Academy’s PTSD Chaplain

55 – 55th Grade Training (4)

“Ah, Anthonel, Fa… Father. There’s something… I want to ask of you…”

Hmm.

It’s cold. I’m hungry, restless.

“Here, this… To our mother….”

Torn paper. A letter. Stained with blood. A yellowed letter.

So, in there is a lump of flesh. Torn, with holes, oozing blood. Is that right?

“The address is written… at the bottom, so… please open it….”

Dirt. Sticky dirt. Unknown insects crawling on the skin, over the muddy pool.

“Please deliver it in my place….”

And, and…

The wind. The wind blows. Swiftly.

It was the wind coming from the edge of the cliff. It makes my pupils shake, and the feast of rats gradually loses its warmth due to the wind.

The wind blows. Carrying the scent of iron, from here to there. From there to here.

The wind blows. This time with the yellowed paper, from here to there. From there to further away.

Suddenly, my body trembles. It shakes. The wind blows again. And settles down.

“……”

“Ah…?”

Hatred accumulates. The person that someone killed was precious to someone else. This abnormal cycle is certainly flawed.

So, it’s sickening. I want to break this chain.

The sight turns red, blue, and eventually grey. I had to witness this.

Adding the golden hues to the reddening grey. It was a color born from my hands. Naturally, it is a useless venture.

“…I…”

Beep———.

A ringing sound reaches my ears. No, this is not ringing.

“…Ahhhhh—!!”

It was my scream.

And the wind blows again. Heavy, acrid, lukewarm wind…

When I opened my eyes, my entire body was drenched in cold sweat. I quietly sat up.

The air in the room was warm. Glancing over to the side of the bed, I noticed the window was open.

A tepid breeze of a midsummer night was seeping through the open window, accompanied by a faint light. The time was just past five in the morning.

The shortness of summer nights was to blame.

“…Ugh!”

Suddenly, a dry heave surged up, but…

“Phew….”

The nausea quickly subsided.

There was still some time before I had to head to the academy. To attempt sleep again, I lay back on the bed.

I closed my eyes, but sleep did not come. My exhausted body screamed in protest.

The damp sweat-soaked bed, the discomfort brought by the tropical night, the turmoil in my mind. The causes were scattered, but…

“…Damn it.”

Indeed, it was the brevity of summer nights.

* * * * *

Today was Friday, the day of theology class for first-year Class A. I blankly stared at the clock on the wall.

The clock’s hands pointed at 9 in the morning. There wasn’t much time left before the class started.

“Father-in-charge, you look a bit tired today.”

Sophia subdeacon looked at me with a worried expression. I just kept my chin propped up, staring blankly into space.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to engage in conversation with her or that I had any dissatisfaction. Right now, I just felt like being lost in a daze.

Once lost in a daze, I’d enter my own world. I’d feel isolated in that world, and the atmosphere would make me not want to take any action.

In life, there are times when that happens. For me, now was one of those times.

“Father-in-charge?”

“….”

“Oh, dear…?”

Sophia subdeacon tilted her head and came closer, shaking my hand and checking my complexion by scratching her cheek. I didn’t respond.

The contents of the dream from last night were blurry. Trying to recall them made me feel uneasy.

It had been like this for the past few years, but the atmosphere unique to early summer intensified the uncomfortable sense of ennui that enveloped my entire being.

Perhaps it was because the day of Professor Moritz’s appointment was approaching. Realizing the proximity of my body to the edge of illness brought about various discomforts and a sense of emptiness.

I refocused my blurred eyes. Suddenly, Sophia subdeacon’s face, which had come so close, filled my entire field of vision.

“Head Priest! Head Priest!”

Sophia Bujae raised both hands to her waist, pursing her lips, and expressing her anger with her entire body. I leaned back against the chair, responding weakly.

“I’m listening.”

“…You’re answering just now.”

As soon as her anger seemed to subside, her eyes drooped sadly. The intense lethargy brought about by the sweltering summer was not something only I felt.

“So, why did you call me?”

“It’s about the results from the previous meeting. I think we need to inform the students before starting today’s class.”

“Hmm…”

“It’ll only take a moment. Around one minute?”

“Understood.”

Nodding towards Sophia Bujae, I recalled the contents of the meeting two days ago.

The emergency meeting led by Principal Damian ended rather blandly.

As a result of discussions among the internal meeting convened by Principal Damian and several senior professors, it was decided this morning that the location for the inter-grade duel, which would take place a week later, would be revealed.

I casually flipped over the photo in my hand. It depicted a picturesque cityscape with beautiful blue seas and white buildings.

It was a photo of Bruteni, the representative port city of the Empire. Also, it was chosen as the final location for the inter-grade duel this time.

As I gazed at the view of the blue sea beyond the photo, I realized it had been quite a while since I last visited the beach.

“When was the last time I went…?”

I couldn’t recall. The only thing I was certain of was that I hadn’t been to the sea even once since the transmigration.

“Oh… Is this the place? The location for the inter-grade duel…”

Sophia Bujae exclaimed in admiration as she looked at the photo in my hand. I handed her the photo and nodded.

“Yes. It’s called Bruteni. It doesn’t seem too far.”

“Wow…”

Sophia Bujae’s eyes sparkled. Just like the view of the sea in the photo, her irises were filled with a deep shade of blue.

“I’ve never been to the sea!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Hehe… I’m really looking forward to it!”

– I’ve never been to the sea.

