Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Surprise Worship (3)
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I let out a small sigh. And then spoke as calmly and firmly as I could.
"First off, I'm not the kind of god you're hoping for, Yoanna. I just have... a little special ability, that's all."
"B-but...!"
At my words, Yoanna stammered in obvious panic. Her eyes darted around as if she were desperately trying to think of something.
"Th-the title doesn't matter! If not a god, then prophet, savior, saintess... whatever! The fact that you're the one meant to lead us doesn't change...!"
The girl poured out her words in a rush, as if trying to convince herself.
And once more, she bowed her head at my feet.
"I really don't want anything...! Just let me serve you. Everyone left in the church will be loyal to you! They'd gladly give their lives!"
"That's burdensome."
At my refusal once again, Yoanna's shoulders twitched.
But it was the obvious answer. In this unfamiliar world, I was just someone struggling to look after myself. Becoming someone's god? That was impossible. I had neither the desire nor the ability to play that role.
After my rejection, Yoanna wore a dazed expression for a moment before her eyes shifted, as if she were about to make another proposal.
"Mo-money! I can offer as much as you want! I... I hacked the cult leader's secret fund accounts! It's an enormous sum! I'll give it all to you!"
It was a desperate attitude on her part, but my response remained the same.
"I don't... really need it."
Of course, more money was always better. Especially in a world like this.
But my real goal wasn't to live a life of luxury here.
Right—I'd eventually return to my original world anyway.
With more important objectives than a brief comfortable life, I had no desire to get tangled in headaches.
"........."
At that answer, Yoanna's face went completely blank.
She clearly hadn't expected me to turn down money—the one thing everyone in this city valued most.
At that moment, a knock came from outside the door.
"Eve, are you done talking?"
Yoanna answered urgently in my place.
"Ah... just a moment!"
And then, with one last desperate look as if trying to hold me back, she asked,
"You're really not a god? Then why? Why help me or the others, even knowing it was dangerous, when we're unrelated to you? Honestly, compared to what you accomplished, you got almost nothing in return. So what reason could there possibly be...?"
Now, her eyes held no trace of the previous fanatic zeal—only pure curiosity and desperate incomprehension.
In that instant, I felt no need to overthink it. I simply gave the simplest answer that came unbidden from my heart.
"Who knows. Does someone with spare time helping out someone desperate... always need some grand reason?"
"Ah..."
Yoanna's expression completely crumbled at my reply.
The girl simply stared at me with her mouth agape. Her face showed no intensity now, no hidden motives—just the look of a lost child.
"....."
For the first time, she looked like a girl her age, and my first impression from this long conversation... was immaturity.
It wasn't just because she seemed young.
It was hard to pinpoint exactly, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was lacking in her.
Clearly, the girl possessed extraordinary abilities. From a motionless body, she'd torn through cyberspace, reading the city's information like an open book, even steering events in the direction she wanted.
But separate from that talent, her way of dealing with others felt blatantly immature.
The goodwill she showed me was surely genuine. But the way she expressed it... well, it was like watching a child dump all their favorite things on someone they liked, without a thought for whether the other person needed or wanted them right now.
A one-sided, blind devotion that ignored timing, place, and relationship. The disconnect felt strangely off-putting.
In the midst of my thoughtful silence, did she read something into it? Anxiety gradually crept onto her face.
Now she was peeking at me nervously, on the verge of tears.
"Di-did... did I do something wrong...?"
Tears quickly welled up in her large green eyes.
"Sorry. I messed up again... Please don't hate me."
Tears began to fall in drops. Gone was the fanatic from moments ago; now she was just a scared child afraid of punishment for some needless blunder.
A girl raised in isolation within a cultish group, cut off from the world. She'd likely had no proper education, let alone discipline. Sickly and immobile, she couldn't even form healthy relationships with peers.
All she'd learned there were twisted doctrines, blind faith, and extreme devotion to a 'god.'
Thinking of it that way, it made a bit more sense.
The fanatic adoration she'd shown me, even offering money and power—it might have been her idea of the ultimate goodwill and gratitude toward her savior.
'What a troublesome kid.'
I sighed inwardly.
Looking at Yoanna still glancing nervously at me with teary eyes, I quietly opened my mouth.
"Yoanna. Like I said before, I can't become the god you're looking for."
Her shoulders twitched again at my firm tone.
Then, staring straight into the girl's green eyes, I added in a softer voice,
"...But how about we start as friends?"
Telling her straight that wrong was wrong, scolding her sharply when needed, and guiding her toward a better path... That was something even a person—not a god—could do.
"......"
Yoanna just stared up at me blankly.
Then, cautiously, she took the hand I held out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the two had left, a heavy silence hung in the room for a moment.
