episode_0021
by fnovelpiaA day has passed.
Six students came to the professor’s office to submit their assignments. All of them were from the Department of Theology.
There are a total of thirty-two students in Class A, Grade 1. Twenty-six students have yet to come up with the correct answer.
I was very satisfied with the content of the assignments submitted by the students of the Department of Theology. Most of them were in line with the correct answers I had thought of, and the length did not exceed the ten or so pages I had suggested.
However, that was about it. It was more than adequate for the level of the assignment, but it was a bit lacking as a result of a long research.
However, I was not stingy with my praise. I did not spare my praise for the six theology students who had submitted their assignments. I hoped that this would encourage the students who had not yet submitted their assignments to work a little harder.
And then, another day passed.
Perhaps because the deadline was just one day away, impatient students and students who had finally found the answer came to the professor’s office. There were a whopping twenty of them.
Thanks to this, my classroom was bustling even on days when there were no classes. Students lined up in the hallway to submit their assignments.
Professors from other departments who were passing by looked surprised at the sight. Of course, it wasn’t surprising since the students looked so haggard that they looked like they hadn’t slept at all.
I accepted the students’ assignments and slowly reviewed them. It was not easy to evaluate all the assignments of twenty students, but thanks to the help of Deacon Sophia, I was able to leave work before dawn.
The assignments submitted by the twenty students were somewhat less complete than those submitted by the theology students, but they were still considered passing grades.
What was most satisfying was that each of the twenty-six assignments submitted by students so far was written in a different way, and the opinions on the conclusions and each person’s thoughts were sharply opposed, leading to new results.
This is what I was waiting for. Twenty-six assignments, and the content is all different. It was almost a miracle that not a single paragraph of the twenty-six assignments overlapped with each other.
That means, not a single student copied or referenced another student’s work.
You have to explore for yourself and come to your own conclusions.
As I had intended, the students never asked for help. They wrote their assignments by themselves. The quality of the work may have been a little lacking, but I wanted to praise these twenty-six assignments and give them a round of applause.
And, there were six students who had not submitted their assignments by the day before the deadline. Among them were Chloe, Elin, and Laura.
The deadline for the assignment I assigned is when class starts on Friday. In other words, the assignment must be submitted by 9:30 AM tomorrow.
I didn’t nag the other six students. I just waited for them slowly and leisurely.
If you want to taste the ultimate taste, you must be able to endure the arduous time waiting for the fruit to ripen.
And so, time passes and passes.
Finally, it’s Friday.
Before class started, there were six students in total who arrived at the professor’s office.
With Chloe and Laura coming in last, panting, all the students’ assignments were gathered in one place. I barely had time to read the six assignments, so I just skimmed through the content and held them in my arms.
In Class A, Grade 1, there wasn’t a single student who failed to submit his/her assignments.
It was exactly one month since the first day of class.
* * * * *
Chloe looked at her watch anxiously. She was extremely resentful of the hands that seemed to be passing slowly today.
And it wasn’t just her.
Right now, all the students sitting in this classroom were staring at the wall clock with one mind and one purpose as if they were going to kill it.
“Ugh… . I think I failed my homework… .”
“You really wrote anything.”
“I’m going to get really annoyed by Professor Antonelli.”
“I couldn’t sleep last night… .”
“Didn’t you submit your homework this morning?”
“Yeah… . I stayed up all night writing this, but I think it’s ruined… .”
So, how long did it take for the students to wait with bated breath?
Finally, the clock struck 9:29 AM. The students swallowed their saliva, tense with tension, and began to count down the minutes in their minds. Chloe was no different.
’57 seconds… . 58 seconds… . 59 seconds… . And… !’
Knock knock—.
The classroom door opened. The students, their backs straight, turned their gazes toward the front door of the classroom.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
As usual, the sound of calm footsteps. The interval was precise, as if the sound of footsteps was following a metronome. The sound of footsteps began to move, piercing the silence of the lecture room. The golden-haired Deaconess Sophia followed, trotting into the lecture room.
Even Deacon Sophia came up to the stage, carrying a bundle of papers in her arms, and Professor Antonelli placed theological books and the Bible on the podium as usual.
