BXBX NOVEL Chapter 9 – The Priest Who Gives Generously
Chapter 9 – The Priest Who Gives Generously
As soon as I left the department office, I headed straight to the academy’s infirmary. I needed to verify if what the professors said was true.
The infirmary was a relatively large two-story building located a bit further after leaving the main building. Considering the size of the academy, it was an appropriate scale.
When I opened the door and entered, I saw a person sitting at the reception desk. They glanced up at me while reading a book, then immediately returned their gaze to the book.
“Excuse me, do you work here?”
“Yes.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“Yes.”
What kind of attitude is that? Anyway, since they claim to be a doctor, I might as well test their skills.
“I’m here to get some medication for a headache.”
The doctor, with a disinterested expression, gestured with their chin towards a shelf. Turning my gaze there, I saw shelves lined with medicine bottles, each with a hastily written label.
“Take one from the bottle labeled ‘headache medicine’ over there.”
“Excuse me?”
But the doctor, apparently not hearing me, had already returned to their book. What a lunatic.
As I took out a pill for my headache, I looked around the infirmary.
The first floor was structured like a modern emergency room. There was a reception desk where the doctor sat, and behind it, a bookshelf likely for storing documents. There weren’t many documents.
Further inside, there were several beds and shelves stocked with basic emergency supplies like bandages and simple medications.
Opening a door inside, I found, to my surprise, an operating room. The floor was tiled, and a metal bed was placed in the center, covered in dust, indicating it had never been used.
Another room turned out to be an office. Given that the doctor was sitting up front, this was likely used by the academy’s Holy Priest.
The second floor consisted of inpatient rooms, nothing particularly noteworthy there.
The facilities themselves were good, as if the academy had anticipated various accidents and injuries when it was built. However, due to the headmaster’s self-preservation policy, it wasn’t being properly operated.
The emergency medicine class was taught by a professor who used to be a hunter, and the pristine infirmary was completely empty. This place was a total mess.
As the professors said, with the infirmary’s capabilities at rock bottom, changing the training program immediately as per my report to the headmaster would cause an uproar. We need to bolster this place first.
With various thoughts running through my mind, I descended to the first floor, where the doctor was still engrossed in their book, oblivious to my presence. This guy needs to be fired.
In hindsight, the Second Princess was incredibly tolerant. How could she allow an academy to be run like this without firing the headmaster? Well, technically, it’s because the headmaster is under the Emperor’s parachute, so she can’t be dismissed.
If this were a web novel, readers would surely comment that the headmaster is actually a spy trying to sabotage one of the Empire’s major academies, or that the character’s intelligence is too low.
But Dark Elves are not a stupid race. Despite the mess made of the Combat Department, after assessing things over a few days, I found the Theory Department has an incredibly solid curriculum.
Though it doesn’t compare to the famous Imperial Calvasar Academy, it’s impressive considering it hasn’t even produced its first graduating class yet.
In my opinion, the headmaster isn’t stupid. There seems to be something else going on… Could it be that she really is a spy? The head of a spy academy being a spy?
That can’t be. If that were true, the Empire’s intelligence department, which knows about even the street brawls in the distant Brunswell, would have figured it out long ago.
Anyway, never mind that. I need to get going.
* * * * *
Heading to the faculty office for an outing, I found Olysia cleaning.
Since arriving at the academy, Olysia and I have been living in the staff area on the academy grounds. Despite being a professor, my assigned residence is a small detached house with a garden.
Olysia manages the household there but sometimes comes to the faculty office to clean, fearing that a messy office might cause me to fall out of favor with the higher-ups and potentially get kicked out, forcing us to return to Brunswell. That’s something she wants to avoid at all costs.
“I’m heading out.”
“Outside? Isn’t it work hours? Where are you going?”
“It’s a business trip. I’m going to the Church Headquarters.”
“The Church Headquarters? So you’re going into the city?”
“I’ll be passing through there. Why? Oh, I see.”
Seeing Olysia’s eyes light up, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Come with me. I’ll drop you off in the city.”
“Hieek?!”
Olysia made an odd sound, quickly putting away the broom and cloth, and took off her apron.
Having left Brunswell to come to the Imperial Capital, Olysia hadn’t had a proper chance to go out, being too busy with cleaning and organizing our residence. She often used to wonder how beautiful theImperial Capital would be, and must have been eager to see the city.
Come to think of it, this was my first time leaving the academy grounds as well. I’ve been too preoccupied with figuring out how to raise the students’ standards before the first graduation next spring.
Olysia and I took the dedicated carriage assigned to the Head Professor and left the academy.
The academy is located right next to the city, so after leaving the main gate, it didn’t take long to enter the forest of tall buildings.
“Hiyaaaaa…”
Seeing the shops lined up along the street, Olysia looked like she might start drooling any moment.
Most buildings were at least three stories high, some reaching six stories or more. Guards patrolled frequently, indicating excellent security. This was indeed the continent’s largest city, Calvasar.
“I’ll drop you off here. See you later.”
I flicked a gold coin to Olysia as she got off the carriage, which she caught in her skirt with a slight curtsy.
“Thank you, Sir Dian!”
“Don’t follow strangers. If anything happens, run to the guards immediately. Got it?”
“Yes, don’t worry!”
After dropping off Olysia, I headed to the Church Headquarters.
The Church Headquarters is located on Linus Street, where the Imperial Palace and other key institutions of the Empire are clustered. Yes, it’s named after that Linus.
The street was renamed ten years ago to honor Linus, who killed the Demon King. Fortunately, there’s no “Dian Street.” Linus is the Hero, and I am just a supporting character. It’s better not to overshadow the protagonist.
