181 – 181 – My future hope is always the President # 3
181 – The future is always the president #3
I met Victoria after a long time.
He seemed to have been under a lot of stress over the past few days because of this and that.
“Your gray hair has grown, Victoria.”
“… My hair is originally silver.”
If it had been the same as before, it wouldn’t have been enough even if he had bristled his fur like a sharp cat, saying, “What do you say, do you want to say something nonsensical as soon as we meet?”
Victoria seemed terribly lethargic.
“Is it because of the eclair?”
“right. That guy, why did he do such a useless thing… . You don’t know what will happen to the alliance between Seonghwangcheong and the Arclight family. There will be a real big war.”
is it.
Victoria seemed to be carrying the lives of those who might die or be injured on her shoulders.
Because this guy is so serious that he’s going to get rid of it.
I’m trying to keep too many things in my heart. Should I?
“Victoria, your shoulders are stiff because you usually carry such heavy things in your chest.”
I got up from my seat and pressed Victoria’s shoulder firmly.
The guy screamed strangely, “Gya-!”, but soon said, “Rice, it’s not very heavy… ! You’ve heard it yourself… !?”
Yes, this is the Victoria I know.
He let out a deep sigh, probably gaining strength from my shoulder stimulation.
And then it says
“Eclair, why did you do that? Why did you imitate me?”
“Yeah-.”
You may want to be like the person you admire.
I had no doubts that Eclair was simply a brute who liked to dress up as a woman.
Knowing the truth, it wasn’t.
Eclair… No, Vicky was just someone who wanted to be like Victoria.
Victoria, however, seemed to be terribly unbelievable.
“Why did I go so far… ? It’s creepy.”
“Is it creepy?”
“Yeah, just imagine that someone might do weird things in your form.”
It’s kind of like that.
However, it was also true that indiscriminate criticism towards Eclair continued.
I glanced at the newspaper Victoria had put aside.
All of the written articles are blaming the priest Eclair and the Seonghwangcheong.
“With the feet of a shady and wrong desire toward Miss Victoria… ?”
“You have to deal with it severely.”
“I almost got engaged to a guy like that, even though it was disguised.”
It was Victorica who trembled.
I had a lot of things I wanted to say in many ways.
For some reason it didn’t come out of my mouth.
No, I must say one word.
“On the date of your engagement, Eclair’s trial was decided. Éclair has appealed the executive board’s decision.”
* * *
The church in Ludens where Victoria’s engagement ceremony should have been held.
A large court event was held there.
“Defendant, Éclair B. Dennis. Please enter.”
As soon as the judge dispatched from the Seonghwangcheong said in a solemn voice, a person appeared tied to a rope from afar. Everyone catches their breath at the sight.
“You really look like Miss Victoria, don’t you?”
“I wear lenses in a wig. Upset.”
People criticized Eclair for her resemblance to Victoria.
The judge hit the hammer and demanded silence, saying, “Be quiet, be solemn.” But the anger of the people does not subside.
“Something like you doesn’t resemble Miss Victoria at all!”
“Nothing is the same!”
“criminal!”
“… … .”
Eclair Vicky is silently listening to this situation.
The guy was more haggard than expected, probably because he had been in prison for a few days.
The judge asks such a guy.
“Defendant Éclair, you did a good job recreating what the presiding judge asked for. Why did the defendant deceive people in such a way?”
“deception… .”
“Also, the crime of making fun of believers and gods by pretending to be a man even though he was originally a woman. Are you aware that this is a sin so great that even the tears of the gods cannot wash it away?”
“… … .”
“The Seonghwangcheong will make a decision to excommunicate the defendant Éclair.”
“Par, ripple… !”
Although it was a trial, it was more like a one-sided lynching.
Eclair is an irreversible sinner.
If it is natural, is it normal?
“And the defendant committed a great damage to the honor of Seonghwangcheong and Miss Victoria, the daughter of the Arkwright family, with all sorts of perverted acts.”
