This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 29
A Virtuous Cycle
『 Translator – Divinity 』

At the Count’s wailing, Countess Lebarton’s tear-stained face contorted in surprise and confusion.

But no matter how great her surprise, it couldn’t compare to that of her son, Henry.

Henry was staring at his sobbing father with his mouth agape, utterly shocked.

But regardless, the Count, with his honesty stat at 100%, couldn’t stop talking.

“Your talent was too great!!! You were called a genius since childhood!! I never doubted that you would inherit the family business and build an even greater company than mine!! But music! Why would you pursue such unprofitable music! Don’t you feel your talent is being wasted!! I only scolded you because I thought that!!”

The Count clutched his chest.

Perhaps because he looked so sorrowful…

Henry hesitated, then stood up.

“F-Father.”

“I wanted you to come to your senses and carry on the family legacy!! Because you have even greater talent than me! Because you are my pride and joy!! I pressured you, hoping that you would inherit the family business! But now I regret it!! Why did you hang yourself! How could you, in front of your parents!!… How could you do that in front of your parents!! Not a single day has been happy since you died! Henry! I couldn’t be happy for a single day!”

“Honey!!”

The Countess embraced the Count, and they both began to sob.

The Count’s monologue didn’t stop.

“You don’t have to inherit the family business anymore. I just want you to live… as my son Henry!! You can call me a demon! You can hate me! Son! Please just live! Don’t die, just stay healthy… Just live like that!!!”

Henry had a complex expression as he watched his father wail.

After a long moment of contemplation, he turned his head.

“It’s too late for that. It’s already too late…”

Ah!!

You frustrating little shit!!

You too, bam!!!

[Maximizing the honesty stat!!]

“I wanted to be a son my father could be proud of!!!!”

Henry also collapsed, sobbing.

Now it was Count Lebarton’s turn to be surprised.

“I wanted to make you happy with what I’m good at!! I can’t live without music!! I was only happy when I was playing music!! I wanted to become the most famous and successful musician and help you, father!! I wanted you to look at me and say you were proud of me!!”

“You are already my pride and joy!! You always have been!! Yes!! Pursue music! If that is what makes your soul sing, then do so, my son!! Nothing else matters anymore! As long as I have you!! As long as I have you!!”

“Why!!… Why didn’t you say that before!! Why!!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, son!!”

Henry embraced his father.

And the three family members all wept together.

I subtly released the Absolute Hypnosis I had cast on the father and son.

And I waited for the family to finish crying.

After a long while…

The family, having shed all their tears, slowly got up from the floor.

“I am ashamed, Saint.”

Count Lebarton said with swollen eyes.

I smiled and shook my head.

“On the contrary, it was a beautiful sight. Count. Affection for each other rots when hidden. Like today, from now on, express your feelings honestly to each other. Good things should be shared with all your might.”

“We will… We will certainly do so. Thank you.”

“Come here.”

I took the Count and Countess’ hands.

This wasn’t just any incident; it was a suicide attempt.

There was no way their bodies were in a healthy state.

As expected, the Countess had problems with her stomach and digestive system, and the Count had severe problems with hair loss and eyesight.

I healed all of that.

“Ah!…”

“S-Saint…”

“Don’t hate each other, stay together. Understanding and compromising with each other will only make things better.”

“Thank you. Thank you!! Saint Amael!!”

“Don’t try to control your son. If you try to control clay, it won’t hold its shape; it will only leave your fingerprints.”

“I was foolish, Saint!”

I turned my gaze from the tearful father to the son.

“Don’t give up on music. But don’t give up on the family business either.”

Arts are difficult. It’s a tough era. There’s no YouTube or music streaming sites.

Even with genius-level talent, it’s hard to make a living.

“Don’t give up on either, and instead, try to connect your music with the family business. A car where you can listen to music while driving. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

At my words, Henry’s eyes widened, and he trembled.

It seemed like a tremendous inspiration had struck him.

“Th-Thank you! Saint! Thank you! I will remember those words!!”

I smiled with satisfaction and stepped away from the family.

“I’ll be going now.”

“S-Saint!! Please have a meal!!…”

No, thank you.

After such an experience, you need time to talk as a family.

Besides, you’ve already been healed, so you have no value as my clients.

Instead, please spread the word in social circles!

That way, other nobles will seek me out, and I can stick to noble families!!

“I’ll be leaving now. May your family always be filled with laughter.”

“Thank you! Thank you!!”

I said goodbye and left the noble family’s house.

Whew!

That should be enough.

Now the rumors will spread, and other nobles will want to use me.

Then I’ll naturally become an exclusive saint for noble families, and the poor will curse me and leave.

Grandpa Yodel too.

The people of the Lilia Church will also distance themselves from me.

Then it’s done!! I’ll finally be free from divine punishment!!

***

After the Saint left…

The Lebarton family had a cozy meal together for the first time in a long while.

Perhaps it was because they had cried and poured out their hearts.

Or perhaps it was because the Saint had completely healed their bodies.

The emotional chasm that had been widening for so long had disappeared without a trace.

“Father.”

“Yes, Henry. Speak.”

“It might be too late, but… I want to inherit the car business after all. I will study and train hard to carry on the family legacy.”

