Chapter 4
Wait, time stop? Shouldn't I be the only one able to move while everyone else's time is stopped?
This isn't the time stop I know!
I tried to move while groaning, but my body seemed frozen in place, absolutely refusing to move.
After trying to move for about 30 minutes in stopped time.
I was barely able to take one step.
How did I do it?
It was the result of an annoying, frustrating, and mentally exhausting process of designating small areas of my body and the space I wanted to move into, releasing the time stop, advancing, and then reapplying the time stop to the areas where it had been released.
What kind of skill is so complicated!!
The control is frustratingly difficult!
It seemed like it would take a tremendous amount of practice to handle time stop at the level seen on those sites.
I just wanted to go out and rest for a bit, but I couldn't even do that.
Life is really...
This sucks.
I exhaled a sigh and released the time stop.
"Saint!! Saint!!"
"My son is sick! Saint! Please!"
The cries of the sick and the poor rang out like a chorus.
At this rate, the saint will die! People!
Let me rest too!
As I was contemplating whether to shout to shake them off.
"Move aside!! Move aside, you filthy things!"
With a loud voice, a group of people approached me, pushing away the crowd that had been swarming around me.
The clear flame symbol engraved on their chests.
They were priests of the Sun Order, who worshipped Rophus, the God of the Sun.
I had heard about the Sun Order.
They were people who believed that status and wealth were given by God.
Naturally, they believed that the poor and lowly were cursed by God to be that way.
They were also beings who made money by performing healing acts like the Lilia Order, but they existed strictly for the wealthy upper class.
In terms of doctors, they could be considered people who operated VVIP-only hospitals.
Seeing the priests of the Sun Order appear with plate-armored holy knights and police armed with guns and batons, the poor people hesitated and parted like the Red Sea in the miracle of Moses.
The muscle-bound man at the front, who was hard to distinguish whether he was a priest or a bear, approached me with heavy steps.
"So you're the Saint of Healing. The saint sent by the Goddess Lilia?"
I'm so scared!
I'm terrified!
I never even mentioned anything close to the name of Goddess Lilia!! So why is this suddenly turning into a development where I'm impersonating a saint of a specific order?
This damn advance notice.
There's no helping it.
It's time to push the character I created.
I straightened my back proudly, made my gaze as righteous as possible, and looked straight at the muscle man.
"I don't belong to any order."
Unregistered illegal magic users were executed, but impersonating a saint sent by the god of a specific order would be burned at the stake. That was why I had no choice but to answer like this.
But it seemed this answer was a mistake too.
"It seems you don't even worship a god? Then where does your power come from? Are you a mage?"
At the word “mage”, I could see the holy knights and police behind him subtly placing their hands on their weapons.
Unregistered illegal magic users were lynched.
Unregistered illegal magic users were lynched.
Even in the midst of a fear so great that I felt I might wet myself if I relaxed even a little, I tried to appear as nonchalant as possible.
Vague words, let's gloss over it with something saint-like.
It's best not to say anything that could incriminate me.
Vague words...
"I am merely one who serves the lowly."
Got it! I glossed over it vaguely!!
At my words, the poor people who had been watching me started to murmur and then began to speak up.
"He healed us!!"
"You dirty businessmen who only chase after the rich! Why are you here if you're not going to heal us?!"
"Don't interfere and get lost!! My son is sick! He needs treatment!!"
At the voices of the poor, the priest of the Sun Order let out a shout with tremendous volume, "Shut up! You filthy things!"
It was a voice full of holy power.
He must have used some kind of magic or miracle.
Otherwise, it wasn’t a sound that could possibly come from a human mouth.
Having heard that volume at zero distance, I froze in place unable to move, but the priest seemed to interpret it differently, "You've got some guts. You're either an amazing con artist or a real saint. Seeing how you don't even flinch, that is?"
I was still frozen and couldn't give any answer.
The priest burst into laughter at my appearance.
He looked around at the poor people.
