ALL NOVEL chapter 23
23 – Arson for One (Complete) ☆
Once again, he woke up in the middle of the night.
Senite disliked this time before dawn. Suddenly, the words of Ivan Dikio, of an unknown identity, came to mind. The academy taught everything, but it had not provided any knowledge about s*xuality. Like many clergy, she had long believed in the tale that a stork brought babies.
“The stork is a migratory bird, right?”
As puberty approached, she found it strange that children born in seasons without storks were odd. Only later did she realize that the stork was a mere metaphor and not a fact. Senite’s knowledge of s*xuality was based on such logical reasoning. The idea of a child being born between the legs was something unimaginable for a saint.
“He mentioned the lower mouth.”
During the sleepless hours, Senite recalled Ivan Dikio’s excited words.
“What’s the lower mouth?”
At first, no matter how much she pondered, she couldn’t understand. It took her several days to think that the crack between her legs resembled lips. According to what she heard in the gym storage room that day, someone might use it instead of their mouth. Why, how, and in what way would someone do that? Asking repeatedly only deepened the mystery.
“Some devotees find eating difficult when their throats hurt.”
Could those with sore throats eat through the lower mouth? If so, there should be teeth inside, but she didn’t have any in her body. As she grew older, they might grow. Maybe she was just peculiar.
“Without lower teeth, can I only eat things like porridge or stew?”
She wanted to ask someone, but it seemed inappropriate. Pondering seriously about bodily functions felt foolish and indecent. Senite once again fell into the shackles of self-blame and kneeled in prayer before the altar. She didn’t know when her curiosity would be answered.
“Please, eliminate all this hatred, confusion, and foolishness.”
Now, she prayed aloud.
“Help me stop hating him. Grant me the compassion and courage to forgive the unworthy.”
As she prayed until exhaustion, sweat covered her entire body. Not enough to require a wash, she wiped her body with a towel. She loosened the tight chest bandage, causing congestion in her breasts. It was uncomfortably lighter with the weight loss, but it felt awkwardly cumbersome.
“It’s uncomfortable.”
Before sleep, she wore specially crafted bras and panties for the saints. Next, she put on a waist nipper and a petticoat. Finally, she dressed in a chemise-like dress. With this, the ritualistic process was like a conscious act, strictly adhering to the sequence for Senite.
“Will we go for a walk again tomorrow?”
Thinking briefly about Temulic Stained, she apologized silently to her dear friend.
“I’m sorry, Genoa.”
Next time, they must walk together. Closing her eyes and promising that, she felt warmth above her pitch-black sight. To prevent Ivan Dikio from appearing in her dreams, she covered herself with a blanket from head to toe and slept.
“What’s that noise?”
Finally, after falling into a light sleep, the outside was too noisy, waking her up. Drawing the curtain, it was unusually bright. The continuous buzzing noise reached her, and Senite grabbed the iron bars.
“What’s happening there?”
“It feels like everything is going to burn down completely!”
─It’s burning.
Sennit opened the door, but even then, the current situation was incomprehensible; he could only stare. It felt like a sinister, nightmarish tableau. Why, how, by what means – those thoughts crossed his mind, but the words that escaped his lips were nothing more than an exclamation.
“Ah…”
─Forgive your lifeless lamb, O Virgin Mary.
She approached the railing, gripping the iron bars, and heard the sweet cries of the nightmare. The menace should have disappeared long ago. The wicked creature, now deep within her, stirred up doubts in the saint’s faith by repeatedly echoing words of hatred and lust.
─Disappear.
“I am… an insufficient person… Please, have mercy on this wretched heart.”
Her grip on the iron bars tightened. Sennit watched until the gymnasium burned to its last point. As everything vanished, it felt like he might collapse. Dragging his heavy body into the room, he finally realized he was lamenting sorrowfully.
[#23 – Saint]
Once the judgment was made, execution was simple.
Kennis woke up early in the morning, gathered the prepared items in front of the gymnasium, and set fire to them. After igniting the New Year’s decorations and throwing them between the wooden walls, flames quickly rose. After pouring two cans of hardening oil, he left the place. Under the Platanus tree, where he had been waiting for the saint, he had been watching to make sure the fire did not spread elsewhere.
“45 minutes.”
It took only that much time until the whole place burned down. Why couldn’t everyone do such an easy task? If he were in the military, how would things be different? Probably, it wouldn’t have been done. There was little gain, and recovery was difficult.
─But for a mere instructor, it’s possible.
Considering the gains and losses, he thought it would be fine to burn it down. There was enough money, and what difference would burning down one gymnasium make? Now he had to make the saint, burdened with her unique guilt, attend school. That’s how the purpose of this arson would be achieved. Class C-8 needed a focal point. She, the morally upright presence in the class, had to return.
“Lieutenant… No, Instructor Stand.”
As soon as morning came, he went to the headmaster’s office and confessed that the fire yesterday was real and his responsibility. Both the morning assembly and classes were canceled. Halon scolded him with a more respectful address than before, acknowledging his responsibility.
“Even if it’s a true story, the gymnasium burned down.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Words won’t solve the problem; explain the circumstances.”
Kennis spoke as he had prepared. After the morning run was over, he lit the New Year’s decorations, and passing by the gymnasium on the way back, he thoughtlessly set it on fire. Realizing he hadn’t checked for embers, he returned. Since it had already burned down, he came straight to the headmaster to confess.
“That’s all.”
“Are you sure about what you did?”
When he readily confessed, Halon told him to wait outside, and he called Ochiaa, who had just arrived.
“All right, how will you take responsibility?”
