episode_0037
by fnovelpia“I don’t like it.”
Deacon Sophia, who was walking to the lecture hall with me, grumbled. Her pouting lips were impressive.
“What are you talking about?”
“Head. The head of the head priest.”
I ran my hand through my hair. My black hair, as always, parted under my touch.
“Is this a preface?”
“Yes. Why did you go back to the way you were?”
It seemed that he didn’t like the fact that his carefully groomed hair had become disheveled again. However, there was nothing I could do about it.
“I use my hands a lot.”
“Just pass it on.”
“I’ll try that starting tomorrow.”
Deacon Sophia still seemed dissatisfied, but I managed to convince her somehow. I let out a shallow sigh.
In fact, the biggest thing was the inconvenience. Why not just wear it like this on a regular basis and dress up only for important occasions? I wondered if I really had to worry about my appearance until I was giving a lecture.
“By the way, Your Majesty.”
Deacon Sophia called to me. I turned my gaze toward her.
“Why did you tell me to prepare this?”
What her finger was pointing to was a large object at my side, covered in a thick cloth, and something round, also wrapped in cloth. I shrugged.
“Have you ever tried lifting a thousand?”
“Yes. The head priest told me not to look.”
“Well done.”
Deacon Sophia still had a puzzled expression on her face. In the meantime, we had already arrived in front of the lecture hall.
“Let’s go in.”
We entered the classroom, holding the painting held at our sides tightly.
It was exactly 9:30 in the morning.
* * * * *
The students’ eyes are drawn to Professor Antonelli, who is standing on the podium. Professor Antonelli, with his usual stiff expression, glances around the classroom.
“Then, let’s start the theology class.”
As usual, he said that.
The students’ mouths were quivering. The unexpected cancellation of Professor Antonelli’s class last Friday. Questions about it came to mind, but they disappeared like bubbles as Professor Antonelli continued to speak.
“Today, let’s study a subject a little different from usual.”
A little different than usual. What did these words mean to the students?
Professor Antonelli looked unaware.
The students were already holding their writing instruments and were staring at Professor Antonelli with passionate eyes. Their gazes had been hot enough when they entered the classroom, but now they were even more intense.
Professor Antonelli’s teachings. The growth that came from them.
Since the students in Class 1-A were gifted students who had been striving for the top their entire lives, it was no wonder that they felt like they had found an unexpected treasure.
Professor Antonelli’s hand moved slowly and soon opened the Bible that was lying on the desk.
Sarak. Sarak.
The bookshelf that had been moving smoothly under his touch eventually stopped moving.
“You people of Terea have not yielded to temptation, nor have you saved yourself by the righteous deeds you have done; but you will receive a new spirit and follow the mercy of the Lord.”
Father Antonelli closed the Bible with a loud noise. Suddenly, the expressions on the faces of the students who had heard the passage from the Bible began to change as if they had heard something difficult to understand.
“Everyone. What is spirituality?”
Professor Antonelli asked a theological question. All the students in the classroom tilted their heads.
Spirituality. What is it?
It was a word I had heard occasionally in my daily life, and it was a word that came up often, especially when reading books. However, there was no student who knew its meaning and significance.
A theology student raised his hand. Professor Antonelli pointed to him.
“You can speak.”
“Yes, Professor. Spirituality means the love of the Lord and the passion of the many servants of the Lord who are waiting for the coming of the Father’s kingdom.”
After hearing the answer, Professor Antonelli slowly nodded while touching his chin. All the students in the classroom looked at him with eyes filled with admiration and jealousy.
“Is this different from theology?”
“I can’t understand even if I listen.”
The theology student who had finished answering the question pretended to smile proudly. The one who broke that smile was none other than Professor Antonelli.
“Is that what defines spirituality? The love of the Lord, or the inner passion of believers praying to the Lord… .”
“Yes. I think it’s spirituality… .”
“Student. What is your name?”
“… This is Louis, Professor.”
“Lewis student. Let me give you some examples.”
Professor Antonelli’s fingers slowly spread out. The students’ eyes were drawn to them.
“The morning sunlight of May, the fresh smell of grass, the wisdom of an old man… Do you know what these have in common?”
Louis’ lips quivered, hesitating to answer. The students watched with interest.
“Mo, I don’t know. Sorry.”
“It’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s okay. You can take a seat.”
Louis sat down, hesitantly. His attitude was different from the confident answer he had given a moment ago. Professor Antonelli slowly returned to the podium.
“The three things I mentioned earlier have in common is that they are all things that can only be vaguely inferred, and it is difficult to define them exactly.”
The students nodded vigorously. The students of Class A, who had already become absorbed in the class, began to think that this was like an interesting quiz game.
As the students looked on with even more interest, Professor Antonelli looked at them for a moment and then continued speaking.
“The love of the Lord, and the inner passion of believers. I won’t say that these are not spirituality. They are included in spirituality. But… . Isn’t it strange?”
All the students, especially the theology students, looked at each other with a questioning look. What is strange about the meaning of spirituality? Professor Antonelli continued.
“Let’s imagine that you are attending Sunday service. All of you sitting in this lecture hall have taken a precious part of your Sunday and are gathered together in the main hall of the Academy.”
The image came vividly into the students’ minds. It was possible because it seemed like the classroom would look the same as it did now, except the location had changed.
“Some students pray. Some students ask for repentance. Some students simply look up at the stage with a devout heart.”
With that image vividly in their minds, the students became more and more immersed in Professor Antonelli’s class.
“According to what student Lewis said, all of these actions correspond to spirituality. Here, don’t you notice something strange?”
In the middle row of the lecture hall, a slender hand flashed up. Professor Antonelli pointed in that direction.
