"Scream!!!"
A menacing sound like the cry of a bird, no. Rather, the wing of a monstrous hawk echoed throughout the guild house.
Huh? What? What?
As I panicked at the suddenness of the situation, a shadow the size of a human jumped at me with great force and knocked me to the ground.
The shadow grabbed me by the neck and stared into my eyes with a bloodshot face. Scary...
"Yuuuujiii!! Bastard!!"
"...Ah, maybe it's the Guild Master? What's going on?"
The voice was rough, but only then did I realize that the monster on top of me was the guild master, Deabolica. I thought about greeting him and saying, "You're in a bad mood today," but I felt like I would be killed without hesitation, so I held back. Sometimes it seems like I can read people's moods.
What have you done?! What are you trying to do?! Why did you incite the people?! You even used the guild's shield as a banner! Are you trying to frame me?
"No, it's a misunderstanding. I didn't incite the people, they just got excited on their own. Weren't you the ones who gave us permission to use the Adventurers' Guild sign to do business? I was just doing business by curing illnesses.
I think I explained it coherently, great! At times like this, [Mental Resistance] is a blessing. If you're traveling through a different world on hard mode, be sure to bring it with you. But it will ruin your relationships.
Ah, so this is happening because relationships have broken down. This is bad.
It doesn't really matter, but Deabolica's skin is softer than I thought. Her hair smells nice too. Is it because nobles eat different things? Or maybe she bathes frequently? ...I even have time to think about such things.
Deabolika looks at me with the gaze of a murderer about to kill someone. This is scary, I might pee my pants. Thanks to [Mental Resistance].
"How much does it cost?"
"What?"
How much and who did you treat?
Five silver coins, anyone, regardless of social status. I think I've treated at least 300 people. Oh, you want me to pay you 20% of your sales now? To be honest, all those silver coins are heavy.
"Just answer my questions or I'll kill you."
"Yes."
I remained silent. If he threatened to kill me, it meant he had no intention of doing so at that moment. Fine, fine.
"You... you... Do you know that our lady's family goes to the trouble of paying a fortune to attract doctors? Don't you know how the doctors will react if you do something like this?"
I had never heard that before. I thought that healers could only heal wounds, so I thought it would be okay to heal illnesses and poisons as well. But poor people complain that doctors can't heal them, so maybe there aren't enough? In that case, I could heal people in places where doctors are scarce and earn money.
They're creating a difference on purpose! They restrict medical services to the poor to give the rich a sense of superiority! It's obvious logic! To begin with, people in slums aren't even citizens! What obligation do doctors invited by us nobles have to treat those who are not citizens?
"I have an obligation to consider the reputation of such a doctor."
It would be a disgrace to our family to invite a doctor who treats the poor! Besides, you are under the name of the Adventurers' Guild. I am the head of the Adventurers' Guild, the third daughter of the head of the family! So you understand that you must not tarnish my name, right? That's what I mean!
"I see, that's what you mean. I understand."
I wish you had said that from the beginning.
No, perhaps I am also at fault for not explaining my business plan when I started my business.
"All right, I was wrong this time. Let's leave it at that."
"...Do you think there might be a next time?"
"There will be no next time!" Deabolica almost shouted.
Don't you have any idea? Don't you plan to use and squander a human resource that can cure any disease? It's impossible for such a wasteful option to exist.
When I smiled brightly, Deabolica-san clicked her tongue with a bitter look on her face.
Now I understand what kind of person you are. You are a monster of exceptional intelligence. You are the kind of person that rulers find most difficult to deal with. You have been horrible at pretending to be an idiot until now.
"Thank you for your undeserved praise."
Well, whatever I said
No, I think I'm stupid. I think I'm crazy, training my body just to dream of reincarnating in another world. Besides, I'm aware that my [Mental Endurance] is defeating me, and I'm even crazier than when I was in the afterlife. I've become less sensitive to the reactions of those around me, and I can't remember things that don't interest me...
But if Diabolical gives me another chance, it would be a shame not to accept it, since my life is at stake, I think.
Besides, if I could easily earn 1,500 silver coins and be consecrated as the leader of a rebellion, even an insensitive person like me would realize that I am more valuable than I thought.
"Then do your best and bring out the best in me."
"...You were my cousin's best friend. This is the worst, it seems like now there are two..."
I heard loud, out-of-place laughter, and then I saw Wes sitting at his usual desk, clutching his stomach. He looked like he was breathing fresh air. I wish I wasn't in the middle of all this, so I could sit next to him and watch.
"So, what do we do about this situation for now?"
I looked out the window. The crowd was approaching, ready to break down the guild doors. If things continued like this, there would surely be bloodshed.
Deabolika crossed her thin arms and let out a small sigh.
"Before we do anything, answer me one thing: do you consider yourself an angel?"
"No, not at all. Everyone just started calling me that."
To be precise, I told him that the old man from the slums got his powers from God. But I also said that I'm not an angel, so I think it's okay. ...So?
"I see. Then you're safe, your life is intact."
"So, calling yourself an angel is unacceptable?"
In that case, we kill them. No matter how useful they are, we have no choice but to finish them off.
Oops, that was close.
Well, I wouldn't consider myself an angel.
As I watched, wondering what to do, Deabolica pointed her chin at me.
"Well, then you just have to get out of here and tell them, 'I'm sorry, it was actually a scam. The people who were healed were imposters I hired. I'll give you your money back, so please forgive me.'"
