The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 20

[I raise allegations that the student with the surname of Do from the Class of Charity received a fraudulent award and that they are committing school violence.

I was bullied by a student with the surname Do, who received an award during the mass this morning. Back when I was in middle school, a student with the surname Do left a scar that I could never wash away, and I'm still struggling with the pain.

It is true that the student with the surname Do used a miracle to bind the demonic beasts, but it is also questionable how the demonic beast appeared. To get straight to the point, I would like to raise suspicions that the student may have purposely released the demonic beasts to receive an award. To put it in other words, I believe it’s a self-orchestrated—]

***

“What kind of bullshit is this?”

“Ha, wow. Seriously?”

Koo Jun-Hyuk swore while reading the message, and Jung In-Ah responded the same way. She just didn't swear.

Firstly, I was the only student in the Class of Charity with the surname Do. It was written with the intention of openly targeting me. Also, I had never committed school violence in middle school. Rather, I was usually the subject of such violence.

To say that I released the demonic beasts to get an award was completely ridiculous. I had no idea who wrote it, but whoever did must have had a special kind of talent to be able to conjure up such a nonsense story.

"We’ll begin homeroom. I'm glad that you all recovered well. I definitely should be proud to have an award winner in the class, but I can’t feel good about it in this situation."

While Ha Ye-Jin was starting homeroom, I could only read the text message. Ye-Jin's voice did not enter my ears at all. I read the text message over and over again multiple times. I couldn't stop, even though I knew I would only get angrier the more I read. It wasn't until I felt nauseous and dizzy to the point where I couldn't read the text that I put my cell phone down.

The article was posted on an anonymous community called Grandce. Students shared the article through SNS, messenger apps, and text messages.

It didn't matter whether the content of the article was true or not. They just needed a story, and I had been targeted as the scapegoat. Even after the first class began, I was still distracted.

"Now, as you all know, Sacred Physical Science is—"

The first class was <Research and Theory of Sacred Material Science and Artifacts I>.

It was commonly shortened to SM science.

Some would say that it was simply an abbreviation of sacred material science, and others might say that it was such a boring subject that only sadists and masochists would take the subject [1]. In any case, it was clear that the class was incredibly boring.

Midway through the class, I couldn’t help but fall asleep as if I was blacking out. I don’t know if it was because of the stress I accumulated from the text message earlier or if it was because the class was too boring.

"Do Sun-Woo!"

"Huh. Yeah? Yes?”

The sacred material science teacher woke me up from my sleep. The other students were looking at me while snickering. The teacher’s gaze that normally would not have fazed me was now making me feel terribly sick. It felt like everyone in the room was laughing and swearing at me.

"You must be smart enough to graduate already, yeah? That’s why you're not paying attention, is that right?"

"Ah, I'm sorry."

"Well, then, since you're up, I will ask you a question. You can sit down once you give me an answer."

The sacred material science teacher continued while wiping the blackboard with an eraser. The teacher's head was half bald, and the light reflecting off his head caused the bald part to shine. Some of the students were holding back their laughter at the sight. Personally, I had no idea what was so funny.

"Divinium. It is the most basic substance in sacred material science. Describe three phenomena that occur when divinium and divine power react."

Oh, this.

I had already studied this a long time ago. I was fairly sure that when divinium reacted with divine power, it would cause that phenomenon to occur.

That phenomenon, that phenomenon...

What was that phenomenon again? I couldn’t remember.

All sorts of random thoughts chaotically bounced around in my head. The random thoughts pushed away my memories, making it impossible to remember anything or think of anything.

[You just have to say the exact words I am about to say. Understand?]

Someone's voice leaked into my dazed mind.

[The first phenomenon that occurs is expansion or contraction. The second phenomenon that occurs is heat dissipation of 40.1 degrees. The third phenomenon that occurs is luminescence. Baldy said there are three phenomena, but there are actually four phenomena. In the case of supersaturated conditions, the fourth and last phenomenon that occurs is an explosion.]

"The first phenomenon that occurs is expansion or contraction. The second phenomenon that occurs is heat dissipation of 40.1 degrees. The third phenomenon that occurs is luminescence. Baldy said there are three phenomena, but there are actually four phenomena. In the case of supersaturated conditions, the fourth and last phenomenon that occurs is an explosion."

