[Episode 17]
This world inside the novel resembled my world in strange ways. I had expected that it would cost a lot of money, but I hadn't known it would be to this extent. And I had to wait half a year on top of that? To think religious figures would be so inaccessible. Faced with an obstacle that felt far more realistic, I ran a hand through my hair.
'Academy tuition for one year is 600 gold, and yet… it costs 500 gold just to wait six months.'
It felt like I'd have to sell a kidney to raise that kind of money. There didn't seem to be any other way. I hesitated for a long while before finally squeezing out a plan.
'Couldn't I get help from an ordinary priest instead of the High Priest?'
If the old fortune-teller on the street had caught on to my true identity… even if they weren't as capable as the High Priest, an ordinary priest might be able to notice too. I lowered my voice slightly and asked the priest who was handling admissions in front of me.
"Excuse me, Priest. Do you… feel anything when you look at me?"
At those words, the priest who had approached me drew back slightly. His face, now looking down at me, was full of displeasure. His tone was brusque, different from before.
"Devotee. What emotion do you expect me to feel toward you?"
Hmm?
"Priests are, in principle, forbidden from forming any kind of relationship with the opposite sex. I would think you are old enough to know that approaching a priest who serves the gods in this manner is quite offensive."
This… was not the reaction I had expected.
My futile effort to get him to notice my alien existence ended with me looking like someone trying to flirt with a priest. And through that reaction, I became certain.
"…Please put me on the waiting list."
"Yes, you may pay the fee at that time."
So meeting an ordinary priest wasn't enough. Is it even possible for me to return? Even that old woman who knew I wasn't from this place had said she didn't know a way back. Forcing reluctant steps, I reached the entrance of the Temple, and the endlessly descending stairs below only amplified my distress.
In the end, I plopped down haphazardly on the temple stairs. What am I supposed to do now? Just as I was running my hand through my hair in agitation, someone lightly tapped my back.
"Don't make a donation."
I turned around to see a young, pale-looking female priest. She was the one doing administrative work behind the priest at the reception desk.
"…Yes?"
I asked back, unable to understand the whispered words. Then the young priest drew closer to me.
"I'm telling you not to donate to the Temple just to have an audience with the High Priest."
…What? At the unexpected words, I was left speechless, and the young priest looked around before lowering her voice even further.
"You aren't from here, are you? Didn't you come because of that?"
"How did you…?"
"The priest from earlier is an apprentice. Not a proper priest."
"Of course, even a proper priest wouldn't necessarily be able to grasp your problem." The priest, who looked exhausted, quickly whispered in a slightly trembling voice.
"Even if you barely manage to gather 500 gold… the High Priest will drag things out and won't properly attend to you."
"How do you know that?"
"Because he was the one who instructed me at the seminary."
I felt something heavily implied in the priest's answer.
"…He'll say he can't tell from just one meeting, and then keep asking for donations afterward. So don't give him any money."
"Then how am I supposed to…?"
The priest let out a dry sigh, hesitated, then answered.
"I can't help you right now… please come back around winter."
I knew I wasn't in a position to be picky when I needed help, but six months? It was too long. I already felt terribly delayed with the Academy and everything. Noticing my expression, the priest added awkwardly.
"I… need to graduate from the seminary first."
"…Yes?"
Graduate?
"In principle, unqualified priests cannot meet with devotees. Especially in cases like yours with a special problem, it's all the more so."
And after a brief hesitation, the priest spoke in a small voice.
"And more than anything… I've been attending the seminary for ten years now."
If I don't graduate this time, I'll have to wait another year. As she said this, the priest's face looked ten years older in that brief moment.
'If she puts it that way, there's no way… no way I could ask her.'
Still, graduation is… something she has to do… If she's been in school for ten years… My fierce desperation subsided slightly.
"Come find me later. My name is Anna, so if you ask for me, they'll guide you to me."
Well then. With those final words, the pale priest disappeared with unsteady steps.
'At this rate, I'll end up graduating from here too.'
An inexplicable sense of helplessness descended like a curtain.
***
'What if I really have to keep living here.'
Carriages were hard to come by, and the pressure of 500 gold weighed down on me. I had no choice but to slowly make my way toward the Academy on foot. My feet were beginning to throb. I saw a carriage that had passed by me come to a stop.
