The Academy’s Undercover Professor – 138



◈ Episode 138: The Great Roteng Fire (2)

Quasimodo the fire giant.

As if to prove that Ludger was not mistaken for being the highest level spirit of flame it annihilated the soldiers with overwhelming firepower.

The soldiers whose armor had melted did not even leave behind their bodies.

The soldiers who carried out the one-sided massacre were repaid for their actions.

Now that the nobles and elite forces had left no matter how well-trained the soldiers were they were nothing more than firewood in front of Quasimodo.

A spark arises.

Using life as fuel and death as firewood it burned louder and more horribly.

A rain of flames poured down on the fleeing soldiers.

Esmeralda shed tears endlessly as she saw the scene.

-Why?

Until just yesterday she was having a normal day.

My daily life of waking up to the sound of birds chirping going out with the spirits and saying hello to the village people I was close to.

A dream where I danced sang and laughed constantly.

But those tears never fell to the ground.

The tears that were flowing down her cheeks evaporated unable to withstand the surrounding heat.

All that remains are dry traces of tears.

Like her daily life that has now disappeared.

Esmeralda stood up. Eventually she took a step forward and started walking.

Quasimodo who was watching her eventually turned into a small flame and was absorbed into Esmeralda’s body.

Just like that Esmeralda left the burning village behind and disappeared into the pitch-black darkness with unsteady steps.

Without even knowing where I was going.

slowly.

“I couldn’t do anything at that time.”

Pierre looked in the direction where Esmeralda disappeared with a sad face.

While he was painting outside that day he belatedly realized what was happening in the village and came to help. But there was nothing he a novice wizard could do.

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“These two eyes were also lost in the fire that day.”

The scenery has changed. Pierre who was blinded was lucky to be the one holding the line during this terrible fire.

However because he was blind he couldn’t even walk properly and if things continued like this it was only a matter of time before he was swallowed up by the fire.

At that moment someone grabbed Pierre’s hand.

-Hey wake up!

A young but delicate voice. The owner of the voice was believed to be a young girl.

But Ludger could not see her. All that unfolds is a blurry black silhouette of a person grabbing Pierre’s hand.

Since it is a painting magic that only draws what the eyes see it cannot properly depict the situation after going blind.

With the girl’s help Pierre was able to escape the fire safely.

-Thank you. Thanks to you I survived.

-It’s okay to say thank you. Because I just did what I had to do.

-What about other people? Is anyone alive?

-…no. They’re all dead.

-that….

Pierre stared blankly at the burning village of Loteng.

There was no snow but the heat coming from there told me that there was a village there.

I wonder how blankly I was looking at that scene.

He felt the girl who saved him come closer to him.

-Isn’t that the painter who came over there not long ago?

-Did you know?

-I remember the dumbfounded look.

-…sorry.

-There is nothing to be sorry about. No it’s not something they should be sorry about in the first place.

There was anger dripping from the girl’s voice as she said that.

Pierre asked cautiously.

-What do you plan to do now?

-I have to take revenge.

-Revenge…?

-Isn’t it obvious? All the villagers died. The soldiers set fires and massacred people. Just because it offended him.

-Well I…

Pierre didn’t dare to fight.

The girl sighed and approached Pierre.

-Are your eyes okay?

-I can’t see anything.

-…The burns are bad. Isn’t it a big deal if you’re a painter and can’t see?

-Still you should be thankful that you’re alive.

-Thank you… Unlike you I can’t do that.

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ah.

Pierre couldn’t say anything in response to the girl’s words.

He had only been in the village for a short time but this girl had probably been there much longer than that.

There must have been people you were close to and maybe even family.

-…Are you going?

Pierre was worried about the girl’s future in a situation where he was blind and couldn’t even look ahead.

-I have to go. Of course I have no intention of forcing you to take revenge with me. But I can’t do that.

-….

-You can either leave on your own. Because I don’t know if people will come here.

The girl who said that left Pierre behind.

ah.

Pierre stretched out his hand towards the back of the girl who was walking away in a daze.

I tried to ask him to at least tell me my name but I couldn’t speak.

Pierre left alone continued to sit there.

Until the fire has nothing left to burn and goes out on its own.

The magic ended there.

