LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Birth of a New Saint
『 Translator – Divinity 』
{Many shall seek the Saint’s glory and flock to his side.
But the Saint shall speak, denying his divinity to them, for he sees himself as lacking.
True grace is not formed by reading scriptures or reciting verses, but solely from the purity of one’s soul.
Thus, the Goddess shall remain silent to her chosen one.
The ignorant and glorious embodiment of grace shall come to you, and though the Saint shall deny and deny himself with his mouth, truly, truly I say to you,
When the Saint comes to you, you shall know him.}
– Scripture of Grace, Chapter 52, Verse 3 –
***
“A false saint would claim to be the true Saint of Lilia,” High Priest Yodel replied with a disgusted expression.
“It is written in the Scripture of Grace that he will be ignorant and glorious. He will deny his own divinity. The Goddess Lilia would not have spoken a word to him. He will consider himself unworthy to be called a saint, and therefore, it is only natural for him to deny his divinity.”
“What if he claims to be the true Saint of the Lilia Church?”
“Then he is a fake. Most likely a charlatan who infiltrated our Church for its wealth. A saint without stigmata, do you know how easy it is to deceive with that? In the southern regions, there have been countless fakes claiming to be saints almost every month. They all ended up as ashes at the stake.”
Yodel smirked.
“The Lilia Church is one of the wealthiest churches in the Empire. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost everyone in the southern regions believes in the Goddess of Grace. There’s no way a fake saint could resist that temptation. Someone after our wealth would never deny their divinity. They would try to portray themselves as a saint by any means necessary.”
Yodel declared to the representatives of the 23 churches.
“He wouldn’t have even spoken to the Goddess. So it’s natural that he can’t use divine power. He wouldn’t have read a single line of the Scripture of Grace. Because he is ignorant. But undeniable glory will always surround him. You’ll know just by looking at him. I am certain that he is the true Saint of Grace.”
“Very well. Two months from now, when the trial is held, we shall see if he denies or acknowledges his divinity.”
The conversation ended.
***
“Lilia of Grace lives!! Ahhh!! Saint!!”
“Saint!!”
Seeing the members of the Lilia Church kneeling and crying with tears in their eyes, and the judge with a faint smile, I was bewildered.
Wait a minute.
What’s with this atmosphere?
I revealed everything!!
I told you the truth!!
I did everything!!
So now you should lock me up in the dungeon, right?
“Let’s move on to the second trial.”
No!! Second trial or whatever!!
Shouldn’t I have failed the first trial???
“Are you going to continue the trial, Your Honor? I am not a saint.”
“I expected you to say that, Jericho Amael. Let’s move on to the next trial.”
“No!… I-I’m not a saint. Shouldn’t the story end there? I impersonated a saint. Please imprison me in the dungeon.”
“We cannot do that. Your actions are exactly as described in the Scripture of Grace. Let’s proceed to the next trial.”
Are you crazy!!
I’m not a saint!!
I’m not!!
Why are you all crying again?!
No!!
What kind of misfortune is this?!
“Second trial. Let’s hear the testimonies of those around him. First, the witness of the miracle, Erpa, the witch of the Mars branch of the Magic Tower. Please stand.”
The four-armed witch stood up with a gentle smile on her face, which seemed to have a built-in charm spell.
“Witch who walks the path of magic, are you certain that the man before you is a saint?”
“I am certain. He embraced me when I was being pelted with filth and collapsing on the streets, kissed my hideous and rotten left face, and healed me. Not for a single moment did he look at me with disgust, and he told me to live. He healed not only my face and body but also my soul. He is undoubtedly a saint.”
“Are you certain that he didn’t heal you with some shallow magic to inflate his image, or with unknown ancient magic, or even black magic?”
“I am certain. It was definitely an event that should be classified as a miracle. I didn’t feel any mana flow or magical rearrangement; he simply touched me and healed me. It was definitely not magic. It was a miracle.”
“You may be seated. Next! Jonathan Karma, whose daughter was cured of the Rotting Plague! Stand up!”
Uncle Scrooge stood up.
“Are you certain that the man in the defendant’s stand is a saint?”
“I am certain. When he healed my daughter and my wife and me, I tested his miracle in numerous ways. I used a dispel scroll, a truth-revealing wand, and sprayed various detection magic reagents, but there was no trace of any magic. There was no divine power either; there was just… the result that we were healed.”
Jonathan looked at me with tearful eyes and shouted,
“He is the true Saint. What he did was impossible without a miracle.”
“Oh, Grace! Lilia!!”
The people of the Grace Church started shouting again.
My face grew paler by the moment.
No.
I’m not a saint.
No.
Please…
“High Priest Yodel, bring forth the healed children!”
“Gladly!!”
At Yodel’s gesture, the fifteen matchstick girls I had rescued from the back alley stood up.
The judge at the bench looked at them and asked,
“What do you think? Is that man a saint?”
“No! That mister is not a saint!!”
Finally!! Finally, the answer I wanted!!
“He said he was just someone who serves the lowly while healing us. After saying that, he healed all of me and my friends!! Without even taking any money!! Thank you so much! Now, Grandpa Yodel is taking care of us! We’re learning to read and write, and we even get an allowance!!”
“And delicious food!!”
“I’m so grateful to that mister!”
As the children shouted in unison, the judge nodded.
