Happy Free Time (4)
"…So unless it is truly a private gathering, please refrain from clapping as much as possible."
So that was the backstory.
Looking at the conclusion alone, clapping at someone you barely knew was no different from telling them to go die — or hurling some equally vicious curse at them.
Clapping hadn't always been forbidden. Even in this world, it was an ordinary gesture of celebration.
That is, until an assassin guild appeared that used the sound of applause as their signal to strike. The existence of such a guild was absurd enough on its own, but somehow their success rate sat at ninety percent. They had even managed to assassinate both the emperor and the pope, so the impulse to ban the practice was, to some degree, understandable.
Still, questions were inevitable. Why tell ordinary people not to clap when the authorities could simply put a little more effort into security?
The most ridiculous part, though, was that once clapping was banned, the assassin guild collapsed right along with it.
Even so, the terror carved into people's minds hadn't faded with the guild's disappearance, and so the ban remained. Knowing that even now — two hundred years later — it was still treated as taboo, and that she had done it to her teacher of all people, left her feeling distinctly uneasy.
That morning, when no one had clapped after her name was announced, she'd felt a little disappointed. Thinking about it now, it was a blessing that no one had.
Aside from that, there weren't any particularly strange rules. Don't make smacking noises when you eat, don't cross your legs, don't laugh frivolously, and so on.
Other than the clapping, there was nothing she really needed to watch out for. They were literally just common sense. Thinking of it that way, she couldn't quite shake the sense of injustice at having been unfairly dinged in such a bizarre fashion — but it had still been an entertaining read.
By the time she returned the book to the recommended reading shelf, the clock was already announcing that PE class was over.
Had that much time already passed? The book hadn't seemed that thick. She started to leave the library, then wondered whether she really needed to.
Even if the air was a little unpleasant, with this many books still waiting to be read, was there any reason to go outside where she had nothing to do? She didn't think so.
That was what she told herself, anyway — but her body had already drifted over to the window. Perhaps because the scheduled classes were done, a few students looked excited, but most of them seemed thoroughly exhausted and sprawled out wherever they could.
A small girl was being hauled off somewhere, surrounded by a cluster of other female students, and Golden Sun was walking at a careful distance from the group. Judging by that, their class's lessons were over too.
It was odd that Dogeon was nowhere to be seen — but then something happened that seized her attention so completely she stopped caring.
Golden Sun slipped into a secluded alleyway and casually approached a woman who looked like a nun. He stood in front of her and said something, and the nun moved with the air of someone who had no choice.
This was clearly that, right? A thug who'd gotten some kind of leverage on a devout nun and was dragging her into an alley to do something filthy in secret.
No — wait. She'd decided not to judge people on prejudice alone. She cast off her preconceptions once more and watched them carefully.
It still looked exactly like that, though. Should she go stop them? But would her going even help? Golden Sun was a big guy in his own right — it was only Teacher Georg who could shove him around.
It seemed she'd unintentionally glimpsed the dark underbelly of the academy. She'd known this wasn't a purely bright and cheerful story, but seeing it firsthand still didn't sit well with her.
…If I pretend it's a coincidence and just happen to walk by, wouldn't Golden Sun stop whatever he's about to do? In dirty comics and places like that, someone walking past only made things rougher — but this world wasn't a dirty comic, so she figured it was worth a try.
Social reputation mattered at the academy. If Golden Sun had even a shred of shame or awareness, wouldn't he cut things short? That wouldn't fix their twisted relationship, of course.
Even as she deliberated, they were heading deeper in. Golden Sun strolled along with complete ease, while the nun's steps looked distinctly awkward.
Suspicion hardened into certainty.
Should I "naturally" walk past them and try to interrupt whatever they're about to do? She wasn't a man… but her conscience ached at the thought of simply walking past an injustice.
Even an outcast had that much sense of justice.
She had absolutely no intention of marching up and shouting "Stop!" What if she said the wrong thing and got hit?
Getting hit would be the lucky outcome. The worst case… she didn't want to think about it. She even wondered whether she should really go herself — whether she ought to call a teacher instead.
