How to Survive at the Academy

Giving meaning (8)

the next morning. The facts about the circumstances of Abbot Austin’s death were formally proclaimed among the nuns.

natural death due to aging. He was overworked for several days in preparation for the prayer meeting, and even ran on the roof of the monastery in the middle of the night, causing excessive blood flow, and he died suddenly of a heart attack.

In reality, the cause of the murder was clear, but the announcement was made like that.

Considering Abbot Austin’s age, even a sudden death could be an excuse for a natural death. Even among ordinary nuns, there was no sign of suspicion.

The tragic news of Abbot Austin’s death brought only sadness and disappointment to the inside of the monastery.

It wasn’t difficult to shut the mouths of those who knew it was murder.

Assistant Bishop Melinir, who knew all the truth, of course didn’t want to make things big.

Princess Persica also has no reason to give up if she can finish her work with a natural death.

Saint Clarisse was persuaded by me myself. Saint Clarisse did not object, as the deceased Abbot of Austin would also like this to end like this.

All three parties leading the case agreed, so the rest of the work proceeded smoothly.

Even the distinguished guests who knew the circumstances of the murder agreed not to publicize the murder, as there was nothing good about sparking a spark of suspicion.

This is because if things get bigger, they are more likely to get involved in the crime scene than necessary.

While everyone nodded at the words of Saint Clarisse and Princess Persica that the investigation would proceed quietly under the water… .

In this way, the truth about the Ain was buried in history.

the next morning.

After some work had been completed, I heard that a memorial to Abbot Austin had been set up at the entrance to the monastery.

The daily life of the monastery is early in the morning. Tired of all night interrogation and testimonies, all the other nuns also went to Austin Abbot’s tribute, but I couldn’t be alone in my room.

When I wake up to the sound of waves coming in from the window, tiredness rises from my body.

Today, I have to go back to the Sylvania Academy, so I have to ride the carriage all day. Still, it was not long enough to participate in Abbot Austin’s funeral procession. If you’re going to get up, you have to get up now.

No matter what, how can you feel such a heavy weight on your body?

It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch compared to camp life, but why is it so heavy?

Feeling such discomfort, I rolled up the blanket and found Lucy sleeping with her head buried in my chest.

“… ”

The witch’s hat, which was never removed from her body anytime and anywhere, was nestled next to her pillow. After all, was this a double line?

Yesterday, I was in a visibly depressed state, so it was difficult to leave it alone, so I remember bringing him in.

Saying it’s okay, okay, okay?

When a person is really hard and troubled, it is the most meaningful to have someone by your side like a wall.

“Hey, Lucy.”

Still, I have to get up now.

After waking Lucy a few times by calling out her name softly, her closed eyelids flew up. Lucy’s characteristic dazed, undulating bluish eyes faced me, then suddenly pressed my upper body to the top of my chin and raised my upper body.

He didn’t even know when he fell asleep. While sulking, he wiped the saliva around his mouth with his sleeve, widened his pupils slightly, and spoke in a more intense voice than usual.

“I didn’t know if I was sleeping.”

“Yesterday must have been difficult in many ways, so I understand… ”

Was it a mistake to bring up the story yesterday?

Lucy couldn’t continue to say anything, whether it was a shame that came up late in the memory of shedding big tears while wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

“… No need to be so upset. In life, there are times when that happens.”

It looks like he had a big accident last night. As my older sister tells me, Lucy Meryl just fell asleep from crying.

It may be a shame for me to say that the place is in my arms, but that doesn’t mean I’m in a position to console you.

Lucy belatedly wiped her eyelids with her sleeve, trying to keep her poker face as if nothing had happened. However, it didn’t seem to work as well as I thought.

Do I have to say that the look with my eyes down here and there is quite fresh? Anyway, considering her usual appearance as if contemplating everything in the world like a god, it was not very common.

“anyway… you have to wake up slowly I’m going back to Sylvania today, so I have to prepare… Most of all, I have to go to the grandmother’s remembrance. You should have already started by now. The monastery is very early in the morning.”

If you look out the window, the morning mist remains. The fog would disappear when I got ready, but it was still a time that didn’t come up properly.

“I have to finish my work.”

When Abbot Austin’s name comes up, Lucy sees something in her own way… He quietly nodded his head. He was so obedient that it seemed unusual for her.

After this, it was a breeze. I went to the washroom on the first floor with Lucy, who followed me, holding my sleeve tightly, and wet my face with cold water.

Coming up after a quick wash, I put on my coat, leather pants, and a wizard’s robe. Then, she draped around Lucy’s school uniform, which was scattered here and there. There was still no way to make the sleeves look neat.

