Even After Reincarnation, I’m Going to the Academy

Chapter 1

『 Translator – Divinity 』

People usually conjured up splendid images when they thought of saints.

At least in novels these days, saints lived in magnificent temples.

They might be treated poorly and looked down upon… but at the very least…

“What kind of saint personally works in the fields!”

…they didn’t personally plow fields.

Thud!

I crushed the pest that lunged at me.

It wasn’t particularly hot, but sweat dripped down my face as I plowed the field and killed pests under the blazing sun.

Even in this intense(?) scene, the ordinary scarecrow with a straw hat slowly swayed its body.

[What saint? The saint is right here.]

It looked ordinary, but it was a sacred object imbued with the will of God.

The straw hat, worn to match the atmosphere, was her own sense of fashion.

Even if she was just a scarecrow.

I roughly wiped the sweat dripping into my eyes with the back of my hand and stared blankly at the sky.

Perhaps because it was the only place not shaded by trees, the sun asserted its intense presence, radiating heat towards me.

‘Damn it.’

On top of that, I had only plowed about half the field.

This is going to take a while!

I frowned.

“Ugh… can’t this be done with a blessing or something?”

[That’s a silly question, isn’t it? I’m the God of War, not the God of the Forest.]

“Then why am I plowing a field like this?”

[Why else? To make a living.]

In most novels or historical accounts, grand temples were usually located in the capitals of empires or holy kingdoms.

But reality was different. The grand temple of the God of War, whom I believed in, was located in a place so shabby it was hard to believe it was a grand temple at all.

In the middle of a deep forest thick with trees.

It was in a deep forest that people couldn’t find even if they tried.

As a result, despite being a saint, I wasn’t enjoying the benefits of a developed city; instead, I was stuck personally plowing fields.

[If you keep complaining, we’ll be late for dinner, you know?]

Arcana said, teasing me.

I gritted my teeth, lifted the hoe, and then slammed it down.

Thud!

“Ow!”

Thud!

“Me too!”

Thud!

“I want to freeload!”

I just want to slack off and be waited on!

If only the grand temple were in the capital. Even if I were despised as incompetent and stupid, I would just tell them to screw off and have a blast.

Who would have imagined? That a student who died while being bullied at school would be reincarnated as the saint of the God of War in another world.

At first, I thought it wasn’t bad. No, I actually thought it was a huge win.

There were no annoying duties to handle as a saint because there were no believers.

But I soon realized it was a complete bust.

A saint serving a god with no believers is a pauper. In other words, it means I have to work to make a living.

The scarecrow, hearing my cries, leisurely swayed its body.

[Freeload. Just do it.]

“Then move the temple.”

[No money.]

“You’re the God of War, right? Why don’t you have money as a god?”

[It’s not an era of war right now, is it? It’s a time of peace without war, so how could I have money?]

She wasn’t wrong. But I could still argue.

“Then gather some believers. You said you’re quite famous, right?”

[I don’t want anyone but you. It’s hard enough for me to cherish and care for just you.]

She wasn’t wrong, and it made me feel good that she would cherish only me, but I was still dissatisfied.

This was like living on scraps, wasn’t it?

I pouted and slammed the hoe down.

After plowing the field with the hoe for a long time, I suddenly snapped and threw the hoe away.

“Uwaaaah! I want to freeload tooooo!”

[Oh my. You’re 17 years old now, you shouldn’t say things like that.]

If I included my past life, I’d be over 30, but just because a person gets older doesn’t mean they mature, so after one reincarnation, my age was indeed 17.

My mental age would be similar too.

“Ugh, I’m tired… I also… I also want to freeload…”

I stretched my stiff body and looked up at the sky with vacant eyes.

The scarecrow, watching me, spoke in a gentle tone.

[You’re too weak. How can you be so tired after only 10 hours of labor?]

“Only…?”

[It’s better than swinging a sword on the battlefield for 10 hours, isn’t it?]

She wasn’t wrong, but… these days, swinging a sword for more than 10 hours is quite rare, isn’t it?

“Anyway, I’m done now, so I’m going in to rest.”

[You should spread the divine power before you go.]

Ah. I almost forgot.

Before going inside, I drew up divine power. I grasped a handful of divine power in my hand and sprinkled it like fertilizer.

“Grow quickly and eat well. Hurry and become my meal.”

Rustle.

Due to the influence of the divine power that melted into the field, I could already see some of them starting to sprout.

Divine power is the power bestowed by God. Perhaps that’s why it can slightly disregard the laws of nature.

‘If it were the God of the Forest, they would have all sprouted already…’

Let’s be satisfied with this much since it’s the divine power of the God of War.

I approached the scarecrow, which was still swaying gently in the middle of the field.

[Are you going inside the temple?]

“Yes.”

[Then take the straw hat with you. If you lose this, I have to find it or make a new one.]

Make a new straw hat?

That thing?

