The girl’s body was in an absolutely horrifying state.
Her bones had begun rotting, emitting a stench so foul it was almost unbearable. Her skin was riddled with festering sores, oozing pus and discharge endlessly.
The stench was enough to make anyone grimace in disgust, but I didn’t even blink.
Co on, I’ve watched plenty of gore movies.
This isn’t enough to faze .
“Aaaaah! Aaahh! Aaa…”
The girl’s screams, initially filled with agony, gradually began to subside.
The sounds of her bones, flesh, skin, and veins twisting and reshaping themselves echoed throughout the room as my skill did its work.
Her rotting bones regenerated, and her deteriorated muscles and blood vessels restructured themselves cleanly.
Her skin, once covered in pus and sores, turned white and pristine. Her dry, ragged hair—torn out in clumps from pain—grew back to a smooth and healthy state.
Her face, once sunken and showing her cheekbones, regained its form. Finally, her emaciated, skeletal fra—reduced to a near-mummified state from lack of nourishnt—was restored to a healthy, well-balanced body.
When the process was complete, I gently helped her to her feet.
“M-Mom… Dad…”
The girl’s trembling hands road over her newly restored body, as if in disbelief.
Because of the pus and filth, she hadn’t been wearing a single thread of clothing, so everyone in the room could clearly see her now pristine, healed body.
“I… I don’t hurt anymore. I… I’m okay…”
“Cecilia! Oh, my daughter! My daughter!!”
Her mother rushed forward and embraced her tightly.
The girl hugged her mother back.
Her mother wept tears of relief, and the girl began to cry as well.
But it wasn’t over yet.
“It’s not done,” I said.
I grabbed Scrooge and his wife, pulling them toward , and took their hands one by one.
“W-What are you trying to do—Ugh!!”
With the sound of bones cracking and reassembling, their bodies began to change as well.
Just as I suspected.
They’d said they used dicine to suppress the contagion, right?
Thanks to that, the Rot Plague hadn’t spread to them, but both of them had clearly endured imnse physical and ntal strain from caring for their daughter.
Their conditions were terrible.
On top of that, Scrooge’s wife was suffering from severe pneumonia, and her lungs were a complete wreck.
I fixed it all in an instant.
Scrooge’s skin and hair, aged and worn from years of hardship, were restored. Now, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man.
The sa went for his wife.
She no longer coughed.
Instead, her once-pale skin now glowed with vitality, and her hair was smooth and full, giving her the appearance of a dignified, elegant woman.
As I stepped back, the mont I finished healing the couple, a thunderous cheer erupted from behind .
“Grace of Lilia! The Goddess’s miracle!”
“He is a saint! Truly, truly a saint!!”
The priests and knights of the Lilia Church, witnessing my skill for the first ti, were crying as they collapsed to their knees.
The High Priest stood with an expression so blank it looked like his soul had left his body.
“I believe! Punish for doubting, even for a mont! Oh, Goddess! Oh, Goddess!!”
The police had removed their hats, looking at with awe, while the knights of the Sun Order were sobbing openly for so reason.
While everyone wept and wailed…
“Hmph! Fraud! Do you think I’ll fall for your tricks?”
Scrooge’s sharp voice pierced the air.
I turned to look at Jonathan Karma.
He was staring at his daughter, his wife, and his own restored body with suspicion written all over his face.
“You think you’re the first fake saint I’ve seen?”
His sharp, accusing tone instantly turned the atmosphere from one of celebration to one of tense disbelief.
“How dare you insult the saint!”
“Do you blasphe against the Goddess of Grace?”
The knights of the Lilia Church looked ready to draw their swords, while the police and Sun Order knights openly glared at him in disgust.
But Scrooge didn’t give a damn.
“Shut up! Do you think shouting like that will make believe you? I’ve been tricked over and over again! If I get fooled again, I’d be an idiot! A goddamn idiot!”
Scrooge dashed to a corner of the room and returned with an armful of items.
Scrolls, potions, a strange wand, a mirror inscribed with magical runes—he had all sorts of oddities.
“If you’re a fraud, I’ll expose you! You’ll pay for your lies, you bastard!”
He poured a potion over his daughter, his wife, and himself, then stood back, watching.
Five minutes passed.
For the first ti, a crack appeared in Scrooge’s confident expression.
“No reaction... You must be using so pretty advanced trickery, huh?”
He sneered at , then grabbed a scroll.
“This scroll will prove it! I paid a fortune for this dispel scroll!”
He tore the scroll.
Still, there was no change.
His expression faltered even more.
“T-Then this mirror will reveal your fraud! This mirror will…”
He used the rune-inscribed mirror to examine his daughter and wife.
His breathing grew heavier.
“This will… This will reveal your lies… Reveal… Reveal…”
He kept trying one thing after another, but there was no change.
His daughter remained perfectly healed, and so did his wife.
“A real miracle… A real saint... That can’t be possible. Those bastards took all my money… No… It can’t be real…”
Scrooge finally broke down, collapsing to the floor. He began sobbing like a child, tears streaming down his face.
The knights, priests, and police, who had been angry monts ago, now stood silently, bowing their heads in solemnity.
I walked over to the weeping Jonathan Karma.
Then, I embraced him.
He clung to , sobbing uncontrollably.
“Why… Why did you co so late?! Why didn’t you co earlier?! Why?!…”
“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
There was nothing more to say.
“Dad!”
“Honey!”
His wife and daughter rushed to him.
The four of us clung together as Jonathan Karma’s family wept out all their pain and suffering.
I held them tightly.
Just hearing their story, it was clear how much they’d endured.
After all they’d been through, surely they deserved a mont of happiness.
