episode_0058
by fnovelpiaTime flies, and before we knew it, it was the weekend.
I left the faculty dormitory early in the morning. Several students who saw me bowed their heads and greeted me.
“Hello, Professor Antonelli.”
“Good morning.”
I simply nodded to the students and greeted them. The students who had paused for a moment to greet me started walking again.
I stared at their backs. I’ve been noticing this lately, but there have been a lot more students walking around the academy even on weekend mornings.
Of course, the reason is that the grade-level training is just a few days away. Students wake up early in the morning and secure their seats before the training grounds open.
I thought back to the grade-level sparring I had heard from Professor Esther.
Grade-based sparring. It is not included in the overall academy grades, but it is not an event that can be ignored. The reason for this is that there are various benefits, including scholarships and excellent students.
I heard that some departments, including the Department of Theology, are designated as non-combat departments, and students in those departments do not practice martial arts.
Of course, I wasn’t that interested. I just did what I had to do.
“… I guess I’ll have to use divine power.”
If the sparring were to take place, it was obvious that I would be assigned the role of nursing the students who had finished their sparring. In that case, using divine power would be essential. I looked closely at my right shoulder.
– Mr. Antonelli, your condition is improving considerably.
Last month, I heard some good news from Dr. Moritz during my consultation. I didn’t show it on the outside, but at the time, I felt quite a lot of joy and excitement.
I stopped looking at my right shoulder and started walking again. The stone floor of the academy grounds, which had been cold all night, was gradually becoming warmer due to the sunlight that had risen again.
Today is the day of my consultation with Dr. Moritz. I hope I hear good news like the last time.
Suddenly, I looked at the watch on my wrist. The hands told me that it was eight o’clock in the morning.
Normally I would go for a checkup in the late afternoon, but today I made an appointment for the morning.
In the past, I was considerate of the patients who would come after me, but today was different.
It seemed like the treatment would end early, and I wanted to change myself. I was tired of complaining to others and shedding tears easily.
That’s why I left the dorm right after breakfast. I set a time limit for myself.
‘Let’s be back by lunch time today.’
I didn’t want to bother Professor Moritz, and the other patients who needed to see him. I reached the entrance of the academy and took a step out of the academy.
* * * * *
“Hmm… .”
Moritz adjusted his glasses and groaned. The muscles in his shoulders spasmed and split in time with the movements of his hunched fingers.
Moritz, who had been observing the scene carefully, soon returned to his seat.
“Mr. Antonelli.”
Father Antonelli, who had been looking at Moritz with a blunt face and his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, opened his mouth.
“Yes.”
“Would you like to turn your arm once? Slowly, very slowly.”
Father Antonelli followed Moritz’s words. He slowly turned his shoulders as if stretching, and stopped his arms at a certain height. Moritz glanced at Father Antonelli’s face.
“As expected… .”
It was only for a moment, but his face was deeply frowned upon even for that short moment. It was clearly the expression of a person struggling in pain.
“That’s it. You can stop now.”
Father Antonelli touched his shoulder for a while, then lowered his sleeve. The rolled-up sleeve of his shirt followed his hand down.
And, Moritz, who was staring at this sight.
“Mr. Antonelli.”
“Yes, sir.”
“It seems like it’s gotten a little better than before.”
Father Antonelli’s expression brightened a little. He asked back in disbelief.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Moritz wasn’t a hope consultant. He was a doctor. And doctors shouldn’t lie to patients about their medical results. That was a kind of belief Moritz had.
In fact, Moritz was equally surprised. The wound that he had thought would take a very long time to heal was showing signs of improvement, however slight.
“I will prescribe the medicine as before.”
Father Antonelli nodded. His expression was as grim as usual, but Moritz could tell that he was quite pleased.
“Yes, I understand.”
“The usage is the same as before. Take it when you feel pain.”
Leaving Father Antonelli behind, who nodded, Moritz immediately began writing down the prescription.
His beautiful handwriting continued, and soon a prescription, written in a beautiful handwriting, was in Father Antonelli’s hands.
“You can get the medicine from the lower floor. Abuse is absolutely prohibited.”
“Okay.”
Moritz asked him, looking at him with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Mr. Antonelli. Lately, that… Are you okay?”
“What are you talking about… .”
“Aren’t you losing a lot of sleep?”
The expression on Father Antonelli’s face, which had brightened slightly, suddenly became cold. Although his expression seemed unchanged at first glance, Moritz saw a very subtle difference.
Father Antonelli’s eyes deepened. Despite meeting those dark, worried eyes, Moritz remained quite calm.
It was because he had been seeing the patient for a long time. Moritz knew best the wounds and pain that Father Antonelli had.
“I know it may be rude to ask this, but you look quite tired, Mr. Antonelli.”
Aside from his delight at the improvement in his shoulder, he looked extremely tired, with long, drawn-in shadows around his eyes and a paler, more pale face than usual.
Father Antonelli did not answer. He simply looked into Moritz’s eyes. There was a certain waveringness in the focus of his gaze that made Moritz feel uneasy.
Father Antonelli chewed his lips for a moment, pursed his lips, and opened and closed his mouth several times.
“… It’s okay. Not yet.”
He answered like that, looking completely uneasy. Moritz, who wanted to ask a little more, nodded to his words.
“Okay.”
Father Antonelli’s expression brightened slightly. Moritz had no idea why.
