The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 203

That night, the corridors within the monastery were quiet. Since an unfortunate incident had taken place, no one was wandering around in them at night unnecessarily.

Either way, since the nuns started their day early, they had already all gone to bed. The guests who were aware of the circumstances regarding Abbess Austin’s death wouldn’t dare leave their rooms in order to avoid suspicion.

Thanks to that fact, Assistant Bishop Melinir and I were able to cross through the corridors without being seen by anyone.

“In the basement of the Cledric Monastery… there is a ‘Penance Room’…”

The clinking of the key ring.

Large bundles of keys, too many to even count, hung from the waist of Melinir, the Assistant Bishop. It looked as if she really held all of the keys to every room within the monastery.

We passed through the eerie hallway as we went down the stairs at the end.

“Some of the nuns regularly come to the penance room to confess their sins. Since many of the nuns have troublesome pasts where they committed great sins, on the night of a full moon they spend their time there, reflecting on their sins.”

“Is that so…?”

“However, that is only the surface reason.”

As we continued, we passed the large hall on the first floor before going back down another corridor.

We went through the dining room, communal kitchen, storage, prayer room, and a small garden towards the annex across from the vegetable garden. Even inside the annex, we had to go all the way inside, turn at the end of the longest corridor, and go down a staircase that led to the basement.

Next to the stairs was a sign that said ‘Penance Room’. Even though it was meant to be a place of penance, it was still excessively isolated from everywhere else.

As we went down the basement’s stairs, I saw a dungeon of sorts made of bricks. Melinir put the key in the iron gate, heading inside. Following her, I could see a series of private rooms on both sides of the long corridor.

Each cell was separated by an iron gate. Looking inside, there was only a simple holy book, prayer supplies, and a small window that let the moonlight in. It was truly a place where you strictly prayed for penance and asked for your past sins to be forgiven.

What sin would one have to commit to come to the isolated penance room within an already remote monastery? Even though many of the nuns had complicated circumstances, I was sure it was still rare to go that far.

And like I thought, each cell was covered in dust within every nook and cranny. The iron bars were also heavily rusted, as if they had not been opened for a long time. In fact, it looked as if the penance room was only created in name.

“We… have to go even further…”

Melinir led me across the corridor within the Penance Room, which stretched all the way down.

When we reached the end, there was a bookshelf with simple furnishings and holy books on it.

When I asked if that was the end, Melinir tiptoed as she pulled out a holy book near the top outermost end. She then shoved her hand into the empty space as if she were turning something.

Clunk.

There was a strange sound, as if a lever had turned. With that, the bookshelf was pushed aside, and a large wooden door was revealed.

“……”

As I held back my shock, Melinir had a complicated expression on her face as she lowered her gaze.

It seemed like whatever it was, it was better for me to see it for myself than to hear her explanation… Melinir put another key into the wooden door.

Creak.

A secret door opened as I looked inside.

It really was a sight that made one gulp down their dry saliva after seeing for the first time.

Grrrrrrr!

Clang! Clang!

Grrrrrrrrr! Grrrrrrrr!

The sound of animals breathing.

The sound that came pouring out as soon as the wooden door was opened made me feel as if I had entered a cage full of animals.

However… the ones that were in the cells, which had a similar structure to the ones we had seen before… didn’t look like wild animals.

However, they didn’t look completely human, either.

Melinir slowly closed her eyes as if she had already accepted everything. She then walked with me down the hallway.

Looking at the cells on both sides… I couldn’t help but be at a loss for words and swallow my dry saliva for a moment.

Upon seeing that humans had entered the underground secret cells, the beasts slammed against the iron bars, their eyes bright red.

Although they looked somewhat human, they had the ears and tails of animals and they drooled. All of them… were dressed as nuns.

Non-humans.

A group that, at one point in time, rampaged across the northern grasslands as they tried to kill Emperor Kroel.

One of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Kroel Empire, and the losers of the war between the Kroel Empire and the Non-Humans…

Enemies of the Kroel Empire that were completely erased from history.

* * *

“Amputator Zellan.”

