Chapter 83
The roles had reversed.
The police and those who were once guards, and those who lived luxuriously flaunting their status as rulers of this city, were now prisoners confined in camps.
And the laborists who were once prisoners were now managing the newly arrived prisoners as guards.
On the first day in the camp.
Fortunately, Mayor Byers wasn't that lonely.
The factory owners and police had all come in together as companions.
"You fucking son of a bitch!! You blew it!! If you had just not blown that one thing!!"
"Where do you get off talking, you traitor bastard?!"
Now that the moment had come when there was no longer any benefit in maintaining dignity or anything, the factory owners and upper class of this city were behaving no differently from the lower classes they had so despised and looked down upon.
They shouted, hit, vulgarly grabbed collars, and rolled on the ground.
It was hell.
It was like a nightmare.
It felt like if he woke up from this dream right now, he would wake up in the cozy and warm master bedroom of his mansion.
But such a thing didn't happen.
The first day in the camp was harsh.
"You want me to do this kind of labor? Me? As if I'd..."
"Frederick!! This person doesn't want to do labor!!"
"Oh ho! Is that so?"
After a beating with clubs and going a whole day without food, there were no more prisoners who could come out arrogantly.
At night, the sound of crying spread.
Everyone seemed to have trouble coming to their senses properly due to the shocking sentence that they would have to spend the rest of their lives here.
But only Mayor Byers didn't cry.
There must still be a way out.
He still thought there would be a way to escape.
Didn't they say even if a rich person went bankrupt, it lasted for 3 generations?
They might need his knowledge, assets, know-how, etc.
Even a small opportunity would be good.
The important thing was getting out of here first.
He thought that if he could just get out, he could seize an opportunity again.
"Number 982. You have a visitor!!"
When the guards said he had a visitor one day instead of yelling at him to go do labor, Byers realized the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally come.
He knew it.
He was still the being who had run this city.
How could such a being be useless?
They must have surely come to request some help.
Byers went to the visitation with a confident expression.
And the moment he entered the visitation room.
His expression had to harden.
"D-Dad."
"Honey."
His wife and children were waiting for him.
Unlike their usually well-dressed appearance, they looked poor as if he was seeing them for the first time.
And the figure of Jonathan Karma was visible, quietly looking at him with his family surrounding him like a folding screen.
"Welcome, Mr. Byers."
"...Why is my family here?"
"They said they wanted to come along. When they said they wanted to see their father and husband, how could I stop them?"
Byers' hands trembled.
Jonathan calmly offered him a chair.
"Have a seat. The conversation won't be that long."
Jonathan smirked at him.
"I'll speak frankly. I'll take responsibility for your family. They won't be able to live as luxuriously as before, but I'll make it so they can live as an ordinary middle-class family."
"..."
"Hand over the entire company to me."
At those words, Byers felt darkness fall before his eyes.
A smile formed on his lips with a spasm.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Does this look like a threat to you? I think I've taken quite generous measures. Think about your family who would fall into this cold world without a penny to their name right now. No one would say anything even if I washed my hands of them completely."
"..."
"Refusing is an option too. But judging from your past actions, it seems your family probably won't be able to spend the rest of their lives at peace. You have quite a lot of people who hold grudges against you, after all."
Behind the leisurely smiling Jonathan Karma, it seemed like a devil was visible.
Byers couldn't hold out for long.
"...I'll sign. Bring me the papers."
"A wise choice, Mr. Byers."
With trembling hands, Byers had to sign.
He had no choice.
And it was mostly similar for the other factory owners imprisoned in this camp.
And so that day.
All the businesses in Scrap Yard came to belong to Karma Company.
***
I didn't know how many days had passed.
I frantically treated sick people over and over.
It wasn't that difficult because I had experience doing it in the capital.
There wasn't even time to grasp how the situation had become like this.
There wasn't enough time to reflect on what on earth the thing inside my soul had done for it to become like this.
After frantically taking care of and treating injured children and critically ill patients, I ate a simple meal and went to bed for a short nap.
Having to get up urgently when there was a critical patient was a bonus.
One day while spending time frantically like that.
"Saint."
Karl Renaro and the laborists came before me wearing splendid uniforms.
"Would you come with us for a moment? There's a place you must come to."
"What's the matter?"
"His Majesty the Emperor has provided a place that will become the Imperial Labor Office building. Now that the city's capitalists have received lawful punishment, we plan to go up to the capital and officially take on the task of investigating and managing the conditions of workers throughout the entire empire."
At those words, I felt my strength drain away.
"Is that so?"
Who would believe it if I said things had grown this big just because I received a piece of black bread?
Thinking about it, it really made me laugh hollowly.
"Before we start official work at the office building... we'd like you to give a congratulatory address."
"Yes. All the comrades are hoping for it."
"Would you please do so?"
At their earnest expressions, I hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Right.
I suppose it would be good to wrap things up clearly before leaving.
Although it ultimately ended in failure, the living standards of the city's people would improve, so...
Well.
Can it be considered a success?
"Peter. Anna. Jim. Amy."
