The Heretic of Cleric Academy-Chapter 88

The empty classroom was filled with silence. Looking at the large classroom with the lights off and no one inside made me feel somewhat eerie.

It felt unreal, as if I were dreaming, and I also felt unpleasantly as if all the students in the school were ostracizing me.

I thought about calling Jeong In-ah or Gu Jun-hyeok... no, Jeong In-ah, but then I remembered I had lost my phone. Uncle said he would buy me a new phone soon, but I didn’t know when that would be. Anyway, the problem was that I had no way to contact anyone right now.

"Is this a dream?"

I voiced the hypothesis that suddenly occurred to me.

It was a hypothesis with low probability, but not completely impossible. Through the ring and box that Father left behind, I had experienced hallucinations several times.

No, rather than hallucinations, I had vivid dreams that were difficult to distinguish from reality several times. Since then, I somehow felt like the boundary between dreams and reality had become blurred.

[Such symptoms often appear in those addicted to sorcery.]

Legba said. His tone was somewhat cynical.

"What addiction all of a sudden? I haven’t used sorcery enough to become addicted."

[It could be early symptoms of addiction. The overuse of intoxication sorcery before losing consciousness is likely the problem.]

Legba spoke calmly, but with a tone that seemed to be scolding me without my realizing it.

Overuse... At the fire scene, I had used intoxication sorcery a little to forget the pain. No, to be honest, it wasn’t a little but quite a lot.

However, I honestly didn’t know if that was enough to cause addiction. But what was important wasn’t whether it was addiction or not.

"So is this a dream right now?"

[Well. What do you think?]

Legba asked back with a playful tone.

"Ah, come on."

[Alright, I get it. It’s not a dream. However...]

[It’s a reality so vivid that you’d want to believe it’s a dream!]

Then, someone interrupted Legba’s voice. It was Baron Samedi. He had promised to come once every five days, but sometimes when he felt like it, he would come every four or three days instead of five.

Ignoring Legba, who coughed disapprovingly at being interrupted, Baron Samedi continued.

[It would be better to go to the main auditorium right now. Or you could check the paper hanging on the bulletin board in front of the classroom first, then go.]

"Main auditorium...?"

[That’s right, the main auditorium!]

Baron Samedi cheerfully repeated my words. Pushing aside the ominous feeling that suddenly crept up, I walked toward the bulletin board in front of the classroom.

[Even if I didn’t tell you, you would have gone anyway. That’s how causality works.]

Baron Samedi said. I slowly read the paper that was posted prominently on the bulletin board.

The appointment ceremony will be held during this morning’s assembly time, so all students are requested to gather in the main auditorium...

Ah.

"...This is a dream, right? Please say it is. Quickly."

[Hahaha! Yes, you’d rather it be a dream, but this is undoubtedly reality. A reality you can’t wake up from even if you close your eyes tightly and open them again. You’re going to be late again.]

[What’s the big deal about being a little late to some appointment ceremony? Go slowly, slowly. Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, has it?]

[Right. No matter how late you are, the result won’t change anyway. That’s how causality works!]

Legba and Baron Samedi spoke alternately. Their voices buzzed around in my head. I felt like crying from frustration, but I didn’t even have the luxury for that right now. I had to run to the main auditorium immediately.

"Bo, Bosu." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

[Bosu is on strike right now.]

"Ah, stop joking around and hurry!"

[Ah, sorry. Bosu responds to the call.]

I borrowed Bosu’s power and ran toward the main auditorium. Strangely, I couldn’t pick up much speed. When I ran using Bosu’s power, I could run incredibly fast, but it was actually so fast that it was hard to change direction.

If I had known this would happen, I should have jumped out the window instead of taking the stairs. Though I would have been late anyway even if I had done that.

[By the way, I was truly surprised last time! To think you would change the predetermined future. Causality has been twisted.]

Baron Samedi’s voice came while I was running frantically.

[This twisting might also be causality. Well, anyway, it’s become interesting for me...]

His voice, full of mischief, gradually faded away.

* * *

The morning sunlight passed through the stained glass of the main auditorium, breaking into multicolored light. Static flowed from the speakers, and the sound of students chattering filled the auditorium. Kim Jin-seo crossed through the commotion and took her seat.

"What? You came today?"

As soon as she sat down, Yeo Min-seo, who was sitting next to her, picked a fight. To be precise, it wasn’t a fight, but it sounded like one to Kim Jin-seo’s ears because the tone was openly sarcastic.

"Yeah. I came today."

