Chapter 23: Surprise Worship (3)

I let out a small sigh. Then, as calmly and firmly as possible, I spoke.

“First of all, I am not the god you wish for, Yoanna. I just have a somewhat… special ability.”

“B-But….!”

At my words, Yoanna stuttered, greatly flustered.

Her eyes darted around as if she were frantically thinking of something.

“The, the way you call me doesn’t matter! If not God, then a prophet, a savior, a saintess…. whatever it is, it’s fine. The fact that you are the one who will lead us remains unchanged….!”

The girl poured out her words rapidly, as if trying to convince herself.

And once again, she bowed her head at my feet.

“I truly don’t want anything….! Just let me serve you. Everyone left in the church now will be loyal to you! If you ask us to give our lives, we will gladly do so!”

“That’s burdensome.”

At the repeated rejection, Yoanna’s shoulders flinched.

But it was a natural response.

In this unfamiliar world, I was just someone struggling to take care of myself.

And she was asking me to be someone’s god.

Of course, it was unreasonable.

I had neither the desire nor the ability to act as such.

At my refusal, Yoanna looked dumbfounded for a moment, then her eyes changed as if she were about to make another offer.

“M-Money! I can offer you any amount of money! I…. I have the Leader’s slush fund account that I hacked! It’s an enormous sum! I’ll give it all to you!”

It was a rather desperate attitude, but my answer remained unchanged.

“Not really…. I don’t need it.”

Of course, it’s true that the more money, the better.

Especially in a world like this.

However, my true goal wasn’t to enjoy wealth and glory here.

Yes, I would eventually return to my original world anyway.

As long as I had a more important goal than just enjoying a comfortable life for a while, I didn’t want to get entangled in troublesome matters.

“………”

At that answer, Yoanna looked completely stunned.

She seemed to have never expected to be refused even money, which everyone in this city considered most important.

At that moment, a knock came from outside the door.

“Eve-nim, are you finished talking?”

Instead of me, Yoanna answered urgently.

“Ah…. Just a moment!”

And then, finally, looking at me with desperate eyes as if to hold onto me, she asked.

“Are you really not God? Then why? Why did you help me or other people you had no connection with, even knowing it was dangerous? Honestly, compared to what you achieved, you received almost no reward. Then for what reason….?”

Now, in the girl’s eyes, instead of the fanatical fervor from before, only pure bewilderment and a desperate inability to understand remained.

At that moment, I no longer felt the need to think complexly.

I merely gave back the simplest answer that had inadvertently come from my heart.

“Well. Does a person with means, helping someone in desperate need…. necessarily require a grand reason?”

“Ah….”

Hearing my answer, Yoanna’s expression completely crumbled.

The girl just stared at me with her mouth agape.

Her face no longer showed any intensity or hidden intentions.

Only a child who seemed to have lost her way remained.

“…..”

My first impression upon having this long conversation with the girl, who now looked more like a child her age, was… immaturity.

It wasn’t just because she looked young.

It was hard to pinpoint, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lacking.

The girl clearly possessed extraordinary abilities.

With an immobile body, she navigated cyberspace, reading the city’s information like the palm of her hand, and even managed to steer events in her desired direction.

But separate from that ability, a clear immaturity was evident in her attitude towards others.

The goodwill Yoanna showed me was likely genuine.

But the way she expressed it…. how should I put it, it felt like watching a young child who, to someone they like, gives them all the best things they have, without any consideration for whether the other person needs them now, and in an excessive amount.

A one-sided, blind devotion completely unsuited to the time, place, and relationship.

The distance in that felt strange.

Had she read something in the silence as I was lost in thought for a moment?

A look of anxiety gradually crept onto the girl’s face.

Now, she began to whimper, watching my expression.

“Um…. Did I…. Did I do something wrong?”

Tears quickly welled up in her large green eyes.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake again…. Please don’t hate me.”

Teardrops began to fall.

The fanatical nature from moments ago was gone, replaced by the aspect of a young child afraid of being scolded for doing something unnecessary.

A girl raised in isolation from the world within a cult.

She likely hadn’t received proper education, let alone discipline.

Due to her illness, she couldn’t even move her body properly, so she probably couldn’t have formed healthy relationships with peers.

All the girl had learned there was likely twisted doctrine, blind faith, and extreme devotion to ‘God.’

Thinking about it that way, I understood a little.

The fanatical adoration and faith she had shown me, even offering money and power.

Perhaps that was, in her own way, the greatest expression of goodwill and gratitude she could show to the being who had saved her.

‘What a troublesome child.’

I sighed inwardly.

Looking at Yoanna, who was still teary-eyed and watching my expression, I quietly opened my mouth.

“Yoanna. I’ll say it again, I can’t be the kind of god you’re looking for.”

The girl’s shoulders flinched again at my firm tone.

And I looked straight into the child’s green eyes and added in a slightly softer voice.

“….But, how about we start as friends?”

Telling her frankly when something is wrong, and sometimes scolding her sharply but guiding her towards a better path… that’s something a person can do, not just a god.

“……”

Yoanna just stared up at me blankly.

Then, she cautiously took the hand I offered.

=========

After the two left, a heavy silence briefly filled the room.

Joseph carefully approached his sister, who was still sitting in her wheelchair.

