Chapter 15: Fake Church (4)

The earnest prayers of a blind girl and her bowing mother echoed faintly in the quiet room.

Facing them, I unknowingly squeezed my eyes shut.

“………”

Yes, their story is pitiful.

A child whose talents couldn’t even bloom due to a harsh life.

A mother who blames herself despite working her entire life for her child.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel even a shred of sympathy hearing such a story.

But… if I were to be coldly rational, their misfortune was someone else’s business.

It had no causal link to me.

If I had to extend a hand to every tragedy I encountered in the world, what would become of my own life?

On the contrary, I knew all too well the dangers that would follow if I offered goodwill without a plan.

The possibility of being discovered multiplies exponentially even if only one more person knows the secret.

No matter how firmly I’m promised and sworn to secrecy, it’s useless.

There are too many unpredictable variables in human affairs.

If I’m not careful from now on, the revelation of the ‘miracle’s’ true nature will someday be inevitable.

Words like ‘just this once…’ honestly hold no meaning.

Either use it now, or hide it forever.

There were only those two options.

“……….”

The silence stretched on.

The woman remained bowed, unmoving.

Time flowed slowly, and the turmoil in my head only deepened.

‘How did things end up like this?’

I recalled the origin of the plan that led to this situation.

The original goal was to spread false rumors so that the stories of ‘miracles’ circulating in the nearby streets would be dismissed as the scams of a cult.

From that perspective, ignoring the plight of the two who came to me now was indeed closer to the correct answer.

If I ignored those who came seeking a ‘miracle’ or even coldly chased them away, it would serve as proof that such things don’t exist in this world. It was a choice that perfectly aligned with the original goal.

‘But…..’

If I refuse the wishes of these two people now.

They will take the money they saved their entire lives… and eventually seek out similar cults or scammers.

They were that desperate, that earnest.

For those wandering in search of an unreachable hope, misfortune would be waiting like a predetermined fate.

Someone might point fingers, calling such actions foolish or stupid.

But… a parent’s desire to give their child a slightly better life.

I couldn’t bring myself to condemn the blind love stemming from that.

No, I had no right to condemn it.

It was just pitiful.

“………”

Certainly, I bore no responsibility for their misfortune.

The mother and daughter were already walking towards a predetermined destiny, and I had merely witnessed it by chance at a crossroads.

I knew well that reaching out thoughtlessly could drag me into danger along with them.

But… why am I hesitating like this?

I know myself best.

I share goodwill when I can afford to, but like most people, I wasn’t a saint who would prioritize others over myself.

I must not delude myself.

Wearing the appearance of a game character doesn’t change one’s essence.

Just because I happened to gain a power doesn’t mean I become a philanthropist or a saint overnight.

Therefore, what remained most important to me was my own safety.

Until I find a way back to my original world, protecting myself was my only goal.

But… at that moment, a scene from my memory suddenly surfaced.

[“Bad luck. My condolences.”]

The pitch-black muzzle of a gun aimed at me, accompanied by a cold voice.

The moment of crisis when I first came to the brink of death after falling into this world.

The eyes of the soldier who, at the mere mention of an order from above, aimed his gun at another without any hesitation.

There was no emotion in those eyes.

Even in the moment of taking a human life, they were utterly indifferent and heartless.

Like a machine simply operating according to orders.

A 모습 (moseup – appearance/figure) that had lost all human anguish.

Was that soldier such a demon from the beginning? No, probably not.

He likely changed that way to survive in this ruthless city.

Perhaps it began when he stopped seeing the person before him as a human.

Instantly, another memory overlapped and came to mind.

In my original world, I once saw a man brought to court as a real estate fraudster.

He had swindled numerous victims out of their life savings, money earned through a lifetime of blood and sweat, yet he showed no remorse with a brazen face.

He only begged for forgiveness from the judge, not the victims, solely to reduce his sentence.

That was possible because he didn’t see the suffering people as fellow human beings.

The moment one loses the ability to empathize with the suffering of others and begins to judge everything solely by profit, loss, and efficiency.

Isn’t that when humans start becoming monsters?

“………”

Perhaps this is an excessive leap in logic.

But… in this ash-gray city, what I truly need to protect.

Maybe it’s not just my personal safety.

‘A person’s heart….’

It’s true that I want to return home safely, whatever it takes.

But more than anything, I wanted to return as a human, preserving my original self.

Therefore, not turning away from someone heading towards a cliff before my eyes, but holding them back… is not because I am particularly good.

Nor is it a calculation of any profit or loss.

It is likely because that is the duty of a human being.

