The Cult Leader in the Clergy Academy

Chapter 40

In-Ah just stared blankly at the fusion blessing array that Ha-Yeon had deployed. Ha-Yeon held the microphone and continued her presentation while pointing at various parts of the fusion blessing array with her hand.

“The lesser blessing arrays that connect the core blessing array, shown here, act as a ‘bridge.’ It is a device that prevents ‘collisions’ between blessing arrays from occurring. Also—”

In-Ah was confident that she could handle blessings well. In reality, it was true that she was good at handling blessings, and her skills were so good that no one in the Class of Charity could come close to rivaling her. However, that was only ‘within the Class of Charity.'

“The blessings were not forcefully combined, but rather, blessings with similar characteristics naturally harmonized on their own, which helped reduce the loss of divine power and maximized efficiency. From a broad perspective, each blessing array was strategically placed to synergize with each other and to make up for each other's shortcomings. I would like to add that—”

A few students tilted their heads as if they could not comprehend Ha-Yeon's words. In-Ah was just barely able to understand Ha-Yeon's words, but she was literally only just barely able to do so. Ha-Yeon was literally a genius. However, she was not just a genius at manipulating blessing arrays.

'58.41 seconds.'

When Ha-Yeon finished her presentation, Ye-Jin immediately turned off the timer and checked the time. Ha-Yeon's presentation time was 58 seconds and 41 centiseconds. She made the most of the time given but did not exceed the time provided.

In the first place, completing the presentation in under one minute was a completely nonsensical request. However, Ha-Yeon was able to explain everything that could be explained within that one minute.

Even though the time for Q&A had arrived, the students were all silent. It was because there was nothing to ask. In the first place, it was rare for students to perfectly understand Ha-Yeon's presentation.

“I’d like to ask a question!”

Nonetheless, some people were persistent in asking questions. They were the presenters who unfairly had their points deducted because of Ha-Yeon's question. Fueled purely out of spite for Ha-Yeon, they somehow found questions to ask and raised their hands.

“It looks like the joints are loose! Was that intentional?!”

“Yes, it was intentional. If the distance between the arrays is too close, as I said before, a ‘collision’ phenomenon occurs.”

“We-well, wouldn’t that reduce efficiency?”

“I supplemented it by making the lesser blessing array act as a ‘bridge’ between the two. I already explained all this during the presentation. Did you not understand it properly?”

"Um...! Th-then! What about that...!”

A student exchanged a brief discussion with Ha-Yeon, but the result was disastrous. The student soon ran out of things to ask and sat back down. Just like her presentation, Ha-Yeon did a perfect job of answering her questions. She was undoubtedly getting a perfect score.

'She’s amazing.'

Ye-Jin inwardly expressed her admiration and tried to give full marks to all the members of Group 1, to which Ha-Yeon belonged.

“Oh, and Teacher. I have something to tell you.”

Ye-Jin's hand stopped in the middle of scoring.

“Yes, go ahead, please.”

“I drew the fusion blessing array on my own, and I prepared the presentation by myself. I don't want you to give marks to the other members,” she said in a cynical tone. Jun-Hyuk had been listening while dozing off, and he jumped up from his seat.

“What?! Hey. No, You told me to stay still and not interrupt—”

“I didn’t expect you to really stay still. Anyway, it’s true that I did everything by myself, right?”

“...”

Jun-Hyuk was about to protest, but he sat back down. It sucked, but it was true.

Looking at them, Ye-Jin frowned slightly. If it was judged that there was a lack of communication among the members, she was supposed to give them a deduction, but Ha-Yeon's presentation was too perfect to give a deduction.

“I don’t think I can give no points to them, but I take what you said into account. Oh, student Ha-Yeon.”

"Yes."

“The presentation was very good, so I thought I would use it as reference material for practical training in other classes. Could you please submit your presentation outline or cue cards?”

"Ah. I'm sorry, but that may be difficult.” Ha-Yeon flatly refused.

Ye-Jin tilted her head. “Is there a reason?”

“I don’t have an outline. I can write it for you now if you want.”

"Aha... I understand~” Ye-Jin said calmly, but she felt fear deep inside her heart. It was because Ha-Yeon had made such a perfect presentation without any outlines or cue cards.

She was still immature in many ways, but one day she would surely become a priest who would surpass her. That was how Ye-Jin evaluated Ha-Yeon.