The name of a war hero who, along with the Guardian Obel, protected the imperial family from the non-humans.

The three magicians who aided Guardian Obel in the war against the non-humans were famous.

Inquirer Glast, Outlaw Kaleid, and Amputator Zellan.

Inquirer Glast had already passed away and Outlaw Kaleid was a professor at Silvenia… but the whereabouts of Amputator Zellan were still unknown. However, I recently heard that name again from Abbess Austin.

“Well. Have you ever heard of the war hero ‘Zellan’? He also used to stop by the monastery and donate. If you were to look even further back… there was also the archmage, Glockt.”

That was what she told me when I was assigned my room.

Abbess Austin was basically a living history book.

It seemed that she was regularly in contact with Zellan. After the war, Zellan had personally come to visit the monastery.

The reason was probably…

“After the war against the non-humans, the one who brought thirteen non-human children to Abbess Austin… was none other than the war hero, Amputator Zellan.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Grrrrrr!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of an animal, not a human. The cells were full of beasts that smacked against the iron bars, ready to bite us with their teeth at any moment.

Among them… there was the red-haired girl who had dropped off my luggage when I first arrived at the monastery.

She was now completely different from back then. I frowned upon seeing her act as if she had lost all sense of reason.

Despite the ruckus they were causing, Melinir somehow kept it together as she continued speaking. Maybe the reason she closed her eyes was because she didn’t want to see that maddening sight.

“They are a group of non-humans that survived the war, but were left behind by their village for being too young and not strong enough. This was especially the case for young girls.”

“You’re saying that… Zellan entrusted Abbess Austin with these children…?”

“Yes. Although they are non-humans with a different lifespan from regular humans, they are still children. Because they are innocent children who were not a part of the bloody war, he thought that they could be saved.”

The non-humans were a race born for the sake of war. They were born full of greed and dreamed of overthrowing the empire.

At least, that was what the Kroel Imperial Family said of the non-humans.

Was it because of the painful casualties of that war? The persecution towards the non-humans was rather famous.

The non-human tribes who lived on the borders of this vast empire were completely annihilated.

“He… was skeptical of the fact that the war could only end in bloodshed. When he met with Abbess Austin to have his sins forgiven, he ended up entrusting her with the children he brought back from the battlefield. That was all in atonement for his sins.”

“Then, this penance room…”

“No matter how much love these children are given, they still have the blood of beasts that boils under a full moon at night. That’s why… When it gets close to a full moon, these non-human children—who are normally among the other nuns—come down to the penance room on their own.”

When intoxicated under a full moon, they became beasts that couldn’t help but sink their teeth into humans.

Knowing that fact themselves, the non-human children came down to the penance room of their own accord.

Until they could finally regain their sanity and be able to live alongside humans again… In order not to harm others, they imprisoned themselves in solitary confinement.

When the full moon passed, they went back to being nuns leading a life of religion. That was the life of the non-human children that lived there, mixed in with the other nuns of Cledric Monastery.

“I won’t explain in detail, but many of the nuns here have rather difficult backgrounds. A few are illegitimate children of noble families who can never be publicly revealed. There are also kids who were born with cursed blood, as well.”

Abbess Austin had already told me that implicitly. Those who were born with cursed blood, was that what she meant?

She was hiding non-human children, who the empire greatly despised, inside the monastery.

“If the imperial family finds out about this…”

“They won’t stand still. It will lead to a larger problem that will directly put the existence of Cledric Monastery at risk.”

I looked at one of the cells. A girl with red hair in beautiful braids. She was the girl I met at the shore, who carried my luggage. Her nun uniform, which usually neatly covered her from head to toe, was completely disorganized.

Her gentle and meek exterior was gone. The ears of a beast could be seen through her veil. I supposed that, with the uniform of a nun, it was possible to easily hide those ears.

It seemed that as long as they were able to separate the living space of the non-human children well, they would be able to continue their life of religion without anyone ever finding out.

And Cledric Monastery was completely isolated from the rest of the world. Even on that far-off island, being stuck in that isolated annex could completely minimize contact with the rest of the world.

