You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿ - Chapter 209

As I took out the brightly glowing amethyst from my inventory, Jeong So-hwa's face subtly changed.
Being an Awakened, perhaps she sensed the magic from the item.
As expected, she tried to stop me.

[Wait, that...!]
But I was faster.
I quickly placed the item in the hands of the sick children.

"This will help expel the toxins from their bodies."
To be honest, though, this antidote item made from the amethyst doesnât usually show immediate effects.
Especially with toxins that have been accumulated for a long period, it would typically take at least a full night to purify them.

But...
Paaah!
[Oh, oh...!]

The light erupted brightly, and I heard people gasp in awe.
I chuckled quietly.
âSuch flashy tricks always work, no matter the era.â

The magic control was difficult due to the formation, but with a weak illusion spell like this, the worst that could happen if it failed was that the light would just become stronger, so I had no hesitation.
âNow, it should be fine.â
With the most compassionate expression I could muster, I gently stroked the child's sweaty cheek.

At the same time, I heard the relieved voices of the parents at the perfect moment.
[Our child... his breathing is easier. The fever has gone down!]
[Oh my god, this is a miracle!]
Of course, this was a misunderstanding.

Thereâs no way they'd recover that quickly. They were simply deceived by the visual effect, and the placebo effect kicked in.
[That's what I said!]
So Mun-young proudly shouted as he straightened his shoulders.

[Our grandson was healed by that saint too. Thanks to him, heâs completely recovered!]
[The auntâs grandson too?]
[So that means heâs not a scammer...?]

Even So Mun-young, who had lived in this city for a long time and had a wide network, gave this strong assurance, adding credibility to the story.
The parents with bright faces expressed their thanks.
[Really, thank you so much...! The hospital lines were so long, and I thought my child might die any moment...]

[As expected, a saint is different!]
"Donât be too relieved just yet, though. You should keep the amethyst with you for at least a day."
Even my brief piece of advice made me appear more genuine in their eyes.

As the parents expressed their gratitude, others who had gathered nearby began whispering.
[Wow, now that I think about it, the kids suddenly got sick since yesterday. They said the hospital was crowded, but to have them healed all at once like thisâ¦]
[Honestly, I didnât believe it, but that outsider really might be a saint, huh?]

[Wait a second. Our neighborâs child is still waiting in front of the hospital. Do you think if we bring him here, he can heal them too?]
"Of course."
I didnât miss the conversation as it passed by and smiled at the people.

"Bring all the sick children here quickly. I will heal them all."
[Really?]
"Of course. Because Iâm a saint, I canât leave sick people unattended."

[Qu-quickly contact them! No, Iâll go bring the kids right now!]
Some of the impatient people immediately started running.
Seeing the atmosphere change so rapidly and the situation spiraling out of control, Jeong So-hwa became flustered.

[Wait a moment. What are you doing, acting on your own like this?]
I pretended to look confused as if I had heard some nonsense.
"What do you mean? Iâm just healing sick children."

[Didnât Hyunam-sensei call for you? But if you bring the children hereâ¦]
"Oh, meeting Hyunam-sensei is important, of course. But as a saint, I canât leave sick children, especially innocent kids, unattended."
I donât know how a saint smiles, but even a demon can smile in a situation like this.

"Hyunam-sensei and I have a long connection. Iâm sure heâll understand."
Jeong So-hwaâs face turned bright red.
If I were in her shoes, I might have been furious.

Especially since, from the perspective of an Awakened like Jeong So-hwa, it would be obvious that I was up to some trickery.
Moreover, seeing as sheâs a direct disciple, she might have had some inkling about my true identity from Hyunam-sensei.
[...I see.]

[Please, Administrator, help! The kids are so sick!]
Even the crowdâs unfriendly gazes added to the tension.
At this point, Jeong So-hwa should have stepped back, but she didnât give up easily.

[...Itâs a kind gesture, but the sickness can be treated at a hospital. If a regular person meddles and a contagious disease spreadsâ¦]
"A contagious disease?"
I raised my voice slightly.

Of course, even without raising my voice, all eyes were already on me.
"This is not a contagious disease. Canât you see the cause of these kids' sickness?"
The crowd fell silent at my words.

[Not a contagious disease?]
[But the administrators said it wasâ¦]
[Donât spread such nonsense.]

