The Great Sage Molly had never imagined that she would be cornered into silence by this mere Saintess.
“A mere brainwashed familiar dares to critique me?”
Her life could no longer be described with words like “tumultuous” or “full of ups and downs.”
The Great Sage was born on the wasteland a thousand years ago.
Her family was poor, and she fell ill as a child, barely able to ingest her mother’s milk.
The porridge from charity and relief efforts gradually cooled, forming a thin film on the surface—that was her food as a toddler.
Of course, that was infinitely better than the brick-like bread that came later.
At three years old, her father ran off with someone else, leaving only her mother behind.
Her mother had no job, so she grabbed Molly by the neck, intending to sell her for money.
But no one adopted her.
Because the wealthy nobles and young masters wouldn’t stoop to taking in a slum child.
“If we can’t find the money, then let’s just die together!”
But Molly was different—she loved her mother.
At five years old, she started stealing for the first time, and she seemed to have a real talent for it.
She moved swiftly, undetected by anyone.
This gave her the means to support the family. With the money and food she stole, she could occasionally fill her mother’s belly.
But one day, she was caught.
They broke her arm, and she endured the pain to return home, crying to her mother.
“Slap—!”
Her mother didn’t know healing magic, so she slapped her instead.
“What the hell do I keep a worthless thing like you around for!”
After that, Molly never cried again.
If not for the people from the Holy Church, she might have become a complete waste.
Because of her gentle demeanor and honest appearance, a nun from the Church’s disaster relief efforts healed her arm.
But when she returned home, she found her mother dead.
Bandits had invaded the house. With no money there, they took some food and her mother’s life as payment.
Later, that nun sent her to an orphanage.
But in the orphanage, she was called a freak. Unable to fit in, she was often bullied by the other girls. Of course, that wasn’t the worst of it.
The orphanage director was a greedy old man.
Molly discovered that all the girls with any influence had unspeakable relationships with the director.
To have a foothold there, one had to swear loyalty to him.
Then one night, it was her turn.
She stabbed the director to death and fled the orphanage with the other girls facing the same fate.
She got along well with those girls. Their wandering days fostered deep bonds, and she grew especially close to one with green hair—they even elevated their relationship to another level.
That girl was named Daixi.
Daixi wandered with her, living the adventurer’s life alongside the other escapees from the orphanage. They formed a small organization in the gray areas, so their days were decent. It wasn’t the first time they’d eaten their fill, but it was the period when Molly smiled the most.
They lived in an abandoned warehouse, using it as their base.
“If we save up enough money, we can buy a big villa in the most beautiful city of Yuenna and live there together until we’re old and gray~”
She laughed every day, even called a little fool by Daixi, but no one knew what she’d been like before. Everyone starts somewhere.
But one day, Molly went far away for a high-value commission. When she returned, the warehouse was swarming with people—they were knights from the Holy Church. Everyone had been captured.
That orphanage director had also held a position as a Church cleric.
With bandits and robbers rampant, the bishop’s territory needed scapegoats.
They had killed a cleric, facing the death penalty.
But Molly had a chance encounter with a certain nun, earning her a chance to test her magic aptitude—an opportunity to join the Church. If she passed, she’d get a pardon.
Ironically,
Her test results far exceeded the Church’s standards. She was brought before the bishop, who promised her:
“Heh, you can live and become my subordinate, but the price is that you help me build my prestige and rise to Cardinal.”
“Personally execute those girls from the orphanage. You’re different from them—why look at me like that? Heh, even if it’s not you, I have plenty of other executioners.”
“Their fates were sealed anyway; it only differs who wields the knife.”
She did it just to survive. Her companions’ deaths had nothing to do with her.
That’s how she comforted herself…
But on the day of the execution, she still hesitated.
She just needed to light the fire under the crosses and burn them, and she’d be free.
There were many people around.
They all wanted these witches, who harmed the world, to die. But Molly delayed.
The bishop who favored her grew anxious and ordered the surrounding mages to secretly ignite the flames.
The cheers were deafening.
“Good—!”
“Pastor Molly, well done!”
“This brings humanity’s peace one step further~”
“…”
That day, Molly’s heart died completely.