“Perverted behavior, that’s a lie—”
“Be quiet. Look at it. If that’s not perverted, what is? And, in order to prove this sin, we, the Holy Family, obtained documents from Priest Éclair’s time as a theological student.”
The judge of Seonghwangcheong, who looked like a professor, held up a piece of paper.
Then he took out his glasses from somewhere and put them on his nose and began to read the letters one by one.
“Let’s see, Eclair Vicky. fifteen years old My future hope is Victoria Arclight. That’s how it is written. My hope for the future is Miss Victoria.”
Fuhuh- and laughter bursting out here and there.
Soon, the face of Eclair Vicky, who had been aloof until now, became very red and did not know what to do.
“Also, here at Seonghwangcheong, we also obtained the defendant’s diary from when he was 16 years old. As you can see here, the perverted desire to become Miss Victoria… .”
but.
I felt that this situation was a bit absurd.
Nike might have felt that way as well. .” He shuddered.
Enio replied to this.
“The Seonghwangcheong wants to make it clear about this incident. Priest Eclair’s problem is an individual problem, and the Church and the Holy Office have nothing to do with it. So I might bite and tear more thoroughly.”
Is it like that too?
I was vaguely feeling it too.
In other words, this is a stop loss.
The Seonghwangcheong must be trying to prove their innocence by insulting Eclair as much as possible and harshly pushing them.
“Student Viktor, do you have something to say? The student is also one of the biggest victims in this incident, so I think he has something to say.”
At that time, people’s attention turned to me.
As I was watching this situation, my mind seemed to float like a feather for a moment on the suddenly prepared stage, but I was able to maintain my composure right away.
I said.
“My childhood dream was to be president.”
“What is the president?”
“I don’t know, neither do I.”
“This Arnoi, that president… . It’s my favorite language… !”
yeah i know
It’s a very big dream.
It was like that even in the upper grades of elementary school, when I was quite old.
That’s why, whenever I made a presentation about my future hopes, everyone in the audience laughed.
Even the teacher laughed.
What happened then was still traumatic.
To have someone laugh at my dreams, that’s quite a shock.
Eclair was just like that now.
It’s true that this guy did something wrong.
But is it okay to be criticized for dreaming a dream that has nothing to do with wrongdoing and cannot come true? Watching it reminded me of the old days and I felt a bit distressed.
“The judge is bringing useless stories to the case and telling them. Everyone is busy, so don’t waste your time and get to the point.”
“Hmm.”
The judge deliberately cleared his throat.
He glanced at me and the others, then closed Eclair’s diary and said.
“Then I will judge. defendant guilty. According to the rules of the god of order, it is clear that he committed a crime without even hearing the story.”
The judge who reads the judgment as already decided.
Eclair’s punishment was probably fixed regardless of the trial.
“The defendant will be sentenced to ‘Inferno’, which is a higher level than ‘Hell’. Of course, excommunication from the church. Even if the defendant dies, he will not be able to go to the land of amusement.”
Land-.
When I was about to hit the hammer one last time.
Eclair said, “Now, wait a minute.”
The judge fell silent and all eyes turned to Eclair.
“I, this… . Wait, can you loosen the rope a little… .”
At the request to release the rope, the big guys clung to it and released Eclair’s restraints.
Eclair, who became free like that, reached into the front of her clothes and pulled out something.
It was something that looked like a square card.
The written text is simple.
The judge’s eyes widened when he read those three letters.
“Yeah, that’s the “indulgences” of the first prosperous Patros… !?”
“Absolution?”
“You mean such a thing really happened?”
* * *
When I was making a lot of sweet and sour pork sauce in prison, I took “indulgences”.
If you go to the empty room E-2 in the prison building and lift the stone under the bed, you will find a wooden plaque that looks hard and hard. This was the indulgence.
「Indulgences: Indulgences said to have been sold by Patros. It cannot be proven that it actually has the effect of forgiving sins, but people believe it does.”
I gave it to Eclair.
And I dealt lightly.
As a result.
