This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 6
The Witch, Quickly!!
『 Translator – Divinity 』

Thüdel sat on the sofa in her private research room, lost in thought.

Although not by choice, she had observed Erpa from close quarters for a long time.

Erpa was an impassive witch who always deflected any criticism or attack with flexibility and grace.

However, the first time she had ever revealed a glimpse of intense emotion was yesterday.

The Healing Saint.

And the hidden left side of her face.

She had probed with a “just in case” mindset, and it seemed she had hit the mark.

But no matter how much she thought about it, something felt off.

“If half of her face was disfigured or injured, she could just fix it with healing magic, right? Is there any reason to go through the trouble of meeting the Healing Saint? Someone who might even be a fraud?”

Erpa was a publicly acknowledged master of body modification and healing magic. She was also well-versed in transformation magic.

If half of her face was injured, she could just heal it herself. Why would she need to meet a saint?

“Is it a condition that can’t be treated with ordinary healing magic? Something serious enough to warrant seeking out a saint.”

She slowly searched through the vast knowledge in her mind, trying to recall if there was such a condition.

A condition that caused distortions that couldn’t be fixed with ordinary healing magic or body modification.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.

“Abomination.”

Once every few hundred years, beings with some parts of their bodies horribly distorted due to a congenital curse were born. Legend had it that such beings brought great calamity.

It was said that their horrifying appearance was caused by a powerful curse and could never be changed by magic or human effort.

Of course, nowadays, this legend had been proven to be a false rumor.

The true nature of Abomination was a medical condition that caused physical mutations due to an imbalance of mana within the body, making it impossible to treat with ordinary magic, potions, or miracles.

These days, people understood it as a rare disease that was difficult to treat; no one believed it was the work of a demon that brought disaster upon its existence.

“Except for the White Church, who serve the God of Justice, Dulaneir.”

The White Church was the Empire’s best demon hunter group, but they were also notorious for causing various problems due to their outdated mindset.

They would perform executions by burning at the stake, which was against imperial law.

They would accuse innocent citizens of being devil worshipers and try to execute them without trial.

Nevertheless, because they were also the ones who identified and captured numerous devil worshipers every year, the Empire tended to cover up the incidents and accidents they caused as much as possible.

And naturally…

The priests of the White Church also attend the regular academic conferences.

If I were to rip off that bitch Erpa’s mask there…

Wouldn’t that be a sight to behold?

“Erpa, you can look forward to it.”

She must be ecstatic at the thought of pushing aside my paper and being appointed as the next Tower Master.

But it’s coming soon.

The day her smile will be wiped away forever is not far off.

A joyful smile, one she hadn’t worn in a long time, spread across Thüdel’s face.

***

“They said that such a witch wasn’t at the Magic Tower. They wondered if you were looking for a dark magician.”

At the paladin’s words, I felt my vision darken.

This was the worst-case scenario.

If she had been at the Magic Tower but refused to meet me, it wouldn’t have been this frustrating.

If she was a dark magician, it was the worst of the worst.

How could I possibly find a dark magician who thoroughly concealed their identity?

Should I just say that I saw a dark magician burning the world in a prophecy?

No.

Then I might be beaten or attacked before I could even go to heal her.

That would greatly increase the chances of things going wrong.

Ultimately, waiting for the witch, who was somewhere in the Empire, to hear about me and seek me out was the most standard and safest method.

But I didn’t have the luxury of waiting for that.

Because I had never even mentioned the name Lilia, but suddenly everyone was praising me as a saint of the Lilia faith, I was now on a time limit.

“Thank you for your efforts, knight. Do you happen to know when the people from the Lilia Church will arrive in the capital?”

“The nearest Lilia Church is quite far from the capital. Even if they take the train, it will take about three days.”

Three days.

What were the chances that a dark magician witch with four arms would seek me out within those three days?

If she was a dark magician, she would be incredibly suspicious. I couldn’t imagine her letting go of all her suspicions and seeking me out within just three days. Not at all.

“Paladin. Then could you perhaps inquire about dark magicians?”

“Our church has a list of heretics. It contains records of those who have used evil dark magic.”

“Could you check the list? Please see if you can find the witch I mentioned there.”

“It’s possible, but… Saint, why are you so determined to find this witch?”

Because if I don’t, I’ll die!!

The Empire is about to be destroyed!!

I couldn’t say that.

If I did, there was a risk that even if I found the witch, the paladins would become hostile towards her and ruin everything.

“She’s someone I need to heal.”

“…Is that so?”

The paladin looked deeply moved by my words that I would even heal a dark magician.

“I’ll go and search the list of heretics immediately, Saint.”

“Thank you.”

After the paladin left again, I returned to the slums, which were still teeming with people.

It seemed that word had spread about the saint who offered free healing, as an endless line of people of all kinds were waiting.

“Saint! My child!!…”

“Saint! My wife hasn’t been able to walk properly since giving birth! Please heal her!”

I continued to heal the endless stream of people, one by one, without rest.

As I continued to use Body Modification, I became more and more accustomed to it and proficient.

Now, the speed of Body Modification was much faster compared to the beginning.

How could there be so many sick people?

I couldn’t show how tired I was and continued to heal people with the most benevolent smile I could muster.

Then, a father and daughter came and stood before me.

