An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 140: The Angel Who Goes on a Date (5)

“Are you speaking about indulgence?”

(TL Note: Indulgence. (in the Roman Catholic Church) a grant by the Pope of remission of the temporal punishment in purgatory still due for sins after absolution.)

The Rainmaker looked up at Leffrey with tears welling up in his eyes. Leffrey looked at the Rainmaker and smiled benevolently.

“An indulgence, like, a sort of Heavenly contract.”

He then began to write a contract, imbuing it with magic power.

“If you follow this contract, then you won’t go to hell.”

Leffrey diligently wrote down the clauses. After finishing, he checked to see if the content was satisfactory. Then, satisfied, he nodded and used his holy oil to finalize it.

“But if you don’t follow it…”

Leffrey’s expression turned serious. The Rainmaker quickly nodded, as if he already knew what would happen.

The Rainmaker’s aesthetic sense, it was so incredible that it was almost a problem. How the Demon King knew about this weakness, he didn't know, but he had exploited it too well.

‘But I'm different from the Demon King. I’m not doing this for my own gain…’

Leffrey, feeling a prickling sensation in his heart, told the Rainmaker to read the contract.

“Now, quickly read it. First!”

“F-First. All profits earned by the individual shall be donated in the name of heaven. And to ensure that the donations reach those truly in need, and not for tax evasion purposes, you will be thoroughly monitored.”

“Donating is a good thing. And if you help the weak through donations, that’s twice as good!”

To be precise, it meant that Leffrey would gain twice the Angelic Power. So this was like a second Volunteer Club, no, a Leffrey Volunteer Foundation.

Or maybe a Leffrey Angelic Power Foundation.

“Second!”

“Second. All the items and potions you create, those that are exceptional, must be inspected by Angel Leffrey. And if any are deemed dangerous, they will be confiscated by Angel Leffrey.”

Leffrey nodded. He would confiscate exceptionally powerful… dangerous items and safely store them.

Of course, instead of charging a storage fee, he could borrow them for a bit. You know, that kind of thing.

‘Items and potions created by the Rainmaker…!’

Leffrey, his eyes sparkling, shouted excitedly, “Third!”

“Third, to properly apologize and compensate Soya.”

“Don't even think about just brushing it off with a joke like before.”

And then the fourth one.

“And fourth, if another so-called angel appears before you and tries to threaten or seduce you with his power, you’ll use sealing items to neutralize that angel…?”

“He’ll try to persuade you in the same way I did. But he’ll say that humans are too ugly and ask you to help him eradicate humanity.”

Leffrey, like a duelist activating a trap card, muttered,

“That's when you throw all the sealing items you've created at him. All of them.”

The Rainmaker, hearing that, nodded and said,

“Well, it’s true that the human species is quite ugly, but…”

“Hey! Don’t say such things!”

Flick—Leffrey flicked the Rainmaker’s forehead.

[Giving a disciplinary flick to evil on the verge of falling is an angelic act!]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

“If you think humans are ugly, then you don't know anything about them at all. Humans have value that goes beyond just flesh and blood.”

“But you're an angel. Compared to angels, humans are just…”

“Humans are weak. But they are also strong.”

And Leffrey recalled a few things.

How the spoiled young master of the White family, who once had mocked him, now ended up being his greatest supporter.

How the children who only knew victory had learned how to cooperate at the Blessing of the Spirits.

How the consultant of the Superhuman Management Bureau strived to protect the children who came to register.

How the gray witch, who was always alone, broke free from the Succubus Queen’s seduction.

How the pink cat, who only knew how to fight, threw herself in front of danger to protect another.

So weak, and yet so strong.

When these past events flashed beneath his eyelids, the boy couldn’t help but smile, thinking of the word ‘hope’.

“That's why the strength of humans is beautiful.”

In that moment, Rainmaker saw,

The smile of a true angel.

A smile that a Fallen Archangel could never make, a smile only a living angel could make.

The Rainmaker, a worshiper of beauty,

Would never be able to forget that smile.

“Ye-Yes…”

He muttered in a choked voice.

Lastly, the most important fifth clause.

“And finally, the most important fifth clause.”

“Fifth. Never casually touch someone else’s body.”

“…You understand why, right? Absolutely not.”

“But you’re so beautiful that.”

“Ahem.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Leffrey turned around.

“If you faithfully follow these five clauses, then I’ll absolve you of your sins.”

“…I have sinned.”

“You have, haven't you? And I can see you committing more in the future.”

Leffrey looked at the Rainmaker, his face stained with tears.

“But I believe this world needs salvation, more than judgment.”

If it had been Leffriel, he would have judged the Rainmaker without hesitation. But Leffrey didn’t. And perhaps, because of this decision, Leffrey might even regret it someday.

“Salvation…”

As the two of them muttered that word, the door to the store opened again. And standing there was a girl.

She wore black shoes, clearly made by a skilled craftsman, judging from their polished shine. And white socks that contrasted beautifully with the shoes.

Following that line upwards, a gray skirt and a white cardigan. An ordinary outfit, but the one wearing it was anything but ordinary.

