Chapter 16
"I moved the factory building to a large waste disposal site on the outskirts of the capital. You can demolish the building there, sell what can be sold, and dispose of the rest!"
As the witch shouted while waving her wand, everyone raised their hands and cheered.
"It's the grace of the Goddess!!"
"We believe! O’ Goddess!!"
Anyone could see that this was done by the witch using magic, so why was the Goddess suddenly being revered?
Please stop doing that.
Goddess Lilia must be watching me in real-time, you know.
It felt like something was stuck in my throat.
It was burdensome.
I felt like the Goddess might shout that I was a bastard impersonating a saint and strike divine punishment on my head even now.
"I! I will go and sell it! I know best what was inside the factory!!"
Scrooge.
No.
Jonathan Karma, who had arrived at the scene at some point, volunteered by raising his hand at the witch's words.
"Saint! Please wait a little!! I'll go and dispose of it! All the money that was in the factory is yours too! Please wait just a moment!!"
Jonathan Karma disappeared as if flying.
And by that evening, he returned with a thick bundle of cash.
"Most of the equipment in the factory was old, so I couldn't get much for it. Still, even just the scrap metal value was considerable. It's 2,000 saleds, Saint."
Jonathan Karma respectfully placed the bundle of money in front of me.
What am I supposed to do when you give it to me so openly in front of everyone like this?
It's impossible for me to secretly pocket it and spend it extravagantly.
"High Priest Yodel."
As I carefully called the High Priest, the bald old man rushed over and stood in front of me.
"Speak, Saint!"
"Use this to buy food and feed the poor here."
"Oh grace!! We will do so!!"
Just like that, a free soup kitchen was instantly created in front of the abandoned factory.
The poor who had been healed and recovered were shedding tears while eating the food prepared by the Lilia Order.
"It's been so long since I've had such warm and delicious food!"
"Thank you! Saint!!"
"Saint!! Thank you!!"
Numerous people came to me crying, bowing, and prostrating themselves.
Right.
It's really nice.
It's nice, but the problem is that the possibility of receiving divine punishment is increasing in real-time.
I'm telling you, I don't have a religion!!
I'm not a believer of Lilia!!
I don't even have faith, damn it!!
I'm an atheist!
I'm really screwed.
I'd have nothing to say even if lightning struck my crown right now.
The poor people weren't a problem.
They didn't know how to use the miracle of tracking, nor did they have systematic means to find people.
As expected.
Those Order people were the biggest problem.
I needed to make them leave quickly.
Quickly!
I need to make them spend money quickly!!
I need to bankrupt them and make them leave!!
"Yodel."
"Speak!! Saint!!"
"Tomorrow. As soon as day breaks, start digging the ground. We need to do the foundation work thoroughly. Dig deep and prepare to build a tall high-rise building. Understand?"
"We will do so!!"
"Expensive excavators and equipment. Rent them all and invest generously. And don't make people work for free. Give them wages. Generously. Give them so much that it seems excessive. A full pocket is true grace. Do you understand?"
"Of course!! Of course!! I'll scrape together all the money I can move with my authority right away! I'll also persuade the temples in the provinces as quickly as possible to bring in a lot of funds! When it's the Saint's order, how can the Order's money be a problem!!"
Now I didn't even feel guilty about deceiving the Order and making them suffer losses.
Guilt or whatever, I need to survive, don't I?
I'm still too young to die from divine punishment.
I'm sorry.
Grandpa Yodel.
But I don't have a choice either.
Evening came.
The poor were gathered around me like baby birds waiting for their mother, just staring at me.
As I looked at the poor, I finally realized the source of the discomfort.
"Do you all... not have homes?"
"The street is our home, Saint."
"We sleep leaning against ropes, Saint."
So that was the problem.
These people.
They had nowhere to sleep!!
I didn't have the ability to provide them with a place to sleep.
What should I do about this?
No! This is good?
If rumors spread that I was a useless saint who couldn't even provide shelter when it was freezing cold, wouldn't everyone leave me?
"Just lay down on the ground with straw mats! I'll use a wide-area temperature maintenance magic! Hurry and lie down! It's important to eat well and sleep well! Understand?"
The four-armed witch trolls again.
Why!!
Why!!
Why are you doing this, why!!
If you do that, I'll inevitably become a saint!!
They should curse and leave me when their mouths go crooked while sleeping!!
Why are you trying to make even the streets comfortable!!
That claim of belonging to the Magic Tower must be a lie.
Her actions were those of a dark magician through and through.
"Oh grace!! O’ Goddess!!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
As the poor laid down on the street as best they could, the witch waved her wand and sprinkled something in the air.
A faint yellow light seemed to frost in the air for a moment, and then the ground where I was standing became hot as if underfloor heating had been turned on.
"Everyone, sleep!"
"It's the Saint's grace!"
"Thank you, Witch! Thank you, Saint!! Thank you, O’ Goddess!!"
Everyone slept on the warm street with happy faces.
It was a scene without any chaos or unhappiness.
The holy knights of the Sun Order and the police dispatched to maintain public order were watching the scene with satisfaction.
Some police officers and holy knights were even shedding tears, being so moved for some reason.
