Chapter 103

The black vehicle stopped at the Caldera Imperial Academy.

Grace Kirk Coverain stepped out of the vehicle. Her attendant was waiting outside with an umbrella, allowing her to avoid getting soaked by the rain.

– Sshhhhh—!

The rain fell. It poured down incessantly, as if a hole had opened in the sky.

Amid the pouring rain, Chief Curbin, who had been loosening her stiff body, moved. Two agents chosen as her attendants followed behind her.

“Are you still in the dormitory?”

“Yes. You haven’t come out of the dormitory for a while.”

“Hmm….”

This is not good. Chief Curbin bit her lip unconsciously as she thought that.

She didn’t know how great the shock had been. And not knowing the other party’s intentions is frightening as it makes it difficult to predict how they will act. It was a fear that came from the unknown.

If only she had known.

If that were the case, would it have been easier? It was unknowable. She couldn’t know, but….

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. I will accompany you.”

In the end, there was no choice but to meet. Chief Curbin walked toward the staff dormitory without hesitation.

– Sshhhhh—!

Hearing the sound of rain hitting the ground, she moved forward. The muggy summer air, intertwined with the damp and humid rainy season, was reaching its worst.

It felt like an ominous sign. Chief Curbin murmured.

“Just once… the rain…”

It’s pouring down way too much.

* * * * *

– The important thing is the illusion that allows you to forget the piercing pain.

– Illusion?

It was a story shared by Professor Antorelli some time ago. Sofia Sub-priest closed her eyes to recall it.

– Yes. It is an illusion. It may vary, but to heal invisible wounds, the power of illusion is necessary.

– Are you referring to Professor Esther’s magic, the power of illusion?

– That is also the power of illusion, but… what I am trying to say is a slightly different kind of illusion.

Sofia Sub-priest had not understood those words back then. But now….

– An illusion that allows you to forget. The delusion that you can be forgiven, and falling into that delusion, becoming detached from reality…. An illusion close to a fantasy. Nothing else can soothe the pain stemming from wounds of the heart like this illusion.

Now, she felt like she might have a vague understanding.

Sofia Sub-priest opened her eyes. In front of her, there was still just an empty chair sitting alone.

“Head Priest….”

It had already been a week since Professor Antorelli had locked himself in the dormitory.

In that time, Sofia Sub-priest had to come into the professor’s office alone to handle the drastically reduced workload. She brushed her hand over the desk that Professor Antorelli had always used.

The professor’s office, which had previously been somewhat lively, now felt strange as it was engulfed in silence. While the one who is there does not know, the one who is not there knows; for Sofia Sub-priest, who always began her day sharing morning greetings with Professor Antorelli, the emptiness felt particularly large.

On that day, the day the explosion was heard from the Academy’s main building, Sofia Sub-priest had sheltered in the auditorium and had not been able to see Professor Antorelli.

Even when she tried to visit the dormitory, there was no response, and even after waiting for hours, he did not come out. He did not attend the Sunday service, and ultimately, the Academy’s Main Chapel was briefly put under the care of Sofia Sub-priest.

She went to the professor’s office alone, quickly processing the significantly reduced workload since there were no classes, and idly watched the rain fall in the courtyard….

The busiest time was when she received the planning documents for the Occult Research Club’s activities. Other than that, there was nothing.

She did have lunch alone with Professor Esther, but that had become rare lately. Professor Esther had increasingly been skipping lunch.

– The illusion that allows you to forget. That is what’s important.

Again, that memory. The words of Professor Antorelli, spoken with sad eyes, quietly echoed in her mind.

– However, this illusion must be handled with caution. If not, you might end up bearing the pain that originates from that illusion fully.

– Pain that originates from the illusion?

– The illusion that I want to forget actually ends up gnawing at myself. If I resolve not to think of something, it tends to resurface in my mind. Falling into the illusion leads to an inability to distinguish reality, and ultimately, you end up having to endure even greater pain in accepting reality. The pain stemming from that illusion is an extra burden.

It was a difficult statement. It felt profound for Sofia Sub-priest, and since she had no way of knowing that pain, it could only feel difficult.

– To put it simply…. Do you know about the phenomenon of phantom pain?

Sofia Sub-priest still did not understand the follow-up story.

* * * * *

Another day came to an end.

So, all the classes that had taken place at the Academy today were over. The students began to return to the dormitory, while some stayed in the study room or left for club activities.

Sofia Sub-priest, who had been blankly watching the students saying goodbye and waving at each other, slowly rose to her feet. In her hand was the key to lock the professor’s office.

The key that Professor Antorelli had always managed.

