The Human Saint Is Bored, So I Was Summoned To Another World

**Madelaine**

It is said that the gates of heaven were pearly white, and its streets are made of gold…

"…"

However, I could only give a glance to those supposedly 'precious' things. I don't even care about those.

"…"

Because, in all honesty, I don't need them. A rich and powerful husband? A big, opulent house in the country? Maids and guards that attend to my daily needs?

Those are trivial things compared to what I've found…

I've got someone who understands and stands up for me. Even though at times, he can be pretty detached, or his head is full of weird ideas, he only wants the things that would make me happy…

"Kuro…"

And what did I do to repay him? I only got him trapped in this world that isn't his own. I got him involved in my stupid whims and tantrums. And in the end, he had to be killed…all because he wanted to help me…

"…"

I think now is my time to give back all that I can to this man who always stand by my side.

"!!!"

"Ah! You're that saint named Maddie, right? If I remember, you're the…"

"The Human Saint."

"Ah yes! The Great Saint of Chersea!"

"I'm indeed the saint, but I'm not great, Mister Peter." I replied to the doorkeeper, "And I come here to plead to the gods."

"Oh, right! Right!" the old man with a rooster on his arm then took out a golden key and unlocked the big pearly white gates of heaven. "Don't worry, Maddie. I'm sure the gods would like to hear your petition."

"Thank you for your help, old man."

"Yes, my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, dearie!" the old doorkeeper smiled gently. "Go on now, my child. They're waiting…"

With the pearly gates open, I took my steps inside into the majestic palace made of gold. If I remember correctly, this is one of the great palaces of the gods. If I made it past those golden pillars, I'm sure I'll be on the holy presence of the High King of the gods, the great Creator…

"…"

"!!!"

I saw another old man with a gentle yet dignified look on his face, sitting on a gold and ivory throne set upon a pedestal. He was looking outside, as if he's in deep reflection. I knew him though, for in contrast of the majesty of this place, his simplicity always stands out.

"Thank You for allowing me into Your audience, oh Great Creator, the High King of the Gods of All Realms."

"I won't turn my back on a beautiful soul that cries out to me for help." He replied. "So, what is it that you want?"

"Your Majesty…if I may be selfish for a bit, there's a person I'd like You to help…"

"Yes, that boy named Kuro. It's a pity that he had to die like that…"

"Lord, why did that happen?" I could hear my voice start to quiver as I looked unto my hands. "I tried to heal him, but my powers would not work! Where did I go wrong?"

The High King could only stare at me with sadness on His eyes. He then stood and reached for me as tears began to flow from my eyes. "My child, you must remember that he was someone from a world under another deity. Have you forgotten the agreement of the gods about this?"

"But Your Majesty, that person…"

I was unable to answer that question of His. Truth be told, my heart's d.e.s.i.r.e is to see Kuro once again. However, in order for that to happen, the High King of the heavens will have to go against His nature just to accommodate me…

"…"

"What is your answer, my child?"

"I…" I took a deep breath and continued on. "My lord, You know of my heart's d.e.s.i.r.e; I want to be with Kuro if I have to move the heavens for that to happen. That's why I appear before you pleading…"

Now it's the High King's turn to be silent as He listen to my selfish request.

However, I couldn't help but continue pleading and eventually bowing before the High King, "Lord, won't You help him? He died because of my selfishness—and I know I'm still being selfish here—however, I just can't bear to live with that thought in my heart. I'm ready to bear any responsibility You'll put on my shoulders once You break Your oath with the rest of the gods…"

Another round of silence followed. I never tried to stand up, though my knees began to hurt from the prolonged bow I'm displaying before the High King.

If I have to do this for an eternity, I would.

And then I heard the High King sigh. I felt His hand on my head, patting like Kuro did whenever I need comfort…

With some difficulty, and with the High King's help—I think my legs just 'died'—I stood up before Him.