'It looks fancy, so it's no ordinary carriage… probably some noble family's.'
As I watched absently, a tall figure stepped down from the stopped carriage and approached. It had grown dark before I knew it, and I couldn't see the person's face clearly. However, I stopped in my tracks at the color of their hair reflected in the moonlight.
"Sister."
It was Evan. A cold premonition that something troublesome would happen swept through my chest at the calm voice. I began to slowly walk again.
After a brief silence, Evan soon extended his arm to me.
"Are you heading to the Academy? It's dark, so allow me to take you by carriage."
How long would it take to walk from here to the Academy? I might have taken another carriage, but I didn't particularly want to ride in an Erexion carriage. As I hesitated and delayed my answer, Evan drew a little closer.
"This area is dangerous because wild beasts come out after sunset."
With the hand pushed toward me insistently, I had no choice but to take it.
Despite his proactive escort, Evan said little. I hadn't noticed from outside because of his tall stature, but his face under the small lantern inside the carriage definitely looked young. Unlike the male Academy students who generally had solid builds despite their varying physiques, there was something somewhat ungainly about him.
And above all, unlike the Erexion family faces that seemed to have nothing to do with redness, the corners of his eyes were red and swollen. I turned my head toward the window. In the silence, Evan was the first to speak.
"Have you… been well?"
It would be absurd to bare my teeth at a kid who looked this young, so I simply nodded. The carriage fell silent again after Evan's strained greeting.
'Hmm… nothing to talk about.'
It felt like meeting a cousin I wasn't close to. Actually, I couldn't even call him a cousin. Maybe to Dietrich, but to me, he was a complete stranger. Yet seeing Evan strangely restless, I barely managed to bring up a topic.
"It seems you visited the Temple. I did as well."
I said, glancing at the prayer book placed beside Evan.
"…You as well, Sister?"
The people here really tended to call Dietrich whatever they pleased. Noblewoman, Sister. Did they really think I liked those titles?
"Yes."
"For what reason…"
It was a reasonable question to ask, but also one that was difficult to answer plainly.
"…I went for the same reason everyone else goes to the Temple."
Having brushed it off with an ambiguous answer, I returned the question to Evan out of courtesy.
"What business did you have at the Temple?"
I thought he would evade the question like I had, but Evan unexpectedly answered straightforwardly.
"I came to offer a requiem prayer for my mother."
At the unexpected words, I felt dizzy for a moment.
'Wait, I didn't bring this up to hear such personal matters…'
Without hesitation, Evan spoke about his late mother, the second Duchess of Erexion. On the other hand, I began to understand why Evan's eyes were so red.
"…I didn't know. My… condolences."
Evan silently shook his head, then looked out at the scenery beyond the carriage that I had been watching until just now.
Evan's mother had become the second Duchess not long after the original Duchess—mother of Cedric and Roxanne—passed away. The Duke of Erexion, who had truly loved Roxanne's mother, treated the second Duchess with courtesy as his wife, but apparently not with the same affection he had shown the first. Nevertheless, Evan's mother had been a good person.
When Dietrich was discovered not to be a biological child of House Erexion, it was Evan's mother who had used her influence to send Dietrich to Count De Goff's family in Heilem rather than the streets. Having a daughter of a similar age, a young girl being cast out must have weighed on her heart. That Duchess had passed away from illness without Dietrich knowing.
"The Duchess… was a good person."
I offered my condolences once more.
Evan seemed unable to speak for a long while. But soon he composed himself and turned back to look at me.
"You placed second this time. It's late, but congratulations."
Contrary to the congratulatory words, Evan's voice was growing damp. A congratulation for second place coming from first place. It felt strange.
"Thank you. It's embarrassing to hear such praise from someone who entered as the top student."
"…Did you know?"
I felt my heart softening further at his slightly brightening voice. After seeing nothing but crazy people, seeing a child reveal his inner feelings so transparently… I nodded slightly and added.
"I saw you go up on the podium during the entrance ceremony."
"I see."
Now there was truly nothing more to say. Just as I was beginning to regret not walking and getting mauled by wild beasts instead, the carriage arrived at the Academy.
"Thank you for the ride. Thanks to you, I arrived safely."
Just as I finished my greeting and turned to leave, a careful hand stopped me.
"I, um…."