Be Honest, Yap
Be Honest, Yap
{The doubters crowded around the prophet and asked.
Why are the rich and the poor divided? Is it because of a curse, or is it the goddess's will?
The prophet answered them, saying.
The wealthy are blessed, but this is so that they may care for the poor.
The doubters sneered at this and replied, Then why do the rich torment the poor? Is this also the goddess's will?
The prophet answered, saying.
Now, while the saint has not yet come, they use that blessing selfishly for themselves, but when the saint comes, their blessings shall truly be used for the poor.
The saint is one who moves hearts, and you shall know this for certain when you see his words and deeds.}
- Scripture of Grace, Chapter 13, Verse 9 -
***
I was diligently healing people again today.
By this point, I had pretty much given up in despair.
Even at this very moment, it felt like lightning could strike down from the sky at any second.
But there was nothing I could do.
Run away?
They'd chase me down. That damned Tracking Miracle—or whatever it was called—existed, after all.
I'd asked High Priest Yodel about it a little while ago, and this miracle—
it was a miracle that tracked the soul, so apparently they could track you even if you changed your face.
Fuck!
Bankruptcy wasn't an option either.
Every time I tried to go bankrupt, the businesses actually thrived even more.
I'd even considered deliberately beating people up to drive them away, but then I got the feeling that the people I beat up would all probably turn out to be Evil God worshippers or criminals.
It might sound crazy, but considering the absurd slander I'd already suffered, it wasn't entirely impossible.
Should I try something insane?
Would people leave me then?
Like, if I stripped naked and danced around, harassed women, and did stuff like that...
Even without that, it felt like the Goddess, who was already prepared to strike me with lightning at any moment, would decide I'd disgraced her name and deliver a direct divine punishment instead of the leniency she'd been showing me. That scared me.
Fuck!!
Naturally.
Without getting burned at the stake.
Without enraging the Goddess any further, moderately—
a smooth and gentle way to make people come to dislike me, so I could disappear.
Was there anything like that?
"Saint. I have a request. Would you hear me out?"
As I was diligently treating the poor today, at some point Cecilia quietly approached my side and spoke to me.
Cecilia.
You betrayed me.
When you think of a young rich daughter in her twenties, isn't incompetence the norm?
Today I spent 100 Saled on a luxurious dress! Ohohoho!!
Isn't that how it's supposed to be?
Screw things up a little!!
Why do you keep...
Never mind.
I didn't even have the energy to get angry anymore.
"Speak."
"In order to secure the budget necessary for purifying Slum District 3... I sold your name, Saint. That you would also care for the sick among the nobility. That is what I told them. And so several noble houses have expressed a desire to meet you, Saint."
"I see."
"They are people who either have children who have been unwell since birth, or who suffer from conditions that no miracle or divine magic could cure. If it is acceptable to you, could you bestow the same grace upon them?"
Wait a moment.
As I listened to the story, a thought flickered—
an idea flashed through my mind.
A corrupt saint!!
Yes!!
If you're a corrupt saint, abandoning the poor and going around meeting nobles is the standard formula, isn't it!!
If I latched onto a noble house and only treated those people, wouldn't the poor naturally go—that motherfucker only heals people with money?
That money-grubbing pig!—and leave me?
Good!! A perfect plan!
Cecilia.
I take back what I said about you being a traitor. Sorry.
Thanks to you, a path to survival has opened up!!
"I will go. Guide me to those who wish for treatment."
Cecilia looked overjoyed.
"Understood!!!"
This was it!!
To cosplay as a corrupt saint, latching onto a rich house and living in luxury was only natural!
Now, at last, I could escape the Bad Ending of divine punishment!!
***
"Healing Saint. Welcome to our home."
Count Leuvaton was a man whose face epitomized the perfectly self-maintained, wealthy middle-aged gentleman.
Beside him, a noblewoman who likewise overflowed with refined elegance stood smiling at me.
"I am Jericho Amael. You may simply call me Amael."
"No, we could not be so rude. I would fear bringing disgrace upon the Order of Grace."
"Let us begin with a meal, shall we?"
A living witness of the automobile business.
The owner of Leuvaton Corporation.
The legendary figure who inherited the automobile industry pioneered by the previous Count Leuvaton and built it into the empire's largest car company was cutting meat right before my eyes.
I shared the meal the couple had meticulously prepared and posed a question to them.
"Who is the person I am to treat?"
"It is... my son."
"Where does he hurt?"
The couple hesitated at my words.
"Let us discuss that after we have finished eating! Talking about business over the dinner table is... ohoho!"
At Countess Leuvaton's words, I sensed something odd.
Normally, if someone wanted a sick person treated, wouldn't the natural thing be to take me to the patient the moment I arrived and ask me to heal them?
Seeing them dodge the subject like that gave me an unusual feeling.
I set down my fork and knife.
"Show me the patient first."
"O Saint..."
"I wish to see the patient first."
At my words, the Leuvaton couple looked at each other, and realizing they could not hide it any longer, they bowed their heads and rose from their seats.
"First... I wish to state one thing clearly. My son did not become that way because of any particular illness."
"Then?"
The couple could not continue.
Clenching their fists and hanging their heads deeply, Count and Countess Leuvaton finally, after a long pause, spat out the truth as if vomiting it up.
"Three years ago, our son Henry took his own life by hanging himself. A servant barely managed to discover him and save him, but ever since then, he has been in a coma and has not awakened, even now."
"We have tried every possible method. We summoned renowned priests and used every medicine said to be effective. Yet there was no improvement. O Saint."