Nearly thirty minutes passed before Jonathan finally seed to calm down.
It was done.
Wouldn't he give us a little more ti to gather the money now?
“Saint, I’ll just give you my factory lot! Take it! Just take it and use it!”
Wait a second.
That’s not what I wanted.
I needed the Lilia Church to spend money!
I wanted them to pour money into this garbage land and suffer losses because of it!
“The Goddess of Grace has answered my greatest prayer, so I’ll give you my most precious possession in return! Take it! I’ll donate my factory lot as an offering to the church!”
“Wait, Jonathan Karma. You don’t have to—”
“It’s a miracle!”
“The Goddess’s grace has descended upon us!!”
The priests of the Lilia Church interrupted with their shouts of praise.
Before I could do anything, the contract to donate the factory lot and everything on it to the Lilia Church had already been signed by Jonathan Karma and High Priest Yodel.
Just like that.
Not only did the Lilia Church not lose money, they now owned a massive factory lot in the middle of the capital, even if it was in the slums.
*****
I led my ever-growing crowd of followers to the factory lot, which was now legally owned by the Lilia Church.
The land was filthy and disgusting, covered in industrial waste and garbage.
Goddammit.
I’d planned to make the church waste money, but now they’d gotten the land for free.
Still, it’s fine.
There are plenty of other ways to make them burn cash.
“Clear out the garbage, demolish the factory, and dig up the ground.”
“Dig the ground?”
“Deep. As deep as you can. Then build a tall, multi-story temple on the site.”
After spending so ti in the capital, I’d noticed that steel-reinforced concrete technology existed here. Five- or six-story buildings weren’t uncommon.
I was going to have a tall, skyscraper-like temple built, and I’d live a life of pure debauchery at the top of it.
Demolishing the factory, clearing the garbage, hiring workers to dig up the ground—it would all take a lot of ti and cost a ridiculous amount of money.
After sinking a fortune into building the temple, when High Priest Yodel saw living a life of endless decadence at the top, he’d probably slap across the face and leave.
“Start imdiately—”
“The Saint has commanded us to dig deep and build a tall temple! Let’s clear the trash! It’s the will of the Goddess!”
My ambitious plan began to unravel as High Priest Yodel shouted to the crowd.
The mont he raised his voice, a massive number of people surged forward.
Upon closer inspection, they were all the impoverished citizens I had healed in the past.
“Let’s repay the Saint’s kindness!”
A huge crowd rushed in, volunteering to help clear out the factory.
Of course, not a single one of them asked for paynt.
“Let’s form a line! Go in one by one, clear the area, and co back out in order!”
The knights of the Sun Order and the police managed the crowd to prevent accidents.
“Go buy food! Imdiately! We must provide als for the workers!”
High Priest Yodel, along with the priests and knights of the Lilia Church, left to purchase food.
And ?
“Saint! Grant us your grace! My child is sick!”
“My mother is coughing up blood! Please, Saint!”
At this point, I’d grown used to it. A long line had naturally ford in front of .
This isn’t what I wanted.
Fuck.
Still, it’s fine.
Demolishing the building will cost a lot of money, right?
Look at that massive factory.
It’ll take months to tear it all down.
The cost of clearing the garbage and paying the workers will burn through the Lilia Church’s funds.
It has to.
As I continued treating the poor, I suddenly felt a chilling sense of dread wash over .
A witch!
The four-ard nuclear bomb of a witch!
No! I fixed her! I made her have only two arms! Why does she have four again?!
Why is she here?!
“Saint!”
The witch spotted and ran toward with an expression of overwhelming joy.
Before I could do anything, she hugged tightly.
The scent of a woman—a shock to a virgin loser like —overwheld my senses.
“I missed you so much!”
She bead at with a face full of happiness.
I froze, barely able to respond.
“What brings you here?”
Yeah! Why are you here?! Didn’t I say I didn’t want to see you again?! I’m not interested in living next to a ticking ti bomb!
“The Magic Tower accepted again. Tomorrow, I’ll officially be announced as the next Tower Master. I wanted to share the good news… and see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
The Magic Tower took you back?
And you’re going to be the next Tower Master?
Weren’t you a dark mage?!
Didn’t the knight from the Sun Order say there were no witches like you in the tower?
The Sun Order knight didn’t seem like the lying type.
What the hell is going on?
While I stood there, unable to respond as chaos swirled in my head, the witch turned to look at the factory site, where the cleanup was underway.
“We should hurry and clear the factory! There’s so much work to be done!”
Hearing High Priest Yodel shouting at the workers, the witch smiled at .
“You’re demolishing the factory, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll handle it!”
Before I could stop her, the witch vanished from my sight as if she’d teleported.
Unlike , who could barely manage to use Ti Stop without exhausting myself, she was the real deal.
Monts later, she reappeared, holding a large stack of docunts.
“These are permits for using magic and for demolition! You need permission to use large-scale magic in the capital. Just wait—I’ll take care of everything!”
No.
Wait a second.
My plan to make the Lilia Church waste money demolishing the factory…
My plan to force them to spend on clearing out the garbage…
No, witch! Stop!
Before I could stop her, the witch had already darted toward the factory lot.
She showed the permits to the police managing the crowd, said a few words, and the police quickly evacuated the workers.
Once everyone was clear…
“Oh my god!”
“Unbelievable! This can’t be real!”
The witch raised her wand, and the entire factory was lifted into the air.
Not just the factory.
The industrial waste and garbage that the workers had painstakingly piled up floated alongside it.
Then, with a pop, the factory and all the waste disappeared.
In just one day.
The filthy, garbage-strewn factory lot was transford into a clean, empty plot of land.
Fuck.
This isn’t how it was supposed to go!
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