Father Antonelli, who had been silently gazing at Moritz for a moment, slowly got up.
“Then, I will go.”
“Are you leaving already? There’s still a lot of time left… .”
“It’s okay.”
No, it didn’t look all right. Moritz called him back to his chair.
“Mr. Antonelli, please sit down. I think you need to get some more advice.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, please sit down. I’ll be back in a minute.”
Father Antonelli hesitated for a moment, then sat down again. Moritz took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and opened his mouth.
“Mr. Antonelli. Do you still have old memories in your dreams?”
“… I think so.”
“What specific memories come to mind?”
“That’s… I don’t remember.”
Moritz looked into Father Antonelli’s eyes. They were a little shaky, but they didn’t seem to be lying.
“I repeat, this trauma comes from the thought, ‘It’s my fault.’ Don’t give meaning to such trivial things.”
“… Okay.”
Father Antonelli nodded and stood up from his seat.
Is this the end for today? Moritz thought as he got up to see off Father Antonelli. Father Antonelli’s eyes turned to Moritz.
Like that, the two looked at each other without saying a word.
“See you again in a month. Thank you.”
“… Take care. See you next month.”
Father Antonelli opened the door to the infirmary and left, freeing them from each other’s gaze.
Moritz, who had been wearing a dejected expression, suddenly took on a bitter expression.
“… When will that patient be happy?”
Because I truly felt sorry for him, because I only heard about his miserable and dark news every time.
* * * * *
“Hey!”
Chloe let out a shout. Following the magic wand in her hand, a magic circle made of magical power slowly formed.
However, the speed was too slow. It was so slow that it could not be used in the grade-by-grade sparring. Chloe, who had been struggling with the magic circle for a while, saw the completed magic hitting the training doll and sat down on the floor with a sad face.
“Ugh… . I thought it would definitely work out… .”
“… What on earth is going on?”
Elin, who had been watching Chloe from behind, reluctantly approached her and asked her. Chloe answered with sparkling eyes.
“But, I really had a realization… .”
So, what is that?
Elin smacked her forehead. It had already been three hours since she had followed Chloe into the training grounds, swayed by Chloe’s insistence.
During that time, Chloe tried out a variety of magic. All of the magic worked well, and the results weren’t all that bad. Even though she was rotten, she was still a student in Class 1-A.
However, the problem was that there was no magic to speak of. At this point, Elin was starting to find it difficult to watch her.
Not wanting to waste her golden weekend like this, Elin also started training in spirit magic.
“Haa… . What kind of realization was that… .”
Even so, I couldn’t concentrate well because of Chloe, who had been acting strangely for a while.
However, it was not in Elin’s nature to say bad things to her only best friend. She stared at Chloe, who had slumped down, and then showed something in front of her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Uh, yeah… ?”
The strange creature with its arms and legs swinging was the fire spirit that Elin often used. Chloe stared blankly at it.
“From now on, this guy will evaluate your magic. I saw you earlier, but you haven’t used fire magic yet, right?”
“Hmm… . Fire magic… ?”
Until just now, the magic that Chloe had been using was mainly the magic that she was most confident in: cold magic and material manipulation magic.
Since it had helped her greatly when taking the entrance exams, Chloe had no doubt that she would be able to achieve success with these magics.
“Let’s try elemental magic first. Next, gravity manipulation magic, illusion magic… There are still many cases.”
Chloe, who had been blankly staring at the spirit in front of her, soon gathered her wits and nodded.
Chloe closed her eyes. Thinking back to the magic circle of fire magic she had learned before, she slowly opened her eyes and drew a magic circle.
“In the middle, a spark.”
A magic circle of sparks that is shaped as round as possible. Using that as the core of the magic circle, quickly build up the frame.
“Outside, fusion with the environment.”
In this way, the sparks of the magic circle fuse with the oxygen in the air that is dissolved in the surrounding environment. The sparks that quickly consume oxygen came to mind in Chloe’s mind.
“Ignition, and expansion. More expansion… !”
The magic circle becomes more and more complicated. Lines connect lines, and they become a single shape that overlaps the magic circle. Elin watched the scene with bated breath.
Phew—.
Chloe let out a deep sigh. The nearly completed magic circle was in front of her. Now, if she could carve the trigger mechanism into the magic circle.
“Fire, fire. Big fire. And… . Burn (Κάψτε το)!”
Kwaaaa—!
The sparkles that bloomed in the center of the magic circle soon became dozens and hundreds and shot out in all directions.
The sparks bounce up in the air as if they hit a wall built in midair, consuming any oxygen they come into contact with.
From that spark, it ignites, ignites, and ignites again. After three ignitions, it transforms into a huge pillar of fire… .
“… Ah.”
As if it were a lie, it shrank down and looked ugly. Chloe looked back at Elin with tears in her eyes.
“Eek…! Elin! It doesn’t seem to be a fire type…!”
“… … .”
“Elin… ?”
Elin’s expression hardened. She stared blankly into space for a moment, then turned her head toward Chloe.
“… Chloe.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“You… . Surely, you have attained enlightenment?”
As he said that, the fire spirits jumped up and down and Elin pointed to the place with her finger.
– Chiiik…!
The floor of the training ground, where a pillar of fire had appeared for a moment, was boiling.
It was the most destructive magic Chloe had ever performed.
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