“He’s undoubtedly a saint.”
The priests of the Lilia Church also nodded.
“He is indeed a saint!”
“Without a doubt! I can swear on my faith! He is a saint!!”
Others also seemed to agree.
No!!
No, dammit!!
My heresy trial!!
My imprisonment!!
“Lastly, we will call those who knew Jericho Amael in his childhood. Bring them in!!”
At the judge’s words, the Silent Church inquisitors in black masks and robes brought in a group of people.
Familiar faces.
They were the neighbors from my old neighborhood.
“What do you think? Is the man in the defendant’s stand, Jericho Amael, a saint?”
At the judge’s question, they began to speak one by one.
“A saint? I’ve never seen him attend the Grace Church. But he was a good child. Always polite and greeted us properly. His parents were a bit unpleasant, though.”
That was from the lady who ran the vegetable stall where I often bought vegetables.
“His parents were indeed unpleasant people. Vain spendthrifts. But Amael wasn’t like that. He always cleaned and cooked for his family. I know because I saw it all the time. He may not be a… saint, but he was a good child.”
That was the testimony of the chubby man who woke up singing every morning next door to me.
“One day, he suddenly said he was quitting and received his wages before disappearing somewhere. I was a bit upset, but seeing him now, it seems he must have been called by the Goddess to heal the weak. I never thought he was a saint… but he was a good person. He was a good worker too.”
That was from the owner of the restaurant where I briefly worked after my parents died.
At those words, the judge declared as if there was nothing more to see.
“We consider the second trial passed!!”
No!
No!
Please just say I’m guilty of impersonating a saint!!
I just said with my own mouth that I wasn’t a saint!
I confessed everything!
Why is this happening?!
“We will now begin the third trial.”
The judge was now openly smiling.
He stood up.
“To put it bluntly, the man in the defendant’s stand, Jericho Amael, has already passed the third trial. He is a saint.”
What???
What’s going on?
How can a trial end as soon as it starts?
The judge looked at me with a smile, then slowly put on a mask.
And he spoke to me in a familiar voice.
“Two months ago, do you remember the Silent Church inquisitor who was in front of your cell, Saint? The one who asked you to heal his sick daughter?”
Oh! I remember!!
I remember!!
Back then, I clearly…!
“You asked me to testify that you didn’t use divine power, that you weren’t a saint, in exchange for healing my child. And you healed her. I confess to everyone here, that was a lie.”
The judge took off his mask.
“That child was not my daughter. She was a child targeted by devil worshipers, who cursed her heart to kill her and use her as a sacrifice. If you were a fake saint, a mere fraud, a devil worshiper, or a follower of the Evil God, the moment you touched that child, the curse would have transferred to you. Because curses move according to greed and dark desires.”
The judge looked at me with a warm smile, filled with respect, then bowed his head.
“You were not affected by the curse. I saw the curse dispelled at your fingertips. You healed the child with pure goodwill. At that moment, I was already convinced that you were a saint.”
No!
“B-but you promised to testify that I wasn’t a saint, didn’t you? P-please keep your promise! I’m really not a saint!…”
“As the head of the Silent Church and a servant of Le-Nere, the God of Darkness and Secrets, I solemnly declare! The being before us is indeed a saint! He has safely passed the most secretive trial of our Church, and with the testimonies of countless people and his actions mirroring the Scripture of Grace, there is no room for doubt!!”
“Wait a minute!! I’m really not! I’m truly not a saint!!”
“Alois, High Priest of the Sun Church, servant of the God of Justice, Lopers, and Yodel! High Priest of the Grace Church, servant of the Goddess of Grace, Lilia! And I, Gerson of the Shadows, High Priest of the Silent Church, servant of Le-Nere, the God of Darkness and Secrets, declare upon our faith and honor!”
The judge shouted loudly.
“The Pantheon recognizes Jericho Amael as the new Saint who has appeared after 300 years, and humbly accepts him as the first Healing Saint to emerge since the establishment of the Grace Church!”
“Hooray!!”
“Goddess!! Lilia of Grace!!”
Enthusiastic cheers erupted.
“If anyone from the Senate, the Supreme Court, or the Magic Tower objects, speak now.”
At the judge’s words, the nobles of the Senate stood up, applauding.
“The Senate greets the new Saint.”
The judges of the Supreme Court stood up, applauding.
“The Supreme Court respects the judgment of the Pantheon.”
Finally.
The mages and witches of the Magic Tower stood up.
“Those who walk the path of magic greet the new Saint…”
“No!”
With a piercing scream, the witch Thüdel shouted.
The applause and cheers subsided, and everyone looked at Thüdel.
A glimmer of hope appeared on my face.
Yes!!
Thüdel!
You’re on my side, right?!
Testify that I’m not a saint!!
“That man is a devil worshiper who will use Abominations to lead the Empire to ruin!! I’m certain of it!!”
…Huh?
A devil worshiper? That’s not right?
“There are records in the Magic Tower about someone who deceives and manipulates people with an incomprehensible method that is neither divine power nor magic!! He is a devil worshiper!! He must be a devil worshiper! That’s why he could heal an Abomination born from a curse! He will bring about the Empire’s downfall! He is not a saint!”
At Thüdel’s words, the applause died down, and the atmosphere instantly turned cold.
A heavy silence began to weigh down on the courtroom.