“I got run over by a horse earlier, but… did the lady save me?”
The child asked me with trembling lips.
“…I don’t have any money.”
Those words made me emotional.
“I don’t need any money. How old are you?”
“10 years old.”
The child seemed relieved when I said I didn’t need money.
His physique stabbed me in the chest again.
The child, who looked 8 at the most, was actually 10 years old. No wonder he could speak coherently.
“Did God save me?”
The child blinked and asked me.
“No. I saved you.”
I gave a straightforward answer.
The child looked surprised.
“The gods supported my power, but I saved you.”
I had actually guessed a little about why the gods could not completely intervene in human history.
The weak were slaughtered and the strong survived.
War brought tragedy, but reduced the human population and had a positive impact on other’s lives.
If an old man died and a child was not born, human life could not flourish.
Just as humans don’t interfere with the life or death of animals when filming a documentary, the gods stood on the line of equilibrium.
But I was different.
I could use God’s divine power, the power that could save lives.
“T-thank you, miss.”
“Are you from the Thieves Guild?”
I asked the child based on what I heard earlier.
The child stared at me and nodded.
After a while, I took out my pocket and handed the child 10 francs.
The child’s eyes widened and looked at me. It was surprising because it was worth hundreds of thousands of won in modern currency.
“That way you can buy clothes. Buy some food to eat. From now on, if a crazy man on a horse runs, dodge it quickly.”
“Yes, but this money…”
“I’m not giving it to you for nothing. From now on, I’m hiring you.”
The child looked perplexed at my words.
There was no need to give useless and worthless money out of pity. But it was a different story if it’d become helpful to each other in the long run.
“I need information from the Thieves Guild. You can sell the information I need periodically.”
I read the description about the Thieves Guild in the original book.
The Thieves Guild was where all private information of the continent, as well as the empire, comes and goes.
If I could get information there through this child, it wouldn’t be a losing business for me either.
“I saved you, so you can trust me now, right?”
The child nodded.
I had to leave the temple soon anyway, so the authentic information I get from the Thieves Guild would be of help to me rather than the limited information from the temple.
It would also serve as a form of protection against those who threatened my safety. In a world without the internet, no one was as fast as the Thieves Guild.
“What kind of information?”
I decided to test the child’s utility first. Whether he was reliable or not.
“There is a Garnet necklace that the late Empress received as a gift from the Emperor. A brilliant red octagonal jewel embellished with pure gold. I want to find the whereabouts of the necklace.”
The child nodded with clear eyes.
“Okay, thank you for saving me.”
It was realistic to say thank you while holding the money tightly.
“I’ll be waiting at the third pillar on the east side of the Elium Temple at noon in three days, so get me the relevant information. You’re a member of the Thieves Guild, but can you sneak into the temple?”
“All right, miss.”
“And go through the window, not the door.”
I said as I pointed at the inn window. It wouldn’t be difficult to go out because we were on the 1st floor.
The child, who nearly died but was easily revived by my sacred power, bowed to me again and turned around and went through the window.
“Haa… Also, this blood…”
I sighed a little at the messy floor.
After a moment, the door opened, and Dwayne, who was standing in front of the door, looked around the room with surprise.
It was understandable since there was only blood on the floor, and the child’s body was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is the child’s body?”
Dwayne thought the child was dead, so he asked me, but I left the room and ordered Dwayne,
“He’s gone. Clean up the mess. And today’s work is…”
I was going to order him not to speak about it but gave up.
Everything Dwayne saw and heard would reach Reyhas anyway.
Well, I don’t think there would be any trouble as he didn’t see me heal him myself.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Returning to the temple after a tiring day, I stood in front of the mirror and rolled up my top. I was fine now, but I remembered the intense pain I felt as if I was stabbed with a knife.
When I poured all my energy into him, my whole body trembled at the rushing sensation.
Then, a while later, I found a half-moon-shaped scar on my belly button reflected in the mirror.
“……!”
It looked more like a tattoo on my skin than a rough scar. It was the place where I was stabbed in my past life and the part that madly hurt earlier.
When I touched it with my index finger, I felt nothing.
With my top down again, I approached the pile of books and opened a dictionary right away.
No way… this?
I found the ‘Stigma’ and read the description.
[The stigma is a mark of divine power which only appears among the saints, proving that they were chosen by God…]
Reading it, I lost my mind.
Hang on. I’m a fake saint. But what do you want me to do if I get this scar?
And then the chat window began to flash.
[You have proven your piety by fully opening your sacred power with extreme patience]
[Your stigma has been revealed. The gods’ interest and affinity for you increases]
[Oracle LV3 has unlocked]
Then a sentence appeared in the chat window.
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, has entered your oracle]
[Garden 5/5]
[■■■■■■ sighs and sinks into the ground when they couldn’t enter the oracle]
[■■■■■■ spreads the mat when they couldn’t enter the oracle]
The sudden scar on my stomach, the rising level of the oracle to 3, it was very surprising.
Meanwhile, the chat window sparkled.
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, enters the oracle and looks around]
[Odyssey, the God of Love, sneaks back and makes a fuss]
[Monde, the God of Art, shakes their head]
I looked at the sentences that appeared and looked puzzled.
It may just be my feeling, but it was not an atmosphere in which the other gods were actively welcoming Oman.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, pretends not to know and coughs]
Perhaps there was bullying among the gods.
I looked at the chat window with a grim expression and said,
“They’re in the oracle now anyway, so I hope everyone will be nice.”
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, is thrilled by your words]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, confesses that they bought your share]
They seemed like a decent rookie when it came to first impressions. Then another sentence appeared.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, says that Oman is actually the most corrupted among the gods…]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, reaches out their hand tenderly]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, senses danger and reveals their teeth to Oman]
And it was then.
The chat window, where the sentence always appeared, stopped. It was at that moment when I was worried in my mind that the other gods might be fighting for territory.
[Hesed, the God of Knowledge, is temporarily incapacitated]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, likes your gods]
[Ciel, the God of Destruction, temporarily fell asleep with tears around their eyes]
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, pats Ciel’s drooping head, saying that they seem tired]
“……?”
Something must have happened, but I had no idea what exactly.
[Oman, the God of Benevolence, winks at you, telling you not to worry]
The newcomer seems to be adjusting well, so it’s fine, right?
Again, today, after blurring the peaceful oracle window, I touched the scar over my clothes.
I was obviously a fake saint when I possessed this body, but I seem to have become a real saint.
‘No way.’
I shook my head, thinking of the woman coming from Tiago.