"You're a pure soul, that's why the power of the gods was bestowed upon you." The High King then asked me, "But, are you sure you'll want him to live in this certain point in time you mentioned? Don't you want him to live right at the moment he died?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"You'll end up with that Imperial Prince in marriage, you know."

"If it is Your will, my Lord, then I'll accept any punishment for my sins. I just don't want him to suffer any more for me…"

"Hmm…you don't want him to suffer, and yet, you're missing something important about him…"

"…" I could only feel the beat of my heart stop. I knew what He meant by that…after all, Kuro did all that he had done so far just to help me.

"I could return Kuro to his world, if you say so." The High King offered.

"That's…"

"…"

Honestly, with what happened to Kuro, I just want him to be safe. I don't want to see him all bloodied like what I saw. His lonely, lifeless eyes that stared into the sky when his spirit departed, I don't want to experience it again!

"…"

But, I still want him to be with me! I want to talk to him more; I want to get to know him more! He's something I don't want to lose…

"I…Your Majesty, please…I want him with me."

The High King fell silent. Seeing that I already had a decision in mind, he continued, "Alright then, please speak no more. I understand your position. However, please do know of this; if you don't change your heart soon, you'll only cause suffering for the ones who love you."

"Yes, my Lord. I know of my mistakes, and I'll strive to correct it for as long as I live."

"Ah, it's good that you have learned from your mistakes." The venerable old God patted her head, "I forgive you, my child. Now go, and be at peace…"

A warm, peaceful feeling then entered my heart and it felt really nice. A few moments later, I saw myself back in my private study at my father's place here in Chersea…

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Kuro did all that he could.

"…"

After waking up in the infirmary after he supposedly 'died', Kuro was told that the Tri-Skill Tourney had already ended, and the Imperial Prince was declared the winner by default.

"…"

Yes, the technicality of what happened to him was out of the question. Well, maybe because Kuro's a commoner, and they will never ever consider a commoner to be a winner in tournaments…

"Mister Kuro?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for everything you've done, Mister Kuro. And I'm sorry that it happened to you…" It was Sophia. She had downtrodden eyes, a clear sign that she's sad on the turn of events. Of course, it's pretty normal, since she and her brother tried their best to protect their big sister, but in the end, they all failed.

"Don't worry about me, Your Excellency…" Kuro could only give Sophia a head pat to comfort her.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

In contrast, the entire Rubinforth household was busy with the preparations for the engagement of Her Holiness and the Imperial Prince. Invitations had been sent around for all the nobles who could join in the festivities, and several countries had expressed their d.e.s.i.r.e to come.

"Ah, I never thought that this day would come, Maddie!" the Duke of Rubinforth said while fixed his bowtie in front of a mirror. "Don't worry, the Imperial Prince, Jean Anton IV is a man of character. It's not a surprise that many ladies dream of him as their husband."

"…" The Saint kept her silence all the while her trusted maid, Lilyhaven, fixed her royal dress.

"Hm…don't be sad my daughter. This is your big day, and the last thing that I'd want to see, is my precious child to be crying out of sadness."

"I'm sorry, Papa…" Her Holiness bowed in gratitude before her father, "And I'd like to thank you for worrying about me ever since I was young…"

"Nah…don't mention it. And you know, I'd also tried to look into that assassin that was sent after Mister Kuro, and so far, no progress had been made."

"I see…"

"Don't worry, Maddie, I'll make sure that the great commoner would be protected and would be able to live his life in relative peace." The Duke made a sad expression, "It's a pity that he had to go like that; I honestly rooted for him in that second round, though…"

The Saint knew that her father was telling the truth, since she could see through the hearts of anyone. He really had a rude awakening after Kuro rebuked him for his ways towards his daughter…

"…"

However, as much as the Duke had wanted to reverse his ways, the wheels of fate had started to turn uncontrollably. The Tri-Skill tournament happened, and ended in an unexpected way, and the Imperial Prince would get the hand of his beloved Maddie.

"Maddie…"

"Yes, Papa?"