“Chloe Student.”
“Yes! It is strange that the meaning of the word spirituality has become so broad and its boundaries are becoming vague!”
“That’s it.”
Chloe sat down energetically, smiling brightly. Professor Antonelli continued speaking.
“What student Lewis said is not wrong, of course. However, if it is like that, the meaning of the word spirituality becomes too ambiguous.”
Professor Antonelli paused for a moment and lifted something from the desk.
“Do you know what this is?”
It was something round and unidentifiable, wrapped in cloth. The students’ eyes began to show agony.
The classroom was silent. Professor Antonelli answered his own question.
“This is bread.”
After hearing Professor Antonelli’s words, the students’ expressions became slightly distorted. Bread? What kind of bread is that?
As if he could read the embarrassment in the students’ eyes, Professor Antonelli explained their agony directly.
“There are many different types of bread. Hard black bread, rough rye bread, sweet sweet rolls, and, broadly speaking, cakes and cream breads, and loaves of bread… The types are countless.”
Indeed, it was. The word bread was too vague a criterion to define that round object. The students nodded their heads coolly.
“Lewis student’s answer is also like this.”
“Ah… !”
The students’ expressions brightened. After hearing Lewis’s answer, Professor Antonelli’s words that it was an ambiguous explanation to define spirituality became easy to understand.
“Spirituality cannot be defined by such simple and vague words. To define it, it must be a slightly higher-level term, but not a functional term that covers all aspects of daily life.”
The students once again looked confused. Professor Antonelli let out a shallow sigh.
“Hmm… . In order to understand spirituality, you shouldn’t look at it with human eyes. In other words, you shouldn’t try to interpret it with all the functional actions that humans do. Do you understand?”
Now, there was an outpouring of reactions that they were finally beginning to understand. Although some people were still tilting their heads with expressions that said they didn’t understand.
At least the students are beginning to see the meaning, the thin, faint threads, Professor Antonelli said.
“Spiritual theology. Originally, I was going to teach that… . Unfortunately, it seems that there are no students who properly understand what spirituality is.”
The students’ expressions became a little gloomy. They were usually considered geniuses in their respective fields.
However, they felt that Professor Antonelli’s class, which had to be approached from a high-level and more theological perspective, was difficult.
“Therefore, before studying spiritual theology… . we need to look at other fields for a moment.”
When Professor Antonelli motioned to Deacon Sophia, she came up to the stage and grabbed the end of a large object covered with a cloth.
At the same time, Professor Antonelli lifted the other side, and the two of them lifted the object with difficulty onto the blackboard. The square object leaning against the blackboard looked like a picture frame.
Professor Antonelli shook his hands and said, adjusting his glasses.
“From today, we will study demonology.”
Demonology. The study of the demons of hell, or the devil. It is a subject that is quite fascinating to students, but at the same time raises questions.
Demonology? Isn’t that such a random topic? The students didn’t understand his statement that if they wanted to start studying spirituality, they had to first look into demonology.
Professor Antonelli said, accurately capturing the minds of such students.
“I think there are students who wonder what the relationship is between studying spiritual theology and studying demonology.”
The students nodded without realizing it. No one was an exception.
“I will make you understand the reason in a very short time.”
Professor Antonelli gestured to Deacon Sophia. Deacon Sophia nodded at the gesture, then turned off all the lights in the classroom and began to draw the curtains on the windows.
“What, what? All of a sudden?”
“It’s a little scary… .”
“Was the classroom this dark?”
In a classroom shrouded in darkness, the only things the students could hear were the voices of other students. Even then, because the surroundings were shrouded in darkness, it was impossible to tell who was speaking.
So, as the classroom gradually became engulfed in chaos.
“Do you see these demons, everyone?”
Professor Antonelli’s words were heard. The students slowly turned their stiff bodies and looked into the darkness where the podium had been seen for the last time.
What kind of a ridiculous question is this, asking why you suddenly see the devil when you can’t see anything?
“Ah, devil… ?”
“Did you summon a demon?”
“Does that make sense?”
“I’m scared… .”
When no one answered, Professor Antonelli asked the question again.
“Can’t you see the vicious appearance of these demons?”
“Ah, I can’t see it… !”
A student in the classroom cautiously shouted out. Then Professor Antonelli spoke.
“It is natural that it is invisible. It is in the darkness where light cannot be seen.”
Well then, how about this?
Hwaak—.
As Professor Antonelli spoke, a light suddenly appeared from somewhere. The students’ gaze naturally turned towards it.
There, there was Deacon Sophia, holding a warm golden sphere in her hand. Professor Antonelli, standing next to her, opened his mouth.
“Look here.”
Where Professor Antonelli’s finger points. At the end of it is… .
“Oh my god… .”
The picture on the blackboard had already taken off its thick cloth and was revealing its true form.
A large painting depicting monsters with red faces, strangely grown horns, goats, dogs, lions… all kinds of beasts’ heads.
It was a picture of demons. A horrible picture reminiscent of hell, its form was revealed along the sphere of light placed in the hand of Deacon Sophia.
“Everyone.”
Professor Antonelli asked the students again as they looked at the eerie picture.
“Now, do you see these demons?”
The students nodded. Professor Antonelli continued.
“If there is no light, we cannot find the evil beings hiding in the darkness. In order to deal with these evil beings, we need to understand and accept the light.”
“… … !”
“But this light is so vague and requires complex thinking beyond our level.”
Spiritual theology and demonology. Light and shadow. Something that cannot be separated.
“So, we must look at the darkness instead.”
Before studying spiritual theology, Professor Antonelli’s intention is to first examine demonology….
It was only then that the students realized the true meaning.
0 Comments