This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 11
The Coward’s Fainting Spell
『 Translator – Divinity 』

When the witch grabbed my hand…

It felt like the world stopped.

Why are you holding my hand?

Why are you asking for my name?

I have no intention of getting close to you.

Not one bit.

Absolutely none.

I don’t have a hobby of cuddling up to bombs.

So I tried to subtly pull away and escape…

But suddenly, they started talking about a divine trance and dragged me to a nearby temple of the Sun Church.

“A divine trance!”

“It’s only natural after performing such unbelievable miracles in succession! Lopers! Watch over him!”

There, I received the utmost hospitality.

All sorts of priests rushed over and poured divine power into me, and I was provided with a delicious freshly cooked meal and a soft bed.

I had to eat and lie down on the bed to rest.

Shouldn’t I be running away right now?

That’s the correct answer.

That’s right.

I should be running away now.

I’ve healed the witch.

There’s really no reason for me to stay here and pretend to be a saint, so why am I eating and lying in bed, resting comfortably?

“Are you feeling alright?”

It’s because of the witch who’s sitting next to me, holding my hand and looking at me with sparkling eyes.

Damn dark magician!!

There’s a dark magician here! Someone please arrest her!

Please get her away from me!!

I’m scared!!

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here. I won’t let you fall, Saint.”

Her voice, as she carefully held my hand, sounded like someone welcoming a cult leader.

It seemed this bomb was determined to stick by my side.

That can’t be!

She could explode at any moment!

“Lady Witch.”

“Erpa. My name is Erpa, Saint.”

“Lady Erpa, please go back now. I’m fine.”

I’m truly fine.

I don’t have a divine trance or anything.

I’m just scared shitless because you’re next to me, that’s why I’m sweating and trembling.

“No. Please let me stay by your side until you recover, Saint.”

“I’m truly fine.”

“But because of me…”

It seemed she wouldn’t listen to gentle persuasion.

I needed to speak more firmly.

“Lady Erpa, you are now beautiful. No one will discriminate against you based on your appearance. But what’s more important is your inner self.”

“Inner… self.”

“What good is a perfect appearance if you don’t have peace of mind? I was merely someone who heals the lowly. I can heal your outer appearance, but that’s all. I cannot heal your heart. Only you can lift your own spirits.”

“What should I do? Please show me the way.”

Can you please stop talking to me and just disappear?

I’m running out of things to say!!

Self-improvement books I’ve read and lines I’ve heard in Sunday school!

Help me!!

“Have a conversation with yourself. Try to find what you truly desire. There are no more shackles binding you. Think about how you want to live your life, now that you are completely free.”

“…”

“I was merely a crutch. A sick person needs a crutch, but after they recover, it’s normal to discard that crutch. Leave me and soar freely. Realize what you truly want to do, what you truly desire, and move in that direction. That is what I want from you.”

In short, please just get the hell away from me.

As I said this with a benevolent smile, Erpa started to cry again.

“How can I repay you? This grace… how can I ever repay you?”

You don’t have to repay me.

I’m going to run away.

“I didn’t do this expecting anything in return. If you want to repay me, do so with your life. Live a wonderful and fulfilling life. Let go of hatred and resentment, and I hope you become someone who loves herself.”

And please don’t explode again.

Okay?

I won’t see you again.

I won’t see you again, and I’ll quietly disappear and live my life, so let’s go our separate ways.

As I watched Erpa with bated breath, she slowly rose from her seat.

“I swear. I swear on my life.”

She smiled brightly.

She was undeniably beautiful, but a bomb was a bomb, no matter how pretty.

“I’ll live a wonderful life for you.”

“I believe you will, Lady Erpa. You are more than worthy.”

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this.”

You can forget it.

No.

Please forget it.

Erpa bowed politely to me and then left the room.

Only after she left and the door closed could I finally collapse onto the bed.

I thought I was going to die, seriously.

Why is every day a rollercoaster ride?

It’s over now.

Now that the witch who was closely monitoring me was gone, I just had to quietly disappear.

That’s how most of the saint legends in the Arcal Empire end.

Now that I have bestowed upon you, do not sin again and live by ethics and morals, blah blah blah, poof.

Disappear.

The people from the Lilia Church arrive and say, “This guy isn’t a follower of the Goddess? You heretic. Burn, baby, burn.”

I’d like to decline that kind of ending, for fuck’s sake.

I got out of bed, opened the door, and stepped outside.

“Saint! You shouldn’t be up yet!…”

“The time has come.”

I smiled at everyone.

“I must leave now. May we meet again if grace guides us.”

“What? But Saint! The people from the Lilia Church arrived earlier than expected and are on their way here right now!…”

They arrived early?

Shit!!

I have to run!!

Right now!

I quickly used Time Stop.

The whole world froze.

In that state, I groaned and repeated the process of releasing and applying Time Stop in limited spaces, moving forward.

The mental exhaustion each time was truly immense.

Just bring up the character customization window and manipulate it – that’s all Body Modification is.

Absolute Hypnosis requires mental effort to designate a target, but once it’s cast, all I have to do is give commands.

Sensitivity 3000x… I haven’t used it yet, so I’ll have to see.

Anyway!

Unlike other skills, this Time Stop is a skill that consumes a tremendous amount of mental energy.

Seriously, why the hell is this skill designed like this?

They should have just made it…

You know, a world where I can stop time and move around freely on my own.

Or maybe it was originally just a simple click in the game, but it became complicated when it crossed over to reality.

Anyway.

