I'm Just an Ordinary School Nurse? (1)
A few days later, the endlessly anticipated end of the workday arrived, and I trudged home with my arms loaded down. The baggage was heavy, but my steps felt strangely light. Why was that?
"Finally, the weekend."
It was simply because today was Friday. Knowing I had a full two days off starting tomorrow left me nothing but thrilled. This would be the first weekend since arriving at the academy, and to celebrate, I'd prepared plenty.
Thud! I set two baskets down on the table. Everything inside was stuff I'd specially ordered and reserved from the school store. On my first day, I'd been clueless about how it worked and come home empty-handed, but now Priya had clued me in—I could order whatever I wanted ahead of time.
"Beer... how many years has it been since I last saw you?"
Nestled among the bottles of beer in glass were wines and other liquors too. Besides drinks, there was jerky and cheese for snacks—god, I would've killed for some fried chicken, but sadly, this world hadn't developed a frying culture. Still, with chicken skewers I'd sweet-talked out of the restaurant chef, simmered meats, and fresh fruits galore, I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.
Hiss! I poured beer into a glass and downed it in one go.
"...Yeah, this is it."
The satisfaction that former saintess Alessia could never enjoy, but school nurse Erdel could savor to the fullest. A saintess had to keep both body and soul pure and clean, so she could only eat what the temple provided. It was all healthy, of course. The problem? It was all vegan. A saintess is human too, you know. At the very least, she needs to indulge in something unhealthy once a month to let loose.
"The night view's pretty nice too."
Out the window stretched the academy at evening—not the glow of city lights, but the radiant shine of fortress lanterns. Whether it was great staff benefits or just my good luck, my lodgings were beyond satisfactory. A two-story house, no less. Not some massive, opulent noble mansion, but for one person, it felt almost excessively spacious. A family of four could live here comfortably, easy.
"Still, drinking alone feels a bit lonely."
Everything seemed perfect, except for one thing: I was here all by myself. If only my little sister were with me, wouldn't it be flawless? She didn't like alcohol much, unlike me, but if I asked, she'd scrounge up some wine or whatever from somewhere. Unlike me, with all eyes on the saintess wherever I went, she was free as a temple priest.
I'd always felt bad drinking alone back then, so we'd share—but now, I had no choice but to drink solo.
"I wonder how she's doing."
Sipping my beer, I thought of her for a moment. I'd worried about leaving her alone at first, but then remembered it was pointless—she was way more mature and diligent than me. Unlike my blood phobia, she didn't fear blood, and unlike my half-hearted prayers, she prayed to the goddess with genuine faith. She was fuller of saintess qualities than I ever was. Grandpa Pope had even said that if it weren't for me, she'd have been the saintess, and it was a miracle we'd been born in the same era. Thanks to that, I could escape and chug beer like this.
"Mm..."
As I nursed my beer aimlessly, I pulled a few documents from my commuter bag. Just boozing nonstop felt off, so I checked the schedule and plans Priya had dropped off.
"Arcanum lives up to its name—tons of stuff going on."
The schedule included classes where even I, the school nurse, would be on standby. Mostly practical ones: exploring the academy's training dungeon, or sparring matches for evaluations in the swordsmanship or magic departments. For high-risk classes with big injury potential, they dragged the nurse along in advance. I could just spectate from the back; if no one got hurt, I had nothing to do. Being cooped up in the infirmary got stuffy anyway, so tagging along on outdoor drills didn't sound bad.
"Dungeon... been ages since I saw that word."
Dungeon. Written as a stronghold made by the demon king or demonkin for invasion, but really just a place coughing up rare treasures.
"Even as a saintess, I went on a few dungeon outings."
This was a fantasy world, sure, but no demon king or demonkin existed here.
"So, no demonkin left at all?"
"That's right, sis. Not a single case in the last thousand years."