The world of painting disappeared after the burning village and what took its place was an empty reality.

The hot flames disappeared and the dying people were erased without a trace.

Now all that remains is the remains of a village that cannot even recall its past.

“I couldn’t bear to leave.”

Pierre standing in the center of the ruins muttered in a self-mocking voice.

“All the people I was close to have died I can’t even draw the pictures I want to draw and now it’s a place where nothing but nightmares remain.”

“Why?”

“I may have some regrets left. It was the first village that accepted someone like me. Or maybe it’s a sense of duty. “Someone has to protect this place.”

So Pierre remained in these ruins.

I stayed and continued to draw and draw. Thinking back to the scenery at that time.

Because of my blindness I went through countless trials and errors and sometimes desperately endured my heart breaking.

He continued to sit and draw.

“As I continued to live like that things started to change. I who didn’t know much about magic was able to incorporate magic into my brush strokes. “Maybe this was my talent.”

An artist who was supposed to paint exactly what he saw with his eyes was only able to paint properly after losing both eyes.

It was truly ironic.

But Pierre was neither grateful nor regretful that he was blind.

The only thing that bothers me is that I don’t know what happened to Esmeralda the survivor of that day and the girl who saved me.

“I see.”

Ludger stood in the center of the desolate ruins and closed his eyes.

The night wind blew from somewhere and tickled his face.

He pondered over the scene he had just seen.

The village disappeared as a result of the fire.

And afterwards the Kingdom of Durman would have used the word ‘Great Fire’ to cover up what happened in this village.

‘It may have prevented the rumor from spreading outside the country but it couldn’t have stopped the anger boiling over inside.’

There must have been someone who felt suspicious about the sudden fire.

And if you look a little closer you will realize that someone set the fire on purpose.

After the Great Fire of Roteng it was inevitable that the Kingdom of Durman would fall into decline.

This incident ignited the anger of the common people towards the vested interests called the nobility which exploded and raised the flag of revolution.

However despite this the vested interests in the Kingdom of Durman would not have collapsed because they had the power.

If everyone had the same guns and gunpowder as on Earth in a previous life the one with more numbers would have an advantage.

However this world is a place with asymmetric power called magic and knights.

Even if the common people rose up there is no way the revolution would have been as easy as it sounds.

‘But once the fire spread it did not die out easily.’

The culmination of this was the ‘Bloody Night’ incident that occurred in Gévaudan a city in the Kingdom of Durman five years ago.

An incident that completely lost trust in the Kingdom of Durman which had up until then maintained its dignity as a nation although it was precarious.

‘Those who justified the vicious actions of vested interests based on the theory of divine right of kings failed to do anything about the Cryptid.’

The theory of the divine right of kings.

In other words the king’s authority was given by heaven that is by God so everyone should obey the authority.

Durman who made Lumensis the state religion followed it most fervently.

However as the Cryptids spread and the monsters of Gevodang rampaged its power plummeted in an instant.

The Kingdom of Durman was unable to properly resolve the Cryptids now known as the remnants of disappeared monsters.

Rather the fact that it was not a state-affiliated wizard or knight but a wandering hunter who killed the cryptid further incited people’s distrust.

-What on earth did the country do?

-What did those brilliant knights and wizards do?

In addition the response of the Holy Kingdom of Bretus which could be considered an ally was also problematic.

I don’t know what happened but the Holy Kingdom of Bretus closed its doors 20 years ago and stopped sending out Holy Knights to the outside world.

At the same time citizens’ distrust of the Lumensism religion which had always collected enormous religious taxes skyrocketed.

It was a moment when my faith in God collapsed.

In this way the flame of revolution burned brightly again.

Bigger and hotter than before.

Now 5 years have passed since then.

The Kingdom of Durman lost its former grandeur and most nobles fled abroad or went into exile.

There was still a royal family left but it was like a candle in the wind that could fall at any moment.

The Kingdom of Durman was still going through a period of change.

And the end of the change will definitely be better than before.

But there were too many incidents in the process of getting here.

The Great Fire of Roteng was exactly that.

How many lives have been lost like flames in the shadow of history?

Who should be held responsible for the monster born within?

First Order Esmeralda and the fire giant Quasimodo

In some ways it was like a monster created by a terrible era.

