-or-death situation. Nothing could be worse.

The rules for who would be allowed into the goddess's temple were simple.

They must accept the invitation.Each candidate between the ages of 5 and 16 can have a companion, though it is not mandatory. This is for the girls' peace of mind.

However, if you're a candidate and don't attend... the paladins would visit your home. That's why the list of girls who met the conditions was verified to avoid prohibiting them from participating or them refusing to attend.

Desperate situations call for desperate measures.

"But how am I supposed to enter? I didn't receive the goddess's invitation, I'm not a girl!" Clain replied.

"There are two orphans here. You can accompany one of them, anyway, they have no one," the drunkard rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the girls who was watching everything like it was a show.

"Why is it so hard for you to think? Life's about finding solutions, damn it!" the drunkard grumbled and fell asleep in a corner of the temple.

That's how Clain entered the ceremony, substituting for his sister.

Now he regretted it with every fiber of his being.

"I'm an idiot. My past self is an idiot. My sister is an idiot. My ancestors are idiots. My future children will be idiots. I don't even want to think about the consequences if they find out I'm not a girl," he lamented.

The world's faith was based on the goddess and her representative, the saint.

One of the common sense commandments of the faith of this world was: - The saint is always a woman.

The goddess uses the saint as a vessel for her power to represent her will.

Therefore, the saint is the incarnation of the goddess, her image.

But then, he appeared. A boy who became the saint. Conspiracy stories wouldn't take long to appear.

"No, I must not let anyone else find out my gender. I have to avoid it," he decided.

As he clenched his fist and made a determined decision, one of the orphans touched her chin and spoke.

"Clain, don't just look at the bad side. Now you have sacred powers and as a saint, they must be very strong. Can't you try to heal your sister?" asked the girl with brown hair, about the same age as Clain. She had a mole under her left eye.

Next to the girl was another one, but with a mole under her right eye.

They were the orphans, who were also twins.

Clain slapped his head, realizing. All the problems he had been thinking about blinded his thoughts. Of course! I didn't think of this! He felt that the future would be beautiful.

Two seconds later, he frowned.

"These powers... How do I use them? I don't feel anything."