5. Bread and Dagger (3)
It had been a long time since I visited the intensive care unit of the temple.
It had only been two months, but it was a place I had visited so often. Even that had to feel long.
Wasn’t it a place where I took care of myself once or twice a month just last semester?
Looking back, it was a time when I just rolled my body.
It made me wonder what it would have been like if the saintess hadn’t been to the academy.
At least I would have been dead or crippled long ago.
Being placed in an intensive care unit was such a serious problem.
The minor injuries did not require hospitalization. I don’t know if it was a temple in a foreign country, but the temple of the academy was a place where all the high-ranking priests were waiting.
It was common to receive outpatient treatment after first aid was completed.
Even so, if you stayed in the temple for a few days and needed intensive care, there was only one reason.
This meant that the extent of the injury was very serious.
For example, last semester I was like that.
At that time, I was in the middle of going through all kinds of struggles.
Fractures and bruises spread all over the body, and there were many times when people passed out with serious injuries, or literally almost died.
As a result, I had no choice but to visit the intensive care unit often.
However, this was an exceptional case.
The majority of academy students do not visit the intensive care unit. Even if they did, most of them were for a visit to the hospital.
No matter how tough the academy was, it was a strict educational institution.
There were not many situations in which the safety of students could be seriously threatened.
Yes, in general it was.
Unless some crazy guy wields a sword or an axe.
Unfortunately, that madman was roaming the academy. The reason I visited the intensive care unit today was to pay my respects to the victim.
Because the identity of that ‘crazy guy’ was me.
To be precise, it was ‘me’ from the future.
I listened to the saintess’ complaints with dark eyes.
“… … Both are crazy.”
It was the first impression the saintess had uttered to me.
After becoming the priest in charge of Seria, it seemed that she had suffered a lot for a while.
The sunken eyes testified to the fatigue of the past.
The cause was obvious.
As always, it must be because the patients didn’t listen.
I also had no stings, so I had no choice but to let out an awkward cough.
However, there was one question about the saintess’ lamentation.
“Two? Who are you talking about?”
To be honest, one guessed.
However, it was a question I asked because I couldn’t figure out who else I was calling crazy.
At those words, the saintess raised her voice as if it just went well.
“Of course, you and Seria who came from the future!”
At the same time, the saintess trembled.
It was a sign of boredom.
Apparently, Seria had a share in the mental pain the saintess suffered.
“The person who crushes even his enemies every day is that person, but Sister Seria who keeps attacking me no matter what I say is also a problem! I’ve tried several times, but I’m so stubborn… … .”
“… … Seria jumped first?”
Is that docile Seria?
The saintess’ voice was trembling. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t sincere.
I knew it, but it was a story that I couldn’t easily believe.
Not to mention that Seria gets seriously injured every day.
It was difficult to guess why Seria had to attack ‘me’. Even the saintess didn’t seem to know anything about this.
Because she sighed as if she was frustrated.
“Yes, Sister Seria said it was part of the training, but… … .”
it’s training
I suddenly remembered the technique Sir Irene had been taught.
The swordsmanship seemed mighty even at first glance. It was a car that I was guessing at the bottom of my heart that it might be a technique that is equivalent to the secret skill of a well-known organization.
If he could learn such a skill, he would have been prepared to be slandered.
Any unmanned person would have done that.
Soldiers were beings who had no choice but to long for strength by nature. No matter how docile Seria was, she couldn’t be an exception.
Still, doubts remained.
It was the guidance method of ‘I’ who came from the future.
For me, the teaching method did not make sense.
Sir Irene regarded the memory of being taught skills as a good memory. In other words, it meant that violence beyond the limit was not inflicted.
Convey the essentials and practice self-cultivation.
That was the way ‘I’ taught in Sir Irene’s story.
However, what appeared in the saintess’ testimony was the exact opposite.
Assault until you inflict it on yourself. Even if the opponent is seriously injured.
It was such a simple and ignorant training method.
He was a person who conveyed the secret to Sir Irene with only a short teaching. There was no reason to resort to ruthless violence.
Of course, the saintess didn’t seem to be able to resolve that question either.
A faint sigh proved this.
It meant that I had nothing to add. And also, it meant that Seria was hiding something.
Then there was only one thing I had to do.
A voice mixed with a sigh escaped from my mouth.
“… … Let me tell you.”
“Please.”
A tired look was evident on the saintess’ face as she answered.
I silently patted the saintess on the shoulder.
Then the saintess subtly buried her face in my chest and let out a deep sigh.
“What kind of trouble is this, getting involved with a man by mistake… … .”
“Strictly speaking, it’s not my fault, is it?”
“Hey, would I have done this if it wasn’t for you?”
probably did
Although she pretended to be stern, the saintess was always sincere with her patients.
But I didn’t bother to point this out.
Because I wasn’t so ignorant that I didn’t know that those words were a signal to accept complaints.
I silently patted the back of the woman with her face buried in my arms.
After a while, the saintess looked up at me with sullen eyes.
