School life is really boring.
It’s either a brutal fight during sparring, or gathered in small groups chatting. Of course, me, Linea, and Aurora are completely out of that equation, but hanging out somewhere after school is just a tiny part of students’ daily lives.
The reason students attend school is to learn, and naturally, the most significant part of school life is class time.
And class time is usually incredibly dull.
Honestly, it was even more boring than studying the Bible. The Bible here isn’t the same as the one from the world I lived in; it was rewritten after a dimensional door opened and the world got wrecked hundreds of years ago. Thus, it focused more on how people fought against demons and monsters rather than on the gods themselves, making it somewhat entertaining to read because it was all mythologically written – and based on real events!
As I haphazardly crafted the setting, the history crafted itself in the gaps. The parts of history I didn’t know were quite fascinating.
The problem was that while reading something mythologically written was fun, when it was chalked up as a textbook history, it became downright boring.
It isn’t a huge problem that I find it boring. I wasn’t a student who paid attention in my original world either. I didn’t outright sleep on my desk, but I definitely dozed off a bit, and I completely gave up on subjects like math. Thankfully, thanks to the existence of the academy, I scored pretty average.
So, I could bear the boredom to an extent.
However, there’s one issue: the enthusiasm of the kids sitting around me is much higher than the students I was used to.
In my original world, it was rare to talk about studying with school friends. Even if we did, it was usually just guessing the answers to especially difficult problems after a test…
But in this world, everyone sitting around me were hard-working students.
It goes without saying that Linea was thoroughly dedicated to her role as a student, even coming back to the convent to review after school. Aurora wasn’t quite that intense, but I had never seen her dozing off in class.
The tsundere heroine—who was supposed to become a tsundere—Selena was originally set to be a diligent model student, and Satsuki and Lee Ji-An, who sat at the front, were also extraordinary students. Honestly, if I had to pick someone who wasn’t a model student from this bunch, it would probably just be me.
Perhaps because of that, the way this group spent their break time was to discuss what we learned in class.
Wow, I had never experienced this before, nor had I even imagined such a way to kill time.
Ah, sure, well, fine. As long as I can salvage something, I’m in favor of it. At least maintaining a minimum grade would be good for my image.
But there was one problem:
“Modern Seven Deadly Sins are doubt, desire, lust, jealousy, hatred, resentment, and grudge, right? But aren’t hatred and resentment overlapping? Isn’t it just a matter of degree?”
This was the topic of conversation, which was inevitably my careless plot hole that I had written.
Selena was usually the one to throw out questions like this.
“To begin with, it’s strange to attribute sin to emotions. Emotions have positive and negative sides, right? In that sense, isn’t lust also a part of desire?”
Satsuki was usually the one giving responses like that.
…Actually, I hadn’t really thought through it when writing that. Back when I had the thought,
“Or maybe demons might argue amongst themselves about the range of such meanings.”
That setting did exist, but I came up with that only after realizing that I was creating a plot hole by leaving it as is.
Guess I must be smart for a protagonist. How envious of you, Lee Ji-An.
“It’s the same with witches. The term ‘witch’ only sounds feminine, but in reality, there are male ones too. In the case of the Witch of Lust, there are theories saying it could be a man.”
“There are various theories.”
As we listened to the conversation, Linea chimed in.
“The first theory states that the term arose from when witch hunts were still recognized in the old days when monotheistic religions existed, which leads to the current error. After all, the term witch is a translation of ‘witch’. It means a demon-worshipper who became a witch after receiving baptism from a demon. The Church claims that this term is still used to mean the leaders of those who worship demons.”
That’s right. I did come up with that setting. But still,
“However, the word witch evolved from the word wicce as time went on, right? And wicce is a feminine word. There’s a masculine form, wicca, but why don’t we mix that in?”
Aurora’s opinion was valid. If I had known that origin during the time of setting creation, I would have added that into the setting. If I had known about Old English, I definitely would have made use of it.
“And originally, that origin is purely human opinion. We elves have also referred to those baptized by demons as witches even before coming to this world. In ancient times, they were formally recognized as a religion. Naturally, there were many witches at that time, and there were quite a few ‘male witches’. Yet, we still used the term witch from then.”
Satsuki’s argument was also reasonable. But it was just because I had brushed it off saying it was used for a long time that it happened.
Hmm, later on, I had a makeshift setting: Witches can intertwine their bodies with demons to give birth to high-ranking demons.
These high-ranking demons have blood that is half from humans, elves, beastkin, or gnomes, who are somewhat resistant to holy power, so they could withstand holy power attacks to a certain extent, even if not perfectly.
