I stared blankly at the hulking man standing before me.
He seemed a head taller than me, with a massive and bulky body fit for his height, fierce golden eyes that looked like a tiger lurking in the bushes waiting for its prey, and a distinctive beard that flowed from his sideburns to his chin, without bushy eyebrows or a mustache.
Being tall and bulky didn’t simply mean he looked overweight. Even though the man before me was wearing a pitch-black coat, it was clear that his frame was packed with muscle.
At that moment, as I took in the sight of him, a figure I couldn’t help but recall came to mind.
‘…Is he from the same department as Professor Armstrong?’
He was Professor Sylvester Armstrong, who was in charge of the battle faculty for the third year. Although he wasn’t as visibly muscular, the strong jawline suggested he wasn’t just overweight. He was certainly fit.
The man who had stopped right in front of me seemed to take a moment to choose his words, then his solid jaw opened.
“Excuse me. I am looking for someone.”
His voice was deep, heavy, and slightly husky. It exuded a masculine essence.
I felt as if I were facing an abnormally large beast, but I didn’t feel particularly scared. My thought was merely, ‘What a big guy.’
“…Who are you looking for?”
As I asked, the man’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Perhaps he was taken aback by my casual response.
“I am looking for Professor Lucio Antorelli. I heard that he is here, so I came to find him.”
“…….”
And, as expected, the person he was looking for was me. I guessed that the man before me was Jericho, the Chief Curbin had mentioned.
– There is a Lord Jericho Warren Valeguge who belongs to the Imperial Knight Order. He holds a high-ranking position as the Grand Executor in the City region.
The Grand Executor of the City region, a high-ranking official from the Imperial Knight Order. Jericho Warren Valeguge.
In truth, I had somewhat figured it out since the two had entered the church.
They walked in wearing a uniform typical of some organization, and although they tried to conceal it, the pommel of the sword hanging from their waist sometimes peeked out from beneath the coat.
Moreover, both of them had a golden lion embroidered on their coat’s breast, making it even stranger if I didn’t notice.
I stopped my search of Jericho and the unnamed woman beside him. His sharp gaze was becoming increasingly keen.
“I am Lucio Antorelli.”
“…Ah.”
“Did you come from the Imperial Knight Order?”
Upon hearing my answer, Jericho closed his mouth for a moment and looked at me, then extended his large, heavy hand for a handshake.
“That’s right. I am Jericho Warren Valeguge, the Grand Executor of the City region for the Imperial Knight Order. Others call me Lord Jericho.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Lord Jericho.”
“Yes. And this is also from the Imperial Knight Order…”
“Hello! I am Nina von Valdek! Feel free to call me however you like!”
“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Valdek.”
“Ah…. You’re too formal! You can call me by my name!”
“Understood. Miss Nina.”
Nina and Lord Jericho. My first impression of the two was, ‘A peculiar harmony of a lively person and a stoic one.’
‘…Hmm?’
For some reason, a thought of Sub-priest Sofia came to mind, but it quickly vanished. This was because Sub-priest Sofia entered through a door in a corner of the chapel.
“Ugh…! Head Priest! Just a moment over here…. Oh?”
Sub-priest Sofia, struggling with a box full of bread, widened her eyes as she saw Jericho and Nina. I gestured for Sub-priest Sofia to come over.
Quickly setting the box down, Sub-priest Sofia made her way to me with her eyes widened in astonishment. To her, Jericho’s appearance must have seemed extraordinary.
“Um… Are they guests?”
“Sub-priest Sofia, these people… are here to see me.”
“They’re guests!”
Sub-priest Sofia nodded enthusiastically, then seemed to dive into deep thought for a moment and began nodding to herself as she started to run off somewhere.
“I’ll go to the Head Priest’s office and prepare tea in advance! You can come up slowly!”
“…….”
Her strangely vibrant demeanor felt somewhat awkward. I turned to look at the direction Sub-priest Sofia had vanished and then turned back to Jericho.
“…Ah.”
And I saw it. The box of bread carelessly placed on the floor.
I understood why Sub-priest Sofia had appeared so excited.
‘Sub-priest Sofia.’
The sin of abandoning her responsibilities would later need to be absolved during an hour of sermon punishment.
“…First, I will take you to the Head Priest’s office.”
“Ah…. Thank you.”
“Um, who was that cute one earlier? Is she perhaps your girlfriend, Professor? Kya…!”
“…….”
For some reason, I felt as if there were now two Sub-priest Sofias.
*
Although two seasons had passed, the Head Priest’s office had not changed at all compared to my first visit.
If I had to point out what had changed, it would be the abundance of teabags of black tea I enjoyed in the cupboard.
Thanks to the black tea that Professor Esther had gifted, which I served to guests, I was well-prepared for unexpected visitors today.
I silently offered my deep thanks to Professor Esther, who was supposedly taking over her duty in the academic affairs department. I should repay her later.
“The tea is nice.”
“I apologize for not being more attentive.”
“No, not at all. I have certainly heard of the reputation of black tea from the Antica Highlands. This is quite excellent.”
“Do you have a taste for tea?”
“Yes. I used to drink it fairly often… While I’m not an expert, I know the basics.”
Lord Jericho slowly savored the taste as he drank the black tea. Unlike others, the teacup seemed too small for his massive frame.
In fact, the black tea that I had poured for Lord Jericho was almost gone after just a few sips.
“Would you like more?”
“I’m fine. I know my size… it might be rude to drink more.”
He denied it, but I couldn’t help but worry that Esther’s fine tea leaves might run out. I watched Lord Jericho refuse the second offer and brought my cheap black tea to my lips.
