This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 2
I Became a Saint
『 Translator – Divinity 』

{Praise be to Lilia of Grace.

Her mercy is deep and wide, and like a farmer tending his field, she will heal the sick and the needy.

Her chosen ones shall not be determined by wealth, gender, or birthplace, for the most sacred shall emerge from the filthiest of places, and their lives shall bear witness to this.}

– Scripture of Grace, Chapter 32, Verse 16 –

***

The capital of the Arcal Empire, Mars City, which I was visiting for the first time, was enormous and splendid.

Mana engine-equipped cars and trucks roamed the streets, and the city was densely packed with buildings reminiscent of the Belle Époque era.

As soon as I got off the train, I started walking through the city.

Walking briskly, I reviewed the plan I had formulated during the train ride.

A saint.

In the Arcal Empire where I lived, there were many folktales and legends about saints.

Those who performed miracles and wielded supernatural powers, blessed by divine grace.

Stories of saints suddenly appearing to heal the poor and sick before vanishing were incredibly commonplace in the Empire.

So I thought I’d take advantage of this legend.

Naturally, slums existed in this era as well.

And there would be countless sick people in those slums.

I would heal them with my Body Modification ability, and that would spread by word of mouth.

And not just anywhere, but in the capital, the heart of the Empire. The rumors would spread throughout the Empire in an instant.

Once I had gained enough fame and notoriety, I would look for the witch.

Magicians and witches weren’t beings you could meet just because you wanted to, but if I became incredibly famous, it would be entirely possible.

There was even a chance the witch would seek me out.

Then I would heal her and avoid the apocalyptic destruction scenario that would put any dark fantasy to shame.

And like the many saints in the legends, I would vanish without a trace.

It’s not just anything, it’s a saint.

This way, I would be performing miracles, so it wouldn’t be considered using unregistered illegal magic.

I’d just pretend to be a saint until I could heal the witch, and then disappear like the wind!

That was my plan.

It wasn’t long before I found the slums while wandering around the city.

Before starting the actual healing activity, I took a deep breath.

I had to be careful.

If I made a mistake, it could backfire.

If the rumors spread incorrectly after I healed them, I could be mistaken for a heretic instead of a saint and killed.

Furthermore, there were countless religious sects within the Empire.

I absolutely had to avoid being mistaken as a saint sent by a specific sect’s god.

If it was revealed that I, who had never believed in any god in either my past or present life, was impersonating a saint of that sect, the punishment would be, at minimum, crippling, and at maximum, death.

The most ideal situation was to gain moderate fame, have the witch seek me out, quickly heal her, and then quickly disappear.

If, in the process, I was mistaken for an unregistered illegal magic user or a fraud, it was game over. And if a particular sect accused me of heresy for imitating their god’s saint, it was also game over.

I knew.

The chances of success seemed incredibly low.

Still, I had no choice but to do it.

If I would die by doing nothing and die by taking action, it was better to at least try and then die.

‘Heal the witch and then quickly disappear. Heal the witch and quickly disappear!’

Of course, this was my desired scenario.

There was a good chance that the worst-case scenario could become reality.

But I tried hard not to think about those scenarios.

I entered the slums.

As I slowly walked around the slums, people’s sharp gazes were directed at me.

Naturally, it wasn’t a neighborhood that welcomed outsiders.

The gazes directed at me were of only two kinds:

Is this someone I can rob?

Is this someone who could harm me?

These two, nothing more.

The chilling stares of the people at the bottom, who had no past and no future, almost made my legs give way, but I pushed down my fear and walked down the street, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

While walking like that, finally, a suitable target caught my eye.

A beggar with no hope in his eyes was scratching his skin, covered in boils oozing blood and pus, while shaking an empty rice bowl.

“In the name of the merciful God, please give me a penny. Just a penny.”

His voice sounded more like a practiced murmur than a heartfelt plea.

Whether he died tomorrow or today, it seemed to make no difference to him.

“Please give me a penny.”

A terrible stench emanated from the man who looked like a living corpse.

I slowly approached him.

“Kind sir, in the name of God, please give me a penny.”

Seeing the man glance at me and mumble, I asked him a question.

This was a performance.

To spread the rumor that I was a saint, the performance was crucial.

The rumor absolutely could not be that his body was healed by a heretic’s illegal sorcery.

To achieve that, I naturally had to create a holy atmosphere.

Fortunately, I knew someone who was known for their holy atmosphere.

I never thought the days I spent in Sunday school as a child would come in handy.

Jesus.

I’m going to imitate you a little.

“Why are you sitting here?”

“Just give me a penny. Just one.”

“Are you sick?”

“Yes, I am sick, sir. Please take pity on this beggar and give me a penny.”

“Do you want a coin to get through today? Or do you want a chance to live the rest of your life differently?”

The beggar blinked his eyes as if he didn’t understand.

“It would be nice to have a chance. But who would give a beggar like me a chance?”

“I will give you one. So I ask you again. Do you want a chance? Or do you truly want just a penny?”

“I want a chance, sir. Please give it to me if you have it. But I have nothing to give you in return.”

