Chapter 42: Coming to Get You
Sarah and I strolled to the back row, and as soon as we found a corner to sit in, the new teacher for Abyss Studies stepped up onto the stone platform at the front.
“Cough, cough.”
He was an old man with snow-white hair, wearing a light golden robe that felt oddly familiar.
“First of all, it is a great honor to stand in the Royal Academy classroom and teach you this course on Abyss Studies.”
His slightly formal tone, mixed with his shaky voice, made him sound less like a member of the clergy and more like one of those austere old scholars.
I felt like I’d seen him somewhere…
“However, I am also deeply unfortunate… and I believe you all understand why. If I could, I wouldn’t want to stand here in place of her, who has returned to the embrace of the deity, and face you all like this…”
Bored out of my mind, I stared at his wrinkled face and after a moment it clicked—this old guy was the bishop from St. Zayeli Cathedral! The one who presided over the funeral ceremony!
The old man spoke slowly, rambling on about a bunch of irrelevant stuff. He was so grim and stiff that it made me feel positively drowsy.
After what felt like an eternity, and when the impatience of the students was practically written on their faces, he finally got to the point.
“Please turn to page 28 of your textbooks.”
“Ah—ugh~”
I let out a huge yawn, blinked sleepily, and opened the book as instructed, glancing at it.
The left-hand page read:
[
Abyss of Gluttony.
In May of the year 1184, it appeared in the Valen Empire’s town of Cudileiro, deep in the cliffs outside the town.
It is one of the few abysses that appeared without any warning. Because of this, three cities in the Valen Empire were destroyed in just a few days, tens of thousands of innocent civilians perished, and it is a terribly powerful and fearsome monster.
In the disaster known as the “Valen Catastrophe,” the revered Cardinal Nero of The Holy Church, in conjunction with the King of Cunning Beasts Skarlij, Silver Flash Carlos, Amber Eye Martina, Mercury Olivia, and Heavy Sword Lorik, five Pope Knights in total, engaged in a harrowing battle with the monster. In the end, at the cost of Martina and Lorik’s lives, they barely managed to slay it outside Winter City. The great heroes shall forever be remembered…
]
I lost interest after reading that pompous praise and moved my gaze to the right page, where there was a drawing of a creature wrapped in black smoke—kind of looked like… a cow or a lion? Either way, it was impossible to tell what the creature really was.
This is the Abyss of Gluttony…?
Staring for a bit, I couldn’t help but chuckle and shake my head.
What on earth is this supposed to be? Clearly, they’d never seen an abyss!
“Peilo.”
Sarah, sitting next to me, whispered.
“Don’t you think this teacher speaks like he’s reading from a script? I can’t take it in at all…”
Hmm?
Now I raised my head a little and paid attention to the old guy’s monologue.
“The name of the abyss was initially bestowed by the 11th Pope of The Holy Church. For those mindless monsters, it is indeed an utterly appropriate name. We are all too aware of its terrifying nature, and among them, the Abyss of Gluttony is notorious. Fortunately, The Holy Church reacted in time, and the brave humans, under Cardinal Nero’s orders, sacrificed their lives to defeat it. We must always remember them, remember the warriors of the church and that tragic yet glorious moment…”
Ah… indeed.
His speech was like a lullaby; I felt my eyelids drooping.
“Teacher!”
An impatient student interrupted the old man.
“Go ahead.”
“Have you ever seen an abyss?”
“Uh… well…”
“What? So you’ve never seen those monsters!”
“…Well, I haven’t seen them, but I know several heroes you all must be familiar with, and I am quite accustomed to Sister Teresa…”
“Ha—”
I sighed lightly and turned my head toward the large arched window, unconsciously recalling when I first came to this classroom, on the first day of this course.
At that time, a silver-haired nun stood exactly where the old man was now, just a stone’s throw away from me.
She held the textbook high and told us that books contained no monsters, only ink and paper.
She showed us the Pope Knight badge with the Amber Eye and shared her stories because they were friends.
Back then, her sincere expression felt completely genuine, and even now when I think about it, I don’t believe she was putting on an act.
I reckon Teresa wouldn’t resort to such things.
[“I hope you find your own path in the lessons to come and walk it straight. No matter what happens, don’t have regrets, don’t look back.”]
A person who could say such words eventually turned her weapons against me and transformed into the most terrifying monster in the baptism of bl**d and fire.
So… what was it you truly wanted to tell us with that profoundly memorable saying, or were you just reminding yourself?
Rejecting faith powers, unwilling to teach theology. A person abandoned by the deity, or someone who abandoned the deity…
The gentle, kind nun, the crazed demon.
Teresa, which one are you?
This certainly isn’t something I could figure out before class was dismissed.
But even long after leaving the classroom, I couldn’t remember what the bishop had talked about.
…………
In Ethanbel, March and April belong to the rainy season.
After the 10th, the relentless drizzle started pouring endlessly. The air became exceptionally damp, and the temperature gradually rose.
In the recent Royal City, occasionally, you could hear the cheerful chirping of little birds.
“After this rain stops, summer will be here in the Royal City!”