“I’ll pay for all the expenses to restore the gymnasium.”
“The cost won’t be small. Are you suggesting we withhold your salary?”
─I’ll have to borrow the money that Raven entrusted.
Anyway, there are many ways to earn money. When the vacation comes, he can write to Seraph and participate in the purification work in the Erosion Zone. Since he’s classified as an S-rank, he can act as a rear commander in a place where special abilities are not used.
“I have accumulated some wealth.”
“I’ll try to handle it with as minimal cost as possible.”
Since the facilities used by the students have disappeared, there’s no way to avoid disciplinary action. It will be a six-month salary deduction, but the dean dragged his words a bit, saying it’s a formal reprimand, so understand. Although Kenneth knew what was in Hailon’s mind, he pretended not to know and replied.
“I’ll personally take care of the construction.”
“What about the workers?”
“I’ll find a solution.”
“Perhaps seeking assistance from the Western Administrator would be helpful?”
─He probably hoped for this from the beginning.
“We probably don’t need a design engineer for rebuilding the warehouse.”
“The academic side won’t bear the cost. It’s probably better to build it better than before.”
If you can’t understand this subtle pressure, it means refusing the intention to compromise.
“I’ll handle it separately with the Colonel.”
“There’s an event coming up, would you inquire about that too?”
Gradually getting more ambitious, if it were Warren, he would willingly do it. Even if he couldn’t come himself, he would send a subordinate to brighten up the event. Later, it would be something to be compensated for. I wonder if the flowers meant for Bissalle were delivered properly.
“I’ll ask.”
“It’s good that we can communicate.”
Hailon, now suggesting to cut ties at the beginning of the year, made a light joke. Since this implied ending everything at this level, Kenneth also followed suit.
“Kasen is in charge of physical education, meet her separately to apologize.”
“I’ll do that.”
“We’ll replace all the equipment with new ones, so if you ask, you can ease any resentment.”
─This also implies privately claiming compensation.
Anyway, since it’s a fact that he caused the accident, there’s no room for complaints. Upon opening the door and coming out, Ochia was sitting against the wall, surprised, she jumped to her feet. Her eyes were filled with anxiety and curiosity.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have supplementary classes, so the lessons will be longer than usual.”
Her jaw dropped, and her tongue curled in surprise.
“Expect at least a C grade in pronunciation, but I hope for an A grade in grammar.”
“Yes…!”
She grinned, saying she would show her skills, but Kenneth wasn’t particularly impressed with this young student. Honestly speaking, he preferred a woman like Senite over a domineering woman like Ochia. To him, love was something conflicting with work, and a quiet woman who didn’t cause problems was an ideal type.
─I should check on Kasen.
He had to shell out some money under the pretext of an apology. The instructors in Lailand are corrupt. Let’s go to the bank; the clerk from the previous incident recognized him. When he asked to withdraw 200 gold coins, they asked him to wait for an hour. As he sat silently on the waiting bench, a man who introduced himself as the division head approached.
“Hello there.”
“It’s becoming a bother.”
When asked about the matter, he mocked her, asking if she knew about the gym storage that burned down in a fire yesterday. Since he was the arsonist himself, he quietly nodded his head. Then he brought out a pamphlet and kept persuading her to get fire insurance.
The Lada family also sells maritime insurance, so Kanis knows a bit about this area. Knowing his stubborn brother’s temper, he decided to devote himself to the military early on in order to maintain the brotherly love. With Louis gone now, he needed to study various insurance products, even for Beaure’s sake, the only remaining blood relative.
“I would like to hear more details.”
After listening to the explanation for just one hour, a female employee came and handed over two silver coins that had been withdrawn.
“I will seriously consider it, so could you please explain it to me again next time?”
When he told the branch manager, he bid farewell with a warm smile. Since the customer had even deposited 200 silver coins, it was probably an order from headquarters. Based on what Kanis had heard so far, he tried to grasp the characteristics of the insurance products sold at this bank. There was a definite demand from customers, so it would be good to refer to it from a family perspective.
“I’ll probably be exposed if I send a letter.”
It was premature since Beaure hadn’t yet succeeded to the family. Kanis dismissed the foolish sentiment and went to meet Carsen.
“No, look at this!”
As soon as they met, he handed over a silver coin. He didn’t say much. He said he planned to use it for restoration and, if there were any necessary supplies, he would buy them now.
“If you think you can solve it with this little money, you’re mistaken!”
“I plan to use both coins for restoration.”
200 silver coins were a significant amount of money. Carsen swallowed hard and said,
“I understand it as a request for help in the construction.”
“I would appreciate it if you could also help with hiring labor.”
In addition, the servants were asking for good supplies so that they wouldn’t have a hard time with this incident.
“I’ll send you an invoice for the materials that were needed.”
The immediate problem was solved with this. Now it was time. Kanis headed towards the ruins where the fire had consumed everything. As he silently waited for Sennit, the bell rang to signal two o’clock. At the same time, a door in a distant dormitory opened abruptly. Saintly came running with a cell door in hand, panting, and shouted,
“Is it true?”
For the sake of this young woman who sacrificed herself for everyone, Kanis willingly betrayed.
“I swear to the Virgin Mary that it’s true.”
The saintly one believed in the arson, but she didn’t dare voice any doubt. She just bit her lips several times before sticking the cell door forcefully into the charcoal pit. She seemed like she wanted to cry but also wanted to laugh as she declared,
“I’ll help with the restoration here…so please don’t do it alone, Temulic.”
Otherwise, she said he would not be able to sleep at night due to an inexplicable sense of guilt. From now on, they decided to build the warehouse together instead of taking walks.