“That is enough.”

I placed my hand on the beggar’s head.

Using unregistered magic is a serious crime.

Report it, and the punishment is immediate and includes hanging.

This was a skill I hadn’t used even once in 20 years because I was afraid of this fact. It was my first time using it, so I was worried whether I could use it properly, but I had to do it, come hell or high water.

I used the skill.

[Using Body Modification!]

And the next moment, the beggar’s physical condition appeared in my mind like a 3D model, transmitted through my hand.

A character customization window?

That’s exactly how the beggar’s body appeared in my mind.

Not only could I see his appearance, but also his internal organs.

Heart, large intestine, small intestine, stomach, lungs, and so on. I could even upgrade or reshape his internal organs as I wished.

The beggar’s condition, seen in unnecessarily detailed 3D, was truly miserable, closer to a medical simulator than an erotic game.

‘The bone in one of his legs isn’t in its proper shape. He must have had to limp or crawl his whole life.’

Boils were clustered all over his body, and the one on his back was almost the size of his head.

The stench coming from his body was emanating from the boil on his back.

After checking his condition, I slowly began to manipulate the beggar’s body, as if I were customizing a character.

I erased the giant boil on his back and the smaller ones that clung to his body.

Then, I reshaped the bone in his leg, which was twisted into a grotesque form, back to its normal state.

I cleansed his skin, changed his complexion, and transformed his emaciated body into one with a healthy amount of flesh and muscle.

I molded his face, where his cheekbones protruded due to malnutrition.

As I customized him, I realized that the Body Modification skill wasn’t simply a skill to change external appearances, as I had initially thought.

‘There’s also a disease in his body? Let’s get rid of that too. Let’s get rid of the lice in his hair. And delete the parasites in his large intestine.’

Literally anything related to his body, I could change as I pleased.

As I was engrossed in manipulating the man’s body, a strange sound escaped his lips.

“Uuugh. Uuuugh! M-Master!”

The sound of bones twisting.

The sound of joints, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels being twisted and rearranged at will started to grow incredibly loud.

Hearing the beggar’s screams and the eerie sounds of his body being reconstructed, other beggars and slum dwellers in the vicinity began to gather.

Good.

Keep coming and watch.

And spread the word.

After about three minutes of intense concentration on manipulating the beggar’s body, I finally finished reshaping both his internal and external form to a satisfactory degree and withdrew my hand.

The beggar collapsed to the ground.

He fumbled at his body with a shocked expression, then slowly threw off the pus-stained rags he was wearing and began to take off his clothes.

After taking off his outerwear and even his underwear, the man, with an indescribable expression on his face, sat down and stared at his body again and again.

Already, an uncomfortable number of people had gathered around, murmuring and glancing between me and the man.

Trying not to lose the character I had established, I extended my hand to the beggar.

“Get up and walk on two feet.”

The beggar grasped my hand.

I pulled him up.

The beggar stood, his two feet planted firmly on the ground.

I let go of his hand and stepped back, and the man slowly began to walk forward, one step at a time.

His steps were slow, but he was walking perfectly.

After taking a light stroll around the area, the beggar suddenly approached me, slowly knelt down, and began to kiss my shoes.

“Saint!”

The beggar, with tears streaming down his face, clutched my ankles and frantically kissed my shoes.

“S-Saint.”

“He performed a miracle!”

“S-Saint!!”

The surrounding poor people all knelt down without exception.

Well, it was only natural.

Everyone in the Arcal Empire knew the legends about saints, and my actions perfectly matched them.

Alright. Things were going exactly as I wanted!

I stopped the beggar who was frantically kissing my feet and gently helped him up.

“S-Saint. I have nothing to repay you with.”

At his words, I desperately racked my brain.

Let’s see.

A saintly line.

I squeezed my brain, recalling the self-improvement books I read in Korea and my memories of Sunday school, to deliver a line befitting the character.

“I do not desire money. Repay what I have done for you not with material things, but with your life.”

“I-I will do that, Saint! I will do that!!”

The sobbing beggar threw himself into my arms and wept bitterly.

I patted him on the back and then looked at the people around me.

Their gazes were intense.

It was time to deliver another impressive line.

I had no choice.

I had to plagiarize another Sunday school line.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will heal you.”

At those words, an enormous crowd instantly surged forward.

“Saint! Please heal my son!”

“My mother cannot see!”

“Saint!! My son is dying! I have no money for treatment! Please heal him!!”

I was overwhelmed by the cacophony of voices.

Fortunately, it seemed the rumors would spread properly.

After all, I was planning to run away after pretending to be a saint until I healed the witch.

Let’s try to prevent the apocalypse ending event.

With that in mind, I focused on healing those who came to me as much as possible with Body Modification.

It was all good until…

“The Saint of Lilia of Grace is here!!”

“The Goddess of Grace has sent us a saint!”

“The Saint of Healing!! The Saint of Healing!”

I didn’t say anything.

I didn’t say anything similar to the Lilia religion or anything like that!!

What the fuck.

Then why the hell am I suddenly hearing the name of a specific religious sect?!?!?!