As Luke healed the paralyzed in Capernaum, the uneasy Bishop Baal approached him, saying, “Do not perform false healings!” The people of Capernaum began to doubt Lord Luke. Luke replied, “What was unknown shall not be questioned by Deus. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I tell you, be baptized in the name of Deus and receive forgiveness for your sins, and you shall receive salvation as a gift.” Thus, he bestowed salvation upon all the sick in the city.
New Testament, Aurelia Gospel, Chapter 9, Verses 1-4
*
Knock knock!
“Hurry up, you fraud! The bishop is waiting!”
Following Simon down the stairs, I spotted knights smashing tables and chairs in the inn’s first floor.
No, not knights.
The emblem of abundance adorned their armor.
Baal’s cult?
Holy Knights of Baal? What are they doing here?
Turning my gaze, I saw the innkeeper, beaten and battered, overpowered by the holy knights.
The innkeeper…
Well, no matter how strong a mercenary might be, he’s no match for holy knights when he’s that old and feeble.
“Ah! There you are! I’m glad you made it out with less trouble.”
The leader of the group that spotted me grinned widely.
“Come outside. The bishop wishes to see you.”
He nodded, signaling me to go outside.
The bishop?
Does he mean the bishop of Baal’s cult?
He wants to see me? Why?
“Bishop…”
“He is ‘Lord Bishop.’ You have no choice. Follow along.”
Saying that, he opened the inn’s door and stepped outside.
On either side, the remaining holy knights bore down on me with their intimidating presence.
Nearby, Simon shot me a glance.
-Should we handle this?
The implication was clear.
Well… dealing with a few holy knights shouldn’t be a problem.
The sight of the innkeeper in such a state didn’t sit well with me either.
Still, I’m genuinely curious about why they want to see me.
I can take care of the “education” later.
I shook my head at Simon and followed the leader out.
Outside the inn, I saw the bishop flanked by two priests, waiting for me.
“Finally! You’ve come out.”
And in the background, a crowd of onlookers surrounded us.
They must have come to ask me to heal their ailments.
“I heard you were looking for me. What is it?”
“How dare you question the bishop!”
The holy knight bristled at my address to the bishop.
“Enough. What’s important now is your attitude.”
The bishop raised his hand to silence the holy knight. What a farce.
“You. I’ve heard you healed the paralyzed.”
“Paralyzed? Ah, yes. They were poor souls waiting for death. I couldn’t just leave them be, so I healed them.”
Surely, that must be the only reason a bishop from a different cult would seek me out. Though, truth be told, it’s pretty much the only thing I’ve accomplished since entering this city.
“…Wait. Something’s off. You’re not a priest, are you? How did you truly perform the healing?”
Ah, now that I think about it, I’m dressed in anything but priestly garb. I don’t look like a priest at all. If a non-priest claims to have healed the paralyzed, that would seem odd.
“That’s right. I’m not a priest. Does that mean I can’t heal?”
“Of course! The paralyzed are punished by divine beings for their sins. Only priests, who serve and are loved by God, can heal them. Therefore, what you did is impossible. You’re a fraud!”
Murmurs arose.
“A fraud?”
“Was it really a scam? It’s hard to believe a non-priest could heal the paralyzed…”
“But I heard Hans from next door has risen from his paralyzed state!”
With the bishop’s words, the crowd grew louder.
“You must have wanted to masquerade as a priest, huh? Trying to play the role of God’s agent while deceiving innocent people!”
“Could it be that everyone who received treatment yesterday was a fraud?”
“Now that you mention it! There’s no way someone could heal so many in just one day!”
“A fraud after all…?”
The crowd was buying into the bishop’s incitements.
Now I understand. This is why the bishop sought me out personally.
That bishop…
He’s worried my healing the paralyzed would undermine his authority in the city.
Come to think of it, those in religion in this world are rarely clean characters.
If they don’t get a hefty sum that satisfies them, they wouldn’t even treat someone in urgent need, let alone heal them.
Treating these people would reduce the value of a priest’s healing act, thereby adversely affecting their organization.
The paralyzed I helped yesterday must have stemmed from this guy’s negligence.
Had he and those priests beside him diligently treated the sick, there wouldn’t have been so many patients emerging like yesterday.
And now that I’ve healed them, what?
I’m a fraud?
Now I see why they called me outside instead of coming in.
They plan to slander me in front of the onlookers and exile me from the city through incitement and fabrication.
Dirty bastard.
“Guess you really are a fraud!”
“Ugh! What a waste of a trip! I thought I found hope!”
“Seriously! How could a mere human who isn’t a priest heal the paralyzed? Of course, they must be a fraud!”
The crowd was beginning to see me as a fraud under the bishop’s incitement.
This is worse than I thought…
It seems those who rise to high positions in a rotten cult are something else entirely.
Considering how much political maneuvering and slander it must take to get there, I suppose they’re like a seasoned expert in such matters.
But…
Is he really trying this stunt against me now?
That’s just…
Uncomfortable.
*
Done it!
They’re all on my side now.
Ha! Silly, ignorant masses.
All they know how to do is form a weak mob.
Even if they gather like this, they lack the ability to make sound judgments based on anything other than gossip.
With just a few words from me, they’ll take it as the truth without caring how plausible or logical it is!
Much easier to manipulate than the followers of a cult.
With this, they’ll deem that guy a fraud.
Whether or not he truly is is irrelevant.
After all, you’ve tarnished my authority.
You dared to heal the sick within my city.
This challenge to my authority as the only bishop in town, and a disregard for Baal, cannot go unpunished.
There’s no need for the holy knights to take action.
The crowd has already turned.
A lynch mob of furious citizens.
Nothing could be more savage and terrifying.
You should start worrying for your life now.
So why engage in such behaviors in this city?
Taking on something you clearly cannot handle.
You’ve disrupted my delightful time and forced me out.
Anyway, good luck.
I’ll grant you a blessing for the afterlife.
Since it’s coming from me.
“A fraud? Am I truly seen that way?”
The man, facing the wrath of the crowd, opened his mouth.
Is he planning to make an excuse?
Here?
Does he think that would change anyone’s mind?
Once incited, a crowd rarely alters its view.
Even if they realize my words are weak, or consider the possibility that he might not be a fraud, such thoughts will get buried under the tide of opinion!
“But… Even if all keep disbelieving and turning away, the Mother loves you.”
Mother? What is he talking about?
“The Mother grants you another chance; you shall be cleansed.”
Suddenly…
As he finished speaking, a bright light emanated in a circle from the ground below him.
And that light enveloped all the onlookers.
Everything went bright, a warm sensation wrapped around me, much like my mother’s embrace from childhood…
This light… feels familiar.
Could it be divine power?
No, it feels similar, but something different.
A higher and more fundamental energy.
What in the world is this?
Suddenly, the warm energy that embraced me vanished, and my vision returned to normal.
And then…
“Ah! My arm…! My arm has grown back!”
“My eyes! I can see! I can see ahead!”
“Where am I?”
“Father! Are you okay?”
The onlookers… they were healed.
No way.
H-how is this possible?
“I came to reclaim the unbelievers.”
Those with completely severed arms, those who couldn’t see, those who had been trapped in a healing coma…
A miracle that even a saint couldn’t achieve, something only a saint who has sacrificed their life could enact once in their lifetime.
W-who is that?
“Those with faith shall be washed clean by the Mother.”
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