When Sarah said this, she looked all excited like a little girl who just got candy; she seemed to really like summer.
But I don’t like it…
I’ve never liked it. Ever since I got this body, I’ve liked it even less.
But I really like seeing Sarah’s smile. I enjoy watching innocent people continue to live without worries, remaining blissfully naive.
Being around someone like that feels like I’m slowly infected by their spirit, gradually forgetting some of the anxiety hidden deep in my heart. So, during these days, I just went to class and came back, hugging my books as I walked along the Narrow Path in the garden, passing blooming flowers beside buildings, mingling with girls who laughed when they were happy and cried when they were sad, and life felt light and carefree.
Before long, my second Rest Zone at the academy arrived.
I carried a satchel and held an umbrella, walking alongside Sarah and Sophia through the drizzling rain, drifting along with the crowd heading home.
Daisy wasn’t with us; she said she wanted to review her lessons during the break.
“Peilo, I’ve brought you some muffins made at home, so don’t suddenly run off again!”
“Mm-hmm.”
I nodded eagerly, my eyes sparkling with anticipation.
The wide-brimmed lace hat on my head was a bit crooked, so I raised a hand to straighten it.
“Eat, eat, eat, all you ever think about is eating.”
Sophia scrunched up her nose and scoffed at our conversation.
“This annoying rain… how long is it going to keep pouring? My skirt is soaked!”
“Whose fault is it for wearing such a fancy dress! You’ve dressed yourself up like a princess, you’re so vain.”
“Sarah, who are you calling vain? Do you think I wanted to wear this?” Sophia shot a glare at Sarah. “My father is meeting Her Majesty the Queen tonight! The Queen! As her companion, I must wear formal attire, you hayseed wouldn’t understand!”
Her words had an edge to them, but I felt that underlying pride in her tone.
But Sarah apparently didn’t take it well: “Who are you calling a hayseed? You look down on me!”
Sophia lifted her skirt slightly, choosing to ignore her.
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
“Hey!”
I watched Sarah pouting and gently shoving Sophia’s shoulder while Sophia wouldn’t even look at her, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the amusing scene.
How about we change the topic?
To prevent them from bickering…
“Sophia, you’re meeting the Queen tonight?”
“Yeah,” she replied quickly as if she’d been waiting for us to ask, her lips curling into a sly smile.
“Actually, I don’t want to go that much… Ugh, those elite soirées, I’ve never liked them. The dresses are always tight around the waist, those high heels are uncomfortable, and you have to smile at everyone, not to mention you can’t even eat properly… I envy you guys. You can go home and lie down, go wherever you want, it’s great.”
“But you’ll get to meet Her Majesty the Queen…”
Sophia shook her head. “I might not even get to see her, but my father definitely will.”
“You have to meet her! She’s my hero!”
“…What does my meeting her have to do with who you admire?”
“It does!”
“What’s the connection?”
“Because I can’t meet her!”
“I can’t comprehend what you’re thinking…”
I could somewhat understand Sarah’s feelings, but it wasn’t something I’d say out loud.
Because it wasn’t something that would make anyone happy to hear.
We walked all the way to the entrance and stepped out of the academy with the crowd.
Before my eyes were the white-blue rental War Chariots parked in rows as usual, and on the other side of these chariots, a few carriages with family crests were also waiting, elegantly dressed servants held umbrellas and looked expectantly at the snorting beasts, waiting to take their masters and ladies home.
The rain seemed to be getting heavier, pattering loudly against the umbrella.
“My home is close by; I can walk back,” Sarah said, shaking her damp arm.
“What about you two?”
“I have someone picking me up… Ah, I can see my carriage!”
Sophia pointed to a silver War Chariot not far away.
“Look, that one… Oh no, why did my father send this silver one again? I clearly said I liked the red one… Silver is just so ugly.”
“No way, it’s really pretty.”
Having grown accustomed to the church’s glittering golden carriages, I thought the silver one looked quite pleasant.
“I still don’t like it… Whatever, I’m here now.”
Sophia’s servant was walking toward us. She stepped forward but suddenly turned and asked me, “Peilo, where are you going? Let me give you a ride.”
“No need.”
I smiled sweetly at her.
“You need to meet Her Majesty the Queen; don’t waste time.”
“Then how will you get home?” Sarah frowned a bit, looking worried. “By the way, we don’t even know where you live, is it far? It’s not some weird place, right?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take that—”
Just as I was about to tell them that I’d take a rental carriage and get home quickly, suddenly the crowd on the right began to stir.
Out of the corner of my eye, two tall and elegant Horned Horses, snorting and stomping, drew near, pulling an exquisitely ornate royal War Chariot through the rain.
“This is the royal War Chariot…”
“How beautiful…”
“Strange, is there a prince or princess from our academy this year?”
“Doesn’t seem like it…”
“Then who are they here to pick up?”
“Wait, I think I recognize that carriage…”
“No way…”
Whispers floated in the crowd, and Sophia seemed a bit dazed. She stared at the royal War Chariot and murmured, “That looks like… Her Majesty the Queen’s…”
Creak, creak…
The gem-studded, lavish wheels rolled over the puddles and slowly came to a stop in front of me.
