Poverty Doesn’t Make You Good (3)
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing in particular. To be honest, I just want to show you that I’m right.”
“You do seem to have a lot of money. To think you’d hire all those people just for something like this…”
I laughed to myself for no good reason.
Money, huh...
Honestly, there was a problem with hiring everyone here at once.
I was already short on catalysts for my alchemy, after all.
I wasn’t exactly swimming in gold either, but that didn’t mean those people were useless.
It was a chance to run clinical trials at a very cheap price, and a chance to break the way Sun Heeyoung thought.
In every sense, it was a profitable deal.
The reason I needed to crush the useless ideas she was clinging to was simple.
I thought it was a way to get her on my side.
In this place for three years. Began being called the Saint of the Abandoned two years ago. Started out with the Temple, not a clan or guild, and after leaving the Temple, devoted herself entirely to volunteer work. She has turned down offers from large guilds and mid-sized clans for two years now.
It was an impressive resume.
What stood out was that, despite having the kind of talent that should have placed her on the elite track like me, she had deliberately chosen to join the Temple.
The reason she kept refusing contact from clans and guilds was also simple.
Why?
Because our Saint of the Abandoned had an immense mission: she had to save the poor.
She had refused all those guild and clan offers for two full years.
There must have been proposals I couldn’t even imagine.
Of course, those terms may well have included serious relief for the poor as part of the bargain.
Even so, if she turned them down, the reason was obvious.
She believed she had to act with her own hands.
As for why she cared so much about people like this, I naturally had no idea.
Honestly, I didn’t want to know, and I didn’t need to know.
What mattered right now was shifting her priorities away from them.
In other words, separating her from the poor was the first task.
Looking ahead, I could see quite a few people working hard.
There were a handful who looked genuinely motivated.
For a moment, I wondered if my plan might actually fail, but I didn’t worry about it.
“There are still people in the slums who haven’t found work yet... Why don’t you go to them?”
“I need to see what you’re doing. Even if you didn’t say anything, I was going to go when the time came.”
“It’s not as if there’s anything special to see. It’s just simple labor moving rocks. The weather is a little hot, and the sun is harsh, but for them, it must feel like a rare and worthwhile sweat. Watching all these people appreciate the true value of labor makes me want to move a rock myself.”
“That sounds like sarcasm.”
“You’d be mistaken.”
Needless to say, she did not look kindly on me.
If I had been her, I wouldn’t have liked me either. I was directly denying the value she believed in.
Still, this wasn’t a bad situation.
Approaching her in a way completely different from everyone else who had tried before me would at least leave an impression.
“What do you mean, I’ve tamed them?”
“Exactly what I said. They’re not unable to work. They just don’t want to.”
“Funny. You seem not to see the people working right now.”
“I see them. Very clearly. But do you know something?”
“What...?”
“There are job openings like this all over Free City of Lindel.”
Though it’s a little dangerous.
“Of course, I won’t deny that working with me comes with slightly better conditions, but... there’s plenty of similar work out there. The eastern district is being redeveloped, and I heard the Red Mercenary Guild is also hiring laborers for the magi tower they’re building. And that’s not all. Did you know there’s currently a massive construction project near the tutorial area? I imagine they know at least some of that.”
“……”
“I did give their work ethic a little boost yesterday. They probably wanted to prove they weren’t just pigs and dogs. They may have wanted to show you, the Saint of the Abandoned, that they could change under your watch. Right? I’m sure that’s it.”
“That’s...”
“They were stirred up. They probably don’t even realize they were being stirred up. The reason is that I led them in a positive direction, not a negative one. Though even then, it won’t last very long.”
“What...?”
“Human nature doesn’t change that easily. Right now, they’re motivated. I can see that too. I can see the positive energy they have. But at most, it won’t last a month. They’ll start remembering the days they spent loafing around in the slums instead of sweating under the scorching sun. They’ll miss the refuge you gave them. No one wants to suffer with their lungs burning to the very throat.”
“I think I understand what you’re trying to say, but none of your words are right. People can change if they want to.”
“Then what about the inference that our Saint of the Abandoned changed them? That you turned ordinary people into beasts who only feed and consume.”
“You!”
Was that too much?
Sun Heeyoung, trembling with anger, came into view.
It looked like she wanted to slap me. Her lips were bitten so hard they were almost white.
There were even tears welling in her large eyes.
I wondered whether I had pushed too hard against a young woman who knew nothing, but I decided that this level of provocation was necessary. Even while believing I was wrong, she wouldn’t be able to erase the doubt sprouting inside her heart.