“...”

Strangely, the atmosphere in the classroom became frigid. I was sure I just did what I was told to do. What was it? Did I do something wrong? Why was everyone looking at me like that?

[You weren’t supposed to repeat the ‘baldy’ part! The bald guy's face is red now because he is angry. He’s become a boiled octopus.] They laughed out loud.

"Do Sun-Woo. You have a lot of guts to call me a baldy. I'd consider it going against the teacher’s authority, but since the answer was perfect, I'll let you off the hook just this once."

Fortunately, the teacher forgave me with a generous heart. Still, his face was still red as if his anger had not yet been relieved. His face really looked like a boiled octopus.

"Well, anyway. As he explained, when divinium reacts with divine power, it has four reactions depending on the situation. Number one—"

The teacher conducted the class by adding an explanation to what I said. As expected, it was no fun. Looking at the bald teacher’s head sparkle from the reflecting light was the most interesting part of the lecture.

At that moment, I suddenly felt a strange sense of disharmony. Was the voice that rang in my head just now Legba? No, Legba was well versed in metaphysics, such as history and religion, while he was no better than an outsider in the sacred sciences, such as sacred material science and sacred dynamics.

It was not Legba who was well-versed in physical science, but...

Baron Samedi.

The moment I remembered his name, his image flashed through my mind.

A suit, cigar, silk hat, rum, and purple smoke. And beyond the smoke, a glowing red eye could be seen.

[I came today because I had something to say again. I’m telling you this because I think you're struggling too much. By the way, it will be helpful if you take note of this.]

Samedi was usually playful, but today his tone was serious and solemn. I gulped down my saliva as I got nervous. Then I took out a notebook I didn't use from my bag, opened it, and picked up a pen. It was necessary to take notes on Baron Samedi's words.

[At eight o’clock, go to the city park. Be careful not to slip. Don't be late. Don't lose your composure. And now, the most important thing.]

Baron Samedi paused for a brief moment.

[Be careful of fire.]

After finishing the sentence, Baron Samedi disappeared. As usual, Samedi’s advice was vague and roundabout.

At the moment, I couldn't exactly figure out what Baron Samedi’s words meant. I would most likely find out if I went to the city park at 8 o'clock.

* * *

Jin-Seo was especially tired today after returning home from school.

It was because of that hideous object located in the corner of the room. It was a huge box that was one meter by one meter in dimension.

"When will I eat all that....” Jin-Seo sighed and put her hand in the box.

There was a rustling sound of vinyl hitting her hand. She took a jelly packet from the box and looked at it with devastated eyes. The huge box was filled with jelly. It was the jelly she had given to Do Sun-Woo this morning. She had given one to Sun-Woo and distributed some to all her friends, but there were still so many left. There was no one else to give it to anymore.

But to eat all that alone... She felt like she was going to gain weight.

‘Should I just give it all to Sun-Woo?’

She originally ordered the jelly to give to Sun-Woo. She was going to say thank you and give him a small gift, but she was kind of embarrassed to give it to only Sun-Woo. She thought the other students would get strange ideas.

These days, many students would look at a man and woman talking and mistakenly draw the conclusion that they were flirting. The rumors would get even more absurdly exaggerated if she exchanged jellies with him.

These were a bunch of seventeen-year-old prime pubescent high school students with dried-up love cells that were tired of their academic workload.

Therefore, what Jin-Seo chose was the tactic of ‘giving it to him as leftovers.’

Just like how there was an endless amount of jelly at home, suppose she gave jellies away as if the amount wouldn’t get reduced even if she gave them out to anybody, anywhere. If she gave them to her friends, her teacher, and finally to Sun-Woo, then it was possible to naturally give them to Sun-Woo as a gift without arousing suspicion.

As a bonus, she would be able to say thanks to him. Therefore, Jin-Seo asked her father to buy her some jelly.

"But I didn’t think he would buy an entire box."

