episode_0009

VI.

Did you ask the biggest reason why Evergreen was able to take the form of an independent nation? It’s surprising that there are still people who don’t know that. That’s a very obvious reason. Because it’s strong.

How strong is it?

hmm… . What the fuck?

―From Evergreen Academy new student orientation

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It was my first time riding a carriage called a carriage. Although Creşti is called a city, it is not very large.

Besides, I was a fortune teller from Goa, and I had never driven or ridden a carriage. In fact, there are many people in Crestier who have never ridden a carriage in their lives.

So, my impression of the carriage I rode with high expectations was ‘uncomfortable’.

This means of transportation was truly inconvenient. Memories and experiences of ‘confessionality’ from the meta dimension became mine. Although his abilities were almost completely sealed, the carriage was really inconvenient compared to the ‘means of transportation’ that Goh Gon-seong mainly used.

Of course, I didn’t want to walk away, but I guess I couldn’t hide the frown on my face.

“What makes you uncomfortable?”

I saw Alfred immediately notice and ask.

“No. It’s my first time riding a carriage. Bouncing up and down is really… … . You’ll get used to it.”

“Is that so? Well, I remember suffering quite a bit from motion sickness the first time I rode a carriage. That’s because it’s the carriage I’m riding. It’s said that noble-only carriages are supplemented with magic, so they don’t shake at all. Candidates will also be eligible to use it after completing academy training. Enough.”

“I hope so.”

People from the dimension called Joseon have never ridden a carriage. Because he died the moment he was born.

The means of transportation used by Go Gon-seong, who was from a dimension called Meta, did not have wheels like a carriage. So, of course, there was no rattling, and it was incomparably more comfortable than a carriage.

Even though I had such high expectations about the carriage, the carriage ended up giving a bad impression.

Aside from the fact that the first meeting with the carriage was not good, the guy (the carriage) was moving his body hard and entering Evergreen Academy.

When you think of an academy, there are often images that come to mind.

I’m not sure if that was my original thought or something that changed as the two souls were added, but I also had a certain image.

Buildings made of neat bricks. A fairly sophisticated space and playground with certain standards.

And the bustle of students moving around and the noise and energy that naturally arises. Youth and enthusiasm.

Well, these are the feelings.

To conclude, just like the carriage, my first impression of Evergreen Academy was completely different from what I thought.

The front gate seemed normal at least. I only confirmed that it was open, but I felt that the front door, which was open and revealing its face, was stubbornly trying to deny access to unqualified beings.

But the admiration stopped there.

The Evergreen Academy building and scenery that followed were old-fashioned at best, and old-fashioned at worst.

I don’t know if it was intended to evoke evergreen, but the exterior wall of the first building seen after passing the main gate, which was described as the main building, was green. The only problem was that once the green wall was hit by the waves of time, it looked really unsightly.

‘Why is it green?’

The carriage passed along the main street and was gradually approaching the main building of the academy. The wide boulevard that passes through the academy’s main gate and the sculptures around it were also beige or green and in an old or dilapidated state. It felt like the site of a palace in history that is no longer inhabited.

“Hmm~? It’s an unusual place.”

Did he notice my disappointment? Or did I feel something different from what I felt at Evergreen Academy?

The clown muttered this to himself as he looked at the view inside the academy. I wanted to ask what was unusual, but the carriage was slowly slowing down.

“arrived. Gray. Clown. Let’s get off.”

Alfred gets out of the carriage first, holds the door, and waits for me to get out. Following his instructions, I got off the carriage and walked less than 5 minutes before arriving in front of the building that I presumed to be the academy’s main building.

And there, the Evergreen Academy, was the first structure that caught my eye upon arriving at this place, renowned and rumored throughout the entire continent.

It was a clean, neat statue that looked as if it had just been made today, and did not fit in with the old Evergreen Academy scenery.

The statue caught my eye not only because it looked new.

This is because, no matter how closely you look at the statue, the ‘someone’ in this structure carved out of someone does not seem to be the dean of Evergreen Academy.

The most famous person at Evergreen Academy, but also the most difficult to meet.

A statue of someone other than Dean Hu, who is respected on the continent, was erected as a statue in front of the main building of Evergreen Academy? That’s strange!

If someone asks how I can be sure that the statue is not Dean Hu, I would like to tell them that I know it when I see it.

The statue’s owner was dressed in the ceremonial attire of a priest – robes worn for worship, hood, alb, sash, belt, and chasuble – and even wore a high, pointed, oval-shaped ceremonial crown on his head. .

Why is that? The dean of Evergreen Academy was a wizard. It’s also very powerful.

