The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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Cecilia had some parting words from the elder and her parents when she left her hometown.

Humans, who are weak, must be aided by us, who have received the blessing of the Goddess, especially you, who is special.

Cecilia didn’t understand the meaning of those words until she stepped out of the forest and lived a little with them.

Among them, only a few could see and handle mana, and those who could recognize divine power were far fewer than those who could perceive mana.

Elves could feel mana and divine power from birth, and some could even vaguely sense the presence of the Goddess, while humans appeared incredibly fragile.

To her eyes, humans looked like beings that would break if touched, requiring careful and precious handling as if they might fly away if not treated delicately.

Even when she came to the Academy, where the stronger humans who were somewhat powerful gathered, her thoughts didn’t change much.

Though there were indeed humans with powers that rivaled or perhaps even compared to the elders, most of them still felt like delicate glassworks.

However, there was a student named Han Dogon who was different. Although it wasn’t his full strength, he had once knocked her down, and there was something unknown about him.

Something that was neither mana nor divine power was sleeping within him.

The mission given to Cecilia by the Goddess to find a human with special powers was enough to pique her interest in Dokan.

The “special power” the Goddess spoke of was completely different from the “special power” sleeping within Dokan, but without a clue, she approached him.

To be precise, she tried to approach him. Her attempts to get closer were frequently thwarted by another girl.

‘White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter.’

Seeing her appearance made Cecilia immediately recall a certain rumor.

The rumor that a group of beastmen from the eastern continent illegally crossed the mainland to come to the academy.

Realizing that the protagonist of that rumor was indeed the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter, Cecilia couldn’t help but be wary of her.

The Goddess had also left words that those coming from the east were either evil or something to be feared, which added to her apprehension.

In fact, upon seeing her for the first time, she was brusque and seemed to be bullying the male student next to her.

He accepted it as if it were familiar, but to Cecilia, even that sight seemed resigned.

“Is that all…?”

And her swordsmanship was like that as well. It seemed to be designed solely for killing, lacking any purpose of discipline, pride, or ideology.

And then there was her demeanor in the dining hall.

Seeing how she casually exposed her possession as if trying to completely shut down Cecilia’s attempts to approach Dokan, Cecilia was convinced.

She must save Dokan. Even though she might not actually be able to and was scared of the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter.

Still, she believed that she was the only one who could help him. That was her firm belief.

But she had no way. She had no idea how to rescue him from the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter or how to encourage him.

“Huh… What am I really supposed to do…?”

If it were a problem that could be solved by force, she would have done so, but there was no way inside the academy.

Even her expertise in spirit magic wasn’t much help.

It seemed there was a culture of dueling, but that was merely formalism; it had nearly fallen into disuse, so she couldn’t simply tell the White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter not to bully Dokan through a duel.

Lingering around them without any significant gain until the weekend, Cecilia headed to the church to seek answers from the Goddess.

Although it wouldn’t yield concrete answers, at least she could gauge what direction to take.

Arriving at the church feeling good, she soon faced unexpected faces.

– – –

When the weekend came, she headed to the church as promised, following Dokan. Though she wasn’t really feeling it, what could she do? She had lost.

“Sigh… Ah, my breath is already getting short…”

The quiet comment from the person beside her wasn’t meant for her to hear, but it seemed they felt some remorse for dragging her along.

“Hahaha… Sorry. But it’s really necessary. Just let me have this once…”

What could possibly be so urgent that they went so far as to gesture an apology by placing their other hand on top of the one they held tightly? She was quite curious.

“…What’s the reason you want to go to the church?”

Let’s hear the reason first. It couldn’t possibly be to hit on girls, given that he was dragging her along.

Nope. That wasn’t it.

“It’s not anything else; I just wanted to pass this along. Do you remember what it is?”

Saying that, Dokan pulled out a piece of paper. This was…

“…This is the one we took from the empty storage room, right?”

How could she forget that? She’d been pressed too closely in the locker… It was something she could never forget whether she was a guy or he was a girl.

“Yeah. I’m going to inform the church that Stephanie is plotting something. It’s speculation, but… I think she might be the mastermind behind releasing monsters during the midterms.”

She did seem suspicious… but she didn’t seem that bad. She hadn’t pulled any tricks during the party.

No, she had definitely seen a pile of plans and stuff. But she could have just been scribbling some delusions down.