I called the family of four who had been assisting me by my side until now.
"Saint."
"Yes! Did you call us?"
I looked fondly at the family who approached my side.
The culprits who ruined my secluded life.
But seeing them smile didn’t make me feel that bad.
"I'm going up to the capital now."
"What?"
"I can't stay here forever, can I? From now on, Karma Company and the Labor Office will manage this place well."
I placed my hands on their heads.
"Don't get sick again. I hope you can always stay healthy and happy... I hope you remember the black bread you handed me then and live without forgetting that heart."
At my words, the whole family's eyes reddened as if they were choked up.
"We'll remember it for life, Saint."
"We will never take the life you gave us lightly."
I nodded.
Then I turned and followed the laborists.
"Saint!!"
"Saint! Are you leaving?"
"Yes. Because my work here is finished now."
I waved and answered to the cries of many people.
"Yodel."
"Yes, Saint."
"Please continue to steadily take care of the sick and poor of this city in the future. I ask this of you."
"Yes. Of course."
After earnestly asking the Order of Grace too, I left for the capital with the laborists.
Returning to the capital instantly by riding the teleport set up by the Magic Tower mages, the familiar scenery of the capital enters my eyes.
A large building not far from Mars Magic Tower caught my eye.
The appearance was closer to a temple than a government office?
"We received an old order building of the Sun Order for free. We'll be working here from now on, Saint."
At Karl Renaro's explanation, I finally understood the building's appearance.
As I slowly walked towards the Labor Office building that looked like a temple, the words Department Operarium splendidly engraved above the tall doors caught my eye.
"Let's go in."
Many people were gathered inside.
There were those who looked like nobles of the Senate, and mages from the Magic Tower.
High priests and holy knights of the Pantheon, and judges of the Supreme Court.
And at the highest seat.
His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.
And the figures of Almene and Iomene were visible too.
It was truly a scene where all the core figures of the empire were gathered.
"The Saint of Healing enters!!"
The moment I entered, I could hear them all burst into thunderous applause at once.
I was guided to the very center with a sour expression and handed a small pair of scissors there.
A long red cloth was wrapped around the part corresponding to the building's lobby, and the scissors I was handed were probably provided to cut it.
"Please give a congratulatory address and cut the cloth with the scissors," Karl Renaro said and then stepped back.
Everyone stopped clapping and began to stare intently at me.
Reporters were constantly taking photos, and noble and lowly alike.
Those with faith and those without were all looking at me with sparkling eyes.
A congratulatory address.
What right did a deficient guy like me, who was still only thinking about destroying my soul to return to Korea, cowardly and petty, had to do something grand like a congratulatory address?
I quietly looked down at the scissors, then shrugged and opened my mouth.
If there was one thing I could say.
This was all I had.
"I don't think I'm that great a person."
Trying to hide my awkwardly trembling voice, I continued speaking haltingly, "But if there's one thing I've done well since coming to this world, I think it's trying to embrace those weaker than me."
I still thought about it sometimes.
If I had used these abilities literally befitting an adult game... what would I have become now?
Maybe it would have been a little fun at first, but if one thought about the source of this power being a Demon King's, I would have ultimately fallen.
As I said, the only thing I did well was keeping a heart of compassion for the weak. I thought that was the only thing.
"The future is not fixed. Depending on what kind of heart you live with, the same person can create hell or heaven. That's what I think. So I want to say this."
I looked at the laborists.
"May compassion for workers not become hatred towards those who have. You must be careful not to ultimately be consumed by lust for power, falling for the sweetness of the power given to you now."
This time I looked at the nobles and businessmen.
"Give more as you have more. I hope you always remember that if there are no those below, those above will ultimately be shaken too. As I have given, I hope you all have hearts that give. That is the only thing I wish for."
It felt like I had said something too obvious.
Out of embarrassment, I swallowed once dryly before quickly turning and raising the scissors.
With a snipping sound, the cloth was cut and fell.
At that sight, His Majesty the Emperor stands up and declares in a loud voice, "From this moment on, I declare that Department Operarium! The Imperial Labor Office has been established!!"
At that moment.
Everyone stood up with thunderous applause.
"Stand up!!"
"Everyone stand up!!"
"For the empire!!"
"For the workers!!"
As I blankly watched the unprecedented sight of laborists and capitalists mingling together, laughing and clapping, belated realization finally hit me.
What am I doing now?
Is this why I ran away?
Just thinking about the number of people I proselytized in Scrap Yard, the amount of faith the Demon King in my soul had sucked up was beyond imagination.
I newly realized how much I had messed things up.
This time I really need to go somewhere with no people at all. So problems like this don't arise at all.
While sighing inwardly and making that resolution.
Suddenly Erpha, Iomene, and Almene standing up and clapping catch my eye.
The three women simultaneously purse their lips then open them, saying something.
‘We'll. Come find you today.’
‘We'll be waiting.’
...Right.
I had forgotten about those three people.
Should I laugh or cry?
I could only give an ambiguous smile that was neither here nor there.