This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 13
I’ll Be the Corrupt Saint
『 Translator – Divinity 』

{The chosen one of the Goddess shall come in the purest form.

Without any stigmata or signs, simply pure and pure again.

For grace does not discriminate, and her chosen one understands this.

You shall know the chosen one not by stigmata,

But by the laughter of children and the screams of the wicked that surround him; by this, you shall know.}

– Scripture of Grace, Chapter 32, Verse 17 –

***

“Ahhh!! Ahhh!…. Saint! Saint!!”

At the entrance of a filthy sewer…

Priests and paladins in white robes prostrated themselves before me on the ground, covered in all sorts of grime.

I was still just blinking my eyes.

What was going on?

Didn’t you say there was no stigmata?

Then why are you suddenly acting like this?

“Please give me something to wear.”

I needed to put something on.

Honestly, now that I had taken them off, I realized…

The clothes I was wearing…

Were truly filthy.

At my words, the priests and paladins sprang into action.

“Wear this!”

The bald elder, who was called the High Priest, presented me with a pure white Lilia priest’s robe with tears in his eyes. I had to put on a humiliating fashion show while everyone stared intently at me.

Even after I had changed, the gazes of admiration and reverence didn’t stop.

Please stop looking at me like that!

Such gazes are too much for a coward like me.

“Please take care of the children. They are poor and pitiful.”

“Of course! Of course! Saint! We will take care of them.”

After handing over the fifteen young girls to the priests of the Lilia Church, an awkward silence fell between us.

“Uwaaagh!! Agh! Aaaaagh!!”

Only the convulsive screams of the robber who had tried to rob me with a dagger filled the back alley.

“The laughter of children and the screams of the wicked shall surround him. Ahhh! It’s just as the Scripture says!!”

“Saint!! Saint! What should we do now! Lead your humble servants!!”

The paladins and priests, especially the bald elder, were looking at me with tears of gratitude.

I was overwhelmed with discomfort.

And yet, on the other hand, I was also thinking, “Sweet! I dodged the burning at the stake!”

Yeah, since things have turned out this way…

Wouldn’t it be bad to continue pretending to be a saint and live my life?

While receiving a small fee for treatment, of course.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea.

If I switched to paid treatment and charged a small fee for each session, wouldn’t I become rich in no time?

As I was indulging in such thoughts with a slight sense of satisfaction…

The High Priest cautiously approached me and tightly grasped my hand.

“Glory to the Goddess of Grace!! Lilia watches over us!! Saint, speak anything you wish. We will listen and obey.”

The Goddess of Grace watches over us, my ass.

I’m a guy with no faith, you know?

As I was thinking that…

A chilling thought suddenly crossed my mind.

A guy with no faith.

Such a guy is going around pretending to be a saint sent by the Goddess.

Fortunately, these people in front of me mistook me for a saint, and I was able to avoid being burned at the stake.

But…

What about Lilia, the Goddess of Grace herself?

In this worldview, gods aren’t some abstract concept.

They are real beings who live and breathe, granting miracles and divine power to their followers.

There’s no way an omniscient being who can see all my thoughts and past deeds would be fooled.

She must be seeing right through me.

At that moment, I felt all the blood drain from my body.

I had made a mistake.

This wasn’t the time to be happy about making money by pretending to be a saint.

I’m going to be punished by heaven.

I’m not joking; I could literally be fried by lightning.

I had to run away.

I had to get away from these people and run far away, living like I was dead.

Wouldn’t that be the only way to avoid the Goddess’s wrath?

But they said there was something called the Miracle of Tracking, right?

Even if I ran away, wouldn’t they chase after me with the Miracle of Tracking???

And then there was the fact I had just realized.

Even if I used Time Stop and ran away, I couldn’t go far.

I could only walk, and because of the extreme mental exhaustion, the time I could use the skill was limited, so I couldn’t go far.

And even if I could go far away, judging by the state of these fanatics in front of me, they would passionately chase me to the ends of the earth.

As long as these people followed me and treated me like a saint, the Goddess’s wrath for impersonating her saint would surely follow me as well.

So what’s the conclusion?

I need to make the people of the Lilia Church give up on me.

I need to make them leave me while cursing me out!!

But at the same time, I need a way to avoid being burned at the stake for heresy…

Is there anything?

Suddenly, an idea struck me.

You know, those corrupt, depraved, and incompetent priests that always appear in novels and anime.

The ones with potbellies who indulge in women and meat, and when they encounter someone they don’t like, they shout, “You blasphemous fool!!” and burn them at the stake, only to be defeated by the protagonist in the end – those third-rate villains.

I’ll become just like that!

I’ll act like an incredibly greedy person, so everyone will be disappointed and won’t chase after me even if I disappear. Then I’ll quietly slip away.

Of course, even if I become a corrupt priest, I can’t cross the line and become a real scumbag.

You know, those guys who…

Are actually good-natured, but keep messing up and making you want to strangle them.

But once they’re gone, you remember them fondly, thinking, “Well, he was a good kid.”

I’ll walk that fine line, doing just enough trolling to make everyone leave, and then quietly disappear and stop pretending to be a saint!

Yes!

This is the only way!!

“Lead me to the temple.”

That’s what I blurted out after a minute of frantic deliberation.

I was going to go to the temple and spend all their saved money.

I’ll spend all the donations and live a corrupt and debauched life!!

To the point where you all curse me out and leave!!

“I’m ashamed, Saint. The Lilia Church is centered in the southern regions, not the capital. We haven’t established a temple branch in the capital yet.”

Ah.

Right.

If there was a temple in the capital, it wouldn’t have taken them several days to get here, would it?

