Chapter 89: Silver-tongued.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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“Now, with this, the sins Miyoko-san wanted God to forgive are gone. There is no longer any reason for her to stay in the church.”

“…Yes.”

“Let’s leave this place. This place is not worthy of you.”

“Don’t screw with me!”

…Well, naturally. I knew he would retort.

“You—! if I stay silent and listen, you really just say whatever you please. Who do you think you are?”

The priest, who had been obediently silent at my command, suddenly spoke with a wonderful smile. By wonderful, I mean wonderfully wicked, in a half-baked villain sorta way, which fit him perfectly.

He has lived through life by feigning composure. I could tell the past of this priest, who wins without fighting, as if I were holding it in my hand.

“I don’t intend to say anything strange, Father.”

“No, that cannot be the case. Why does an upstart kid like you have the right to stir up my church? It is a truly outrageous infringement to have things decided so arbitrarily.”

I like wordplay, but unfortunately, I have no intention of humoring a geezer I hate.

“People are free to live as they please; I think that’s obvious. And as long as you use that fake Bible as your scripture, this isn’t your religion, is it?”

“Don’t get cocky just because you think you’re a little bit sharp!”

I glanced at Chisato-senpai. I thought she resembled Michiru when we first met.

“She hasn’t finished settling her penalty yet. And Michiru should atone for the sin of hurting me. Otherwise, the balance won’t be maintained. Am I wrong?”

“You are wrong. If you question a crime and give punishment, it shouldn’t be a lynching but a solemn matter based on the law. That’s what modern Japan is about.”

“Ha! I’m the one who let her live in this church until now, though!?”

“That may have been true until today. But from tomorrow, she must forgive herself and move forward. For that, this church is nothing but a burden.”

Then, I picked up the fake Bible placed on the table.

“By the way, the conversation drifted quite a bit for their sake. But what I wanted to ask was something else.”

“W-What is it?”

“Why did Miyoko-san have to lie? That is the question, Father.”

‘Bible’ in one hand, I smiled condescendingly.

Now, I’ll show you the difference in class as a villain.

“Well, it’s obvious regarding that. Michiru hurt you, and because of that, you brainwashed Miyoko-san. You nastily rubbed a sense of guilt onto her and demanded atonement. She obeyed you for her daughter’s sake, right?”

“So what if she did? She’s a mother, so it’s natural—”

“—That is why I am saying that is a lie.”

I pointed at the dent in the ‘Bible’ and showed it to the priest.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? That a 12-year-old girl could make such a dent just by hitting it in the spur of the moment.”

“…What are you trying to say…?”

“This ‘Bible’ has a leather cover. Is this cowhide? It’s a durable material used for shoes and wallets. It’s meant to preserve paper media for a long time, which is natural out of respect for a holy book.”

The fact that it doesn’t click for him at this point means this priest has been swallowed by his own lies while deceiving others. A lowlife, trashy evil that doesn’t understand it is evil is truly worthy of heartfelt contempt.

He’s hopeless, really.

“Now, it’s time for physics. Though I say that, it’s simple high school physics. Even with your empty brain, surely you’ve heard of the moment of force?”

“E-Empty, you say!?”

“Kinetic energy = 1/2mv², so if we substitute Michiru’s numbers from back then into this, we should get the correct figure. Is the weight of this ‘Bible’ about 1.5 kilos? Shall I calculate it for you personally, including the durability of the book?”

“Y-You b*****d! Don’t try to confuse me with such complicated talk!”

The only ones thinking that besides the priest are Miyoko-san. Even though this is common knowledge for me and Michiru, who are currently studying, and for Chisato-senpai, I guess academics aren’t familiar things once you become an adult.

Unfortunately, Saori’s method doesn’t seem to work. The correct answer here isn’t to derive the truth, but to make the priest admit defeat.

“Then, let me explain it more simply.”

And then, I slammed the non-dented side of the Bible onto the table with all my might—BANG! However, naturally, the cowhide-covered Bible only gained a few scratches and didn’t dent significantly.

It’s sturdy. I wonder if this man’s skull is sturdier than this table.

“Wha…!??”

“I am much weaker than the average high school boy, but if the comparison is a 12-year-old elementary school girl, this case is convenient. Look, does it have such an exaggerated dent?”

“There’s such a thing as hysterical strength in a crisis—she got stronger because of that!”

“If she had that kind of power, she could have pushed you away without relying on a Bible. Please think about the consistency of your own words before speaking. Father.”

Unable to endure it any longer, the priest punched me in the cheek. As expected of a human who surrounded himself with obedient women, he has no patience. A normal adult would have searched for words more seriously.

Miyoko-san and Chisato-senpai let out small screams. But only Michiru quietly believed in me.

“In the first place, she resisted because she was about to be r*p*d. Where is the reason to be charged with a crime in that?”

“That’s why! That was our sacred ritual!”

“Sacred? How is it sacred?”

“To honor the believers, I must prove their purity! Otherwise, I cannot ask God to save them!!”

“Heh, is that so?”

Then why hasn’t Miyoko-san been able to escape her sense of guilt until today? Why does Chisato-senpai look at me so enviously? Isn’t the reason Kakeru can live happily because Michiru took him out of here?

That’s why I don’t believe in you. An evil of your level can’t save anyone.

“Do you understand!? You brat!!”

“Then, why does Chisato-senpai look so pained?”

“…Ha?”

It’s okay. I will absolutely not leave you to die alone.

“Miyoko-san, who made up with Michiru, looks very happy. Was this conclusion obtained by offering herself to you? Isn’t this something she encountered precisely because she broke with the past and looked forward?”

“You silver-tongued brat…!”

“That said, I don’t really care that such a form of religion exists. That’s not what’s important.”

That’s right. Such things are truly trivial to me. Because I came here to prove the relationship between Michiru and me.

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