Bearing the mental exhaustion, I slowly…

Started to move forward in the frozen time.

I saw an express train leaving the capital city of Mars in the distance.

I can just get on that!!

I can escape from here on that train!

I’ll go into a place like a bathroom, release Time Stop, and then use Body Modification on myself.

I can’t use this face anymore; it’s been seen by too many people.

I’ll reshape my face a bit, buy a train ticket, and leisurely leave the capital…

Leave…

Wait a minute.

I’m too mentally exhausted.

I think I need to release this for a bit, rest, and then apply it again.

What kind of skill is this?

But I can’t not use it either.

I need to find a suitable place to release the skill.

As I looked around…

A dark and dirty back alley in the corner of the train station caught my eye.

Alright!!

There shouldn’t be anyone there.

No matter how you look at it, would there really be anyone in such a filthy and disgusting place?

I’ll just rest there for a bit, change my face, and get out of here.

It was disgusting meeting you, and let’s never see each other again.

Capital city of Mars.

Thinking that, I released the skill.

And as soon as I released the skill…

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Aaagh!”

The chilling sound of flesh hitting flesh, which I hadn’t heard while time was stopped, began to reach my ears.

There were people in this dark and dirty back alley.

As I froze, startled, the sounds continued to echo in my ears.

“Didn’t I tell you to sell them all? You rotten bitches!!”

“Aaagh!! I’m sorry! Please! I’ll sell them all! Please!!”

“Go and sell them all!! If you don’t, I’ll burn the other side of your face too!!”

“I will! I will!! Please don’t burn me!”

The thick voice of a man and the thin, quiet voice of a young girl resonated for a while.

The young girl was crying so mournfully that I couldn’t help but look.

I glanced towards the corner of the alley, and a group of young girls huddled against a wall, along with a large man, caught my eye.

What was peculiar was that the girls’ faces were hideously disfigured.

Some of the girls had their upper lips and cheeks completely burned off, and many had missing teeth.

Children who looked no older than seven or eight, an age where they should be at home, showering their fathers with affection, were crying and pleading with the man in front of them, their faces horribly melted.

What kind of scene was this?

As I stood there in shock, watching the scene unfold…

The man spat and lit a cigarette.

“Fucking hell. Those rejects from the match factory have to be useful for something. If you don’t meet your quota, you’ll get it from me. Got it?”

“Yes! Yes! We will! Please don’t abandon us!”

“You retarded monsters. Alright, get out of here. If you don’t pay your dues properly, I won’t give you any matches to sell tomorrow, so keep that in… ”

The man, spitting yellow phlegm as he turned out of the alley, spotted me and stopped dead in his tracks.

“You… you fucking… you…”

The emotions in the man’s eyes shifted from confusion to surprise, and then…

To greed.

“You’re that guy who was healing people in the slums, right?”

The man chuckled and pulled a dagger from his waist.

The moment I saw the dagger, my body froze.

This was real.

Look at his eyes.

He didn’t pull it out just to threaten me.

This bastard was 100%…

No!! 200% someone who had actually stabbed people before!!

Should I use Time Stop and run?

No!

I’ve used up too much mental energy, so it’s hard to apply it again!

I need to rest, why the hell are you here?

“Saint. Oh, gracious and benevolent Saint. I’ve been struggling lately, you see. Could you spare some of that grace for me? You know, like, in cash? I’m sure you’ve received some healing fees, right?”

The bastard chuckled and approached me.

What should I do?

I’ve used up too much mental energy, so it’s hard to use Time Stop right now.

Body Modification?

There’s no time for Body Modification in this situation!

Absolute Hypnosis?

That’s difficult too.

Once it’s cast and I give a command, there’s no mental exhaustion, but designating the target consumes mental energy.

I don’t think I can aim properly.

Then all that’s left is…

“Stay still, Saint. I’ll just quietly take what I need from your pockets, so just stay put.”

The robber, seeing me completely frozen, confidently reached for my pockets.

The moment his gaze shifted to my pockets…

I instinctively touched his body and activated the skill.

[Casting skill !]

“Quiet!”

I threw a surprise punch, aiming for the robber’s head, and dodged back.

It wasn’t even a strong punch.

Just a pathetic, wild swing.

The robber, struck by the ridiculous surprise punch, scoffed in disbelief, then suddenly started to tremble.

“Uuugh… Ugh… Agh! Ugh!!”

Sensitivity 3000x.

How do you like it! This should hurt enough to paralyze you…

Paralyze…

Wait a minute.

“Gah… Ugh… Agh.”

The robber’s eyes were bloodshot.

He was clenching his teeth so hard that they were chipping and breaking.

They say that when pain exceeds a certain limit, a person can’t even scream.

It seemed to be the case here.

The robber dropped his dagger, trembled for a moment, and then collapsed on the ground.

Blood was flowing freely from his nose, and tears of blood streamed from his eyes, the blood vessels having burst and dyed them red.

“…Excuse me?”

There was no response.

Even a fool could tell.

He was dead.

Probably from shock.

It was my first murder.

Nausea welled up inside me.

I…

I had killed someone.

I just wanted to hurt him badly and chase him away, but I ended up killing him.

On top of the immense mental exhaustion from using Time Stop and coming all the way here, the shock of committing murder seemed to be too much for my brain to handle.

My vision blurred, and I collapsed, much like the robber.

Just before I fainted, the last thought that crossed my mind was this:

If he could die from shock just from getting hit with a weak punch…

The Great Demon Lords, who endure all sorts of things every day with 3000x sensitivity and still remain fine, are truly superhuman.