This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 25
I Pity You
『 Translator – Divinity 』

“Witch Thüdel, are you still doubtful? We have examined his memories and soul. The Silent Church found no trace of evil or blemish in the Saint’s soul,” said Gerson, the High Priest of the Silent Church, to Thüdel.

“You, the one who was most suspicious, personally saw his memories. If there was anything suspicious, you would have shown it immediately. Were there such scenes? Was there even a single moment in his memories that could be used as evidence that the Saint is a devil worshiper or a servant of demons?”

Witch Thüdel faltered.

She sweated and rolled her eyes.

This wasn’t right.

This couldn’t be happening.

Her face was filled with the determination to paint me as a villain somehow.

“Speak!! Witch Thüdel!! As you claimed, were there any memories of worshiping the Evil God or demons in Saint Amael’s memories!! Were there or were there not!!”

At Gerson’s booming voice, Thüdel screamed and pointed at me.

“Does this make any sense??? Does it make any sense!! A saint without divine power, that’s absurd! This is a fraud!! A fraud!! It’s a scam!”

All the followers of the Lilia Church erupted at her childish insistence.

“The witch of the Magic Tower has crossed the line!”

“She must have become arrogant from walking the path of magic!! Her disregard for the Grace Church has reached its peak!!”

“Tower Master!! Call the Tower Master!! Tower Master!!”

Grandpa Yodel, in particular, had completely transformed into Mozgus.

His eyes were completely bloodshot, and his face was red with rage. He looked like he could be taken straight from a scene in a certain berserker manga.

Seeing the intense reaction from the Lilia Church, the mages and witches couldn’t stay silent either.

“Thüdel!! Stop it!! We’ve examined his memories and soul! He has undergone the most humiliating self-certification, something only done to devil worshipers and demon servants!! There’s nothing more to scrutinize!!”

“Stop it!! Are you trying to tarnish the name of the Magic Tower!!”

Several mages and witches surrounded Thüdel and spoke, but she didn’t back down.

“No!! I’m not wrong! He’s definitely a devil worshiper! Don’t you all see it? How cunningly he has deceived us? No divine power!! No divine power!! Has there ever been a saint like that? No!! He’s a fraud!! A scammer!!”

At her words, Gerson approached her with a hardened expression and began to explain.

“The Healing Saint was only recorded in the Scripture of Grace; he has never appeared in reality before, witch Thüdel. So it’s natural that he has a different form from the saints known so far.”

“But the divine power!…”

“Saints and saintesses are not beings who take the form humans desire. They take the form their God desires. If the Goddess of Grace desired a saint without divine power, then it is right to call him a saint even if he has no divine power, is it not?”

Thüdel seemed to be completely speechless, as she just trembled and looked down at the floor.

Gerson glared at her for a moment, then continued.

“How can mere humans understand the will of God!! How can chosen saints and saintesses only appear in a form that fits human standards!! Only frauds obsess over proof of divinity! A true saint is naturally accepted the moment you see them!! Wasn’t Saint Amael exactly like that!!”

The members of the Lilia Church raised their arms and shouted.

“He’s right!! Those are truly wise words!!”

“He had no stigmata! No divine power! Yet he healed the poor and lifted the sick with the humblest of attitudes, just as it is written in the Scripture of the Grace Church! When the Saint comes, you shall know him, weren’t those words fulfilled!!”

“That’s right!!”

Once again, everyone in the courtroom began to applaud.

Gerson looked at Thüdel.

“You are the only one denying the Saint’s divinity. If you continue to be stubborn, I cannot stop you, but I can ensure that the Pantheon does not accept your objection. Witch Thüdel, it is your freedom to further insult Saint Amael, but…”

Gerson looked at an old man who appeared to be the Tower Master.

“The Pantheon will not overlook this matter. I trust you understand the implications of insulting a saint recognized by the Pantheon, Tower Master Oergen.”

The old man called Tower Master Oergen closed his eyes tightly and bowed his head.