"Image?"
What? No. The only way to deal with this false image of angels you've created is to deny it yourself and destroy it. No matter how much we say it, it's useless. Even if we insist that they are fake, they will only become more stubborn because they will think we are denigrating the object of their faith. The best way to deal with this is for you to admit that it's a sham yourself.
I looked back and forth between the murderous crowd and Deabolica's face several times.
"...Am I going to appear before them? Me? No, I'm going to die. I'm going to die."
You have to take responsibility, Yuuji. You are the one who carried the guild's name on your shoulders and devoted yourself to business.
"But you were the one who lent us the guild symbol in the first place..."
"Okay, I was wrong this time. It's fine." But get out now, okay?
"..."
My expression at that moment must have been bitter.
Damn you, Deabolica. Someday I'll turn that smug face into one that will make you cry.
As expected, even when I confessed, "It was a scam! I'm sorry," people weren't convinced.
Of course, because people have been cured of their illnesses. Those who have been cured claim that Diabolica forced me to say it was a fraud, and those who have not yet received treatment get angry and say, "It's not fair that only others are cured! I want to be cured too!" That's what's happening.
So I tried removing [Disease Resistance] and [Medicine Resistance] from people in the audience who only had a mild cold or hangover. As expected, the effect wore off immediately, and they started shouting, "This is a scam!"
This is because even if the symptoms disappear after the skill grants resistance, pathogens and alcohol degradation products will still remain in the body. If the resistance is removed, the body will be attacked by the virus again and the symptoms will reappear. To completely cure the disease with my skill, I would have to wait for the pathogens in the body to be expelled before I could activate the resistance.
I am very sorry for those who were happy that their symptoms had disappeared, but I am sure your life is in danger, so please forgive me. My life is also at stake...
However, just as we had planned, there were those who shouted, "This is a scam! We want our money back!" and others who said that wasn't the case and that the angels were just telling them what to do, and the atmosphere among the crowd was becoming tense.
This is bad... If I took away everyone's immunity, they would all lean toward the fraudulent side at once, but I don't want to do that. It would give false hope to the seriously ill who were so grateful and crying, and it would mean making them suffer again. There were many people in the slums who seemed to have symptoms of tuberculosis, so if I returned them to the disease, there would be a risk of a pandemic.
I looked at Deabolica, but she didn't seem to have any good ideas either.
What should I do? That's when I thought.
Isn't that enough for you? The angel has said that he has no power to heal illnesses. You who have received his grace, believe in his words and rise up.
It was a clear and dignified voice that could be heard clearly among the crowd.
This voice is so powerful that it is impossible not to feel the need to listen to it. It is such a dignified voice that it is hard to believe it comes from such aged vocal cords, but it is the kind of voice that only someone with profound life experience can produce.
An old man spoke to the confused crowd.
Stay out of this! Get out of here, old man! Hey, guys! I'm not going to listen to the stories of an old man like you!
A voice called out to the old man from the crowd.
He looked in that direction, but the voice that had been cursing the old man was buried in the crowd and did not come out.
Enough is enough. You have received enough charity. It is shameless to depend on free charity and gobble it all up. Even if we are poor, we must not become beasts at heart. The angel said that the Lord cares for even the lowliest. Isn't that enough now? Shouldn't we know how to be satisfied?
The old man had his leg healed! But you're the only one who's lucky, and you expect the rest of us to just put up with it! The angels' charity is given equally to all, right? So it wouldn't be fair if not everyone in this town got sick! They gave us that hope and then betrayed us, so we have to take revenge on the Adventurers' Guild and the nobles! Right!?
There was a deathly silence.
One by one, the crowd turned their attention to the old man. No one wanted to support the agitator. It was only natural. The agitator was a coward. A shameless man who hid among the crowd and did nothing but incite those around him. Who would be moved by such a coward calling others traitors?
The old man's next words rang out, tinged with pity.
What did you see in the angel's appearance? What the angel brought to this town was not only relief from illness. It was also unconditional love for those who were suffering. Didn't you feel anything when you saw him? Didn't you want to be as kind to others as he was? If you cannot feel that heart, then your life is not only poor in the way you live, but also in your heart.
Everyone listened attentively to the old man's speech.
There was no longer any refutation from the instigators, and even if there had been, no one would have listened.
The old man spread his hands and concluded his story with these words.
Now, let us all return home. There is no reason to be sad even though the angel no longer heals our sick. We have learned from the angel to be considerate of our neighbors. Let us make this our greatest treasure. If we see a neighbor in need, let us take five silver coins and help them. If we ourselves are in need, we can give five silver coins to our neighbor and they can help us. From now on, let us take pride in living by supporting and helping each other.
...People quietly returned to their homes, as if the earlier frenzy had been spontaneous.
When I bowed to the old man as I left, he winked at me and walked away silently. His unexpectedly playful gesture made me feel a little strange.
As I recalled the content of his speech in my head, I applauded in agreement.
"So that's why everyone was following me..."
We all wanted to be as kind to others as that person. It was thanks to this feeling that this incident was resolved without bloodshed.
In reality, my motivation was money, so it was quite embarrassing. I was also ashamed that my [Mental Resistance] had prevented me from understanding these things.
"Yuji, what's wrong? You've been smiling happily for a while now."
...I see. So now I'm smiling with more than just a fake smile.
I replied to Wes as he approached me from behind.
I just thought about it again. I'm glad I was kind to my grandfather.