But the teachers seemed to be avoiding her too. If she hesitated like this and arrived too late, who knew what humiliation the nun might suffer? Could she really just stand here?
…Alright. I've decided. She'd walk at a distance that wasn't too close but wasn't too far either, deliberately making her presence known.
If they didn't stop, that wasn't her fault. If they did, she could take the credit. Either way, she came out ahead, right? If she could save a pitiful nun with nothing more than a few small footsteps, it was worth the effort.
Once she'd made up her mind, her steps felt considerably lighter. And so she headed for the alley where they were.
Edan did not know why he had been sent to this academy.
All he knew was that the Goddess had issued an oracle commanding that one more apostle be dispatched to the academy where Ena was stationed.
He did not question the Goddess's will. He was simply puzzled as to why the Church had chosen him.
How had someone lacking in both skill and achievements managed to leapfrog his seniors and receive the honor of carrying out a command the Goddess herself had given?
It did not take him long to figure out why someone like him — whose only claim to distinction was the largely useless ability to detect demonic energy — had been sent here.
Baek Hoyeon, the transfer student about whom everything was shrouded in mystery except that she had come from the Eastern Continent. She had not even bothered to hide her demonic energy.
Among those present at the scene, not only he but the instructor as well seemed to have sensed it — but that was of little importance to him.
What if he took her down?
A rise in rank would be a given, and he might even be able to aim for a single-digit position. For the thirteenth and lowest-ranked among the apostles, it was an all-too-sweet temptation.
He might get expelled from the academy, but that was of no concern to Edan. If it brought him closer to God, that much was a trivial matter.
But if he failed — he would not only be expelled, but would surely be abandoned by the Church as well. The seat of the Thirteenth Apostle was constantly being rotated, after all.
Given that she used demonic energy so openly, she was clearly confident in her abilities, so he could not act rashly. He did not think he could kill her with his pathetic mana breathing technique.
So he had no choice but to watch as Hoyeon left the gymnasium. Even when a student came in midway and revealed that the instructor had tampered with the kettlebell, it failed to move him in any meaningful way.
The extreme class only registered as a mild observation — so there are people who teach like this even outside the Church. All of Edan's attention was fixed on Baek Hoyeon.
The moment class ended, he took out his pendant. It was an item distributed to every apostle so they could communicate with one another, but he had never used it.
The other apostles had no need to borrow his help, and the missions assigned to him were ones he could handle alone without anyone else needing to step in.
This was finally a chance to use the communication pendant — but Edan hesitated.
If he requested help from Ena, they could certainly catch Baek Hoyeon, but most of the credit would clearly be stolen by her. Yet handling it alone seemed far too distant a prospect.
"…Sister Gloria. I have an urgent matter to discuss."
He was someone who knew restraint. Judging that it was better to handle things with certainty than to ruin everything through his own greed, Edan requested help from the First Apostle.
"Decatria? Call me Ena. There are many ears listening here."
"Yes. Lady Ena. I'll get straight to the point. Someone using demonic energy has appeared."
"…Demonic energy? At this academy?"
"Yes. Do you know a student named Baek Hoyeon?"
"The transfer student who arrived today. That… one from the Eastern Continent?"
"Yes. She used demonic energy openly."
"…I'll head your way shortly. I'll hear the detailed report when we meet."
Edan walked along the path without a word. Among the noisy students around him, he found Gloria without difficulty. Spotting her waiting at the mouth of the alleyway, he headed straight for her.
"Decatria. I believe this is the first time you've contacted me first."
"I didn't think I could handle it alone."
"I thought you would swallow all the credit by yourself. Your judgment is excellent, but… have you no intention of tidying up your appearance? Maintaining dignity as God's proxy is also an important matter."
As they headed deeper into the alley, Edan briefly wondered why she was critiquing his looks at a time like this, but soon answered.
"The work given to me is the will of God — but God has never instructed me on such things. As one who serves the Goddess, I do not wish to diminish her radiance. Looking like a ruffian is about right."
"…I will respect your wishes. However, Decatria. It seems we have a tail following us."