Chapter 11 "We must bring the Torch of Knowledge to our youths!"
Updated: Nov 17, 2019
“A-a-a-a-A-A-ACHOO! A-A-A-A-A-ACHOO! ACHOO!”, Tetsu tried to restrain himself as hard as he could, but it was all in vain. Monsignor Lewdoux startled and turned to the catboy, whom he, apparently, didn’t notice before. “Sumi maCHOO!” With his eyes all teary and face red as a tomato, Tetsu was shaking his head and waving hands in a futile attempt to stop sneezing. “A-A-A-A-A-A-ACHOO!” He dropped the quill and squeezed his nose and mouth with both hands. “Ma-am-mo-mowwy”, mooed he pathetically, looking in horror at Bangloss, whose mustache and side-whiskers bristled up violently, giving him a semblance to a furious badger. The catboy tried to wipe tears, which were streaming down his red cheeks and ink-stained fingers – and blurred the ink blotches all over his face.
“Pathetic useless oaf!” hissed Bangloss, “You just wait until we return home!” Doctor made a threatening gesture toward Tetsu, but Monsignor Lewdoux suddenly grasped Doctor’s hand.
“Who… who is this boy, Bangloss?” asked he in his usual mournful voice, “Is he… is he with you?”
“Ah, Your Grace, you don’t need to worry about him. He’s just an apprentice of mine— Bah! Apprentice I call him, as if he has ever been able to learn anything! Believe me, Monsignor, he’s absolutely useless, absolutely!” Bangloss put on a toadyish smile and tried to return to the conversation they had before. “So, Your Grace, you were saying—”
“I think… I think I saw him somewhere…” droned Lewdoux, staring at Tetsu’s smudgy face and completely ignoring Bangloss.
“Ah… Probably at the University, Your Grace. He decided… ahem… No, not he – I decided to send him to the University, to attend some courses… Not that I believe he could learn anything, of course, it’s just—” Bangloss cackled obsequiously, “You never know what trick the devil may play, right?”
“Oh? You send him?” Suddenly, the face of Monsignor Lewdoux livened up. “Why, my dear Bangloss, you made the right decision! We must bring the Torch of Knowledge to our youths!”, Monsignor looked at Tetsu again, and his lips twisted in a kind of grimace which, probably, meant to be a smile.
“Ah, Your Grace, you are so wise and kind,” Bangloss turned to Tetsu, who was so surprised by Lewdoux’s attention to his persona that he stopped sneezing and was staring back at Monsignor sheepishly. “What are you dawdling over? Pick up the quill and get back to scribing!”
Tetsu hurriedly picked up his quill, and the discussion returned to its normal flow. Monsignor Lewdoux didn’t seem to be upset by the sneezing incident – to the contrary, he warmed up and now sounded much mellower. He even made a few jokes, which met an enthusiastic response from Bangloss and the audience. At the end of the meeting, Monsignor stood up and, shining with his skewed smile, made a wide gesture with his hand.
“Well, isn’t this great, Bangloss? Isn’t this great to see youths turning to religion for succor and guidance?”
“Absolutely, Your Grace! This is so— Eh?” surprised, Doctor looked around the audience which, even at a stretch, couldn’t be called youthful. “Y-you… you mean—”
“The boy, Bangloss! I mean the boy,” Monsignor gestured toward Tetsu and smiled again.
“Ah…! Him. Of course, Your Grace, I can assure you that I am trying my best to instill conservative values in him, which are, naturally, in the bosom of our reli—"
“Good, good. Very good, Bangloss,” Monsignor Lewdoux extended his arms to the audience in a blessing gesture, and the meeting was ended.
つずく (To be continued…)
Previous Next
Tags: #TetsuScribbles; #FFXIV; #FF14; #finalfantasy; #miqote; #gay