"The same goes for all of you! Look at you swarming like locusts and cockroaches at the appearance of a so-called saint, holding out your hands without paying a single coin! How are you any different from beasts? The Sun Order has always been open to you too! We only charge a modest fee!"
"That fee is ridiculously expensive!"
"If you want to live, can't you even earn that much money!? Is your desire to live so cheap!! You are shadows! Beings who haven't received the grace of the sun!! There's a reason why Lord Rophus abandoned you!"
Though they seemed upset, the poor people didn't step forward, fearing the swords of the holy knights and the guns of the police.
He spoke grandly, but in the end, if one tried to grasp the true meaning of those words, wasn't it just saying that they had come because it was unsightly that I was taking all their potential customers in their territory?
Probably, for the prosperity of the Sun Order, that muscle man would try to crush me by any means necessary.
It was only natural to crush competitors when they were still seedlings.
What should I do?
Should I bow my head now and confess that it was all a lie, that I was putting on a show to prevent the end of the world?
No.
Then I'd be lynched immediately.
So what should I do?
The conclusion was drawn that if bowing my head wouldn't solve it, I needed to become even more brazen.
Therefore, it seemed necessary to take a slightly stronger stance here.
"You're telling those born with disabilities and battered by the environment and the world to go earn money? Isn't that like telling someone who can't walk to run?!"
As I shouted angrily, the priest of the Sun Order showed a slightly surprised expression.
Good.
It's working.
Let's keep pushing!
I must avoid being lynched at all costs!
"Who are you to belittle their will to live as cheap!? They are not cheap! I've merely brought those who were robbed of even the right to stand at the starting line back to the starting point!! You, who insult people's lives and will to live, are the cheap one!"
To be honest, I didn't even know what was saying right now.
I merely blurted out whatever came to mind.
It was more of a stream of consciousness than a grand speech if anything.
Inside, I actually felt like I might wet myself from fear of being lynched.
I was so scared that the muscle man might hit me that tears were even slightly leaking out.
"No matter what you say! No matter what those police and holy knights over there do to me! I will not stop bringing the weak and wounded to the starting point! Because that is the mission given to me!!"
As I finished speaking, tears streaming down my face, not even knowing what I had said, I suddenly felt an enormous pressure behind me.
I could feel the poor people looking at the priest of the Sun Order with fierce expressions.
"Don't harm the Saint!!"
"He is a person who performs miracles!!"
"He's not a con artist!!"
The beggar I first healed jumped out and further fueled the mob mentality.
"Look! Look! He healed me! He caressed me with divine grace!! The boils that covered my body disappeared and the leg that was twisted from birth is now normal!! Are you going to say he's not a saint after seeing this?!"
"That's right!!"
Even the police and holy knights hesitated at the tremendous shouts.
The muscle-bound priest of the Sun Order also seemed flustered.
"Be quiet! I said be quiet!" he shouted again with a voice that seemed like it would burst eardrums.
The poor people stepped back hesitantly, but their eyes were still fiercely alive.
The priest, realizing that shouting wasn't working, seemed to think it was time to change his strategy.
"Alright. Since you all revere this person as a saint so much, let's put him to the test."
The priest chuckled and spread his arms wide, then tapped his chest.
"Do you know how to distinguish between a con artist and a real saint? A saint can perform multiple miracles. A con artist can only perform one or two set miracles because they just roughly learn simple magic."
The priest looked at me with a mocking expression.
"If you're really a saint, perform a miracle other than healing for me!! I'm telling you to perform a miracle that I and everyone else can believe!!"
His eyes were as cold as a snake eyeing its prey.
I could instinctively tell it was a trap.
Damn.
Body modification was naturally blocked.
If I showed body modification again, he would say, “See! He's indeed a con artist who can only perform one miracle!” and I'd be lynched.
Then... 3000x Sensitivity?