After that, when Lucy asked what she wanted to sit on her lap, she meant to tie her hair. I swept down Lucy’s gray hair with the comb that the nun had prepared, and tied Lucy’s hair at an appropriate point with a braid.

And the loose-fitting tie was well pinned and fixed, and the shirt with the wrong button fastened neatly again.

The sequence of processes was so natural that the nuns passing by looked at them with puzzled eyes… In fact, we didn’t have to worry about it because we saw each other today and we won’t see each other anymore.

After that, holding on to the sleeves of her clothes, she led Lucy following her down to the first floor of the monastery.

Lucy was still walking, limping like a fluttering paper doll, perhaps weak in the morning. Still, when he saw the scene unfolding at the front door of the monastery in the early morning, he bit his lips as if he had a strangely stout heart.

A pile of flowers along with a portrait of Austin. The morning sun rises from the eastern sky. The sound of crashing waves.

In the meantime, the monks praying solemnly looked as if time had stopped…

Me and Lucy just stared at the scene for a while.

*“Thank you for taking good care of Eileen. Now he is resting well in his room. We’ll take good care of it before night falls.”

The girl Eileen, who was captured by Lucy, was handed over to the assistant Bishop Melinir.

After Abbot Austin’s death, the management of the abbey passed to her, who was, in effect, the deputy diocesan bishop of the region.

Also, there are few insiders inside the monastery who know the truth about the Ain. Because she was the most senior among them, there was no one like her to entrust Eileen with.

After the main prayer of the memorial service, it was time to sit down and pray freely for Abbot Austin. There was no one to say anything when he slowly left, but in front of the portrait of the abbot, many nuns were sitting still and praying.

After completing his basic duties, his assistant Bishop Melinir took the opportunity to speak to me. At the very back of the memorial site, he was staring at me, leaning against a stone wall.

“You seem very heartbroken… It was done by accident while drunk on the full moon, so other Ain colleagues will understand.”

Melinir, who lowered his voice and spoke slowly, was already dressed as an abbot.

The news had arrived early in the morning from the booming Eldane. As soon as the Holy Eldane heard the report of Abbot Austin’s death last night, he immediately delivered his condolences.

Then, as the vice-bishop, she immediately granted the post of abbot and instructed that the situation be settled well.

“All the other Ain children understand it well. Getting your nails done in the wrong place because of the blood… It’s something that can happen not only to Eileen, but to them as well.”

“… At least he won’t be harmed for attacking Abbot Austin.”

“Yes. Everyone will understand. but… Whether or not you can forgive yourself is a completely different story.”

When she found Eileen, she had her face buried in her lap, wiping the tears from her bloody hands.

For a girl who hasn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, it’s probably too much of a heartache. I think about it like that, but it’s too early to take responsibility for anything more than this.

It’s something she can overcome on her own. It was enough to send cheers from my heart.

“Would you like to pray? Now, even if you are not a member of the monastery, you can put up a wreath.”

“yes.”

Before I could answer anything, Lucy first nodded.

Assistant Bishop Melinir trembled and looked at Lucy. Then, he closed his eyes and silently nodded his head in response.

Lucy, like me, does not have faith in gods.

Rather, she is a girl with a history of pouring out magic against evil spirits. Nevertheless, it’s a courtesy to Austin who left… She placed a wreath of pure white roses and put her hands together to pray.

It was a different look from when he was lying down and taking a nap.

At that time, a girl named Lucy had become a girl who could become serious when she became serious.

“Are you leaving for Sylvania today?”

“yes. Then, late at night, at low tide, a wagon is supposed to come. I will hold the memorial service until nightfall.”

“It’s okay to do it while resting in moderation. The people who will make a wreath have already done it, and in fact, there is not much left to do.”

“it’s okay. I will keep my seat.”

The memorial service at the main gate of the monastery was filled with nuns even as time passed.

It was depressing to stand all day among the mourning nuns, but I didn’t mind at all.

Lucida hates crowded places like this. However, she also sat next to me without saying a word of dislike.

Occasionally, an acquaintance nun passed by, consoling him, and talking about Austin while he was still alive.

After one procession of nuns passed, this time a procession of outside visitors came.

Most of them knew the circumstances of Austin’s murder, so their expressions were shaky. Still, he paid tribute to her noble life and left.

In fact, there was no need to make such a strange and guilty face. Because such an ending itself would be the situation Austin wished for the most during his lifetime.

I haven’t seen it myself, but I can feel it. She must have passed away with a smile more than anyone else.

I sat still and sent the distinguished guests. After that, Saint Clarisse personally came and made a wreath.