“Hello everyone. ”
The usual greeting. However, today was a little different.
“There will be no theology class today.”
The students closed their books. Then, they naturally took out their notebooks and pens and prepared to write. The process was so smooth and natural that it was like watching a well-trained Pavlov’s dog.
As the students prepared to take notes, Professor Antonelli continued.
“Instead, I prepared a slightly different class today.”
At this point, Deacon Sophia began to move. She distributed papers to all the students in the classroom.
The bewildered students accept the bundle of papers handed to them by the student sitting in the front row, and then continue to pass the bundle of papers to the students behind them.
Soon, all thirty-two students sitting in the classroom each received a piece of paper distributed by Deacon Sophia. The paper was blank with nothing written on it.
“Please leave the paper aside for a moment. We will use it later.”
After hearing Professor Antonelli’s words, the students carefully placed the pure white paper on their desks, fearing that the paper might be contaminated with foreign substances.
Professor Antonelli nodded with satisfaction as he watched the scene, then began to walk slowly across the podium.
“Everyone. Have you ever thought about it?”
what?
Just as the students were beginning to question themselves, Professor Antonelli’s voice pierced their ears.
“During the month leading up to submitting this assignment, have you ever had a single valid question that led to your own actions?”
All the students tilted their heads. Is this a valid question that requires independent action?
It was a sentence that didn’t make sense. It would be more accurate to say that it was incomprehensible.
“You must have worked hard to enter Chaldea Imperial Academy. Of course, there are students who did not work that hard and were born ahead of others.”
But, here’s one thing.
Professor Antonelli raised a finger. The students stared at it as if they were mesmerized.
“Have you ever explored something on your own, solved it, and been satisfied with the results you achieved?”
The students who heard Professor Antonelli’s words were lost in thought.
Has that ever happened? Really? The students recalled the first time they stepped into the realm of learning, the cognitive realm.
Some students recalled the first time they studied magic.
One student recalled the first time he studied theology.
Some students recalled the first time they held a sword or weapon, while others recalled the first time they moved a brush or pen.
“What I am asking about is not simply the experience of learning. More than that, I am asking about the experience of choosing a different path from others and walking it, and not questioning your own subjective thinking.”
The students searched their memories again. In their memories, the path to learning was always a path paved by teachers or parents. All they had to do was move forward.
“Probably never, I guarantee it.”
There was none. It really was.
The students were increasingly drawn into Professor Antonelli’s story as if they were falling into a trance. Their obsession with the results of their submitted assignments had long since disappeared.
“You have probably been more engrossed in theology than ever before in your life over the past month.”
That was right. As all the students were writing their assignments, I thought to myself, “Have I ever been this immersed in theology?”
“But, you guys, what I wanted was more than just studying theology.”
Professor Antonelli circled around the podium and sat back down in front of the podium. Looking around at all the students in the classroom, Professor Antonelli said:
“I have reviewed the assignments you have submitted. Although, due to time constraints, I was only able to read the rough outline of the six assignments submitted this morning… . Everyone. Would you like to see the papers that were handed out at the beginning of class?”
The students turned their attention to the paper on the desk. The pure white paper was still there, unstained, and still on the desk. And then, Professor Antonelli continued speaking.
“Let’s play a simple game.”
Game? Suddenly?
The students’ confusion spread like paint. While they tilted their heads and expressed their doubts, Professor Antonelli spoke.
“From now on, if I give you any instructions, you will act according to the instructions given. Do you understand?”
It was a simple statement. When Professor Antonelli tells you to do something, do it. Since no student did not understand, everyone in the classroom nodded.
“Then, first, please fold the paper once.”
Fold the paper once?
It was a remarkably difficult statement. It could be interpreted in any way.
But no student asked, “How do you do it specifically?” The students silently followed Professor Antonelli’s words.
Some folded it in half horizontally, some folded it in half vertically, some folded it diagonally to make a triangle, and some folded the corners haphazardly. Looking at these students, Professor Antonelli said,
“Are you done folding? Please fold it again, just like that.”
The students followed his instructions this time as well. The crisp, white paper had already been folded twice and shrunk in size.
“Now, fold it once horizontally and once vertically. Finally, gently tear off the protruding corners of the paper.”
