PTSD Military Chaplain of the Academy

According to Daniel, there are numerous ghost stories in the Caldera Imperial Academy. One of them is the tale of the blood-stained finger, which is considered quite credible among occult enthusiasts.

“Back in the days when the Caldera Imperial Academy was newly built….”

“Daniel, your tone has changed.”

“Vivian, I’m telling a scary story right now.”

“Oh, right.”

Vivian nodded in agreement. After a brief sigh, Daniel lowered his voice once more.

“Ahem. This is a story from the time when the Caldera Imperial Academy was just built….”

* * * * *

Giovanni di Greco was the first Head Priest of the Caldera Imperial Academy.

He always welcomed the students visiting the chapel with a warm heart, and the early students of the academy respected and followed him.

Due to the large scale of the students at the Caldera Imperial Academy, which was as vast as its size, there were inevitably a few students who strayed off course. Head Priest Giovanni embraced these students warmly as well.

He helped pay the tuition fees for students who were so poor that they couldn’t afford them, even going to great lengths to do so. He taught them to work so they could earn money for themselves.

He listened to the stories of students who had been bullied, empathized with them, and even tried to solve their problems directly.

When students faced discrimination for being commoners, he stepped forward to fight for their rights, even though he himself was from a noble family.

He was a figure akin to a saint within the academy. Many students moved by the character of Head Priest Giovanni followed him, and even some professors admired him for selflessly giving to the students without selfishness.

On a certain day, as the story of the saint of the Caldera Imperial Academy, Head Priest Giovanni, was spreading even beyond the academy, a few priests dispatched from the Holy Empire visited.

When asked why they had come to the academy, the students and professors could only hear them repeat that it was at the command of His Holiness the Pope.

Thus, on the seventh day of their stay at the academy, which was marked by priests dispatched from the Holy Empire, it was a Sunday. Students heading to the Main Chapel to attend the Sunday worship service saw it.

Head Priest Giovanni, in a horrific state, with his eyes gouged out and a longsword stabbed into his chest, stood there, drenched in blood.

As the students and several professors gasped in horror at the sight, Head Priest Giovanni vanished without a trace.

The only evidence he left behind was the bloodstains on the floor and the severed finger slick with blood.

The priests who had been dispatched from the Holy Empire returned home from that day onward, as if they had completed their business.

Even when they tried to ask about the whereabouts of Head Priest Giovanni, they were met only with the document from the Pope, and there was no one in the academy who could hold them back.

After the priests left, the Caldera Imperial Academy mobilized all its resources to trace the whereabouts of Priest Giovanni. Yet, he was nowhere to be found.

As if he had vanished into thin air.

Since that day, no one had seen Head Priest Giovanni.

And shortly after, rumors began to spread throughout the Caldera Imperial Academy.

It was a chilling rumor that in the dawn, the blood-stained Head Priest Giovanni appears, wandering the academy in search of his lost finger.

If it were a ridiculous ghost story, it would have died down after a few months, but the testimonies of seeing the bloody Head Priest Giovanni continue to this day. Thus, the students thought.

This was the vengeful spirit of Head Priest Giovanni. After being unjustly killed and not having the temperament to think of revenge, Head Priest Giovanni wandered the academy to recover at least his finger.

The Occult Research Club, which boasted a long-standing tradition within the Caldera Imperial Academy, set its ultimate goal from this point onward.

The goal was to search for the blood-stained finger of the first Head Priest Giovanni, which supposedly exists somewhere in the academy.

* * * * *

“The story is over…”

Daniel bowed his head with a stern expression. Vivian clapped her hands as she listened to the tale.

Clap clap—.

“How was it, Vivian? Did I improve a bit?”

“Yes. Your skill in telling scary stories has gotten better. It gave me chills, too.”

“No, wait a minute.”

I waved my hand and touched my head. I didn’t know where to start criticizing. The gazes of everyone looking at me sparkled.

“Professor Lucio. Is it really true? The vengeful spirit of the first Head Priest….”

“That means it’s a ghost, right?”

“G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-ghost…!”

“Head Priest! I… I’m starting to feel a bit anxious!”

Sofia Sub-priest let out a nervous huff and clutched her hands tightly. I let out a sigh and spoke.

“Giovanni di Greco. It certainly looks like a name from the Holy Empire.”

