Academy’s PTSD Chaplain

10 – 10. Fingertips (4)

Chloe lay on her bed with an excited heart.

The lights in the dormitory went off, and the sound of the housemaster wandering could be heard. Elena approached Chloe, who lay on her back with her hands neatly placed on her stomach, and let out a sigh.

“Chloe, are you really going tonight?”

“I, I have to. It looks interesting.”

Chloe and Elena had recently received an offer from the head of the Occult Club, a club they had joined. They were planning to do courage training in the abandoned classroom in the satellite building of the academy tonight. Chloe, as a student of the Magic Department with an insatiable curiosity, was led to accept this irresistible offer.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, she would have fallen asleep while chatting with Elena. But tonight, she was lying in bed, wide awake, fully prepared and excited.

Seeing Chloe’s eyes twinkling with anticipation, Elena furrowed her brows and shook her head.

“If you get caught, you won’t be able to just brush it off.”

“Who were the duty professors today?”

“It was Professor Antonelli and Professor Esther.”

“Wow….”

Lucio Antonelli, the professor in charge of the Theology department in Class A of the first grade. Chloe unconsciously recalled the face of the young and decadent professor.

The resonance caused by the flower of origins that Professor Antonelli showed on the first day of class was like a tsunami to the students of Class A. The students of the Magic Department, including Chloe, turned their attention to the Theology class and a heated debate about the flower of origins broke out.

Ironically, one student who saw the flower of origins shown by Professor Antonelli took out their notebook, passionately sketched a part of the structure of the flower of origins, and secretly sold it to other students for a fee. The price was not cheap, needless to say.

In fact, the flower of origins Professor Antonelli showed was not originally that remarkable. It was a method frequently used by priests to raise their status or to prove their faith. It was not as easy to see, but it was not a rare spectacle that one might only see once in a lifetime.

However, the flower of origins that he presented was different. It had a different dimension. The faint and warm, yet deeply imbued with reverence, golden color. The color that illuminated the entire classroom.

Furthermore, unlike other things shown by other priests, the structure of divine power that comprised the flower of origins created by him was incredibly complex, intricate, and at the same time clear and distinct.

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That’s why it was so shocking. It was an opportunity for magic department students to closely observe the clear structure of the flower of origins and the miraculous power of the dense divine power.

Although Professor Antonelli has been conducting theoretical and boring lectures since then, he was a professor who left a deep impression on the promising students of Class A with just one class.

And as for another evaluation of Professor Antonelli….

“Scary Professor Antonelli….”

Apart from being able to skillfully use high-purity divine power, his personality was extremely cold and pragmatic. To put it bluntly, some students thought that he was too severe and detached themselves from him.

Professor Antonelli was already scary, and when he got angry, he became even scarier. That was the dominant evaluation of Professor Antonelli.

Chloe’s frightened eyes trembled. Elin nodded her head and asked nonchalantly.

“Are you really going to visit Professor Antonelli?”

“Well, um….”

“You saw what happened to Miss Adelheid during the first class. This might not end with just a demerit if you’re caught.”

“Ugh….”

After struggling for a moment, Chloe clenched her fist and stood up.

“But I’ll still go!”

“Sigh…. I knew you’d say that. It would be even more irrational if you let yourself be stopped.”

“Elin! You’re coming too, right?”

Upon hearing that, Elin made a dumbfounded expression. She looked around for a moment and then smoothly slipped into the blanket.

“Snore….”

“Argh…! Seriously! You’re part of the Occult Research Club too! Let’s go together….!”

“Cool…. Uh…what…! Hey! What are you doing!”

“Eek…! If you’re not going, I’ll even carry you by force…!”

“Ah, alright! I’ll go! Let go of me! Ah!”

On an ambitious night, while there was a gap in the patrolling of the dormitory supervisors, two figures secretly slipped out of the dormitory.

* * * * *

“So… Is that the answer?”

I tried to put on a stern expression. I didn’t want to be disliked by the protagonist of this novel, but breaking curfew was considered a serious matter even at the Academy, so I had no choice.

“Yes, yes…. And then, our department head asked us to loosen up with a scary story….”

“The department head?”

“Our supervisor from the Occult Research Department. Over there.”

I looked in the direction Elin was pointing. It was a male student who wore thick glasses and had a shadowy, eerie look around his eyes. I noticed the color of his tie.

“A red tie… A second-year student. What’s his name? And what department is he from?”

“Uhm, Daniel. He’s from the Sorcery Department.”

“I see. Daniel, huh? And what about this person here?”

Next to Daniel, a similar-looking second-year female student was sitting. Unlike the other kids who were surprised when I entered, she maintained a calm attitude from beginning to end, which I liked.

If it weren’t for her makeup that reminded one of a Gothic Lolita, with dark colors on her lips and everything, that is. She continued to look at me with her composed expression.

“Vivienne de Valuer. Second-year. I’m from the Combat Department.”

“Hmm… A Valuer student.”