Apparently, they existed long ago, but some ancient saintess predecessor—my distant forebear—had wiped them out with her comrades. No more worries. Rumor had it she'd hunted them to extinction without mercy, blood or tears shed.
"Sounds just like dinosaurs..."
"Dinosaurs?"
"Think of 'em like dragons."
"Aren't dragons just mythical creatures?"
These days, demon kings and demonkin were like dinosaurs to folks here—extinct beasts from history textbooks. Dungeons were rare remnants left by demonkin, breeding monsters inside. When found, extermination squads formed immediately. I'd tagged along a few times. Perk was scoring booze from the squad.
"Next up's student spars, huh..."
This was just PE evaluation. But here, PE meant sword or magic practice, so they had kids spar to compete. Rivals drive growth, per Arcanum's headmaster. Magic department vs. magic, swordsmanship vs. swordsmanship. Later, at the academy festival, they'd integrate everyone to crown the strongest. Sounded fun. If I had to participate, it'd be nightmare fuel, but nah—I'd just munch popcorn and watch.
"This'll be entertaining."
Reviewing it all while drinking, I'd polished off two beers, and the snack plates were clean. Save the rest for the weekend—time to call it and crash.
"Shower and bed..."
No hangover worries? Perk of holy power users. Wake up with a splitting headache, touch it with holy power, good as new. I sank into the fluffy bed and passed out. Nothing beats booze as a sleep aid.
We were born in a small, ordinary rural home. Twin sisters from the countryside. Our parents were diligent and kind, doting on us, and the villagers adored us too. Life in that little village lacked for nothing.
When bored, we'd visit the small temple behind the village to pray. Pray to the goddess, and the temple grown-ups would reward good girls with cookies or bread.
That modest, happy life—I thought it'd last forever.
But then—
"Don't come out until it's quiet outside, okay? You'll listen to Mommy, right?"
One day, Mother suddenly hid us under the carpet in a small storage closet, saying that. I was too young to know what happened. Father had mentioned "war," and it was the day we were supposed to move to another village.
We waited in the closet as instructed, for silence outside. How much time passed?
"...I'll check it out."
My dear, beloved big sister. Once it quieted, she went out.
"Where's Mom?"
"Wait here just a sec."
"Sis?"
I tried to follow, but for some reason, I had to stay put another ten minutes after she left.
"Okay, let's go outside. But keep your eyes shut the whole way."
When Sis came back for me, her clothes were soaked, stained with some red splotches. Had she spilled a bucket? Or showered in her clothes? Either way, Mom would flip.
"Eyes shut? But that's scary..."
"I'll hold your hand, so don't worry."
Hand in hand, she led me out. It was winter, but the village felt hot that day. Crackle-crackle—the kitchen sounds echoed everywhere. Something tugged at my feet; I tried peeking, but Sis covered my eyes and hurried me along.
Finally, she said it was okay to open them. We were at the temple where we'd snag snacks.
The temple grown-ups hugged us tight.
"Sis, where are Mom and Dad?"
I asked where our parents had gone.
"We just gotta listen to the grown-ups and wait for them. You can do that, right?"
Sis said they were busy with moving prep and it'd take time; we'd wait at the temple. She smiled.
"Yeah!"
Back then, I just thought her smile was pretty and nice. Scared to pee at night? She'd hold my hand. Thunder on rainy nights keeping me up? She'd hold my hand and sleep beside me. Sis was so brave; I wasn't. Everyone called her mature; I was just a kid my age.
But even mature Sis developed a fear after that day. I was fine, but she'd faint sometimes. I asked the grown-ups why, but they'd dodge my eyes and hug me.
Why was that?
I realized later, after a bunch of grown-ups suddenly took Sis away in a carriage one day.
"......"
I woke and gazed quietly out the window. Early still—moonlight seeped in, not sunlight.
"Sis..."
Like when we were kids, I whispered her name softly. Come to think of it, was she doing okay? I hadn't known back then, but now I understood why Sis acted that way. Clutching my cross tight, I prayed for her.