Academy Saintess of My Chūni Writing Days

1.
When I first heard that a cathedral would be built in my name, I thought to myself, “What nonsense is that?” But now that I think about it, it’s fortunate that it’s just one cathedral.

Well, perhaps something resembling a scripture named after me might come out later, but since that won’t happen while I’m alive, I’ll just forget about it for now.

The cathedral being built in the Elven District, where Arlil was located, bears my name; fortunately, I won’t have to manage it directly. My name is just there for commemorative purposes—more like the unwanted bribe it resembles—while the person managing the cathedral here was a priest appointed by the Church.

Although my influence played some role in the appointment, who else but that person would take charge of the cathedral in the Elven District? It’s a cathedral being built on the site of the tree they worshiped. There was bound to be some resistance, and the only beings capable of controlling that were the Elves. They had maintained their way of life stubbornly separated from humans for the past 500 years. No matter how much someone outside the area tries to learn their culture through words and theories, it would be impossible to fully understand them.

The cathedral I visited had just started laying its foundations.

“It’s going to take several years to complete it,” I muttered.

“Yes, but there won’t be any delays. The Central Church is putting a lot of effort into it,” Remir answered gleefully. She would be the head priest of the Elven District cathedral.

With Arlil having burned down, the Elves found it essential to interact with humans to receive holy power. Perhaps, unlike before, a part of the Elven District’s forest might be pushed back and developed. Once humans start living alongside them, even a grand cathedral won’t be enough to accommodate the facilities necessary.

As several subordinate cathedrals spring up in the area and the Church stabilizes its influence, Remir could very well become a cardinal in several decades.

Of course, her smile didn’t seem to stem from an insatiable thirst for power. Since I visited the region, she had been gazing at me with sparkling eyes. So that smile… resembled the beaming smiles that devout followers make when they see their goddess.

“…Is that so?”

I replied with a slight part of my lips. Although the building itself had just started being built, judging by the size of the foundation, it surely wouldn’t be short in height.

Not long ago, the Central Church gathered and armed elite knights to send them to the battlefield. They had essentially transferred existing troops, while newly recruited soldiers were not significantly different from usual, but that doesn’t mean the price of plate armor and swords made by artisans dropped. Sure, buying in bulk might bring prices down slightly… still, considering the “usual spending,” the military expenditures had spiked dramatically over the past few months.

Fortunately, I heard that with me, ‘Clara Anderson,’ walking around as a living billboard, a good amount of donations were collected… but since the Church is also responsible for the overall welfare of society, distributing the additional funds that came in that direction to raise money for building another cathedral would be quite a stretch.

Of course, due to the name value of ‘Saint Clara Cathedral,’ the Church had no choice but to devote great energy toward this cathedral. That’s how I can confidently say that this cathedral will be built without delay even amidst tight budgets.

…Wouldn’t it be better if it were just a little smaller?

After all, I didn’t expect the Elves to fill the cathedral the moment its doors opened. Even the cathedral in the 21st District had sparse seats until my existence became known. Would residents of this region, the Elves, at least fill that much space?

“There might be pilgrims coming here,” Remir kindly explained as if she were peering into my thoughts.

“The Elven District’s exclusivity is still strong, but in order to survive, they have no choice but to engage with the outside world continuously. Even if pilgrims come from outside now, they shouldn’t just block them outright.”

It’s said that the Elves hardly used the currency of the central government. It makes sense; before Arlil burned down, they could live comfortably with the resources from Arlil itself.

There was no pressing reason for the Elves to get accustomed to human currency at this moment. They were still able to thrive on fruits and vegetables from the forest, and in their communities, the currency issued by the central government was hardly used.

However, in order to trade with the outside, currency was indispensable.

While it could be okay with localized trading, connecting with people means that each individual Elf would need to learn that system. The Church operates for society’s sake, but there are limits to how much the Church can manage. Naturally, when the free clinic built by the Central Church is full, people would need to turn to privately-run clinics, and those running those clinics would want money, not fruits or vegetables.

…Just by thinking about it, it’s going to be an immensely challenging journey.

Seeing my expression as if I was about to sigh, Remir chuckled lightly, but honestly, it didn’t quite match her character. The Remir I knew was someone who would jump onto a desk and dance to stop someone from talking.

Are Elves trying to be all composed with each other?

“…”

Indeed, since we were walking, their gazes were drawn to us. It wasn’t intentional on my part, but more accurately, I hadn’t done anything; however, I couldn’t help but draw their gaze, being the one who caused the tree they worshipped to burn down.

Of course, I didn’t see anyone attacking or openly disparaging me. No matter how secluded the region, they probably knew how the final battle with the demons went down.

“Where are the elders?”

Are they trying to become priests too? That would be tough, wouldn’t it?

I had various stories about how they had treated me through Aurora. Even if they wanted to become priests, it would be difficult without my permission.

And I didn’t particularly want to grant them that permission either.