“No, not guilty… . I will also invalidate the excommunication. And the indulgences must be sent to the main office of the Seonghwangcheong and kept… !”
ground ground.
innocence.
Is this the power of a square and hard object?
To go back and forth between a sinner and a clean person with one item.
It is clear that this is a world within a game.
The trial ended with that feeling.
Éclair was able to be acquitted on the spot by the powerful power of 「Indulgences」.
What a funny trial.
But I said everything I wanted to say and saw everything I wanted to see.
“I don’t even need to be here anymore.”
I left church feeling relieved.
Someone comes running to me
“Rain, Victor.”
The guy was Vicky.
No, it’s an eclair.
Anyway, yes.
The guy was gasping for breath.
It must have been running hard to catch me.
“Whoa, whoa, Viktor, thanks to you, I escaped excommunication. ha ha ha… .”
“Actually, that one wooden plank doesn’t erase all of your sins.”
I looked around.
Still, people look at the eclair and say, “The guy I don’t like.” .” The situation whispered.
Can not help it.
Even if sins are washed away, people’s hearts can’t be careless.
Eclair seemed to know that well.
“Victor, beat me until you feel like it.”
The boy stretched out his arms.
do you think it will suit me?
“I don’t see myself as a woman.”
I like gender equality.
So I clenched my fist and hit Eclair as hard as I could.
puck.
“Kek… !”
Éclair’s wig fell off in an instant and was scattered on the floor.
Seeing that, people say, “You look good” or “Hit more… !”
Puck, puck, puck-.
“Strong, weak, medium strong, weak.”
I unilaterally hit the lying eclair.
How long would that have lasted?
“Hey, don’t you think this is a bit harsh?”
“Yeah… . Maybe I should dry it… .”
People whispered as if they were frightened.
Did Eclair, being beaten one-sidedly, look like a victim?
In fact, the guy was bleeding from his nose, his hair was completely scattered, and his lenses were all missing and he was lying on the floor. Her clean clothes were muddy, and her arms and legs had vital signs and looked very painful.
“Victor, stop it… ! I’m going to get seriously hurt… !”
Then Nike stopped me.
I lightly shake my hand and say lightly, “Eclair, I hit you because you said you would hit me.”
I’ll never see you again
The evening of the day I thought so.
Someone knocked on the club room door.
The guy was Eclair.
No, should I say Vicky?
I was wearing a dress like a woman, but the wig was off.
Looking at it like this, I can definitely tell it’s a woman.
“What is going on?”
“… Viktor, I don’t think I could say I’m sorry.”
“is it.”
“And to say thank you… . that you hit me in the street You did it on purpose to divert attention from people.”
What?
But what, in the end, did that happen?
To be honest, it wouldn’t have hurt much from Eclair’s point of view.
My bare fist attack power is actually very low.
In fact, Éclair looked fine even after being beaten so excitedly.
the guy said
“That you gave me an indulgence. Why didn’t you tell people?”
“Because I didn’t have to tell you.”
“… … .”
“If you have nothing to say, leave. You, I heard you decided to leave Ludens Island. I’ve decided to become a nun instead of a priest now.”
“that’s… .”
“Even though the authority is different from that of a priest. Consider yourself lucky that you are not excommunicated.”
“By the way, Victor. I… .”
Éclair mumbled for a long time, wondering if there was something she wanted to say.
Then I ask for strength.
“Are you deliberately playing the bad guy? Because I’ve been pretending to be a man all my life, I can understand other people’s performances. Why are you like a bad person… .”
“I?”
“yes. you were like that too That day, when I was a child, you gave me a cake. I know it’s you now Why don’t you tell me the truth and resent me… .”
A cake from your childhood?
is it a thing of the past
“It’s something I don’t remember.”
Because Victor at that time was different from me.
I mean the OS is different.
Éclair hesitated for a moment at my simple denial.
Then, “Yeah, that’s right. Then, could you tell me how to make the cake you gave me?”
If it’s a cake, do you mean the one you gave me in front of the prison a while ago?