“I apologize. I did not intend to insult the Saint. Once again, I apologize…”

“You will regret not listening to me later!! Everyone will pay the price for accepting that fraud!!”

Thüdel made one last desperate attempt.

At her outburst, even the witches and mages seemed to have reached their limit.

“Shut up!!”

“Be quiet!! He’s obviously a saint!!”

“Why do you keep stirring up trouble!!”

Despite the harsh criticism, Thüdel glared at me.

At this point, I became curious too.

I carefully stepped down from the defendant’s stand and walked towards Thüdel.

Tower Master Oergen saw me and cautiously approached, bowing his head.

“Please forgive the blunder of our witch, Saint Amael…”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

I gestured to Tower Master Oergen to reassure him, then approached Thüdel.

People naturally made way for me.

Thüdel glared at me with venomous eyes.

I met her gaze calmly and asked,

“Why are you so determined to accuse me? Why are you trying so hard to discredit me?”

No matter what I do, people call me a saint.

There’s no way to avoid the Goddess Lilia’s divine punishment.

The world is against me.

With my nerves already on edge, there’s no way I could look favorably on the witch who was openly berating me.

I was grateful when you reported me, but it ended up failing!!

I’m still a saint!!

For fuck’s sake, I’m already in a terrible mood, so what’s with that venomous look?

It’s pissing me off!!

“I know your true nature. You’re just a lucky fraud.”

That’s correct.

But aren’t you going to answer my question?

[Casting skill Absolute Hypnosis!!]

“Answer my question. Why are you trying so hard to discredit me? Tell me the truth!”

At my words, Thüdel opened her mouth as if to spew insults with a mocking expression.

“Because only if you’re a fake saint can that bitch Erpa fall… Gah!!”

Thüdel was startled and covered her mouth.

But there was no way I would let that slide.

You’re already under hypnosis.

I had two months of good rest, so my mental strength is full, and my aim is perfect.

“Don’t move. Don’t try to run away. Keep talking while looking straight at me. Tell me the truth! What do you mean by ‘for Erpa’s downfall’?”

Thüdel’s mouth opened automatically.

With a shocked and horrified expression, she began to reveal the truth.

“It’s exactly what I said. You healed Erpa. So, if you’re exposed as a fake saint or a devil worshiper and judged a heretic, Erpa can become an Abomination again. I was going to use the White Church again to drag that spider bitch down and become the next Tower Master myself.”

Conspiracies and schemes exist everywhere.

But the moment those conspiracies and schemes are spoken aloud…

Sometimes, humans become truly ugly.

The faces of the mages and witches of the Magic Tower contorted at the relentless outpouring of truth, and even High Priest Gerson of the Silent Church…

And the followers of the Lilia Church…

The Supreme Court, the Senate, and everyone else, too.

They frowned.

Thüdel had an expression that screamed she wanted to run away.

But caught in my hypnosis, she couldn’t escape and was frozen in place, spilling everything in her mind.

“Why did you go so far… to attack me and try to harm Erpa?”

“Because I hate her!! Because she’s better than me! It hurts my pride!! I wish she didn’t exist!! If it weren’t for her, I would have been the top talent in the Magic Tower!! Everything ended when she appeared!! Everything ended!! That’s why I wanted to get rid of her!! To eliminate her by any means necessary!!…”

“Stop!! Stop it!!”

Tower Master Oergen shouted.

He covered his face with one hand, looking devastated.

“At the academic conference, gathering the mages and witches, manipulating the White Church, was that all your plan, Thüdel?”

Thüdel was now in tears.

Unable to bear the truth spilling from her mouth, she desperately tried to stop talking by pursing her lips, but the power of Absolute Hypnosis lived up to its name; it was absolute.

“It was all my plan. Most of them actively supported my plan. There were many in the Magic Tower who were jealous and envious of Erpa. I thought if I just gave them a reason, they would all join together to drive Erpa out. And that’s exactly what happened.”