Kim Jin-seo, who would usually keep her mouth tightly shut, responded casually.

"Coming when you want to come, not coming when you don’t want to~ You attend school so comfortably."

Yeo Min-seo said with one corner of her mouth raised. Kim Jin-seo looked at Yeo Min-seo and smiled gently.

Both their faces held smiles as they looked at each other, but both smiles were utterly cold. Han Su-ryeon looked back and forth between the two and suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

It smells like a fight...

Han Su-ryeon, who had only been mediating fights for the past few weeks, had become able to smell the "scent of a fight." A long silence flowed between Kim Jin-seo and Yeo Min-seo.

"What’s this smell all of a sudden, ugh."

Then, Yeo Min-seo suddenly pinched her nose and said with a deeply furrowed brow. Han Su-ryeon was startled, wondering if Yeo Min-seo had read her thoughts. Kang Dae-man, who was nearby, unnecessarily smelled his own clothes.

"Hmm, it’s definitely not my sweat smell at least!"

"...Right, not sweat smell. Don’t you smell something burning somewhere? Like smoke."

Yeo Min-seo said while looking at Kim Jin-seo with a grinning face. Yeo Min-seo’s words were intended to mock Kim Jin-seo, who had been inside during the Basar Shopping Center fire.

Are you crazy?

Han Su-ryeon was shocked and looked at Kim Jin-seo.

Kim Jin-seo had a subtle expression that was neither smiling nor serious.

Ah... this crossed the line a bit.

Han Su-ryeon clicked her tongue inwardly.

"I’m not sure. I don’t really know."

However, Kim Jin-seo never backed down. She even showed a relaxed smile and answered calmly. Yeo Min-seo let out a hollow laugh as if incredulous.

"How can you not know? The smoke smell is vibrating from all directions."

"Really?"

Kim Jin-seo turned her gaze away from Yeo Min-seo toward the podium and continued.

"Should I make it so you can’t smell anything from now on, then?"

"...What? You-"

"Pfft, ugh, urk. Ah, Min-seo. I’m really sorry. Really sorry."

Yeo Min-seo’s words were cut off. It was because Han Su-ryeon had unconsciously let out a snicker.

"No, I wasn’t laughing at you. I just suddenly thought of something funny. Really."

"..."

"You’re not sulking, are you? No, listen. I really wasn’t laughing at you, pfft. Ah, no. Actually, your flustered face was so cute... Are you sulking? Huh?"

Han Su-ryeon kept trying to hold back her laughter while looking at Yeo Min-seo’s face. Yeo Min-seo’s face was rarely steeped in confusion. It was partly because Han Su-ryeon had laughed at her, but more than anything, it was because Kim Jin-seo’s reaction was so different from before.

"Ah, ah."

Then, Kim Chang-won on the podium grabbed the microphone and made a test sound. Just that was enough to end the commotion in the auditorium. In the cold silence that filled the auditorium, Kim Chang-won continued.

"First, I apologize for the sudden schedule adjustment that led to today’s appointment ceremony. Since assembly time is not long, we will proceed with the appointment ceremony briefly and quickly."

With those words, the auditorium lights dimmed halfway. The remaining few lights illuminated the podium. It was a kind of staging for the full-scale appointment ceremony.

"Ah. ...Ahem."

Seong Ha-yeon, who had been quietly lost in thought, was startled by the sudden darkness and her shoulders trembled.

Although no one was paying attention to her, Seong Ha-yeon unnecessarily became conscious of her surroundings and coughed.

"There was some confusion in this Charity Holy Name re-election, but according to the meeting, the Charity Holy Name has finally been decided as-"

Kim Chang-won cut off his words. A moment of silence.

"Same as the original choice, student Do Seon-woo. Student Do Seon-woo, please come up to the podium."

"...?"

Deep puzzlement flowed through the auditorium. The students sitting in the audience all stared blankly up at the podium with their mouths shut.

Only Kim Jin-seo and Seong Ha-yeon had calm faces, but all the other students couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.

Do Seon-woo was late to the appointment ceremony and had his qualifications revoked because of it. Nevertheless, the decision that Do Seon-woo would be the Charity Holy Name was controversial enough. The students’ questions soon led to resistance.

"When was it that they were talking about revoking qualifications..."

"What’s with reversing the decision twice, no, and Do Seon-woo being late was his own fault in the first place."

"I heard he got caught up when the fire broke out at Basar Shopping Center."

"Does that make sense as an excuse? Unless money changed hands behind the scenes-"

The confusion that arose from the students’ resistance snowballed and eventually filled the auditorium.

