Thus, my eventful summer vacation has come to an end.
I struggled to experience a normal teenager’s vacation somehow, but it seems it was too much to expect an ordinary girl like me, who visited this not-so-ordinary world in not-so-ordinary ways, to enjoy such excessive winds of fortune.
I thought to myself, “I still have two more summer vacations left!” but considering my suddenly elevated status, I wasn’t sure if I could properly enjoy those two vacations.
Since the incident had barely been a week ago, the world was still buzzing with stories about me even on the day of my return to school.
…So, it wouldn’t be strange if people’s gazes were focused on me as I made my way to school.
At least the good news was that we always went to school early.
Entering the room, the eyes of my classmates didn’t all land on me. We were always the first to arrive in the classroom.
Fortunately, the reporters didn’t know this. If they found out that I always arrived first and proactively cleaned the classroom, they would write an article about it and splash it all over the papers.
“Haah…”
I sighed heavily as I swept the classroom floor, causing a cloud of dust to fly up and render my sweeping efforts entirely pointless. Damn it.
“…”
Aurora and Linea didn’t react to my antics anymore. Sure, they showed worried expressions, but they didn’t offer any comfort. It wouldn’t lead to any meaningful discussion anyway.
The farewell party felt like nothing.
Upon returning to the 21st District, I received an official document from the Central Church requesting to meet with me. Luckily, there was no obligation due to my status as a saintess, but it was a request I couldn’t ignore either.
After all, what I had caused wasn’t a trivial matter to be brushed aside.
…I couldn’t just ignore it completely, but for now, I decided to put it off. Using the excuse that school was starting soon, I made a ridiculous excuse to focus on my studies instead.
Of course, it wasn’t surprising that the central government also sent a document. The tone was slightly less formal than the church’s request, but it conveyed an invitation to the central government headquarters of the 1st District rather politely.
Naturally, I responded with a refusal identical in content to the church’s request.
It wouldn’t be appropriate to entirely disregard them either, but still…
Isn’t this a bit too much? For a mere 15-year-old girl, these requests are excessively heavy. Sure, my mind is in my mid-twenties, but still.
If I were someone who thrived on polishing my image to tackle the tasks lined up before me with enthusiasm, or if I had a strong ambition for power since childhood, aiming for a political career and steadily progressing through the ranks, it might be different. But I was someone who simply wished for a steady salary and prayed for no work to come my way so I could leave early.
More work is a strict no-go.
Just as I was nearly finishing the cleaning, the back door of the classroom creaked open.
“Hey! You look particularly pious today!”
Selena, who usually joked around while entering, smiled wryly upon seeing my face.
“Seems like you’re not particularly eager to be pious, though.”
“Not at all,” I replied curtly.
“Hi.”
Jian, who followed Selena in, greeted me, and I waved back lightly.
“I saw it on the news. Are you alright?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Yeah, I’m fine.”
Truth be told, I had slightly injured my finger while putting my fists into residents’ faces, but I fixed that right away.
By the way, it seemed the news had spread nationwide. If it hadn’t, the people of the 21st District wouldn’t be staring at me as I walked to school. I was practically a regular sight, and most of the locals were accustomed to seeing me. There had to be a special reason for them to look at me as if they were seeing someone for the first time.
It was just a teenage girl in a white nun’s outfit, but surprise! I was actually a hidden secret weapon.
“R-really?”
Jian expressed a hint of embarrassment at my brusque response.
“Clara, you’re a bit prickly today.”
“I’ve been a bit busy these past few days. Please understand.”
Aurora and Selena whispered among themselves. I could hear them perfectly.
“Well… I don’t really know much about church matters.”
In actuality, it wasn’t just church matters but a more complicated situation intertwined with the secular world, but I didn’t bother to point that out. If I did, I’d end up having to explain everything that had happened one by one.
“Hi.”
Next, as per usual, it was Satsuki’s turn to arrive. She waved at me, glanced at Selena, Jian, and the nun trio I was a part of, and seemed to understand the situation, so she didn’t bother to ask me a lot of questions.
…Do I look that prickly?
Satsuki sat down, and in the slightly awkward atmosphere, everyone searched for something to say, when the door burst open again.
It was Rina.
The moment she entered and caught my gaze, she burst out laughing.
“Pffft.”
“…”
Ignoring the intense gaze I was giving her, Rina casually tossed her bag onto her desk and confidently walked up to me.
“I salute the final barrier of humanity, the Saintess.”
“…”
The classroom fell silent.
