I Think I Need To Find Someone Else To Take Charge

“…Ms. Sefin, what exactly happened while I was gone?”

“Well… that…”

The Saint hesitated to answer my direct question.

As if feeling burdened by my gaze, she shrank back and then turned to look at the wall, averting her eyes from me.

A proper answer came after some time had passed.

“…It’s something, difficult to talk about.”

But even that was close to evasion rather than a proper answer.

It’s not just denying, she can’t even make proper eye contact, can she?

Why is she, who is used to dealing with people as a saint, showing such a reaction…

“She showed me a scary book.”

Amidst my confusion, Dale, who was clutching my gown tightly, whispered painfully in a crying voice.

But what’s even more ridiculous is the Saint’s reaction, startling at those words.

“N-No! What do you mean, a scary book. That wasn’t my intention when I showed it…”

“Eek!!”

Oh dear.

Even though he’s been afraid of people lately, isn’t this a bit too much?

“…What exactly did you show him?”

“W-Well…”

As someone who has become a guardian, I can’t just let this slide.

I asked again as if pressing her, but it was a long time before an answer came.

“…Men.”

“Men?”

“A book showing men and women, naked…”

“…”

Ah, I see. A book showing naked men and women.

If that’s the case, I can understand why she’s so embarrassed. I was about to laugh it off, but…

“What?”

What came out was bewilderment that even I hadn’t expected.

What did she just say?

The Saint showed a holy book?

---

Josephine, the Black Saint of Haide.

As an authority figure in the order that embraces the most people, she had accumulated knowledge in many fields until now.

Not only the academic subjects taught at the academy, but also politics, and even relatively new fields like engineering and medicine…

However, no matter how much she has learned, she’s still only 18 years old and hasn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony, and naturally, adolescence is a time of great interest in sex.

In such a situation, a little boy who’s too innocent to be a middle schooler and a young lady who’s too mature to be in high school…

When these two are alone in the infirmary and “saw a book with naked men and women,” it would be strange not to be curious.

“Well, while waiting for the teacher, I was reading a book, and when this child showed interest in what I was reading, I showed it to him once and…”

As I looked over the book that the nervous Saint presented while having a conversation over some refreshments.

What she held in her hand was a research book with explicit drawings of naked men and women.

It was an anatomy textbook.

“…I thought it was something else.”

Well, if you look at it bluntly, it is indeed a book with naked men and women.

The problem is the difference between just being naked and being stripped of skin and organs.

“Have you ever read this book?”

“Well, it was almost mandatory reading when I studied abroad in a medical powerhouse country.”

Back then, I used to read these books as if I was devouring one every three days without exaggeration.

And I can understand why Dale was shocked by this book… Well, it’s not incomprehensible.

Although he’s from a lawless area, he’s a child who hasn’t been exposed to such things, and if you look at the descriptions, they’re more graphic than most ancient erotic films. Who wouldn’t be shocked if shown this without preparation?

“But with this level, there’s no need to be so embarrassed, is there? It’s just a textbook after all.”

“Well, as you read it, you get the feeling of seeing every part of the person you’re facing… It just made me feel like I was committing a sin.”

The Saint brought the mint-infused tea to her lips, blushing.

I found it quite ironic how her shy demeanor contrasted with my first impression of her.

“Feeling like you’ve committed a sin… I can understand that to some extent.”

It wasn’t just sympathy out of politeness.

In fact, when you read anatomy textbooks, the human body starts to seem like something mechanical.

What reactions occur in the body when you eat food, how arms and legs move and what their internal structures are like…

All of these come to mind whenever you see a person, making it difficult to view people as emotional and precious beings.

And that was also the reason for the concern the Saint had expressed to me.

‘The human body operates with various parts complexly intertwined. Then, isn’t its fundamental nature similar to that of a machine?’

Such confusion is, in a way, a hurdle that must be overcome before becoming a doctor.

But in the end, it’s a kind of Dunning-Kruger effect stemming from intermediate knowledge. If you learn more, that thinking changes significantly at some point.

“The more I learned, the more I felt that the human body is incredibly beautiful and intricate. To the extent that I couldn’t believe it was created naturally.”

Yes, now she has delved deeper into the human body personally after meeting me.

Having moved beyond the intermediate stage to a more professional understanding, she must have thoughts similar to what I felt when I was an apprentice.

“So precise, so detailed, and everything in perfect balance and harmony… The human body, which could be called a miniature version of the world without exaggeration, made me feel reverent, wondering if it wasn’t created by a great being like a god, the more I understood it.”

Although it can be analyzed mathematically and scientifically, the probability of it being created naturally is impossible to express even with the word astronomical.

If this isn’t a miracle, then what on earth could be called a miracle?

“That feeling must have inspired faith in Teacher Seine as a doctor too, right?”

“…You’re not wrong.”

In fact, while it’s hard to find examples in this world where magic and faith are clearly distinguished, in my original world, the proportion of scientists who believed in God was not small.

Because while much has been discovered, there are countless unknowns yet to be revealed, those who pursue research unconsciously affirm the existence of God in the process of pursuing unproven possibilities.

I encountered such ideas living in a more advanced civilization than this world, and that’s why I was able to awaken to faith even after coming to this world.

I was worried that such an attitude might be poison to other order members who weren’t Cleas, but looking at it now, it seems they’ve somehow managed to overcome it well while I was away, which is fortunate.

“By the way, I’m late in asking this… but why did you come to this academy, Ms. Sefin?”

Now that I’ve confirmed she’s okay, let’s get to the main point.

As I closed the book and asked, she cleared her throat and began to face me with clearly open eyes.

