Chapter 5
Evil god worshippers.
Beings that caused all kinds of turmoil, conflict, war, and massacre in the human world.
Beings said to become even stronger by offering human blood to evil gods.
Due to the nature of the gods they served, they were said to be people who specialized in endlessly instigating conflicts and destroying society by disguising themselves as people of specific social status.
It was said that skilled evil god worshippers were really difficult to identify because they couldn't be distinguished even with holy magic, and because of that, there were still many evil god worshippers secretly active throughout society even now...
That was what I knew, but.
Of all people, the priest from the Sun Order who came to interrogate me was an evil god worshipper?
What kind of coincidence is this?
I thought it was fortunate that I avoided being lynched, but only for a moment.
"It's a saint!! An undoubtable saint!"
"Saint! Please heal us!!"
"My daughter is sick!! Please heal my daughter!!"
Hearing the unprecedentedly explosive cheers of the poor, I wondered if I might have made a mistake.
Even if I now said I wasn’t a saint, that I was just a pitiful idiot trying to prevent the end of the world with adult game skills, it seemed like no one would listen anymore.
"I need to rest for a while. Please provide me with food and a place to lie down."
Anyway, I'm too tired.
It seemed even more so because I was extremely tense when the people from the Sun Order came, and then all that tension was released at once.
When I said that because I felt like I was going to die from fatigue, within 5 minutes, a bed for me to lie on and a quite decent meal by slum standards were prepared in front of me.
I ate the prepared food and as soon as I laid my head on the pillow of the soft bed they had found from somewhere, I fell asleep right away.
And when I opened my eyes again.
Seeing the Sun Order priests, dozens of holy knights, and police forces armed with guns and batons lined up in front of me, I thought I just wanted to sleep forever.
"Are you the Saint of Healing from the Lilia Order?"
An elderly-looking priest quietly asked me like that, looking down at me.
I slowly sat up in my seat.
What did they come to say?
Are you trying to expose that there was an evil god worshipper in our Sun Order and steal our potential customers in our territory?
Are you going to spout stuff like, “This bastard came to ruin our business.”
I guess I met a "You're a heretic so die" ending?
I felt like I was going to wet myself.
My legs were losing strength, and my control over my bladder was loosening.
What am I supposed to do when you show me this as soon as I wake up, really?
"I don't belong to any specific order. I'm just someone who takes care of the lowly."
I'll really only pretend to be a saint for just one month and then bolt. I won’t do business in your territory, so please just let me live...
"Thank you, Saint."
Suddenly, the elderly priest in front of me bows his head respectfully towards me. Not only bowing, but he took my hand and quietly kissed the back of it.
...What kind of situation is this, exactly?
"Thanks to you, we were able to find the evil god worshipper. Also, this has become an opportunity for us to reflect on the mistakes our Sun Order has been making."
The old priest looked up at the heavens.
In the clear sky, the brilliant sun was shining down on the earth.
The same in the slums.
"We had forgotten for too long that there are no eternal shadows and no eternal light. That the sun shines equally above everyone's head."
While I was thinking I should just stay really quiet and blink my eyes.
The old priest who kissed the back of my hand turned around.
"We interrogated the devil worshipper who had infiltrated our order yesterday!! He confessed that he tried to turn the Sun Order into a gathering of greedy people!! He confessed that he tried to make it an order for the wealthy! An order that ostracizes the poor!!"
The priest bowed before the poor.
Other holy knights and priests followed him.
"Forgive our foolishness. And also forgive the mistake of not recognizing the saint and pressing him. The evil god worshipper said that he felt his heart stop the moment the saint reached out his hand towards him!"
Yeah.
That's because I made a mistake and applied the time stop to his heart instead of his legs.
"Thanks to that unexpected strike, the evil god worshipper's disguise was undone, and the evil magic that was hiding him was dispelled! He was executed yesterday, fearing the saint! It's an undeniable miracle! How could we doubt someone who showed such a miracle!"
The old priest approached the heavily armed police.
"I, Aloysius, the High Priest of the Sun Order, guarantee that the saint lying on that bed is by no means a heretic or an unregistered illegal magic user. He is pure and noble. So protect him."
"We will do so, High Priest."
The old priest.
No.
High Priest Aloysius turned his gaze towards me.
"The police and our order's holy knights will escort you. We've contacted the Lilia Order, so their priests and holy knights should be on their way. Until they reach you. We will protect you temporarily. May the sun always shine upon you. And may Lilia of Grace look down upon you."
The High Priest politely greeted me and then withdrew.
I couldn't say anything and just watched the scene.
Because things were going too well, you ask?
No.
It's because of the words that they've contacted the Lilia Order.
I'm not even a believer of Lilia.
I've never even said the word Lilia itself, so why has it turned out like this!!
Won't those people immediately realize that I'm not a believer of Lilia the moment they see me?
And won't they brand me as a heretic for impersonating a saint sent by their god?
Won't it be really hot when I'm burned at the stake?!??!?
No, damn it, this is really.
I'm screwed.
I'm really completely screwed.
Where are you, witch!? I need to just heal you and quickly bolt!
"Line up in order!"
"Don't push others! There's a possibility of a bigger accident if people fall!"
"The saint needs time to eat, drink, and rest!! There will be no healing during rest time!!"
"Children and severely injured will be treated first! Those with minor injuries who can endure, please wait for a while!!"
The police and the Sun Order's holy knights created order.
There were no more accidents of people falling over from crowding.
I felt like crying seeing the poor people lining up orderly to receive treatment from me.
I made a decision.
If things continued like this, I'd inevitably meet the people from the Lilia Order, they'd find out that wasn’t a Lilia believer, and I'd die being burned at the stake for impersonating a saint.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late yet.