Moreover, to give birth to such high-ranking demons, the species that become ‘witches’ undergo certain physical changes.
As a result, since they need to ‘give birth’ to children, regardless of their outer appearance as male or female, witches would…
…
Even now, it’s a seriously insane setting, why did I think this was a brilliant idea back then?
In short, ‘witch’ is actually a term used by those serving the demons, and once translated through the language of humans like elves, it turned into the current term ‘witch’.
The reason why people don’t know that origin until now is that witches have been covering up the existence of high-ranking demons.
…Huh?
Thinking about it makes me realize this is hella dangerous, right?
The church thinks that “they can burn any demon with sufficient holy power.”
If suddenly a high-ranking demon pops up, won’t it wipe them out?
Could it be that the setting I haphazardly created becomes the cornerstone that ruins the world?
Ariel called me here because she didn’t know how to handle the future, right?
…
It’s over.
*
Let’s halt the thinking about that for now.
The appearance of high-ranking demons is quite a while from now. At least, the Witch of Doubt didn’t send high-ranking demons during her direct attack—no, rather that at that time, the settings regarding witches had not been properly established, so they simply never appeared.
Anyway, it means I shouldn’t worry too much for now. The first boss is always something you can handle.
More than that, I need to be careful of the Cardinal.
As mentioned before, the Cardinal was supposed to spew nonsense in front of Lee Ji-An and Selena, then get punched in the face, intended to frame the protagonist as a heretic, but the academy brushed it off, letting it slide.
After that, the protagonist wouldn’t receive proper support from the church, and this causes problems with the Witch of Doubt, ultimately leading to Lina sacrificing herself to save the protagonist during a fight without a priest—that was the story at the time of the showdown with the Witch of Doubt.
But now that I’m here, it shouldn’t be a problem. I already possess a level of holy power equivalent to that of a top-class priest.
Thus, the real danger for me isn’t a demonic army that I can push back with holy power, but rather a powerful human.
The holy power I hold is real, and from the academy’s viewpoint, I’m a significant asset, so it’s obvious they wouldn’t want to lose me. Having an academy graduate working in the church would be an excellent achievement and promotion, so that’s almost impossible. However, in extreme cases, local cardinals holding the power to prevent me from attending school are a risk.
If things go south, they could hinder my movements. They might even prevent me from taking the front lines, stopping me from helping the protagonist’s party.
Hmm, if the cardinal visits the school, should I lay low?
April 4th is the day when demons opened the dimensional door and invaded the world for the first time. Many people died. For almost a decade, humans were almost driven to extinction by continuous defeats.
That’s why April 4th is designated as a public holiday—a day to raise flags and commemorate the victims.
But even on this public holiday, the academy, where students aiming to become heroes are gathered, made exceptions. Since then, countless heroes have died. While not all graduates follow the path of a hero, the ultimate goal of the academy is to foster excellent heroes, so they hold a small ceremony at school, still keeping it open.
And St. Ariel Academy is an academy where the church exercises significant influence.
That’s right. That day is the day the Cardinal visits the academy.
*
The reason I remember the exact date of the Cardinal’s visit is that it’s quite an important event.
In the story I wrote, Selena gets marked by the Cardinal again, the protagonist gets enraged and punches the Cardinal, and finally, Selena realizes she has misunderstood the protagonist and opens her heart completely…
For some reason I don’t quite understand, Selena and Lee Ji-An seemed to be getting along well in various ways, and more importantly, Selena had never faced the Cardinal directly.
I had. In both literal and metaphorical senses.
If the Cardinal goes off at me, will Lee Ji-An step in and defend me?
I’d say with 99% certainty that obnoxious busybody would be furious on my behalf.
The remaining 1% is if Selena happens to be elsewhere and doesn’t confront the Cardinal.
[You are the ones who will face evil in the future.]
No matter how hard I thought, April 4th came.
On a day when everyone was resting, students who didn’t seem overly pleased sat in the auditorium listening to the Cardinal’s sermon.
I didn’t feel much walking to school, but those who took the bus or subway probably felt an overwhelming sense of emptiness seeing the unusually vacant public transport. I’ve worked on Saturdays, so I totally understand.
But regardless of the students’ expressions, the Cardinal continued his sermon without caring.
[Let’s not be selfish. If you do not become a hero with the talents bestowed upon you by the gods, it would waste the gifts given to you.]
And, without fail, he began to preach his version of ‘justice.’
[That is a sin. Do not commit sins over a few coins. Sacrifices are a noble act, and if you have the ability to sacrifice but do not, it is akin to killing others.]
Oh, again with this.