“…To broaden my range of experiences by directly experiencing a place of learning.”

A rather serious atmosphere.

It was a moment when the impression from when I first met her resurfaced.

As if teaching that even though she’s wearing a school uniform, her essence hasn’t changed.

“Teacher Seine. Currently, I have completed the procedures for visiting this academy under the status of a temporary exchange student, hiding my identity as the Saint of Haide. However, as I’m not an official student, there are difficulties in participating in regular classes, and above all, I’m unsuitable for activities that require attendance as I need to participate in order events even in the middle of the term.”

“So you’re looking for a place suitable for temporary activities in this academy, is that what you’re saying?”

“When I consulted with the chairman about this matter, I heard that Teacher Seine recently established something called the Infirmary Attendance Department…”

The Saint trailed off, watching my reaction.

I returned the anatomy textbook I was holding to her and said with a smile.

“It’s something I’d rather welcome.”

It seemed the conversation would go better than expected.

---

Entrusting the infirmary to someone who is the Saint of an order…

If this became known externally, anyone would be surprised, but I emphasized that we don’t need to worry about that aspect as the Saint came to the academy with sincere intentions.

Even if she’s a visiting student, having a saint at school would cause many problems. Given the premise of hiding her identity, there would inevitably be difficulties in participating in regular classes and such.

As such, the Infirmary Attendance Department, which guarantees freedom in other activities as long as attendance is recorded, would be most suitable for her situation.

Coincidentally, I often have to leave the infirmary for personal requests from Mariel and such, so I was eager to approve the Saint’s school life as it would solve the issue of my absence.

Especially since I have to go on the Disciplinary Committee’s field study tomorrow.

“I’ve taught you everything I can teach right away. I’ll leave a manual for the remaining content, so please take care while I’m gone.”

After teaching the Saint for three days, I finally wrote the necessary manual and handed it to her.

Even though I call it a manual, there wasn’t anything particularly difficult. Someone as mature and responsible as her, even more so than most adults, would probably do well even without this.

If there’s anything to worry about, it might be that her foundation is as a religious person rather than a doctor?

“Ah, please minimize the use of Holy Power as much as possible. Kids these days have a strong belief that Holy Power can solve everything, so it’s also necessary to emphasize the importance of medicine and natural healing.”

“Hehe, I agree with that as well. Moreover, as I’m now a visiting student belonging to the Infirmary Attendance Department, not a saint, acting only to that extent would be appropriate for my status.”

The Saint was more actively accepting my request than expected.

She said that after parting with me, she had looked into many things, mainly focused on medicine.

Although it started as a way to calm her own confusion, whatever the case, that experience, along with the knowledge she had learned as a clergy member, had led to sufficient qualifications to take charge of the infirmary in my absence.

So I had no doubt that she would perfectly take responsibility for my absence.

What worries me is not the Saint, but something else.

“Ah, Mr. Dale. Good morning…”

“Kyaaaah!!”

Dale, who had just arrived at school, started screaming and running away as soon as he saw the Saint.

As usual, through the window.

“Hey, stop right there.”

I immediately grabbed Dale by the nape of his neck and dragged him in front of me.

You brat. If you break another one here, it’ll be the fourth in three days.

You wrote a 17,100-character reflection just yesterday and the day before, do you want to write another one?

“You should have understood well enough that she’s not a bad person… It’s been three days, shouldn’t you be getting used to it by now?”

“B-But I saw it… I saw that sister talking to a ghost alone in the infirmary.”

He clung to me again, trembling as he looked at Ms. Sefin.

As he’s always honest with his emotions, I could immediately understand that his current statement wasn’t just nonsense.

“…Did you manifest a Halo in the infirmary?”

“Yes, just for a very brief moment, but I thought I needed to report…”

The Saint lowered her head as if ashamed at my question, which I had on a hunch.

Certainly, someone of the Saint’s caliber can manifest Haide’s Halo alone, and if it’s just for conveying a message, it’s possible to create a fragment of it lightly at any time.

Even Cle, whom I serve, has just floating hands, while Haide’s Halo, symbolizing death itself, might be mistaken for a grim reaper if seen by someone who doesn’t know.

“Still, you brat, shouldn’t you have graduated from being scared of ghosts by the time you’re in middle school?”

“B-But it was real. It was really there!!”

Yes, yes, there are ghosts, and nullification ability users, and reincarnators too.

To be frank, gods like Haide and Cle are all ghosts too…

In a world setting where the occult actually exists to such an extent, even adults might be scared of the existence of ghosts.

“It seems I’ve made a big mistake.”

“No, well, it was just bad luck.”

Originally, a saint needs to communicate periodically with the god they serve. If both of them are staying in this infirmary, they’ll need to get used to it gradually.

The problem is that I have to leave this infirmary for three days starting tomorrow, so there’s no time to get used to it.

But I can’t just leave it be, as it would be troublesome if he breaks another window…

“I think I need to find someone else to take charge.”

Obviously, it’s difficult to entrust this to other teachers.

The Infirmary Attendance Department was originally conceived with the idea that the health teacher would be on night duty, but would have plenty of free time to utilize that absence.

Of course, I could take him to the training camp, but Dale’s attendance is only recognized when he’s on campus.

Unless there’s an official reason for him to follow to the camp, his attendance won’t be recognized.

I can’t leave him in the regular classes taught by teachers either, and if we’re talking about a group with influence comparable to the Disciplinary Committee that isn’t bound by regular classes… Hm? Wait.

“…Come to think of it, isn’t there someone on par with the head of the Disciplinary Committee?”

I can’t be sure if that side would work, but…

It should be fine to give it a try.