This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 19
You’re a Fake, Right?
『 Translator – Divinity 』

Erpa looked surprised.

“Why would such a person… live in such a shabby apartment?”

“I told you, he suffered tremendous misfortune.”

Oergen sighed and began to explain.

“A series of unfortunate events happened to him, one after another, to the point where you’d wonder how someone could be so unlucky. He was a distributor who transported various goods between the Tramata Kingdom and the Arcal Empire. One day, while transporting elixir, the transport vehicle suddenly exploded.”

Erpa’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“It suddenly exploded?”

“Later research revealed that when a large amount of elixir is gathered, static electricity can be induced in rare cases. It exploded because of that static electricity. Of course, it was knowledge unknown at that time.”

“And what happened?”

“Because of that, the elixir transport trucks lined up in a row caused a chain explosion. In an instant, Jonathan’s company suffered enormous losses and was even sued for damages by nearby residents who suffered significant damage from the elixir explosion.”

“That’s unbelievable.”

“It actually happened. That incident led to the establishment of a regulation requiring all elixir transport vehicles to be equipped with lightning protection magic circles.”

Erpa was speechless at this unbelievable misfortune. But Oergen’s story wasn’t over yet.

“But that wasn’t the end. The Minister of Finance of the Tramata royal family, who was supposed to pay Jonathan’s company, suddenly died of a heart attack. The royal family suspected poisoning, and because of that, a power struggle erupted within the royal family over the minister’s death. The payment, which was supposed to be made within a month, was postponed indefinitely.”

“…”

“Later, it was revealed that it wasn’t an assassination, but a sudden heart attack caused by overwork.”

“How could such a…”

“On top of that, his wife, Oliviera, suffered complications during childbirth, and her health deteriorated. Oliviera was a genius when it came to numbers. She could grasp the flow of enormous sums of money as if it were the back of her hand. The person who knew all the cash flow of Jonathan’s company suddenly collapsed.”

Erpa was at a loss for words.

Unless he was cursed, there was no way the situation could have worsened to this extent.

Oergen sighed deeply.

“In the end, he had no choice but to close down his company. But he had saved up a considerable amount of money, and I heard that when his wife recovered and his child grew up a bit, he started a new business with that money. It was a toy factory. It was incredibly popular. At one point, all the children in the capital were playing with toys from Jonathan’s company.”

“It was that successful?”

“Yes, it was that successful. And you know what’s even scarier? Their daughter, Cecilia. Perhaps because she inherited her mother’s intelligence and her father’s charisma… I heard that even though she was only five years old, she helped her father make various business decisions.”

Oergen burst into laughter, reminiscing about those days.

“I even heard that she conducted market research and designed toys from a child’s perspective, leading to a huge success. Her business sense was said to surpass even her father’s. Among the people I’ve met, she was a genius comparable to you, Erpa.”

“A young child really worked with her father in business?”

“It’s not a lie, truly. Around the age of twelve, I heard she was managing the entire factory herself. That was the last I heard of them. After that, it became quiet, so I thought they had closed down their business again… But to think their daughter Cecilia had the Rotting Plague. What terrible luck.”

After hearing the whole story, Erpa couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“…I thought they were just ordinary people, but to think they were so amazing.”

A self-made legend in the distribution industry.

A woman who could grasp enormous cash flow like the back of her hand.

And a genius with business acumen who had managed an entire factory at the age of twelve.

Just like the elixir spring at the abandoned factory, the people he strongly recommended were incredibly perfect talents.

What was with this natural flow of events that would be criticized even in a novel?

“Miracles do exist, Tower Master. There’s no other way to interpret this.”

At Erpa’s words, Tower Master Oergen’s curiosity grew even stronger.

“Was this the work of the Healing Saint?”

“Yes. He is at the center of all this. I know it’s not good to use words like ‘miracle’ or ‘coincidence’ as someone who walks the path of magic, but… I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that there are no other words to describe this besides a divine miracle. How could the right people appear at the right time like this?”

Oergen had an expression that said he couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.

“You said he’s in the slums? That Healing Saint?”

“Yes.”

“I should pay him a visit sometime. I’m curious. I wonder what a true saint looks like.”

To think that something would stimulate his curiosity so strongly in his twilight years.

Oergen said, his eyes shining with rare passion.

Erpa smiled at his words.

“I’ll introduce you. You’ll be surprised when you meet him.”

“Yes, let’s meet him. I’m really curious about what kind of person he is.”

If the Healing Saint had heard this conversation, he would have screamed, “Please don’t come!” But fortunately, or unfortunately…

The Saint wasn’t here right now.

***

Another hectic day passed.

The area around the abandoned factory, where I had settled, seemed to have become a sanctuary for the poor.

They sleep on the warm stone floor, and when they wake up in the morning, the priests of the Lilia Church hand out free meals at the soup kitchen.

And that’s not all.

“Put them to work. Give them work and pay them generously. That is the will of Grace.”

Just as I had commanded to bankrupt the Lilia Church, High Priest Alois was paying the poor a generous, almost excessive wage of 1 Saled per day in exchange for labor.

In return, the poor were cleaning up the slums.

Picking up trash, cleaning the mud stained with filth and sewage, bringing the sick to me, planting trees on the barren city streets, and so on.