If that muscle-bound priest started saying “I'm a male-disqualified sow who climaxes from flame nipples!! Nyaaaaah♥♥” while reaching climax, the holy knights behind him would immediately say it was the sorcery of an evil heretic and drag me away.
This would also lead to lynching.
How about Absolute Hypnosis?
Hypnosis...
This would also lead to lynching.
If that priest suddenly changed his words and said, “Ah. This person is a true saint. He kneaded the thoughts in my head,” even I thought it sounded too much like heretical sorcery.
Then all that's left is...
Time Stop.
There's no helping it.
Bluffing! It's time to bluff!
"You don't believe that I've come for the lowly."
"Do you know how many con artists there are?"
"You're not worried about me being a con artist. You're just a merchant concerned about losing potential customers for the Sun Order."
"Are you insulting the Sun Order now!"
The holy knights burst with anger and move to draw their swords.
It was foolish to turn the entire Sun Order into an enemy.
I hurriedly added words, "I'm not insulting the Sun Order or Lord Rophus. I'm just saying that the man in front of me is filthy."
The muscle-bound priest let out a laugh full of mockery.
"Your words keep getting longer. Nothing is more empty than words. If you're truly a saint, prove it with a miracle!"
At those words, I raised my hand.
My plan was this.
If there was one thing I realized when I first used Time Stop earlier, it was that my skill could apply and release Time Stop locally by designating specific areas.
I'd apply Time Stop only around that priest's legs.
Then, after making him unable to move, I'd say something like, “Look! Because you didn't believe me, you've become unable to move!! It's divine punishment!”
I was planning to deliver lines like this.
Of course, I was worried because I had only used the Time Stop skill once, so my control was a complete mess.
But I had to try.
If I didn't do anything after bluffing this far, I would definitely get lynched.
"Divine punishment for the unbeliever."
After delivering a line that sounded cool, I aimed for the muscle-bound priest's legs and applied Time Stop....
Wait a minute.
Time Stop shouldn't be applied there?
I-I can't control this!
Due to low proficiency, the control… oh shit!
"Gak! Gaaaah! Aaaaargh!"
The muscle-bound priest suddenly clutched his heart and started trembling violently.
"Ugh… Uuugh… Uuugh...."
After trembling, he soon collapsed from a heart attack.
I tried desperately to release the Time Stop, but because I was flustered, the control became even worse.
"Priest Barduk!! Priest Barduk!"
"Please get up!"
The holy knights rushed to the muscle-bound priest urgently.
I was still frozen with my hand raised.
Come on, release already!! Please!
It was only after 30 seconds that I was barely able to release the localized Time Stop on his heart.
"Kuheheheough!!"
Seeing Priest Barduk breathe out once again, the holy knights drew their swords with ominous eyes.
A white aura that seemed to be burning enveloped their swords.
"This heretical con artist dares to impersonate a saint and try to kill a priest of the Sun Order?"
"We'll burn you at the stake!"
I'm screwed.
I froze again.
If the holy knights took one more step, I felt like I would wet myself and roll on the ground begging for my life.
And fortunately, the holy knights didn't take one more step.
"Priest Barduk! Are you alright...!"
Unlike the holy knights moving to arrest me, one of the holy knights supporting the collapsed Barduk stopped speaking.
Not just him.
All the poor people, police, and even I had our gazes fixed on Barduk.
Why?
Because Barduk's face had changed.
The muscle-bound man was gone, and suddenly Barduk's body had shrunk, transforming into a thin, snake-like man.
And on that man's forehead was a clear inverted pentagram.
The man urgently touched his forehead and turned pale.
"It's an evil god worshipper!"
One of the poor people shouted, "An evil god worshipper was disguising himself!"
This time a police officer shouted.
The holy knights also shouted.
"The inverted pentagram on his forehead!"
"Symbol of the evil god!!"
"Arrest him!"
With a commotion.
The evil god worshipper disguised as Priest Barduk was arrested.
I could only blink with wide eyes.
That... went well, right?