Just because you are poor, it doesn’t mean you’re a good person (5)
“So what did I say, Priest?”
“Ah…”
“Not all the poor are good.”
As I approached her, I could see just how badly she had been roughed up.
Of course, I knew what had happened. After all, I had been watching this young woman’s adventure from start to finish.
She currently wore an expression filled with tears and a runny nose. Her entire demeanor screamed out that she felt an immense type of fear. I made sure to keep my expression sympathetic, though, of course, I did not feel much sympathy for her. At this point, I probably looked like help sent from heaven.
What had been the most interesting thing to me was how she had turned a complete 180 from the Sun Hee-young that I had just seen this morning. One side of my lip curled up.
‘As expected, humans are funny.’
Everything had turned out to be the opposite. The poor people she had so readily defended ended up being the perpetrators in this scheme, and the man she despised the most ended up being her savior.
Because of this, I found it hard trying to reel in my laughter.
In contrast to the neat and haughty Sun Hee-young that I had just seen this morning, the girl in front of me sported a bruised, swollen face and torn-up rags for clothes. I knew that if I hadn’t shown up any sooner, she would have been in big trouble.
“Alas…”
The tears that I had intentionally accumulated in my eyes fell at that moment.
I could feel the man who was pulling Sun Hee-young’s hair and the bums who seemed to be waiting for their turn looking at me.
“Who are you?”
“That you don’t need to know, scum.”
“Don’t try to play cocky with me, bastard. I’m asking who you are.”
“Don’t move.”
Of course, I didn’t have the confidence to go ahead and kill everyone here. I was still admittedly a weak wizard, and there were a lot of them surrounding me.
I didn’t believe that Jung Hayan would currently handle the lot of them at this moment, even though she was already preparing spells behind me. I had to stall for time.
However, the fact that we were against these types of people made me feel confident about myself. These were the types who acted weak against the strong and strong in front of the weak.
Sure enough, I could see cautious expressions spreading from the entire crowd. My and Jung Hayan’s anonymity was enough of a reason to make them anxious.
“W-Where are you from…?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“That…”
Jung Hayan began to utter the spell she had memorized the moment I looked behind me. Even before her voice burst, the new magical power that encroached everywhere began to trap them.
Screams popped up from place to place in an impossible situation.
Sun Hee-young, who was trembling with her round eyes open, started to run towards us. She had realized that I was the only one who could save her from her current predicament. Meanwhile, screams erupted from the hordes of people who did not know what was happening.
Everyone here was aware that we were the ones responsible for the explosion, and she knew going towards us was where she would be protected.
“I told you it was going to be dangerous, didn’t I?”
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your help.”
“You can relax now, priest. You’re safe.” As I spoke, I looked over at the man who had taken ahold of her first. His genitals were exposed for the whole world to see.
“How was going around the slums on your own? I see you’ve done a little sightseeing.”
“Thank you. Thank you for your help. Quick, let’s go.… Please… Let’s get out…”
From what I could see, Sun Hee-young currently did not have the mental capability to speak properly. Her instincts told her to get out of the area. I had no idea how this woman managed to survive the tutorial dungeon if she had gotten traumatized just from this situation.
However, I wanted to have a serious conversation with her first. This was the whole reason why I even proposed her choice of action, after all. Seeing her traumatized expression made me feel like I stepped on a pile of shit.
“Let this go.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m a woman who doesn’t want the world to know of this. Please…”
“What do you think?”
“What…”
“Now that you’ve disguised yourself as someone poor, you’ve seen how they truly are, right?”
“You are right. You were right. Everything you said is correct.”
However, I knew she wasn’t thinking properly. All I could see on her face was an expression of urgency. It was not a mask of regret for her line of thinking, but a desperate cry to escape this situation.
“Hayan, release the magic.”
“Okay, Oppa.”
“Do not do it! Please don’t!”
Of course, the magic I had asked Hayan to release was not the trapping magic she had laid upon the men, but the psychedelic magic that she had cast on Sun Hee-young. It was to reveal her true facial features.
As Jung Hayan slowly undid the magic, Sun Hee-young’s features slowly shifted into view.
“Look straight over there.”
“Yeah…?”
The faces of the trash who had attempted to harass our precious priest began to turn blue. They had just now realized who they had just manhandled. Though there were looks of regret on their faces, the fact that they had touched the wrong person remained blatantly obvious,
They had just harassed a girl every clan wanted to have.
Seeing them shit their pants and turning pale, I couldn’t resist myself from laughing.
“Do you guys still want to live?”
Since I saw people nodding their heads, I continued speaking.
“This woman… Are you willing to kill her?”