The monster born of the world joined hands with the Black Dawn and flowed into Seorn.

“Are all your questions answered now?”

“To some extent.”

“Then that’s a good thing.”

“You don’t doubt me?”

Ludger did not understand why Pierre had revealed everything to him.

Moreover the magic he used was something that would make other wizards turn their eyes away. Pierre’s behavior showed that he had been hiding his abilities.

Nevertheless he showed Ludger his painting magic.

“I was skeptical at first.”

“At first?”

“But there was something I felt in Mr. Ludger looking at the past I showed him. The emotions of anger pity and pity.”

“I never revealed it.”

“You may not believe it but I felt that way. Because you can’t see there are things you can feel more sensitively. So now I believe it. “Mr. Ludger is not a bad person.”

Does this mean that while losing my eyesight I gained a sixth sense?

“What if it’s all your imagination?”

“Then it’s probably because I wasn’t good enough. But I have no regrets.”

“and.”

“and?”

“Really bad people don’t say things to confirm things like that.”

Pierre smiled softly and spoke in a reassuring voice.

Ludger who was seeing this took his hand out of his pocket and nodded to him.

“It must have been a painful past for me so thank you for letting me know about it.”

Politely.

With respect.

When Ludger lowered his head Pierre shook his head and said it was okay.

“Rather I am more grateful. I’ve never been so honest with someone before. “I feel more relieved this way perhaps because I’m properly facing the wounds that I’ve been ignoring until now.”

Pierre who spoke like that was not the immature young man he appeared to be in the world of painting.

He was a worthy wizard who overcame wounds and trials.

“So please. Mr. Ludger. Please help her and her get through this grief. “Those people may still be fighting a difficult battle somewhere in the world.”

The reason Pierre told Ludger everything was probably in the hope that he might help.

But Ludger just felt bitter regret at Pierre’s attitude.

The young lady named Esmeralda has become a revenge-crazed pyromaniac and is burning people to death.

Will Pierre really know the truth?

Should I really tell this to someone who knows nothing?

“…I’ll do as much as I can.”

In the end Ludger had no choice but to give a vague answer.

That was the best consideration he could give Pierre.

“That’s enough.”

Now that we had achieved our goal it was time to part ways.

Pierre seemed to know this too and tried to return to his cabin.

At that time Ludger asked Pierre’s back.

“Are you going to stay here forever?”

“yes. “I plan to stay here and continue painting.”

“Why?”

“Because you never know when new people might come here one day. As people gather one by one a new village will be created here. For that to happen someone has to be there. “Someone who can tell me that there was once a beautiful village here.”

“I see.”

That was the end of the conversation between the two.

Pierre said goodbye to Ludger.

He will remain here and paint. Continue until someone else comes here.

Because it was the only way to repay the people who once reached out to him.

That noble belief caused a small ripple in Ludger’s quiet heart.

When I came out of the lungfish Hans who was waiting there spotted Ludger and hurriedly approached him.

“older brother. Did you do your job well? “Have you found out anything?”

“I found out something but it didn’t help much.”

All I found out was the reason why Esmeralda became like that.

“Then you didn’t just make a fuss?”

“Not really.”

Still I got a clue so it wasn’t a meaningless step.

“Hans. “There is something I want you to know.”

“Please speak.”

“I would like you to find out who among the noble families who were once in the Kingdom of Durmang and then went into exile elsewhere are famous for their magic.”

“That’s a bit too much. Are there any characteristics that can help narrow the scope?”

“The family has been blessed with blonde hair for generations. “The head of the family at the time was a man in his early 30s today.”

“Hmm. It still feels vague but it’s not to the point where I can’t do it. “I understand.”

Now that the business was done it was time to return to Seorn.

* * *

Time passed and the second test was just around the corner.

The students who were usually waiting in the classroom stood in the wide open classroom with slightly nervous faces.

And standing in front of him was Ludger Chelisi the teacher and general manager leading this test.

“Since we announced it in advance I believe everyone has been working hard to prepare.”

No students answered that question.

Everyone just waits for the upcoming second test with a determined face.

“Then let’s start the test.”

The second test [Manifestation of magic based on magic square] has begun.