Recalling this fact, as she was about to lock the professor’s office door, Sofia Sub-priest hesitated for a moment. Taking a trembling deep breath, her hand slowly turned away after a few seconds.

“Ha….”

The days that had seemed so hard before now felt unexpectedly nostalgic. Sofia Sub-priest’s gloomy footsteps wandered through the corridor.

With some students who had been taking classes in the main building now attending classes in the annex, the hallways of the main building, which she usually frequented, had become almost devoid of passersby. Sofia Sub-priest felt a sense of solitude from that.

– Sshhhhh—!

The rain fell heavily. It felt as if it had been pouring all day, yet the sky still seemed insatiable as it poured down even more.

Opening her umbrella and stepping outside, Sofia Sub-priest headed towards the Academy’s Main Chapel, avoiding the puddles where raindrops were creating waves.

Normally, she would have gone straight to the staff dormitory to rest after work, but nowadays, with so many thoughts, even if she returned to the dormitory, she would just end up dazed, making her wonder what the point of leaving work early was.

She hadn’t realized it before, but in a place where people live, dust easily accumulates when footsteps are scarce. There is no warmth from human presence.

Dust accumulating is also true for the Head Priest’s office. Her steps toward the chapel felt heavy as she went to clean it.

‘When will he return…?’

The darkening rainy sky felt unsettling. It reminded her of an unfavorable future. To avoid the feeling of misfortune contained in the raindrops, Sofia Sub-priest quickened her pace toward the chapel.

And then it happened.

“Are you still in the dormitory?”

“Yes. You haven’t come out of the dormitory for a while.”

“Hmm….”

On the way to the Main Chapel, that is, in front of the Academy’s main building courtyard.

Witnessing a woman with a familiar face stepping out of the black vehicle that had stopped there.

Sofia Sub-priest looked at her face. Certainly, it was someone she remembered having seen before….

“…Ah.”

And then it clicked.

The day the bomb had exploded in the main building, the woman who had entered with Professor Antorelli. The one who had turned Sofia Sub-priest and Chloe away to the auditorium, saying it was too dangerous to continue going with them.

Sofia Sub-priest barely knew anything about her. Aside from being called Chief Curbin, they had never exchanged words.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. I will accompany you.”

But for some reason.

Sofia Sub-priest found herself, before she knew it, following Chief Curbin.

Chief Curbin’s footsteps headed precisely in the direction of the staff dormitory. Sofia Sub-priest moved her steps to follow her.

Her heart raced. Her head felt dizzy. She knew this was not right, yet her instincts were shouting at her to follow that woman.

“…There.”

And the Chief Curbin, who was moving ahead with slight creaks, was not someone to be taken lightly. It meant she wasn’t so incompetent as to be unaware of the following presence.

“Who are you? Why are you following me?”

Sofia Sub-priest lifted her head. The woman in the black suit holding an umbrella and Chief Curbin looked at her with suspicious eyes.

“Ah, uh…. Um….”

“…Wait a moment.”

Chief Curbin’s expression became enigmatic. Her brows knitted together, and for a moment, she appeared lost in thought, her lips twitching.

“Have we met before?”

“…Pardon?”

“Hmm…. Ah. You are the Sub-Priest who was with Professor Antorelli, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Chief Curbin’s expression deepened. Standing before her as she was lost in thought, Sofia Sub-priest fidgeted like a child caught doing something wrong, glancing nervously at Chief Curbin.

How long had it been? Chief Curbin finally broke the silence.

“Then, let’s go together.”

“…Huh?”

“I was going to see Professor Antorelli, and having you join me would make it easier.”

Sofia Sub-priest, who had been standing blankly for a moment, then beamed with a smile, like a wagging puppy, nodding her head repeatedly.

“Y-yes, yes! I’ll go with you! Please! Absolutely!”

“…Your reaction is more intense than I expected. Well then…. Let’s go.”

In the pouring rain, the three of them began to make their way toward the staff dormitory.

And Sofia Sub-priest suddenly recalled.

– I hope others do not know my pain as much as possible.

– Why would you say that? They say pain diminishes the more it’s shared, don’t they?

– Sofia Sub-priest. The pain of the heart, which is detached from reality, spreads more the more you share it.

– If… if something comes that will overwhelm the professor, what will he do?

– …If that happens, I will probably unravel completely.

A conversation shared with Professor Antorelli.

– There is a curse of cognition. Sofia Sub-priest….

As Sofia Sub-priest ruminated on that conversation….

– Have you ever felt pain from knowing something?

With that, she pressed forward through the rain.