I'm Not a Saint
I'm Not a Saint
An old, worn-out tent set up in front of an abandoned factory in the slums.
Inside, a board meeting of Karma Company—which had come straight from completing its business registration just three hours earlier—was in full swing.
The expressions on the faces of those in the tent were grim and resolute.
For the position of CFO, Jonathan Karma's wife, Oliviera, was appointed.
For the position of COO, Jonathan Karma's daughter, Cecilia, was appointed.
Jonathan Karma himself took the role of CEO.
And beyond those, various other positions were swiftly assigned to each person according to Jonathan Karma's judgment.
In any organization, deciding who to assign to which role was one of the most difficult tasks, but Jonathan Karma's personnel decisions were made without hesitation.
That was because everyone present had once worked under him when he ran a distribution business—industry veterans with hardened, seasoned careers.
"I announce it here."
A shabby table set up inside the shabby tent.
Jonathan Karma's hand drummed on the table as if beating a drum.
"I've secured 10,000 Saled in start-up capital from the Lilia Order. We're pulling in money in real time even now, so if needed, we can bring in even more. Right outside, workers eager to toil are abundant, and in our hands, we hold the Elixir Spring—a foolproof business item incapable of failure!! Under these conditions, failure is nothing short of absurd."
You could no longer find the face of the old, sickly, harsh middle-aged man on Jonathan's countenance.
The sheer presence of a seasoned veteran, a battle-hardened old warhorse of the industry, radiated from him.
"To the Healing Saint, who saved my daughter and my family and gave me this staggering opportunity, I swore I would make the Lilia Order the wealthiest order in the Empire!! So let's do what we do best! Let's sell that Blue Gold and pile up mountains of money—pile up mountains of it!!! So that the Healing Saint never faces any hardship because of money!!!! So that I can be even the slightest help in spreading His Grace! That is what I shall do!!!"
Not only Jonathan Karma's family but also his former coworkers, who had gathered here at his request, were looking at him with expressions of wonder.
They had witnessed more closely than anyone else how Cecilia's Rot Disease had crushed and shattered Jonathan's family.
Despite pouring his considerable fortune into it, Cecilia had never recovered. And now she stood there, transformed into such beauty, working confidently as one of the company's top executives.
And on top of that, there was Jonathan Karma's behavior and speech, as if he had become a completely different person.
If this wasn't a miracle, then what was it?
"Now! Let's get moving! Let's earn money and earn more money and earn even more! We only have to do what we're good at! Miruda! You go and bring in deals! Toby! Secure the usage rights for the large transport trucks and trains that can move the Elixir! Cecilia! You bring back the technology from the Magic Tower! We must bring a mage who possesses Elixir processing technology! Even if it's only a technical partnership!!"
"Understood!!"
Everyone dispersed from the tent.
And in a flurry, they all went off to do their respective tasks.
Everyone's faces were bright.
After all, a foolproof business item had fallen into the hands of a businessman more seasoned than anyone else.
But Jonathan Karma was looking far beyond even that.
The Elixir was only the beginning.
To make the Lilia Order the wealthiest order in the Empire, far greater businesses were needed.
Establishing the Elixir business as the core and then, based on that, repeatedly expanding into countless other ventures like an octopus's legs, building a single gigantic corporate kingdom.
And then placing that corporate kingdom into the Saint's hands.
That was Jonathan Karma's grand ambition.
***
Two months flew by in the blink of an eye.
Honestly, it had been really comfortable and pleasant.
Although the solitary cell was cramped, the time I spent peacefully reading books, enjoying meals, sleeping, and doing light exercises—without any fear of divine punishment or being burned at the stake—felt incredibly precious to me.
This was a peaceful life.
Was it at all plausible for me to suddenly be a saint or something?
Did it make any sense for me to be a saint?
For a cowardly and selfish person like me?
I just hoped I could get out after living here for a year.
"Today is the day, Jericho Amael."
After eating the simple but delicious meal delivered early in the morning, I was exercising when a guard came to escort me.
The day had finally arrived!!
Today, I was going to lay it all completely bare.
That I wasn't a saint—just the worthless youngest son of a prophet family, a useless bastard without an ounce of Holy Power or anything else.
But still, since it was true that I'd saved a lot of people, I planned to say: please, just hurry up and give me a one-year sentence in the underground prison for the crime of falsely claiming to be a saint, and let's be done with it.
That was what I intended to say.
Handcuffs were fastened on my wrists, and I followed the priests of the Silence Order with a happy smile on my face.
Had we walked for quite a long while?
Inside a huge circular dome.
A staggering number of people that had to be over a hundred at least surrounded me in a ring, and right in the very center of them was the defendant's stand where I would stand.
Hmm.....
How could I put it?
It resembled the British Parliament I'd occasionally seen on the news.
"Saint!! Saint!!"
"Healing Saint! We are here!!"
The moment I stepped up onto the defendant's stand, I saw a group of people who spotted me and started shouting.
I saw the priests of the Lilia Order and the people of the slums.
I smiled at them.
Yeah.
This was the end.
As of today, I was going to stop being a saint.
So I could afford to smile.
I was sorry for allowing the delusion and misunderstanding to continue all this time.
They'd probably be disappointed once this day was over and they learned my true identity.
But what could I do?
I didn't want to be roasted alive by divine punishment for impersonating the goddess's saint either.
So even if I had deceived you all this time, please understand a little.
"Have the representatives of the Pantheon's twenty-four orders all assembled!!"