Joseph cautiously approached his sister, still seated in her wheelchair. In a gentle voice, he asked,
"Yoanna. Is your body feeling better? What did you talk about with Eve?"
The answer didn't come right away. Yoanna's face was still blank, as if gazing off into the distance. Like someone who hadn't woken from a dream. Then, abruptly, she gave an utterly unexpected reply.
"...She turned me down."
"...Huh?"
Joseph doubted his own ears for a moment. Turned down? It made no sense.
Unaware or uncaring of the bewilderment on his face, Yoanna mumbled on in her dazed tone, like she was talking to herself.
"But... she was way cooler than I imagined..."
As she said it, an unnatural flush crept into the girl's pale cheeks. In her vacant eyes, something new flickered faintly—not the old fanaticism, but a hint of admiration or longing.
Joseph could only look more puzzled at his sister's demeanor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That conversation with Yoanna left a deep impression on me too.
Honestly, I still wasn't sure how I should have handled that girl. Considering the weight of what she'd done, should I have scolded her strictly? Or, taking her warped upbringing into account, comforted her warmly?
I had no idea what the right answer was. But I did get one promise from her: that she wouldn't act so arbitrarily toward others anymore. For now, all I could do was trust that promise.
With that, it felt like I'd finally sorted out all the headaches tied to that 'miracle.'
So, naturally, I returned to my routine.
The pizza shop part-time job felt strangely like ages had passed, even though I'd gone in every day.
"Welcome~!"
I greeted customers with the familiar phrase, took orders, wiped down tables busily. When the food was ready, I'd head to the delivery drone station out front, load the hot pizza box, and send it off to its destination.
Back then, it would've been nothing special. But oddly now, just doing these 'normal' tasks filled me with a deep sense of calm. Like healing, maybe.
Looking back, there had been too much to worry about lately. A nonstop chain of unpredictable events, never able to let my guard down. But time here was different.
Clock in at a set time, do the set work, clock out at a set time. Everything predictable and safe.
'Money's best earned honestly, after all.'
While scrubbing tables or folding pizza boxes, I'd snap to and realize I was humming without thinking. I'd chuckle at myself.
It really felt as peaceful as my old world.
Of course, it wasn't exactly the same as before.
"Um, ex-excuse me..."
Occasionally, customers came in who were suspiciously overly polite.
From the door, they'd clasp their hands like in prayer, bow their heads entering, speak with excessive formality when ordering, and when picking up their pizza, wear expressions like they were receiving a holy relic.
"Th-thank you so much..."
I watched their retreating backs for a moment.
Suddenly, a low voice came from a table inside the shop.
"...Should I clean it up?"
Esty, who had apparently sat down at some point, sipped her drink and asked me.
But I shook my head.
"No, it's fine. They're not causing any harm, not forcing anything or being pushy, right? Besides..."
I pointed at a customer leaving with arms full of pizza boxes.
"They take out a ton."
Thanks to that, the boss—who had no idea why—was grinning ear to ear every day.
As closing time neared today too, she shouted at me by the register.
"Eve! Our little lucky charm! Everything's been great since you started!"
The boss, who had snuck up, beamed and pulled me into a bear hug, kneading my cheeks vigorously.
"Eugh..."
Though I cringed at her excessive affection, I thought to myself,
'Well... this works out.'
Good things were good, right? I forced a smile and wriggled free from her arms.
Thus, the tough day drew to a close. An ordinary one, making it all the more precious.
I changed and stepped out of the shop. Off work.
The street was relatively calm. The quiet, eerie air of a dusk back alley filled my lungs.
Relief that the day had ended safely mingled with a bit of fatigue. Now just head back to the dorm, wash up, and rest.
I was turning the corner of the familiar alley when it happened. A shadow lurched out from the darkness, staggering toward me.
'....!'
Before I could react properly, Esty appeared silently behind or beside me and blocked my path.
But unlike Esty's guarded stance, the approaching figure carried no hostility. If anything, they looked desperate, as if fleeing something, on the verge of collapse.
And... it was a familiar face.
'...Danny? Donny?'
The back-alley gangster brothers I'd roped into spreading the miracle rumors not long ago.
Under the streetlight, their forms finally came into view... and they were a pitiful sight.
Their bodies were covered in wounds and dark bruises, lips split, eyes swollen shut. Their once-clean clothes were torn here and there, filthy with dirt and bloodstains. The older brother, Danny, was barely supporting his younger brother Donny as they trudged along.
Finally reaching me, they collapsed to the ground as if they could go no further.
Ragged breaths echoed through the alley.
"Hah... huff..."
Danny, who had been propping up his brother, barely lifted his head to look up at me.
In a voice on the edge of giving out, he cried,
"Bo-boss...! Big trouble...! Our turf... the drug cartel bastards...!"