Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Back to Daily Life? (1)
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A grueling week had passed, and finally, a dispatched priest from the kingdom arrived.
In the meantime, Mother Tessa Cruise and eldest sister Luin Cruise had sent several messages saying they wanted to visit the academy after hearing the news, but permission was denied.
That made sense—the academy strictly controlled access for outsiders, and we were nominally officers, which set us apart from civilians.
"Arma Cruise cadet. Please look at this candle flame."
"Yes."
The dispatched priest, dressed in white robes with a red sash draping down to their thighs, unpacked the ritual bag they carried, laid out its contents, and lit a beeswax candle.
While gazing at the flickering flame and waiting for the priest to finish preparing, the supervisor, Enoch, stood rigidly with his back turned to us.
'Is that guy being blackmailed by Makina or something... Why'd he get roped into this thankless job?'
When I couldn't focus on the candle, the priest cleared their throat to get my attention.
I turned my gaze back to the flickering flame atop the candle and waited for the priest's next instruction.
The priest rang a small bell laid out on a velvet cloth, completing the preparations for the blessing, a form of white magic.
The solemn proclamation and the participants' expressions of faith and obedience were essential to enhancing the blessing's effect—like the prep work needed to make a delicious dish.
-Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling.
"Believing that the divine watches over us, your humble servant dares to beseech in this place, at this moment."
"......"
The steady rhythm of the bell, the priest's gentle voice, and the flickering candlelight were perfectly suited to lulling one to sleep.
Then it hit me—this process was strikingly similar to the hypnosis ritual in the [Basic Spirit Mediumship] book I'd snuck from the Thorn Crown Class not long ago.
"Arma Cruise cadet. Would you mind lifting your head?"
I obediently raised my head at the priest's words.
A kindly smile from the priest, who appeared to be around sixty, came into view.
"The wound has vanished without a trace."
The priest held up a small hand mirror from their ritual bag, reflecting my face.
Sure enough, the raised red scar was completely gone, and even the lingering headache seemed to have disappeared without a trace.
"Sorry for the delay. We received the dispatch request long ago, but we're short-staffed right now."
"Short-staffed?"
"The Autumn Spirit Festival is right around the corner."
The Autumn Spirit Festival.
It was easy to think of it as the kingdom-wide expansion of the Autumn Thanksgiving Festival held at Aegis Academy.
The different terminology was supposedly to respect the diverse religions of the cadets at the academy.
But I suspected the main reason was that the national event was a ten-day grand celebration, while the academy's lasted only four days.
"There aren't many priests who handle blessings, so even rushing around, it's like this."
"I understand completely. And mine wasn't a big deal anyway."
When blessings were needed, it was usually for critical cases on the brink of death or people attacked by magical beasts—not minor wounds like mine.
Just having a dispatched priest show up amid all this busyness was lucky.
'Mother might have pulled some strings.'
Even if they couldn't visit in person, it was common for cadets' families to support them from outside regarding academy life.
The thought that Mother had been contacted over something that wasn't even a big deal made my face burn with embarrassment.
"Well then, I have a long way to go, so I'll take my leave."
"Take care."
"The divine will remember you."
"......"
Instead of making the sign of the cross like the priest, I bowed deeply and waited until they left.
-Click.
Before exiting, the priest gave me a final silent bow and closed the infirmary door.
'Finally over~!'
As I clenched my fist in a pose that might come off as flippant, Enoch quietly turned around.
"You've been through a lot. Now I'll report to President Makina and handle your discharge procedures."
"No, why?"
"Pardon?"
"-was a pointless question. Please pass it along to President Makina."
Just when I thought this tedious confinement was ending, Enoch was following protocol to the end.
If you molded a manual into human form, it'd probably look just like him.
"Oh, and. Thanks for your hard work too, Enoch cadet."
"It wasn't that bad."
"I know looking after me wasn't easy. And that at some point, you volunteered as my supervisor."
"How did you... "
Well, figuring that out wasn't hard.
I was under the most scrutiny since I was born.
They hadn't removed the wooden boards over the infirmary window precisely to shield me from those burdensome stares.
"It's one thing that the supervisor didn't leave unless it was urgent, but it was odd that it was always you, Enoch cadet, guarding the door."
"......"
Enoch awkwardly fiddled with the ends of his hair and bowed his head deeply.
It seemed like his habit when embarrassed.
"Besides, Theodore and Arthur visited once each, so I couldn't be sure, but Judith and Shirley came to my room multiple times. Each time, the supervising cadet changed. That's how I knew."