"Ah! Then next up, the 24th group is... Group 46? Who is the presenter of Group 46?”

After looking at Ha-Yeon for a while, Ye-Jin belatedly resumed the practical training session. Group 46’s presenter, In-Ah, carefully raised her hand and took the microphone. Even after In-Ah had picked up the microphone, she couldn't bring it to her mouth easily, and she took several breaths while standing. Her face was pale and blue.

“I’m the presenter for Group 46, Jung In-Ah. I will begin... the presentation."

Soon after, she started her presentation.

“First of all, the keywords of the convergence blessing array developed by our 46th group are ‘area,’ ‘recovery,’ and ‘spirit’—”

Once the presentation started, In-Ah, who had been trembling for a long time, spoke well with a clear flow. She properly utilized silence and emphasized certain words to increase the listener's retention rate, and she helped the audience understand the difficult parts by giving examples.

She said, “Injuries sustained during battle can be quickly recovered through ‘healing,’ but mental fatigue can not. This is a blessing array that we conceived using this fact as a basis. Its focus is on practicality─”

Looking at the completeness of the fusion blessing array, it wasn’t as good as Ha-Yeon’s. However, the presentation was much more considerate to the listeners, and thus, the quality of In-Ah’s presentation was superior. Overall, In-Ah’s presentation was comparable to Ha-Yeon’s presentation in terms of quality.

“Okay, that concludes the presentation. Thank you."

Thus, In-Ah successfully completed her presentation without making a single mistake.

Ye-Jin checked the timer. 56.13 seconds. The time management was also excellent.

“Yes. Everybody, if you have any questions for Group 46, you can ask them now~” Ye-Jin looked around and said. It was quiet. It was just like right after Ha-Yeon’s presentation.

Even Ha-Yeon, who used to bite her opponent like a hyena whenever it was time for Q&A, was quiet for now. There was silence for a moment on the sacred training ground.

“No questions? Then, the next group—”

“I have a question.”

Just as In-Ah was about to pull the microphone away from her mouth, Ha-Yeon, who had been sitting and tilting her head for a long time, raised her hand and asked a question.

In-Ah had been breathing a sigh of relief, but she hiccupped in surprise.

“Ugh, yes. Please speak."

“The intermediate blessing of recovery in the upper right corner. And is that an intermediate... blessing of peacefulness? The junction of the two blessings seems a bit unique. Can you explain that part, please?”

In-Ah glanced over at her group’s fusion blessing array. As Ha-Yeon said, the junction between the blessing arrays was a bit odd. However, In-Ah did not have the skills to explain it.

'What the– why is that...’

The reason for this was that the oddity had been entirely unintentional. In-Ah tilted her head and looked carefully at what Ha-Yeon had pointed out. Only that part of the array was particularly complex and tightly connected. She didn’t know exactly what this phenomenon was, but thanks to this, the blessing array was closely connected without 'conflict,' and the efficiency seemed to be maximized.

However, she couldn’t exactly say, ‘I’m not entirely sure what this phenomenon is.’

“Oh, that part.”

It seemed better just to be honest and say it was unintentional. At least she wouldn’t be embarrassed that way.

“I’m sorry, but I intended—”

Ye-Jin interrupted In-Ah and chirped, “That's a really good question~ It's safe to say that the core of the blessing array created by Group 46 is there! I was amazed by that part too. Oh sorry! Go ahead!”

Ye-Jin was smiling radiantly. For some reason, the smile felt cruel to In-Ah. Because of Ye-Jin's words, it became difficult to tell the truth. There was a long silence. In-Ah's face gradually got redder until it was red like a beetroot. She had a tendency to blush quickly when she was in trouble.

'We’re doomed....’ In-Ah dropped her head. She would lower her head when she felt her face heat up. She did so to hide her blushing face.

Meanwhile, Ha-Yeon, who had asked the question, snickered after seeing In-Ah's expression. In Group 46’s fusion blessing array, the quality of the joint section was far beyond the capabilities of a student.

It looked artificial, but it also looked natural at the same time. Conversely, it looked natural, but it also looked artificial. Within that joint, there was a delicateness that narrowly toed the line between artificial and natural. She wondered if it was intentional, but it wasn't.

"You're not going to tell me it wasn't meant to be, are you? That part is the key.”

