LGHTNOVELBOOK chapter 24
The Birth of a New Saint
{Many shall gather, gazing upon the saint’s glory, crowding to his side.
But the saint will deny his own divinity, for he deems himself wanting.
For true grace is not made by reading words and reciting scriptures, but comes only from purity of the soul.
And because of this, the Goddess shall remain silent to her chosen one.
An ignorant and glorious avatar of grace shall go to you, and though the saint will deny, and deny again, I say unto you, truly, truly.
When the saint comes to you, you shall know him.}
-Grace Scripture, Chapter 52, Verse 3.-
*
“A false saint will claim to be Lilia’s saint.”
High Priest Yodel replies with a face twisted in disgust.
“It is written in the Scripture of Grace: He shall be ignorant and glorious. He shall deny his own divinity. The Goddess Lilia shall not speak a single word to him. He will consider himself unworthy of being called a Saint, and for that reason, it is natural that he must deny his own divinity.”
“And if he claims to be the Saint of the Order of Lilia?”
“That is falsehood. Most likely, a braggart who infiltrated to covet the wealth of our Order. A Saint without the Stigmata. Do you know how easy it is to deceive with that? All this time, in the Southern Territories, pretenders claiming to be Saints appeared nearly once a month. They all became ash at the stake.”
Yodel chuckled, just a hint of amusement there.
“The Order of Lilia is one of the wealthiest in the Empire. It’s no exaggeration to say that almost everyone in the Southern Territories believes in the Goddess of Grace. A false Saint could never resist such temptation. Especially those who desire our riches. They would never try to deny their divinity. They would strive to present themselves as Saints at any cost.”
Yodel proclaimed, as if delivering a declaration to the representatives of the twenty-three Orders.
“He will never have conversed with the Goddess. Therefore, it is only natural he cannot wield divine power. He will have never read even a single line of the Scripture of Grace. Because he is ignorant. But an undeniable glory will always surround him. You will know it just by looking at him. I am certain he is the Saint of Grace.”
“Understood. In two months. When the trial is held. We shall see whether he denies or acknowledges his divinity.”
The conversation ended.
*
“Grace be to Lilia, who lives!! aaah!! Saint-nim!!”
“Saint-nim!!”
I was bewildered, seeing the members of the Order of Lilia weeping and kneeling, wailing, and the judge grinning.
No.
What is this atmosphere?
I revealed everything!!
I told you everything!!
I did everything!!
Then, shouldn’t you be locking me in the dungeon now?
“We shall proceed to the second trial.”
“No way!! Forget the second trial or whatever!!
Shouldn’t I fail the first trial, normally???”
“Shall we proceed with the judgment? Judge. I am no saint.”
“I expected you to say that. Jericho Amael. We shall move on to the next trial.”
“No! …I, I am no saint. Shouldn’t the story end there? I falsely claimed to be a saint. Imprison me in the dungeons.”
“We cannot do that. Your actions are exactly as recorded in the Gospel of Grace. We shall move on to the next trial.”
Are you freakin’ kidding me!!
I’m not a saint!!
I’m NOT!!
Why the hell are you all crying again!!
God DAMN it!!
What is this utter bullshit!!
“Second Trial. We shall hear testimonies from those around you. First. A living witness to the miracle. Erfa, the witch of the Mars Magic Tower branch. Please rise.”
The four-armed Dawan witch rises, a subtle smile gracing her face that inherently exudes enchantment magic.
“Witch who walks the path of magic. Are you certain that the man before you is a saint?”
“I am certain. He embraced me, who was covered in filth and crumbling on the street, and kissed my hideous, rotting left side of my face, then healed me. Not even 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 my very soul. He is undoubtedly a saint.”
“Are you certain that it wasn’t a charlatan inflating himself with shallow magic, or some unknown ancient magic, or even black magic that healed you?”
“I am certain. It was clearly an event that should be categorized as a miracle. No mana flow. No rearrangement of magical power was felt, and he only healed me by touching me. It was absolutely not magic. This is a miracle, for sure.”
“Be seated. Next! The one whose daughter’s rot disease was healed. Jonathan Karma! Rise!”
Uncle Scrooge stands up from his seat.
“You, are you *certain* the man in the defendant’s chair is a Saint?”
“Certain. When he healed my daughter, my wife and I. We tested his miracle in so many ways. Dispel scrolls and staves that reveal the principle. We confirmed it by sprinkling all kinds of detection magic reagents, but there wasn’t a trace of any magic. No divine power either, just…the result that we were healed remained.”
Jonathan, eyes wet with tears, shouts, looking right at me.
“He *is* a Saint. It was something that couldn’t be accomplished without a miracle.”
“Grace! Lilia!!”
The people of the Grace Order start screaming again.
My face is turning pale in real time.
No.
I’m not a Saint.
No.
Please…
“High Priest Yodel. Bring forward the healed children!”
“Willingly!!”
Fifteen matchstick girls rise at Yodel’s gesture.
The judge on the bench looks at them and asks,
“And what about you all. Does this man appear to be a Saint?”
“No! That man isn’t a Saint!!”
Finally!! Finally, the answer I wanted came out!!
“While he was healing us, he just said he was someone who served the lowly. After saying that, he healed me and all my friends!! He didn’t even take any money!! We’re so grateful! Grandfather Yodel is taking care of us now! We’re learning to read and write, and getting pocket money too!!”
“And tasty food!!”
“I’m so grateful to that mister!”
The children cried out as if in chorus, and the judge nodded.
