I got possessed into a game.
A run-of-the-mill game where you play as the protagonist, build affection with the heroines, flirt around, and do some fighting.
I only started it because the heroines' designs caught my eye so intensely, but in the end, it led to me getting isekai'd into it.
And of all things...
"An orphan brat, huh."
As an orphan in the slums.
If I weren't someone with a strong mentality, I probably would've killed myself.
But I didn't give up hope.
The people in the slums are violent, sleazy, and such utter scum that you have to stay on guard around them at all times.
The ground is covered in filth and garbage, the stench never lets up.
If you're unlucky, slave traders snatch you up and turn you into a slave.
But!
"So, what're we gonna do?"
"Everyone in the slums is family! We gotta stick together!"
Ninety percent of the slums are orphans—kids who were abandoned.
They might have kids' bodies, but with my adult mind and way with words, I didn't go down easy. I used the terrain to my advantage, dug traps, that sort of thing.
The kids started avoiding fights with me, and even the adults seemed wary.
The only real threats were the slave traders, but...
'Just hide and you're good~'
Why bother running into those guys? Hide right away.
Guys coming to catch slaves wouldn't come without backup.
And so, the nameless me became the ace survivor of the slums, and others started calling me 'Ace'.
It didn't sound bad, so I just made it my name: 'Is'. Felt pretty good.
One day, while living like that in the slums.
"A nun coming here all alone? You can't complain if we have some fun with you, right?"
"G-God will punish you...!"
I already didn't like the slum adults much, and there they were, cornering a single nun against a wall and pressuring her.
"Tch..."
I won't deny that living in the slums turned me from 'good' to 'evil'.
I had to get ruthless to survive.
But seeing a normal nun—not one of the slum scum—being threatened like that pissed me off.
"Uncles."
"Oh?"
"Ugh, it's you, Ace..."
"Beat it, kid. Let the grown-ups have their fun."
While the two guys I knew glanced around warily, some unfamiliar uncle stepped up all cocky, so I stared him down hard.
Seemed like he didn't know about me...
"Haa... You're bringing out my old personality, huh?"
"Guhk...!"
I left the uncle sobbing on the ground and approached the nun.
"You okay?"
"Y-Yes..."
The nun looked at me a bit awkwardly at first, then shook her head and smiled as she spoke.
"You're just a kid, but you stepped up for someone else! Good job!"
"Eh... Those guys are just trash anyway."
"Tr-Trash?! Ahem, anyway! If you're okay with it, wanna come to our church? We take care of kids too!"
"Church...?"
I'd been non-religious in my past life, so I hesitated for a moment.
"We could even give you some brea—"
"Fuck yeah, let's go."
If they're giving out bread, I'm in.
Amen, Namu Amida Butsu, all is well.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After being taken in by the nun.
I spent my days devoutly, trying to wash away the karma I'd built up in the slums.
"Sister Stella, finished with the laundry."
"Oh, thanks, Is!"
The nun's name was Stella, and as we spent time together, she naturally started talking casually to me.
I worked hard at the chores to repay her kindness, and I became a celebrity in the church.
"Is is so diligent and good at his work~"
"His looks aren't half bad either~"
"When Is grows up and becomes a saint, I might just cry."
"Me too."
All the nuns took a liking to my hardworking self, and I lived with the church folks like family.
It would've been great if those happy days had continued, but sadly, disasters strike without warning.
"Kerruk! Kerruk!"
"Kuiik!"
A massive horde of goblins and wild boar magical beasts came charging from the nearby forest toward our church.
"Kyaaah!"
"Evacuate the kids first!"
"Kids! Over here!"
The nuns hurriedly herded the children inside and used every bit of strength to barricade the doors and windows.
-Thud! Thud thud!
They were hell-bent on smashing us, pounding on the door relentlessly.
'Damn it, I never thought this church was that one...!'
Though I'd forgotten after so long, the church I was in seemed to be one of those sacrificed in the game's prologue to show the threat of the monsters.
Unfortunately, our church's only fighter was a chubby holy knight who looked utterly worthless, and he'd already been dragged off by dozens of goblins and met a gruesome end.
The nuns prayed for his soul, but sadly, I didn't have time for that.
'I have to step up.'
I'm not the protagonist, but in this church, I was the next best thing after that holy knight.
Compared to me—with just slum tricks and a slightly sturdy body—that guy at least had swordsmanship and two basic holy spells.
I picked up a wooden chair.
My current body wasn't much stronger than my past life's, but I had to do it.
-Thud! Thud thud!
The pounding grew faster, and the church door started to give way bit by bit.
-Boom!
The door splintered slightly, and the barricades behind it began to shift.
A goblin charged right in.
This one seemed a bit tougher; it clutched something like a failed sword in its hand.
'Now.'
Hidden behind the door, I ambushed it, smashing the chair into its head. Luckily, the goblin dropped its sword and staggered.
"Hyaah!!"
I snatched up the fallen sword and jammed it into the goblin's maw.
"Kerak!!"
Confirming it went limp, I yanked the sword free.
'Felt it when I stabbed, but this thing...'
It was bent—almost a half-circle iron sword.
No choice but to use it for now.
After that, I fought bloody battles against the goblins pouring into the church.
One, two, three—I kept killing them, but sadly, I'm no protagonist.
-Crack!
"Kuhk!"
One swing of a goblin club, and my vision spun.
'Gotta protect them...!'
This was the place that took me in after my harsh slum days.
Were we really going to lose everything to these damn goblins?
"Like hell...!"
Like hell!
"God! You listening, you bastard?!"
Not exactly church talk, but who cares.
"If you have any conscience, protect our damn church at least!"
You drag some random gamer into this and throw him into this mess?
I gritted my teeth and gripped the sword hilt tight.
'Even if I die, I'll block the way.'
The door still only let in one goblin at a time.
But soon it'd be smashed open, and then they'd swarm in droves.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Then I'd die blocking it.
-Stab! Stab!
That holy knight got swarmed one-vs-many and went down quick, but I was one-vs-one, so I held out a while.
'This is when the Hero should show up...!'
Cursing the god who wouldn't send the Hero, I dragged my increasingly heavy body up and kept fighting the goblins.
-Stab!
A rusty dagger pierced my thigh.
-Thwack!
A wooden club shattered my ribs.
-Stab!
A sharpened stone crushed my instep.
Every goblin I faced chipped away at my body until I hit my limit.
-Thud.
"Kerruk, keruk!"
"Hah... hah..."
Yeah, I can't fight anymore.
For a thirteen-year-old boy's body, taking down nearly twenty goblins was an achievement.
But so what.
'Sorry, everyone...'
Once I'm gone, no matter how much time I buy, the goblins will kill them all anyway.
My eyes burned.
Tears from regret, probably.
Everyone, I'm really sor—
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[This is the last.]
"Hah...!"
A blinding golden radiance jolted my senses awake on instinct.
Goblins still stood before me, but the atmosphere was completely different now.
"Kerruk! Kerrr...!"
They looked terrified of me.
No, more precisely...
'This energy...?'
They were fearing this strange energy flowing through my body.
"H-Holy power...!"
"It's an enormous amount!"
So this is holy power.
The nuns weren't advanced enough to wield it yet, and the holy knight's was so faint he'd mistaken it at first.
"...Thank you for giving me this chance."
God was watching over me.
And granted me an opportunity.
Then I'll gladly serve.
I rose, strength returning to my body.
The goblins backed away slowly.
Aim the hook-like sword at them, just as they thought to retreat.
"Receive God's grace."