I just received recognition from the Sun Order. Wasn’t this enough to be considered as having authority and fame?
Moreover, I now had knights and police that I could use.
I had to use those people to find the witch as quickly as possible.
That was the only way for me to survive.
"Knight, a moment please."
I said I would take a break from healing for a while and called a Sun Order holy knight who was guarding me.
"Do you know any mages or witches well?"
"There's a Magic Tower in the capital. I know its location, but I don't have personal acquaintances with witches or mages."
Magic Tower, huh?
Right.
Since she was a witch who used magic, wouldn't the Magic Tower be the most likely place to find her?
"That's fine. Could you possibly go to the Magic Tower and check if there's a witch with four arms and half her face… covered with something like a mask?"
If what I saw in my prophecy was correct, it was obvious that the witch would probably have a hideously distorted left face.
So I could only assume that she would be covering it with a mask.
"Four arms. Half the face covered with a mask…?"
"Yes. It's someone I must meet. Could you hurry and find out for me?"
"Anything the saint wishes."
The holy knight nodded and immediately ran off somewhere.
Good.
Let's quickly meet the witch and finish the healing before the Lilia Order people arrive.
That should do it.
Seeing a glimmer of hope, I started healing again.
This tiresome role of a saint where I might be lynched or burned at the stake at any time.
I wanted to end it quickly.
***
Tudel couldn't stay in the Magic Tower because she felt stifled.
She had to conduct new research.
Something far more impressive than that damn Erpha.
While walking through the first floor lobby to go out for a while from the Magic Tower for new data research.
Tudel's gaze shifted towards a man in unusual attire standing in the lobby, who had no business being in the Magic Tower.
A man with a burning flame emblem engraved on his chest.
A holy knight of the Sun Order.
"You're looking for a witch?"
"Yes. Is there perhaps a witch here with four arms and half her face covered with a mask? The Saint of Healing is looking for her."
Tudel, who had been listening to the conversation between the lobby receptionist and the holy knight, soon became curious and intervened, "You're saying the Saint of Healing is looking for a witch?"
"Yes, that's right. Is there perhaps someone who looks like that in this Magic Tower?"
Tudel's eyes narrowed.
"Why are you looking for such a person?"
"I don't know either. But the saint said it was someone he must meet."
"Is that so?"
Tudel looked at the holy knight with a strange gaze for a while and then smiled.
"Wait a moment. I'll check for you."
"Thank you, Witch."
Tudel sent a secretive glance to the lobby receptionist telling her not to say anything, then turned and went back up the Magic Tower.
Tudel went to the door of Erpha's personal research room and knocked.
After a while, Erpha opened the door with her left face covered with a silver mask as always.
Her exposed right eye widened.
"Tudel? What brings you here?"
Her expression showed that she never imagined Tudel would come looking for her.
Tudel smiled at her.
"There's a holy knight looking for you in the lobby on the first floor."
"A holy knight?"
"From the Sun Order, it seems?"
Erpha's eyes narrowed.
Erpha had experience visiting some religious orders for miracle research.
She had met with the Sun Order before, but not to the extent that they would come looking for her personally like this.
"Why would the Sun Order...?"
"They say the Saint of Healing is looking for you?"
Erpha had a blank expression for a moment.
The Saint of Healing?
Why?
"Are they really looking for me?"
"They said they're looking for a witch with 4 arms and half her face covered with a mask. Is there another witch like that besides you?"
"...I see. I'll go down and check."
Just as Erpha was about to close the door, Tudel blocked it.
"Why is the Saint of Healing looking for you?"
"How would I know?"
"Does it have something to do with that hidden left side of your face?"
Erpha flinched for a moment.
It was just for an instant, but Tudel didn't miss her reaction.
"It's not like that. I told you. This mask is just an accessory I wear around."
"Hmm. Is that so? For an accessory, you seem to wear it quite obsessively?"
The right side of Erpha's face twisted with displeasure.
"Do I have any obligation to explain to you what fashion I choose to wear?"
"No, you don't."
Witches and mages were eccentric.
There were mages who said they could only achieve results by researching naked, witches who always cast spells on themselves to walk on the ceiling, and witches who had an unsightly number of piercings on their tongues and ears.
Among such variants and eccentrics, a witch who covered half her face with a mask was quite normal in comparison.
That was why Tudel too had been indifferent about the mask covering Erpha's left face until now.
But when the words "Saint of Healing" and "left mask" were connected, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning.
"I just thought the inside of that left face was seriously twisted and distorted, so you didn't want to reveal it and that's why you cover it."
"It's not like that."
"Aren't you going down? Were you planning to secretly go to the Saint of Healing and ask him to fix half your face, but now you're troubled because I found out? If you're going, I want to go too. Seeing the healing process might be helpful for magical research, you know?"
"I said it's not like that! There's a high chance it's a con artist anyway! I was going to go down to refuse, but this is perfect! You tell them."
Erpha rarely raised her voice.
"Now get out. I have research left to do."
Erpha closed the door.
It was a cold dismissal, but the smile on Tudel's lips wouldn't disappear.
Tudel went down to the first floor lobby.
And met that holy knight again.
"After checking personally, there was no witch with the appearance you described in the Magic Tower. I think you might be looking for a dark magician."
"Is... that so?"
An expression of disappointment appeared on the holy knight's face.
"That's unfortunate, Sir Knight," Tudel answered glibly.
"Thank you for checking, Witch."
The knight bowed politely until the end and then withdrew.
Tudel watched the back of the disappearing knight for a long time.
There was an ominous, twisted smile on her lips.