She thought he would buy a bunch, but as a man of great generosity, her father ordered an entire box. To make matters worse, it was an extra-large one-cubic meter box. At this point, even if she gave out the jelly to every single student at school, there would still be leftovers.

Buzzzz.

While thinking about how to deal with the hundreds of surplus jelly, her phone vibrated, alerting her of a messenger notification.

[What are you doing?]

It was Ko Jun-Min.

He often contacted her after the demon extermination practice, and Jin-Seo replied to Jun-Min no matter how annoyed or tired she was.

It was because if she did not reply, thousands or hundreds of text messages from Jun-Min would bother her. It was not because she liked replying to him.

[I’m not doing anything in particular.]

[Did you order jelly?]

The decision to give jelly to Sun-Woo was also largely influenced by Jun-Min. Jun-Min liked jelly so much and said if he got a gift, he’d want to receive the jelly. She didn’t know whether Sun-Woo liked jelly, though. She just hoped he liked it. Jin-Seo thought about this and that and later replied to Jun-Min.

[Yes.]

[I see.]

The conversation with Jun-Min was always short. It was very painful and frustrating to have to keep sending replies even though she had nothing to say. Jin-Seo was starting to get afraid of Jun-Min contacting her. After that, she didn't get any messages for a while. It felt peaceful. She even seemed to feel a sense of freedom.

[Did you see this? It's a post from Grandce.]

[(Sent a picture)]

However, the sense of freedom only existed for a moment as Jun-Min contacted her once again. The photo that Jun-Min sent showed a disclosure posted on an anonymous community called Grandce. Jin-Seo scrolled down and read it carefully.

"...What is this?"

Student in the Class of Charity with the surname Do. Only one person in the Class of Charity had the surname Do.

Do Sun-Woo.

The exposed article blatantly referred to and criticized Sun-Woo. The accusations were baseless, all but incitement. What was even more shocking was the comments. There were comments that threw around words like expulsion and death as if it wasn’t a big deal.

There were even malicious comments that said, ‘That guy’s parents must be cultists.’ By all accounts, this comment had gone too far.

[I'm worried that you might get involved. These kinds of students should be expelled right away.]

[By any chance, do you know Sun-Woo?]

Jun-Min seemed to believe this nonsense. All in all, Sun-Woo was not a person who would commit evil acts such as committing school violence or releasing his magic to receive an award. If one knew him at least a little bit, it was easy to see that this accusation was a lie.

[I know him.]

[But he's not that kind of person.]

Jin-Seo courageously defended Sun-Woo. Jun-Min did not reply for a while, even after seeing the message. Jin-Seo suddenly felt fear.

[How would you know whether he’s that kind of person or not? You're not defending the perpetrator, are you?]

“...”

She felt suffocated. No matter what she said, she didn’t think it would get through to him.

Jin-Seo reread the captured copy of the article sent by Jun-Min.

No matter how much she looked at it, the article was clearly written with a malicious purpose by someone with negative feelings for Sun-Woo. At least, Jin-Seo felt convinced that this was the case.

After reading for a long time, she finally saw it. The ugly truth of this vain false accusation. Jin-Seo picked up her cell phone without saying anything and texted Jun-Min.

* * *

I went to the city park in the evening, as Baron Samedi advised. There were still about ten minutes left until eight o'clock. The cold air of the evening grazed my nose. The park was very quiet. There was only silence.

I sat on the park bench, rereading the false accusations directed at me. I had already read it so many times that I had long since memorized it. Thus, I decided to read the comments instead.

There were hundreds of comments. Most of the malicious comments said, ‘That guy’s parents must be cultists.’ Since my parents really were cultists, it didn’t really hurt much.

After reading the comments, I was starting to get used to it. When I first read the comments, my hands were shaking, and I couldn't do anything because I was out of breath, but now I could read them with an empty smile.

Eventually, eight o'clock arrived.

In the distance, someone trudged into the park. Even though their face was not visible, their characteristics were clear, so I could recognize who it was at a glance.

"Ha, I was wondering who it was."

I got up from my seat with a sigh.

1. In Korean, sacred material science is abbreviated to ??? (shin-mul-hak), which can mean vomit science. Basically, the class is so boring that it makes you vomit. ?