It’s not a special straw hat. Rather, if you look at it, it’s so shabby that you’d wonder, ‘How is this a straw hat?’

But that hat is quite precious. Because I made it myself!

It’s a hat I diligently weaved stitch by stitch without any knowledge. If I lose that…

‘I have to do that labor again?’

I shuddered in disgust.

***

“Oh, I’m tired.”

I hung the precious straw hat, which I had carefully carried, on the wall hanger and took off my priestly robe.

Don’t ask why I was wearing a priestly robe even in hot weather.

This is a kind of romance for me.

Insist on wearing priestly robes no matter what I do!

[Aren’t you getting hungry?]

The statue standing in the middle of the temple slowly opened its eyes. It seemed that it had moved its consciousness from the scarecrow.

The last time it said it was going to cultivate outside for a while, all sorts of bugs and birds flocked to it, so it didn’t send its consciousness outside unless I went out.

Arcana continued speaking in her characteristic languid voice.

[It’s dinner time now, let’s eat.]

“I wonder if there’s anything left from yesterday…”

I checked the frozen food.

Sadly, there was no food left because I ate it as a late-night snack last night.

‘I guess I’ll have to catch a bird or something…’

I want to comfortably turn on the air conditioner, lie down at home, and just order delivery food.

But there was no way to contact the capital, and no one would deliver here.

[Hurry up and catch it. I’ll be waiting.]

I gave a hollow laugh as I looked at the statue, which had somehow dragged a table over.

Usually, it just stands majestically because it can’t move its arms as a statue, but when there’s food, it even uses divine power to drag a table.

It was enough to make me lose my mind.

In the end, I let out a deep sigh and went outside. Just then, a bird passed over the temple.

Caw, caw.

A crow making the sound of a seagull.

“Ah! Stop crying like that! Why are you making seagull sounds when you look like a crow?!”

As if mocking me, the crow poops on me and melts into the darkness. Just before it disappears, I flick the poop away with divine power and shape it into a whip.

Whack!

Caw?!

As I swing the whip, the crow, which was about to disappear, gets caught in the whip.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Caw!

The crow caught in my hand struggled violently, but I wasn’t weak enough to let go of a mere bird.

I’ll get to eat meat today. I was smiling happily and about to enter the temple when I suddenly heard a strange sound.

Thud!

The sound of something falling over.

I turned my head and saw someone’s head sticking out from between the bushes.

‘…I caught a crow, not a person, right?’

And why is there a person here?

With mixed feelings of wariness and welcome, I approached the head. I nudged the head sticking out from between the bushes with my foot, and it wriggled.

“Excuse me. Excuse me, mister.”

What the…

Is he dead?

No? He’s definitely alive? I kept calling out to him, but he didn’t wake up, so I eventually decided to bury the bird in the ground for a moment and lift him up.

“Heave-ho.”

The moment I grabbed his arms, the head opened its eyes wide and abruptly lifted its head.

Oh my god, I’m startled!

Thud!

Before I knew it, I had kneed him in the face. The man, with a bloody nose, fainted with his eyes rolled back.

“Ah.”

I wasn’t supposed to knock him unconscious.

What do I do now?

As I was lost in thought in an awkward position, Arcana called me.

[Bring that in as it is.]

““That” for a person?”

[…Just bring him in. If you hadn’t knocked him unconscious, this wouldn’t have happened.]

“How sneaky of you to hit me with facts.”

Grumbling, I dragged the man into the temple and laid him down in front of the statue.

The statue’s eyes blinked.

[Why did you bring him to me?]

“?”

[You need to treat him first. Are you planning to do it on the hard floor?]

“But I can’t really put him on my bed…”

I wasn’t that kind-hearted, and I really hated it when someone invaded my space.

It’s not like he’s dying or anything.

Thud.

I sat cross-legged next to his head with my hands clasped together and brought them to his head.

“Hmmm.”

Divine power condensed in my palms. The condensed divine power emanated and slowly melted into his body.

The nosebleed started to stop little by little. It was just the beginning of the healing, but I was already exhausted.

“Oh, I’m tired…”

[Aren’t you getting tired too quickly?]

As a priest of the God of War, I was weak in healing magic.

In the first place, I’m the only priest who believes in the God of War right now.

The senior who brought me here died when I was two years old. Thanks to that, I had never been taught by anyone, nor had I experienced any events that exponentially increased my abilities.

“But no one ever taught me.”

[You can just do it.]

“That’s because you’re a god.”

Still, as I ignorantly poured in divine power, I could see his condition slowly improving.

While treating him, I took a closer look at his face.

He was indeed a human. He had eyes, a nose, and a mouth, and he was breathing normally. He looked a bit exotic, but he was definitely human.

‘How many years has it been since I’ve seen a person?’

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the man slowly regained consciousness. The awakened man clutched his nose.

“Ugh… why is my nose…”

At the word “nose,” I flinched for a moment, but I maintained a calm expression and spoke to the man.

