Chapter 8

Fragment 1 At the academy, the classes are divided by occupation: warrior, priest, and mage. You can only specialize in one field. This is the wrong call, in my opinion. I would have thought that a school that “produced Heroes” would teach some amount of attack and healing magic in the warrior class. But the lessons are completely segregated because apparently, it’s inefficient to learn close-quarters combat and magic at the same time. Plus, there’s this idea that magic requires traits inherited at birth. But I’m not about to give up. A Hero has to be able to use both attack and healing magic. I have to learn those things, at any rate. “Could you teach me healing magic?” I asked Maria Lauren, a celebrity from the priest class. She was pretty, with her long and neat black hair and her gossamer-white skin. She was the most beautiful person I’d ever met. But that wasn’t the reason I chose to speak to her, of course. She was the only one in the priest class who didn’t seem overwhelmed by the lessons, so I thought she might have the time to teach me. Also, a lot of people called her the Holy Maiden, and she had a reputation for being a charitable person. “I thought a warrior didn’t need to know healing magic,” she responded with a twinkly-eyed smile. “I want to be the Hero. So I need to learn magic, too,” I said. Maria’s eyes widened. Everyone around us started buzzing in surprise as well. “Oh, really?” Maria seemed to think for a moment. “I have heard that past Heroes possessed such qualities. But are you aware that juggling disciplines is not recommended these days due to how inefficient it is?” “I know. The teachers said the same thing and wouldn’t teach me healing magic.” “Ah, so you came to me after they turned you down.” “Yep. You’re the best in the priest class, and I heard you’re as kind as a saint, so I thought you might teach me.” “Hey. As nice as that is to say about Lady Maria, aren’t you being awfully presumptuous?” a girl from the priest class cut in. With her slightly rotund figure and stern-looking features, she looked more suited for the warrior class. “Oh, I don’t mind,” Maria replied mildly to the girl. “Now, let’s see. I’m far from a saint, but still, guiding people is part of what it means to serve God. I’d be happy to teach you about God when I have time.” Hearing that, the crowd started lavishing Maria with praise: “She’s so kind!” “No wonder she’s the Holy Maiden!” “She’s even willing to teach a commoner about God!” I was deeply grateful to Maria, too, and I made a point of thanking her. It was only later that I learned that “far from a saint” was the most accurate part of that conversation. Some time after that, Maria approached me one day as I was practicing my sword swings behind the school building. “Sir Ares, may I have a moment of your time?” “Oh, hi, Maria. Are you here to teach me healing magic?” “No. Teaching spells to someone who cannot sense God is a pointless endeavor. It is like teaching arithmetic to a monkey. Do you understand what I mean?” “…Uh, sort of.” I was a bit taken aback from being straight up compared to a monkey, but I got the gist of what she was saying. “So how are you going to make me sense God?” “Could you buy me some delicious bread?” Maria smiled brightly. “Huh? Bread? What does that have to do with Go—?” “You mustn’t think. You must feel. Now hurry along with that bread, please.” I had my doubts, but since I was the one asking her for a favor and all, I ran off at full speed to the cafeteria and bought the nicest-looking bread I could find. However, when I brought it to the back of the school building… “What is this, may I ask?” Maria was gazing icily at my offering as if it were a dead bug. “What? It’s bread,” I told her. “Is it now?” Maria let out a large, exaggerated sigh. “You didn’t understand me. I asked for delicious bread. Did you not consult with God about where to find it?” “Huh? How would God know?” Was God a real bread connoisseur or something? “God is all-knowing. Nothing escapes His awareness, be it delicious bread or sweets. You were meant to sense God’s presence in order to buy the bread. You think He would be satisfied with some slapdash purchase from the nearest store? That sounds an awful lot like blasphemy, don’t you think?” Apparently, the search for delicious bread was the first step to knowing God… Wait, really? “But oh well. I shall accept this bread for today. I am a charitable person, and I’m feeling peckish.” “Wait, what?”