Ch.334Legal Stalking (1)

The conversation with Elena had ended, and all that remained was the class schedule. As you know, Elena has a lot of classes.

First, she teaches the entire first-year literature department, and for second-year students, she teaches not only literature but also martial arts classes.

My job during classes is limited to assisting Elena or participating in discussions with students, but even that is mentally exhausting.

As I just mentioned, there isn’t just one class but several. This means I have to field all kinds of questions every time I enter a classroom.

Moreover, now that my identity has been revealed, it’s only natural that the questioning would intensify. So I prepared myself mentally before attending class.

“Before you ask questions, I’ll immediately deduct points if you bring up personal matters. During lectures, only ask questions related to the lecture.”

“Aww…”

But Elena preemptively blocked such issues. Most students expressed disappointment at her firm warning.

I had expected my teaching assistant duties to become more difficult than before, so I couldn’t help but feel grateful for this consideration.

I bowed my head in appreciation, and Elena responded with a gentle smile. Seeing her push up her glasses afterward, it seemed she was about to begin the class in earnest.

Oh, by the way, Adelia was standing beside me, and Kate was positioned by the door—locations that would allow immediate response if anything happened.

Thanks to them, I could focus on the class with peace of mind.

“History is interpreted through various perspectives. Someone who was a hero to one group might be recorded as a merciless murderer by another. A prime example is Jace Miracha during the Racial War. From the elves’ perspective, he’s recorded as an evil person who lacked honor and fairness, but humans revere him as a hero. Therefore, while history itself is objective, it can also be subjective depending on the circumstances…”

Thanks to Elena’s prior warning, the class proceeded smoothly. Occasionally—no, quite openly—some students stared at me, but I ignored them all.

They surely had many things they wanted to say, but taking a point deduction would be too costly.

Moreover, Elena is known among students for giving good grades, and since her exams use absolute rather than relative grading, her lectures are essentially generous.

So receiving a deduction would be a painful mistake, which is why the students were exercising patience.

‘…Except for one.’

I made eye contact with a student who had been staring intensely at me for some time. Her gaze was still gloomy-looking, but her pink eyes were incredibly vibrant.

As everyone might have guessed, it was Cherry. Rather than focusing on the class, she was wasting time by staring intently at me.

During the time we hadn’t seen each other, her pink hair had grown longer than before, and her expression seemed brighter.

…If only her gloomy eyes weren’t an issue. Also, perhaps due to her aura, other students were sitting at a slight distance from her.

With looks like Cherry’s, she should be popular among her peers, but her atmosphere ruins it all.

‘But…’

If I’m not mistaken, her chest seems to have grown larger since I last saw her. This isn’t because I’m a pervert—it’s just noticeably developed.

Her uniform was already crying for help like Cecilly’s, but now it can’t even make that plea.

It’s so tight that the buttons look like they’re about to pop off. If the uniform could be personified, it would probably only make choking sounds.

Cherry usually pays attention to her clothes, so seeing her uniform in such a state suggests she must be growing rapidly. That’s quite admirable.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

“…”

Noticing my gaze, Adelia cleared her throat beside me, signaling me to focus. Only then did I come to my senses and concentrate on the lecture again.

But even when focusing on the lecture, I couldn’t help but be conscious of Cherry. I don’t mind her sitting in the front row watching me.

The problem is that the students sitting next to her are noticeably keeping their distance.

As I’ve mentioned repeatedly, Cherry is very beautiful with an excellent figure, not to mention her background.

Yet no one shows interest in her and instead seems uncomfortable around her, which makes me worry about her relationships with her peers.

Despite her gloomy demeanor, Cherry is a woman overflowing with charm that should overshadow that flaw.

‘Did something happen while I was away?’

I’ll be meeting Cherry separately later anyway, so I can think about it then. I need to receive the manuscripts I haven’t gotten yet and send them to the publisher.

I’ve only published the first volume and not even the second one yet, so I wonder how many manuscripts have piled up. I’m slightly excited.

Of course, I won’t expect too much. I don’t know Cherry’s writing speed yet. Still, I heard she’s completed the manuscript for the second volume.

I just haven’t been able to send it because I’ve been busy. I slowly formulated a plan while assisting with Elena’s lecture.

“Professor, may I ask a question?”

“Yes. Your name is…”

“Hasir Kelik.”

“Yes, Hasir. Go ahead.”

During the class, a student raised his hand and asked Elena a question. His curly blonde hair and deep-colored eyes were striking.

He stood up, glanced at me briefly, and then voiced what he was curious about.

“As you said, Professor, history is objective but can be interpreted in various ways from subjective perspectives. But doesn’t that mean records different from the original history could remain?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then what should one do to uncover such history, especially history unknown even to those involved?”

It’s quite a sharp question. However, I immediately realized it was aimed at me.

As soon as Hasir asked that question, all kinds of gazes turned toward me. Even Elena’s gaze was quite burdensome.

I couldn’t really say anything because Hasir’s question itself was excellent. It perfectly represented the mindset a scholar should have.

The problem was my presence in this classroom. After hearing Hasir’s question, Elena thought for a moment and then explained slowly.