"I'm sorry for everything. I didn't know I was making you suffer. I only wanted the best for you, you know…"

Her Holiness was visibly moved by the sudden gesture of her father apologizing to her. Sure enough, he may have made serious mistakes in the past, but in the end, he's still a loving father to her and her siblings. And no one can deny that…

"Papa…" The Saint had started to come closer to him.

And the Duke opened his arms wide enough to accept her.

"Won't your allergy act up once again?"

"I'll be fine as always…"

"Alright…"

Then they held each other tight. Tears were falling down on every one present in that room. At last, the child and her father had reunited once again…

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Before everything else, I just want to thank everyone who managed to come here for our engagement party!" the Imperial Prince raised his glass of wine to all esteemed guest present in the grand hallway of the Rubinforth manor.

Of course, everyone followed suit. The emperor, kings, queens, princes, princesses, dukes and several other nobles joined in on the festivities at this glorious time in Chersea's history.

The Saint, as Madelaine Ann Rubinforth, seated beside the Imperial Prince. And both of the couple's fathers flanked them on each side. The Imperial couple looked like a match made in heaven, and many young noble girls stared in envy while the boys felt sorry to themselves.

As for Kuro, he knew that he had no more part in this event. So earlier on, he went to pack his clothes and had asked Lily for help in fetching a ride for him to somewhere.

"Hey, Master, are you sure you're fine with what's happening?" It was the Beastman Saint, Ruro of the Wolf. "I thought you'll be fighting for Maddie? Why are you going away now?"

"Well, I thought so too, as well, Your Fluffy Holiness. But it seems that she has made her decision, and I respect her for that."

"Hmm…really, huh?" Her Fluffy Holiness continued. "Still, I'm puzzled by her. I know she went to the realm of the gods to personally ask for help in resurrecting you. But she made it so that you'd revive when it was too late for you to intervene for her. I mean, what's her deal?"

"Her Holiness felt guilty on what happened to me, as simple as that." Kuro replied, "She wanted to carry her mistakes by herself, and deemed that I have no part in her suffering."

"Wow…you really understand her."

"Of course, I'm her friend."

"…"

"I'm her f.u.c.k.i.n.g friend, you know." Kuro's fists tightened, "That fat idiot; she couldn't even make herself get up and exercise without my help. And she has the guts to keep me out of her life all of a sudden! What an ingrate, selfish, ignoble holy saint!"

"Want me to exact revenge Master?"

"No. That won't be necessary!" Kuro smiled mischievously, "Even if this is the last time, I'll make sure I'll pound some common sense in that head of hers! I'm a teacher, after all."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The engagement ceremony in Chersea is a solemn one, almost like a marriage in seriousness and in custom. As such, many elaborate rituals were being performed before they get into the actual engagement event. Because it was the Saint herself who was involved, the Grand Mother Templar Superior of the Holy Palatial Gardens is the one in-charge of the celebration.

"And now, as a proof of your promise to wed one another, here are the rings of our Lord, Gaius, and his consort, Arame. Both of you are their heirs, and so it shall be, from this moment forward…" the Grand Mother Templar Superior began blessing the rings before handing it down on the Imperial Prince and the Human Saint.

The Imperial Prince made his oath. "I, Jean Anton IV of the Empire of Chersea, swear by the name of our holy father Gaius, and his holy wife, Arame, that I will take this woman Madelaine Ann, as my one and only consort 'till the day I breath my last."

The entire hall erupted in cheers and claps. Even the Grand Mother Templar Superior had join in the festive crowd.

And now, it's Madelaine's turn to declare her oath…

"…"

There was an intense round of silence as everyone settled down their noise in order to hear what the esteemed holy woman would say.

"Uhm…I'm sorry, I'm really nervous right now." Madelaine admitted to the crowd. "I mean, it's my big moment, and it's all so sudden…"

A chorus of laughter erupted from the crowd as a response to her confession. However, they soon realized that their Saint is serious on her statement; she neither laughed nor smiled.