Jeong So-hwa, whose face had turned red, stepped up.
[This is a contagious disease. I donât know what your scheme is, but donât mislead the people. Just follow us quietly.]
I thought as I listened to Jeong So-hwa.

âSheâs an amateur in a verbal fight.â
Itâs a big problem if she gets angry like that.
"Itâs not nonsense. Didnât everyone just see me heal the children? Iâm a saint, not a doctor, and the fact that I healed them shows this isnât a typical illness."

Actually, mercury poisoning could easily be treated with modern medicine, but I lied without batting an eye.
After all, no doctor would come out here to debate medical matters, and as long as it sounded convincing, thatâs all that mattered.
Most speeches work like that.

âAnd this wonât end here.â
People were beginning to trust me more now.
It was time to drop the bombshell I had prepared.

"As a saint, I couldnât possibly not know."
I looked at the sick children with a compassionate expression and spoke with sympathy.
"The reason these children are sick is that someone in this city committed a crime. Someone used these innocent children as sacrifices!"

The crowd went completely silent in an instant.
But that silence lasted only briefly.
[Crime? A sacrifice?]

[What is he talking about...?]
[I donât get it... Does the saint see something we canât?]
They didnât easily accept my words.

âIt would be stranger if they did.â
Crime, sacrifice.
These words were hard for ordinary people to accept.

But rather than dismissing it as nonsense, the fact that they were trying to understand meant I had won.
[...This wonât do.]
Of course, this was the response from ordinary people. Jeong So-hwa was different.

She must have known I was talking nonsense.
I grinned at her, facing her directly.
âYouâre angry, but you canât touch me, can you?â

Hyunam-sensei or his disciples would know why the children were sick. Theyâre the ones who created this formation.
But seeing that they claimed it was a contagious disease... they were trying to hide the truth from the people.
And now, while they were furious, they were watching me, probably afraid I might expose this truth in front of everyone.

âWell, Iâm not planning on exposing mercury poisoning yet.â
That wouldnât be enough to bring down Hyunam-sensei.
[You, as a saint, are supposed to be treated with respect, but instead, youâre inciting the crowd.]

Swish!
Jeong So-hwa drew her sword.
The sharp edge of the blade caught the sunlight and gleamed.

Since words werenât working, it seemed she was going to resort to force.
[This ends now. Keep quiet and follow me...!]
[Wait, just a second!]

At that moment, someone raised their voice from the crowd.
[Can... can we wait a little? Just a little longer?]
Jeong So-hwa looked at the crowd in disbelief.

[What did you just say? Who said that?]
[No, umâ¦]
The person who had spoken, intimidated by Jeong So-hwaâs angry gaze, hesitated but stepped forward, raising their hand.

[Itâs just... um, there are many sick kids. And itâs true that this person healed the sick children...!]
It was So Mun-young who stepped forward.
Honestly, this was unexpected.

I thought he would just take his gains and run.
But So Mun-young, despite trembling from fear of the sword, didnât run.
[Itâs not that weâre trying to defy the administrators. But please, just give us some time. Donât we need to heal the sick children first?]

[What... whatâs this about...]
[Yes, right!]
And So Mun-young wasnât the only one who stepped up.

The parents of the children I had treated with the amethyst all suddenly stepped forward, as if something had broken open.
[Our child is really better now. And honestly, my nephew is still waiting in front of the hospital. If we take the saint away now, what should we do? He might die... please, please save him!]
[Yeah, what about the sick kids? Thereâs a shortage of doctors. Just wait a little longer until that person treats the children!]

[You... all of you...!]
Jeong So-hwaâs face turned pale from the reactions of the people.
And I stood with my arms crossed, watching the scene unfold.

âWell, this was the inevitable result.â
Right now, I was the only support the parents of the sick children could lean on.
Having created such a dramatic scene by healing the children, there was no way I would just sit back and be taken away.

So, this showy trick worked perfectly.
[Donât be fooled. That nonsense about a crime and a sacrifice is just... a scammer...]
[Scammer?]

Of course, Jeong So-hwa tried to logically persuade the people, but it didnât work.
âWell...â
I clicked my tongue at her.

Honestly, thatâs why being on the side of justice isnât great.
If this city were ruled by fear politics, they would have just dragged me off without a word.
But since Hyunam-sensei is foolishly pretending to be a saint, the public opinion is being swayed like this.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
âThis feels way too easy.â
[Really, he healed our kid. Even if itâs a contagious disease, heâll surely help!]

