The Giving Priestess (2)
I left the department office and headed straight for the Academy infirmary. I needed to see for myself whether the professors had been telling the truth.
The infirmary was a fairly large two-story building a short walk from the main hall — a reasonable size, given the scale of the Academy.
I opened the door to find a single person sitting at the reception desk. He was reading a book with his chin propped on one hand. He glanced at me once, then dropped his eyes right back to the page.
"Excuse me. Do you work here?"
"Yes."
"By yourself?"
"Yes."
"Are you a doctor?"
"Yes."
What the hell is with that attitude? Well, if he was a doctor, I might as well test his skills.
"I've got a headache. Came to get some medicine."
The doctor pointed his chin toward the far wall with a look of utter disinterest. I followed the gesture to a shelf of medicine bottles, each one tagged with a hastily scrawled label.
"Grab one from the bottle that says headache medicine and take it."
"Excuse me?"
But the doctor had already sunk back into his book, as if he hadn't heard a word. What kind of lunatic was this guy?
I pulled out a headache pill and took a look around the infirmary.
The first floor was a treatment area, laid out much like an emergency room from my previous life. The reception desk where the doctor sat stood at the entrance, with a bookshelf for records behind it. There weren't many files. Further in were a few cots and a shelf holding basic first-aid supplies and bandages.
There was a room in the back. I opened it and found, to my surprise, a surgical theater. A steel table sat in the center of a tiled floor, thick with dust — clearly never used. The next room was an office. Given that the doctor was sitting out front, this was probably meant for a holy priest from the Church.
The second floor was a ward. Nothing particularly noteworthy there.
The facilities themselves were solid. Whoever designed the Academy had clearly anticipated accidents and injuries of every kind. The problem was the Principal's instinct for self-preservation — the place wasn't being run properly at all.
First-aid training was being handled by a professor who'd been a hunter, and this perfectly serviceable infirmary was sitting empty. This was a complete mess. An absolute disaster.
The professors were right — the infirmary's capacity was rock bottom. If I implemented the training overhaul I'd proposed to the Principal as-is, it would be chaos. Better to staff this place properly first, then get started.
I came back downstairs still turning it over in my mind. The doctor was still buried in his book, paying me zero attention. That guy was getting fired.
Looking at it now, the Second Princess was a living saint. How had she not fired a Principal who ran an Academy like this? Well — more accurately, she couldn't. He was the Emperor's parachute appointment.
If a web novel pulled a plot like this, the comments would write themselves: the Principal was actually a spy laying the groundwork to cripple one of the Empire's key academies, or the author had dumbed the Principal's character down too far.
But dark elves were anything but a stupid race. She'd made a complete wreck of the Combat Department, sure — but after a few days of looking around, I'd found the Theoretical Department's curriculum surprisingly rock-solid. It couldn't compare to the famous Imperial Calbassar Academy, but considering they hadn't even produced their first graduating class, it was impressive work.
From where I stood, the Principal wasn't stupid at all. There was something else going on here... Wait. Was she actually a spy? The principal of a spy academy... is a spy!?
No chance. If that were true, the Empire's intelligence bureau — those people who missed nothing — would have caught it already. They even knew about a washed-up bum getting into a brawl all the way out in Brunswell.
Anyway, enough of that. Time to get moving.
I headed to my office to prepare for the outing and found Olicia there, coincidentally in the middle of cleaning.
Since coming to the Academy, Olicia and I had been living in the staff quarter on one side of campus. As a professor, I'd been assigned a small detached house with a garden. Olicia kept house there, and she often came by the office to clean like this — terrified that a messy workspace would get me on some important person's bad side.
If I got labeled as some slob who couldn't keep his space in order and ended up getting fired, we'd have to go back to Brunswell. From Olicia's perspective, that absolutely could not be allowed to happen.
"I'm heading out."
"Outside? Isn't it still work hours? Where are you going?"