“It seems you’re having a different type of black tea than we do.”
I set down the teacup and looked at Lord Jericho. His golden eyes were fixed directly on me.
“Yes. I suppose my taste is a little unusual…”
“That’s not a problem. Bagged black tea also has its own charm.”
As he said that, Lord Jericho seemed to look far away. I nodded along silently.
“Um…. Professor! Don’t you have any milk? Or sugar?”
“…Sub-priest Sofia.”
“Oh…. Here you go. It tastes good this way.”
“Indeed, our sub-priest knows a thing or two!”
Sub-priest Sofia seemed to have quickly become friendly with Nina. Maybe it was because both were naturally lively and eccentric, but their similar personalities seemed to match well.
A deep, rumbling voice then resonated toward Nina.
“Nina. Don’t act frivolously.”
“Ah…. Senior, isn’t this fine?”
“That tone. I told you not to act like that in front of others.”
“Here we go again! Even the professor thinks it’s okay….”
“Nina.”
Lord Jericho’s voice grew even heavier. Like a beast growling in a cave, it made Nina’s mouth snap shut instantly.
“…I’m sorry, Professor Antorelli.”
“It’s fine. But… I think it’s about time we get to the point.”
Honestly, I was rather busy.
Even though the mid-term evaluation had just ended, there was no need to care particularly about the upcoming exams… but since the results had been announced, I needed to help students with problem-solving, and there were many things to prepare for the festival.
Jericho’s eyes went wide for a moment as he absorbed my words, then he nodded slowly.
“…I see. Then….”
– Thud!
Jericho slammed his hand on the table. It seemed he didn’t intend to slam it down, but even lightly placing his large hand on something gave a tremendous sense of pressure.
“Do you know who this man is?”
Jericho’s hand extended toward me. I lowered my gaze to where he pointed.
In front of me was a monochrome photograph of a man’s face that I did not recognize.
The man’s face looked somewhat intimidating, and behind him stood several armed figures. It seemed to be a photo of someone involved in something illicit.
What was clear was that this was someone I didn’t know. I shook my head.
“I don’t know the person.”
“Then how about this person?”
Jericho presented a second photograph, but again it was someone I didn’t recognize.
The one different detail was that this time it was a woman. There were strikingly similar features to the man in the previous photo, and I wouldn’t doubt it if someone claimed they were siblings.
“Same here. I don’t know the person.”
“Hmm….”
Jericho’s expression hardened slightly. It seemed there was something not going the way he wanted; the tip of his tongue flicked over his tightly closed lips.
After staring at me for quite a while, Jericho leaned slightly and opened his mouth.
“Professor. I would like to speak with you privately for a moment…”
“…Sub-priest Sofia. Would you step out for a moment?”
“Um… Sure.”
“Ah, haha…! Sub-priest! Let’s go out together! Let’s chat!”
Sub-priest Sofia nodded without saying much, and Nina, who had been sitting next to Jericho, also left the Head Priest’s office.
The door clicked shut, and silence followed for a while.
– Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The sound of the ticking clock, which I hadn’t noticed recently, echoed in the air. I fidgeted with my fingers beneath the table in discomfort.
“…Good.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Head Priest’s office changed. I barely managed to suppress a flinch.
“I’ll put aside the pleasantries. Professor Antorelli.”
Jericho’s eyes were entirely different now. Where they were once the watchful eyes of a beast from afar, they now seemed to be glaring at me from within a cave… something like that.
It was the eye of a tiger, glinting as it preyed upon me in the dark.
Of course, even so, the tension couldn’t compare to a battlefield where bullets flew. I nodded slowly.
“…Do as you will.”
“Hmm. That’s a bit unexpected.”
“What do you mean?”
“Professor. I am… somewhat aware of my appearance in a certain amount of objectivity.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
Jericho slowly lowered his body. His golden eyes, now at my eye level, seemed to shine even brighter in the shadows.
“I know that most people get scared when they see my appearance. And… Professor Antorelli, you are not reacting that way. That implies I know everything.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. And… your calm demeanor intensifies my suspicion about you.”
Jericho paused. His strong jaw twitched for just a moment before his gaze shifted toward my teacup.
“You prefer cheap bagged tea over high-quality black tea; I thought that was quite strange.”
“That’s just my personal preference.”
“No, it’s not. You’re lying right now, Professor.”
I noticed Jericho’s beard twitch. I realized he was holding back something.
“And I really hate lies, Professor Antorelli.”
“What do you mean by lies?”
“It’s not merely your personal taste. Objectively speaking, who would prefer bagged tea, which is bitter and has little aroma, over expensive, richly aromatic black tea?”
“…….”
“And once a lie is told, it often leads to many consequences. For instance….”
Jericho’s thick fingers, like tree stumps, slammed down on the two photographs on the table.
“Maybe you lied about your previous answers.”
“I answered truthfully.”
“Hmm. Then what about this?”
Jericho rummaged through his clothes and swiftly revealed another photograph. I looked at the image he pointed to.
“Do you recognize the person in this photo?”
“…….”
The photo depicted a monochrome image of Cesar, looking like it was taken in a war zone, from an unknown source.
“Answer me, Professor Antorelli. Do you know who it is?”
Jericho pressed for an answer. He probably thought I would lie about it here as well…
“Yes. I know.”
“…….”
To Jericho, I felt regretful for being quite confident.
Even if that person were an unworthy enemy, I wouldn’t hide it.
I could only hope that someday they would be granted salvation from their ‘evil’.