What if what that man said is true?
Even a small doubt like that would be enough to break a woman who found value in serving others.
Our Saint of the Abandoned looked terribly fragile.
“It won’t go the way you think. The idea that those people will move according to your will is arrogance and self-righteousness. The world never turns the way you want it to.”
“I suppose.”
“E-even if that were true... in my view, they’re far more valuable than you are.”
“And what’s the basis for that?”
“You don’t need to look for a reason. It’s obvious enough to see at a glance.”
“……”
“Have you ever heard of the underdog effect?”
“……”
“It refers to the basic mistake of judging good and evil by differences in power, Saint of the Abandoned.”
“……”
“Poverty does not make you good.”
“……”
“They may seem simple and kind in front of you. They’ll certainly act like victims of society’s system when you’re watching. But elsewhere, they’re the perpetrators too. The slums are not heaven where angels live. It’s the same kind of society we live in. Yes, society. A society where all sorts of filthy things and unbelievable things happen every day.”
“Society isn’t like what you think...”
“It’s rotten. Wherever there are people, conflict is inevitable. If you don’t believe me, I’d recommend a small experiment.”
“What...?”
“Try being a poor person yourself. Live as one of them, not as a saint who saves them, but as a poor person in the same position as them. Then you’ll feel something. A week? No, a single day will be enough.”
“I can’t...”
“I know what you’re worried about. You’re concerned about the people who might starve without you there. But one day will be fine. Don’t you have those wonderful friends following you around and doing volunteer work?”
Though they probably wouldn’t even show up without you.
Of course, from their perspective too, without a saint, there would be no reason to come to the slums.
I lifted the corners of my mouth again and spoke lightly.
“Or perhaps you don’t have the confidence?”
“Th-that’s not it.”
“I’ll make the arrangements on this end. You can think of it as a poverty experience.”
“You really are... a disgusting person.”
“If you’re confident, then accept.”
“Whether I’m confident or not isn’t the issue. They’re not animals in a zoo. You—”
“Will you accept or not? If our saint says yes, then I might even be moved by your conviction and want to volunteer myself. It’s an opportunity to help those in need. Accepting is the right thing to do.”
“You’ll regret this.”
“I wonder. The one who’ll regret it won’t be me. It’ll be you.”
She bit her lip and turned away, walking off in a huff, and the sight was quite a spectacle.
She’s far too innocent...
In a way, it was a blessing that she could still keep that innocence even after coming here instead of staying on Earth.
She would try to prove that her beliefs were right, but as I thought about the hardship waiting for her, I couldn’t help smiling.
When I turned back to the front, the people working hard came into view again.
Their fervor as they threw themselves into the meaningless task of moving rocks was plain to see.
“Hey! You there!”
“I don’t think I can move this...”
“If everyone gathers together, it’ll move.”
“Yes.”
“Hey, Mister Kim! Hurry up and come here!”
“I’ll be there as soon as I finish this!”
How heartwarming.
After Sun Heeyoung disappeared from view, Jung Hayan came running toward me in a hurry.
She looked a little uneasy, but once I pulled her in and hugged her lightly, her mood seemed to settle.
Seeing the notebook in her hand, it looked like she had taken the job seriously.
“Oppa.”
“Are you doing it properly?”
“Yes.”
“Shall I hear it?”
“Yes! Um... so.”
“Go on.”
“Subject 13 looks a little lethargic. Number 25 seems angry... Numbers 7 and 8 looked like they were working hard.”
“I heard some noise a little deeper in earlier.”
“It was Number 56 and Number 75. It seemed like something happened while they were working, but... I couldn’t check that far properly. S-sorry.”
“No, just knowing there was a problem is enough. How about Number 38?”
“Ah. Number 38 seemed to be moving a little carelessly... I think maybe he was resting a bit where no one could see him. And, um... he said he was going to quit too. Numbers 93 and 95 agreed with him.”
“Ah. I see. That’s a decent result.”
“Yes.”
“Good work, Hayan. This is a gift to say thank you.”
“O-oppa.”
“And just in case... would it be possible to change your appearance with magic?”
“I’m not sure about that...”
“Just a slight alteration with mana should be enough. Something like illusion magic. Would it be difficult?”
“Ah! If it’s only that much, I think I can do it. But why...”
Well.
“Because I think I need to show a princess who doesn’t know a thing about the world how filthy the place people live in really is.”
Jung Hayan’s bright smile came into view.
“Yes. I think so too.”