“Uh, Rina… Are you looking for a way to hasten your demise?”
I calmly inquired with a serious expression, and Rina replied, barely containing her laugh.
“Huh? What makes you think you can kill me? You haven’t won a single duel against me yet.”
I did knock her out with a drop kick to the face once, but even I’d admit that wasn’t a proper duel.
“…”
I squinted my eyes and glared at Rina, who wore a smug grin like she had just caught an easy victim.
With everyone around, I couldn’t exactly claim I’d win with holy power. Linea and Aurora already knew, but Rina still didn’t know I was a demon. Honestly, using my holy power in a duel against her would be borderline cheating—
—wasn’t it?
Hmm. Holy power is quite effective against witches, but it’s not a problem to use against demons in a fight. Just because I wasn’t using my holy power didn’t mean she’d go easy on me. In fact, I’d just be considered a complete idiot.
In that sense, I’ve always started the duel with Rina at a handicap.
So, in essence, within our relationship, wasn’t I the overwhelming powerhouse?
…Of course, if I were to beat Rina that way, she might end up losing a limb for life or just completely disintegrate, so… I wasn’t too keen on that.
“…Huff.”
I sighed deeply and stretched out my arms to grab one of Rina’s hands.
Rina freaked out and tried to pull her hand away.
“What—what’s with the sudden behavior?!”
It wasn’t easy for her to escape from my grip since our strengths were quite similar. With my two hands holding hers tight, Rina’s attempts to pull her hand away were rendered futile.
“Rina, are you thinking about becoming a saintess anytime soon?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Rina scoffed in disbelief at my question. Well, that’s understandable. I figured becoming a saintess would be out of the question. No one would casually raise a girl like me, who had shown a bit of fighting talent, to the status of saintess.
However, considering Rina’s contributions in catching the Witch of Hate and the Witch of Jealousy, it wouldn’t be surprising if she ended up as a significant figure in the history books.
To be honest, I planned on ensuring Rina was included in history books alongside me. I’d love to see her squirm in humiliation in knowing her name etched into history as a significant figure.
“Or, how about joining my future organization that I’ll establish?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I’m not even a clergy member.”
Rina subtly glanced at the others. Ah, the others still didn’t quite know what was going on.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said with a smile.
“Actually, I had a prophetic dream recently…”
I could hear the collective gasps from the others. Considering this was uttered by a saintess who had accomplished the most remarkable feats in human history within a year, it wouldn’t be an easy thing to dismiss.
I leaned forward towards Rina’s ear. She recoiled, trying to resist—
“You will become a cardinal many years from now.”
“…What?”
At my proclamation, Rina froze solid. I stepped back, looking directly at her face.
“How do you feel? Happy?”
“There’s no way that could make me happy!?”
Rina exclaimed, her expression a mix of sheer shock as she shoved my hand away. I glanced up at Rina still standing, seeing her pale white skin grow even paler. She seemed genuinely scared. Well, she was the type who despised working as much as I did.
“Just kidding, right?”
Rina asked, a hint of panic in her voice, and I simply smiled warmly at her.
Of course, it’s a joke.
I didn’t want to believe that dream was prophetic. No, I absolutely refused to think that way. In that dream, I had become the Pope. Ultimately, I failed to escape and spent my life working in the church.
Maybe I escaped and returned, who knows? Regardless, it was a future absolutely impossible to grasp in my current mind. Even now, I still clung to a feeble hope, so I could only think of that dream as a bad dream.
But, was it necessary to clarify that it was just a joke?
“However, who knows? If you comply with me, you might avoid that future,” I said.
“…That’s just a lie, isn’t it?”
Rina looked at me with a skeptical expression, but I merely laughed dismissively.
“Well, if it’s what you want to believe, go ahead.”
Of course, I didn’t believe it. It was a story I had no intention of sharing with Rina either.
“However, it is true that I had that dream,” I asserted and, pulling out the textbook for our first lesson, placed it on my desk and opened it.
“Hey, wait! We’re not done talking yet. You! ”
Rina exclaimed almost in a scream, shaking my shoulder, as the other kids looked on in confusion.
“…Hey, do you guys know what they’re talking about?”
“No, we don’t really know either,” Selena answered Aurora, but Aurora simply tilted her head in response.
…Well, considering what I said to Rina, Linea and Aurora would be astonished in a different way.
Ah, thinking about it, could Rina also be categorized as a ‘demon who infiltrated the church’?
*
“Clara.”
