Chapter 270

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“A leave of absence?”

I widened my eyes and asked again.

Of course, it wasn’t because I didn’t know what a leave of absence was.

Taking a break from school for a certain period with the school’s permission due to unavoidable circumstances.

That was a leave of absence, and since the academy was an educational institution, a leave of absence system existed.

“Yes, a leave of absence.”

Vice-homeroom teacher Si-ul nodded with a heavy expression.

“Lucia… you recently went through something unpleasant, right?”

She seemed to be trying to be as careful as possible.

Lest she stir up any wounds.

Lest she stimulate any bad memories Lucia wants to forget.

Every word was filled with traces of deliberation.

“I was thinking, wouldn’t it be good to forget about school for a while, rest comfortably, and soothe your mind… what do you think?”

I’m a little taken aback by this suddenness.

I didn’t expect to have a smooth and uneventful three years of school life.

The situation where I have to leave the academy in the not-too-distant future will definitely come.

That’s how academy stories usually go. The early parts focus on academy life, but as it moves into the latter half, many people leave the academy.

As the story progresses, the central events move away from the academy, and as a result, the academy is no longer an important setting.

The Dawn of the Sword was the same.

The early and mid parts of the story revolved around academy life.

From the mid-to-late part, the academy is only mentioned and completely deviates from the topic.

The Great Catastrophe breaks out again, the devil gods run wild.

The heroes die, and the citizens are massacred.

Even the captains, the pinnacle of humanity, die heroically.

Even the students have to stand on the front lines and fight.

In such an apocalyptic situation, the academy lost its meaning.

When the devil gods began to operate in earnest, the aftermath shook the world.

Unlike the ‘novel’, Yoo-seong is not sealed, but you never know what the future holds. The last regression. The last chance where time no longer goes back. Agares will surely rush at me with a desperate determination. I might have to leave the academy and participate in the final war. No, I definitely will. Just like Lucia in the ‘novel’. Just like Lucille did. Like a blessed saintess.

But that’s not now, and I don’t intend to leave the academy yet.

“I understand what you’re saying.”

I said with a bright smile.

“Thank you for your consideration. But I’m fine.”

I’ve already been unintentionally absent from the academy for a month.

If I rest more here, I might not be able to fill the attendance days and be held back a grade.

I don’t want to be Eugene and Alice’s junior.

“But…”

“Teacher Si-ul. I’m fine. I don’t have any pain, and I’m not mentally struggling.”

Although I vomited blood and fainted.

Although my head is dizzy from the devil god’s mental corruption.

Although I can still faintly taste metallic in my mouth.

I’m still fine.

The fact that she suddenly suggests a leave of absence is probably due to the influence of the school nurse.

The person who brought me here was Theresa. There must have been coordination with Si-ul in advance. Did she detect Belial inside me with ‘Detection’? Did she judge that she couldn’t keep such a dangerous person in the academy? No, if that were the case, she wouldn’t be suggesting a leave of absence so calmly, but would have immediately arrested me.

Whatever the reason, I had no intention of quitting the academy.

If there ever comes a necessary moment, I will leave on my own without hesitation, but that’s not now.

‘Everyone is misunderstanding my condition… if I take a leave of absence here…’

Just imagining it is terrible.

It was like hammering in a needle of misunderstandings.

It’s already hammered in enough that I can’t pull it out, but there’s no need to confirm the kill.

‘What should I do…’

The coming out that I thought was a master key was useless.

Instead of helping, it only amplified the misunderstanding.

What should I say to explain? How should I deal with it?

Now that it’s come to this, should I push through stubbornly?

Should I smile cheerfully while scratching my wrist with a box cutter?

Or should I hang myself with a rope and swing back and forth?

…Like they’d believe that.

I’d be lucky if they didn’t think I’d finally gone crazy.

Then, should I gloss over it by saying it was a lie?

Actually, I was joking because you guys were making such serious faces.

Then, I could resolve the awkward atmosphere for the moment… but the future would be a problem.

I, Lucia, have a dream.

I want to be raised like livestock while not being treated like a human.

I want my hands and feet to be cut off and used like a tool.

Whether it’s a punching bag or a pet, I want you to break me.

Yes, I know.

This impulse is Lucille’s desire for destruction.

It’s an unnecessary desire for me.

An emotion that I must not be swayed by.

I am the one who inherited everything from Lucille.

The successor of the Blessed Saintess.

Masochism should end in the realm of hobby.

I must never destroy myself.

The body I’m using is hers, so I mustn’t ruin even the last of her dignity.

But if I stay like this, I won’t even be able to enjoy my hobbies.

Even if I confess that I was a masochist from the beginning, they won’t believe me, so they’ll judge that I’m mentally ill.

If I try to harm myself, they’ll rush over and stop me.

Wow, terrible.

I won’t even be able to dream of amputating my limbs like before.

I definitely won’t be able to do a talent show.

“…Okay, I understand. If that’s what you want, I can’t force you.”

As I thought more, I became more and more worried.

Perhaps interpreting my depressed expression differently, Si-ul said with a wry smile.

Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be thinking of forcing me. Usually, a leave of absence is decided by the student’s own will, but the academy has a system called guided leave of absence. It was a system where the teacher could force a leave of absence based on their judgment, even without the student’s consent.

The authority to force a student to take a leave of absence belongs to the homeroom teacher, Angelica, but if she is absent, Si-ul, the vice-homeroom teacher, could also exercise it.