The man sported a fearful expression that signaled he didn’t know what I was talking about, so I delved into a deeper explanation.
“No, I’m not going to actually let you kill her. I’m just trying to make this woman realize your true personalities. She’s taken care of you for so long, after all. What is it that she’s been called? The Saint of the Forsaken…?”
The man nodded, a little stunned.
“Why… Why are you saying this?” Sun Hee-young stammered.
“Personally, I feel bad for this woman. She had given her entire time trying to help people like you, only for you to personally prove her wrong.”
“…”
“If you refuse to admit this, you die.”
“Y-Yes, we’d be willing to.”
“Good.”
Sun Hee-young was now standing with a poker-faced expression.
“W-What… Why…”
“Shut up and listen to what I tell you, you bastards. Nothing will change anyway.”
“Can I really do whatever I want to do…?”
I nodded my head and continued. “Sure. It doesn’t matter if you finish what you were trying to do.”
“Is this true?”
“I don’t know if I’m lucky or not, but first of all, thank you for saving me.” Sun Hee-young interjected, who looked as if she felt a mix of relief, sadness, and fear.
“Sir…”
“Shut up, you bastard. Anyway, you’re all the same. Just a bunch of lazy pigs who take great pleasure in tormenting others. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”
“I didn’t mean that in…”
“You didn’t mean it in what? You all thought our lovely priest had gotten sick, so you all decided to skip work and fool around at night.”
“That’s right.” Even in this situation, the man sporting the burn marks had the cockiness to still speak so confidently. Just by looking at his appearance, I knew he was a motherfucker by birth.
Sun Hee-young was no longer shaking in fear at this point. Rather, she now sported a defeated expression. I did not know what she was feeling right now, but she was probably feeling more embarrassed than afraid.
I’m not sure how it feels to be denied by a purpose that I’d dedicated my whole life to, but it probably feels the same as losing one’s identity.
Finally, the expected result came.
“Wow…”
A sorrowful cry burst out from the silence.
“Fuhhhhh.”
I stepped towards them slowly. It was no wonder that those who tried to surround Sun Hee-young earlier slowly stepped back as I approached them.
As I slowly returned my gaze to Sun Hee-young, I could see her looking at me with an expression that was difficult to describe.
“Ugh… You didn’t have to do this.”
“Now, can we have a proper conversation?”
“You didn’t have to do this… Ugh…”
“I was only helping you realize the reality of this place. So, was I right all along?”
“You were right. Ugh, you were right, and I was wrong. I…”
“No. That’s not it.”
“What…”
“You are not wrong.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Take it literally, Sun Hee-young. You are not wrong. You are simply being noble. Being able to sacrifice for others is something ordinary people cannot do.”
“…”
“I respect you. If I were you, I wouldn’t have been able to get up every day and serve these people. You did it without expecting something in return. Despite being able to receive offers from guilds or clans, you did not focus on the rewards and stuck to your own values.”
While I spoke, the other men sported confused looks. She didn’t know what I was talking about.
“You are in a lower position than others. Excuse me, but I have watched where you are. If you think about your social position, it’s definitely not a suitable place. You abandoned everything. Literally everything. Other people also moved. You made other clans and guilds interested in the poor. Yes. You are noble.”
“That’s stupid.”
“You didn’t make them lazy pigs. What I said before was out of jealousy at you for having something I didn’t have. Your sublime, beautiful, and sincere character is something I don’t possess. It is me who is twisted.”
“…”
I could see her clenching her fists.
I didn’t know if she felt comforted or still in tears over her current situation, but she could at least recognize that her thinking has changed.
“You were never wrong.”
“Yes, I guess… Ugh…”
“You are sublime.”
“Yes…”
“You are a person to be respected.”
“Yes…”
“The one who is wrong here is…”
“…”
“…It’s them.”
“…”
“Now, you know how worthless it is to sacrifice for pigs who do not even know how to appreciate you.”
“…”
“The ones who betray you without knowing what they have received are really wrong. These people corrupt Lindel, the Holy Empire, and even society. Even if the nobles continue to contribute to society, it does not improve because these types of people remain. Yes. It’s all because of them that the slums don’t improve, that you get useless misunderstandings, that you don’t get what your noble light hopes for.”
“I suppose you’re right…”
“I do not condemn those who try to stand up, but those who don’t even think about standing up. They make this place rot.”
“I agree.”
“Okay, then…”
Sun Hee-young continued to look up at me in silence.
“Let’s begin service in the true sense, Priest.”
There was no suitable answer to the bullshit I had just spouted.
However…
Sun Hee-young slowly straightened and took the dagger that I was handing out to her.
“Let’s make Lindel beautiful together.”