“If you wish to meet them, I can guide you there,” Remir said.

Thinking about it, the only person who came out to greet me was Remir. No one from the Elven Village had sent any envoy for me.

Did they think one Remir would suffice?

“Then shall we go take a look?”

“Clara.”

At my words, Aurora, who had been quietly following behind, called out to me.

“Is that okay?”

“What, is anything wrong?”

I didn’t think the elders ignored me by not sending anyone. They might just be too scared to meet me if they wanted to avoid me.

The Elves had been continuously denying the gods until now. And they had only devoted themselves to the tree they believed to be a god, Arlil.

Yet, now it was revealed that one of those gods was indeed me, so their fear is understandable. Especially since they had openly ignored me and even made jabs at my figure.

Yes, I still remember.

Now that it’s come to this, should I just scare them a bit and go see them?

When I puffed out some air, Aurora and Linea looked slightly worried. Remir just smiled softly.

2.
The building used by the elders was a temporary one from when the village was destroyed once. Instead of a mystical tree that was carved out, it looked more like a wooden house built by humans. It wasn’t so shabby that it was embarrassing, but honestly, it felt somewhat lacking for a place where the representatives of a region would reside.

The representatives of the beastmen lived in the pinnacle of skyscrapers, and the gnomes had made their region’s representative building large according to their standards. Honestly, if you peel off the fantasy veneer from the Elven District, it was just an undeveloped village in the woods.

Without the presence of Arlil, who used to shower holy power from that high place, it looked even feebler. It was no longer even a fantasy, merely a village in the woods now.

Until the moment Remir opened the door, I was a little excited about what kind of expressions the elder Elves would have when they saw me. I had planned to ridicule and tease them no matter what kind of expression they made—but—

The being that came into my view was somewhat different from what I had expected.

“Oh, Clara.”

“Ramihi?”

Ramihi, who was sweeping the insides with a broom, looked at me and greeted me cheerfully.

Ah, right. Since it’s vacation at the Academy, it wouldn’t be surprising for Ramihi to come back.

“It’s been a while.”

As I approached Ramihi and said that, he nodded his head.

“Indeed, I haven’t seen you since you left for the final battle against the demons.”

Thinking back on it, it really had been a while. We used to meet almost every day as part of the duel club, so it felt even longer.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t go to the final battle.”

Ramihi said with a sincerely regretful expression.

The participants in the final battle were mainly humans. Even the Elves, who were openly weak to mana, and all other races that had escaped to this world were generally susceptible to demon mana. While they might have been able to endure longer than the Elves who would fall over immediately, it was still better to stay outside rather than have a participant fall in battle.

“I couldn’t help it. Don’t worry about it.”

“But Selena and Erica volunteered to go…”

Ah, right.

Those two were outside the mana rain, so they weren’t affected. Perhaps if Ramihi had been outside, he might have been able to assist.

“No, um…”

I hesitated for a moment, rolling my eyes. The interior of the building seemed a bit more complicated than when I had last been there. Unidentified boxes were piled here and there, and books were stacked too. Some encyclopedias stood out.

And in one corner, a blackboard was set up… Ah.

“Are you perhaps planning to use this place as a school?”

“Yes.”

Ramihi nodded in response to my question.

“From now on, we have to live while interacting with people from other regions. We need to educate not only the children but also the adults about the outside world. That will be safer for everyone.”

Elves could be deceived by swindlers, and on the other hand, Elves who don’t understand humans from the outside could also commit rudeness. I knew this from firsthand experience. Well, the elders from back then seemed to do it on purpose, though.

“And this is currently the biggest building in the village. This is the best place to gather people.”

The voice speaking next came from a different side.

“Satsuki!”

As I was being glad to see her, Satsuki, who was coming down from upstairs holding a few books, smiled at me.

“I’m helping my father. After all, there aren’t many elves who have lived outside and have relationships with humans.”

Indeed, since Satsuki probably had spent more time living with humans than with Elves, she would know more about the society outside than Ramihi.

“Thanks to that, it seems like we can only have classes during our vacation…”

“Did you have class today?”

To be honest, I was a bit curious about how the Elves would conduct classes.

Most Elves were smart enough to master their notoriously difficult language, but that didn’t mean they could easily absorb all the human curriculum in an instant—

—Or maybe they would catch up quicker than I thought, recalling Rene, who absorbed information effortlessly under Selena’s teachings.

…They might catch up surprisingly fast.

“Oh, by the way.”

I had come here to meet the elders. I was also a bit curious about the Elves’ education methods, but for now, I needed to finish what I had come to do.

“Where are the elders?”

“They’re upstairs.”

Satsuki said with a slightly displeased expression. Considering she was holding several books when she came down, she might have shown the Elven elders some human textbooks.

“Those people, it feels like they won’t ever change,”

“Even if they seem like that, they’ve loosened up a lot compared to before,”

Ramihi replied to Satsuki’s grumbling. From his expression, it seemed he was merely stating facts.