“That’s a very interesting question. But to uncover such history, you’d have to take risks. History is recorded by the victors, but that doesn’t mean the losers’ records disappear completely. If history is lost or completely gone, it’s because someone with enough power deliberately made it so. The newly changed elven myths are literally myths, so they could be interpreted in various ways, but they weren’t erased.”

“Can you give an example?”

“The most representative would be the Dark Elf Exile incident and the forbidden magic of fusion.”

Why would hidden history be called hidden? It’s because it’s a story that shouldn’t be revealed to the world, one that could shake the foundations not just of a nation but of an entire race.

The Dark Elf Exile incident is a tragedy resulting from elven arrogance, similar to the Racial War, and fusion is magic that was discarded because it was too dangerous.

“But more dangerous than hidden history is overturning the flow of history.”

“Overturning the flow of history?”

“Yes. The demon worshippers who ruled the dark world until recently were doing exactly that. There were even corrupted Cardinals…”

As she said this, Elena glanced at Kate by the door. Fortunately, Kate showed no reaction, seemingly unbothered.

“Ahem. Ahem. They had the power to change even history. If you dig a little deeper into history, you’ll find parts that don’t add up. For instance, nobles or heroes with no issues suddenly committing suicide or being arrested for treason, and so on. If you intend to save the world with a great cause, I won’t stop you… but your personal safety will be quite at risk.”

“…”

The atmosphere immediately became heavy with Elena’s explanation. With an eyewitness present, it certainly hits home.

Of course, I’ve never been directly threatened by demon worshippers so far. But if I let my guard down, they would immediately infiltrate.

As long as demon worshippers aren’t completely eradicated, I’ll have to live under threat for the rest of my life.

“Well, I could at least give some advice. Isn’t that right, Issac?”

“I don’t know anything.”

The trap is that I really don’t know anything. What’s frustrating is that no one believes it.

Elena seemed to take my answer as a joke and let out a faint laugh. She clearly doesn’t believe me.

“Don’t be like that. I just asked for some light advice, not for you to reveal the future.”

“Sigh…”

I let out a sigh filled with mixed feelings. Fortunately, I had somewhat anticipated this, so I wasn’t too flustered.

I slowly scanned the students in the lecture hall. Almost all of them were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

Except for one—Cherry, who showed no light in her eyes at all. Instead, she responded with a smile.

‘…That’s scary.’

Her eyes are dead, but her mouth is smiling, which feels eerie. Could this be why her classmates avoid her?

Anyway, I had to say something. Feeling somewhat awkward under the students’ gazes, I scratched my head. Honestly, I don’t have much advice to give.

“As Professor Elena said, finding hidden history is like walking a path where nothing is visible. You don’t know what records exist, and they might be insignificant. In the worst case, they might be truths that shouldn’t be known.”

Not for me though. I didn’t walk an unknown path; I simply pulled out what was in my imagination.

It just happened to match reality. I didn’t dig into history; I just based it on my richer imagination compared to others.

“But if you still want to walk that path, I won’t stop you. Research is a basic quality of a scholar. Just know that once you start down this path, it’s hard to escape.”

That’s actually true. There’s a reason scholars are often called obsessive.

Most people who become scholars do so because they love the field itself, and they sometimes commit eccentric acts to gain related knowledge.

The same goes for me. Although the Biography of Xenon is fictional, it’s based on this world’s history.

Adding various clichés I encountered in my previous life led to this situation.

“Actually, there’s no need to talk about hidden history. If you become scholars in the future and research specific fields, various things will emerge. That’s exactly what being a scholar is about.”

“Then how did Lord Xenon uncover the truth?”

A student interjected. However, I had no intention of answering.

More precisely, I can’t. When I revealed my identity, I clearly stated:

The stories in the Biography of Xenon all came from my imagination. All of this is coincidence.

The student who asked the question doesn’t seem to believe it. Whether they believe it or not is up to them, but I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

“That’s a difficult question to answer. Would you believe me if I said I wrote the book by drawing out stories from my imagination?”

“No.”

“Then let’s pass on that. I’ll stop here. Thank you.”

The students were taken aback by my sudden conclusion. Nevertheless, they soon sent enthusiastic applause that made my ears ring.

I politely bowed my waist while receiving the applause. I’m gradually getting used to these awkward situations.

“Then we’ll end today’s class here. Thank you all for your hard work.”

After Elena’s announcement ending the lecture, the students all rose from their seats. I stood still, planning to leave with Elena.

Meanwhile, I made eye contact with each student one by one before shifting my gaze to Cherry. She showed no intention of getting up from her seat and just stared at me.

That gaze somehow became burdensome, so I gave a bitter smile and waved my hand gently. Then she reacted.

*Grin*

With the same creepy smile as before. She’s clearly smiling, but it doesn’t look like a smile at all.

‘No. Why is she…’

It seems to have gotten worse than before. Later, when I entered another class…

“…Cherry?”

“Yes…”

“Weren’t you in the history class earlier?”

Seeing Cherry sitting in the front row again, I couldn’t just ignore it.

“I wanted to see you, senior…”

“…”

“You said you wouldn’t abandon me…”

My mistake.