"It's a business trip. I'm going to Church Headquarters."
"Church Headquarters? So you're going into the city?"
"We'll pass through it, yeah. Why? Ah — I get it."
I took one look at Olicia's eyes and burst out laughing.
"Come with me. I'll drop you off in the city for a bit."
"Eep!?"
Olicia made a strange little noise, hurriedly put away the broom and rag, and stripped off her apron.
She'd left Brunswell and come all the way to the imperial capital, but she hadn't had a proper chance to go out. Between the deep-clean of the residence and everything else, she'd been run off her feet. Back in Brunswell she'd constantly gone on about how beautiful the imperial capital must be — Dian, I wonder how gorgeous the capital is — so of course she was dying to see the city.
Come to think of it, this was my first time leaving the Academy grounds too. I'd been so buried in figuring out how to get the kids up to standard before the first graduating class next spring that I hadn't even noticed the time passing.
Olicia and I boarded the private carriage assigned to the Chief Professor and left the Academy.
The Academy sat right next to the city center, so it wasn't long after passing through the front gate that we plunged into a forest of tall buildings.
"Whoooaaa..."
Olicia stared at the shops lining the street, looking like she might start drooling at any second. The buildings were three stories at a minimum, some rising six or more, and you couldn't go far without spotting a city guard. The public safety was excellent. This was Calbassar, the largest city on the continent, all right.
"I'll drop you here. See you later."
I flicked a gold coin to Olicia as she stepped down from the carriage. She spread her skirt with both hands and caught it.
"Thank you, Dian!"
"Don't go following strangers. If anything happens, run straight to a city guard. Got it?"
"Yes! Don't worry about me!"
After dropping Olicia off, I rode on toward Church Headquarters.
Church Headquarters was located on Linus Boulevard, where the Empire's core institutions — including the Imperial Palace — were clustered. Yes, that Linus. It used to have a different name. Ten years ago, after Linus killed the Demon King and came home, they renamed it in his honor.
Thank god there was no Dian Boulevard. The protagonist of this world was Linus, and I was the supporting character who backed him up. Stepping out in front of the hero was something I preferred to avoid.
I passed a bronze statue of Linus, sword raised, shouting at something, and Church Headquarters came into view ahead.
A vast circular plaza of white stone, a fountain at its center, and beyond it a gleaming marble temple that radiated grandeur. The colonnade was carved with reliefs glorifying the divine, each pillar so thick that ten grown men would have to join hands to encircle it. Priests and civilians streamed through a gate so massive a dragon could have walked through it. In front, holy knights in ceremonial dress stood grim-faced watch with poleaxes.
Majesty and sanctity in perfect harmony — a headquarters worthy of the Goddess Church, the largest religious order on the continent, followed by the vast majority of its people.
"What business brings you here, sir?"
A holy knight asked politely the moment I stepped down from the carriage.
"I've come to see the Grand Chancellor."
"The Grand Chancellor? Do you have an appointment?"
"I'm afraid I came on short notice. No appointment."
"I see..."
The holy knight looked slightly uncomfortable as he looked me over, then the carriage I'd arrived in. He was trying to gauge who I was — whether I was someone who could just show up and demand to see a priest of the Grand Chancellor's stature.
"I'm Dian, Combat Chief Professor at the Imperial Special Task Academy. I'll wait here. Please at least pass word to the Grand Chancellor."
I pulled out my identification, stamped with the Academy seal, and showed it to him. The holy knight said he'd see what he could do and went inside.
A short while later he came back, looking faintly bewildered.
"I'll escort you inside at once."
I followed the holy knight up the stairs leading into Church Headquarters. Then a voice called my name from above.
"Dian!"
I looked up to see Rormane hurrying down the stairs, her priestly robes fluttering.
"Dian! I've missed you!"
She leaped the last few steps and threw herself into my arms.
"It's been a while, Rene."
"Haa, Dian... Dian..."