“Saint! May the light of Lilia be with you! My daughter is sick. Please heal her. She’s so thin and keeps coughing up blood…”

A man with a thin jawline said with a grief-stricken face.

“Bring the child forward.”

A young girl, so emaciated that she could barely walk, approached me.

Unusually, the child’s entire skin was covered in dirty mud.

Without thinking much, I placed my hand on the child’s head to use Body Modification once again.

‘Huh?’

As I observed the child’s true physical condition, hidden beneath the mud, on the 3D screen, something strange caught my eye.

There were whip marks on her skin.

Her arms and legs had bruises in a strange pattern.

They seemed to be marks from being tied up with something like a sturdy rope.

And that thing in the child’s stomach…

That swaying white thing.

It’s labeled as male semen?

I stopped Body Modification.

I couldn’t stay silent with such clear evidence.

“Are you really this child’s father?”

“Yes, that’s right, Saint.”

“Do not lie and tell me only the truth! Are you truly this child’s father?”

As my voice grew louder, the paladins and police officers by my side, as well as the other poor people, began to turn their attention towards me.

“I-I really am this child’s father! Why else would I have come to the Saint?”

This son of a bitch.

He’s lying through his teeth?

It seemed I had to use another skill.

I didn’t want the skill to hit the wrong target like Time Stop did last time, so I widened my eyes as much as possible and burned with the intense will to use the skill on the man in front of me.

[Using skill Absolute Hypnosis!]

Fortunately, as a result, the skill didn’t miss and was cast on my intended target.

“Tell me the truth, not a lie! Are you really this child’s father?”

At my words, the man nodded with a look of utter injustice on his face.

“No, I’m not. I’m a human trafficker. This girl… I kidnapped her from a nearby village a few days ago… Gah!”

The man hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands, but it was too late.

“Remove your hands and tell the truth. What have you done to this child?”

“I was going to sell her anyway, so I thought I’d have some fun and raped her, but then the bitch suddenly started coughing up blood. I was worried about what to do because it would be troublesome if the merchandise was damaged before I could sell it, and then I heard about the Saint and thought it would be nice to get free treatment, so I came here… Aaaaaaaaagh!”

The man started to run.

But I had no intention of letting him get away.

Time Stop.

I had already used it once.

I concentrated, aiming for the inside of the man’s body.

More precisely, his heart.

The control was still incredibly unstable, but fortunately, this time, I accurately applied localized Time Stop to the man’s heart.

The fleeing man clutched his chest and collapsed.

“Gasp!! Ugh! Uuuugh!”

As the man collapsed and thrashed about in a frenzy, I finally lowered my hand and released the skill.

“He’s a criminal!! Seize him!”

“Take this guy and interrogate him!!”

The police officers around me quickly rushed in and arrested him.

“Please spare me! Please spare me! I did this because I wanted to! I’m doing this because I love the taste of raping children!……. Wh-Why? Why?? Why do I keep telling the truth???”

That’s because I put you under hypnosis, you bastard.

There’s no need to go to the police station for questioning then.

Since if I asked, he would immediately spill the truth.

I turned my gaze away from the man who was being dragged away, still spouting self-incriminating truths, and placed my hand on the head of the emaciated little girl who was barely standing.

“Don’t worry, child.”

I had put extra effort into healing other people, but this time, I was especially meticulous with the child’s body modification.

In less than three minutes, the child, whose body had been riddled with malnutrition and signs of beatings, returned to the appearance of an ordinary child, soft and cute.

Once I wiped away the mud that had been smeared on the child’s body to hide the traces of abuse and beatings, she now looked like a normal little girl.

But I didn’t stop there.

I used Absolute Hypnosis on the child once again.

“I will make you forget the memories of being kidnapped. It’s better for your life not to have such filthy and disgusting memories.”

Focusing my mind, I barely managed to control the skill that was trying to escape my grasp and applied it to the child. Her eyes briefly glazed over, then returned to normal.

“W-Where am I? Who are you, mister?”

I gently stroked the child’s head.

It was an erotic game skill, but well…

It wasn’t bad using it like this.

I looked at the paladin next to me.

“Please find the child’s parents. And help them so they don’t lose her again.”

It was only after seeing the paladin’s face that I realized my mistake.

The paladin was crying.

“Glory to the Goddess Lilia of Grace!”

“A saint!! He is undoubtedly a saint!”

“Ahhhh!! Save us with your grace!! Apostle of the Goddess!!”

The poor people around me were also shedding tears and bowing.

Some were even wailing.

Cold sweat spontaneously trickled down my back.

“I will follow your command, Saint of Lilia.”

“But I’m not affiliated with any particular church…”

The paladin, without even listening to me, shed tears of gratitude like a waterfall and left with the child.

I watched the departing paladin and the screaming poor people, secretly drenched in cold sweat.

I had never even mentioned the word Lilia, but somehow, I had become a heretic who was undeniably impersonating a saint of the Goddess, in everyone’s eyes.

The moment the people from the Lilia Church found out that I wasn’t a follower of Lilia, it wouldn’t be a joke; I would be burned at the stake for heresy.

Burning at the stake, for fuck’s sake!

“Call the next person.”

I continued to heal the poor, thinking to myself,

Please, quickly.

Tell me you found the witch with four arms in the dark magic user registry! Quickly!