Chapter 12
It seemed I hadn't been unconscious for long.
When I came to my senses again, there were young girls gathered in front of me.
"It's the Saint."
"It's really the Saint."
About five young girls with hideously distorted faces were looking up at me with wide eyes.
I blinked and looked at those girls, then saw the robber's corpse collapsed in the corner and regained my sense of reality.
I didn't feel like vomiting.
But cold sweat was pouring out like crazy.
The young girls carefully approached me, who was frozen stiff and unable to move, and held my hands.
That warmth somewhat brought me back to my senses.
"That man... what did he do?"
"He gets matches for us and gives them to us."
"Then we sell them and earn money."
"The man takes the money we earn and gives us a place to sleep and food."
"He gives you a place to sleep and food?"
"Yes, Saint."
I looked down at the young children.
At most, they were 7 to 8 years old.
There was even one girl who looked like she might be 4 years old.
All of these children had faces melted by burns, and their clothes were more like rags that should be in a trash can rather than on their bodies.
They had no shoes on their feet, and the hands of the girls holding mine were incredibly rough, enough to put even a seasoned construction worker to shame.
My brow furrowed.
These children who said they had food and a place to sleep were in this state?
"Can I see where you sleep?"
"Yes."
The children led me.
Damn it.
I need to run away quickly.
I need to run away before the Lilia Order people arrive...
But the children's condition was so miserable that I just couldn't leave.
After passing through a few more winding alleys.
I was able to arrive at the place where the children said they slept.
"We lean against this and sleep."
I was at a loss for words.
A long, dirty, smelly, rotten rope was installed horizontally along the wall.
Young girls who looked less than 10 years old were huddled together, leaning against that rope to sleep.
At the entrance of a terrible sewer that reeked of mold and rot, a place that seemed to have no name and where no one would come.
"Food... what do you eat?"
The young girls pointed to rotten vegetables and moldy bread rolling around near the sewer.
"If we bring in a lot of money, sometimes he gives us bread without mold."
I was at a loss for words at the shocking scene.
All 15 young girls had distorted burn marks on their faces, bodies, or hands, and were dangling against the rope with expressions that seemed devoid of hope or future.
The guilt of killing a person faded away.
This…
How can such fucking trash exist?
"Your faces. Why are your faces like that? Why are your faces like this?"
At my question, the girls started to cry.
"My mom and dad died early."
"The factory man took us and made us work in the match factory."
"We were supposed to be careful, but we weren't careful and there was a fire."
"It hurt our faces, so they just abandoned us. We were hungry and had nowhere to sleep... The man took us in, made us work, and gave us a place to sleep and food."
Among the young girls without shoes, some had toes that had fallen off due to frostbite.
There were children without fingers and some whose twisted faces exposed the inside of their throats.
Honestly, the children's condition made it more surprising that they were even alive.
My fists clenched.
I had to run away.
The people from the Lilia Order were coming.
They said they arrived early, right?
So they might be looking for me right now.
I shouldn't be doing this.
I had to run away.
My head was screaming that I should run away right now.
But...
But.
How can I just run away after seeing this, damn it?
Since I suddenly disappeared after using Time Stop, there shouldn't be any witnesses or footprints.
Wouldn't it take them quite a while to find me too?
So wouldn't I have enough time to heal these children?
That's what I thought.
"Mister… are you really a saint?"
At the young girl's question, I quietly knelt down to meet her gaze.
"No."
I'm not a saint.
I'm just an idiot who was born with adult game skills.
I'm a coward who freezes up at even slightly big events and tears up when just a little scared.
My hobby was watching gore movies and anime, and in my past life, I was just an ordinary provincial university student who suddenly reincarnated.
But I was someone who had the ability to heal the children in front of me.
"I'm just a person who serves the lowly."
I reached out my hand to the child in front of me.
"Come here. I'll fix you."
Who cares if it's adult game skills or if I'm an idiot?
Let's be grateful for this opportunity.
I placed my hand on the child's head.
[Using the Body Modification skill!]
I started to touch the child's body.
I healed the face that had melted from burns and cured various diseases in the body.
I fixed the cut-off fingers and frostbitten toes that had fallen off.
Blood started dripping from my nose as I forcibly moved my mind, which hadn't fully recovered from the fatigue of using Time Stop, to concentrate on modifying the children, but I still didn't stop.
No.
I couldn't stop.
"Ah..."
The child cried as she looked at her body which had healed instantly.
I said to the healed child, "Go bring your friends. This uncle will fix everyone."
The child brought other children to me.
A limping child.
A child with a white eye, perhaps blind in one eye.
A child whose nose had completely melted, making strange sniffling sounds every time they spoke.
I placed my hand on the children's heads and carefully continued the modifications one by one.
And finally.
Even the last child returned to a cute and pretty appearance.
"S-Saint!"
"The Saint healed us!!"
"It doesn't hurt!! I can see!!"
When I heard the young children laughing cheerfully, tears came to my eyes for some reason.
I hugged each child tightly.
"You won't be in pain anymore."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, Saint!"
"Now we can sell matches even harder!!"
At those words, I had to frown.
"You're going to sell matches?"
"Yes."
"Where... where will you sleep?"
"Here."
"..."
"Why?"
Even though I healed them, if they continued like this, they were destined to get sick again, suffer, and die before long.
