This Isn't an E*otic Game?

Chapter 32

Cold sweat drenched my entire body.

My most intimate secret...

It’s obvious.

The miracles I perform aren’t actual miracles—they’re nothing but vulgar, lowly eroge skills.

And those prophecies? Didn’t they just describe the abilities I recently acquired as crude and despicable?

There’s nothing else that could be considered my most intimate secret.

And now, it’s been revealed that I’ll die at the hands of those who love me?

“Saint! Thanks to you, I’ve been healed! Thank you!”

“You’re a living embodiment of grace! Because of you, I can see tomorrow!”

“Thank you... Truly, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what would have happened...”

I recall the faces of those who smiled at me.

The people of the slums and the Lilia Church bowing to me, showing their respect.

They are the ones who love me the most.

And they...

They’re the ones who will kill me.

I can’t breathe.

Terror seizes my entire body, sending it into convulsions.

I think I’m hyperventilating. My breathing is becoming uncontrollably rapid.

But the prophecy directed at me isn’t over yet.

"But death will not be the end. The one who sows grace will seize your soul after death and send it to a place befitting your actions. There, you will live through things you wish to avoid."

“Ugh... ugh!!”

I collapsed to the floor.

Even death won’t be the end.

The one who sows grace...

It must be Lilia.

After my death...

Lilia will capture my soul. And then what? Send it to a place fitting my deeds so I can experience things I don’t want to?

What kind of place would suit my deeds?

Hell.

Hell!!@@@@

I’ll suffer eternal torment in hell!!

Now I understand why the divine punishment from the goddess hasn’t fallen upon me, despite playing the role of a saint for over half a year.

It’s not that Lilia has tolerated me because I’m doing a good job!!

That was my delusion!

She plans to punish me.

Just not in the way of striking me down with lightning from above!

Once my secret is exposed...

I’ll be brutally abandoned by everyone and executed by the Grace Church followers and the people of the slums for impersonating a saint. And after my death, she’ll extract my soul and throw it into hell!!

This isn’t just anyone—it’s the omnipotent goddess herself, declaring her intent to utterly destroy me.

What’s the point of gaining the Emperor’s recognition?

What’s the use of accepting gifts and enjoying them?

If my soul is damned to hell, then it’s all over.

My hyperventilation worsens.

"You will suffer alone, but through this, grace will sow her will into the world, and people will see you and understand that she still lives."

Grace’s will.

What is it?

Impersonating a saint leads to ruin.

No matter how many lives I’ve saved, she won’t tolerate a filthy, faithless man with vulgar skills impersonating her apostle!

She wants to destroy me to set an example of what happens to saint impostors!

And by witnessing this, people will realize that the goddess Lilia is alive!

Damn it...

I can’t...

I can’t breathe.

My vision goes black.

*****

“Saint of Healing!!”

When I opened my eyes, High Priest Jerva of the Prophecy Church was staring at me in alarm.

“W-what on earth did Lady Lufiel say? What future did she show you?”

I didn’t answer him.

My clothes were soaked in cold sweat.

Shivering from chills, I pleaded with Jerva.

“High Priest, please summon High Priest Yodel of the Lilia Church.”

“I-I will do so immediately!”

Jerva bolted out like a bullet and soon returned with Old Yodel in tow.

I looked at Yodel.

To escape, I need three things:

First, a way to evade tracking miracles so they can’t chase me after I run.

Second, enough money to survive comfortably wherever I flee.

Third, a way to use my time-stopping skill more efficiently, as it’ll be crucial for my escape.

Once these three conditions are met, I’ll bolt immediately!

And after escaping, I’ll alter my appearance through body modification and live as quietly as a mouse.

Of course, this approach is methodical but carries a high risk of failure.

The support I have from the Lilia Church and the slums surpasses the level of mere fanaticism. No matter how careful I am, they’ll likely find me eventually.

That’s why I also need to search for a powerful curse as a cheat key to skip straight past hell if the first plan fails.

The problem is, curses like that aren’t exactly lying around on the streets.

In short, the methodical plan has a low success rate but can be attempted at any time.

The cheat key method, while not always accessible, guarantees a 100% avoidance of hell if it works.

There’s no choice.

I’ll stick to the methodical plan for now, but if I come across a powerful curse, I’ll seize the chance to use it to avoid hell.

That’s about it.

As they say, even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

First, I need to sleep.

Hearing that grim prophecy has left my whole body exhausted.

Feeling the weight of my heavy eyelids, I lay down on the bed.

Before long, I drifted off to sleep.

*****

In the nightmare, grotesquely twisted figures that could barely be called human were screaming.

Those hideous forms were contagious.

The twisted ones, howling and snarling, hunted the living.

To turn them into the same abominations.

Gunfire, magic, and miracles rained down upon the twisted, but they didn’t stop.

Walls crumbled, cities fell.

Humanity collapsed.

Zombies, ghouls, or whatever undead they were, consumed every human domain, feasting on the bodies of the living. And before long, those corpses would twist, rise again, and wander the land in search of new victims.

At the center of it all were two women.

One, savagely mutilated, lay dead in a pool of blood, collapsed on the ground. Beside her, another woman, identical in appearance, was wailing in despair.

The weeping woman bore wings on her back.

Blackened wings, radiating a dark and malevolent aura, the source of all the twisted beings.

“No! No!!”

The woman with the black wings screamed.

“I just... I just wanted to be loved!”

But there was no one left to love her.

With wings resembling those of a fallen angel, she wept bitterly.

Cried and cried again.

Yet, only the twisted surrounded her.

There was no one left to love her.

Not anywhere.

*****

I bolted upright, drenched in cold sweat.

Again!

The same experience, again!

A prophecy of a grim future!

But...

I wasn’t scared or frightened anymore.

The malevolent energy radiating from the wings of the woman in my dream!

That!

That was a curse!

If I take that curse and die, my soul will be destroyed, and I’ll skip hell!

Reincarnation in Korea, right?

This is it!!

The cheat key appeared so quickly!

Now all I need to do is find the woman with the black wings spreading that curse!

And once I take the curse and destroy my soul, it’s over!

As I reveled in this newfound hope, a voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Saint, are you awake?”

It was the voice of Old Yodel outside the door.

I had gone to bed and been startled awake by a nightmare, but why was Old Yodel awake at this hour?

“Yes, I’m awake. What’s the matter?”

When I opened the door, the old man’s expression was grave.

What’s going on? Why does he look like that?

“His Imperial Majesty wishes to meet with you discreetly.”