Students who couldn’t accept the teachers’ decision threw out opinions like it was unfair, or wasn’t getting caught in the fire also his own fault? These were words carelessly thrown out based on emotion without deep thought.

Screeeech!

Then, a sudden noise. It was noise that Kim Chang-won had deliberately created by bringing the microphone close to the speaker. Not missing the brief silence that came, Kim Chang-won quickly opened his mouth.

"During the Basar Shopping Center fire, student Do Seon-woo threw his body to save citizens and suppress the flames. Student Do Seon-woo protected his neighbors as his own body, no, even burning his own body to protect them. The student you know about, who impersonated a trainee Holy Knight and helped the Eastern Holy Knight Order, was none other than Do Seon-woo."

Silence flowed. However, the type of silence was quite different from before.

The person who had suppressed the flames and saved citizens during the fire before mysteriously disappearing was very famous among Florence students. This was because rumors had circulated that he was a Florence student.

There were quite a few who regarded him almost like a hero, someone who had thrown his body into the flames yet left the scene without seeking any compensation or reward.

But now that it was revealed that this person was Do Seon-woo, the confusion and questions from the audience had no choice but to end unconsciously.

"Student Do Seon-woo’s spirit of sacrifice and philanthropy, not sparing his own body to save others, became an example as a cleric beyond just the Charity Holy Name, I believe."

The heavy silence continued endlessly.

"Various other factors were also considered, so I hope students have no misunderstandings about the school’s decision."

With that, Kim Chang-won concluded his words. The students were still unable to recover from the shock.

Jeong In-ah, sitting in the back, was particularly shocked. She felt a kind of betrayal that Do Seon-woo had not told her about this incident.

"Therefore, we will now begin the appointment ceremony-"

"Ch-Chairman. I, I’m, really sorry. Haa."

Just as he was about to begin the appointment, Ha Ye-jin hurriedly came up to the podium. Kim Chang-won felt an unknown sense of déjà vu along with a sudden ominous feeling.

...Don’t tell me?

"Can’t you contact him again?"

"Haha, ah... I definitely checked his discharge and even contacted him the day before..."

"...Oh my."

Kim Chang-won held his head.

He had cut off the teachers’ opposition with the International Theological Society matter. He had kept the fact that Do Seon-woo had helped the Seoul Eastern Holy Knight Order during the fire strictly secret, and through the staging of announcing it on the day of the appointment ceremony, he had suppressed the students’ complaints.

All of this had been Kim Chang-won’s plan. If things flowed according to plan, there would be no variables.

But it was arrogance. There was a variable. Kim Chang-won had excluded the possibility that Do Seon-woo would ’again’ not come to the appointment ceremony.

"Keep trying to contact him for now."

Kim Chang-won said. He didn’t show it, but he was feeling very anxious. If they reversed the choice again or postponed the appointment ceremony this time too, there would definitely be a barrage of opposition from students as well as teachers.

He had managed to get through the first time with skill, but he wasn’t confident about getting through a second time.

"Yes, but the phone keeps saying it’s turned off..."

"I’ll try to buy some time, so teacher, please first-"

Thud.

At that moment, the door opened.

It was a familiar scene to Kim Chang-won. He was walking across the students toward the podium with big strides. However, unlike before, his steps weren’t limping. His steps were more energetic than ever. He quickly crossed the auditorium and came up to the podium.

Thump.

He knelt on one knee in front of Kim Chang-won. The auditorium lighting clearly illuminated him, dressed neatly in his school uniform.

"...By any chance, is the appointment ceremony over again?"

Do Seon-woo.

He looked up at Kim Chang-won and asked cheekily. At that sight, Kim Chang-won couldn’t help but laugh.

"That was close."

"I’m sorry."

"...Sorry, indeed."

Kim Chang-won reached his hand toward Do Seon-woo’s head. Pure white radiance bestowed by the Pope flowed from Kim Chang-won’s hand and eventually enveloped Do Seon-woo’s body.

"Rather, I should be the one saying thank you."

Ting!

A clear sound like a water drop falling filled the auditorium.

It was the sound of the Eucharist beginning, which bestows the blessing of superhuman strength that those selected for the Charity Holy Name possess, along with the appointment ceremony.

The light that had been floating around Do Seon-woo eventually gathered together to form a single mass. That mass of light was absorbed as if seeping into Do Seon-woo’s heart.

With this, Do Seon-woo was included among the Seven Holy Names.

With that as the finale, the appointment ceremony ended.