Suddenly, a breeze blew from somewhere. I found myself unintentionally turning my head.

The window in the professor’s office was slightly open. Since the air conditioner was on, I approached the window to close it.

A tiny gap in the window. The wind that slipped in through that crack, though warm…

So… After the war ends, I want to see it with my own eyes. The sea.

“……”

It felt like a faint saltiness was carried by the wind from the beach.

* * * * *

Elin gently stroked the hair of her friend who was sprawled out next to her. The soft pink hair smoothly followed her touch.

“Cloe, are you sleepy?”

Of course, Cloe was the owner of the hair. With her face resting on the desk, she answered Elin’s question with a groaning voice.

“Mmm…. A little.”

“It doesn’t seem like just a little. Weren’t you awake until late yesterday?”

“Sigh… I was reviewing last week’s lesson…”

Cloe, who had studied theory until dawn, let out a tired yawn and blinked her sleepy eyes.

Lately, Cloe’s focus had been entirely on the inter-grade competition.

It wasn’t merely because she wanted to show off her abilities. It wasn’t even because she wanted to impress someone.

Cloe’s interest in the inter-grade competition was solely because of the scholarship.

First-year students don’t take exams in the first semester. That was a fact, but it was different for students receiving scholarships.

To be considered for the Caldea Royal Academy scholarship, one had to be listed as an outstanding student, and the results of the inter-grade competition were included in the evaluation criteria.

Not only that, but the outstanding students who were chosen through this process could receive recommendation letters from the professors they desired. This was a significant benefit.

Even though the inter-grade competition didn’t affect exam grades, the reason other first-year students were genuinely committed to the competition was this. The students in Elin’s Class A were even more enthusiastic.

There were students who merely desired the scholarship and students who wanted the professor’s recommendation letters. The students who wanted to achieve good results in the inter-grade competition were plentiful.

Cloe belonged to the group that desired the scholarship. As a student from a noble family with modest circumstances like hers, she had to produce good results in order to maintain the scholarship.

“If I can’t make it to the top…”

If that happens, she would have to balance her studies and work.

If she had to juggle academics and work, it was only natural that her academic achievements would suffer, and it would be difficult to expect good results in the next year’s inter-grade competition.

“Ugh… How are things going for you, Elin?”

“Well… I’m not sure either.”

Elin was silently reading a magic book. Cloe secretly envied her.

Unlike Elin, who had talent in elemental magic, Cloe didn’t have any subjects she found particularly interesting. While she had a vague talent for magic, her specific talents hadn’t blossomed yet.

Naturally, she hadn’t decided on a specialized department that she would be divided into in her second year.

First-year students were taught basic knowledge of all magic departments, so they were simply referred to as the magic department. However, if they were to enter their second year, Cloe would also have to make a choice.

“27 minutes!”

At that moment, the voice of a student echoed throughout the classroom. The first-year students of Class A turned mechanically, breaking the slight commotion.

Those who were sleeping rose from their seats, and those who were reviewing other subjects quickly stashed their books away. Professor Antonelli disliked students studying other subjects during his class.

Claudia’s eyes, shining brightly, turned towards the clock on one side of the classroom.

Despite being tired from the grade-level training preparations, it was only twice a week that they had Professor Antonelli’s theology class. Skipping it was unthinkable.

“What kind of class will he teach today…”

Claudia’s anxious voice dried up. The same was true for other students.

And so, as the minute hand of the clock approached 28 minutes, then 29 minutes…

Tick-tock—!

The students staring at the clock froze. The sound that should not be heard now reached their ears.

Thud, thud.

On the platform, Professor Antonelli, usually gruff, was stepping forward. Perhaps because it was summer, he wore a short-sleeved shirt instead of his usual stuffy cassock.

“Hello, everyone.”

Professor Antonelli’s voice echoed in the classroom. Following behind him, Sophia Bujé climbed onto the platform briskly.

“I came a little earlier than usual because there’s something I need to announce before the class starts.”

A sense of relief spread across the faces of the students who had been looking at him with expressions that seemed to say, ‘What did he eat wrong?’

It was the first time Professor Antonelli had come into the class at a time other than the usual 9:30 am class start time, hence the unexpected reactions.

“Sophia Bujé will give you the announcement. Sophia Bujé.”

As Professor Antonelli stepped back from the lectern, Sophia Bujé headed towards it with confident steps. Soon, her lively voice burst forth.

“The location for this year’s annual grade-level training at the Chaldea Royal Academy has finally been decided!”

Behind Sophia Bujé, Professor Antonelli began writing something on the blackboard. The students’ eyes watching it gradually widened.

“Brittany?”

What was written large on the blackboard was a name the students had not anticipated.

“This year’s grade-level training will take place not at the academy but at the branch in Brittany! You all know why, right? Hehe…”

Sophia Bujé laughed cheerfully. The students, who had never doubted it would take place at the academy’s training grounds, stared at her with bewildered expressions.

In the meantime, Sophia Bujé moved away from the lectern, and Professor Antonelli approached.

“I assume you are all aware of the announcement. If you have any questions, check the academy bulletin board for details.”

“….”

Snap!

Suddenly, Professor Antonelli snapped his fingers. The attention of the students, who had been looking elsewhere, turned towards Professor Antonelli.

“Since it’s time, let’s start the class now.”

The students’ gazes were fixed on the clock.

Surprisingly, the clock hands were pointing exactly at 9:30.

It was the start of the usual theology class.