I was so stupid that I forgot for a moment.

Then what should I do…?

No.

There is a way.

“Why do you say there is no temple? Follow me.”

If there’s no temple, we’ll just buy land and build one.

Let’s purchase a piece of trash, useless land at a ridiculously high price!!

And once the temple is built, I’ll live the good life there, just corrupt and incompetent enough to avoid being burned at the stake or punished by heaven, and make everyone leave. That’s my goal.

Soon, I’ll make all of you spit and leave!

I left the smelly sewer with the people from the Lilia Church and the paladins of the Sun Church.

“Saint! Saint!”

“Guide us! Oh, Grace!”

The members of the Lilia Church followed behind me with expectant expressions.

The more I thought about it, the more I broke out in a cold sweat.

Lilia of Grace must be watching all of this in real-time from the heavens, right?

To survive, I had to make these people abandon me and leave.

That’s the only way to avoid being punished by the Goddess and dying!

***

As Erpa re-entered the Magic Tower with the priests of the White Church, the numerous mages and witches inside flinched and avoided her gaze.

Some couldn’t even meet her eyes, while others smiled awkwardly.

But Erpa ignored all those gazes and headed straight for the top floor of the Magic Tower, to the Tower Master’s office.

“Er…pa?”

Tower Master Oergen rose from his seat in shock at the sight of her entering the room.

But whether the Tower Master was shocked or not, Erpa didn’t seem to care.

“Tell him.”

At Erpa’s words, the priests of the White Church cautiously stepped forward and bowed to Tower Master Oergen.

“By the miracle of the Healing Saint, she has fully recovered. She is no longer an Abomination. She is a living testament to the miracle.”

“The White Church will no longer pursue Lady Erpa. We apologize for the disturbance we caused.”

At their polite apology, Oergen stared at them blankly for a moment, then nodded.

“I’m glad things worked out well.”

“Lady Erpa said she has something to discuss with you. We will take our leave now. If you’ll permit us, we would like to attend the regular academic conference again tomorrow.”

“Of course.”

And so, the matter between the White Church and the Magic Tower was smoothly resolved. After the priests repeatedly expressed their gratitude and left, the door closed.

Now, only Oergen and Erpa remained in the room.

The two were left alone.

“You’ve become beautiful.”

Tower Master Oergen finally spoke after a long silence, his voice cautious.

Erpa didn’t smile at his words.

But neither did she cry or express anger.

Her face was calm and serene, as if she had attained enlightenment.

“Tower Master.”

“Yes, Erpa. Speak.”

“Am I still a witch of this Magic Tower?”

Oergen nodded at her question.

“If that’s what you wish.”

“That’s a relief. I want to continue my research here.”

“…Is that so? If you want to, then do so.”

“And one more thing. At tomorrow’s regular academic conference, please officially designate me as the next Tower Master.”

Oergen was surprised by her sudden request.

“You?”

“I know it was never officially announced, but you were planning to appoint me anyway, weren’t you? Or are all those rumors just baseless gossip?”

Oergen shook his head.

“They’re not baseless. In truth, there was no one else. No one else suitable to be my successor.”

“Then there would be no problem appointing me as the next Tower Master, right?”

“Yes, I can do that. But I’m worried. There are countless mages and witches within this tower who have already abandoned you once. It is the role of the next Tower Master to embrace them all. If you intend to use your position to take revenge for personal grudges, then I cannot appoint you as my successor.”

“Tower Master.”

Erpa’s expression was surprisingly calm.

“I want to continue my career successfully. I will make the Mars branch Magic Tower the greatest of all the towers.”

Her expression was serious.

“I won’t do anything foolish like throw away an opportunity to become even greater because of my personal grudges. I want to be a witch who will be remembered throughout the history of magic. Revenge is too insignificant compared to that goal; it’s not even worth thinking about.”

Her eyes were incredibly serene.

It wasn’t just her eyes.

The mana emanating from her body was also calm and well-controlled.

Oergen suddenly felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

It wasn’t simply her appearance that had changed.

It was as if she had become a completely different person.

“Erpa, how did you change so much? What in the world did the Healing Saint do to you?”

At the Tower Master’s question, Erpa smiled brightly.

There was no trace of shadow, anger, or hatred in that radiant smile.

“He healed my heart along with my body. He gave me a purpose in life. A purpose to live by his side and assist him. For that, I will love myself. I will diligently continue my career. I will not waver or break.”

At her brilliant smile, Oergen couldn’t help but smile along.

“Alright. I’ll do as you wish. The Three Primary Colors Research was a remarkable study. There should be no problem appointing you as the next Tower Master.”

“Thank you, Tower Master. Oh, and…”

Her top had four armholes.

The two lower holes were empty.

The empty armholes wriggled, and soon, two new arms sprouted.

It was a feat only Erpa, arguably one of the leading authorities on body modification magic, could achieve.

“It was too inconvenient without the arms I had. Having more arms is helpful for research and writing.”

Erpa said calmly, folding her four arms.

“Are you sure? You might be subjected to insults again.”

At Tower Master Oergen’s words, Erpa shook her head.

“I don’t care what others say anymore. Because I have been acknowledged by him. I’m no longer ashamed of these four arms.”

“…”

“I’ll be going now, Tower Master. See you tomorrow.”

After bowing politely, Erpa left the room.

Oergen, as if possessed by a ghost, sat still for a while, then smiled.

“The Healing Saint.”

Oergen had scoffed at things like religion and faith all his life.

But for the first time…

He wondered if faith might also be necessary in this world.

“Was it the Lilia Church? Perhaps I should pay them a visit.”

Oergen murmured softly.

He was a researcher.

He couldn’t resist his curiosity.