“Still, Abbess Austin never compromised.”

“………”

“These children are trying harder than anyone else to overcome their cursed blood and blend into human society. And… they have nothing to do with the bloody war their ancestors fought in.”

Melinir bit her lip as if it were painful to speak.

“This goes for anywhere, at any time… Children are innocent.”

Wars were not fought with the hands of children. After all, children were only victims of war.

Because Abbess Austin knew that fact, she accepted them while avoiding the eyes of the Empire.

“They are my daughters who came from my heart.”

That one line she told me showed how meaningful Abbess Austin’s life was.

“And… The rumors about a ‘ghost’ rummaging around the monastery a few days ago. The truth is very different from what you are thinking, Young Master Ed.”

“…What do you mean?”

Melinir led me further down the hallway. One of the twenty private cells had a broken window.

Seeing it, I couldn’t help but swallow my dry saliva.

“A few days ago in the middle of the night, Eileen, a non-human child, escaped.”

She was a girl with beautiful blonde hair and mysterious blue eyes. Occasionally, when I went to the repair room, I could see her blushing face as she avoided eye contact.

Rumors of a ‘ghost’ running around the monastery.

I assumed that Lucy Mayreel was just hiding in the monastery, but…

“Abbess Austin… went out in the middle of the night to find Eileen.”

“I’m going to catch a ghost.”

What Abbess Austin’s last words meant… It was completely different from what everyone thought.

“Eileen is a particularly rational child among the non-humans. Even when close to the full moon, she is able to act like a regular human being. She is capable of keeping her rationality to some extent, but… like the other children, she is also unable to fully control herself under the full moon.”

“So, what you’re telling me is…”

“…As Saint Clarice said in the meeting, no one within the Telos Religious Group would ever harbor the desire to murder Abbess Austin.”

Melinir was well aware of it all, possibly from the beginning.

“Especially in Cledric Monastery, Abbess Austin is everyone’s savior. So, for her to suddenly be murdered… the cause has to be…”

If we ruled out murder over personal vengeance, the only possibility left was the lunacy of a blood-drunken beast.

And fortunately, there just happened to be another girl who was running around on the roof, trying to avoid being seen by others in the monastery at the same time.

With the circumstances matching so well… it was basically certain.

“But Abbess Austin was found in her room. She also had a dagger wound and the room was still neat. Isn’t that all too calm for a supposed beast who lost its sense of reason?”

“That…”

“Besides, is it even possible for a non-human who is intoxicated by the full moon to walk around the monastery for days without being seen by anyone? Is that even…”

Before I could even finish my sentence, I stopped speaking.

A new possibility popped into my head… and with that, the pieces of the puzzle were finally put together.

* * *

At the meeting the next morning, the imperial family responded and said the investigation unit would not arrive at Cledric Monastery until late in the afternoon.

In addition, depending on the condition of the tide, they might not be able to enter the monastery until midnight. Ultimately, that meant everyone had to stay in a suffocating environment, where all of the nobles were wary of each other.

However, I already knew the full story.

It seemed that the meeting with all of the guests that Saint Clarice had called upon wasn’t going to last very long.

“Last night, I heard that all of you stayed in your rooms. After checking on all of you, it seemed that no one else was seriously injured. Everything seems to have returned to normal after arresting Lucy Mayreel.”

Princess Persica, who presided over the meeting at the chapel’s podium, reassured the distinguished guests who were gathered.

“Tonight, the investigation team will come in and finish the rest. We’ll hand over Lucy Mayreel to the investigation team, each submit a brief testimony, and then you can all return to your estates.”

Assistant Bishop Melinir was sitting behind her with an anxious expression on her face. Saint Clarice was glaring at Persica with a face full of dissatisfaction.

However, Clarice did not speak rudely. Persica’s authority definitely made her someone who could not be easily pushed aside… but it also seemed like she didn’t want to act hastily and lead the situation to an unexpected outcome.

It seemed as if she was planning something.

“Lucy Mayreel was locked up in the attic at the top of the spire, the place which is the easiest to monitor. There are only a few paths she can take to descend from there, so it won’t be easy for her to avoid everyone’s eyes.”