“...”

Ha-Yeon immediately launched an attack. In-Ah couldn't answer, and she just stood there with her head hanging. She didn't know what to say, and when she tried to say something, the words wouldn't come out. Her burning face showed no signs of cooling down. But that didn't mean that she could continue to avoid answering forever.

She decided not to drag it out and to just admit the truth and cleanly back out. She would get a small deduction, and it would be a little embarrassing, but she couldn’t think of any other way of getting out of this situation.

In-Ah brought her mic to her mouth. “Sor—”

Grasp.

“...ry?"

Then, Sun-Woo took In-Ah's microphone. In-Ah stopped what she was saying and raised her head curiously. Her face, which had been flushed with embarrassment, cooled off in an instant.

“Allow me to explain.”

Sun-Woo held onto the microphone and spoke confidently.

“Principal, axis. Ah. In the fusion array that Group 46 constructed, we designated this specific joint as the principal axis. Within this joint, we utilized the 'entanglement' phenomenon, which is a sub-concept of the 'collision' phenomenon. Thank you~”

After a brief explanation, he returned to his seat as if nothing had happened. Everyone stared blankly at Sun-Woo with stunned expressions.

Within the deafening silence, Ha-Yeon jumped up from her seat. Unlike usual, she seemed a little excited. “Hang on, wait a minute. The explanation was not enough. How did you use the entanglement phenomenon?”

“If there is too much entanglement, then collisions occur, right? However, if it is not too excessive, it allows for a rather efficient convergence.”

“No, that is... Correct... but." Ha-Yeon stuttered as if she was flustered.

What Sun-Woo said was theoretically correct. Competent high-ranking priests could exploit entanglement to more easily and efficiently deploy fusion blessing arrays. However, Sun-Woo was not a high priest. He wasn’t even a high-ranking paladin or crusader either. There was no way he could have used the entanglement phenomenon.

“Then, are you saying that the entanglement was intentionally used? How?"

“First, I let the entanglement phenomena occur, and then I intentionally cut the strokes of the array to control the degree of entanglement.”

“Cut the strokes? Intentionally? What absolute nonsense.”

Ha-Yeon reexamined Group 46’s fusion blessing array, especially the junction she pointed out. As Sun-Woo said, the strokes were intentionally cut off. At that point, she had no choice but to admit it. She had no idea what trick he had used, but Sun-Woo had intentionally exploited the entanglement phenomenon.

“Then, then... What are the principles behind the entanglement phenomenon?” Thus, Ha-Yeon asked another question. It was a question that could never be answered by a student. It was a question with a malicious purpose.

Sun-Woo tilted his head as if he were thinking for a moment, then he answered, "I do not know. That is all."

His answer gave off a brazen and confident attitude. Ha-Yeon was dumbfounded, but a slight smile formed on her face. It was because she was delighted by the fact that she had found a loophole.

“Then, in the first place, the fact that the entanglement phenomenon was intentionally caused—”

"Stop. Student Sun-Woo gave a very clear and concise answer!”

Ye-Jin interrupted Ha-Yeon from continuing her onslaught of questions. Ye-Jin smiled while quietly glancing at Ha-Yeon and continued.

“The principles behind the entanglement have not yet been clarified. That's a question even I can't answer. Student Ha-Yeon, please sit down.”

“Ah, yes...”

Ha-Yeon sat down with a grim face.

“Student Sun-Woo, how did you come up with the idea of using entanglement? Newtube[1] can’t tell you about this.”

"Ah yes. This kind of stuff doesn’t show up on NewTube.”

Sun-Woo also jokingly replied to what Ye-Jin’s joke. He was unbelievably relaxed at the moment.

Sun-Woo grabbed the microphone and pointed at In-Ah. “It was an order from the group leader, In-Ah.”

"Yes?"

Sun-Woo said it was In-Ah's order, but she tilted her head. Ye-Jin looked at Sun-Woo and In-Ah alternately with a look of interest.

"Hmm. I see. Yes, I got it. Both the presentation and Q&A were very good. Let’s move on to the next presentation.”

Ye-Jin nodded her head slightly while keeping her gaze fixed on Sun-Woo.

No matter how one looked at it, it did not look like In-Ah had given Sun-Woo instructions. Utilizing the entanglement phenomenon to create a fusion blessing array appeared to be purely Sun-Woo’s idea.

