episode_0011
by fnovelpiaAccording to Daniel, there are many ghost stories in the Chaldea Imperial Academy. The Bloody Finger is one of them, and it is considered a pretty credible ghost story among occult enthusiasts.
“Once upon a time, when the Chaldean Imperial Academy was just being built.”
“Daniel. Your speech has changed.”
“Vivian. You’re telling a scary story.”
“Oh, right.”
Vivian nodded. Daniel sighed for a moment and lowered his voice again.
“Ahem. This is a story from when the Chaldea Imperial Academy was first built… .”
* * * * *
Giovanni di Greco was the first rector of the Chaldean Imperial Academy.
He always welcomed students visiting his church with a warm heart, and the early students of the academy also respected and followed him.
Due to the nature of the Chaldea Imperial Academy, which is as large as its students, there are bound to be students who deviate from their normal ways. Head priest Giovanni warmly embraced these students as well.
For students who were too poor to pay tuition, he helped them pay for their tuition by working hard and taught them how to earn money on their own.
I listened to the story of a student who had been bullied and then became twisted, sympathized with him, and even tried to solve the problem myself.
When there were students who were discriminated against because they were commoners, he was the first to stand up and fight for the rights of commoners, even though he himself was from a noble family.
He was a saintly figure at the Academy. Many students who were impressed by the character of the head priest Giovanni followed him, and some professors also respected him for being generous and not greedy for the sake of his students.
One day, the story about the saint of the Chaldean Imperial Academy, Priest Giovanni, spread outside the academy.
Several priests from the Holy Land visited the Academy. When the students and professors of the Academy asked them why they were there, they simply repeated that it was the Pope’s order.
So, on the seventh day that the priests dispatched from the Holy Land stayed at the Academy.
That day was Sunday. As usual, the students were heading to the main academy hall to attend Sunday service when they saw something.
The horrifying sight of Father Giovanni standing there, bloody, with his eyes gouged out and a longsword stuck in his chest.
To the shock of the students and some professors who saw this sight, Father Giovanni immediately disappeared without a trace.
The only trace he left behind was a trail of blood on the floor.
All that was there was a severed finger, glistening with blood.
The priests who were dispatched from the Holy Land returned to the Holy Land on this day, as if they had finished their work.
When trying to inquire about the whereabouts of the head priest, Giovanni, they only brought up the Pope’s directive, and there was no one in the Academy who could detain them.
After the priests left, the Chaldean Imperial Academy mobilized all its power to trace the traces of Father Giovanni. However, the head priest Giovanni was nowhere to be found.
As if it had suddenly disappeared.
Since that day, no one has seen Father Giovanni.
And after a while, a rumor began to spread throughout the Chaldea Imperial Academy.
There are eerie rumors that at dawn, a bloody priest named Giovanni appears, roaming the Academy in search of his lost finger.
If it were an outrageous ghost story, it would usually be noisy for a few months and then die down.
There have been countless eyewitness accounts of seeing the bloody priest Giovanni. So the students thought.
This is the ghost of the head priest Giovanni. The head priest Giovanni, who was unjustly killed and had a good personality that he could not even think of revenge for, is wandering around the academy just to get his finger back.
The Occult Research Club, which boasts a long and venerable tradition within Chaldea Imperial Academy, set the ultimate goal of its club activities from this point on.
The bloody finger of the first head priest, Giovanni, is said to exist somewhere in the Academy. The goal is to find it.
* * * * *
“The story ends… .”
Daniel lowered his head with a stern expression. Vivian, who had been listening to the story, clapped her hands.
Clap clap—.
“Hey, how was it? Vivian. Did you improve your skills?”
“Yeah. Scary stories, you’ve gotten better at it. I got goosebumps too.”
“No, wait a minute.”
I waved my hand and put my hand on my head. I had no idea where to start. Everyone’s eyes were sparkling as they looked at me.
“Professor Lucio. Is that true? The spirit of the first head priest… .”
“That’s not a ghost after all, is it?”
“Ear, ghost… !”
“Chief Priest! I… . am starting to feel a little nervous!”
Deacon Sophia snorted and clenched her hands. I sighed and said.
“… Giovanni di Greco. It certainly sounds like a name from a holy country. ”
“Then… !”
