Academy’s PTSD Chaplain

49 – Magnificent Guma Ceremony (5)

Giovanni di Greco. His baptismal name was Giovanni.

He was born as the illegitimate child of the renowned noble family in the Empire, the Di Greco Counts.

Whenever he assumed the role of the Di Greco Counts, he always showed kindness to the poor. His father, the Count Di Greco, did not stop him.

Giovanni grew up without any lack. The Di Greco Counts, who sincerely accumulated wealth, were highly respected for their strong faith, and people praised their good influence.

As their ancestors were from the Holy Empire, they had deep faith. Priests from the Empire visited frequently, and it was common for priests from other territories to welcome them with smiles.

Growing up witnessing such scenes, it was not difficult for Giovanni to nurture his dream of becoming a priest.

Before he knew it, Giovanni became a young man. He immediately left his family to pursue his dream. Relying only on his two feet and a staff, he embarked on a pilgrimage to the distant Holy Empire.

He faced various hardships along the way, such as blistered feet, bleeding, skinning, encountering poor travelers or even thieves. However, Giovanni overcame all of these with his unique kindness.

When he got injured, he applied herbs he vaguely knew to his feet.

When he met lost travelers, he guided them away from the path to the Holy Empire.

When he met thieves, he offered them genuine forgiveness and warm words.

That way, how much time had passed?

Giovanni finally set foot in the Holy Empire. He went straight to the nearby Episcopal Cathedral and received the sacrament of subdiaconate from the bishop there.

It had been nearly two years since he embarked on the pilgrimage.

Even after becoming a subdeacon, he did not cease his good deeds. He always helped the weak and showed the possibility of salvation and repentance to those tainted by evil.

More and more people admired him. Fellow subdeacons relied on him and followed him, and priests believed in him and trusted him.

So, it was almost natural for subdeacon Giovanni to quickly rise in the ranks of the priesthood.

Giovanni’s ascent to the rank of priest went smoothly, and he was able to reach the position of a senior priest at a relatively young age.

As he aged, the wrinkles etched on his face deepened, reflecting the passage of time. Giovanni’s once passionate and dreamy eyes, filled with zeal during his pilgrimage long ago, now held a subdued glow. Though the fervor and fiery spirit of his youth had faded, the years had replaced them with a subtle, glowing wisdom.

The wrinkles on his face seemed to symbolize the deepening of his wisdom, rather than the wear and tear of time. Before he knew it, Giovanni had surpassed the age of eighty.

Opportunities to ascend to the position of bishop came multiple times, but Giovanni rejected each offer. His reason was that if he were to become a bishop, he couldn’t devote himself to the care of those in distress. Even the Papal See, which had proposed the position of bishop several times, was moved by his character and refrained from suggesting it again.

Instead of conferring the bishopric upon him, the Papal See sent him to a newly established academy in the imperial capital, as the head priest of the Caldean Imperial Academy.

* * * * *

“He hasn’t lost his virtuous character even after coming to the academy. He helps introduce jobs to poor students and gently corrects those who are straying from the right path.”

“…Is that so?”

“At the Caldean Imperial Academy, they used to call him the saint of the academy. Truly fitting words. If someone like him isn’t revered as a saint, other parishioners would be ashamed.”

I scratched my confused head. His words weren’t much different from the rumors I had heard at the academy.

Father Giovanni was a virtuous figure dedicated to the academy, and numerous students and professors followed him, to the extent of calling him the saint of the academy.

So why, in a place like the academy where Father Giovanni was praised to the heavens, did they record that Father Giovanni accepted the devil?

Why did they make such a judgment?

At my question, the wrinkles on Father Matteo’s forehead deepened. After silently murmuring for a moment, he sighed heavily.

“He willingly accepted the devil because it’s true.”

“….”

I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. Father Matteo’s face, devoid of a smile, looked incredibly sad.

“Well then, that means…”

Faced with Father Matteo’s attitude, I struggled desperately to find words but ultimately remained silent.

He wasn’t a heretic. He wasn’t a dissenter. He wasn’t a worshiper of demons.

Words like that surged up to the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

Unable to continue my hesitant words, I just closed my mouth.

Seeing my hesitation, Father Matteo weakly smiled and said, “I know what Brother Benedetto is thinking.”

“…. Worshipping the devil is a sin.”

“Yes, but that decision clearly came from a good heart.”

I could not understand the words of Priest Matteo. His sad pupils were directed towards me.

“He received an offer from the devil that he could not refuse.”

“An offer he could not refuse… Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.”