"A priest from the Sun Order even said... that the miracle had no effect because our son himself did not wish to be healed. It is so... so painful. O Saint. We beg of you. Please heal our son."
At the story, heavier than I had expected, I felt the meat I had just sliced and eaten sitting uncomfortably in my stomach.
Suicide?
Not a disease but suicide?
What kind of situation was this?
Well, since they asked, I'd save him...
I didn't know.
Anyway, the plan was to act like a corrupt saint sticking to rich people and mooching off them, right?
Just charge in.
Heal him, build up my name among the noble houses, and become the exclusive saint who only treats nobles!
"Please lead the way."
"We beseech you, O Saint."
Following the couple's guidance, I headed toward their son's room.
***
Having been unable to move for three years, their son Henry's condition was dreadful.
Reduced to a gaunt, mummy-like state, Henry was only breathing.
"Withdraw."
After sending the servants and maids who had been turning his body and wiping him down to prevent bedsores out of the room, I placed my hand on Henry's head.
I examined the state of Henry's body through the Customization Window, and a part of his brain had completely turned black.
Well.
What's so hard about this?
Actual brain surgery would be insanely difficult, but my skills came with tremendous corrections so that even a medical layman like me could handle them.
[Would you like to restore it?]
The prompt even helpfully popped up on its own like this.
Without these corrections, how could I possibly have been playing the role of the Healing Saint all this time?
There was nothing difficult about it.
Now.
Shall I fix it?
[Proceeding with restoration!]
The brain, dead and blackened, was repaired just like that.
And just for good measure, I changed Henry's body as well.
I packed muscle onto his body, cleaned up his withered skin, restored his hair and every other part back to their original state.
And 30 seconds later.
[Brain state restoration complete!]
Henry had been restored completely to his original condition.
Henry slowly opened his eyes.
I stepped away from him.
"Ahhh!!! Ah! O Lilia!!"
"Saint. Thank you! Thank you!!!"
The Leuvaton couple wept uncontrollably, unable to hide their tears.
Before I could say anything, sharp words burst out from the now-recovered Henry.
"Why are you in my room?! Why?!"
At Henry's razor-edged voice, the warm, affectionate atmosphere shattered to pieces.
I turned my eyes to Henry, and he was crying.
Filled to the brim with hatred and resentment.
"Get out!! I said get out!! I can't stand the sight of you!! Get out!!"
At Henry's shouts, Count Leuvaton gazed at his son with a grim expression.
"Henry. You have been lying in bed for the past three years. You only just awakened with the help of the Healing Saint."
"What do I care?! Why did you save me?! Why?! I wanted to die!! Because I didn't want to live with disgusting bastards like you!! Why did you save me?! Why?!"
Uh...
What was this atmosphere?
The Countess began to shed tears not of overwhelming emotion but of sorrow, and the Count simply stared up at the ceiling as if at a loss for what to do.
"I hate you!! I hate you!!! Get out!! Get out!!!!"
Henry's shouting voice was grating and noisy.
This was troublesome.
If I just said, 'Well, your son is better, so I'll be off now,' there was no way other nobles would call for me.
At this rate, he looked ready to commit suicide again.
It seemed I needed to provide after-sales service as well.
"Henry."
"And what the hell are you, you bastard!!!"
What a foul mouth for a first meeting.
Still, I had to endure it. What else could I do?
They were my new customer base.
"First, calm down."
"As if I'd calm—!!..."
[Activating skill Absolute Hypnosis!]
"Calm down."
At my words, Henry's voice cut off abruptly.
I stared straight at Henry and issued another command.
"Why do you hurl such insults at the parents who gave birth to you and saved your life? I want to know the reason."
Henry looked down at his own body as if he couldn't understand.
He seemed flustered and surprised, but the effect of Absolute Hypnosis was absolute.
"Father never once acknowledged me. I always wanted to pursue music. Only when I was playing music did I feel my life recovering. I composed diligently, wrote songs, and performed them. But every time, Father scolded me. He told me to stop doing something so worthless that earned no money and to prepare to inherit the family automobile business."
Once he started speaking, tears began pouring from Henry's eyes.
Count Leuvaton, upon hearing those words, began to heave deep sighs as if irritated.
"One day, after we'd had a huge argument, I went out, drank, and came home. He'd burned every instrument and every song I'd composed in my room. Then he yelled at me to get a grip and prepare to inherit the family business. When I heard that, I couldn't take it anymore. So I..."
"You pathetic fool!! You good-for-nothing, spineless coward!! No matter what, how could you hang yourself?! Your mother hasn't slept properly a single day since then!! She even had to take medicine!! This is all your fault!! It all happened because of your weak, incompetent nature!!"
At the father's voice, Henry's voice rose as well.
"This is exactly why I wanted to die!! Father, you are a demon!! You never once looked at me as a human being, only as a tool to inherit the family business!! I loathe you!! I regret being born the son of a demon like you!!"
"Why you—!!"
Count Leuvaton raised his palm.
Fuck.
This wasn't the picture I had in mind.
I had no choice.
Since I'd taken on the job, I had to provide thorough after-sales service, didn't I?
[Activating skill Absolute Hypnosis!]
I focused my mind and cast hypnosis on Count Leuvaton's body.
And then I did something very simple.
[Maximizing Honesty Level!!]
"You are the son I love most in this world!! I love you more than my own life!! Henry!! The three years you were dead were no different from hell!!!"
The Count, who had been about to slap his son, suddenly collapsed, unable to hold back tears, sobbing in grief.
Henry, too.
And the Countess as well.
Everyone stared at the Count in utter shock.