“Are you awake?”

“Wh-who are you?”

“I found you collapsed amongst the bushes and brought you here. I don’t know who attacked you, but you were bleeding from your nose, so I treated you.”

[How shameless.]

I don’t know anything about that.

Fortunately, he couldn’t see through my perfect poker face and, getting up from his spot, bowed to me repeatedly.

“Thank you, thank you very much. Thanks to you, Priest, I’m alive.”

“It’s just what I should do as a priest who believes in God.”

Thankfully, he wasn’t a bad person. If he had demanded a reward after being rescued, I was just going to knock him unconscious and throw him outside.

[That’s fortunate. You would have been eaten by a passing bear.]

‘Well, it would have served him right.’

But the man seemed to know his manners. After bowing to me several times, he took something out of his pocket.

“I apologize for the late introduction. This is who I am.”

A business card?

I received the business card.

[Niphella Aoman, Professor of Magic at Sky Academy.]

“A professor at the academy?”

“Yes. As you can see, I work at Sky Academy, the best academy on the continent.”

His voice was filled with pride in his profession.

‘…But what is Sky Academy?’

[It’s the name of an academy, I presume.]

‘Is it famous?’

[Probably?]

‘They must have a lot of money, right?’

[…Right?]

A lot of money, huh.

I quickly erased my calculating smile and nodded.

“I see. You have a very impressive job.”

“I will never forget this grace of saving my life, I swear on my profession and name. If it’s not rude, could you tell me your name?”

I understand he’s a kind person, but I didn’t want to reveal my name.

Since I probably won’t ever leave this place in my life, I didn’t want to share my name and build a connection.

“Even if they have a lot of money…”

To be honest, despite all my complaints, I didn’t hate living here.

This life, so peaceful it was almost boring, felt rather pleasant to me, especially after the harsh life I lived in my previous life.

Farming and such were bothersome, but… a farming life with a god who was like a mother to me wasn’t bad.

Even if I whine all day long!

I beat around the bush and refused.

“If it’s meant to be, we’ll meet again someday. I’ll tell you my name then.”

“This must be God’s will.”

At my words, he made a disappointed expression and took something out of his pocket. He pulled out a leather pouch and pressed it into my hand as if refusing to take no for an answer.

“This is my personal token of gratitude. Please accept it.”

“Oh, come on, you really didn’t have to…”

I hid my twitching lips and received the pouch. I lightly shook it,

Clink, clink.

A pleasant sound reached my ears.

It was the first time I had seen money since I was reincarnated in this world.

[Gold coins? He’s quite a generous man.]

‘Are they expensive?’

[Expensive? That’s a silly question. Of course they are.]

Roughly how much would it be in Korean won?

‘About 100,000 won per coin.’

Inside, there was roughly 500,000 won. I don’t know the market price here, but it’s not bad for saving a life.

‘I’m sure I’ll find a use for it later.’

I gave him some herbs that were good for wound recovery and a little bit of the holy water I had prepared in advance.

He bowed to me repeatedly, expressing his gratitude, and then, saying he didn’t have time, he left the way he came.

The temple became quiet again. It felt strange that there was a human presence here just moments ago.

“Hmm…”

I fiddled with the business card. The statue creaked as it moved, slightly lowering its head behind me.

[Show me that. I want to see it too.]

I held out the business card to her. The statue blinked at the business card and creaked as it moved.

[Interesting. Is this what they call ‘fate’?]

“Fate?”

[You’re 17 years old, aren’t you? It’s the perfect age to attend school, isn’t it? The fact that an academy professor showed up at this timing, it must be fate.]

“That’s true, but…”

I stroked my chin, which didn’t have a single beard.

“An academy…”

[You can think of it as something like the university in your past life. Or should I say, a university that high school students attend?]

“Ugh. What’s that?”

High school + university? What kind of hybrid is that?

My interest completely vanished at the word “school.”

I didn’t have any good memories of school.

I already had a timid personality, and those jerks picked on that and tormented me relentlessly.

I roughly shoved the business card into my pocket.

“Well, it has nothing to do with me. I have no intention of going.”

[Really?]

“Hmph. Do you think I would go?”

I scoffed.

“I’ve been reincarnated, and now you want me to go to school again? No way. I’d rather spend my whole life farming.”

[Really?]

“Yes. At least in my heart, I’d rather die than go. I’d rather just grow old and die peacefully in this temple.”

At my words, Arcana gave a dubious smile.

[Even if a revelation comes down?]

“…A revelation is a bit…”

A revelation. An oracle from the ‘Lord God,’ who is higher in rank than even a god. No matter how much I whined and complained, I would have to carry it out.

As long as I was a priest, that is.

When I made a hesitant expression, Arcana’s laughter grew a little louder.

Ignoring the laughter, I went outside.

“Ah.”

My dinner had escaped.