Seeing the man fall in front of me caused me to panic. Of course, none of it showed up on my face, but inside my mind, I felt like I was in trouble.

'Was the shock too strong? Did I permanently damage something here? Should I feel worried?'

I asked myself all but my face showed none of it. Instead, I turned toward the man and checked up on him by poking his arms and legs.

"Hey- stop it… what are you doing? A-Are you casting a curse on me-?"

The collapsed man asked me, and I blinked.

'A-A curse? Is that what it looks like? Well, I did make someone collapse due to shock… that does sound like a curse to those who do not know what a shock gun is…'

"There doesn't seem to be any fatal damage to your body, so you should be fine in a day or two. I advise not to work your body too much and rest…"

I told the man as he pushed himself to stand and ran out with a scared look on his face. And he was not the only one.

The others who were standing around to try and harass me for the rodent repellent gave each other a look before they ran away as well.

I watched them leave before breathing a sigh of relief. Truly, it was an annoying start to the day.

Everyone left soon, except an older lady I recognized from the temple not too far away.

More specifically, she was the head doctor at the temple who treated poor and homeless people.

And unlike the greedy people of modern times who only opened charity to eat away at the profits most of the time, the older lady truly cared about those she was helping.

But all that did not help tell me why she decided to stay behind like this.

"Madam, is there anything I can do to help you out?"

I asked the lady, and she gave me a worried look.

"Shopkeeper, is there truly no medicine left with you? I desperately need some for the temple hospital. Otherwise, we will be in trouble."

The older lady told me. Her attire was shabby, and her wrinkled hands evoked even my pity.

Had she not been so pure of character, I would have turned her away. But the older lady was the type of person who never spoke badly of others and never caused trouble for others.

So even I felt compelled to help her out.

"Madam, don't worry. I do have a packet or two lying around. Let me go and get it for you."

I pretended to search for the small packet my drawer was filled with and handed the old lady two of them.

She took them with a face filled with worry and gratitude.

"T-Thank you-! But are you sure you can give it to me? Surely, someone more important-"

"It's fine, Madam. I might need your help in the future as well. And your faith is something I admire. Consider this a reward for all your struggles up until now."

I told the older lady, and she looked moved to tears.

"I… my lord… I never thought… I see… I was so blind up until now. To think something like this was right in front of me… don't worry, shopkeeper, I will keep your secret safe with me."

The older lady told me as she tried to speak properly.

Some kind of misunderstanding seemed to have happened because of our exchange, but I chose to ignore that fact and gave the lady a small smile.

"Hmm, I would appreciate it if you don't tell anyone else what happened here. Now, you should get going back and be careful on your way back, alright? Keep the medicine close to you as well."

I told the old lady as I accompanied her outside before I looked at my shop.

I needed to open it soon, but I had a feeling it would be better for me not to open it today and instead go and visit the police to give them this rodent repellent… and maybe also tell them that this was not a natural phenomenon.

________

The old lady exited the bookstore where she had gotten the medicine, and she clutched it close to her chest.

Her older sisters in the temple had always told her that god walked among humans, but up until now, she had never understood what that meant.

But meeting the shopkeeper and hearing him speak had convinced her that the shopkeeper was not a normal human.

He was likely a god or a higher being at least. He had not even tried to hide it.

And the medicine he gave her to repel rodents was a testament to her faithful life up until now. She was sure of it.

Just as she walked away from the place where a possible god lived, her shoulder collided with someone, and she was jerked backward.

"Excuse me… but are you alright?"

The old lady reached for the person who collided with her. She wanted to make sure the man was alright as well.

"Huh-? I am alright… but if you truly want to help, then…"

The man reached for her, and the lady's senses told her she was in danger. Faith had helped her sharpen her senses, and she knew that the man in front of her was not normal.

"Miss, I need your help. I am looking for a strong body with a lot of faith. Do you think you can help-"

The man clutched the old lady's arm, and she felt her arm burn.

Suddenly, the man recoiled as he neared her. His eyes looked directly at the packets the shopkeeper had given her.

"K-Keep that away from me… Ugh, what is that cursed thing? It burns-! It burns so badly-!"

The man screamed, clutching his nose before making a run for it. The last thing that could be seen were red but corrupted eyes.

The old lady took in a deep breath, and her instincts told her that she had survived a certain death because of the 'gift' she received from the shopkeeper.

"I-I… survived because of my faith. I knew it— that shopkeeper was not a normal person. Perhaps, he saw the danger I was in?"

The old lady questioned, but she had no time to look back and reflect on what happened.

Even if she wanted to, the shopkeeper had told her to be careful on her way home. So to her home she would go.

"I need to let the world and all our believers know that our 'god' has already arrived in the human world, but they don't want us to seek them out just yet."

The old lady did not know why their lord had decided to appear now, but she did know what needed to be done.

And just like that, Cyrus Malcolm formed another branch of his faithful followers (stolen from another god's followers), but the unaware man did not know that and was busy preparing to open his shop.

Later, he planned to help the people and prevent an epidemic. But it was not for the benefit of the world but his own health.

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