The paper gradually lost its original shape. After folding strangely, an unknown shape with all the sharp corners of the paper torn off was left on the desk.
“If you’re done, now unfold the paper.”
The tattered paper was unfolded. The completely unfolded paper had long since lost its original shape. Someone even accidentally tore the paper in half while unfolding it.
“If you have spread out everything, now look at the papers made by other students around you.”
Students laughed at each other’s papers. Some students had their papers torn in comical ways, while others had them folded neatly, as if they had been measured with a ruler.
However, no student had the same shape of paper. Looking at the results of those students, Professor Antonelli said,
“If any of you have made a piece of paper that looks exactly like the other students, please raise your hand now.”
No one raised their hand. The final appearance of the papers produced by the students was different for each student. Professor Antonelli shrugged his shoulders as he watched the students.
“Everyone. Isn’t it strange?”
The students looked at Professor Antonelli. What is strange? What on earth is it? Professor Antonelli continued.
“I clearly gave everyone the same instructions. Why are the results different for everyone?”
… … .
Stillness. Silence. Stillness. Not a single student in the classroom breathed a word.
Indeed, it was so. Professor Antonelli clearly gave the same instructions to everyone. So why are the results different for each person?
The students stared blankly at the paper. Professor Antonelli said to those students.
“While working on this assignment, you must have overcome a wall. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that you’ve broken a wall.”
That was right. While doing Professor Antonelli’s assignment, all the students felt strongly that they had overcome an unknown wall. The students had grown in some way. It was clear.
“Do you know what that is?”
I don’t know. So the students remained silent.
“Surprisingly, none of the assignments you submitted to me had any overlapping content.”
“… … !”
“Just like the folded paper, even though the same task was given to everyone.”
The students looked around. They made eye contact with the students sitting in front of them, behind them, and next to them.
“It’s too early to be surprised. Do you know what’s even more surprising?”
The students had an intuition that this was already running towards something more than just class.
That’s why they were extremely focused on what Professor Antonelli said.
To those students, Professor Antonelli delivered a decisive blow.
“Here, among the thirty-two assignments on the desk, there is not a single one that is not the correct answer.”
That means, all the students wrote the correct answer.
And surprisingly, the answers are all different.
The only problem Professor Antonelli raised was the reason why people other than priests cannot use divine powers, and the solution to solve it.
This means that as many as thirty-two correct answers have been derived for this one problem.
The students’ bodies trembled. The secrets of the divine power, which could be called the greatest puzzle on earth, had revealed themselves as many as thirty-two times in the past month.
“The real purpose of this assignment. It was the purity of delving into theology, the essence of using divine power. It was nothing else.”
And then, the students finally realized. It was a milestone of formalized learning that had been firmly established as a framework for their lives up to now.
“Explore on your own and find your own answers. Even if you didn’t walk the path that others have paved, it becomes the right answer.”
That he himself, who was trapped in it, was the biggest obstacle to this task.
“That was it.”
And, the unknown wall I had to overcome while doing my homework—.
“Ah… .”
That it was himself.
Professor Antonelli took out the Bible and held it up. A low, soft bass sound echoed through the classroom.
“Peter considered that all flesh was like a tree, and that the fruit that came from the tree was all the same fruit. Therefore he lamented and said, ”
When the Lord created the world, all the nations had different roots and different origins. Why did the Lord bring this evil upon them?
Then Paul, the first servant of the Lord, said:
“It is your trial and your wall, to go on the blessed way of the Lord. Love yourself, love your neighbor, but do not let your thoughts deviate only from the will of the Lord.”
That will be enough.
“1 Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 32.”
Professor Antonelli, with his Bible covered, looked around the classroom. Students with blank expressions looked at him.
The students had finally figured out the true nature of the mysterious enlightenment they had been searching for.
“Congratulations, everyone.”
In this class, what Professor Antonelli wanted the students to know was the meaning of the phrase, “blessed, blessed.”
“You have won the free will of man, which is the greatest grace of the Lord and the most brilliant sum of wisdom.”
Think for yourself and act accordingly. Not falling for evil, and regaining the pure and autonomous thinking that humans originally possess.
That’s all there was to it.
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