Was the dropkick I received earlier weak? Or was it my healing that was the problem? Why is he so eager to push people into the abyss?
Whether using their talents to work or protect people, who would do it properly under coercion?
Even among the kids here, quite a number are volunteering to protect the world; saying such things in front of them might make them feel disillusioned.
He himself has better holy power than others while playing power games from the back.
…I did create that character, but still.
As I kept listening to nonsensical talk, I felt like my inner dropkick was asking, Should I unleash, Master? but I held back for now. After all, he would only say a few more things and leave. If I took care to stay out of it,
[Anderson, Clara Anderson, are you here?]
– Suddenly, a voice calling me cut through the air.
What the…?
I blinked a few times to grasp the situation, and then I stepped forward.
[Ah, there you are. Please step forward.]
Cardinal Kwon In-Soo spoke in a very compassionate tone.
This is seriously giving me bad vibes.
Is he planning to embarrass me?
It looks like the option of laying low has completely flown out the window.
I stepped forward with a resigned expression. As I walked, the eyes of those around me were glued to me. I don’t mind being looked up to, but it’s rather awkward when everyone is seated and I’m the only one standing. It feels like I got caught dozing off. It seems that wasn’t the case given that they were asking where I was first.
“Ms. Anderson. I know very well that you possess special powers.”
His face showed nothing but compassion, but I could sense one emotion in his gaze. You’re screwed today.
How pathetic, damn it.
I narrowly avoided twisting my face.
“Would you like to use the power you possess for the soldiers at the frontlines?”
Huh?
Then my expression completely relaxed.
This idiot thinks my reaction has changed due to being caught off-guard, giving him a triumphant smile.
No, it is true that I’m caught off guard.
“While standing on the frontlines, with your outstanding holy power to aid… ”
“I’ll go!”
“…to heal—huh?”
I shouted with sparkling eyes, causing the Cardinal to halt his words.
I bet this fool thought sending me to the frontlines was some kind of punishment.
But here’s the thing.
“Sir, it seems you don’t understand what I’m trying to say, but out there are fierce beasts and demons—”
“I’ll go! I’m definitely going! I’m going!”
Either he was trying to enjoy watching me quaking in fear or… What now?
By the end of May, a witch will attack the school directly.
Naturally, many students will get hurt, and Lina would end up losing her life.
Of course, while many will get injured, only Lina will die, but I heavily dislike that.
But, can I really march to the frontlines and roast the demons with my holy power?
Do you really want to bring a being blessed by the goddess right to the witch’s front?
Of course not, hell no!
“Please definitely send me to the front!”
I clasped my hands tightly and said so, leaving the Cardinal speechless.
“…”
Not just him; nobody else in the room said a word either.
The auditorium fell silent, as if water had been splashed everywhere.
Why?
I heard the sound of a chair being pushed back.
It was Seo-A. Unlike the usual attire where her top was left dangerously undone, she was now properly dressed in business attire.
Is she dressed well to avoid getting caught by the old-timer?
“Cardinal Kwon, Clara still does not know about the battlefield. I hope you can generously forgive the words of a child who knows nothing.”
Then, she deeply bowed.
Ah, right.
Seo-A is a model teacher from a typical subculture who acts like a friend to her students, but if they’re in danger even a little, she becomes serious without a moment’s notice, creating a character with that gap.
Clears throat.
The Cardinal coughed awkwardly and tried to maintain a serious voice.
“But the very act of wanting to sacrifice yourself is noble in itself. I’m unsure if I have the right to disallow it.”
Isn’t that a bit pathetic coming from someone who’s just told a minor to go to the front?
“However, simply sending a single student to the frontlines isn’t going to change the outcome. It’s far more helpful to take your time and train more before heading to the battlefield—”
“That’s because you don’t know about Ms. Anderson’s abilities! Ms. Anderson can stand alone and be a considerable asset.”
For once, he’s speaking correctly.
“That Clara isn’t going alone!”
“That Clara isn’t going alone!”
Aurora and Linea stood up together and spoke, shooting glares at one another.
“I’m from the Inquisition, Knight Linea Vikander. Clara is still under our investigation. Please allow us to head to the front together.”
“I’m Miracle Investigator Assistant Nun Aurora Ranieri. Please let me go with her too!”
And then, as if competing, they rushed forward and stood beside me.
???
What’s going on?
As I stood there, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events, I heard another chair scraping back.
“It’s me, Selena Lowell. I want to go too!”
Scrape.
“I’m Lee Ji-An. I’ll go as well.”
Scrape.
“I’m Satsuki Rechmir. I want to go too.”
Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.
