Birth of a New Saint
Birth of a New Saint
{Many people shall flock to him, desiring to behold the glory of the saint.
Yet the saint shall deny his own divinity, for he considers himself an insufficient person.
True grace is not attained through reading or reciting scripture; it comes solely from the purity of the soul.
For this reason, the goddess shall remain silent toward her chosen one.
The ignorant and glorious incarnation of grace shall come to you, and though the saint shall deny himself with his mouth again and again, verily verily I say unto you.
When the saint comes to you, you shall know that it is he.}
—The Scripture of Grace, Chapter 52, Verse 3.—
***
"The fake saint will claim he is indeed Lady Lilia's saint."
High Priest Yodel answered with a disgusted expression.
"It is written in the Scripture of Grace that he would be ignorant and glorious. He will deny his own divinity. The goddess Lilia would not have spoken a single word to him. He will consider himself too lacking to be called a saint, and due to that, he must naturally deny his own divinity."
"What if he claims he is indeed the Lilia Order's saint?"
"Then he is a fake. In all likelihood, he would be a fraud who infiltrated our order seeking our wealth. A saint without stigmata. Do you know how easy this is to con? Fakes claiming to be saints have run rampant in the South, at a rate of about one a month. Every last one of them has turned to ash at the stake."
Yodel gave a scoffing laugh.
"The Lilia Order is one of the wealthiest orders in the Empire. It is no exaggeration to say that almost everyone in the southern region believes in the Goddess of Grace. A fake saint could never resist that temptation. Someone targeting our wealth would certainly never try to deny his own divinity. He would try to package himself as a saint by any means necessary."
Toward the representatives of the 23 orders, Yodel shouted as if making a declaration.
"He would have no experience of even conversing with the goddess. So naturally, he would be unable to wield holy power. Nor would he have read a single line of the Scripture of Grace. Since he is ignorant. But a glory that no one can deny will always be around him. You will know just by looking. I am certain that he is the Grace's saint."
"Understood. In two months, when the trial is held, we shall observe whether he denies or admits his divinity."
The conversation ended.
***
"Lilia, Goddess of Grace, lives!! Aaah!! Saint!!"
"Saint!!"
Seeing the members of the Lilia Order weeping, kneeling, and wailing, and the judge grinning, I was thrown into confusion.
No.
What was with this atmosphere?
I had revealed it all!!
I had told them everything, hadn't I!!
I had done everything!!
So shouldn't I have been locked in the dungeon by now?
"We will proceed to the second test."
No!! Second test or whatever!!
Wasn't it only normal for me to be eliminated by the first test???
"Do you intend to continue this trial? Your Honor, I am not a saint."
"I knew you would say that. Jericho Amael. We will proceed to the next test."
"No! ... I, I am not a saint. Shouldn't the matter end there? I falsely claimed to be a saint. Please lock me up in the dungeon."
"That cannot be. Your actions are exactly as recorded in the Scripture of Grace. We will proceed to the next test."
Was he insane!!
I'm telling you I'm not a saint!!
I'm not!!
Why the hell were you all crying again!!
Damn it!!
What kind of bullshit frame-up was this!!
"The second test. We shall hear the testimonies of those around him. First, the living witness of the miracle. The witch Erpa of the Mars Mage Tower branch. Please rise."
Erpa, the four-armed witch, rose with a gentle smile on a face that seemed to have allure magic built into it.
"Witch who walks the Path of Magic. Are you certain that the man before you is a saint?"
"I am certain. When I was collapsing, struck by filth on the streets, he embraced me and kissed my hideous, rotted, festering half-face and healed me. Not for a single moment did he regard me with revulsion, and he told me to keep living. He healed not only my face and body but my soul. He is unmistakably a saint."
"Are you certain that he is not a fraud who exaggerated himself with shallow tricks, and that he did not heal you using unknown ancient magic, or black magic?"
"I am certain. It was an event that must clearly be classified under the category of miracles. I sensed no flow of mana whatsoever, nor any rearrangement of magical power. He simply laid his hands on me and healed me. It was absolutely not magic. This is a miracle."
"Be seated. Next! The man whose daughter's Rot Disease was cured—Jonathan Karma! Rise!"
The Scrooge-like man rose from his seat.
"Are you certain that the man sitting in the defendant's seat is a saint?"
"I am certain. When he healed my daughter and my wife and me, I verified his miracle through countless methods. I checked using a Dispel Scroll, a staff that reveals principles, and by sprinkling various detection magic reagents, but there was no trace of any magic whatsoever. There was also no holy power; only the result that we had been healed remained."
Gazing at me with his tear-soaked eyes, Jonathan shouted.
"He is indeed a saint. It was something that would have been impossible if not for a miracle."
"Goddess of Grace! Lilia!!"
The people of the Order of Grace were shouting again.
My face was growing paler in real time.
This was wrong.
I wasn't a saint.
This was wrong.
Please...
"High Priest Yodel. Have the healed children stand!"
"Gladly!!"
Fifteen matchstick-selling girls rose at Yodel's gesture.
The judge on the bench looked at them and asked.
"What do you all think? Is that man a saint?"
"No! That man isn't a saint!!"
Finally!! The answer I wanted had finally come out!!
"When he healed us, he just called himself a servant of the lowly. After saying that, he healed me and all my friends!! Didn't even take any money!! I'm so grateful! Right now, Grandpa Yodel is looking after us! We're learning to read and also getting an allowance!!"
"And delicious food!!"
"I'm so grateful to that man!"
As the children shouted as if in a chorus, the judge nodded.
"He is a saint by anyone's account."