They were mobilized to purify the surrounding area and were receiving food and shelter in return.

But I was still anxious.

It wasn’t just anything; it was elixir, the “blue gold,” gushing out from the middle of the abandoned factory.

I had no doubt that our Mr. Jonathan Karma would ruin it, but still, there was a possibility that it might succeed, wasn’t there?

To bankrupt them, I had to make them waste even more money.

“Build public restrooms. Diseases spread because feces and urine are scattered on the streets. Even if I heal them, they will get sick again if they live in filth. And appoint someone to manage them and have them cleaned every day.”

“As you command, Saint!!”

“Build bathhouses. True grace resides in a clean body. Draw water from the water supply and build public bathhouses. Being clean, well-fed, and well-rested is true grace. Spare no expense and build the cleanest, most splendid bathhouses possible.”

“As you command, Saint!!”

High Priest Yodel was now in a state where he would happily eat shit if I told him to.

Seeing him enthusiastically agree to everything I asked, I felt a bit relieved.

It wasn’t like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

If they kept spending money endlessly like this, even the Lilia Church would eventually run out of funds.

On top of that, Jonathan Karma’s business funds also had to come from the Lilia Church.

If things went well, they might even go bankrupt within a few months.

If they went bankrupt helping people like this, everyone would curse me out, but they wouldn’t burn me at the stake or anything.

Perhaps they would say, “The Saint was kind, but truly incompetent. It was unpleasant meeting you, and let’s never see each other again,” and then leave, right?

As I was thinking that, diligently healing the sick, feeding and sheltering them, giving them jobs, building bathhouses, having them clean, building restrooms, and wasting money…

I realized this wasn’t right.

“Money? No need!! The Saint healed my mother! I’ll build them as an offering!”

Public restrooms were built for free. And in many places.

“Before my hands were injured, I was a successful stonemason. Money? That’s not something a person should accept. I’ll do this for free.”

Another poor person, whom I had completely healed after he had been living like a cripple with injured hands, turned out to be a famous stonemason.

He quickly gathered people and started building a bathhouse.

And that wasn’t all.

“Let’s repay the grace the Saint has given us!!”

“Repay grace with grace!!”

People continued to passionately clean the surrounding area, even into the evening when they weren’t being paid, picking up trash, cleaning the mud stained with filth and sewage, sweeping and mopping the ground.

In less than a week, the surrounding roads had transformed into clean and tidy brick roads, making me doubt if this was the same dirty, mud-filled place I had first seen.

“This is an offering.”

“It’s my heart. Please accept it.”

“I run a vegetable stall. If you’d like, please take these vegetables.”

“I run a butcher shop. If you don’t mind old meat, please accept it.”

“You healed my son’s eyes. I will offer all the leftover bread from a day’s work as a donation. Please share it with the poor.”

“I was once a chef at a famous restaurant. Give me the ingredients. I will cook and share it with everyone.”

Donated ingredients kept flowing into the soup kitchen, and strange people kept appearing out of nowhere, throwing money as offerings. Among the people I healed, those with culinary talent naturally started cooking and sharing food with others, in an endless cycle.

“Saint, we have saved a tremendous amount of money. We can even cover Mr. Jonathan Karma’s initial business funds with the continuous donations!!”

Damn it!!

Why are you doing this to me?!

Why?!

Go bankrupt!

Please just go bankrupt!!

Why are things going so well?!

It seemed my cursed fate was determined to make me die from divine punishment.

I needed another way.

It seemed impossible to escape by bankrupting them.

How could I make these people leave me?

How could I…

As I was trembling inside, healing the poor who had flocked to me for treatment early in the morning…

The crowd suddenly parted.

And with it, my thoughts and worries vanished.

From afar, a group of people was pushing through the crowd, walking straight towards me.

And at the head of the group was a witch with a sharp smile, wearing the witch’s uniform of the Magic Tower and a wide-brimmed witch’s hat.

“Healing Saint?”

She walked towards me, her freckled face approaching with clicking heels.

As I blinked, wondering what was happening, she chuckled and looked at the people behind her.

“See? I was right, wasn’t I? This man, he doesn’t use divine power when he heals people.”

The people behind her were all dressed in black.

Black clothes, black masks, black shoes, and black pants.

The only white thing was a single symbol:

A snow-white eye-shaped emblem engraved on their chests.

The moment I saw that, I felt all the blood drain from my body.

It was an emblem that no citizen of the Empire could fail to recognize.

The emblem of the Silent Church, who served the God of Darkness and Secrets, Le-Nere.

They weren’t a famous church, nor did they have many followers. In fact, they were known for being selective in choosing their followers, resulting in a small number of believers. But there was a reason why they were renowned.

They were the Inquisitors in charge of heresy trials in the Pantheon, an organization formed by the 24 officially recognized churches of the Empire.

“Indeed, there is no confirmation of divine power manifestation, Lady Thüdel.”

A priest of the Silent Church said in a low voice. At his words, the witch called Thüdel burst into laughter, seemingly pleased.

“As expected, my intuition is good. Hey, Healing Saint.”

She pushed her heeled boot between my legs and smiled ominously.

“You’re a fake impersonating the Saint of the Goddess Lilia, aren’t you?”