episode_0096

‘… Looks like it’s going to rain.’

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Karmendorf, sitting in the driver’s seat, glanced at the sky outside the car window.

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– Gulp… .

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The sky was heaving with dark clouds busily going their own way. It looked ominous, so Karmendorf got out of the driver’s seat and approached the trunk at the back of the car.

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“Hmm… .”

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It was to take out an umbrella. Looking at the sky that looked like it would rain heavily at any moment, the thought that my master should not get wet came to mind. The speed at which Karmendorff fumbled with his hands to find his umbrella increased.

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– Thud!

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After a while, Carmendorf took out two umbrellas and closed the trunk absentmindedly. Holding the umbrellas in one hand, his gaze turned to the roof of the main building of the Academy where his master, Duke Adelheid, was residing.

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Perhaps because of the cloudy weather, the faint sound of someone shouting could be heard from the rooftop a little while ago.

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Thanks to this, Carmendorf was able to vaguely see that Duke Adelheid was confronting someone on the rooftop.

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Before the rain starts, you’d better bring an umbrella to Duke Adelheid.

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Thinking so, Karmendorf looked at the rooftop for a moment, then walked towards the main building of the academy where several agents were taking away the captured terrorists.

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– Then why are you standing over there—!!

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No, I tried to step forward.

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“… … .”

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Karmendorff stopped walking. He was only a step away from the vehicle he had gotten out of. Karmendorff’s eyes began to tremble involuntarily.

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I don’t know why. There was no warning, and there was no reason for it to happen in the first place.

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For some reason, Karmendorff was overcome with extreme anxiety.

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It came from a fragment of the past buried deep within Karmendorff. Even Karmendorff herself could not know what it was.

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“Damn it… .”

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Karmendorff swears, chewing on the unpleasantness brought on by the sticky air typical of summer as the rainy season approaches.

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His footsteps, which had been hesitating while standing still, began to move again.

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It was a long time after that.

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* * * * *

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– Gulp… .

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The sky was shaking. It looked like it was going to rain, but no raindrops were falling yet.

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“Answer me, Lucio… .”

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The weather seemed to reflect Cesar’s mood.

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“You know full well how much of a piece of trash that kid is… .”

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Like water that barely maintains surface tension and doesn’t leak out while filling a cup. Even if just one drop of water falls into that rippling sound, it quickly loses its strength and runs away.

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The sky was overcast and looked like it might rain at any moment, and so was Cesar’s one remaining right eye, bloodshot and glaring at me.

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“While we were being consumed on the battlefield, sitting comfortably and making cruel decisions… . It was a decision to save the country, shedding tears and giving up your flesh… . Showing all kinds of dirty tricks!!”

“… … .”

“And while doing so, they even received the title of war hero…! They monopolized all the glory and achievements that grew from our sacrifice! They consistently ignored our sacrifice, and they didn’t even raise their voices about the compensation we deserved—!!”

Cesar’s eyes turned red. The muzzle of the pistol in my hand was slowly going down.

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“That son of a bitch, Adelheid, who did such a thing… . Knowing full well that he brought me to this point… . Knowing full well the unfair treatment we suffered… .”

“… … .”

“Why are you standing next to Adelheid… . What on earth are you talking about… .”

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Cesar’s voice began to tremble violently. Hot tears fell from his one remaining eye, like the flames that had engulfed him.

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Even while Caesar’s tears were wetting the dry rooftop.

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“… … .”

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I couldn’t answer. Cesar shook his body and shouted.

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“Answer me—!!”

“Cesar, Cesar… . I… .”

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I… . I… .

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…I am.

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“Lucio. If you haven’t lost your friendship with me yet… . If you haven’t forgotten the camaraderie of your fallen comrades… . And if you haven’t forgotten what you lost on the battlefield. ”

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Cesar gestured somewhere with his chin. I turned my head in that direction absentmindedly.

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“Turn your gun. Aim at that devilish bastard who’s alive and breathing right next to you.”

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The place where my gaze, Caesar’s gaze, and everyone’s gaze met.

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There stood Duke Adelheid Maximilian von Adelheid, looking at Cesar with a puzzled expression.

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“Things I have lost… .”

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What I’ve lost. What have I lost?

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‘I lost everything.’

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Helena, I’ve lost you. You were everything to me.

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That day, my world fell apart.

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In order for a person to forget a moment’s memory, a more intense trace must cover it.

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It was unfortunate. No matter what happened, it never left a stronger memory than when I lost Helena. So, I lived with it for the rest of my life.

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I had to live my whole life with that one moment of memory. In other words, I even mortgaged myself.

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I lost everything. Everything I had… .

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The hand holding the gun slowly lowered.

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“… Lou, Professor Lucio?”

“Professor Antonelli?”

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Professor Esther and Director Kerbane looked at me with anxious expressions. There was a trembling in their eyes.

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I turned my gaze to Cesar. Cesar, who was looking at me with my gun pointed at the floor, barely raised the corners of his trembling lips.

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“Yes, Lucio… . We are the same.”

“Similar… .”

“You must have been living your own life. That was your way of forgetting the pain. But, Lucio… . You overlooked one thing.”

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Caesar’s words continued. The wick he sharply cut down.

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“Hate, it comes back.”

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It hit my ear.

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“No matter how hard you try to live a new life, no matter how hard you try to forget the terrible memories of the battlefield…! In the end, the hatred you postponed will come back someday.”

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That’s it, it’s just now.