“By Dulaneir.”

The priests of the White Church bowed their heads in shame.

The mages and witches of the Magic Tower also looked down at the floor, ashamed.

The truths that spilled from Thüdel’s mouth were utterly humiliating.

After speaking, Thüdel shook her head desperately, her face pale.

“N-No!! Th-This is… That, that saint must have used some evil trick… I-I!!…”

“Thüdel.”

Tower Master Oergen looked at Thüdel with a cold expression.

“You’re tarnishing the entire reputation of the Magic Tower with your personal selfishness and jealousy. On top of that, with your endless stubbornness, you’ve even invoked the wrath of the Pantheon. The Magic Tower will not take responsibility for your actions. You will have to face the Pantheon’s wrath alone.”

“Tower Master!! Master Oergen!! Master!! W-wait!! No!! No!! Please listen to me!!…”

“By the authority of the Tower Master, I declare here and now. You are expelled. You are no longer a member of the Mars branch of the Magic Tower. Find another tower and continue your research there.”

Tower Master Oergen turned away.

The witches and mages also turned away.

They left the courtroom without saying a word, looking down at the floor in shame and disgrace.

The only witch remaining was Erpa, the four-armed nuclear bomb witch.

The priests of the White Church stood up and approached her.

“Once again, we apologize for our foolish actions, Witch Erpa. The Healing Saint has opened our eyes. Forgive…”

Erpa nodded.

“I accept your apology. I trust you will be careful not to repeat such mistakes.”

“We will… We will certainly do so.”

The priests of the White Church made the sign of the cross towards me respectfully, then quickly left the courtroom, looking down at the floor, much like the mages of the Magic Tower.

However, no one else seemed to have any intention of leaving the courtroom.

No.

Rather, they were watching the situation unfold with expressions of intense interest.

Why?

Because High Priest Yodel of the Lilia Church was approaching Thüdel with an expression that would make even Mozgus look tame, like a wrathful deity.

Just as I subtly released the hypnosis on Thüdel, High Priest Yodel reached her.

“W-Wait… I-I… I…”

“You used the Healing Saint, the first Saint bestowed upon us by the Goddess since the establishment of the Grace Church, to insult and discredit him for your own disgusting selfish desires?? Could there be any greater blasphemy!! High Priest Gerson!”

Gerson, along with the masked and black-clad priests of the Silent Church, approached Yodel.

“Speak, High Priest of the Grace Church.”

“The witch before us is the true heretic!! The Lilia Church formally requests a heresy trial by the Pantheon against the witch Thüdel!”

“It seems everyone is present. Since you have all witnessed the scene yourselves, we can omit the various tedious and time-consuming procedures. So, let’s move directly to the vote. Those who believe that Witch Thüdel’s actions just now constitute blasphemy against the Grace Church, raise your hands.”

The Supreme Court.

The Senate.

The Magic Tower was gone, and the White Church had also left, leaving the representatives of the 23 remaining churches.

They all raised their hands in unison.

Thüdel’s face crumpled.

“Ahhh!! W-wait. No! That’s not what I meant!! I-I just wanted to be certain!! Please don’t do this!!”

As she rambled incoherently…

Erpa cautiously approached her.

And uttered a single, piercing sentence.

“I pity you, Thüdel.”

At those words, Thüdel’s face contorted.

With demonic fury etched on her face, she screamed.

“Fuck off, you bitch!! You spider!! You goddamn bitch!! Die! Die! You should have never been born! I curse you! I curse you! Die! Die!!”

“Take her away! Sever her magic circuits and lock her in the most vile and filthy dungeon for the rest of her life! For the crime of insulting the Saint of the revered Pantheon!”

At Gerson’s command, the Silent Church inquisitors cast a miracle on Thüdel.

Subdued in an instant, she was swallowed by shadows and disappeared from the courtroom.

And that was the end.

The long and arduous heresy trial was finally over.