"You see, well…before we…uh…proceed…" Madelaine could feel her heart beat wildly. "Uhm…there's something I'd l-like to s-show you, everyone…"

The esteemed dignitaries never made a sound. It's as if the hall froze in time. Seeing that she got their attention focused on her, Maddie slowly chanted a spell…

"!!!" Lily, who was there in her royal clothes, quickly recognized that chanting was for dispelling the disguise of her friend. She quickly tried to move towards Madelaine, only to be prevented by the crowd, who stood on her way.

"You see, everyone…I'm just a human, even though I have the power of the gods…" a bright light shone around Madelaine that temporarily blinded the people in that main hall. And then the next moment later, everyone was dumbfounded on what they were seeing—their Saint had become fat and 'ugly'.

"!!!" All who were present held the breaths.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" The Imperial Prince cried out in horror as he realized that the 'ugly', fat girl beside him is the Saint that was about to be engaged to him.

"I'm sorry for tricking you, everyone." Madelaine bowed apologetically. "Just a season ago, I did a big mistake that led into this. I tried my best to get back my old, beautiful appearance, but for some reason, not only was I unable to do it, but I caused someone close to me to suffer even though he's supposedly an outsider."

"NO…N-NO WAY!" The Imperial Prince was laughing hard at this sudden turn of events.

"Your Imperial Majesty…" Madelaine turned to the horrified prince, "Will you accept me as I am?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, DRIVEL?!" he shouted on the top of his lungs, "YOU TRIED TO TRICK US WITH YOUR MAGIC—APPEARING TO BE BEAUTIFUL AND THE LIKE, AND THEN THE TRUTH IS, YOUR UGLIER THAN A WELL-USED P.R.O.S.T.I.T.U.T.E'S ARSE!"

Madelaine kept her mouth shut. But one could tell that she's about to cry from the expletives being hurled at her by the Imperial Prince.

"HEY!"

"!!!"

Everyone's eyes fell on the old, bald man on the other side of the table: the Duke of Rubinforth. His face was red, and anyone could tell that he's seething in anger. His daughter, Sophia, was trying her best to hold on to his arm, as she attempts to calm him down.

"Don't you ever call my daughter like that, you MONGREL!" he countered. "One more word, and I couldn't promise that my sword would stay in its scabbard!"

The Imperial delegation then rose from their seats, with their hands grabbing their swords. The Duke's guards, upon seeing the threat posed by the guests, also reached for their weapons. The others were either frozen on their seats, or began to quietly let themselves out.

"THIS IS WHY I HATE THE NORTHERN BARBARIAN KINGDOMS!" the Imperial Prince said in spite, "COME AND TRY ME, DUKE! LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN TAKE THE MIGHT OF THE ENTIRE EMPIRE HEAD ON!"

No one dared to move for a few moments.

"SEE?! YOU'RE ALL COWARDS! ALL THAT YOU CAN DO IS TO RELY ON AN UGLY 'SAINT' FOR PROTECTION! YOU COULDN'T EVEN LIFT A FINGER AGAINST ME!"

Madelaine, on her part, tried in vain to diffuse the tension. "Please, Your Highness. I wouldn't take offense with your words, but please, stay your hand."

"STOP WITH THIS FARCE! YOU'RE NOT THE SAINT! SHE'S BEAUTIFUL AS A GODDESS; YOU'RE JUST A SHIT—BUEEEH!!!"

"!!!" Everyone were stunned when they saw the Imperial Prince fly down the ornate table that was set up for the engagement party. He crashed like paper, much to the horror of his father the Emperor.

"For f.u.c.k's sake, I intend to hit Her Holiness' head to instill some common sense into her, but instead I found my fist flying towards this f.u.c.ker's face." It was Kuro, "Who's this disrespectful fellow, anyway?"

"K-Kuro?!" Madelaine's eyes were round in utter surprise. "That's…the Imperial Prince."

"He is?" Kuro then realized the mistake that he had done, "Oh shit…"

"You!" the Imperial Prince was helped by his father, "You're that commoner who won the tourney on the first and second rounds! I thought you're dead?!"