After a long silence, I finally made up my mind and slowly opened my eyes.

“……”

Suddenly, my gaze met ST’s, who had approached my side at some point.

She seemed to guess what I was thinking right now.

But she neither dissuaded nor encouraged me.

This is entirely your choice. It was as if she was saying that.

‘I’m prepared.’

I know better than anyone… how dangerous a possibility my current judgment could bring about.

Without further hesitation, I brought my fingertips before the girl’s eyes.

“…….!”

And there was light.

=====================

I learned for the first time in my life that a person could cry for so long out of sheer joy.

‘Ah… I really went and did it.’

That thought belatedly crossed my mind, but a corner of my heart felt strangely relieved.

The smiles of the child and mother that didn’t leave their tear-streaked faces.

That alone felt like sufficient reward.

Finally ceasing their tears, the mother and daughter bowed their heads repeatedly in overwhelming gratitude.

“Thank you…. O God…. Thank you so much….!”

“Thank you, unni….!” (TL: “Unni” is what a younger female calls an older female.)

Hearing their voices, I casually fiddled with the old credit card in my hand.

The card that contained tuition and surgery fees.

Originally, I hadn’t intended to receive this either.

But if I refused it here, it felt like the mother and daughter would cry for several more hours on the spot… For now, should I say my worries about living expenses have lessened? Perhaps it’s a relief, if anything.

I was immersed in a complex, bittersweet feeling, proud yet anxious about this result.

Karen, who had been sobbing while tightly hugging her daughter until now, spoke in a firm voice.

“I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”

It felt like throwing cold water on a moving atmosphere, but her words couldn’t be ignored.

I answered calmly.

“No. Please forget it.”

“….Pardon?”

“Please keep what you experienced today a secret between just the two of you for the rest of your lives, and never tell anyone else. From now on, you must never mention words like ‘church’ or ‘miracle’ in front of other people. Can you promise me that?”

At the sudden words, Karen briefly wore a dumbfounded expression.

“O-of course. If you wish, I will never speak of it, even if it means having all my fingernails and toenails pulled out.”

She paused for a moment to catch her breath and added.

“However, I will live with a heart full of gratitude for my entire life. Please tell me if there is anything I can do to repay you, anytime, anywhere.”

=================

Behind the door through which the mother and daughter left, a heavy silence once again descended upon the room.

I glanced furtively at ST before speaking first.

“ST, I’m sorry.”

My voice unintentionally trailed off, like someone with a guilty conscience.

Her expression unchanged, she asked back as usual.

“For what, may I ask?”

“Well… you went to the trouble of thinking up a good plan… and I ruined it all.”

That wasn’t all. ST was a bodyguard protecting me according to our contract.

Yet I had acted unilaterally without consulting her, and as a result, she was now in a position to take on unnecessary risks.

If word of the ‘miracle’s’ existence got out because of this incident… and powerful organizations began to actively seek out that power, it would be a difficult fight even for ST to handle them.

This entire situation was solely my responsibility.

I apologized once more and added.

“I’m truly sorry. If, by any chance, corporations or the like start targeting me because of this… you can terminate the bodyguard contract then. It’s my fault.”

I genuinely thought so.

Since I had proceeded despite knowing the risks, it was a fault I had to bear entirely on my own.

‘I wonder if the food in the Megacorp lab will be tasty…. I hope it’s not just sterile, nutrient-only liquid food.’

With such idle thoughts, I gazed steadily at ST.

Her golden eyes, as always, held an unknowable depth.

I still couldn’t even guess what she was thinking.

However, I heard her muttering something very softly, as if to herself.

But her voice was too quiet for me to hear properly.

“As expected… you are……”

“Pardon?”

When I asked again, she simply shook her head quietly.

“It is nothing.”

And then, without warning, she bowed her head deeply.

It was a polite bow, as always, but somehow, it carried a different weight.

“When you first saved me… it was also an act of goodwill, without regard for any gain or loss, just like now.”

Her voice was calm but resonant.

“Thanks to such a choice, my life has also continued until now. For me to dare criticize it now… would be inappropriate.”

She paused for a moment, choosing her words.

“My life until now has been spent being used as someone’s tool, and then discarded as a tool.”

Her gaze turned to me.

It seemed to hold an emotion I hadn’t seen before.

“But with you… even if I die, I feel like I can die as a person.”

“….!”

“Therefore, do not worry.”

ST bowed her head lightly once more.

“No matter what danger may come.”

And she slowly, carefully, took my hand, cradling it as if it were a treasure.

“As long as you do not let go, I too will never let go of your hand.”