Above all, the biggest peculiarity is,

“Woman… … ?”

The statue’s body type is that of a woman. I heard that the later dean of the academy was definitely a man, and a very old man at that.

“She is Marlene.”

Did I feel that I was staring at a statue?

Alfred, who came next to me and looked up at the statue together, began to tell a story about the main character of the statue.

His voice contained a pride that could not be hidden, no, it was not hidden.

Marlene de Bourbon.

In order to explain this woman, it is necessary to first explain ‘Dean Hu’ mentioned above.

This is because this woman is the daughter of the later dean’s two children, one son and one daughter.

Grand mage of Circle 9.

‘Dean Hu’, who is always ranked at the top when discussing the strongest people on the continent, is said to have one son and one daughter. As you may have guessed from the past tense, his daughter is dead.

An unprecedented plague that struck the continent. LOST.

‘Dean Hu’ lost his daughter Marlene in the plague roast, which is regarded as the worst plague in history without a single disagreement, whether it was recorded by an individual, created by the country, or a paper compiled by an academy.

She didn’t die after suffering from a plague.

If what Alfred said was true, she couldn’t have contracted the plague in the first place. Because she was the maiden of Peracitas, the goddess of mercy and abundance, who was the second-largest saint on the continent.

She died while treating sick people from the plague.

no.

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that she consumed too much divine power and her body could not withstand it and collapsed. And there was a hidden secret there.

“Holy water made with Marlene’s divine power. It was the most effective medicine for treating the plague. Roast. As the name suggests, people who contracted the plague died before they could survive for a month. What’s even more strange is that upon death, the body decomposed rapidly and disappeared before 15 days, leaving behind no bones. That’s why the name of the plague was Lost.”

“Roast… … .”

“So, all those who were seriously ill, who had contracted the plague for a long time, or who did not have much time left to live, all visited Marlene. Later, the church itself tried to let Marlene rest or take refuge separately, but she did not want to. Until the end, he used up his last divine power to heal patients and then ended his life.”

Sublime. It would be a natural reaction to become solemn.

“I see.”

However, the emotion contained in that short answer that came out of my mouth was pity for a woman named Marlene.

Just a short time ago, I could have been looking up to her actions in front of that statue. They must have looked at the statue with sparkling eyes, thinking it was amazing, and bowed their heads in front of it.

‘It’s frustrating.’

But the person I am today is different from the person I was yesterday.

Of course, that doesn’t mean her noble sacrifice is stupid. This is just a difference in thoughts and perspectives.

To put it bluntly, just from the perspective of efficiency, if she had cared more about herself back then and had stayed alive until now, she would have been able to save more people in that time.

Is that it? Her abilities as described by Alfred would have been of great help in the upcoming battle with the Demon King and his limbs.

What made me even more convinced of my regret and frustration toward her was the feelings that Alfred implicitly expressed while telling Marlene’s anecdote.

anger.

And there was a hint as to what he was angry about and at whom he was angry in what he said.

‘It’s the most effective treatment… … .’

In other words, there were other types of medicine, although they were less effective than the holy water made with Marlene’s divine power.

People may have forced her to make sacrifices just to live faster or to save her family faster.

‘Well, maybe I’m twisted.’

“I will guide you.”

After being lost in our own thoughts for a while, we started moving again. Of course, this time on foot, not by carriage.

Before entering the tallest and largest building, which could also be called the main building, Alfred handed the clown and me a bracelet shaped like a string of green leaves, proving that he was a student at the academy. and,

“Wear it on a comfortable arm.”

“Now?”

“Yes. You must wear it now. Both of you.”

For some reason, Alfred was the first to come out in a slightly forced tone and was ‘waiting’ for the clown to put the bracelet on. A guide is waiting for you, so what can you do?

As Alfred said, the moment I put the comfortable bracelet on my left wrist, the clown’s right wrist, the bracelet, which felt a little big, slowly shrinks to fit my wrist perfectly.

After repeatedly decreasing and increasing the size to the point where I didn’t feel any discomfort until I reached the optimal size, I could feel the energy that felt like a refreshing breeze starting to seep out of the bracelet and spread throughout my body, starting from my arms.

“Huh?”

I raised my head and looked at the clown, wondering if it was a bad spell, but she nodded, looking at me in confusion, still with an interesting smile on her face. It means it’s okay.

Even taking into account the power possessed by the soul from Joseon, the flow of divine power can be felt very clearly. flow.

The divine power that moves as if there is nothing to hide passes through the entire body like rain washing away dust,

“Wow, wow~!!”

Everything I saw changed.