When he dies, it is the highest honor to receive the remembrance of Saint Clarisse, the spiritual leader of the Telos Church.

Abbot Austin was known as a person who deserved the honorable memorial, no matter what anyone said.

A wreath of the Princess of Persica followed. She approached with a serious attitude, and with a complicated face placed a wreath at her memorial.

princess and maiden.

The girl who was born with the noblest blood in the world and the girl who received the greatest blessing from the god of the afterlife.

While receiving their mourning at the same time, Abbot Austin passed away.

It would be difficult to condense 109 years of life into one line, but it was a truly tumultuous life.

*“It is said that a carriage from Sylvania has arrived on the shore. The saint also said that she has finished preparing to leave, so you can go out to the front door slowly. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you as the deputy director of the parish for staying with me until the end. Confucius Ed Roth Taylor.”

“… ”

“We, Cledric Abbey, will not forget the work of the Roth Taylor family, who lent their strength to pass this task without any major problems.”

Assistant Bishop Melinir bowed his head and thanked me.

From my point of view, thank you was more than necessary, so I waved my hand moderately and said it was okay.

Even after the nuns left for work and the distinguished guests left one by one, Lucy and I stayed there.

Eventually, when it was time to clean up the memorial service, Lucy used magic to clean up the house, and I, too, gave my hands to these and other things that required strength.

As a result, by the time the sun went down, all the schedules were neatly finished. Now, all that was left was to organize the memorial table, which had a portrait of Austin smiling wildly, and a bunch of flowers.

Time had passed and it was already low tide. I was so distracted that I couldn’t even feel the passing of the day properly.

“… !”

Suddenly, Lucy raised her eyes and looked around. Did you feel any strangeness?

As I have said time and time again, in the Monastery, the night is as early as the morning.

By the time the moon is in the middle of the sky, more than half of the nuns are already going to bed.

There are very few nuns down to the main entrance of the monastery, which leads to the coastline. It’s because you can’t make it to bed at a time like this.

Thanks to that, the vicinity of the memorial was completely quiet. The middle door leading to the outer wall was also closed, so there was no condition for anyone to enter.

The remembrance space between the outer wall and the door inside the monastery. Although quarantined by iron bars… There were several nuns who climbed the outer wall. Lucy noticed the nuns’ popularity.

Dozens of girls jumped over the iron bars and walls and landed on them. It’s strange to see them all wearing animal ears and tails together, but they don’t seem to be particularly drunk with the full moon madness.

He made an occasional rumble, but it wasn’t an aggression.

The power flowing through the blood of the Ain sometimes made them lose their sanity, but more miserable than that was what kept them sane.

The reason is… It is the death of a benefactor.

The Ain children had been hiding around them all day, waiting for the night to fade away.

The girls all gathered in front of the memorial table in unison. All the memorial facilities have already been removed, and only one memorial stand remains.

But the girls don’t care, they gather and pray. They were the last mourners of this remembrance.

Some sit on a nearby rock, some on the dirt floor, quietly hanging their tails and praying.

In front of them, Eileen, who still had tears in her eyes, sat.

The girl with her lush blonde hair hanging down on the floor and praying in the moonlight while wearing a dusty monk’s robe…

Although it was mixed with animal blood… He had the appearance of a faithful servant serving the gods.

“If you are late, you will be in trouble.”

“… All right.”

Now the water has completely drained out and we can slowly make our way towards the shore. Leaving behind the girls praying in the moonlight, it was time for me to go my own way.

If you don’t leave at this time, you will have to stay at this monastery until tomorrow.

It’s not a big deal, but I want to go back to the academy and focus on my studies. It was because I did not want to be further behind in the class schedule, no matter how hard I tried.

Perhaps noticing such a sign of mine, Assistant Bishop Melinir closed his eyes and smiled.

“Slowly, we have to return to our daily lives. everyone.”

After the person to leave leaves, daily life comes again. As if he didn’t exist in the first place.

The clock hand moves forward, tick tock, and the sun rises and sets, and at some point the moon rises in the middle of the sky. Then one day, like a blackout, life comes to an end.

Some may feel that such a flow of life is meaningless and define it as meaningless.

Some people know how to find and give meaning even in such a monotonous and repeated life.

The sun rises even in Cedric’s Abbey without Austin. Even if the dead are silent, the life of the living must continue.

After all, we survived.

because you have to live.

*“It almost happened.”

“Ugh, that must have been really hard.”

“I haven’t even suffered anything. Because most of the time I was sitting still. by the way… It’s a bit surprising… ”

When I returned to the camp from the monastery, I was so surprised that I fell asleep.

Before I left the camp, I was constantly working on the extension of the hut, but when I came back, the exterior work was almost finished.