In the process, the soft feel of the breasts came through, but I didn’t dare to mention this either.
There was no reason to reject the saintess’ offer of grace.
I just stared down at the woman’s flushed face.
Pretty was filthy pretty.
The emaciated complexion was to the extent that it made her beauty stand out.
Whether or not she knew what I was thinking, the saintess pouted her lips and declared to me.
“… … This debt will be paid back over the course of a lifetime.”
either way
I smiled bitterly and roughly stroked the saintess’ hair.
Then the saintess got a little annoyed, saying that she had to rearrange her hair.
Of course, I didn’t even care. The way the saintess was annoyed was also cute.
That’s how I was able to meet Seria after having a private meeting with the saintess.
**
Seria’s face she finally faced was devastating.
It was to the point where there was no place on the body that was not covered with bandages. Even her pretty face was covered with white bandages.
And that wasn’t all.
Blood and ooze oozing out from all over the place were locked in my field of vision. This meant that the wound had not yet healed.
It was even more heartbreaking to know that the girl’s pain was still ongoing.
It was more serious than I imagined.
I froze on the spot as I entered.
Sensing the presence of the girl, the girl’s deep blue pupils slowly turned towards me.
Seria stared at me silently for a while, but soon showed signs of restlessness.
It was the moment when the light returned to the girl’s eyes, which had been filled with only shadows.
Sarah bit her lip and averted her gaze.
As if he was ashamed to show his ugly side.
Even so, she couldn’t ignore me, Seria let out a timid murmur.
“… … Eh, Senior Ian?”
I didn’t answer Seria’s name.
Instead, he just walked around and fell to his knees with a bewildered look on his face.
Then, the scars left all over Seria’s body became more visible.
Wounds that hurt just by looking at them, I inadvertently gnashed my teeth.
Until now, I thought the saintess’ expressions were exaggerated.
I was misunderstanding that the word smashed was just a metaphor.
However, the moment I faced Seria in person, I had to admit that it was a mistake.
It was literally ‘smash’.
I must have broken my entire body on purpose. Otherwise, this kind of injury could not have been inflicted.
How painful and difficult Seria must have been at that time.
Imagining the pain my precious junior must have suffered, my body trembled with anger.
In the end, I couldn’t stand it and burst into anger.
“No, that bastard is really… … !”
“Ji, calm down. Senior Ian!”
These were the words Seria shouted as she hurriedly grabbed my arm.
My body hesitated, unable to shake off that fragile touch.
Before I knew it, Seria was building a tearful face.
“It’s my fault! It’s just that I’m stubborn… That, so self-torture… … !”
Only then did I suddenly come to my senses.
Oh right.
It was ‘I’ who made Seria like this.
I wanted to help, but I couldn’t help it. At most, it was just self-harm, as Seria was worried about.
In the end, I had no choice but to let out a sigh and calm myself down.
The anger still lingered, but right now there was no way to protest.
This debt will be repaid later.
I said so and sat down. It was a chair next to the bed.
Seria was still looking at me with anxious eyes.
Who cares about whom, I asked with a mischievous smile.
“… … why? Could it be that I will harm myself?”
“Yeah.”
It was an assertion without hesitation.
I couldn’t believe Seria thought of me that way.
I felt a bit sad, but I didn’t show my dissatisfaction until I cleared my throat.
Rather, it was her turn to listen to Seria’s story.
At the same time, Seria was taken aback by my dramatic reaction. It wouldn’t be easy to lie now.
I asked her directly.
“… … So, what is it?”
Seria’s mouth closed tight at my question.
Seeing her sneakily avoiding her gaze, it seemed that I had something inside that I wanted to hide.
Of course, I had no intention of giving up like this.
“If you ask Celine, you’ll find out anyway, Seria… Can’t you just let me hear it through your mouth?”
In the end, Seria couldn’t go through with my ensuing request.
A sigh escaped Seria’s mouth after hesitating for a long time.
It was a signal that he would reveal his circumstances.
“That’s it, I mean… … .”
That’s how Seria’s story began.
**
“… … Do not follow me.”
It was an unexpected word.
He was a man with particularly tired eyes.
Even that day, Celine and Seria were walking together while bickering.
Their dazed gazes crossed in midair.
Regardless, the man just watched the two of them with indifferent eyes. At that point, Celine and Seria had no choice but to realize the man’s true identity.
It’s ‘he’ from the future.
The senior, whom the two of them had a crush on, couldn’t make such a cold-blooded face.
I was wondering what kind of English it was.
It seemed that there was a separate condition for ‘him’ from the future to possess the man he loved.
However, Celine first put the question that came to her mind right away.
“why?”
There was no need to ask where.
As far as the man would say, it must mean that he would leave anywhere.
Then there was only one question left.
why.
Why can’t the two go together?
The man’s answer to that question was simple.
“Because it doesn’t help.”
It was a very plain and cruel answer.
Seria burst into tears at those words, and that became the beginning of her ordeal.
Seria didn’t know yet.
What kind of person is ‘he’ from the future?
He was an idiot beyond imagination.