The way she shyly held the sleeve of her white cardigan with her fingertips, it was both pitiful and cute.

Her skin, which had always been pale due to lack of sunlight, was still pale. But the difference was that it now had a healthy glow to it, a subtle blush.

Her once dull gray hair now shone with luster, and her hairstyle, which had never been styled before as it was always hidden by her hat, was now adorned with a silver hairpin.

A priceless item,

A small but luxurious high-end item in itself.

And her grey eyes, filled with both expectation and anxiety, and blue gemstone earrings that suited her so well, even though it was probably her first time wearing earrings.

Leffrey was speechless. He could only stare at the girl, who had transformed into a goddess.

“L-Leffrey. How do I look?”

“Ah…”

Soya’s voice was full of shyness. But when she didn't get a reply from Leffrey.

“S-Say something. How do I look?!”

“…Ah.”

…she pouted with her cheeks flushed red.

“Do I, do I look weird? No, wait, I was just thinking the same. Why would I care about something as trivial as looks when I’m studying the essence of black magic? I don’t care at all.”

Sob—Tears began to well up in Soya’s eyes.

“I don’t care at all. A-As a black mage, the master of darkness, I have no need for something like this.”

Sniffle—sniffle—Soya tried to hide her face with the brim of her hat, but that ragged hat had long been hidden away by the Rainmaker.

“Ah…”

Soya, without her hat, was even more flustered.

Leffrey only then realized that Soya was hurt by his silence.

“No, that’s not it.”

He hurriedly approached the girl and muttered,

“No, I couldn’t speak because…”

“M-My hat! *Accio* hat!”

(TL Note: Harry Potter reference, Accio is a spell that summons an object toward the caster.)

“It’s because you’re so beautiful, Soya, that my heart was pounding, and I couldn't speak!”

Silence. Soya stopped flailing and stood frozen-still, while Leffrey was looking down with reddened cheeks.

‘What, what did I just say?’

A rush of self-loathing washed over him.

Leffrey bit his lip.

‘Soya is still a kid, and it’s obvious how she feels about me, and yet I just blurted out my true feelings without any filter.’

He had been flustered and didn't want to make Soya cry, but his words came out without a filter. And words once spoken cannot be taken back.

And while Leffrey was drowning in self-loathing, another girl was immersed in a different kind of emotion.

‘It’s because you’re so beautiful, Soya, that my heart was pounding, and I couldn't speak!’

Her heart was pounding so hard it went beyond just thump-thump.

She even wondered if this was really the sound of her own heart.

“Kyaa.”

Just whose voice was that? Surely she hadn't let out such a naive girl-like sound?

“Hmm, I-I heard something strange.”

Soya, creating a breeze with a chantless spell to cool her face, said,

“Leffrey, don’t make weird sounds like that outside. It’s embarrassing.”

“…Okay.”

“Something like looks, it’s just appearance. It’s meaningless to a mage who pursues magic.”

Saying those words, Soya was smiling brightly, looking at herself in the mirror while fiddling with her hair.

“Then let’s go. We got our clothes.”

“Ah, right.”

Leffrey glared at the Rainmaker. And the Rainmaker immediately reacted.

“I apologize, Miss Soya. I sincerely apologize for my rudeness earlier.”

“I was just going to turn you into a frog, but… Why are you suddenly like this?”

“This is our brand’s new catalog. If there’s anything you’re interested in, our staff will be happy to assist you.”

“…Okay.”

If this had been any other time, she would have just tossed it aside, saying, ‘I don’t need such meaningless things that have nothing to do with magic.’ However, Soya nodded slightly and then stealthily put the catalog in her pocket dimension.

“What? What happened to this guy? Why is he acting like this?”

“Ahahaha.”

Seeing his awkward laugh, she realized it was Leffrey's doing, but Soya couldn't understand what kind of method or magic he used.

All she could think of was that Leffrey had done it again.

‘If this keeps up, I’ll be completely led by Leffrey again.’

Soya's plan was already a mess. Starting with Professor Klein suddenly appearing, and then him recommending a weird department store, preventing her from going to the clothing store she originally had planned to go to. Even her date route (of course, she would claim that it was a route for purchasing magic items, not a date), that stemmed from going to that store, was completely messed up.

Soya really hated it when her plans went awry, but this time she decided not to mind it today.

Because Leffrey’s cheeks were flushed. And because Leffrey was aware of her as a woman.

“Now, there’s a lot of rewards I have to collect today.”

“Uh, huh?”

Leffrey had already decided to focus entirely on Soya for today anyway. But for Soya to be so energetic about going outside…

‘Thank goodness. She’s not becoming a shut-in. I was a little worried since she always had an ‘It's dangerous outside the blanket’ mindset.’

Leffrey, being dragged along by Soya, felt pride, pity, and self-loathing all at the same time.

He was Soya's guardian. Her guardian angel.

So then, how did Soya think of him?

As a friend, or… perhaps more than just a friend…

Just as Soya and Leffrey reached the exit of the secret department store, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Greetings, everyone. It’s been a while.”

A girl who seemed all too familiar with this elegant space. It was Yumari.