READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 20
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“How did you know?”
No, that’s not right.
Is it weirder to not know?
If there’s a human performing miracles on such a large scale without any divine power, I’d definitely have my doubts.
It feels like my heart is dropping.
And as I froze with my expression unchanged, Tydel whistled as if in admiration.
“Not even a change in your expression. You’ve got quite the strong heart, huh? But no matter how brazenly you make that face, it won’t change a thing. It’s a serious matter when a priest without divine power claims to be a saint. Try hiding it well in front of the Inquisition!”
She chuckles.
It really hits me how, both in looks and speech, she has a face that I want to smack right now.
If it weren’t for the ominous priests from the Silence Church standing behind her, I’d have given her a real whack.
Anyway, what do I do now?
It’s already been blown!
Am I going to be ruined?
I thought I had escaped being burned alive!!
Just when I was internally screaming.
In the distance, I see the bald old guy, Yodel, charging in with a fierce momentum.
“What is the meaning of this! What are the Silence Crusaders doing here?”
In response to Vice President Yodel’s question, Witch Tydel points at me while laughing.
“Is that you, Vice President? You’ve been tricked. This person who has no divine power is parading around as a saint.”
“I knew well enough that they lacked divine power. But this person is indeed our church’s saint.”
“Sorry, but I just came from checking it out. According to the Inquisition’s regulations, even if a saint is recognized internally, the Temple has the authority to carry out an inquisition against them.”
Tydel speaks proudly, but Yodel wasn’t about to back down.
“You haven’t read the regulations properly. According to the Temple’s rules, the authority to conduct an inquisition on the individual is limited to cases where it becomes clear that they have caused social turmoil. This saint has never caused any social disruption. That can be testified by me, the Knights of the Sun Church, and the police.”
“But it doesn’t make sense for a saint to have no divine power!”
“It’s true that they don’t have divine power. However, despite that, this person is indeed our church’s saint. If they were truly a fraud, we wouldn’t need the Temple’s involvement; we would have reported them ourselves for impersonating a saint.”
As Yodel countered without missing a beat, the priests from the Silence Church behind Tydel exchanged wary glances and stepped forward cautiously.
“Do you truly believe this person is the Saint of Grace, Vice President Yodel?”
“I swear by my faith. This person is undoubtedly the Saint of Grace.”
Looks like you should give up your faith, old man.
That fraud is definitely real.
I’ve got no faith, and all the miracles I caused were thanks to gaming skills.
If you checked, you’d probably vomit and run away after reading the first few sentences in the skills explanation box.
Anyway, I was completely frozen, listening to the conversation.
As Yodel asserted so strongly, the priests of the Silence Church looked uncertain.
“Tydel, it certainly doesn’t make sense for a saint to lack divine power, but since the Saint of Grace has come forward like this, it’s difficult for us to conduct a rigorous inquisition.”
“Moreover, it’s clear that no social disruption has been caused… It seems an inquisition would be tough.”
At that, Tydel made an angry face.
“Have you ever seen someone bewitched by a fraud come forward to denounce the fraud? Since there’s no internal correction mechanism, isn’t it the responsibility of external parties to supervise? Everyone here might be deceived by black magic disguised as miracles!!”
At Tydel’s words, the poor people gathered around me began to erupt in anger.
“Don’t slander the saint!! You witch!!”
“What does that girl know to yap like that? The saint is not that kind of person!!”
“Don’t insult the Saint of Healing!! Insulting the saint is the same as insulting all of us!!”
Despite the flood of jeers and anger, Tydel didn’t flinch one bit.
Wow.
She’s really bold and annoying.
If this were a novel, she’d fit perfectly as an extra in the villain role!
“Isn’t it the role of the Inquisition to doubt and investigate? What if this so-called Saint of Healing is actually a demon worshiper? If all the miracles he performed were part of a dark god’s scheme? Can a saint without divine power even make any sense? You need to take him away and interrogate him! There’s definitely something fishy here!!”
She must have used sound amplification magic, as her voice was loud enough to seize the crowd.
Even the people shouting flinched and took a step back.
And here I was, still frozen with no change in my expression.
“…She’s not wrong. In principle, the Temple is obliged to determine if a newly appeared saint is a true or false one. Yodel.”
“I cannot allow it! Do you intend to insult the Church of Grace! This person has never caused any social turmoil! They have only rescued and helped the abandoned!”
“I understand the Church of Grace’s position. I also acknowledge that no social disruption has occurred. Given such good deeds, even if it is determined that they were impersonating a saint, they would only end up in underground prison for about a year. However, they cannot avoid an inquisition, Yodel.”
“I shall refuse! I will refuse a hundred times, a thousand times! I will never accept the insult of putting our church’s saint on trial!”
Just then, I stood up.
All other words faded from earshot.