The moment they confirmed I had stepped into the defendant's stand, a priest clad in black robes seated directly in front of me at the judge's bench shouted in a loud voice.
At his words, some of the people seated in the gallery surrounding me stood up.
"All the apostles of the Pantheon's gods have gathered!!"
"Have the nobles of the Senate assembled!!"
At those words, another group of people rose from their seats.
"All who represent the glory of mankind have gathered!!"
"Have the judges of the Supreme Court assembled!!"
Yet another group stood up.
"All who judge mankind have gathered!!"
"Have those who walk the path of magic assembled!!"
This time, the male and female mages rose from their seats.
"Those who walk the path of magic have gathered here!!"
Among all the witches and mages, the hateful witch Tudel—who had reported and sued me—was not among them. She was seated separately in a special seat reserved for the accuser.
Because of that, the only witch I could recognize was one person.
It was none other than Erpa, the four-armed nuclear-bomb witch.
"Then let us begin! What we shall judge today is one thing! Whether the man before our eyes is truly the saint sent down by the Goddess of Grace Lilia! Or if he is not, then to judge if he is a heretic who falsely claimed to be the saint! All be seated!!"
The people who had stood up all sat down in unison.
A cold silence circled inside the courtroom.
The judge at the bench looked down at me with an expressionless face.
I swallowed dryly and met his gaze.
"Jericho Amael."
"Yes. That's me."
"First, I shall ask you. Are you, indeed, the Apostle of the Goddess of Grace?"
Finally!!
It had finally come!!
I closed my eyes gently and smiled.
Finally, goodbye.
The act of playing a saint that never suited my place in life.
"I am not the apostle sent down by the Goddess of Grace. Your Honor. I am not a saint."
At those words, a murmur began to spread.
But what did it matter?
I planned to reveal everything today.
"Do those words mean you admit to having falsely claimed to be the Saint of Grace?"
"Not even once have I ever said with my own mouth that I am the Apostle of Grace. I merely healed people. It was just that at some point, those around me began calling me the saint. It was not that I deliberately pretended to be the saint, however....... Yes. If this also counts as a false claim, then I suppose it is."
I readily nodded my head.
The murmur grew louder and louder.
But I had nothing holding me back.
"I am far too feeble, insignificant, and worthless a fool to be called a saint."
Honestly, compared to the reincarnators from other worlds I'd seen in novels or anime, I was a truly worthless nobody.
As far as being a good fighter went.
As far as having exceptional reincarnation skills went.
I was really just an ordinary human with nothing special.
"What was the reason you healed people despite not being a saint of the gods?"
At the judge's words, I looked over at the witches.
To be more precise, I looked at the four-armed witch Erpa.
Hmm.
If I honestly said, "That bitch is a pure villain!! She tried to burn down the Empire!!" wouldn't it create the possibility that the Nuclear Bomb Witch would get pissed off and blow up again?
So let's just gloss over it roughly.
With an answer that wasn't a lie, but wasn't the full truth either—something ambiguous.
"Because they were pitiful."
"Pitiful?"
"I saw young children who had received no proper treatment abandoned in the streets. I saw the poor who, without any hope, waited day by day to die. I saw a family crumbling because of a daughter's incurable disease. They were pitiful. So I healed them."
It was all the truth.
Part of it had been an act to heal that Nuclear Bomb Witch so that I could survive, but it was also true that I'd wanted to heal the many pitiful people.
Because they were truly unfortunate humans you couldn't look at without tears.
Of course, that didn't mean I had any desire to be roasted whole as divine punishment.
So my act as a saint ended today as well.
"Was that truly the only reason?"
"Yes. I still do not understand what caused me to be called the Saint of the Goddess of Grace. I merely acted on instinct. I am absolutely not a saint. I am merely a person who—though foolish and stupid—happened to obtain the ability to heal others."
Lastly, I looked at the people of the Lilia Order.
Perhaps because the shock was great, some of the priests had even sunk to their knees and were staring at me blankly.
In particular, High Priest Yodel's eyes were even brimming with tears.
Yeah.
I understood.
You must have been terribly shocked.
But what could I do?
This was the truth.
"There is not even a Stigmata on my body. I have never once heard the voice of the Goddess Lilia. I am just an ordinary human who has not read even a single line of the Scripture of Grace and is completely unrelated to the goddess."
Finally, I took a long, deep breath and let it out.
"Let me say it clearly once more. I am not a saint. I am simply a person who healed the sick and the weak. Therefore, Your Honor. Please render a wise judgment."
My words were finished.
The judge seated at the bench called over a few priests of the Silence Order and conversed quietly, and the people continued to murmur while looking at me.
Every single person from the Lilia Order was weeping.
A smile of relief, mixed with bitterness, tugged at my lips.
Yeah.
This was right.
This was the truth.
It might be shocking, but it would all be forgotten as time passed.
I was sorry for deceiving you all, even if it wasn't something I intended.
With this, now forever goodbye.......
"Jericho Amael."
The judge at the bench looked at me and smiled slightly.
"Congratulations on passing the first test."
The moment the judge's words fell, the priests of the Lilia Order shouted out in unison.
"He would deny his own divinity!! Oh, Saint!!"
"He would come in a pure body!! Is this not exactly as the scripture says!!"
"He would be ignorant and glorious!! Saint!! Saint!!"
They were shouting toward me with a passion incomparable to before.
It was fanaticism itself.
Wait, what was this?
What was going on?
I wasn't a saint.
I had just clearly said it!!!
Why were you calling me a saint!!