Chapter 93: The Convent

Three months had passed since I’d returned to Japan. While people across the country were working hard on recovery, I’d paid back the one million yen I’d borrowed before “The Day of Catastrophe,” plus interest.

At one point, society had been chaotic and prices had skyrocketed, but lately it’s calmed down a lot. I was glad I could pay it off early—had the money been tight, it would’ve been rough.

Now I’m back in my hometown of Nagano, volunteering in the reconstruction efforts. There’s plenty to do—clearing rubble, cleaning up, helping displaced people move.

Overseas, the Knights of the Sanctuary (Sanctuary Knights) apparently succeeded in eliminating the “Leader” in Canada. The news made a big splash, saying Freyja had left the Knights of the Sanctuary after that mission.

I got a direct report from Wang himself: the “Vermilion Sparrow” had also succeeded in eliminating the “Leader” in India. Apparently, Salman had provided weapons to the Vermilion Sparrow.

I thought he was a good guy... but turns out he’s using it as a promotional stunt.

Gotta respect the business acumen... Though he was furious when I broke Balumunk’s sword, I convinced him it was Leo who took down the Hydra, and he agreed not to make a public fuss in exchange. Total cost-benefit analysis—no room for emotion.

I told Leo and Wang I’d be happy to help anytime they needed me. But apparently, they didn’t.

“Hey, Gojo! You in?”

“Yeah?”

I was called by the volunteer coordinator, Murai. What’s up? I headed to the prefab building serving as a break room, and there was a familiar face inside.

“Long time no see, Gojo.”

“Hagiya! Is that you?”

Hagiya’s one of the cabinet people who went to England too. What’s he doing here, though? He’s wiping sweat from his forehead, looking genuinely embarrassed.

I sat across from Hagiya at the long table inside the prefab. He pulled some documents out of his business bag.

Guess he’s the type who always comes prepared…

“Today, I’m here to speak with Gojo. I’ve come with a request.”

“What is it?”

“Have you heard, Gojo, that the number of supernaturals is increasing?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. So what?”

“With the numbers growing, various problems are starting to emerge. Especially serious is the issue of underage supernaturals. They’re still emotionally immature, can’t control their powers, and there’ve been numerous reports of them going wild.”

“Is that right…?”

So there are a lot of young supernaturals… huh. When I was in China, I saw elderly ones too… Age doesn’t matter, maybe.

“So we’re setting up a facility—temporary isolation, really—to teach them how to control their abilities. Kind of like a school.”

“A school? Sounds more like a detention center to me.”

“Yeah… we can’t deny that side of it.”

Hagiya wipes sweat from his brow, soaked through. Adults who cause trouble? They’re arrested and locked away immediately. But kids get a ‘buffer’—‘education,’ they say.

Either way, it feels like they want to get rid of supernaturals…

“The real problem is, there aren’t enough mature supernaturals around to teach the kids how to use their powers. There are plenty of adult supernaturals, sure—but most of them don’t even know how to use their abilities properly.”

"So you came to me, huh? But I can’t be a Teacher. I’m not exactly smart."

"No, no, no—there’s no one else who’s mastered using their powers like Gojo-san! We’ve got teachers who can handle academics, but we need someone like you to teach the kids how to use their abilities."

Damn, this is a heavy request... I’m not exactly great with kids, though.

"Of course, it’s not mandatory—just a request. We heard you’ve been volunteering for a while, so if you’re even remotely interested…"

You’re assuming I’ll take it, aren’t you…?

"So, if I’m doing this, I’d go to a facility in Japan?"

"Japan’s short on staff too, but we’ve received requests from countries that need more help. If you’d prefer, you can pick a facility overseas—no problem."

Sister pointed at the documents laid out on the desk. Names of facilities from around the world. Europe, Africa, America—all there. Russia and China are handling things themselves, apparently.

My eyes landed on one of them.

"France is here too."

"Yes. There haven’t been any monsters appearing in France, so there aren’t many supernaturals. But there are still a steady number of kids with abilities, and they’re even taking in children from neighboring countries. So finding someone skilled enough to teach them is urgent."

"I see…"

France… After coming back from England, I double-checked the职业 skill “Archive” of the Great Sage. Yep—France’s danger level is still “A.” Same as China and Russia.

Among all the countries we know, France has the highest danger level. I can trust Leo and Wang to handle the others, but France… I should be the one there.

"Mr. Hagino, could you tell me more about this facility in France?"

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Two weeks later, Marseille, France—

"Um... if the address is right, this should be it..."

I thought about teleporting here instantly, but that’d be illegal entry without proper immigration procedures. So I took the regular public transport to Marseille.

Apparently, this convent in Marseille is gathering children. Convents aren’t exactly common in Japan, but they’re not rare in Europe, apparently.

"This is it...?"

Saint Victor Convent. It’s bigger than I imagined. Old-fashioned architecture, but it looks solid—like a fortress. The door’s closed, with a doorbell on the side. Doesn’t seem to be open to visitors...?

After pressing the doorbell and waiting a moment, a woman’s voice answered.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Oh—um, I’m Gojo from Japan. I’d like to meet with the head nun of the Colbert Convent..."

"Oh, yes, yes, I’ve heard. Please wait a moment."

A nun in a black habit appeared. She let me in and guided me to the head nun’s office. Hagino told me the children gathered here are half French, the rest from different countries.

They’re studying English as a common language, but just in case, I studied French—so talking with the nun was no problem.

Thanks to my calculation acceleration, I picked it up in about a week. Amazing ability, really.

"Here’s the guest you asked for."

"Come in."

I was led into the room and offered a seat. The head nun wore a black habit too, but unlike the previous nun, hers was a sleek, stylish robe—dark and striking.

"Mr. Gojo, thank you for coming. We've been waiting for you."

The abbess who greeted me was an elderly man in his seventies, his hair snow-white.

"From today onward, I'll be under your care."

"Mr. Gojo, I'd like you to teach the children here how to use their supernatural abilities... but there's something I must tell you first."

The abbess spoke with a solemn expression.

"What is it?"

"In this convent, we divide classes by age or ability. But the students with the strongest powers... their management has become extremely difficult. We're truly at our wit's end."

"What kind of difficulty?"

"Several teachers with supernatural abilities have tried teaching them—but all of them ended up injured and quit. No one's lasted long. We've heard you're exceptionally talented, so we're grasping at straws... we really need your help."

So basically, troublemakers, huh? I wouldn’t get hurt, that’s for sure...

"This convent operates as a school at the government’s request. But if the children don’t graduate properly, they’ll be moved to a full-scale isolation facility. Please, Mr. Gojo, guide these children. We’re begging you."

The abbess pleaded with a desperate look. He was really in a tight spot.

"I understand. That’s exactly why I’m here."

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"A new teacher’s coming, huh."

"Probably just gonna leave soon, like the rest."

"Sure, we’ll kick him out, right?"

"Aw, poor thing."

"Anyway, we don’t need teachers weaker than us. Let’s get him out of here early... for our purpose."