“It’s okay to call me Vivienne, Professor.”

Vivienne, the Gothic Lolita girl sitting in front of me, was quite peculiar in many ways. The fact that a student spoke informally to a professor without hesitation and her intense Gothic makeup were among them.

And then, Laura, who had been eavesdropping on Vivienne’s conversation behind me, suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“B-Valuer? Are you talking about the Valuer Viscount?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Who are you?”

“I’m… Laura von Adelheid.”

“So, you’re the Viscount Adelheid’s daughter. Nice to meet you.”

Whether it was because she was her senior or because the Valuer Viscount had some influence in the aristocracy, Laura von Adelheid, who had always had an authoritarian attitude, became considerably submissive.

Anyway, I scanned the faces of the four students with a stern expression. Daniel and Chloe were sweating nervously, kneeling and sitting, while Elin was now standing in a corner of the classroom, looking at the wall. They sure catch on quickly.

“Elin, stop and come here.”

“Yes.”

“Put your arms down.”

After Elin kneeled next to Chloe, the problem children of the Occult Research Department sat in front of me side by side.

“It’s great that all of you are engaging in extracurricular activities. The Academy strongly encourages extracurricular activities, so I want to ensure as much freedom as possible in line with the Academy’s policy.”

“But… does that mean…”

Daniel’s eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope, but it was out of the question.

“However, breaking curfew and sacrificing sleep to encourage it until curfew is not at all recommended. Isn’t that common sense?”

“……”

Except for Vivian, the three students remained silent, staring at the ground. I knew they weren’t reflecting but rather observing the patterns of the floorboards with a mix of awkwardness and remorse. However, I chose not to dwell on it.

“I will report this incident to the dorm supervisor. Direct disciplinary action will be taken later.”

Relief flickered across their faces. Perhaps they expected a mere slap on the wrist.

While I could impose strict discipline, a major punishment in the academy might not have a positive impact. Hence, I treaded carefully as well.

“Sigh… So, Daniel.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Daniel’s dark eyes tensely met mine. I asked him if he had seen the mysterious figure with red eyes and bloodied armor that Laura had witnessed.

“Um… What is that?”

Daniel seemed clueless. I briefly explained the events that had transpired until now.

Vivian inexplicably began to gaze at me with sparkling eyes. However, Daniel’s response was crucial.

After contemplating for a moment, Daniel finally nodded.

“I haven’t seen such a monster. Um… Chloe and Elin probably haven’t either.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m confident I would have passed out on the spot if I had seen it.”

Chloe clenched her fist and declared resolutely. Indeed, the earlier scream when the academy urged them to leave the classroom suggested that Chloe, despite her apparent fear, might not remain composed when faced with such a threat.

I glanced at Laura with slightly narrowed eyes. Caught off guard by my gaze, she awkwardly waved her hand.

“N-no, I’m not lying! I really saw it!”

“…I didn’t say anything.”

“Ugh…! You coward…!”

I sighed as Laura turned crimson and sighed. Did she really see something, or was it just a figment of her imagination?

However, the issue was that the protagonist, Chloe, had become involved in this incident. In the nature of novels, when the protagonist is involved, something is bound to happen.

At that moment, Vivian, who had been sitting somewhat silently, pulled the edge of my robe and spoke up.

“Professor Antonelli, I have something to say.”

“Hmm?”

All eyes turned to Vivian, and a slight blush tinted her face.

“Don’t stare at me so intently. It’s embarrassing.”

“Vivian, what do you want to say?”

“I think I know about that red-eyed monster.”

“Tell me more about that story.”

I looked at Vivian with a serious expression. After hesitating for a moment, she parted her lips.

“In fact, the reason we have gathered this time is to find an item in the annex.”

“An item?”

At that moment, Daniel suddenly clapped his hands and stood up.

“Could it be…?!”

“Do you remember something, Daniel?”

“Well, the appearance of that monster or whatever… it was a bit unclear. Thanks to Vivian, I remembered. Haha… why did I forget about it?”

“Calm down, Daniel, and tell us in detail.”

Daniel sat down anxiously. He then picked up one of the candles on the floor and held it under his chin. Then, in a low voice, he began to speak.

“The reason our Occult Research Club has come to the academy on such an ambitious night… Oh, it’s hot!”

“Please put the candle down.”

Daniel’s story, which had momentarily become somber, continued.

“In truth, we gathered to find a certain item. A finger covered in blood that was found somewhere in the academy annex.”

“A finger covered in blood…?”

It was a dangerous choice of words. If it had been an Inquisitor of the Empire, it would have been enough to suspect heresy or devil worship.

As I slightly furrowed my eyebrows, everyone in the room seemed to read my thoughts and their faces turned pale-blue.

“N-no, it’s not that kind of item! Probably! Professor! I really, really swear I don’t know what that item is!”

“Please calm down. I am not an Inquisitor.”

“Phew… then, I will continue.”

After taking a deep breath, Daniel continued his story.

The night at the academy was growing deeper.