“No, you don’t have to say that to please me, Henry. Do what you want. If you want to pursue music, you can.”

“No, the Saint’s words keep echoing in my mind. A car that plays music. A car where you can listen to music while driving. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

At Henry’s words, the Count, who had been smiling with satisfaction, turned serious.

“Indeed… we need to create a new distinction. That doesn’t seem like a bad direction.”

“What would we need to be able to listen to music in a car?”

“We need to make the gramophone smaller. Small enough to fit inside a vehicle. And since people would get tired of listening to just one or two types of music, we need to make it possible to choose and listen to various music as they wish.”

“It needs to be small. Very small to be feasible. And it needs to be much smaller and easier to handle than current gramophones.”

“Should we try miniaturizing a jukebox and putting it in the car?”

“That’s not a bad idea. But we need a more fundamental solution. We need a small music storage medium. It needs to be portable and lightweight, and the sound of the stored music should be much clearer than a gramophone.”

Countess Lebarton smiled as she watched the father and son excitedly discussing their ideas.

“It’s a lovely sight. Truly. You two. Ah, it’s like a dream. To think we have another chance to have a meal together as a family like this.”

Count Lebarton smiled gently at his wife’s words.

“But son, repaying the Saint’s grace should come before developing a vehicle that can play music.”

“You’re right. You were saying you would purify the three slum districts, right?”

“Yes. How about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“We build a new tire factory there. The location isn’t bad. The problem was that it was a dangerous area, so no one wanted to start a business there, but if the safety issue is resolved, District 51 has the geographical advantage of being the closest connection to the areas outside the capital.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true!”

“The raw materials for tires come from the Tramata Kingdom, and if they pass through District 51, the route to the capital will be much shorter! It’s a good business plan even without considering the grace!”

Henry and the Countess nodded.

“That’s not bad! It’s a great idea!”

“I should meet with Jonathan Karma tomorrow. I need to talk to him.”

Count Lebarton kept his promise.

The very next day…

He went to see Jonathan Karma.

Jonathan was overjoyed after their discussion.

“Hahaha! That’s wonderful! Please come in! If you decide to set up here, I can offer you the elixir needed for factory operation at half the market price!”

“Half price?”

“Considering the distance, we can even install a direct underground pipeline for supply. That’s why we can offer you cheap elixir if you establish a factory or business in the three slum districts.”

Count Lebarton’s eyes darted around excitedly.

His businessman’s instincts were tingling.

“I expect you to keep that promise.”

Count Lebarton completely overhauled the tire factory construction plan that day.

An astronomical amount of elixir was needed daily to operate the factory, and if it could be obtained at half price, it would be a profitable business.

The news that a factory would be built in the empty District 51 spread like wildfire.

Naturally, countless people were curious.

And when asked why he chose to build a factory in the slums, Count Lebarton answered with a smile,

“I can get the elixir needed to operate the factory at half price.”

The rumor spread.

And the number of companies wanting to enter the slums to build factories began to increase one by one.

The public officials managing the three slum districts were dumbfounded.

“This is no time to be standing around!”

“Gather the workers! We need to mobilize them for factory construction!”

“To avoid insulting the Healing Saint, we will follow his rules in his district. The wages will be the same as those offered by Karma Company!”

A daily wage of 1 Saled.

Job opportunities suddenly started to increase.

The poor in the slums could easily find jobs.

Factories were being built everywhere, and the poor could sell their homes, receive compensation, and move into the new housing being built by Karma Company.

Hope.

The word “hope,” something unimaginable in the slums, began to spread.

They were well-fed, well-rested, and had jobs to do.

The streets were no longer filthy, and people didn’t look down on them anymore.

Their bodies became healthy, and above all, the belief that tomorrow would be different from today motivated them.

“The Healing Saint is truly amazing. He cured my son’s illness, which he had been suffering from for thirteen years, in an instant. Even the priests of any church couldn’t heal him!!”

“I must make a donation. It’s not right to simply enjoy such grace without giving back.”

Hearing about what happened at the Lebarton family, nobles continued to summon the Healing Saint through Cecilia.

And those who experienced the miracle never forgot the grace and diligently repaid it.

More donations.

More capital flowed into the three slum districts and the Lilia Church.

“We cannot just sit on this! It’s a sin against the Goddess to let this much money sit idle!!”

High Priest Yodel diligently put the gathered donations to use.

He sent official documents to the Lilia temples in the southern regions, recruiting priests with excellent healing abilities on a large scale.

The Saint couldn’t take care of all the sick people alone forever.

Gathering the recruited priests, Yodel established a clinic inside the Magic Tower Temple.

It was no exaggeration to say that it was the best clinic in the Empire.

All sorts of high-quality medicinal herbs and magic potions were generously supplied.

“Only the most critical patients should be sent to the Saint! Those who cannot be healed with miracles or medicine! The Saint needs to rest!!”

A virtuous cycle.

An endless virtuous cycle was in motion.

Everyone was happy.

‘No, dammit!! Why!! Why!! I wanted to become a corrupt saint who leeches off the nobles, so why aren’t you cursing me and leaving!! Don’t you feel bad about wasting money?? Stop donating!!’

Only one person.

Far from being cursed at and abandoned, Saint Amael, now loved by both nobles and commoners, was the only one unhappy.