Good and Evil (4)
Several days had passed since I started staying in the village. My life was the most abundant it had been since getting trapped in this body.
“Saintess, I've prepared some fresh fruit for you today.”
“Saintess, was your bed comfortable?”
“Saintess, Saintess...”
It was like they were worshipping a god.
Whenever I passed by, they'd prostrate themselves on the ground, some even shedding tears. At first, their eyes brimmed with pure gratitude, but as time went on, that gaze turned into a strange, feverish gleam. Madness, or fanaticism. A blind, irrational emotion devoid of any reason.
An old man approached with trembling hands, offering something. A bowl filled with livestock blood. His eyes glittered as he held it out.
“Saintess, please accept this. With this lowly one's blood, I wish to pave the way before you...!”
“That's very kind of you. Why don't you sprinkle it over there in the flower bed? The flowers will love it.”
“Ahh, Saintess! Merciful Saintess!”
He began banging his head on the ground in ecstasy. Seeing this, the other village NPCs' eyes filled with rivalry. One day, someone cut off their own finger to offer blood; the next, they skinned their pet dog alive as a tribute.
It felt a bit off, sure. Even NPCs wouldn't go that insane just from worshipping a saintess. I figured the shadows must have some added effect and left it at that.
And so, the madness spread like a plague. The village NPCs competed to prove who was the most devout believer, driving each other deeper into insanity. And at the opposite end of it all was always her.
“...”
Adelaide spent her days cowering at my feet or huddled in a corner of the room.
The village NPCs treated her as if she didn't exist or looked at her with the disgust reserved for vermin.
Even at mealtimes, she got nothing. Only the scraps I left behind became her portion—and even then, only if I allowed it.
“Filthy sinner! My mom said it's because of you that the Saintess is suffering!”
“...”
Thwack—a small stone flew and hit Adelaide on the forehead. The thrower was a child NPC who looked about five or six.
Adelaide didn't get angry.
“How dare that filthy thing stay near the Saintess...”
“It's definitely tainting the Saintess's sight.”
“The nerve of that sinner...”
“...”
“Look at her eyes. She's probably killed thousands without batting an eye.”
“What if she notices us staring and kills us all?”
“The Saintess is here.”
“...Tch.”
Yeah, she didn't get angry. Even as the hostility grew more overt, Adelaide just kept her head bowed in silence. Still deluded, thinking she was being treated like a criminal because of me, the fake saintess. That if she endured long enough, the truth would come out, and these kind villagers would recognize her.
Idiot.
Adelaide had gone to fetch water from the nearby well on my orders. Seizing the moment she was away, the village chief approached cautiously.
“Saintess.”
“What is it?”
“I apologize for the rudeness, but... I have one request.”
“Go ahead.”
“It's about that... sinner.”
“Adelaide? Has she caused some problem?”
“No, it's not that... I'm just so worried that your nobility is being sullied by that sinner.”
The chief began spittle-flying into a tirade.
“The holy aura enveloping the village is being tainted by original sin...! Ominous signs appear every night, and the livestock are restless. It's all because that sinner lingers by your side!”
It's just because you're all going crazy—
I wanted to say, but instead, I nodded gravely with a serious expression.
“I've felt it too. The ominous energy lingering around.”
“As expected...! I knew it! Saintess, we'll handle it. No need to dirty your hands. Let us pay that irreverent sinner's due!”
“Your devotion runs deep. But she is my... servant.”
“We can procure a