"I wasn't trying to hide it."
"I never thought you were."
I'd initially thought Enoch was just stuck with me.
But his demeanor was cautious and polite.
Shirley's influence was probably big, but I sensed some goodwill toward me too.
"Still, I know approaching me wasn't easy when academy cadets were hysterical enough to board up a perfectly fine window."
Overall, Enoch seemed like someone with a strong sense of compassion.
He probably couldn't just ignore me after I'd been labeled a murderer, faced a student council trial, and fallen into a coma from a head wound the very day the verdict came down.
At my words, Enoch hesitated with a troubled though calling it an expression was off since his hair covered his eyes).
"-Discharge permission should come soon. Arthur Usher cadet will stand in while I'm gone, so rest easy."
"Huh? Who?"
Enoch ignored my question and hurried out of the room.
Almost simultaneously, Arthur Usher approached slowly, shoes clacking, dressed neatly in academy uniform.
"You look disappointed."
"No, disappointed? Misunderstanding. I was just surprised you're the one who came."
"I was surprised too."
Arthur's face showed no hint of surprise as he said it.
He was clearly younger than me, but I couldn't fathom where that maturity came from.
"Don't tell me it was decided by drawing straws or something?"
"No, Shirley Spencer cadet asked me personally."
"Shirley did?"
Did something happen to Shirley?
I shot up without thinking, but Arthur read my movement and pushed me back down.
"Did something happen to Shirley?"
"Something did happen, but nothing to worry about."
"What kind of riddle is that? Or did you two fight? How many days' worth of injury did the other guy get?!"
My voice rose with excitement.
Arthur's eyes widened slightly in surprise before his expression smoothed out.
"Spencer cadet told me not to say, out of embarrassment."
"What the hell happened... Huh? Embarrassment?"
If they were trying to kill me by drying up my blood, it was a great choice.
Because right now, with Arthur refusing to spill, I was set to age and die waiting.
"Even thinking about it every way, it doesn't seem like something that can stay hidden. Spencer cadet was selected as the Incarnation of Aegis for this Autumn Thanksgiving Festival."
"Incarnation of Aegis......"
The words "Shirley" and "Incarnation of Aegis" clashed so hard I tilted my head, pondering for a moment.
"The Incarnation of Aegis—that's the one who dresses up and offers the sacred fire at the end of the festival, right?"
"Yes."
That's when I realized why Shirley sent Arthur Usher instead of coming herself.
The Incarnation of Aegis was a woman around twenty, chosen as the avatar of the creator god, who played a symbolic role closing out the Autumn Thanksgiving Festival.
The problem was that to undergo purification, she had to gradually cut out meat and grains, fasting completely on the final day.
"Locked away fasting, huh..."
"That's right."
"So, is Judith her attendant knight then?"
"You know it well."
Of course I did.
No matter whose bold decision it was to pick Shirley—the one who'd have to fast—as the Incarnation of Aegis, only Judith could endure her ferocity.
It was a formal event, an internal academy festival, so they wouldn't starve a noble's daughter to near death, but not being able to eat what she craved freely was thunderbolt from a clear sky for Shirley.
"There's no way Shirley volunteered, so why pick her of all people."
"Among the adult cadets, Spencer cadet was the top performer, I suppose."
That made sense probabilistically, but it still felt off.
I already had more than one or two issues to resolve.
"No more incidents are gonna happen, right...?"
"Worrying about things that haven't happened is a waste."
Arthur replied curtly.
For some reason, that curtness felt like his own form of consideration.
Plus, he'd be someone I'd see around from now on.
As the conversation lulled, Enoch returned from reporting to Makina with the news that I could be discharged.
"Oh, thanks for the gift."
"Just a byproduct of my hobby."
"I half-suspected, but you really copied it by hand? Cute taste you've got."
"......"
Ignoring my joke, Arthur said nothing more until we left the infirmary.
Watching Arthur's back as he left with Enoch after seeing me off, I overlapped it with the Arthur from a memory I'd seen once before.
'The Arthur Usher I saw in that dream looked older than he is now, for sure...'
The dream Arthur was, well, like a finished weapon.
Overwhelming or intimidating didn't quite capture it—like a perfectly tempered blade.
But more concerning than the grown Arthur was the hollow shadow cast over his face.
'That can't be allowed to happen.'
If that was an approaching misfortune, and I had a way to stop it, what should I do?
The darkness was already lurking close by.