“Do you want some?”
“…….”
As I offered a sandwich I received from a nearby club booth, Jericho stared at it for a moment before reluctantly accepting it.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
With that, we remained silent for quite a while. I chewed on the sandwich in my hand while watching the students, and Jericho gazed blankly at the sandwich he held, taking a bite and then closing his mouth.
“By the way, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
“…….”
“The period for outsiders to enter the academy starts tomorrow, but… well, since you are part of the Imperial Knight Order, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
“…Professor.”
“I’m listening.”
“A little while ago, that was, uh….”
I turned to Jericho. His face still had remnants of make-up, giving it a pale color.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I mean.”
“If you’re referring to the make-up….”
From behind Jericho, I noticed Nina glancing over and snickering. Jericho, who usually had a strict and resolute image, seemed rather ridiculous wearing that make-up.
“Well, it’s not so bad, is it? It suited you in its own way.”
“It was just a momentary fit. Very brief.”
“From what I see, you being dispatched from the Imperial Knight Order instead of the Police is because you….”
“The Police friends are always busy. Now that there’s no war, I’m not specifically responsible for guarding any members of the royal family, so I’m just doing what I have to do.”
Even though Jericho said it that way, I could roughly understand how things were going. The reason the Imperial Knight Order was ensuring security at the Academy’s Fall Festival instead of the Police was likely due to Jericho’s influence.
I chuckled softly and took a bite of my sandwich, the sharp taste of the sauce spreading in my mouth.
“Jericho.”
“What now?”
Noticing my faint smile, Jericho glared at me with irritation. I pointed to the model screw that was stuck to his temple.
“Why don’t you remove that before we continue?”
“…….”
After roughly tearing off the model screw, Jericho clenched it in his hand, hesitating for a while before cautiously placing it inside his coat. It seemed he couldn’t just toss away something that students had given him.
“Anyway, thank you for cooperating with our students. Daniel and Vivian will be happy.”
“What’s that tiny little… no, what’s my relation to those students?”
“They are from the Occult Research Club that I supervise.”
“Ah, so that’s why the professor’s name came up.”
Jericho held a wet handkerchief and wiped his face for a while. The pale make-up was gradually wearing off.
“…Professor.”
“Yes. Please, go ahead.”
“I appreciated it back then.”
“Back then… ah.”
It seemed Jericho was genuinely grateful for having received Confession. Knowing that his story was something that surpassed mere misfortune and was relatable made me… well, I wasn’t sure.
What was certain was that he was showing signs of wanting to take a step forward. That was a delightful thing.
“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do.”
“What you had to do… yes, that’s true.”
As I watched Jericho nod and take a bite of the sandwich, a sudden curiosity arose in my mind.
“Jericho, may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“It’s about the investigation regarding Cesar. Why were you looking into that so thoroughly?”
Jericho remained silent while chewing on his sandwich. The sound of Nina laughing along with the other students reached my ears, and just as Jericho swallowed the last bite.
“Actually, if I wanted to, I could have investigated this more rigorously.”
He opened his mouth. I focused intently on his words, minimizing the noise from the students setting up their festival booths.
“But, I thought you wouldn’t be that kind of person.”
“Just thought?”
“…yes, just thought.”
“That doesn’t quite add up. There was no need to pressure me by showing Cesar’s picture, was there?”
“At that time, how should I put it? I was a bit unstable.”
Jericho looked at me with deeply sunken eyes. It felt as if the surrounding light was being sucked into them.
“The information department had already concluded their investigation into you. Although I dislike those weaselly informants, I can’t disregard their intel either. They would have gathered information based on their superior knowledge and even transported Cesar Li’s body to the autopsy.”
“…….”
“That means the information department was there. When Cesar Li was dying.”
“Knowing that much, you still didn’t trust their investigation results….”
“Hmm, I suppose it was my personal stubbornness.”
In the end, Jericho wasn’t completely distrustful of the information department, but despite their investigation results, he opted to conduct his own research due to his personal stubbornness. It was a somewhat unsatisfactory answer.
“Well, I had already gone through almost all the materials from the information department by then.”
“If that’s the case….”
“Knowing you were present at the time of Cesar Li’s death was something I was aware of. I came to see you to ask about that. The fact that you had participated in the war was something I learned right at that moment. That was the issue.”
“That became a problem?”
“It became a problem indeed. Even though I knew you had no particular charges against you, I still wanted to keep investigating you… due to something that happened to me in the past.”
Jericho gazed into the distance. I turned my attention in the same direction.
“In fact, there was someone I was tracking previously.”
“Someone similar to me?”
“Similar. That guy also had experience in the war.”