Passing by a bronze statue of Linus brandishing a sword and shouting, the Church Headquarters came into view.
The grand marble temple stood majestically, preceded by a wide circular plaza paved with white stone and a fountain.
The colonnade adorned with divine carvings, each pillar so thick that it would take ten men holding hands to encircle one, added to the temple’s imposing presence.
Massive doors, through which even a dragon could pass, saw a steady stream of priests and visitors. Holy Knights in ceremonial armor guarded the entrance with halberds, exuding a sense of dignity and sanctity befitting the headquarters of the largest religious group on the continent, the Goddess Church.
“What brings you here, sir?”
As I got off the carriage, a Holy Knight approached me politely.
“I’m here to see the Chief Administrator.”
“The Chief Administrator? Do you have an appointment?”
“I couldn’t schedule one in advance due to the suddenness.”
“I see….”
The Holy Knight seemed unsure, sizing me and the carriage up, likely assessing my social standing and whether I could reasonably request a meeting with such a high-ranking priest.
“I am Dian, Head Combat Professor at the Imperial Special Mission Academy. Please inform the Chief Administrator that I am here and willing to wait.”
Showing the knight my academy identification with the academy’s insignia, he acknowledged and went inside to relay the message.
A short while later, the knight returned, looking somewhat bewildered.
“The Chief Administrator will see you now.”
Following the knight’s lead, I climbed the steps towards the Church Headquarters when I heard someone calling my name from above.
“Dian!”
Looking up, I saw Lormane hurrying down the stairs, her clerical robes fluttering.
“Dian! I’ve missed you!”
Lormane leapt into my arms, hugging me tightly.
“Long time no see, Rene.”
“Haa, Dian… Dian…”
Lormane buried her face in my chest, taking deep breaths and rubbing her face against me. The Holy Knight escorting me stared in bewilderment.
“Rene, there are a lot of eyes watching.”
“Oh?!”
Only then did Lormane hastily push herself away, blushing and offering an awkward smile.
“Sorry, Dian. It’s been so long, and I couldn’t contain my excitement…. Let’s talk inside.”
Inside the temple, all passing priests bowed to Lormane. As the Chief Administrator, she held one of the highest ranks in the church, and her presence commanded respect.
Entering her office, a young priestess who looked even younger than Olysia followed us in. What’s her role, I wondered?
The young priestess bowed her head to me and began preparing tea. She seemed to be Lormane’s personal aide.
As the young priestess prepared the tea, Lormane bombarded me with questions.
Why did I suddenly disappear? Where had I been all this time? How did I end up as a professor at the Special Mission Academy, and so on.
“Linus didn’t tell you?”
“Well, he did mention it, but I wanted to hear it directly from Dian. I’ve always loved hearing Dian’s stories.”
“I see. Well, I guess there’s no helping it then.”
I sat facing Lormane and recounted the recent story of how I became a professor at the academy, starting from ten years ago when I left the Palace.
Throughout the story, Lormane sat with both her hands grasped together, her eyes bright with attention. It really reminded me of the old days during our special task period.
When we would camp, I used to tell stories about myths related to constellations, and Lormane would always react like that.
“So that’s what happened. As expected, Dian is amazing.”
As I finished the story, Lormane opened her mouth with watery eyes as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
“Fearing that Dian’s power may be a variable in the era of peace, so you went into seclusion for a long time of 10 years…”
“No, it’s not that, I just wanted to live comfortably…”
“You didn’t turn away from the difficulties of your old comrades and instead took on the important position of Head Combat Professor at the academy…”
The man named Dian described by the Church’s Chief Administrator is truly noble and has a strong spirit of sacrifice.
“I really admire Dian.”
“Well… thank you. So, how have you been all this time?”
This time, Lormane began her own story. After the grand welcome-back ceremony at the palace, Lormane returned directly to the Church, and in just ten years, she rose to the position of Chief Administrator, something that usually takes a lifetime for others.
Not because she was part of the Hero Party who killed the Demon King, but because she was already talented enough to be called up to the Hero Party, and her achievement of taking down the Demon King was just an addition to that.
Suddenly, Lormane reached out and grabbed my hand.
“If Dian hadn’t left that day without a word that day, I might have given up the path of priesthood…”
“Haha…”
I chuckled awkwardly and withdrew my hand from Lormane’s. With a rather disappointed expression at my reaction, Lormane asked.
“But, Dian. Why did you come here? It doesn’t seem like you just wanted to see me.”
“Yes. Wasn’t there a Holy Priest stationed at the Special Mission Academy before?”
“Yes, there was. When it was just established, the Imperial Palace raised a disturbance and dispatched one. Although they eventually returned.”
“It’s because of that issue. We need a Holy Priest again. I’m sorry for this back and forth, but…”
“Maya.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Lormane spoke up. Then the little priest who had been serving us tea immediately bowed her head.
“Please speak, Chief Administrator.”
“Please convey what I am about to say directly to the Church Office.”
“Understood, Chief Administrator.”
“The assignments of the bishop-rank priests scheduled for this month’s tour will be changed.”
What? Bishop level? A Bishop is a senior priest responsible for a diocese. We don’t need that level of authority at the academy…
“No, wait a moment, Lormane. We don’t need bishop-level priests…”
“There might be around thirty of them. Send all of them to the Special Mission Academy.”
“Thirty?!”
“I’ll go later, so notify them first.”
“Understood, Chief Administrator.”
“Uhh! Wait!”
As Lormane finished speaking, I hurriedly grabbed the wrist of the little priest running out the door.
We don’t need that many people!
[TL/N: See pinned comment for Maya’s character illustration.]