Chapter 10

The silhouette keeps on creeping closer. Then it reveals itself as it stands directly in front of me.

“Greetings.” A mature man, around the same age as Miss Headmaster, was standing in front of me. He had long, well-kept hair which seemed to be dark blue… though I'm pretty sure it is simply black and the curtain together with the dim light which passes through it makes it appear blueish. He is wearing a dark blue coat - maybe it was actually black as well - which covers up almost everything of his body. He has slim glasses and grins a bit. He does seem a bit creepy - especially in the current light with only the hundreds of candles lighting up everything - but calm at the same time. He wears two gloves: One of them is white, the other one is black.

“You are new here, are you not?”

The guy looks straight at me with that eerie, creepy and yet kind of calming look. I am kind of shocked. Don't know why, but… I guess it's just something about his aura?

“Uhh… Yes, sir! I am!”

“Sir?” He chuckles a bit. “Sir sounds nice. Been a while since I was called ‘Sir’. Just call me Doc Itu, everyone does that.”

I slowly nod.

“So you're a doctor, huh… Do you… Uh… Are you the one responsible for the Medicine classes?” If he was then I would be wise not to reveal my identity, I think. After all, I was supposed to be there - but I wasn't, of course.

“Oh, you would think that, yes. But no, I am not. After all, I have a dazzling assistant who does such jobs. I am not fit to teach other people things. After all, I am nothing more than a humble man, doing his best to treat people.” He smiles at me. I still think he's strange, but oh well.

“Now, young man. What is your name and why exactly are you here?”

“Uh… My name is Isuri Bakuko! Nice to meet you, Doc Itu.” I quickly bow.

“To be honest, I just went through a random door… You know, I am new here but I ended up oversleeping… so I couldn’t go to class and… uh… yeah. I didn’t want to be seen, you know? Because what if someone sees a stranger running around the school with a sword?”

I subtly point at my sword. He nods shortly.

“Worry not. I won’t throw you out. Stay here for as long as you like… Well, not too long. If you stay here too long, you will probably die. And I really don’t want to explain how a corpse ended up in my study all of a sudden… You can probably understand this much, correct?”

I look at him, kind of perplexed. “What do you mean, I will die?”

“Well, it is only logical, is it not? After all, once you stay here for too long without leaving, only being stuck inside of these four walls and not leaving since you fear the outside world, you will end up dying. Either due to starving or due to thirst. Neither of them seems like a pleasant option to me.”

“Uhh… I guess, yeah.”

The guy was - indeed - strange.

“So, do tell me Mister Bakuko… Which Protogoni have you been blessed by?”

“Oh… Uh… Actually, I am not sure if I even am a Blessed… I probably am, but I am not so sure.”

Without even thinking about if I begin talking to him. I begin telling him the story of my events that I was so happy to not tell to Miss Headmaster last night, and that I was so glad to not speak and admit the events. Yet, right here and now, I do. I do tell of those events and - by acknowledging them as truth and speaking of them as truth - accept them. I acknowledge them and accept them. It is certainly not something I have expected from myself, but… it is true.

It hurt. It really did. Despite that, I did. Despite the pain it induced on me, it felt right. I do not know why, but admitting and accepting pain is exactly what feels good. It feels kind of like I lift the burden which has rested upon me due to me trying to forget and deny those events.

The doctor listens. He listens quietly, doesn’t interrupt me and lets me freely vent.

Some time passes. I have finished.

“You… might be blessed by Lady Death.” He nods shortly. “How rare…” He shoots a smile at me. “You know, those events are horrible… But you are not alone. In this land there are many people in just the same situation as you are…” He makes a dramatic pause.

“Me, for example.”

…

Huh?

“What do you mean?”

“I myself am a Blessed. And I was blessed by none other than Lady Death herself.”

…

Huh?

“You are blessed by death?”

“Indeed, I am. We are pretty rare though… You and I must be the only ones actually alive, you know?”

…

Huh?

“Oh… Uhhh… Okay.”

I was heavily overwhelmed by him just casually saying that he was like me… After telling him my entire story, resulting in a ‘Maybe I was blessed by her…’ he simply responds by ‘Oh, I was blessed too’. Something I did not see coming - like - at all.

“What… what is it like?”

I am - well, we think so at least - blessed by Death as well. Despite that, I ask him what it feels like. I feel no difference, yet I ask for the difference.

“Hmm… Do not think you are special. Do not think you are different. Do not think anything like that, understood?”

“?”

“The difference between you and one of your peers is minimal. The powers you receive from your blessing might be different, yes, but that does not mean you are fundamentally different. Whether or not a person has white or red hair, they are still a person. Whether or not you have short or long hair, you are still a person. Blessings function in the same way: They bring us closer to Godhood, yes, but all Blessed are on the same step of the ladder… well, most of them that is. There are some exceptions, but talking about them would weaken this whole speech… Woopsie!”

The guy was - indeed - weird…