[No, listening to you, that person seems even more suspicious.]
Just as I was thinking lazily, Jeong So-hwa slightly changed her tone.
She seemed to ⪠NоvеlÑgÒ»t ⪠(Official version) be taking a different approach.

[If a non-existent contagious disease suddenly appeared, wouldnât it be natural to think that the outsider spread the plague?]
"Oh."

I honestly admired her.

Thatâs a reasonable argument.
It was true that I caused the sickness.
And of course, Jeong So-hwaâs words had a significant effect on the crowd.

[Oh... now that I think about it... that makes sense.]
[Thatâs right. Itâs strange that the kids suddenly got sick overnightâ¦]
Of course, I wasnât going to let the public opinion shift that easily.

I shook my head and stepped forward.
âAh, now I get it. The reason why so many sick children appeared despite Hyunam-senseiâs protection...!â
In this situation, an exaggerated tone would work best.

I made an angry face and pointed at Jeong So-hwa and the other administrators.
âYouâre the ones to blame!â
[What?]

âI knew something was off! Thereâs no way a saint like Hyunam-sensei would leave these sick children to suffer. But it was all because of you, his disciples!â
Of course, it was nonsense.
But I didnât care.

What mattered now wasnât the truth.
It was which story sounded more believable.
And my story sounded pretty convincing.

âI healed these children just now. Thereâs no way Hyunam-sensei couldnât heal them either, right?â
[Well... thatâs true.]
[Hyunam-sensei couldnât have been unable to heal them, right?]

The more people trusted Hyunam-sensei, the more they had to believe my words.
âNo matter what, even if I said Hyunam-sensei was an evil person, it wouldnât work. Starting to blame the people around him will work better.â
Even So Mun-young, after receiving my help, didnât hesitate to spread words attacking Hyunam-sensei.

But since I wasnât blaming Hyunam-sensei directly, or exposing the truth and putting them in a dilemma...
âRight, all the problems in this city were because of you! Youâre demons in disguise!â
[Demons?]

[What kind of nonsense...!]
The crowd fell into stunned silence after hearing my baseless accusations.
Of course, it wasnât because they believed every word.

It was more about the shock of the new possibility, and the exchanged glances as they assessed how to respond to the situation.
And that reaction must have been a shock to Jeong So-hwa and the other administrators as well.
[You...]

[You actually believe that nonsense?]
[No, thatâs not...!]
[Silence!]

Jeong So-hwa broke the silence with a sharp command.
[It seems thereâs no need for further discussion.]
She sighed and gestured to the administrators behind her.

[Take them. You may use force if necessary.]
[Yes, understood!]
Swish!

The sound of about a dozen administrators drawing their swords in unison echoed through the crowd.
The sharp momentum made those who had gathered step back in surprise.
[Weâll listen to what you have to say later. If you donât want to get hurt, stay quiet...!]

[Wait just a second!]
But the commotion didnât end there.
Someone from the crowd stepped forward, undeterred by the drawn swords.

It was an urgent move.
Someone let out a groan.
[Ah, the child...]

[My child is dying!]
A woman with a pale face stepped forward, holding her child.
Her body was feverish, and her breaths were ragged.

It was even more serious than the children from earlier.
[The doctors at the hospital said they couldnât do anything. They told us to go home because there were worse cases... Please, please save my child!]
[Wait, maâam. I understand your feelings, but this person is a fraud...]

[Please!]
The voice of the mother holding the sick child had the power to make even the administrators with swords hesitate.
Jeong So-hwa tried to lift the woman, but the woman, with superhuman strength, didnât move an inch, holding her child tightly.

I walked toward the woman, making a sorrowful expression, of course, still holding the amethyst item.
"Of course, here..."
[Stop, donât come any closer...!]

Thud!
"Ah."
I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

Crash!
The amethyst dropped to the ground and shattered weakly.
Jeong So-hwa had swung her fist to stop me, but it had missed.

â...Or it looks like I dropped it.â
After all, the amethyst didnât break that easily.
I looked at the woman gazing up at me with desperate eyes.

"What should I do? That was my last item..."
[What, what did you say?]
"Of course, if I have time, I can make more. But I wonder if there will be enough time for this child..."

Just trailing off with my words was enough.
[Ah, ah...!]
The woman screamed as if her last hope was gone.

[Itâs all your fault! All of you!]
Her desperate voice overwhelmed the crowd.