Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Salvation to Those Who Believe (1)
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After tidying up every last issue tied to Prosper Wellness, Celestina turned to me with a triumphant grin.
"Hehe, what do you think, Eve? Do I look a little different now, sis?"
Her tone carried a hint of bragging, but it was backed by real skill and results. Or maybe it was just because the one saying it was a woman of such flawless beauty. Either way, the attitude didn't grate at all—it only accentuated her natural charm, like the perfect punctuation to her allure.
So I nodded in genuine admiration.
"Yes... you're amazing. That was incredibly cool...!"
It was the honest truth. All I could muster was awe at her abilities.
She didn't stop at simply blackmailing them with their weaknesses. She dangled those sensitive spots as bait to provoke their emotions, steering their rage toward the simplest, most predictable response: military retaliation.
Once she'd crushed the enemy forces that had foolishly strayed from their territory, she cleverly inflated the bad press and leaked it to the media. She stoked investor panic to tank the stock price and stirred up enough chaos to draw in even bigger predators from outside the city.
Drained by the whole fiasco, Prosper Wellness could no longer keep the church in check and waved the white flag.
And yet, through it all, she still held their strongest card—the black letter—in her hand...
In the end, she'd achieved everything she wanted with minimal investment.
Watching her masterful maneuvering left me nothing but impressed.
For a moment, I even wondered if our meeting itself wasn't the result of that second Origin I'd used.
As if it had gifted me someone this incredible and cool by my side. That was the kind of thought crossing my mind.
I smiled and spoke from the heart.
"Thank you. I can always count on you. Meeting you, Celestina, has been my greatest stroke of luck."
"......"
Suddenly, her gaze fixed on me in silence.
A voice slipped out, tinged with something like dissatisfaction.
"...Do you usually go around spilling sweet lines like that to just anyone, Eve?"
I tilted my head, puzzled.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
I'd only complimented her—had I said something wrong again?
As I wondered, she pulled me into another embrace.
But this one felt rougher than usual, somehow.
"Eep...!"
While I squirmed, struggling for breath in her soft embrace, she muttered something with a sigh.
"Haa... I can't just... go and do it... Not yet..."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And so, the Radiance Church's new medical venture officially launched.
Construction began on the scheduled site downtown, and thanks to Omega Detroit's advanced building tech, the hospitals were set to be completed in just a few weeks.
With the budget Celestina provided, we even secured contracts for the latest medical equipment and pharmaceuticals without a hitch.
But as everyone knows, a hospital doesn't run on buildings and gear alone.
'What matters are the expert medical staff to treat patients and the personnel to handle operations.'
So I was a bit worried about that part.
The entire city's medical sector was under the insurance companies' lobbyist thumb. Even if Prosper Wellness had surrendered and dropped their opposition to the church, recruiting doctors from within that ironclad network seemed like a whole other battle.
But that concern resolved itself far more easily than I'd expected.
"All the essential hires are already done?"
"Yes, Saintess. We had way more applicants than anticipated."
That was the truth of it.
Not every medical professional in this city was content under the insurance giants' shadow. The corporation that had monopolized healthcare was now exploiting not just patients, but the workers too.
Doctors' fees were set low and endlessly cut. Only surgeries or drugs that profited the insurers got approved, and all liability for medical errors fell squarely on the individuals.
Yet no one could fight back.
Defy the corporate order—that tangled web of lobbyists and hospital execs—and you'd be out on your ear.
And once fired that way, good luck reapplying anywhere else, let alone getting a license for your own clinic.
The corporation had the city government in its pocket.
So the medical staff squeezed dry and discarded by the insurers had flocked to our brand-new church hospital at just the right time.
"That's a relief. We can start operations like that for now."
The immediate fire was out, but a lingering worry remained.
This hospital project was also meant to expand our flock. Handing all the practical work to outsiders instead of believers might dilute that effect.
Long-term, I figured we'd need to increase the proportion of church members among the staff.
'In case we ever need to use [miracles] at the hospital.'
Having to watch out for non-believer doctors' prying eyes could complicate things.
