The meeting regarding the Fall Festival of the Caldera Imperial Academy finally concluded after a lengthy three hours.
Although the final conclusion did not convince everyone, at least no one complained about the meeting lasting more than three hours. It was a tedious stretch of time.
After the meeting wrapped up, Sofia Sub-priest and I immediately left the meeting room. Professor Esther rushed off, claiming she had urgent matters to attend to regarding the club booth.
Due to the meeting dragging on longer than expected, by the time it finished, the hands of the clock were already steadily approaching four in the afternoon.
“Ah! Professor Antorelli! There you are!”
“Oh, Professor Marcello.”
As I lingered with Sofia Sub-priest by the door of the meeting room, Professor Marcello, who was just about to step out, approached me with a bright smile. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes radiated a warm expression.
“Thank you for your hard work in today’s meeting.”
“Not at all. I didn’t say a word; I just stayed quiet, didn’t I?”
“Haha… Well, you may say that modestly…”
After glancing around for a moment, Professor Marcello seemed to confirm that there was no one else present and began to speak with a relieved expression.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t exactly call this a constructive meeting… wasn’t it rather dull? The professors just kept repeating the same things, after all.”
“Well, um… that…”
“To speak honestly, I was quite sleepy. Haha… Were you not bored as well, Professor? You held up well.”
With that, Professor Marcello continued to smile amicably.
I’ve been feeling for some time now that Professor Marcello seems to have changed significantly since the Theology exam.
It wasn’t just a feeling; his attitude had undeniably shifted. He used to be a rigid person bound by the Bible and its commandments, and now it seems he’s lightened up a bit.
It wasn’t just Professor Marcello. Other first-year Theology professors, excluding him and me, also showed noticeable changes.
If I had to pick a common change among them, it would be that they greet me very warmly whenever they see me.
It wasn’t such a bad change, so I had no complaints, but…
“In any case, thank goodness the top professor came by during the meeting; otherwise, I feel we might have met the Lord himself,” I said.
“Indeed… Yes. That’s true.”
“Well, at any rate, it seems we have a satisfactory outcome, don’t you think?”
I wasn’t really clear on the results of the meeting.
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Haha… It seems so, huh? Anyway, let’s meet again later.”
“Yes. Later then…”
“By the way, speaking of which, how about we have a cup of tea soon and talk about theology?”
“Oh, yes. That sounds good. Yes…”
“Then I’ll take that as a yes! Let’s meet up soon! I’ll hold you to it! Definitely!”
Waving his hand several times at me, Professor Marcello gradually walked away. Without a mirror, I couldn’t see my own expression, but I imagined I looked extremely tired.
“Head Priest, I’ve made a decision.”
“What do you mean?”
When I turned to Sofia Sub-priest, she stood there with a determined expression, clenching her fists as if resolved about something.
“I’ve resolved that I will absolutely not show off my exceptional qualities like you do, Head Priest.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I think I just realized that being too outstanding can lead to suffering from various issues… Starting today, I’ll put that into practice.”
“……”
“If people see my exceptional abilities and approach me, pestering me… what should I do, Head Priest? I’m afraid of my abilities… Ow!”
I shook off the fingers that had been pressing down hard for a long time. Sofia Sub-priest, with a slightly swollen forehead, looked up at me with teary eyes.
“Even if you look at me like that, I won’t be forgiving.”
“Tch…”
“Above all, it would be disrespectful to Professor Marcello. Even if there’s no one around, don’t think of saying anything that might make others uncomfortable, and don’t let it escape your lips.”
“But, Head Priest, your expression seemed very annoyed as well…”
“Sofia Sub-priest. Holy mouth, holy words.”
“…Holy mouth, holy words.”
Sofia Sub-priest pouted her lips and repeated what I said. Seeing her like that, I gently stroked her flushed forehead, as if it were commendable.
“Humph… You really feel sorry for hitting me a bit too hard, huh? You sure are honest, Head Priest…”
“……”
“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
Immediately lifting my fingers without a word, Sofia Sub-priest blurted out her apology. I gently stroked her soft hair and fell into deep thought.
“The meeting is over, and all that remains now…”
Under normal circumstances, I would have met Daniel after the meeting to discuss the club festival booth.
“By the way, that meeting took longer than I expected.”
“It really did.”