Of course, teachers can’t do whatever they want.

Forced leaves of absence were rejected without a valid reason.

But I have a valid reason.

Kidnapping, confinement, torture.

It was more than enough.

“But if your mind changes, come find me anytime. Okay?”

I smiled awkwardly at her reminder.

I nodded, thinking that wouldn’t happen.

◈

“…She seemed fine, though.”

Si-ul barely suppressed a sigh that was about to burst out.

She leaned back in her chair and looked at the door of the counseling room.

Someone walked in through the door that Lucia had left through a little while ago.

Long black hair that reached her waist and a white gown.

Indifferent black eyes that seemed uninterested and bothered by everything.

She hadn’t changed at all from when Si-ul was a student.

The only change was the white highlights that dyed the front of her hair.

She’s so old, but she doesn’t seem to age at all.

Is the rumor that she eats elixirs of immortality true?

Theresa.

Former vice-captain of the 1st Division.

Current school nurse of the academy.

“Are you trying to say I was mistaken?”

Si-ul gave a dry smile at Theresa’s question.

Considering what her ability is, she couldn’t have been mistaken.

‘Detection’. There was no one more specialized in finding and revealing hidden things than her.

“I wish you were.”

“Too bad. I don’t make mistakes like that.”

“Why don’t you make a mistake once in a while?”

“You try digging only one well for decades. You won’t be able to make mistakes even if you want to.”

“That’s right, that’s right…”

The fresh, grassy green hair was a mess.

Si-ul roughly swept up her bangs and narrowed her eyes.

“The inside is rotten and decaying…”

That was Lucia’s current state.

Theresa compared it to mental corruption.

Like a body poisoned by poison dying hideously.

Her mind was slowly withering away as well.

“But the actions she takes are the same as usual…”

If she hadn’t heard Theresa’s warning, she would never have known.

“Haa, I don’t know what to do.”

“I told you. Make her take a leave of absence. If she says she doesn’t want to, make her rest even by force. She can’t withstand the academy’s harsh training in that mental state. Even if time passes, it will only get worse, not better.”

The invasion of monsters has continued for hundreds of years.

War.

A battle of killing and being killed.

A fight for survival.

People highly call the Celestial Corps members by the honorific title of ‘Heroes’.

Soldiers who protect humanity against monsters.

Heroes who bear honor and duty.

But the reality is that they are bullet shields. They were expendable. Supernaturals have strength that transcends humans, but the same was true of monsters.

It’s a fight between superhumans and monsters. Superhumans kill monsters, and monsters kill superhumans. Casualties always occur. Celestial Corps members always had death in front of them. Behind them were things to protect, and in front of them, the shadow of death loomed.

Supernatural abilities are the embodiment of mental strength.

Supernaturals were mentally stronger than non-supernaturals.

But that certainly didn’t mean they were invincible.

Many Celestial Corps members complain of post-traumatic stress disorder. No, it’s not just many. Most Celestial Corps members suffered from PTSD to a greater or lesser extent. Yes, like Lucia now. There were countless mentally ill patients.

The Celestial Corps has education and counseling programs for those members.

Theresa had also relied on it to overcome her trauma when she first lost her leg.

“She needs to be treated calmly while receiving counseling. You don’t know what will happen if you leave her alone. You don’t want to see your student die, do you?”

“That’s true, but…”

What she said was right. If the situation was that serious, it wasn’t time to hesitate.

But Lucia frowned at the word leave of absence. It meant she didn’t want to. You can’t force her against her will, can you? What Si-ul prioritized most as a teacher was the students’ free will. She wanted to respect Lucia’s will.

But she couldn’t just leave her alone. She shouldn’t leave her alone. What patients need is treatment, not consideration. She was getting a headache. She didn’t know what to do. It was too important for her, who was only a vice-homeroom teacher, to decide.

“Should I contact my senior…”

She was reminded of her senior, who was still unable to return after being caught by Captain Isabella. Although she is currently in the Celestial Corps, she was the homeroom teacher of Class A. Of course, it was right to tell her the news. Si-ul, who was sighing deeply, tilted her head at a question that suddenly came to mind.

“But what were they doing in the Celestial Corps? They just sent Lucia back without even doing a psychological test.”

She was a student who was kidnapped and rescued.

Isn’t it common sense to check whether or not there is mental trauma?

“They wouldn’t have known. I wouldn’t have known either if I didn’t have ‘Detection’.”

That’s how perfect Lucia’s acting was.

Enough to make anyone think she’s really okay.

“Anyway. You’re the one in charge of that child now.”

As a school nurse, she could offer her opinion, but it was Si-ul’s role to make the decision.

“Hesitation should be as short as possible. Think carefully about what choice is best for that child and then… huh?”

Theresa stopped talking and turned her head. She moved to the window. She frowned as she looked outside through the transparent glass window. Her skin tingled. A feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. Something was caught in her intuition even without using her supernatural abilities.

“The old man?”

She inadvertently muttered to herself.

Something flying at an incredible speed.

Theresa knew that it was a person and that it had the form of a boy.

She calculates the direction and angle.

She inferred the trajectory and destination.

Theresa said, unable to hide her doubts.

“What business does the God of War have at the academy?”

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
The older brother (or not) rushed over when he heard that his (self-proclaimed) younger sister was sick.

They really are a close sibling pair.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Can we call it ‘bodily ill’ now, that cursed body needs to be purified.