I adjusted my sitting position. Hearing stories about the Great War made me instinctively resist it, yet I couldn’t help but focus.
“He had been discharged from the military just before the war ended. He had a bullet that had struck a nerve, causing him to limp, or so I believe.”
“There were indeed a few like that.”
“Right. But, he became desperate about his condition and ended up harboring resentment towards the royal family, joining an anti-government organization. He attempted to rob a bank to raise funds for their activities.”
“Did you catch him?”
“I did. This information came up during the interrogation. I had to employ a bit of force….”
Jericho suddenly trailed off. I quickly looked away. The last sandwich disappeared into my mouth.
“Well, anyway. I didn’t have you on my suspect list from our first meeting. But even so, I kept coming back… well, there was that bank robbery incident, but upon reflection, I think it might have been because you seemed similar to me.”
“Similar, you say?”
“That’s right. However, as time passed… it seemed to me that you were not like me.”
Jericho looked at me. His eyes were no longer as deep and dark as before.
“You saved me, Professor.”
“That’s not true.”
“No, don’t deny it. I owe my new life to you, practically.”
Running through a dark cave.
Wandering endlessly, lost and dazed.
Without remembering where I entered or having any idea of where to exit, just like that.
As I ran looking for an exit, I finally spotted a faint light shining from a distance, and yes.
Having found the exit, it felt like I was rushing toward it.
Jericho’s eyes glimmered as if a tiny light was shining through.
“Professor Antorelli. I intend to repay that debt for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t have to…”
“Don’t refuse. No, from the start, you cannot refuse.”
The essence of regret is a murky puddle. A pit so viscous that someone like me, worn down to the core, or like Jericho, could never escape. It pulls me in like a swamp. But.
“So, I’ll have to try my best.”
“…….”
It can be redeemed. If we hold each other’s hands, we can barely escape together.
Jericho fiddled with the model screw he had placed beside him, then put it back to the side of his temple as it originally was. Then he looked at me and spoke.
“What do you think? A bit… monstrous?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Well, um… the students you are supervising told me I had to fulfill that role. So, I asked. Am I really suited for that role?”
I looked at Jericho for a while, and after a moment, I finally spoke up.
“Yes. It suits you. Mr. Monster.”
“…Don’t mock me, Professor.”
“Thank you for cooperating with my students.”
Jericho got up. While scratching his goatee, he turned to face Nina, Sofia Sub-priest, and the direction of the chattering students.
“Like you said, it’s nothing much.”
*
Anyway, the reason Sofia Sub-priest and I came here was to check the Occult Research Club’s booth, so we couldn’t miss the haunted house that was nearing completion.
That meant I had to step into the ominous, shadowy space before me as though it would suck in all light.
“Am I really going in…?”
Sofia Sub-priest looked at me with a worried expression. I nodded and replied.
“There’s no helping it. If it’s too much, you can wait here….”
“But how could I leave the Head Priest behind….”
“I don’t mind.”
“…….”
I hadn’t seen Chloe and Elin for a little while, but according to Daniel and Vivian, they had already finished their make-up and were waiting inside the haunted house.
Imagining how those two would appear in their ghost roles was a hard picture to conjure up. I wasn’t sure if they could fulfill their roles.
“If it’s those two, they probably won’t be that scary.”
“Y, yeah, I suppose…?”
In the end, Sofia Sub-priest decided to firmly grip my arm and walk along with me.
“L, let’s walk slowly….”
“Sofia Sub-priest, let go of my arm….”
Though her agreement didn’t reflect my opinion at all, well.
As we reached the entrance to the haunted house, Daniel and Vivian, who had been prepared in advance, began to act as if they were welcoming guests.
“What’s this? You’re here to explore another abandoned house? Honestly, you don’t know the value of life.”
“But you’ve come at the right time. Yes.”
“Tch. Since it’s known as a place where ghosts appear, just have at it. I won’t care anymore.”
As the security guards of a property that had become someone’s private domain, Daniel and Vivian had already been informed that we were coming to investigate. So, Sofia Sub-priest and I could nod and enter.
“…Oh.”
“You look too realistic….”
Entering the haunted house, I was greeted with a more elaborately decorated interior than I had expected. Although the size of the club booth was limited, the wide courtyard made its scale quite impressive.
‘They’ve done better than I expected.’
Sofia Sub-priest and I walked along the wooden corridor. The wooden floor had rotted and sunk in some places, and cobwebs in every corner enhanced the eerie atmosphere.
“…Sofia Sub-priest.”
“Yes….”
“Let’s move.”
Feeling the foreboding atmosphere, we began to penetrate deeper into the haunted house.