“A saint, clear as day.”
The priests of the Lily Order nodded too.
“He is certainly a saint!”
“Undoubtedly! I swear it on my faith! That man is indeed a saint!!”
The others largely agreed with the sentiment.
No!!
No, fuck!!
My inquisition!!
My dungeon!!
“Lastly. I will call forth those who know Jericho Amael from his childhood. Bring them forth!”
At the judge’s words, the Silent Order’s priests, clad in black masks and robes, brought in a group of people.
Familiar faces.
They were the neighbors from my neighborhood, the ones I often saw.
“What do you think, then? The man in the defendant’s seat. Is Jericho Amael truly a saint?”
To the judge’s question, stories began to emerge, one by one.
“A saint, you say? I never saw him attending the Grace Order. Still, he was a good kid. Always greeted me politely.”
It was the vegetable shop ajumma I often went to buy my greens from.
“I saw him always sweeping and cleaning the house, even cooking for his family himself. A saint… I don’t know, but he was a good kid.”
It’s the testimony of the chubby ahjussi from next door, the one who used to wake up singing every morning.
“Suddenly, one day, he said he’d only work ’til today, then got his daily wage settled and vanished somewhere. That irked me a bit, but lookin’ at it now, seems he received the goddess’s call and went to heal the weak. Never once thought of him as a saint…but he was a good person. Quick with his work, too, which was nice.”
These were the words of the restaurant ajumma where I worked part-time after my parents died.
At that, the judge declares, like he already knew it all.
“We shall consider the second trial passed!!!”
No way!!
No way!!
Just say I pretended to be a saint, I did!! Just!!
Didn’t I just say it wasn’t true with my own mouth!!
I spilled everything!!
So how’d it end up like this!!
“The third, and final, trial will now commence.”
Now the judge was straight-up laughin’.
He rose from his seat.
“To cut to the chase, the man in the defendant’s seat. Jericho Amael has already passed the third trial. He *is* a saint.”
Huh???
Wait, what now?
What kinda trial ends as soon as it starts?
The judge looks at me, grinning, then slowly puts on a mask.
And speaks to me in a voice I know too well.
“Two months past. Do you recall the Silence Order’s cleric guarding your prison, Saint? The one whose daughter was ill. Begged you to heal her.”
Aah! I remember!!
I remember!!
I definitely!…
“You told me you couldn’t use divine power, that you weren’t a Saint, in exchange for healing the child. And you healed her. I confess before everyone here, that was a lie.”
The judge removes his mask again.
“That child was not my daughter. She was a being cursed at the heart by demon worshippers, murdered and intended as a sacrifice. If you were a false Saint. A simple swindler, a demon cultist, a worshipper of evil gods, that curse would have transferred to you the moment you touched her. For curses move according to greed and dark desires.”
The judge beams, satisfied.
He gazes at me, filled with reverence, then lowers his head.
“You were not infected. Rather, I saw the curse vanish from your fingertips. You healed the child with pure goodness. At that moment, I was already certain you were a Saint.”
No!!
No, shit!!
No way!!
“B-but, you promised me you’d testify that I wasn’t a Saint! P-please keep that promise! I really am not a Saint!…”
“As the leader of the Silence Order, and one who serves the god of darkness and secrets, Re-Neri, I solemnly declare! The being before us is a Saint! He has passed our order’s most secret trial unscathed, his actions mirroring the Book of Grace itself, corroborated by countless testimonies. There is no doubt!!!”
“Wait! I’m really not! I’m really not a Saint!!”
“Alois, High Priest of the Sun Order, servant of Lophers, god of justice! And Yodel, High Priest of the Grace Order, one who serves Lilia, the goddess of grace! And I!!! Gershon, High Priest of the Silence Order! Shadow, servant of Re-Neri, the god of darkness and secrets! We declare, upon our faith and honor!!!!”
The judge shouts, booming.
“The Pantheon acknowledges Jericho Amael as the new Saint, appearing after 300 years, and humbly accepts that he is the first Healing Saint to emerge since the founding of the Grace Order!!”
“Huzzah!!”
“Goddess! Lilia of Grace!”
The roar of fervent cheers explodes.
“If there is anyone from the Senate, the High Court, or the Magic Tower who would object, speak now.”
The nobles of the Senate applaud and rise from their seats.
“The Senate greets the new Saint.”
Judges of the High Court clap and stand.
“The High Court respects the Pantheon’s judgment.”
Finally.
The witches and wizards of the Magic Tower rise.
“Those who walk the path of magic greet the new Saint… “
“No!!”
A sharp, piercing scream rips through the air as the witch Tydell, from the plaintiff’s stand, cries out.
The applause and cheering die down, all eyes turning to Tydell.
A glimmer of hope stirs within my face.
Yes!!
Tydell!
You’ll be on my side, right!!
Testify that I am no Saint!!
“That one uses Abomination and seeks to lead the Empire down the path of ruin, a worshipper of vile gods!! I am certain of it!!”
…Huh?
A worshipper of an evil god? That’s not it, is it?
“Records remain at the Magic Tower of one who deceives and bewitches people through inexplicable means, neither divine power nor magic!! He’s a worshipper of an evil god!! He must be a worshipper of an evil god! That’s why he could cure the Abomination born of that curse! He will bring about the empire’s ruin! He’s no Saint!”
Tüdel’s voice silenced the applause, and the atmosphere around her turned icy in an instant.
A heavy silence began to weigh down the courtroom.