The clergy of the Lilia Order nodded as well.
"He is certainly the saint!"
"It is clear! I can stake my faith on it! That person is indeed the saint!!"
The others generally had an atmosphere of agreement.
No!!
No, damn it!!
My heresy trial!!
My dungeon confinement!!
"Finally, we will summon those who knew Jericho Amael in his childhood. Bring them in!!"
At the judge's words, priests of the Silence Order wearing black masks and black robes led in a group of people.
These were familiar faces.
They were the neighbors I had often seen from my neighborhood.
"How do you see it? The man in the defendant's seat. Is Jericho Amael a saint?"
Answers came out one by one to the judge's question.
"A saint? I've never seen him attend the Order of Grace. Still, he was a good kid. He always greeted politely and kept to himself."
These were the words of the vegetable shop lady I had often bought from.
"I saw that he always swept and polished the house, did the cooking himself, and fed his family. Whether he's a saint... I don't know, but he was a good kid."
This was the testimony of the fat man next door who woke up singing every morning.
"Suddenly one day, he said he'd work only until that day, received his daily wages, and disappeared somewhere. I was a bit annoyed by that, but seeing this now, it seems he received the goddess's call and went to heal the weak. I never thought of him as a saint my whole life... but he was a good person. I liked him because he was quick with his work, too."
These were the words of the restaurant owner from the place where I briefly worked part-time after my parents died.
At those words, the judge declared as though there was nothing left to examine.
"The second test is also considered passed!!!"
No!!
No!!
Just say I really did falsely claim to be a saint, will you!! Please!!
I just denied it myself with my own mouth!!
I had revealed it all!!
So why was it turning out like this!!
"The final, third test shall now commence."
Now, the judge was openly laughing.
He rose from his seat.
"To present the conclusion first, the man in the defendant's seat, Jericho Amael, has already passed the third test. He is indeed a saint."
Excuse me???
No, what did he mean?
What test ended the moment it began?
The judge looked at me with a smiling face, then slowly put on a mask.
And then, he addressed me with a familiar voice.
"Two months ago. Do you remember the Silence Order priest who was standing guard in front of your cell, Your Holiness? You were told his daughter was ill and asked to cure her."
Oh! I remember!!
I remember!!
Back then, I definitely!...
"In return for healing the child, you asked me to testify that you could not use holy power and were therefore not a saint. And so you healed the child. To confess before this assembly, that was a lie."
The judge removed his mask again.
"That child was not my daughter. She was someone demon worshippers had tried to slaughter and offer as a sacrifice by artificially placing a curse upon her heart. If you were a false saint, a mere fraud, demon cultist, or Evil God worshipper, the moment you laid hands on that child, the curse would have transferred to you. For curses move according to greed and dark desire."
The judge, with a look of satisfaction,
gazed at me with an expression full of respect, and then finally bowed his head.
"The curse did not transfer to you. I witnessed the curse, rather, be extinguished at your fingertips. You healed the child out of pure good will. In that instant, I was already certain that you were a saint."
No!!
No, damn it!!
No!!
"D-di-didn't you promise me then that you would testify I was not a saint? Pl-please keep that promise! I'm telling you, I am genuinely not a saint!..."
"As the head of the Silence Order and one who serves the God of Darkness and Secrets, Le-Neri, I shall solemnly declare! The man before my eyes is indeed a saint! He has safely passed our order's most covert test, and with the testimonies of countless people and achievements that seem transcribed from the Scripture of Grace, there is no room for doubt!!!"
"Wait just a moment!! I'm really not! I'm truly not a saint!!"
"I, Alois, High Priest of the Sun Order and servant of the God of Justice, Lopers!! And I, Yodel, High Priest of the Order of Grace and servant of the Goddess of Grace, Lilia!! And I, Gerson, High Priest of the Silence Order and servant of the God of Darkness and Secrets, Le-Neri, the Shadow, shall stake our faith and honor and declare!!!!"
The judge shouted loudly.
"The Pantheon acknowledges that Jericho Amael is the new saint to appear in 300 years, and humbly accepts that he is the first Healing Saint to emerge since the founding of the Order of Grace!!"
"Huzzah!!"
"Goddess! Lilia of Grace!!"
A fervent roar of cheers erupted.
"If there is anyone in the Senate, Supreme Court, or Magic Tower who would object, speak now."
At the judge's words, the nobles of the Senate rose from their seats, clapping.
"The Senate greets the new saint."
The judges of the Supreme Court rose from their seats, clapping.
"The Supreme Court respects the judgment of the Pantheon."
Finally,
the witches and mages of the Magic Tower rose.
"Those who walk the Path of Magic greet the new sa..."
"No!!!!"
Along with a piercing, sharp scream, the witch Tudel, who had been in the accuser's seat, shouted.
The applause and cheers diminished as everyone looked at Tudel.
On my face, too, a light of hope appeared.
That was right!!
Tudel!
You had to be on my side!!
Testify that I wasn't a saint!!
"That man is an Evil God worshipper who intends to lead the Empire onto the path of ruin by using the Abomination!! I am certain of it!!"
...Huh?
An Evil God worshipper? That wasn't right, though?
"A record remains in the Magic Tower of a being who tricks and deceives people in an incomprehensible way, neither holy power nor magic!! He is an Evil God worshipper!! He's clearly an Evil God worshipper! That's how he was able to heal the Abomination born from a curse! He is the one who will bring the Empire's ruin! I'm telling you he's not a saint!!"
At Tudel's voice, the applause died down, and in an instant, the atmosphere around turned icy cold.
A heavy silence began to crush the interior of the courtroom.