Didn’t they just say that even if it turns out I was a fake saint, I’d only spend a year in prison??
If I could take a year’s prison time in exchange for being declared a false saint, allowing me to avoid the goddess’s judgment swift strike to my head??
That’s a profitable deal.
That’s super profitable!!
If I live like a dead man in prison for a year, once I get out, everyone would know I was a fake saint.
There’d be no reason for the Church of Grace to chase me down with miracles and whatnot.
Even if I’m declared a fake saint, I’ve genuinely helped many people and healed them, so it’s unlikely they’d put a bounty on my head or say they needed to kill me!
This fraud is really throwing everyone off the scent. But hey, I healed them, so… let’s just forget about it.
Can’t this be the end of it?
This is perfect!!
Suddenly, that witch named Tydel appears almost grateful.
I never expected she would pave a way for my escape!!
“Take me to the Inquisition. I will willingly undergo it.”
At my words, Yodel jumps up.
“Saint! No! No! No! You are indeed the saint!!”
No! No! No!!
I don’t even know the first thing about Lilia!!
I’ve been someone living without understanding anything about faith, before and after my reincarnation!!
It’s true that a faithless guy has been impersonating the goddess’s saint!!
If this goes on, I’m going to die!!
That’s why I need to get dragged to the Inquisition and get declared a fake saint as quickly as possible.
After spending a year in prison, I’ll get some body modification done and change my appearance entirely and live quietly like a mouse.
If I completely overhaul my face, no one will recognize me!
No goddess’s judgment.
No threat of being burned alive in the sunlight.
Aah.
It’s too good.
“I will abide by the Temple’s opinion. Take me and begin the inquisition. I will reveal all the facts truthfully there.”
“No! Saint!”
I glared at Yodel.
Just when I found a way to escape, don’t hinder me!
“This is my will. Vice President Yodel. This is the right thing to do.”
Yodel hesitated for a moment, then stepped back.
“…If that is your wish…”
Yes!!
Finally, the OK man is actually being of help!!
I reached out my hands toward the priests of the Silence Church.
“Please take me to the Temple and begin the inquisition. I will willingly accept.”
As I acted, the poor people around me started sobbing and collapsing.
“Saint! Don’t abandon us!! Saint!”
“No!! It can’t be! Saint! We need you!”
“Don’t go!!”
The wails made it difficult to hear anything else.
The priests of the Silence Church also seemed to hesitate even while casting restraining miracles on me.
Is this the right move?
They seemed to be contemplating it.
Only Tydel was smiling happily.
And I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly along with her.
Thanks, Tydel.
Because of you, escaping has become possible.
Just.
Just live for one year and then get out.
Then I can reset my life.
No more worrying about the goddess’s judgment. No more fear of being burned alive.
Now, eternal goodbyes.
(And I will never see you again.)
While I was telling the people that.
I saw Jonathan Karma and his family rushing in from afar.
“What is going on!! This person is definitely not a fake saint!! They saved our family! This is tyranny!! This person is not a swindler!!”
Oh, here comes Mr. Jonathan Karma.
The key to the bankruptcy plan of the Lilia Church.
But now, you’re no longer needed.
After being declared a fake saint and rotting in prison for a year, I’m just going to disappear quietly.
Until now, I’ve said I’ll push through for the church’s bankruptcy, but after a year, I’m going to become someone completely unrelated to Lilia Church.
So, since I’m going to become an unrelated person now, let’s change what I said a bit.
Still, the Lilia Church has treated me well.
I guess I should try to stop them from going bankrupt just because of my personal grudge by placing an incompetent person in charge, right?
“Mr. Jonathan, I have one request.”
“Anything! Anything!”
“I’m just really sorry that you’ve taken on a lot of burden because of me. Now that I’ll be gone, if things don’t go well, you can quit right away and leave.”
Knowing very well just how incompetent he is, I subtly suggested he cut ties and leave if he thought it might lead to bankruptcy.
Surely you’d get that much from my words.
Jonathan Karma looked deeply moved and grasped my hand.
“I swear!! I will wait for you here!! I will make the Lilia Church the richest in the Empire!! I will wait for you for as long as it takes!! Saint! I swear on my soul and name!! All the money I make will be for you and the church!”
Oh wow. No need for all that.
Knowing how useless you are, I just want you to cut and run fast if it looks like you might fail.
After all, I’m going to be a person completely unrelated to the Lilia Church soon.
“I will trust you, Jonathan.”
For the last time, I gave him a casual smile and once more offered a lip service before being led away by the Silence Church.
“Saint! Saint!”
“Ahhh!! Goddess, protect us! Protect your apostle!!”
The burdening cries bursting from behind me were now going to be for the last time today.
Tydel for the win!!
Inquisition for the win!!
Fake saint for the win!!
There will be no goddess’s judgment striking my head now!
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