However, it seemed that would be a bit difficult. As Sofia Sub-priest said, the meeting ended far too late. Thanks to Professor Madison, the time was significantly shortened, but by now, the students would be heading back to the dorms.
Of course, if Daniel and Vivian are anything like I know, they would likely be holed up in the club room fiddling with something occult…
“Indeed, it’s too late.”
I thought as I looked out the window at the courtyard. The sun was still shining brightly, but as autumn had officially begun, it would set earlier than in summer.
If we started discussing the festival booth now, it would likely stretch into the late evening hours.
That just wouldn’t do. It would be inconvenient for the on-duty professor.
With just over ten days to go until the festival, I had to wrap up the booth preparations quickly, which was quite a headache. One silver lining was that, at this point, we had already concluded to operate a haunted house themed around the Occult Research Club.
The students returned to their dorms after studying. Those wanting to engage in club activities or prepare for the festival scattered into their respective club rooms. Meeting with Daniel and Vivian regarding the festival booth seemed a bit ambiguous now.
“…Head Priest, are you heading back to the professor’s office?”
“Um…”
“I think I can quickly organize the documents that can be handled right away in the professor’s office, then stop by the main chapel before clocking out.”
“Then I will do that.”
Ultimately, the only work left for Sofia Sub-priest and me was to mess around with paperwork in the office, then either clean at the main chapel or check the supplies needed for worship until quitting time.
While I didn’t prefer doing things this way, circumstances demanded it. Sofia Sub-priest and I headed straight to the professor’s office.
“Professor Antorelli?”
No, I was about to step in.
If it weren’t for the voice calling my name and stopping me just as I was about to step out. I turned my head in the direction of the voice.
“…Top Professor?”
“Thank goodness. You haven’t left yet.”
It was Professor Madison. He was the last to leave the meeting room and, for some reason, called my name while stopping me from leaving.
In the end, Sofia Sub-priest and I had no choice but to turn back. The expression on Sofia Sub-priest’s face beside me clearly revealed, “Ah, here we go again.”
Fortunately, Professor Madison didn’t seem to notice that and looked at me with eyes full of energy and opened his mouth.
“How was today’s meeting for you? Since I only attended part of it…”
“Oh, yes. The content was nothing special…”
“Oh. First, how about you move? Didn’t you intend to head back to the office?”
“…That’s right. Yes.”
“I also need to go in that direction, so let’s walk together for now.”
Professor Madison started to walk ahead. I hurriedly followed beside him and continued the conversation.
“By the way, thank you for your hard work in today’s meeting. Is this the first time we’ve met since the midterm assessments?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Haha… I’ve been living busily as always, so I haven’t been able to make time to meet you. I apologize.”
“It’s fine. I should have reached out first…”
“You don’t need to be so humble. What kind of relationship do we have?”
“…The top professor and the department head professor…”
“That sounds a bit too stiff, don’t you think? Sometimes it’s nice to just have a conversation. Would you like to have lunch together sometime?”
“Yes, I wouldn’t mind…”
“Then next time, I’ll stop by your office. By the way, that last midterm assessment was truly outstanding. That’s the only word that came to mind. It was the best.”
I realized now that Professor Madison…
‘…Isn’t he a bit too impatient?’
Professor Madison had a strangely keen ability to predict what the other person was going to say next and seamlessly continue the conversation.
“I’ve mentioned before that it was truly the best Theology exam, and though I’ve said it several times, it still feels insufficient. It’s quite unlike myself, but you’ve opened a new path of theology for me.”
“You flatter me…”
“Thanks to that, my personal magic research has also progressed. I’m currently writing a paper and would like to list you as a co-author.”
“Yes. We can discuss that in detail later…”
“That would be better to discuss later. Oh, I think I need to go ahead from here. My office is this way.”
“Oh, yes. May the Lord’s grace be with you.”
“You too, Professor Antorelli, have a swift day.”
After Professor Madison disappeared like the wind, I found myself standing in place, frozen.
‘What just happened?’
It felt as if a storm had swept through, and for some reason, it was hard to catch my breath. I checked my watch.
“…5 minutes?”
In just 5 minutes, he’d crossed from the annex to the main building. Without realizing it, I looked back, and I spotted Sofia Sub-priest, panting and chasing after me from a distance.
“Head Priest…! Hah…!”
“…I’m sorry.”
They say many geniuses are eccentric; it seems there’s truth in that.