I was going to just heal them and then say goodbye and leave...
But I couldn't bring myself to leave.
"Do you know where the Sun Order is?"
"Yes! We know!"
"Go there and say the Saint sent you. They'll take care of you."
The Sun Order probably didn't have an abundance of money either.
So I thought I could send money for these children to use in the form of anonymous monthly donations.
"No! We don't want to leave the Saint!"
"Me too!"
This was the best I could do.
I couldn't do more than this.
The Lilia Order might be looking for me right now!!
If I’m caught, I’ll be burned at the stake, kids!!
"Now, can you please let go of uncle..."
Just as I was carefully pushing the children away and making plans to escape again.
"He's here!!"
"It's the Saint!!"
The sound of clanking plate armor was heard.
And before I could do anything, holy knights of the Sun Order rushed into the alley where I was standing.
"Saint! It's the Saint!!"
The moment I saw the holy knights, my face turned pale.
It's over.
Even now! I need to run away quickly...!
This sucks.
My mind is too tired.
I was in such a mental state that I doubted I could even escape this alley if I used Time Stop.
In the end, I couldn't run away and could only stand awkwardly surrounded by the children.
"Saint, could it be... did you heal these children?"
I forced a smile while dripping with cold sweat.
Fortunately, at least it wasn’t the Lilia Order.
"I just did what needed to be done."
"Ah... you really..."
Will you take the children?
I need to leave now, so please take the children and take good care of them.
...Just as I was about to open my mouth to say this.
A group of people followed the Sun Order's holy knights into the alley.
The robber, half out of his mind, drooling and giggling, was being dragged in by police officers with handcuffs on his hands.
That robber.
He’s alive??
Didn’t he die?
It's karma, you bastard.
You should rot in prison for life.
Up to this point, it was fine.
The problem was the group of priests in white clothes who came in following them.
A water droplet shaped inside a round circle.
Ah...
Why are you guys here?
"Shortly after the Saint disappeared, the people from the Lilia Order heard the rumors and came directly to our order. So I used the miracle of tracking to guide them personally."
The miracle of tracking.
Was there such a thing?
Why is there such a thing?
Why is there such a thing, damn it!!
"I see."
I still had a smiling face.
My face had just frozen in this state.
It’s over.
Looks like it’s the burning at the stake ending.
I'm really such an idiot, seriously.
I should have just run away, kids or not.
I should have quickly healed them and then immediately used Time Stop and bolted.
Why did I meddle unnecessarily and end up in this mess!?
No!
Why is this my fault!?
You guys from the Sun Order are worse for hiding the miracle of tracking from me!!
Just before being burned at the stake, if I cried out, "I've healed so many people! Even if I'm a heretic, can't you give me a break?!" and tried to appeal to their emotions, might there be a chance of survival?
While I was thinking such thoughts inwardly.
The priests of the Lilia Order carefully walked towards me.
I was completely frozen, watching them approach me.
The bald old man at the forefront of Lilia's priests was looking at me with a complex expression that was hard to describe.
"Goddess. Are you... are you truly the Saint? Are you the one sent down by the Goddess?"
I didn't know how to answer.
No matter what I said, I'd be caught.
I was completely frozen and just trembling.
When I didn't react, the bald old man reached out to me with his hand covered in liver spots.
"The sacred mark. If you are truly the apostle sent by the Goddess....... if you are her Saint, please show us the sacred mark."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Right.
This is how it would go.
It was obvious that they would try to verify me with all sorts of unfamiliar verification methods that only Lilia's believers would understand.
Sacred mark?
Would I have that?
It's over.
I'll probably be called a heretic who impersonated God's saint for the rest of my life.
When I froze and couldn't take any action, the bald old man who couldn't wait any longer took action first.
"Forgive our rudeness. We will check."
The bald old man urgently gestured.
The holy knights of the Lilia Order approached me.
They carefully and calmly began to undress me.
The clothes covered in all sorts of filth from rolling around among the poor and healing the witch fell off one by one.
I was just staring at the sky with a dazed expression.
...Life is fucking.
Is this how it ends so futilely?
So futilely...
The holy knights started to carefully examine every inch of my naked body, whether I was dazed or not.
I still stood with my arms spread, letting them appreciate my naked body.
I just gave up.
I was so scared that my brain had frozen and I couldn't think of anything.
The only thought in my head was to cry as pitifully as possible just before being burned at the stake and try to appeal to their emotions. That was the only thought in my head.
"There's no... there's no sacred mark."
"There's no sacred mark at all!" the holy knights of Lilia shouted.
Right.
There isn't.
It would be stranger if there was.
Should I start crying now?
Should I kneel down and cry pitifully, begging them to spare me from being burned at the stake on charges of heresy?
"...He will come in the purest body! Aah!! The words of the scripture have been fulfilled!!"
"That's right!! High Priest! This is the Saint sent by the Goddess!!"
...What?
"Oh, Lilia!! Ah!! Praise be the Goddess of Grace!!"
The holy knights all knelt down towards me at once.
The priests of the Lilia Order, including the bald old man, also knelt down.
The people of the Sun Order were making the sign of the cross with tears in their eyes, and the police officers were looking at me with respect and awe.
"Saint of the Goddess!! Lead us lowly servants!!"
I just blinked my eyes at the bald old man who was shouting with emotion.
What the hell is going on?