And he asked in a gentle voice.

“Yoanna. Are you feeling a bit better? What did you talk about with Eve-nim earlier?”

The answer didn’t come immediately.

Yoanna still had a dazed expression, as if looking at something far away.

Like someone who hadn’t yet woken from a dream.

Then, she suddenly blurted out a completely unexpected answer.

“….I got dumped.”

“….Huh?”

Joseph momentarily doubted his ears.

Dumped?

It was a completely incomprehensible remark.

Whether she knew of the bewilderment on his face or not, Yoanna continued to mutter to herself with the same blank expression.

“But…. she was so much cooler than I ever imagined….”

As she said that, the girl’s pale cheeks began to flush to an unusual degree.

In her dazed eyes, something like admiration or longing, different from the fanaticism seen before, was faintly blooming.

Joseph could only look at his sister with an even more bewildered expression.

=========

The conversation I had with Yoanna that day also left a deep impression on me.

Honestly, I still don’t know how I should have treated that girl.

Considering the weight of what she had done, should I have reprimanded her strictly, or should I have comforted her warmly, taking into account her abnormal upbringing?

I didn’t know what the right answer was.

However, I did get one promise.

That at least now, she wouldn’t carelessly act by judging others by her own standards.

For now, I had no choice but to trust that promise.

Thus, it seemed the troublesome issues related to the ‘miracle’ had finally been all sorted out.

So, naturally, I returned to my daily life.

I was back at my part-time job at the pizza place, which felt like it had been incredibly long, even though I had technically been coming to work every day.

“Welcome~!”

I greeted customers with the familiar phrase, took orders, and busily wiped tables.

When the food was ready, I went out to the delivery drone station in front of the store, loaded the boxes of hot pizza, and dispatched them to their destinations.

In the past, I wouldn’t have felt much, but strangely, now, just doing this ‘ordinary work’ filled me with a sense of stability from deep within.

Should I call it a kind of healing?

Looking back, I had too many things to worry about.

It was a series of unpredictable events, and I couldn’t let my guard down for a moment.

But the time here was different.

I came to work at a set time, did set tasks, and left at a set time.

Everything was predictable and safe.

‘As expected, earning money honestly is the best.’

Sometimes, while diligently wiping tables or folding pizza boxes, I would snap back to reality and find myself humming a tune without realizing it.

Realizing that, a small laugh escaped me.

It was truly a peaceful time, enough to remind me of my original world.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same as before.

“Um, excuse me…..”

Because occasionally, suspiciously polite customers would visit.

They would enter with their hands clasped as if in prayer, bowing their heads from the shop entrance, be overly polite when ordering, and then make an expression as if receiving a sacred relic when taking their pizza.

“Th-Thank you….”

I watched their retreating backs for a moment.

Suddenly, a low voice came from a table inside the shop.

“….Shall I take care of it?”

ST, who had come and sat down at some point, was drinking a beverage and asking me.

But I shook my head.

“No, it’s fine. They’re not really causing any harm, nor are they forcing anything or making things uncomfortable, right? Besides….”

I pointed to the back of the customer leaving with an armful of pizza boxes.

“They order a ton of takeout too.”

Thanks to that, only the clueless owner was beaming day after day.

Today too, as closing time approached, she saw me standing by the counter and exclaimed.

“Eve! Our lucky charm! Ever since you came, only good things have been happening to the store!”

The owner, who had approached at some point, beamed and came over to hug me tightly, then started kneading my cheeks.

“Ugh….”

While cringing at her excessive display of affection, I thought to myself.

‘Well…. I guess this is fine.’

In the end, good is good, right?

I forced a smile and freed myself from the owner’s arms.

Thus, another hard day was ending.

It was the end of an ordinary, yet therefore more precious, daily life.

I changed my clothes and left the store.

It was quitting time.

The streets were relatively calm.

The quiet, desolate air peculiar to back alleys at dusk enveloped my lungs.

A sense of relief that today too had ended safely, along with a slight fatigue, washed over me.

All that remained was to return to my lodging, wash up, and rest.

I was just turning a familiar alley corner.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure staggered out of the darkness.

‘….!’

Before I could even react properly, ST, who had appeared silently from behind or beside me, stepped in front of me.

However, unlike ST’s guarded stance, no hostility was felt from the approaching figure.

Rather, they looked rushed, as if being chased by something, and seemed on the verge of collapsing.

Moreover…. it was a familiar face.

‘….Danny? Donnie?’

The back-alley gangster brothers I had recently mobilized for proselytizing activities related to the miracle rumors.

Their appearance, barely visible under the streetlight, was… utterly wretched at first glance.

Their entire bodies were covered in wounds and livid bruises; their lips were split, and their eyelids were swollen shut.

Their once-clean clothes were torn in places and stained with dirt and blood.

Danny, the older brother, was arduously walking, practically supporting his younger brother, Donnie.

They finally reached me and then, as if they had no strength left to stand, collapsed onto the ground.

The sound of their ragged breathing echoed in the alley.

“Hah…. Heok….”

Danny, who had been supporting his brother, barely managed to lift his head and look up at me.

He cried out in a voice that was almost breathless.

“B…. Boss….! We’re in big trouble….! In our territory…. those drug cartel b*stards….!”