This Isn't an E*otic Game?

Chapter 14

I headed back into the slums, and a long line of people followed behind me.

I figured that the most useless, filthiest piece of land in the capital would naturally be found in the slums.

As soon as I entered, a massive crowd began trailing after me.

“Saint!! Saint!! Please heal me!!”

“Grant me your grace, Saint!!”

Too many people were following me. If this kept up, wasn’t there a chance I’d get arrested for leading an illegal assembly?

Fuck.

I quickly scanned the slums and found the dirtiest, most worthless piece of land I could dream of.

Crumbling, collapsing buildings and shabby, abandoned factories.

A bleak, forsaken patch of land littered with industrial waste and trash, the kind of place no one would step foot in even if you paid them.

It was the sort of place where you’d expect drug addicts snorting white powder in some dingy corner.

I didn’t know shit about feng shui, but living here?

It felt like it could spontaneously create a cursed destiny that would lead to utter ruin.

Absolutely perfect!!

If I could cause massive damage to the Lilia Church, they’d spit curses at me and run away!!

As I was about to step onto the grounds of the abandoned factory, dragging the huge crowd behind me, a man who looked like a security guard approached.

“You can’t go any further! This is Karma family property!”

The old guard’s eyes were cloudy, and he didn’t seem to recognize me.

I slowly approached him and placed my hand on his head.

[Activate Body Modification skill!]

It wasn’t until I restored the old man’s eyesight, cured his arthritis, and fixed everything else wrong with him that he recognized me, and his body stiffened.

“Can you see now?”

“I-I can see! I can see it clearly! Saint!!”

“Go fetch the owner of this land.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll do it right away!!”

The guard ran off faster than anyone would expect from his age and soon returned with an older middle-aged man.

And the middle-aged man?

He looked exactly like fucking Scrooge.

The kind of bastard who’d bleed gold coins instead of blood if you stabbed him. His face was harsh, his expression hard, and he radiated the aura of a greedy, miserly asshole.

He approached me with the guard at his side, his face twisted in suspicion.

“I’m the owner of this factory. Did you want to see me?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want? If you’re asking me to let those beggars in here, you can forget it.”

I shook my head at his words.

“Sell me this factory lot. I’ll pay you a fair price.”

At my words, the factory owner burst into laughter.

“Fine, I’ll give you credit for your boldness. You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? I built a doll factory here, but it failed miserably. But do you even have the capital to buy a factory lot this big?”

I shook my head.

No, I didn’t.

The only money I had was what I’d earned working part-time in a restaurant.

Even if I pooled all of it together, there was no way I could afford to buy this lot.

“The Lilia Church will buy it.”

Of course, the church would pay.

The Lilia Church is one of the largest religious organizations in the empire.

No matter how ridiculously expensive this land is, they can afford it.

I glanced at the High Priest.

The High Priest looked back at me.

His expression seemed to scream: “Are you seriously going to build a temple on this pile of garbage??”

Exactly.

That’s the point.

I wanted them to spend money on something doomed to fail, cause damage to the church, and, on top of that, waste so much money so recklessly that they’d get sick of me and leave.

“Spend all the church’s money if you must, but buy this land. This place is absolutely essential to fulfilling the Goddess’s words.”

That’s the excuse I came up with.

Of course, I didn’t know jack shit about the Goddess’s words or anything like that.

I was buying it simply because it looked like the most worthless piece of land in the slums.

If we poured all our money and manpower into this place, built a grand, luxurious temple, and I did nothing saintly while living a life of daily debauchery, it would all fall apart on its own, wouldn’t it?

“...Very well. If it is the Goddess’s will.”

The High Priest stepped forward.

He approached Scrooge—no, Jonathan Karma.

Should I just use Absolute Hypnosis to force him to listen? Should I?

No.

If Scrooge suddenly starts acting kind to me without any proper buildup, it doesn’t seem holy—it seems deeply suspicious.

That would disgrace the name of the Goddess, leading to divine punishment, and worse, the Lilia Church might begin to suspect me of heresy and burn me at the stake.

How...

How can I say something that will get Scrooge to give me more time to gather the money?

As I climbed the stairs to Jonathan Karma’s house with these thoughts in my head, a scream suddenly rang out, followed by the sound of a struggle.

“Aaaaaah!”

Hearing the desperate cry, I quickened my pace and headed toward the source of the sound.

Entering the house, I saw people staring in shock at the center of the room.

“Rofus! The Sun! It’s Rot Plague!”

“You’ve been hiding a plague victim in the capital? That’s illegal! Jonathan Karma!”

The knights and police of the Sun Order shouted in horror.

Pushing past them into the room, I saw Jonathan Karma and his wife frantically blocking people from approaching, amidst the increasingly nauseating stench of rot and mold.

“Don’t come near! Stay away from my daughter!”

“Our daughter can get better! Even Rot Plague can be cured! We’ve been giving her medicine to suppress the contagion! There’s no problem with her being here! Please!”

Scrooge’s expression had completely crumbled, nothing like it had been moments ago.

The sight of Scrooge flailing his arms to protect his daughter, while Mrs. Scrooge clung to the girl and wept, was utterly pitiful.

And it was no wonder.

The daughter they were trying to protect was horrifically disfigured, her entire body ravaged by disease.

Is this what leprosy feels like?

Her swollen skin oozed black pus continuously.

Her condition was so dire it was a miracle she was even alive.

In that state, she writhed and thrashed in pain.

“It hurts! It hurts! Kill me! Please, just kill me!”

The girl screamed and cried hysterically.

The police watching the scene couldn’t take it any longer and drew their pistols.

“Jonathan Karma! You’re under arrest for illegally harboring a contagious plague victim in the capital! Step away from your daughter immediately—Saint! Saint! Don’t do this!”

I slowly lowered the police officers’ pistols.

Then I turned to Jonathan Karma and his wife.

“Don’t come near me! Don’t come near my daughter! She’s my daughter! I won’t abandon her!”

He screamed, but unlike moments ago, he didn’t seem threatening at all.

Now, he just looked like a pitiful old man—sick, broken, and crushed by reality.

“I don’t believe in saints who heal! Do you have any idea how many frauds like you I’ve met? My property! My money! Do you know how much they stole from me, all while claiming they could cure my daughter? You’re just like them! Stay away from me, you goddamn conman! You son of a bitch!”

Jonathan Karma swung his fist at me.

The punch landed squarely, and blood started pouring from my nose.

“Saint!”

“That son of a bitch hit the Saint!!...”

The knights began to draw their swords, but I stopped them.

I wiped my nose and silently looked at Jonathan Karma and his wife.

“Please, step aside.”

My plan had been to squeeze as much money as possible out of the Lilia Church, causing them significant losses...

But now, things had changed.

Look at this girl writhing in pain.

Even someone as selfish as me couldn’t stand by and let someone I could help suffer like this.

Besides, if I cured her, it might buy me more time to gather the money.

Even though I was bleeding from my nose, my expression didn’t change. Perhaps that unsettled Jonathan and his wife, because they hesitated, trembling, and stepped back.

I approached the thrashing girl.

“It hurts! It hurts! Kill me! Aaaaaah!”

The girl cried, screamed, and convulsed hysterically.

I gently placed my hand on her head.

The matchstick-selling girls in the back alleys.

And now this girl.

Whatever my circumstances, let’s set them aside for a moment.

This is just too pitiful.

“It’s okay.”

I activated my skill.

“You won’t hurt anymore.”

With a soft cracking sound, the girl’s body began to change.