If Lucy Mayreel really wanted to, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to escape from that attic.

However, even at that moment, Lucy had no intention of breaking out of there.

“Are there any questions or complaints?”

As if to confirm everything, Princess Persica asked the crowd for their input. No one responded. As if Persica thought that would be the case, she had a triumphant expression on her face.

Completely different from yesterday, when they were causing a ruckus, the crowd was silent.

Everything had ended with no harm done to them. That alone was reason enough to sit silently.

Since Lucy Mayreel was offered as a sacrifice of sorts to settle the incident, speaking up now would only lead to one’s own loss.

With her arms crossed, leaning back against the chair… Saint Clarice glared at me.

It felt as if she were asking me if it was really okay to leave things like that. I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“Then, let’s put an end to this unfortunate incident that happened in Cledric Monastery… We will end things here.”

And like that, everything came to an end.

That was the end of the incident.

* * *

In the chapel after the meeting, there was only silence.

Princess Persica, who was seated at the front of the table, swept her hand over her face. Tune was standing nearby, guarding her.

“Everything is almost done.”

“Good work, Princess Persica.”

“Things were rough with the unexpected incident. Anyway, let’s finish things up here and head back to the imperial palace.”

Princess Persica spoke with an exhausted note to her voice, as if she were complaining.

“Even after all of this… I didn’t walk away with a harvest. This trip was rather in vain…”

Suddenly looking up at the stained glass of the chapel, there was a magnificently large image of an angel made with beautiful colors.

Princess Persica did not believe in God, nor did she have anything like faith.

The only reason she came to the monastery to attend the ceremony was for politics.

Still, since she came all the way there, wouldn’t it be fine to just pray to God once?

With that thought in mind, Princess Persica put her hands together.

Thud!

It was the sound of her pushing a chair and getting up.

After the meeting, there were no distinguished guests left in the chapel. That was because there was no reason for any of the guests to come to the chapel once the nuns began their work.

However, way in the back, where it was difficult to see well… There was a boy sitting there comfortably, but not enough to be considered rude. Perhaps he was waiting for all of the guests to leave?

He stood from his seat calmly as he walked along the red carpet that led to the central podium.

When Princess Persica looked towards him in confusion, it was someone she recognized.

Blond hair and an intelligent air about him.

It was Ed Rothstaylor, the boy she had only heard rumors of.

With his sudden change in family circumstances, he wasn’t someone that could have a personal conversation with the princess. And yet, he continued to walk directly towards her.

“Were you praying? Sorry to disturb you.”

Ed Rothstaylor sat in the seat opposite of Princess Persica as he put his hands together, praying with her.

While Princess Persica was contemplating what to say, Ed Rothstaylor spoke first, his eyes closed.

“Actually, I’m only praying like this out of courtesy. I don’t actually believe in God.”

The same was true of Persica. Ed Rothstaylor was also someone who didn’t have anything like faith.

He was a human who had lived through his life with a sense of realism and survival rather than worrying about God and the rest of the world. There was no room in his mind to believe in an invisible higher being.

He was only praying to avoid being rude and to match the mood.

“Even if there really was someone that created this world, who exists up there in the skies, such a feeble prayer would never reach their ears.”

“You’re saying quite an interesting statement in a sacred area of the Telos Religious Group, Ed Rothstaylor. I’ve heard a lot about you, but you’re more interesting than I thought.”

“But isn’t it obvious? How could there be such a thing as an omniscient being who understands all of the events and truths of this world? Both my prayer and the truth of Abbess Austin’s death… Unless you were right there, how could you know what the truth was?”

It was a puzzling incident. The tension inside the monastery also seemed to have grown quite a bit.

So, now it was the time to clear it all up.

“But… at the very least, wouldn’t you know, Princess Persica?”

“Are you speaking of me? What do you mean?”

He kept his hands clasped together in prayer as he spoke.

“The fact that Abbess Austin’s death was from suicide.”

Her escort, Tune, trembled.

It was a rare mistake for a woman who always completed her duty quietly.