Is that so?

Thinking back to the way Krah had looked at me the last time might suggest otherwise—his face was completely terrified.

“Then shall we head upstairs?”

I said to my companions following me. I intentionally held Remir back from leading and went to the front instead.

We began carefully climbing the stairs to the second floor. Through the poorly soundproofed door, I could hear murmured conversations.

“No matter what… why would we need to require human knowledge…”

“…For our survival… how can we still say such things…”

As the voices gradually became clearer, I momentarily halted. When I tried to listen closely, suddenly the conversation inside abruptly stopped.

“…”

Well, their hearing is sharp.

I decided to abandon my attempt to eavesdrop on the Elves and boldly strode up the stairs, flinging open the door.

“The conversation just now was— Whoah!”

Krah, who turned toward me with cold eyes, took a deep breath upon making eye contact.

“Hello, I hope you’ve been well? It’s been difficult to see your face, so I came to visit personally.”

I spoke freely, a tone I wouldn’t normally use. As Krah’s expression gradually turned more pale with each word I said, it was starting to feel more like he was turning into a ghost than anything.

In a sense, you could say we had a somewhat open relationship, although it was mostly me unilaterally maintaining that openness.

“What kind of conversation were you enjoying so much? Did I become a bother?”

“No, not at all! The goddess’s visit could never be a bother to us!”

Hearing Krah’s words, the young elder sitting in the corner grimaced, but I paid him no mind. He had been grimacing since I entered. It was probably extremely unpleasant for him to be with someone like me in the same space. He had just faced his daughter immediately before, too.

“Well? May I join the discussion for a moment?”

I casually asked, dragging a chair over and sitting down. Krah’s expression turned even more ghastly. In fact, when I noticed the two saintesses standing firmly behind me, it didn’t really seem to suit the notion of him turning blue either.

“What were you discussing so cheerfully?”

“What we could do to better communicate with humans!”

Krah quickly responded as soon as I asked.

A few elders sitting nearby inhaled, but at Krah’s fierce glare, they all shut up.

“We were discussing whether we should invite teachers from the neighboring region. With only one or two students during the vacation period, it may not be enough for them to learn,”

Satsuki’s father had said that to me.

That was certainly, a reasonable concern.

Even if Elves could absorb knowledge quickly, if the learning period was short and irregular, it wouldn’t be easy to retain proper understanding.

“Then, the Church should send teachers,”

I replied simply.

“Anyway, you’ll need to dispatch clergy here. The Saint Ariel Cathedral has already been established even though we are building a new one. So when clergy are sent soon, I’ll ensure those qualified as teachers are selected too.”

I stated this and glanced up at Remir.

“Understood. I’ll make that request to the Central Church,”

Remir responded very politely, bowing her head.

“Is that alright?”

I asked Krah.

“Yes, that’s perfectly fine! Thank you greatly for your generosity, goddess!”

He shouted as if he had been burned.

Now the expressions of the elders were close to sheer horror.

“Alright. I’ll also inform the Church about this. Since this is a region with my name attached to it, I’ll gladly lend my strength.”

I stated this and stole a glance at the young elder, Kihmuhir, sitting in the corner. His expression had deteriorated to the point where it seemed mushrooms might sprout from it. Oops, that’s scary.

“Thank you for the delightful conversation. Well then.”

I concluded the conversation and slid the chair back to leave the second floor immediately.

I could hear someone mumbling loudly on the other side of the closed door, but I didn’t care.

If you’re upset, then maybe you should have acted normally from the start.

When I came downstairs with a refreshed expression, Satsuki was there, as if she were about to burst out laughing. It seemed she had a rough idea of what just went down.

“Are you planning to head back right away?”

Satsuki asked me.

“Hmm…”

That was the plan. After all, staying here wouldn’t exactly lead to pleasant experiences.

But with friends around, it wouldn’t be so bad to just chat away and leave leisurely tomorrow.

“I just spoke with Ramihi, how about you join tomorrow’s class and tell the children about the Church?”

“Yes?”

“Tomorrow is the day when only the children have classes. While adults might be one thing, kids are sure to be more curious than malicious.”

“Hmm…”

I hesitated for a moment while turning back, making eye contact with Remir who was watching me.

With a smile, Remir nodded her head.

…Well, there’s no harm in it.

“Alright, I’ll give it a try. I might not be able to complete the entire lesson, though.”

“Thank you! It’s sure to be a big help!”

Satsuki jumped up in excitement.

And the next day—

Yes, the children didn’t harbor any malice against me.

And it was also true they were brimming with curiosity.

Pure children tend to focus on the curiosity they can see first.

The kids bombarded me with questions about the biggest and the second biggest physical differences between myself and the Elves.

Satsuki turned beet red and constantly apologized to me, while Ramihi tried hard to explain with all the knowledge he had.

Standing there dazed amidst the chaos, I vowed never to attempt teaching kids again.

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