Chapter 134
"Holy rain—merciful rain of the goddess—"
"Always keep god in your heart—along with the gentle smile of the goddess—"
At the sanctuary of the Royal Academy.
About ten female students were singing in unison, hands clasped in prayer.
The one accompanying them on the organ was the master of this room—Clael, the teacher in charge of theology.
"Ah, the goddess has come. The goddess has come. The land of the goddess draws near—"
"Yes, very good. You're improving quite a bit."
"Thank you very much!"
The chorus of female students all lit up with joy.
They were students taking music classes at the academy.
After school, when regular classes had ended, Clael would teach them singing and how to play instruments.
At first, there had only been one or two of them... but with each passing day, more students came seeking instruction, and now there were ten.
(Good grief... honestly, Mrs. Veleno might scold me for this...)
Veleno was the teacher in charge of music, and didn't take kindly to Clael, an outsider to the subject, stepping in to teach.
If that's the case, she could just teach them herself... But Veleno had a sarcastic personality and a preachy tone that didn't sit well with the students.
That's why students kept turning to Clael for guidance.
(If only Mrs. Veleno could teach more kindly, this wouldn't be an issue. But she's probably the type who never thinks her teaching might be the problem...)
Veleno seemed to have absolute confidence in her career and couldn't even imagine that she might be wrong.
That's why she complained every time she saw Clael.
(I could refuse to teach them, but... I'd feel bad turning down such eager students.)
"Mr. Clael, thank you! I was able to sing that part much better than before!"
"That's wonderful to hear. I'm glad."
Clael responded with a smile to the student who thanked him with one.
Seeing students grow was the greatest joy for a teacher.
Even if it wasn't in the subject he was officially responsible for.
"You really are the guardian saint of 'education,' Mr. Clael. Your teaching is so easy to understand."
"Yeah, I wish you could also serve as our music teacher."
"If it were Mrs. Veleno, she'd start every answer with 'You don't even understand this?' It totally kills motivation."
The female students all spoke at once.
If Veleno had heard this conversation, she'd probably go ballistic and unleash a machine-gun sermon.
"Um... well, Mrs. Veleno is also very serious about music. I'm only teaching because she's busy, that's all..."
"Ah, yes. We understand."
"We won't say anything like this outside the sanctuary."
"Please do... I'd rather not get lectured either."
He firmly reminded the female students.
"Everyone, the tea is ready."
The door connecting to the preparation room opened with a clack.
The one who appeared with a tray of teacups was Reina.
Smiling like a saint, Reina began placing the cups on the table.
"Thank you, Saint!"
"You didn't have to go through the trouble, Lady Reina."
"Oh no, don't worry. Please enjoy."
The female students sat down and began drinking tea.
Tea time after practice had recently become something of a tradition.
Reina would brew tea and serve it to the students, who in return would bring sweets to share.
"Tea time after school, huh..."
Clael chuckled wryly as he took a bite of the cookies one of the students had brought.
The cookies had a pleasant sweetness, were nice and crispy, and not too rich—easy for even men to enjoy.
When he drank the tea, its warmth and flavor spread throughout his mouth.
"Delicious. Both the cookies and the tea."
"Thank you, Mr. Clael."
"These cookies are from a new shop that opened on the main street. Tasty, right?"
Clael, Reina, and the ten female students sat around the tea and sweets, chatting idly.
"Come to think of it... something strange happened the other day on my way home from the academy."
Amid the conversation.
One of the female students suddenly spoke up as if remembering something.
"That day, the teacher gave me an errand, so I ended up heading home late... While walking down the street at night, a creepy person spoke to me."
That student was from a lower noble family and walked to school because her family was poor.
"That's dangerous. What kind of person was it?"
One of the female students frowned and asked. "Um..." she replied, recalling the memory.
"It was two men. Both were big and had scars on their faces and arms... But unlike soldiers or knights, they had really scary faces. They told me to come with them because they had something to ask..."
"No way... You didn't go with them, did you?"
Clael also looked suspicious.
From what he heard, they were clearly shady individuals.
Probably the kind who drag women into back alleys to do awful things.
"No... A sudden gust of wind blew, and I instinctively lowered my head. When the wind stopped and I looked up, they were gone."
"Gone...?"
Just when it seemed like a potential crime story, it turned out to be more like a ghost story.
Were those two men actually ghosts of guys who got run over by a carriage while hitting on women?
"Now that I think about it... I also heard something like the flapping of bird wings when the wind blew. Like, flap flap flap..."
"The sound of bird wings..."
"There really are some mysterious things out there."
Reina, still smiling, poured a second helping of tea.
"You should be careful on your way home. Try to stick to well-lit, busy streets before it gets too dark."
"Ah, yes. You're right."
"If it still bothers you, you could consult a teacher or the military police... though it's probably fine now."
"............?"
Reina seemed to mutter something under her breath, but Clael didn't catch it.
Clael looked puzzled, but Reina gave him her usual, innocent smile.