PTSD Military Chaplain of the Academy

The weekend passed quickly.

The students often used the training grounds late into the night to improve their skills, which provided quite an interesting view from my dorm room.

I could see Chloe, Elin, and even Laura, which was quite unexpected.

Laura had not shown much nervousness about the Grade-by-Grade Duel, but for some reason she appeared at the training ground this weekend.

With the Grade-by-Grade Duel starting next Monday, Laura must have come out to practice so she wouldn’t lose her touch.

Aside from that, it was an ordinary weekend without anything particularly special.

Of course, the nightmares didn’t change. Professor Antorelli advised me not to assign meaning to every little thing…

But I wasn’t sure. Do I usually assign much meaning to trivial things?

“Huh…”

Having finished all my tasks, I sat on the cozy bed in my dorm room, staring blankly out the window.

The sunset was happening. The sun fell behind the various buildings of the city, lighting them up against the backdrop of the massive academy grounds. That was how the sun plummeted.

Considering that the days are longer in summer, I realized it was probably around eight in the evening.

I had to stay busy even on the weekend. After finishing my appointment with Professor Moritz, I dropped by the Main Chapel to help Sofia Sub-priest clean the Chapel on Saturday, and then on Sunday, like usual, I held the Sunday worship service and blessed the worshippers who visited the Academy Main Chapel, just as I always did.

This series of events made me acutely aware once again that I was living in a peaceful era…

“…I’m exhausted.”

Ironically, the chaotic and turbulent times I experienced just a few years ago felt surreal.

Did I dream it all? The people I met on the battlefield… were they all just figments of my imagination?

And here it came again. The time of heightened sensitivity and worsening melancholy. Growing tired of it all, I shook my head.

The sunset, which dyed my face and eyes red, was dreamlike. I was drawn into it, allowing my distracting thoughts to lengthen.

I pulled a cigarette from my pocket. I hadn’t had the leisure to smoke all day due to being busy. I put the cigarette in my mouth.

“……”

In that state, I sat there vacantly. That was all.

Clearly, the Great War had ended. The scenes of slaughter where life and death were intertwined had long since flowed into the past.

Yes. Yet, I had lost the leisure of life. Even as I felt the reality of living in a peaceful era, I found it difficult to restore my inner tranquility.

So, I…

Perhaps, I was longing for the time of war. Despite having yearned for peace so much, I now felt a sense of ennui in enjoying that peace.

“…What a ridiculous thought.”

I let out a snort. It was nothing short of pathetic. I lit the cigarette.

Like the sky blazing in the distance, my cigarette also began to ignite. Just as I was about to take a long drag, I suddenly remembered something and got up from the bed.

– Really, it’s not a raccoon den… Please make sure to ventilate from now on.

I opened the glass door to the balcony. The cigarette smoke that had been lingering in the room was swept away by the wind circulating outside. Watching that scene, I stepped out onto the balcony.

I stared blankly outside while exhaling the cigarette smoke. A cool mint scent swirled in my lungs.

And then, the thought that struck me was.

The reason I caution myself against becoming saturated with peace, the reason I feel ennui in this life.

Perhaps it’s because I’m living in a world without you.

What a pathetic thought that was.

* * * * *

The unusually long weekend passed, and Monday morning dawned. I arrived at the professor’s office with a slightly different mindset than usual.

“Ah! Head Priest! Good morning!”

“Good morning!”

Sofia Sub-priest, who arrived at the office before me, greeted me energetically. I lightly responded to her greeting and placed the bag I was carrying on the desk.

Even while doing that, Sofia Sub-priest, who was organizing the piles of documents with a cheerful smile, had an excited expression. It made sense, as today was the day we were set to depart for Port City Bruytni for the Grade-by-Grade Duel.

Port City, Bruytni.

I had heard that there was a branch of the Caldera Imperial Academy in Bruytni. The place where we would conduct the Grade-by-Grade Duel was also the practice field of that branch located in Bruytni.

In terms of distance, it’s not relatively far, but it was definitely not a nearby city either.

All students from first to third year attend the Grade-by-Grade Duel, and all professors except those remaining at the academy for duty would also leave the academy.

To transport such a large group to Bruytni, taking a train was absolutely essential.

“Sofia Sub-priest, when is the departure time?”

“I heard it’s at ten in the morning!”

In that case, we’d probably have lunch on the train.

I had been told that it takes a full day to get to Bruytni, but that couldn’t be helped. It was due to the vastness of the Empire’s territory.

I sat down on the chair in front of my work desk, having set my lightweight travel bag on the floor.

The items I packed were little more than toiletries, pajamas, a Bible, a rosary, a priest’s robe, and a short-sleeve shirt. I couldn’t find anything else worth packing.

“Hmph. Heh heh…”

Sofia Sub-priest hummed a tune while she completed her tasks, and I worried she might make a mistake in her excitement.

I slowly closed my eyes. I felt quite tired, probably because I had not slept well the night before.

As soon as my eyes gently closed, my consciousness slowly sank. The feeling of relaxation enveloped my body…

“…My lord… Head Priest…!”