Not that she was saying she had done that or anything.

“Do you have evidence?”

“None. It’s just a hunch. If she could create monsters, then guiding them should be no big deal… so it could be possible.”

That made sense. Regardless, she had to be careful with her. After all, she was a scheming noble girl with a lazy demeanor and a big chest.

Having heard a plausible reason, Cecilia really had nothing to nitpick about. It felt a bit better when she tightly gripped the green ball in her pocket, but that was only a feeling.

Ugh. Still, the building was beautifully designed.

With bricks and stained glass, its modest yet splendid exterior caught her eye.

Despite that, she couldn’t help but wrinkle her expression.

As she stepped inside, an even mustier smell and repulsive divine power welcomed her. Inside felt less like a sacred space and more like a forum where people gathered to chat.

“If we compare the contents of the scriptures with the life of the Goddess…”

“That perspective is intriguing, but might it not be an overinterpretation…”

“But if that’s the case, there are passages revealed that we can’t just ignore…”

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t how people should approach religion or the divine. Exploring a deity?

Was that even a thing?

Even for a student, it was hard to comprehend, and just as she was about to step in, someone called out Dokan’s name.

“…Oh, Dokan…? What brings you here…?”

It was Cecilia. Just as she was about to snarl at that irreverent group, thankfully, she snapped back to reality when she heard her call out Dokan’s name.

…Though she didn’t really like it, she didn’t want a war, either. They had a vibrancy that couldn’t be found back home.

“What about you, Cecilia? What brings you here?”

“Ah… I came to seek answers from the Goddess…”

Right, that was the proper attitude. I was quite pleased with her humble demeanor and her willingness to seek answers.

How were the clergy capable of such explorations?

“I just came to drop off a document at the church. A friend of mine who’s bedridden asked me to.”

“Ah… I see. I wish your friend a speedy recovery.”

She was a bit scared of Dokan, who lied so easily as if it was second nature. There was no bedridden friend, and she hadn’t received any document from anyone.

After all, associating with someone who lies like it’s a meal is frightening.

“So… would you like to pray together?”

“I’m good. You all enjoy yourselves.”

She thought she’d pray to this false deity? That’d never happen.

“Oh, I don’t believe in any religion, so to speak. Besides, it’s urgent… I’ll pray later.”

“I see…”

Cecilia sent them off with a disappointed expression. Dokan had an acute sense of awareness, but when would this elf develop some?

She came with me, after all.

“…This lying has become chillingly good.”

“You flatter me.”

Really. Thinking about the possibility that he might have lied to her a few times like that sent shivers down her spine.

No way… he couldn’t’ve lied to a friend, right?

Dokan, hustling toward somewhere in the church, eventually stopped in front of a room.

And from behind the door, she felt an overwhelming divine power. It was almost blinding.

“May I ask who you are? There shouldn’t be any visitors at this hour.”

When Dokan knocked, the door soon opened. A woman with blonde hair and emerald-like eyes greeted them with a slightly imposing attitude.

“Nice to meet you, Gloria.”

“…? Do you perhaps know me? If so, could you let me know when we met? I don’t recall meeting you before…”

Suddenly acting familiar made the girl named Gloria flustered, and she asked Dokan if he had ever met her.

“…No. Would it jog your memory if I said ‘Ena’?”

The moment Dokan referred to her as Ena, the atmosphere around them shifted. The doubt she held turned into hostility, piercing Dokan with its intensity.

“How do you know that?”

In reality, blades of divine power circled ominously around Dokan.

It felt as if any misstep would lead to his annihilation.

…What the heck is going on?!

What should she do? Call the Goddess?

“The important thing isn’t how you know, but what you intend to do with that knowledge. Could you read this for me first?”

Dokan, seemingly unfazed by the deadly atmosphere, casually handed her the document.

Her expression, tinged with intense wariness as she snatched the paper from him, grew increasingly serious as she read.

“As you can see, this is one of the countless schemes Stephanie has been concocting.”

“Who are you? Wait, where did you get this…?”

“To answer that step by step, I am just someone who wants to uproot evil. I lack the power to confront her any further, so I thought you might be capable.”

Despite the deadly tension, Dokan maintained an easygoing conversation.

Even though the blades of divine power were still aimed at him, Gloria seemed to lower her guard a bit, intrigued to hear what he had to say.

“Alright then, where shall we begin?”