During lunch break, after finishing my meal and chatting with friends, someone called me from the open classroom door.
It was Seo-A, my homeroom teacher.
Have I ever been called by the homeroom teacher before?
I wouldn’t be surprised if I were called by the Pope or the President, but I’ve never been summoned by a school teacher.
…Writing this out, the seriousness of the situation seems overwhelming.
I sighed to myself, feeling a bit self-deprecating as I rose to the curious looks from surrounding classmates and walked towards the classroom door where Seo-A was waiting.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
If the homeroom teacher pointed out a single student during lunch, it certainly couldn’t be just for a casual conversation.
Seo-A nodded with a somewhat serious expression and began walking. I followed her. I thought she was heading to the teacher’s office, but instead, she led me to one of the many vacant classrooms scattered around the academy building.
“…Are you feeling better?”
If anyone were to ask who could maintain the healthiest state among all humanity in this world, I could confidently declare that it was only me, but Seo-A wasn’t asking out of genuine concern for my health.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
In fact, I had already heard “Are you okay?” enough from the kids that morning before assembly. I wasn’t sure how much of what happened on the coast had been reported, but I had practically declared war against the government, punched a witch in the face, and had residents charging at me with fists flying.
Mind you, my punch against the residents became quite a controversy outside the Beastman Region. Well, it’s probably more abnormal to analyze the martial art style behind my punches rather than discussing the severity and justification of the situation.
However, the influx of praise from the Beastman community online and how my apology during the briefing resonated overwhelmingly well, coupled with the fact that the opponent was a witch who committed acts of terrorism against civilians, meant that such opinions remained only a minority.
“I was going to talk during the assembly earlier, but it was a bit awkward timing.”
Leaning against the empty teacher’s desk that typically had no use, Seo-A said.
“Yeah, sounds good.”
I nodded willingly, and Seo-A sighed lightly.
“…I don’t have a lot of time either, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
Seo-A had said that, yet paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before finally speaking up.
“There’s been discussion about early graduation for you.”
“…Pardon?”
Early graduation?
I’ve seen people graduate early after completing their second year before heading to KAIST, but I never expected to hear such a thing at this point when I just finished my first semester of first year.
Furthermore, I wasn’t even studying so well that I qualified for early graduation. Selena had even tutored me after checking my report card.
“…Who brought that idea up?”
Right away, I understood that this wasn’t simply something that had come up ‘for my sake.’
“It was mainly from the vice principal and those in that circle. You do know this is a national school, right? It was established with a lot of funding from the church and the government.”
“…”
Haahhh~, I sighed as a shiver ran through me. Seo-A gave a slight smile.
“Are they expecting me to become a hero or something?”
“Probably. Heroes and heroines must all be registered with the government.”
“…”
I frowned slightly.
“Do they really think I’d gain anything from that? In other words, thinking about what I would gain leads to…”
“Well, you could lend a helping hand in handling witches…”
That would be a good thing, but I wondered if the government could really offer such a thing?
Seeing my expression, Seo-A sighed again.
“Truthfully, I don’t really know their true intentions. The vice principal tends to be… well, a bit shady. You noticed it too, didn’t you? His behavior and speech reflect his appearance perfectly.”
He was a rotund, round figure, looking just like Humpty Dumpty from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but even more wrinkly with dark circles under his eyes, and he smiles like a classic villain.
On the other hand, the principal, despite his old age, had a strong build. He gave off a demeanor of absolute integrity.
“I don’t know if he has connections with the government or if he’s simply thinking something through… but he’s been subtly bringing you up to me lately. He’s been saying a student of your caliber shouldn’t be confined to a school but should be allowed to move more freely.”
Well, I had done more extraordinary things outside the academy than within its walls…
“But I’m affiliated with the church… I’m not sure an early graduation would indeed grant me any freedom.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m unsure what they’re planning. They say it, but they seem to want to be cautious.”
Seo-A spoke with a serious expression.
“Just so you know, I’m against that idea. I’d prefer you stay in school until the end. What comes after that is up to you, but there’s so much to learn while in school, beyond just studies or knowledge.”
That’s something I was already aware of from my own experiences in school.
“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll think about it.”
“Okay. Just be cautious.”
After wrapping up our conversation, I returned to the classroom deep in thought.
What the heck is going on? Do they really think sending me outside school will make me more manageable?
…Well, they must have some motive in mind for trying to pull such a move.
As Seo-A suggested, for now, it seems the only option is to proceed with caution while observing the situation.
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