Rormane buried her nose in my chest, drawing a deep breath and nuzzling her face against me. The holy knight who'd been escorting me stared, completely stunned.
"Rene. People are watching."
"Ah?!"
Only then did Rormane push herself off me, hastily putting distance between us, and offered an awkward smile.
"I'm sorry, Dian. It's been so long, I couldn't contain myself... Let's go inside and talk."
As we entered the main temple, every priest we passed bowed to Rormane. The Grand Chancellor was among the highest ranks in the Church. Her authority was immense.
We entered her office, and a rather young-looking priestess bustled in after us. She looked even younger than Olicia. Who was this kid? The little priestess bowed to me, then set about clinking teacups and a kettle. Some kind of personal attendant to Rormane, I supposed.
While the little priestess prepared the tea, Rormane unleashed a storm of questions. Why I'd vanished without a word, where I'd been living all this time, how I'd ended up a professor at the Special Task Academy, and on and on.
"Didn't Linus tell you?"
"He did, but I wanted to hear it from you. I've always loved listening to your stories."
"That so. Well, can't be helped then."
I sat across from Rormane and gave her a condensed account of everything from the day I left the Imperial Palace ten years ago to becoming a professor at the Academy.
The entire time, Rormane sat with her hands clasped, eyes shining, hanging on every word. It reminded me of the old special task force days. Around the campfire I used to tell myths about the constellations, and Rormane had always looked just like this.
"So that's what happened. You really are remarkable, Dian."
When I finished, Rormane spoke, her eyes glistening as if she might cry at any moment.
"You went into seclusion for a full ten years, judging that your power might become a variable in an age of peace... and yet..."
"No, it wasn't like that. I just wanted to live comfortably..."
"You couldn't turn your back on an old comrade in need. You rose up and took on the heavy responsibility of Combat Chief Professor at the Academy..."
The Dian being described by the Grand Chancellor of the Church was a truly noble, self-sacrificing fellow.
"I truly admire you, Dian."
"Well... thanks. So, how have you been all this time?"
Now it was Rormane's turn. After the grand welcome ceremony at the Imperial Palace, she'd returned to the Church and rocketed through the ranks — a climb that took most people a lifetime — to become Grand Chancellor in a mere ten years. It wasn't just the halo of being part of the hero's party that slew the Demon King. She'd been talented enough to be recruited into that party in the first place. Killing the Demon King was simply an additional achievement on top.
Suddenly Rormane reached out and seized my hand.
"If you hadn't left without a word that day, I would have given up the priesthood and..."
"Haha..."
I pulled my hand free with an awkward laugh. Rormane looked distinctly disappointed, then asked:
"But Dian. Why did you come here? I don't think it was just because you wanted to see me."
"About that. The Special Task Academy used to have a holy priest assigned to it, right?"
"That's right. When it was first established, the Imperial Palace requested a dispatch. They were recalled later, though."
"That's the issue. We need a holy priest again. Sorry for the back-and-forth, but..."
"Maya."
Rormane spoke before I'd even finished. The little priestess who'd been refilling my empty teacup bowed her head.
"Yes, Grand Chancellor."
"Relay what I'm about to say to the Church administrative office, exactly as I say it."
"Understood, Grand Chancellor."
"The bishop-rank priests scheduled for circuit assignment this month — change their postings."
What? Bishop-rank? A bishop was a high-ranking priest responsible for an entire diocese. We didn't need anyone of that caliber at our Academy...
"Wait, wait, Rormane. We don't need anyone at bishop rank..."
"There should be about thirty of them. Send them all to the Special Task Academy."
"Thirty?!"
"I'll be there later. Tell them to notify those people first."
"Understood, Grand Chancellor."
"Hey, wait!"
The instant Rormane finished speaking, the little priestess scurried for the door. I lunged and grabbed her wrist.
We did not need a whole platoon of people like that showing up!