But Sun-Woo gave all the credit to In-Ah.

Why?

She couldn't possibly guess why.

* * *

Fusion blessings had different properties compared to fusion Voodoo spells. However, the creation method and principles were similar.

The entanglement phenomenon existed in Voodoo spell formations, and I would often use the entanglement phenomenon when deploying the fusion Voodoo spell.

That's why I was able to answer Ha-Yeon's question.

[You almost made a mistake. Be careful next time. You managed to get through it well with improvisation, though.]

Due to that, I almost made a mistake while answering by confusing Voodoo arrays with blessing arrays. Legba rebuked me for that. It was a reasonable point, so I just nodded my head.

In the meantime, the presentations continued, and the practical training ended after around two hours.

[Forty minutes.]

The practical training ended in not two hours but around forty minutes. It was so boring that I thought that at least two hours had passed by, but it had only been forty minutes.

While agonizing over the reason why the speed of time felt different in different situations, Jun-Hyuk strode forward with furious steps.

“Is Ha-Yeon always like that? I really want to bitch slap her...”

It was a complaint mixed with anger. He had a brief argument with Ha-Yeon after the practical training, but judging from the look on his face, it didn’t look like he had won. He had a very depressed and angry face.

From my point of view, Ha-Yeon and Jun-Hyuk were more or less the same.

Ha-Yeon tried to monopolize points after telling her teammates not to do anything while Jun-Hyuk did nothing and messed with his hair in the bathroom.

Of course, I also didn't do anything other than answer Ha-Yeon's question. I was in no position to say anything to Jun-Hyuk. So I just listened quietly.

“I mean, if she’s going to be like that, then why does she bother to use honorifics? She has absolutely no respect for the opponent. What's the point of adding honorifics?"

Jun-Hyuk continued to complain about Ha-Yeon even after leaving the sacred training ground. He must have had a lot of anger stacked up inside.

“Even her expression looks like she views people as bugs—”

Jun-Hyuk's complaints, which did not seem to end, soon came to an abrupt end. Right in front of the training ground, someone was looking at us with their arms crossed.

"Ah! I suddenly feel like running today,” Jun-Hyuk said awkwardly. He scratched his head and assessed the situation before sprinting away at an insane speed like a maniac.

Tadadada—

I stared at Jun-Hyuk's back as he faded away into the distance. When he was running away, his running speed would be two or three times faster than usual.

"Do... Sun."

Within the silence, In-Ah called me out awkwardly with her arms crossed.

Last time, she greeted me with only ‘Woo,’ but this time, it seemed that she decided to greet me with only ‘Do Sun.’ It was similar in some ways, but her tone was completely different.

I just nodded without answering. I had nothing in particular to say. Silence passed by, and as always, In-Ah was the first to speak.

“I never ordered you to do anything, so why did you lie?”

Her voice trembled, and her manner of speech was awkward. It seemed she was trying to indicate that she was still angry.

“I just ‘figured out what I needed to do on my own’ like you told me to.”

I tried to answer as if it was not a big deal, but the words came out awkwardly as well, perhaps because the atmosphere was so awkward. The silence was longer than the exchange of words. Rather than conversing, it felt like we were opening our mouths to break the occasional silence.

“...It's okay!" In-Ah said with a sharp and blunt tone while heading back to the classroom.

I don't know what answer I had been hoping for. She didn't look angry, but rather, she looked upset. I was glad that she at least felt better than she did in the morning. When I returned to the classroom belatedly, In-Ah was not there, only Jun-Hyuk.

Jun-Hyuk came over and said, “She just went to the teacher’s office to leave early. She is going to see her sister."

Come to think of it, I remember she said that she was going to leave early after only doing practical training in the morning.

“She seemed to be in a better mood. I think she will be back to normal tomorrow?"

"That’s a relief."

“Usually, she gets angry quickly, and she gets better quickly. Let’s go get some food,” Jun-Hyuk said as if it wasn’t a big deal. We ate lunch as usual. We didn't go for a walk, and we went straight to the classroom and took the afternoon class.

Today, Jun-Hyuk was quieter than usual. I don't know if it was because In-Ah wasn’t here, but he didn't open his mouth except for when he was pulling the occasional prank on me.

The next day, In-Ah didn't come to school.

1. Fictional clone of Youtube. ?