"Saint. High Priest Aloysius told us to take care of you only until the Lilia Order arrives. But if it's alright, may we follow in the footsteps of your miracles a little longer?"
The holy knights of the Sun Order approached me, knelt down, and spoke like that, as if they had made a firm decision.
"It seems Rophus would also approve of doing this work. If you allow it, may we do so?"
At those words, my ears perked up.
This...
This is good?
"It would be an honor if you did so. Yodel."
"Speak! Saint!!"
High Priest Yodel, who had changed from a bald old man to almost a puppy level since witnessing the healing of Jonathan Karma's family.
When I called him, Yodel quickly ran over, and I pointed to the holy knights of the Sun Order.
"Please pay these people wages too. Their efforts should be rewarded."
"No! Saint!! We are not here for money!"
I know.
It's because I need to make the Order spend money.
"Please accept it. That is grace. Happiness comes from the wallet, and the wallet is sturdy thanks to money. You should receive when you can."
Yodel nodded at my words and moved.
"We will give it. Believers of the Sun! It is the will of the Goddess of Grace!"
The holy knights of the Sun Order nodded, making the sign of the cross as if moved by those words.
"If it is the Goddess's will, we will accept it!!"
Seeing the holy knights of the Sun Order shouting, the police officers also approached me one by one.
"Saint. We, too, will continue to maintain public order here. With this many people gathered continuously, problems could arise."
"Then you, too, should receive money."
"We can't do that! If we receive money, it's a bribe!"
"Don't call the Goddess' grace a bribe. If it's illegal to give it to each of you individually, then deliver it to the police station in the form of a donation."
I need to make them spend money somehow!!
Somehow!!
At my words, Yodel just nodded like an idiot.
"We will do so! Whatever the Saint orders!"
After being able to use the police and the holy knights of the Sun Order like that, Jonathan Karma carefully approached me.
"Saint. Don't you have anything for me to do? I've lived more than half my life as a businessman. I'm confident in handling money and running businesses."
This also caught my attention.
Confident my ass.
You failed your doll factory!!
That means you're terribly bad at business!!
A perfect talent!!
If I give this person money and entrust him with business, won't he fail spectacularly?
"I want to entrust you with building the temple. I'll leave it to you to rent equipment including excavators, start construction, dig the land, and direct workers to build the building. Yodel. From now on, entrust all the funds needed for construction to Jonathan Karma."
The puppy grandpa was OK with whatever I ordered.
"We will do so! Saint!!"
"Thank you. Thank you, Saint. I will never forget that you healed my daughter until the day I die. I will help you achieve miracles by your side. Thank you."
Jonathan Karma bowed deeply and disappeared.
Now it's over.
There won't be anything else, right?
"Don't you need to rest?"
I forgot!!
The nuclear bomb of a witch!
The witch approached me with her four arms modestly folded, smiling as she asked that.
She was really scary even looking at her again.
Was it even possible to have magical abilities that could uproot an entire factory from the ground and teleport it to the outskirts of the capital with just one wave of a wand?
What was in front of me was a monster.
I needed to calm down.
"I was about to sleep. The ground is really warm. Thank you."
I'm going to sleep. So please leave quickly.
I'm scared looking at you.
I tried to hurriedly pretend to lie down, but faster than that, the witch approached me and held my hand.
Wow, damn, I'm terrified.
I'm really scared.
Without realizing it, cold sweat broke out and my body started to tremble.
"You're trembling again. Is it divine possession?"
The witch worriedly held both my hands and touched my forehead with her two remaining hands.
It wasn’t divine possession.
I was just trembling out of fear of disappearing with you.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Yeah! Don't worry and just disappear!!
Stop coming to find me!!
That was what I meant when I said it casually, but it seemed the witch interpreted my words differently.
"You're truly noble."
The witch's eyes turned red.
They even well up with tears.
It seemed she mistook me for a noble saint who dedicated and sacrificed himself for people even while enduring divine possession.
"Your name. I want to know your name. Saint. I couldn't hear it last time. Could you tell me?"
Her two hands holding mine tightly in desperation sound like a threat to me.
Is she saying she'll crush me if I don't tell her my name?
Is she going to turn evil and become a bomb again?
I'm so fucking scared...
"It's Jericho Amael. You can just call me Amael if you like."
"Mr. Amael..." The witch murmured dreamily as if in a trance.
After seeming to savor my name on the tip of her tongue with her eyes tightly closed, the witch carefully lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
"You have saved my everything, Saint."
"I only did what needed to be done."
"Just once... Could you kiss me just once more?" the witch carefully asked me with a very flushed face.
What happens if I don't do it?
She's making even her threats so fiercely.
I carefully held her face and pulled her towards me.
And carefully kissed her forehead.
Please don't explode.
Right.
I can give kisses as many times as needed.
As long as she doesn't explode, a kiss is just...
"I am yours forever."
After the kiss ended, the witch looked up at me with tears in her eyes, her face looking like it might melt.
Her fingers carefully touched my lips.
The witch smiled while ecstatically touching my lips.
Her eyes were crying but her mouth was smiling.
She looked like she was wallowing in a crucible of emotion.
"I'll be going now."
The witch politely greeted me and disappeared.
Only after she disappeared could I relax.
She won't come again tomorrow, right?
I hope she never comes again.