"Well, for some reason, I'm still alive…thanks to the fat Saint over there." Kuro reached out his hand, "I'm sorry buddy, but I didn't really intend to hit you. I just went ballistic when you kept on throwing ugly words on my friend, get what I mean?"

The Imperial Prince slapped his hand, "Don't touch me, you filth!"

"Alright, alright…My apologies for causing that beautiful blue and violet bruise though…"

"!!!" The Imperial Prince quickly asked for a mirror, which was given to him. Much to his shock, there was indeed a prominent bruise on his cheek that was hit by Kuro's fist. "YOU INSOLENT PEASANT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M THE IMPERIAL PRINCE OF THE EMPIRE OF CHER—"

"Yes, we know who you are, Your Imperial Highness." This time, it was Lily's turn to intervene. On her hand was a big battle-axe, and though smiling, she's got an intimidating aura around her. The other guests around the Nerfes princess had their swords also drawn out. "However, we can't allow you Imperials to hurl insults at our Saint anymore. Now if you please excuse yourself, the exit route is over there."

"…"

With no other choice than to retreat, the Imperial Prince, as well as his father, excused themselves and hurried to the door that leads outward.

"…"

No one was able to move for a few moments, but one could tell that the general atmosphere turned from one that reeks of tension, into a relaxed and relieved ambiance.

And with that, the Human Saint's engagement was called off, and in the first time in the history of Tri-Skill Tournament in Chersea, no one was able to win…

Oh, and Kuro's infamy increased even more. He's now known as the 'Fist of the North Lands'. Probably he'll get disgusted once he learns that he became a cheap rip-off of a famous muscle anime…

-----------------------------------------------------------------

**Kuro**

"So, you finally got the courage to reveal your real image, Your Holiness?" I asked the Saint after the commotion at her own engagement party had already died down. "Don't you think our efforts to hide it were in vain?"

"It's okay. I finally realized, I wanted to be myself, and so I resolved to do it and reverse the mistakes I did in the past." she explained.

"Why are you so adamant about your image anyway?" I put up that question on her, "It's not like you'll die from being seen like that!"

"Hmm…you know, I wanted to be always appear beautiful as any young girl would like." she explained, "And also, dealing with humans? They always require a great deal of image projection to have them respect you."

Well, she does have a point. Humans always tend to judge others based on that famous 'first impression'. It's really annoying, but probably it's our nature…

"As I've said before, I'm still human, even though I've got godly powers. I d.e.s.i.r.e things any normal human would."

"True enough. But man, you'd spare us a lot of trouble if you just decided to reveal yourself early on."

"I'm sorry." Her Holiness sheepishly asked for my forgiveness.

"Nah, it's fine you know. You're still a girl, no matter holy of a Saint you are. And I'll always be a friend to you, just like how Lily treats you."

"Of course. You're the only one who understands me, aside from Lily." And then, the Saint turned to her guest, who were still in shock on what happened. "To everyone here present, thank you for supporting me, even though I have my flaws! Thank you for defending my honor!"

The other nobles and esteemed commoners began to bow in reverence to Her Holiness. Perhaps she really didn't need to hide her imperfection in the first place; I think that's what makes her human, and it's what connects her to these people…

I saw the Saint flashed me a sweet smile, "Thank you, Kuro."

"Yeah, as always Your Holiness."

However, the Human Saint stayed around me for a few more moments.

"Hmm? Why are you still here?"

"Uhm…Kuro, I'd like to show you something…"

"What is it?"

Her Holiness then uttered a few words for a spell, and then her fat figure dissipated.

"Err…you brought back your disguise?"

"No silly!" she laughed softly, "I actually put on that 'fat' disguise in order to know the true nature of the Imperial Prince."

"Oh…that's a nice strategy of knowing your potential partner's character!"

"Yep, it is!" the Saint grinned, "I already managed to trim down my figure, thanks to your 'work-out', Mister Kuro!"

*****