Priest Matteo nodded his head weakly. His eyes, filled with regret and sadness, were even deeper than when I first saw them, and I could not measure their depth.

“Brother Benedikt. May I ask you one question?”

“Yes. Anything I can answer.”

“Do you cherish the students of the academy?”

It was a sudden question. I nodded my head, answering yes.

“Do you love the students?”

Do you love the students? I didn’t feel any difference between this question and the previous one, so I nodded my head in response.

“Then, this is the last question.”

It seemed obvious what he was asking. Without thinking much, I waited for his words to continue.

“If you were to hear that the students of the academy were in a danger that cannot be reversed… What would you do, Brother Benedikt?”

“…..”

I looked at Priest Matteo with a firm expression. It was difficult to discern the intention behind the question.

And, there was only one answer I could give.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect them.”

“Even if that only means driving Brother Benedikt to his downfall?”

“…Yes.”

Respect filled Priest Matteo’s gaze. Being stared at with eyes shining with respect from a senior priest older than me made me feel uneasy.

“I have one more question. What is the reason behind that choice you made?”

It was a piercing question. I looked down at the floor for a moment, searching for the words to respond.

“…I am not as righteous as Father Giovani.”

“I see.”

“I cannot offer unconditional love like him. I do not possess such a personality.”

“Yes.”

“But, I…”

I, why do I protect the academy, my students?

“…I have committed a sin.”

“A sin, you say?”

“Yes. A very heavy sin. And I will carry that sin for the rest of my life.”

“Is protecting the academy a way for Brother Benedicto to atone?”

I nodded. Father Matteo’s eyes deepened.

I averted my gaze from those eyes. I turned my head and found myself looking at distant, drifting clouds.

The emotions I felt were shame and humiliation.

The reason for protecting the academy and its students was simply an act of personal atonement. I unconsciously felt ashamed of accepting that fact.

However, with a single word from Father Matteo… because of that…

“Brother Benedicto, you don’t need to be ashamed.”

I couldn’t help but turn to look at Father Matteo again.

“Don’t worry about the beginning; look at the actions and the results. Protecting the Royal Chaldea Academy and the students studying and pursuing their dreams. Is that an evil act?”

“…No.”

“Then, that’s it.”

Father Matteo smiled warmly. I glanced at him for a moment and then turned my gaze away.

“Father Giovanni…”

“Brother Johann also thought the same way.”

“…Really?”

A foolish question popped out. Father Matteo continued speaking without paying much attention.

“He, too, wanted to protect the academy’s students, by any means necessary.”

“That’s, what…”

“He accepted the devil himself, didn’t he?”

My mouth slowly opened. Bizarre fantasies swirled in my mind, but I wanted to deny that it was true.

“The devils of the academy. Initially, they were possessing the bodies of wanderers, then they visited the academy and approached Brother Johann. Then they said something like this.”

Can you see those young lambs frolicking freely here?

I will taint them with evil.

Slowly, very slowly. Instead of swallowing them all at once, I will show each of them the taste of despair one by one.

If we take possession of those young lambs’ bodies, they probably won’t be able to endure it and will shatter into pieces.

In that case, we will seek the next prey. One, two.

If it happens that way, they will wring out their entrails like a mop, and their blood will stain the heavenly meadow.

“Brother Johann, unfortunately, never learned the Kumma ritual. He only suffered in agony from the whispers of demons, growing more weary with each passing day.”

“……”

“Eventually, the demons made a proposition.”

If you want to protect them, surrender your body to us.

“And Brother Johann… couldn’t bear to witness others in pain.”

I stared blankly at Father Matteo. The shock of hearing the hidden story about Father Giovanni, the head priest, was like a powerful blow to the back of my head with a hammer.

“W-well….”

“Yes. That’s right. Brother Johann made the choice to accept the demons himself.”

An angry grip clenched my fist. I asked with a trembling voice.

“Did the Holy See… discover it belatedly?”

“…As soon as Brother Johann became aware of the existence of demons, he informed the Holy See of this fact. The Holy See immediately dispatched the Kumma priesthood.”

“Then why…!”

“Brother Benedict, it’s an incident that happened more than 80 years ago.”

I fell silent. A time when the Empire and the Holy Kingdom did not reciprocate as a round-trip train for over 80 years.

“The Kumma priests used every means to rush towards the Academy. However, Brother Johann eventually had to make a choice.”

It takes a long time for the Kumma priests to arrive. Will the demons stay quiet while they come?

In the end, he would make an irreversible choice.

Someone might not acknowledge it, but someone had to make the necessary choice.