Of course, the process of trimming and processing the logs used as materials is the most labor intensive… The construction itself is not that difficult if you borrow the power of the spirits.

However, even so, I never thought that Yenika would be able to finish everything in the ten days or so of my stay in the monastery.

thinking about it… Yenika’s own hut was also built in 5 days due to the forced march of the spirits.

Takan’s Leadership… … Should it be leadership? … .. Anyway, thanks to Takan’s leadership, the movement of the spirits, which became in perfect harmony, boasts superior efficiency beyond the scope of common sense.

Of course, we have to go beyond the scope of common sense… Because Tarkan’s way of thinking is beyond the realm of common sense.

When I looked at the camp scene using Spirit Inspiration, exhausted lower spirits were scattered here and there like corpses.

Mug, who was heading to the Cedric’s Monastery with me, looked at the lower spirits scattered around with complicated eyes.

Just a few years ago, he was there. Now that he has risen to his rank as a lieutenant spirit, he would not have suffered that much, but if he had been left in this camp, the mug would not have been safe.

[I, I think I am really lucky to have signed a contract with Ed. Let’s go forever… I will be loyal to this candle mug for the rest of my life… .!!! ]

It seems like you have a lot to feel.

“This… It’s really all done… ?”

A fully implemented hut, according to a pre-designed plan, was at hand.

A zelkova tree spreading its large branches next to the camp. Using the stem as the axis, a large first-story hut was built, and on the second floor, a large auxiliary column was also supported by well supporting the stem on the high part of the stem.

With the clean and perfect result, I forgot even the justification for practicing woodworking. This was a quality that I could never make on my own. The windows neatly hung on each floor and the well-structured logs were also impressive areas.

The part where the support is connected seems to have been nailed by buying an iron rod, and traces of the protruding part remain as if they were all cut off. It is truly surprising that they did this to this extent with spirits who were not talented in meticulous work.

“Ehehe~.”

Bessi smiled and made a V-shape with her hand, but suddenly Yenika lowered her head as if she was bewildered.

“actually… I was only going to have half of the skeleton, but while I was going to my bachelor’s class, Takan took the initiative and finished it all… ”

“… Are the other spirits okay?”

“In the beginning, the construction itself must have been carried out without me until the night… I do some extra work while I’m out of class… I guess I hid it in case I said something… I realized it too late and scolded Takan… ”

Yenika pouted and fiddled with the tips of her fingers. Clearly, it was the over-loyalty of the spirits.

Anyway, it is good to receive the love of the spirits, but if you roll until you are exhausted like that, Yenika herself is not very good.

Even in the midst of it, the figure of Tarkan, who was smiling at the hut as if he was satisfied, was dazzling. Phil will be there.

“Uh, anyway, aftercare of the spirits is something I can do my best! Can’t Ed just be happy?! wow! Wow!”

“It doesn’t mean that the situation will change suddenly just because you say hurray, but… Either way, it’s a good thing for me.”

I looked up at the larger hut.

He also looked towards the wooden shelter built on one side of the camp. It was the first shelter I made and the place where I slept among the cold night wind and insects on the first day.

Seeing that the difference in size was overwhelming, a strange feeling came up and I pressed down on my forehead.

indeed… Is this a wave of inspiration?

“The inside is still empty. I don’t know how to arrange furniture, so I think Ed will have to do it himself!”

“… okay.”

That’s about the arrangement of the furniture, even if it’s a hundred times, I’ll take care of it myself. Rather, you can actually laugh and do it.

The second floor will be used as a library and engineering workshop, and the first floor will be used as a living space… All sensitive and delicate equipment will go up to the second floor.

It was around the time when I was thinking about moving plans and happily thinking about how to arrange the furniture.

“By the way, Ed, you have to go back to class tomorrow… ?”

“yes? right.”

“then… I’ve just arrived at the bachelor’s degree, so I don’t know the news.”

Yenika rolled up her arms as she put the pot for preparing the meal over the bonfire.

“Ed’s brother Tanya… I heard that you are opening a new student meeting this time… I think Ed is going to call him there too. It’s kind of like calling a meeting.”

It is the president’s natural right to convene a meeting among students.

However, Yenika tilted her head as if she was concerned.

“But the reason for the meeting is a bit vague… There are many rumors circulating because there are only children from famous and prestigious families who are calling… ”

“… What rumors?”

“The student president… They are trying to form a readership that can exert influence not only inside Sylvania but also outside… .”

At those words, I had no choice but to tilt my head unconsciously.

One thing is certain… It felt like Tanya was drawing a blueprint for something.

This… I felt like I had to go and ask myself.