Students kept standing up one after another, and nearly half the class walked to stand next to me. In total, there were nine of us including me.
Scrape.
“…I’ll go too.”
Huh, with Lina Hicks who just stood up, it made it ten in total.
However, although their reactions were different from the others, they looked like they really didn’t want to be there, as if they were being dragged up against their will. If they really don’t want to go, they don’t have to! Wait, why do I feel like I don’t want you here? If you suddenly decide to sacrifice yourself like that, I feel like you’ll die for sure.
“…You can’t die until you lose to me.”
As Lina walked past me, she quietly muttered while gritting her teeth.
What’s this, suddenly such a tsundere rival reaction?
More importantly, what is happening right now? Is this like some Shonen anime scenario where I’m about to see an item in the sticky controversy about advocating totalitarianism and forcing a spirit of sacrifice?
I was not the only one at a loss for words.
Everyone, including the cardinal who spoke first, the homeroom teacher of Class A, and all the staff present, was left speechless at this shocking sight.
The only ones who sparkled in the midst of the chaos were the students standing firm like a wall.
*
“““““…“”””””
And so the event that felt like a tsunami concluded.
In one corner of the auditorium, I couldn’t help but stand there looking like a sinner.
All of my classmates stood, arms crossed, staring daggers at me, making it feel like I needed thicker skin than my own head.
“So, um, about that…”
As no one opened their mouths, I decided to go first.
“Well, I don’t plan to go and die, and I’m confident against demons but…”
Silence.
“Having about half the class missing might also hinder classes…”
Silence.
“So, um, rather than all of us going together, I thought I could just…”
What is going on?
I was clearly standing in the auditorium explaining myself.
But after blinking once, I found myself lying in the infirmary.
I saw something like white with blue stripes in the background.
“You’re awake.”
A pleasant voice came from beside me.
It was Selena. She sat, looking down at me with a frosty expression.
“Sorry. I have this disease where I dropkick when I hear nonsense.”
“Thankfully I don’t think I’m as deep in the disease as you are. It was only a double rotation in the air.”
That took me a moment.
So, did I faint because I got hit by a dropkick?
This is a fresh experience. I’ve knocked out two people with a dropkick but I experienced it for the first time myself. Sneak attacks can be that scary. I would’ve dodged in an actual duel.
I sat up.
“Don’t say you’ll go alone.”
Selena spoke up.
While her expression remained cold, her gaze on me was burning as if she could start a fire.
“I won’t let you die by sending you alone.”
“But—”
“We’re going together.”
Selena immediately cut me off.
“We’ll go together and come back alive. Otherwise, don’t think about going.”
Even if I tried to argue, her gaze said that she would follow me by any means necessary.
“…”
We’ve known each other for just a month, right?
Is it reasonable to throw your life away for someone you’ve just started to know?
“Ah!”
As I debated how to respond, Aurora suddenly shouted, startling me and causing my train of thought to fly out the window.
“Hey, Hicks is pulling Lee Ji-An’s hand and dragging him somewhere!”
With her forehead pressed against the window, Aurora shouted sharply.
“What!?”
Selena’s immediate reaction was as if it was just another ordinary day. It didn’t seem like she had just been discussing a life-or-death situation.
She dashed to the window and leaned in next to Aurora with a gasp, then shouted just as Aurora had.
“Um, I think Hicks has recently been receiving sword training from Lee Ji-An, I heard.”
“Wha—why are you only saying that now!?”
Selena, caught off guard, quickly tried to cover her mouth with both hands. Though it was already too late.
“I-I-I’m just going to check it out! There’s a lot to learn from swordsmanship! Not that I’m concerned about their relationship or anything, but—”
She hurriedly packed her bag and belongings.
“In any case, we might encounter real combat soon. You all need to train hard!”
Then she dashed out of the infirmary at full speed.
“So about that,”
With a blank expression, I gazed at the door Selena had exited just as Linea leaned in toward me and spoke.
“Clara, don’t you think you need some training of your own?”
The sparkle in Linea’s eyes was as fiery as Selena’s.
“Based on the last sparring session, I noticed you don’t know how to wield a weapon at all. I can train you in knightly techniques.”
“Hey, I’ll help you too!”
Before I knew it, Aurora had taken the seat Selena just vacated.
“While my holy power isn’t on the same level as Clara’s, I’ve learned how to use it in combat. During our last sparring match, you mostly used your holy power for healing, but it can be utilized in various ways!”
She cheerfully suggested we all study together.
Wait, what?
It sounds like a study group, but I have this feeling it’s going to end up like a training camp instead.
What’s going on?
I have no clue how things have turned this way.
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