I said lightly.
“Come in. It’s better to see and do it yourself than to explain it.”
I taught eclairs how to mix whipped cream and how to bake bread.
The whipped cream cake made like that.
「Clumsy whipped cream cake: Clumsy. The shape is strange, but the taste is okay.”
“Well, for the first time I made it, this is good enough.”
In my estimation, Eclair held up the fork without saying a word.
And then take a bite.
“… What is it, it still tastes the same as back then. Something is awkward… . Bad taste… .” He convinced himself in an incomprehensible voice.
I don’t know, but I’m satisfied with myself, I have nothing more to say.
No, I have something to say.
“Don’t forget the deal you made with me.”
“Are you going to tell me the news when the priest of the Seonghwangcheong is dispatched to Ludens again?”
“yes.”
“… Maybe because of that girl?”
Eclair, who was eating the cake, asked quite sharply.
Needless to say who the girl refers to.
“Did you feel it too? That thing that is ‘inside’ Enio.”
“That’s right, all the priests of the Holy Emperor’s Office… . If a priest other than me comes along, he will surely be discovered. There will be problems.”
“I know. That’s why I ask for your cooperation. If we know in advance which priest is coming, we will be able to deal with it.”
“That’s it… . I am Victor I’m worried about you too. In fact, your condition is as difficult as the princess of the Black Star. You know that.”
“me?”
“Yes, although it is a little funny and shameless for me to say this. The eccentricity that the duke carved into you as a child. Frankly, I’ve reached my limit. This is what I say as a priest.”
“is it.”
“Can you honestly feel it? everything feels dull. Aren’t you feeling significantly less pain?”
“… … .”
In fact, I felt that it didn’t hurt even if I was hit, or that I was less sensitive to emotional changes than others.
It is insensitive to the change of seasons.
There were many cases where I was the only one who couldn’t laugh when everyone else was laughing.
Even if I felt better, I immediately sank as if I had been doused with cold water.
When I ate the dishes that the other guys were excited about after eating, there were a lot of cases where I honestly wondered, ‘Is it really that much of an overkill?’
Was it, after all, a matter of eccentricity rather than because of Viktor’s inherent inclination?
“… … .”
“The «steel» in your heart will eat more of you from now on, Viktor. In the first place, eccentricity is a kind of curse. I think it’s better to do it quickly. If you ask the high priests of the Seonghwangcheong—”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet… . People who are captivated by eccentricity become dull in their senses and emotions. Even more so with the eccentricity of the powerful Seven Deadly Sins, like 《Steel》. You, you were barely able to recognize my face just because you wore a wig and disguised yourself.”
“… … .”
“Starting with pain and cognitive abilities, you might not even be able to feel the warmth or taste of the wind. Emotional changes will become more and more dull. When that happens, you end up… .”
“In the end, it might become a ‘monster’ instead of a human—.”
“… … .”
“Is that what you want to say?”
Eclair said no more.
But the expression is very serious.
I don’t know what it is like as a human being, but as a ‘priest’, he seems to be a very talented guy.
Is this guy’s diagnosis correct?
But I was very sorry.
The eccentricity of 《Steel》 is a very rare quirk, so it is beneficial to keep it for a long time if possible. How hard is it to have a good quirk?
However, if this is eating me up, it’s worth considering getting rid of it in a number of ways.
Of course, the opportunity to erase the ‘eccentricity’ doesn’t come easily.
I have to pay a lot of money to visit the “professional nun”.
how much was it
Didn’t 50 million René go into the basics just to erase the quirk?
So toil until a good quirk emerged was content like a hippo eating René.
That’s why I don’t do well without old people.
“Well.”
50 million.
I wonder if I can afford that kind of money now.
While I was thinking for a while, Eclair added a few more words.
“Victor, I can do it for you if you want. Compared to the grace you gave me, it may not be a big deal, but… .”
“you? Isn’t that what only nuns who do eccentric things can do?
“Yes, because I am a woman who can become a priest and also a nun… .”