“But, this is the first time I’ve heard that name. I’ve never heard of the first head priest either.”
Chloe, who had been shining brightly just a moment ago, has become a little gloomy. How can she be so curious, saying that she might faint if she encounters a ghost? Chloe has some similarities to Deacon Sophia.
“But, I think it’s something that we definitely need to touch on. It’s a possible story.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t know about the story about the first priest, Giovanni, but the bloody ghost.”
I don’t think Laura saw anything. There were two witnesses, including Deacon Sophia.
Moreover, if it was an academy long ago, then this annex would have been the main building, so it matches the story of the bloody head priest Giovanni wandering around the academy.
But, there was one thing I was curious about.
“But, Daniel, what are you going to do with that finger?”
When I asked, Daniel shouted confidently.
“Of course we should study it! The finger of the first priest who passed away so long ago! Is it rotten? Or is it as good as if it was just cut?”
“Hmm… .”
“Well, after all the questions I have are roughly answered, I should definitely return it to Father Giovanni. He was such a great person, but he has no fingers and is still wandering. It’s a bit pitiful.”
I felt a little skeptical. There was nothing confusing about the fact that ghosts, vengeful spirits, and other things that didn’t fit in with the academy were popping up all at once.
As I crossed my arms and sat lost in thought, Ellen asked me with a cold expression.
“But, Professor. Do ghosts and such really exist? Honestly, isn’t it all a lie?”
“Elin! Ghosts are real!”
“No, logically, where are the ghosts in the world? When you die, you go straight to heaven or hell.”
“There are ghosts.”
There was a moment of silence. Elin was staring at me with her eyes wide open, as if she had never answered, and Chloe was staring blankly with her mouth open like an idiot. Everyone’s eyes were turned to me.
Only Deacon Sophia had her usual expression. This was because she had already come to terms with the doctrine.
The classroom, which had been quiet for a while, soon became noisy and chaotic.
“Ear, ear, ghosts actually exist?!”
“Tell me more about that story!”
“Professor! Would you like to be an advisor to our occult research department?! We have an empty professor position right now!”
Daniel was almost rabid. He was rushing at me with his eyes sparkling and spit flying, but I held out my arm to block him.
“Calm down a bit. However, the ghost I’m talking about is a slightly different being. It’s easier to think of it as an evil spirit, or a devil.”
“Ah, devil… .”
“But, well… . Just hearing the story, it seems unlikely that it’s the devil.”
I have also seen many demons. During the Great War alone, the number of demons I personally exorcised exceeded five. Demons are real.
However, it was a bit of a stretch to say that the bloody ghost that haunted the academy was a demon. It didn’t even possess the people it encountered, and just wandered around the academy.
Demons from Hell are in a state where they must be possessed by something in order to have an effect on this real world. This is a concept agreed upon between the Creator and the demons, and there are no demons or evil spirits that deviate from this concept.
“Student Daniel. Does his presence harm students?”
When I asked, Daniel answered hesitantly.
“Oh, no. That’s not it… huh? I’m not sure.”
“… Hmm.”
It’s fortunate that it doesn’t directly harm the students, but we can’t rest easy yet. After all, it’s a done deal that it’s having a negative impact on the academy.
Even the four students gathered here now were in a situation where they had hidden themselves in the academy, even breaking curfew. It is possible that similar students will appear in the future.
I planned to personally seek out that unidentified being, that is, the spirit of the first parish priest, Giovanni, as Daniel had said.
“Good information, Daniel.”
“It’s nothing, Professor.”
“However, it is not a wise idea to remain in the Academy until this time. I will escort you to the Academic Affairs Office, so please return to your dormitory.”
“… … .”
“Do you all understand?”
“… hiccup.”
Chloe suddenly started hiccuping. The classroom became as quiet as a mouse. There was an odd atmosphere.
“Professor, professor… .”
At that moment, I felt a clammy palm grabbing my hand. Laura, who was standing next to me, was holding my hand tightly.
While everyone froze, I slowly turned my body following Laura’s finger.
“What…?”
The classroom outside the window. Across that hallway.
Something dripping with blood, wearing a priest’s white robes that were stained with blood and turned to rags.
Because he was looking into the classroom with those bright red eyes shining.
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