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Cesar’s mouth was shut. So was I. Unlike a moment ago when I had been shouting at Cesar and Cesar had been shouting at Laura, there was no sound now.

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I looked down at the rooftop floor. I felt emotions beyond my control, running wild inside my mind.

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“Lucio. Think carefully again. Where should the gun in your hand be pointed? ”

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Where my gun should be pointed.

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– The deaths of the 858th Magic Engineer Infantry Battalion were sacrifices that came from their noble and noble hearts, not from someone pushing them to their deaths.

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Where my gun should be pointed.

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– Okay, okay. I have no intention of apologizing.

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…my hatred that had been put on hold, should be directed to the right place.

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– Oh, well, I didn’t apologize. In the first place, who was that? I don’t know that person.

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That place is… . None other than… .

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“… … .”

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Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

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– Father Lucio. I… . I, my students are so precious.

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In my words, which are mortgaged with hatred, the proper way to use that gun is to shoot the Duke of Adelheid.

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– So, Father Lucio, please promise me one thing.

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Even as those thoughts filled my head, the memories of you still stood proudly there.

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– If I can’t return home after the war, you will take over the theology department in my place.

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What comes to mind is the promise I have to keep with you, at the risk of my entire life… .

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Could that be a coincidence?

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“…Cesar.”

“Lucio.”

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I raised my head.

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– Crunch.

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The gun was also pointed at the floor.

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As I raised my pistol again, Cesar glared at me with a sudden change in his gaze.

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“Lucio… . In the end, you decided to become your enemy’s dog.”

“Cesar. I’m sorry, but I can’t give up on the precious student I promised to protect. If you really want to see the end… . Okay.”

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Cesar, who shared life and death and shared the same goals.

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And Helena, who was my everything.

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I had to choose between the two, and I made my choice.

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“If you really want to see the end… . If you can’t release my student… !”

“You… .”

“I’ll gladly shoot you.”

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Silence fell. A hot breeze blew through my hair like a wind blowing through a dry desert.

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And it wasn’t just the heat that the wind brought.

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“Teacher, teacher… .”

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I heard a voice. A thin, trembling voice. I turned my gaze toward where the voice had come from.

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“Ah, Professor Antonelli… .”

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It was Laura. Laura, with tears in her eyes, was stammering to me with her trembling lips.

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“Is what this person is saying true…?”

“… Adelheid student.”

“Is this person really saying this…? Is it really true that you went through something like this because of my father…?”

“… … .”

“Please answer… . Please… .”

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Tears flowed from Laura’s eyes and rolled down her pure white cheeks. I stared blankly at the sight.

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“Professor Antonelli… .”

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Laura’s sobbing voice pierces my ears.

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The hand holding the gun was shaking slightly. I tried my best to strengthen my hand, which was starting to lose strength, in case I dropped the gun.

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“Answer, please… .”

“… Laura, Laura von Adelheid.”

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It was a fact that I had to know someday. Even though it was a fact that I had to know, there was a time when I was proud that I could prevent it.

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Of course, it turned out to be a stupid idea. I took a deep breath, slowly calming my trembling breathing.

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And to Laura who is looking at me.

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“What Caesar said was… . The things your father did… .”

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Maybe I could lie to Laura. I could live my life deceiving Laura and myself, thinking about the great hurt she would suffer.

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And I knew better than anyone that it was something close to fantasy. I knew that if I were to hold back my hatred here and now, it would come back like a boomerang and create even greater hatred.

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So, that was it.

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“All of it is true.”

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I had to choose the lesser evil to avoid the worst.

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* * * * *

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“All of it is true.”

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The moment she heard those words, Laura von Adelheid barely managed to pull herself together from her dazed state.

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It was not Laura’s reason, which had been paralyzed by Professor Antonelli’s words, but Laura’s instinctive sense that she must not lose her mind that helped her.

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Laura’s trembling mouth kept smiling.

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Of course, no words came out of those pitiful mouths.

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“Ah, ah… .”

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All I can say is this stupid thing.

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Laura’s eyes, which had been trembling without any reason, soon moved to Professor Antonelli’s side.

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The place where her gaze, which had been rolling desperately while trembling sweetly, finally stopped moving.

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“… Father.”

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There stood Duke Maximilian von Adelheid, whom Laura loved as a family member and respected as a proud father.

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Duke Adelheid, who heard Laura’s call, looked at Laura with a bewildered expression. The sight of him staring at her with his eyes wide open and his hand holding his staff hanging limp was amusing.

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Towards Duke Adelheid, Laura opened her mouth.

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“Why… . Why did you do such a thing?”

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Duke Adelheid was speechless. It wasn’t because he had nothing to say to Laura.

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“Father… . Why are you looking at this father with such eyes… .”

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The way Laura looked at him. It was clear that there was a deep sense of disgust and betrayal in it.

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Duke Adelheid, who faced it. Maximilian von Adelheid, the great wizard of the 7th circle and known as the hero of the great war. He… .

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“Father… . What you did was really the worst… .”

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He was just a father to a precious daughter who had been trampled by a terrible sense of betrayal and humiliation, and a father who received a look of disgust from the daughter who was more precious than anything else in this world.

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It was so painful that I couldn’t even imagine it.

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“La, Laura… .”

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Duke Adelheid felt, for the first time in his life, the pain of his heart breaking. He felt the pain of losing the respect and love of his daughter, the things he could not exchange for anything in this world.

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A pain that makes you want to rip out your heart.

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