Just as I was about to drift off, Sofia Sub-priest’s whisper woke me up. I rubbed my tingling ears and opened my eyes.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Sofia Sub-priest’s innocent face filled my view. I moved my stiff neck and hurriedly nodded.

“Yes. I’m awake. What is it?”

“I thought it was about time for you to wake up. It’s almost time for departure…”

Just as Sofia Sub-priest mentioned, the clock showed 9:45 AM.

I had entered the professor’s office at 7:30 AM. Had that much time already passed?

It felt like I had just blinked, but somehow over two hours had flown by.

“Are you very tired?”

Sofia Sub-priest looked at me with a worried expression. I waved my hand dismissively and slowly got up.

“I’m fine.”

“Still… you look very tired.”

“I’m really fine.”

If it came to that, I could just sleep on the train. I stretched to relieve the tension in my achy shoulders.

“Ugh…”

The right shoulder ached. Just that was painful enough, and with the fatigue and having not slept well, it felt like torture.

Slowly loosening my body made me feel somewhat revitalized. I grabbed my travel bag and left the professor’s office with Sofia Sub-priest.

* * * * *

“It’s five minutes to departure! Passengers who have not boarded yet, please board quickly!”

Chloe hurriedly hopped onto the train. She had nearly missed it, having been mesmerized by the aroma from the bakery in the station.

If Professor Antorelli hadn’t urged her to board the train, she might have remained in that bakery much longer.

“Phew…! Thank goodness. That was close!”

“See, I told you to stop eating so much.”

“Elin, you enjoyed it too…”

“…Ahem.”

Along with Elin’s cough, Chloe moved to find the seat listed on her ticket. The already boarding students filled the train car with chatter.

“Car 5, room A-3… A-3…”

After passing through a couple of cars, Car 5 finally came into view. Chloe slowly opened the door.

The corridor of Car 5 was still quiet as if no one had boarded yet. Both Chloe and Elin, whose whispers hushed, cautiously stepped inside.

“A-3… ah, is this it?”

It was the passenger room labeled A-3. Chloe peeked into the room.

While there was some presence felt inside, the window was foggy enough that it was hard to tell who was inside. Chloe hesitated, scratching her cheek, before opening the door.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and open it.”

“Uh, okay. Let’s go in.”

At Elin’s urging, Chloe’s hand opened the door.

Creak—.

“…Huh?”

Inside were familiar faces.

* * * * *

“Head Priest… shouldn’t we be leaving soon?”

“I’ll look around just one more time.”

Comforting the anxious Sofia Sub-priest, I surveyed the station once more. I was checking to see if there were any students who had not boarded the train yet.

It was not uncommon for students to miss their school trips. They might get left behind at the station or fail to board the departing bus or train.

I never dreamed I would be in a position to search for those students.

“Phew…”

Only after making another round of the station could I finally let out a sigh of relief. Aside from finding Chloe and Elin distracted by the smell of baked goods, I hadn’t seen any students who were left behind.

I turned my footsteps toward where the train would be. Looking at my wristwatch, there were just about two minutes left until the train’s scheduled departure.

“Sofia Sub-priest, we need to run a bit.”

“Yes!”

Running at a slightly quicker pace, the train appeared before us in no time. I could see the railway staff bustling about, ushering passengers aboard.

“There’s one minute to departure! Hurry and board!”

Thanks to having run over, we managed to board the train with one minute to spare before leaving. Had we walked over instead, we might have ended up being the ones left behind.

“Huff…! Hah…!”

“You did well, Sofia Sub-priest.”

“W-Water, please…”

I pulled out a water bottle from my bag. Sofia Sub-priest gasped for breath as she drank from it, quickly finishing half the contents.

“Phew…! Now I feel like I can breathe again…”

“…Let’s head to our room.”

We made our way to our cabin. In the midst of that, I felt the floor sway slightly as it seemed to move. The train must have started moving.

“Head Priest, what’s our cabin number?”

“Room A-3 in Car 5.”

Fortunately, the train we had hurriedly boarded was apparently Car 4. We quickly arrived at Car 5.

“A-3… isn’t it right here?”

Sofia Sub-priest pointed to a cabin. The phrase A-3 was engraved above the door.

I nodded and placed my hand on the cabin door. It seemed there were already passengers inside, as I could hear muffled conversations from within.

“It should be quiet.”

Given how tired I felt, I longed to sleep peacefully. With a troubled heart, I opened the door.

Creak—!

“So… huh?”

“Uh….”

A silence fell over the cabin. Familiar faces turned toward me.

Chloe, Elin, and even Daniel and Vivian, whom I had seen before. Members of the Occult Research Club were gathered together in one place.

“Aren’t you Professor Antorelli?”

“Wow! Professor Antorelli! We’re together with you…!”

Creak—! Thud!

I quickly closed the door. I couldn’t avoid splashing cold water on my face now.

“…Ah.”

My plan to relax and relieve my fatigue was off to a rocky start.

---