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School Without Victorique – Part 07

The next day.

Kazuya went to the dining car for lunch to find that it was quite crowded. There was only one extra seat at a table for six in the back. He asked if he could sit down.

“Of course. Sit down,” said the gray-haired old man from last night.

The other four nodded. Kazuya thanked them and took his seat.

While the food was being served, the six people introduced themselves. They had some time to kill before the evening, and they were feeling bored.

The old man told them that he was going to Beelzebub’s Skull to see his daughter who was a nun.

Sitting next to Kazuya was the girl with black hair and blue eyes in front of him when they were boarding the train.

“I’m going to Beelzebub’s Skull tonight, when the magical power is at its strongest, to find my birthday,” she said.

Kazuya spewed water out of his mouth. “Excuse me, Mademoiselle. I didn’t quite catch what you said.”

“I’m going to find my birthday,” the girl repeated, slowly this time.

“What do you mean by that?”

“The monastery has a mysterious power,” the girl explained with a serious look. “I can tell. I’m an orphan and I don’t know my birthday. By knowing it, I will learn more about myself. That’s why I’m headed there. I got the invitation the hard way, with the help of a friend.”

A quiet-looking woman of about thirty, sitting next to the girl, spoke next. “There are rumors that a mysterious magical power resides in Beelzebub’s Skull, but I’m a bit skeptical about it myself.” Her eyes met Kazuya’s, and she gave a sad smile. “I’m on my way there to see if I could talk to my late mother. Someone told me about the place. I’ve been missing my mother a lot lately.”

“And I don’t believe in any of that,” said the young man sitting across from the lady, shrugging. It was the same average-looking man who was standing behind Kazuya while boarding the train. “I’m only headed there because an acquaintance gave me an invitation,” he said with a yawn. “I’m Simon Hunt. Just a minor government official. I’m getting tired of riding the train. I have to say, finding your own birthdate. Quite moving.”

The girl with the black hair shot Simon Hunt a glare.

“Now, now,” the woman said. “I don’t know how much of this is true, but my husband told me that there was a mysterious incident at Beelzebub’s Skull during the Great War. Germans were invading the area from sea and air. People thought the place wouldn’t hold much longer. And then, uhh…”

The woman looked at the old man for assistance.

Reluctantly, the old man spoke. “The case of the Image of the Virgin Mary.”

“Image of the Virgin Mary?” Kazuya said.

“What’s that?” the black-haired girl asked.

The old man nodded. “It’s a mysterious incident that’s actually been recorded in history. It happened on December 10, 1914—the Crashing of the Virgin Mary. During the war, most of Lithuania was Russian territory. There’s a theory that at the time Beelzebub’s Skull was used as a base for espionage activities by the Russian Intelligence Service and its ally, Sauville’s Academy of Science. We don’t know for sure, though.”

Simon sniffed audibly. The girl’s blue eyes bore at him.

“December 10, 1914, that is, ten years ago,” the old man continued, undeterred. “It was a cold, full moon night. German fighter planes were flying through the sky above the beach, when suddenly…”

“Suddenly?” the girl breathed.

“A huge image of the Virgin Mary appeared in the air.”

“An image of the Virgin Mary?”

“It was said to have been taller than the tower, translucent, and floated up into the sky with a very sad expression, as if grieving over the conflict. As if mourning the lives lost. As if lamenting the changing times. It floated in the night sky, tears streaming down its cheeks, and slowly vanished within a few minutes. But those few minutes were the difference between victory and defeat. One after another, the German fighter planes crashed, some into the dark sea, others onto the beach, burning in the night as pillars of fire rose to the air. The giant image of Mary appeared on a night with a full moon. That’s right, like tonight, when Beelzebub Skull’s magical power is said to be the strongest. Or so I’ve heard.”

Simon snorted.

The girl scowled at him. “Mocking the mysterious power will get you killed. You may not make it out of Beelzebub’s Skull alive.”

“Nonsense. I’m going home in one piece. I’ve got work to do.”

“Then you can just sit there and keep your mouth shut.”

“I can say whatever I want. Right, friar?” Simon turned to the sixth passenger sitting next to him. He had not uttered a single word, simply listening to the conversation.

It was the same friar that Kazuya passed in the corridor last night, a man wearing a heavy robe glittering with golden embroidery.

He smiled slowly, and introduced himself as Iago.

“Sir Iago,” Simon said. “As a clergyman, what do you think about the story? Must be some heretics if they believe in magic.”

Iago’s smile grew wider, but he didn’t say anything.

Irritated, Simon leaned forward. “Well? Do you believe that Beelzebub’s Skull has some kind of weird power?”

“I don’t know about what happened during the Great War,” the friar replied in a low voice. “But I believe that the people currently in the monastery originally belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. At some point, however, they started gathering people with bizarre shows they call soirees. Does the place hold some sort of mystical powers? As a matter of fact, I’m headed there to confirm it, young’un.”

The friar gave an enigmatic smile. Before Simon could ask more questions, the friar produced a heavy, golden rosary from his pocket and held it up.

“I am a Miracle Certifier from the Vatican. As per the Abott’s request, I have come, as a representative of the Vatican, to verify the miracle in Beelzebub’s Skull.”

The other five people at the table gaped at him.

The man smiled. “I believe in miracles, of course. I just don’t know if what they have in the monastery is a miracle or not. May God bless us all.”

---

They all got up and started walking back to their compartments. Kazuya felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Simon, a young man claiming to be a government official, standing there.

“Sounds silly, huh?” the man said. “Magic, miracles.”

“It does feel odd,” Kazuya replied, nodding.

Simon shrugged. “What a bunch of weirdos. Then again, they’re going all the way to Lithuania for a soiree. Guess it’s not that strange.”

“Ahuh…”

“Hmm? What’s up, kid?”

Kazuya, noticing that his watch had stopped, kept winding and tapping it.

Simon grinned. “Let me take a look.”

“Is it broken? Can you fix it?” Kazuya asked.

“By the power of miracles, yes. Nah, I’m just kidding.”

Simon took the watch from Kazuya and wrapped it in his large palm.

“Maybe if I mumbled some sort of a spell, it’d look credible? Something like, ‘by my magical powers, this clock will be fixed.'”

“Uh…”

“Voila.” Simon opened his hand.

Kazuya gasped. The watch was ticking again. He looked at Simon’s face in surprise.

The man smiled proudly. “Easy peasy.”

“How did you do that?”

“Magic… is what I’d like to say, but alas, no. Watches sometimes suddenly stop working when old oil and dust get stuck inside. You don’t need to open it to fix it. Just wrap it in the palm of your hand to warm it up, and the oil thaws and the watch starts working again right away. Nothing surprising, really. My job is to detect sleight of hand masked as supernatural magic.”

“Is that what you do?” Kazuya asked as he fastened the watch back around his wrist. “I thought you said you were a government official.”

Simon suddenly went silent. He walked away without answering the question.

Kazuya thanked him, then walked down the corridor himself, back to his room.

---

As evening approached, the whistle blew.

A huge sluice gate separating the sea from the beach came into view. It loomed shadowy in the distance, standing between the purple sea and the white sand. Beyond it was the shadow of a huge building.

The Old Masquerade had finally arrived at Beelzebub’s Skull.