“Then…!”

“However, it’s the first time I’ve heard that name. I haven’t heard of any stories about the first Head Priest either.”

Just a moment ago, Chloe had been gazing with sparkling eyes but now looked a bit sullen. She said she might faint if she encountered a ghost, yet she was so curious. Chloe had a few similarities to Sofia Sub-priest.

“But still, it does seem to be something we need to clarify. It’s a story that might have merit.”

“Really?”

“I might not know about the first Head Priest, but I am talking about the bloody ghost.”

I don’t think Laura saw things that weren’t there. Including Sofia Sub-priest, there were two witnesses.

Moreover, if it was during the academy of long ago, when this annex was the main building, it lined up with the story of the bloody Head Priest Giovanni wandering inside the academy.

However, there was one thing I was curious about.

“By the way, Daniel. What do you intend to do once you find that finger?”

When I asked, Daniel confidently shouted.

“Of course, we’ll have to research it! It’s the finger of the first Head Priest who passed away so long ago! Will it be rotten? Or will it look fresh as if it was just cut?!”

“Hm….”

“Well, once those curious questions are resolved, of course, it has to be returned to Head Priest Giovanni. If he was such a great man, it’s a bit sad that he wanders around without that finger.”

I felt slightly skeptical. Ghosts, vengeful spirits, mysteries that did not suit the academy were popping up, and that was somewhat chaotic.

As I crossed my arms and fell into thought, Elin asked me with a nonchalant expression.

“By the way, Professor. Do ghosts and such really exist? Honestly, isn’t it all just nonsense?”

“Elin! Ghosts do exist!”

“No, logically, where do ghosts exist in the world? When you die, you head straight to heaven or hell.”

“Ghosts exist.”

A pause of silence followed. Elin looked at me, wide-eyed, and Chloe stared blankly with her mouth open. Everyone’s gaze was on me.

Only Sofia Sub-priest bore the same expression as usual. She already accepted this fact through doctrine.

Thus, the lecture hall, which had been quiet for a while, rapidly became chaotic.

“G-g-g-ghosts actually exist?!”

“Please tell us more about that story!”

“Professor! Would you be willing to be our advisor in the Occult Research Club?! It just so happens that the advisor position is vacant!”

Daniel was almost rabid with excitement. With shining eyes and saliva flying, he lunged at me, which I blocked with my arm.

“Calm down a little. What I mean by ghosts is a slightly different existence. You can think of them as evil spirits or demons.”

“Ah, demons….”

“But, well… based on what I’ve heard, it seems unlikely that it would be a demon.”

I, too, had seen several demons. During the Great War, I personally exorcised more than five demons. Demons do exist.

However, the blood-stained ghost that is said to haunt the academy seems a bit far-fetched to be a demon. It doesn’t possess the people it meets and simply wanders around the academy.

Demons from hell must possess something to affect this real world. This is a concept agreed upon between the Creator and the demons, and there are no demons or evil spirits that break this concept.

“Daniel, does that entity pose a threat to the students?”

When I asked, Daniel hesitated to answer.

“N-no. Not really…? I’m not sure.”

“…Hmm.”

It would be fortunate if it didn’t pose a direct threat to the students, but I cannot let my guard down yet. It is already a given that it has a bad influence on the academy.

Just the four students gathered here had come to hide in the academy, disregarding the curfew. It’s possible that similar students might emerge in the future.

I intended to personally search for the unidentified entity, in other words, the vengeful spirit of the first Head Priest Giovanni, as Daniel mentioned.

“That was helpful information, Daniel.”

“It’s nothing much, Professor.”

“However, staying at the academy this late isn’t very wise. I will escort you to the faculty office, so please return to your dormitory.”

“…….”

“Did everyone understand?”

“…Hiccup.”

Suddenly, Chloe started to hiccup. The lecture hall fell silent as though a mouse had died. It was an oddly strange atmosphere.

“P-professor….”

At that moment, I felt a damp palm clasping my hand. Laura, who was right next to me, had tightly grabbed my hand.

As everyone froze, I slowly turned my body following Laura’s finger.

“What…?”

Outside the lecture hall, beyond the corridor.

Something in a white priestly robe, soaked in blood, with the appearance of a tattered figure, was dripping blood.

It shone its crimson eyes, staring inside the lecture hall.

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