So I asked the priest overseeing the hospital project for his thoughts.
His answer came all too easily again.
"Yes, Saintess. We'll kick off with outside hires, then recruit them into the faith or gradually replace them with our own believers."
I was puzzled.
'Converting them makes sense... but how do we replace the medical staff?'
These were highly trained professionals.
Our believers couldn't just wake up as doctors or nurses overnight. How did he plan to pull that off?
But my question cleared up soon enough.
Training medical staff required specialized education, sure—but back in the day, that took years. Not anymore.
In this world, a single data chip could download hundreds of hours of knowledge in seconds.
'Of course, hands-on practice to apply it is still needed.'
So forging doctor-level experts still took considerable time.
But even in a major hospital, doctors made up only about 15% of the staff.
The rest were nurses, technicians, admins.
Those roles could be filled with short-term practical training.
And doctors? Just a bit more time, and it wasn't impossible.
Once I grasped that, another question arose.
'If training experts is this straightforward, shouldn't the market be oversaturated?'
Anyone with the data could become one.
But it turned out there was a catch.
In this city, without 'verified certification,' no qualifications were recognized. To get a diploma, you had to shell out huge tuition at vocational schools approved by the city government's medical board.
And those approvals? Heavily lobbied by the insurers, naturally.
It was a certification racket.
Even identical data used elsewhere was deemed illegal if uncertified.
But we'd crushed the insurers completely.
'Without even revealing the black letter.'
Their weakness remained in our hands.
Which meant we could now build our own training facilities and get official city approval.
"We should be able to replace the entire hospital staff with our believers in a few months."
I was in the middle of hearing reports on the medical project plans from the priests when...
"!"
A great idea suddenly struck me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ These past few days, Madam Isadora of the Velvet Circle had found herself lost in thought more often than not.
Truth be told, the black letter was an item that could make or break the lives of everyone in Paradise.
Had she been too hasty, handing over such a dangerous secret on a whim of emotion?
'It's not that I don't trust the girl...'
The anxiety crept in sometimes, whether she liked it or not.
But the church proved her goodwill right once more.
"Boss! Fresh news! Prosper Wellness forces entering the city from the outskirts..."
"...Got completely wiped out...?"
The church had utterly crushed the corporate army marching on Paradise.
Isadora was stunned by their far greater power than expected—and finally relieved by the responsibility they'd shown in defending her turf.
She thought her judgment had been spot-on, and that alone satisfied her.
But then the girl before her... started talking about even more.
"Pardon? The kids from Paradise?"
"Yes, if there are any who want to, how about letting them train with our church? Once they're done, we can hire them officially at our hospitals."
The girl even sketched out a vision for the future.
"We're planning to expand the hospital business, so we'll need lots of staff. This could give Isadora's kids a real shot at good jobs. What do you think?"
"......."
At first, Isadora couldn't believe her ears.
It was the answer to a problem she'd never been able to solve.
She hadn't wanted to turn those kids into whores or thugs.
She hadn't wanted to cast out the boys and girls she cared for.
But reality's walls left that as the best option for all.
Orphans booted from the city had scraps for choices: day labor, crime, and likely death in some risky gig. Compared to that, Paradise's prostitution was mercy.
No one had ever cared about them before.
Treated like vermin, no one had reached out.
Even downtown clients and fellow outskirts folk despised Paradise's kids.
They envied the money from selling springtime, feared the mafia muscle, but still scorned them as filthy.
Sometimes, even Isadora took it for granted.
'But...'
The girl before her—no, the Saintess—was different.
With that compassionate gaze.
With those sky-blue eyes.
She always treated them as equals.
She truly wished even these gutter rats could live like people, find happiness.
In that moment, Isadora realized why half the outskirts had so eagerly embraced the church.
'No one could resist this kind of warmth.'
Isadora burst into tears once more.
"Sob..."
"I-Isadora?"
The flustered girl hurried to comfort her.
That clumsy effort brought a smile through Isadora's tears.
Now she got it.
What really mattered in life...