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Church of Compassion Part I
I completely became a drifter in my class at the Academy and was kept at a distance.
I hadn’t had any normal friends my own age since I was a child (Flare and Alice were not considered friends), so I couldn’t think of anything to talk about with them because it would have been too much trouble.
But it was different from bullying, I suppose. Since almost more than 90% of the students were nobles at the Magic Academy, I thought that as a subhuman, there would be some kind of persistent bullying, but it was more like they were avoiding me.
Come to think of it, this happened to me the other day.
*
The food served in the cafeteria here was dangerous, so I got my own lunch in my private room for senior nobles, and when I returned to the classroom, my teaching materials, which I had inadvertently left there, were soiled and torn.
“Well, that’s pitiful. But isn’t it natural to leave one’s own things in a classroom used by everyone?”
“Oh, you mustn’t talk about such things. They are barbarians.”
“They only eat grass, don’t they? I’m worried about the plants in the courtyard. Hohoho.”
It didn’t say who in particular, but such voices were heard from a little distance away.
They were middle-class noble-like daughters of barons and viscounts. They were wearing very flashy ornaments, so they looked like gals, I imagine?
I was not well-liked by some boys because of the incident with Alice, so they wanted to draw attention to themselves using me as an excuse and also because, despite being subhuman, I was a high-ranking aristocrat.
I assumed the reason for the bullying was not only that I was subhuman, but also that I looked like an eight-year-old and was one size smaller than everyone else.
It was really troublesome

“–[Freeze]–“
I chanted [Freeze] spell, and the stained teaching materials instantly froze along with the entire desk, and when I walked away, the vibrations made it crumble away into ice dust.
I had grown up and became able to use magic much better with this body. However, the best I could do was a single destructive spell, which consumed the least amount of magic power of the 6th class.
The classroom was so quiet that even the temperature seemed to have dropped (physically) with diamond dust dancing in the air.
Those young ladies who were almost caught in the aftermath dodged to the side, so I stopped and glanced at them.
“You.”
“Hiiii, ha, yes.”
“Where do they sell the teaching materials?”
“
at the purchasing counter of the school.”
“Nn.”
*
And because of such a minor incident, they started to avert their eyes when they looked at me. I was just cleaning up the trash.
It seemed that the teachers and staff were not involved in the disputes in the school unless there was an injury or something.
The biggest reason could be that the female etiquette teacher who chastised Flare on her first day at school was now working as a miner in a cold place. Really, that Flare.
I wouldn’t want to be lumped in with those people, but it was nice to have a quiet environment around me.
It was a magic academy, so as long as I didn’t harm anyone, I wouldn’t be bothered too much, so there were not many people who got involved with me.
“Young Lady is very enthusiastic. I take it you like books?”
“
”
While I was studying a magic book in the academy library, an old man with a white beard spoke to me with a smile.
He was dressed loosely and looked wealthy, but not aristocratic.
“Oops, excuse me. I’m just an old man who works for the church in the royal capital. I was watching my grandson at school, but I’m on a break now. By the way, what book is the Young Lady reading?”
“Nn”
At any rate, he didn’t seem to be a subhuman hater or an aristocrat, so I turned the cover of my book to the old man in response to his question.
“This
is a really old book you are reading. Do you like mythology?”
“Nn.”
I’d been studying magical scripts to unlock spells, but I’m finding fewer and fewer new words these days, so I’ve been researching mythology-related topics lately.
“You are a studious Young Lady to be able to read such an old book. Come to the church in Royal Capital once. There are a lot of old mythology books there too.”
“
can I read them?”
“They are not open to the public, but if you are a book lover, you won’t make a mess of them, and God won’t mind if I show a few to a studious Young Lady.”
The old man said, winking mischievously and smiling.
What kind of person was this man? He said he was just an old man, but he looks quite wealthy, so I assumed he must be in a certain position, although I didn’t know which church he belonged to.
I wouldn’t put my trust in the upper echelons of this country to say he wasn’t an aristocrat, but as the saying goes, if you don’t go into the tiger’s den, you won’t get the tiger’s children, and mooching takes precedence over everything else, so I figured I might as well get on board with the old myth of the church.
As soon as I decided, I went out to that church on my next day off.