Chapter 334: Legal Stalking(1)
Chapter 334: Legal Stalking(1)
Now that my conversation with Elena was over, all that remained was the class schedule. As you might expect, Elena’s teaching load was quite heavy.
For starters, she covered the entire first-year Literature Department, and for the second years, she taught not only Literature but the Martial Studies Department as well.
My role during the lectures was limited to assisting Elena or participating in student discussions, but even that was mentally taxing.
As I mentioned, it wasn't just one class; there were several. In other words, every time I stepped into a classroom, I had to brace myself for a barrage of questions.
Now that my identity had been revealed, it was only natural that the intensity would increase. I walked into the lecture hall prepared for the worst.
"Before we take questions, I will immediately deduct points the moment anyone brings up personal matters. During the lecture, only ask questions related to the course material."
"""Ah..."""
However, Elena nipped the problem in the bud. Most of the students looked disappointed at her stern warning.
I had expected my job as a teaching assistant to become much more difficult, so I couldn't help but feel grateful for her consideration.
When I bowed my head to show my appreciation, Elena responded with a bright smile. Seeing her push up her glasses, it seemed she was ready to begin the lecture in earnest.
Oh, for the record, Adelia was standing right beside me, and Kate was stationed by the door—positions from which they could respond immediately if anything happened.
Thanks to them, I was able to focus on the class with peace of mind.
"History is bound to be interpreted through various perspectives. A person who was a hero to some is often recorded as a ruthless butcher to others. A prime example is Jays Miracha during the Race War. From the Elves' perspective, he is recorded as a dishonorable and wicked man who knew no honor, yet humans revere him as a hero. Therefore, while history itself is objective, it can also be subjective depending on the circumstances..."
Perhaps because Elena had set the ground rules, the lecture proceeded smoothly. Occasionally—or rather, quite openly—there were students staring at me, but I ignored them all.
They clearly had a lot they wanted to say, but losing points wasn't worth the risk.
Elena was known among the students for being a generous grader, and since her exams were graded on an absolute scale rather than a curve, her class was essentially a GPA booster.
Losing points under such circumstances would be a painful blunder, so the students exercised remarkable patience.
'...Except for one person.'
My eyes met those of a student who had been staring intently at me for a while. Her gaze was as gloomy as ever, but her pink eyes were incredibly piercing.
As you might have guessed, it was Cherry. Far from focusing on the lecture, she was wasting her time staring holes through me.
In the time since I'd last seen her, her pink hair had grown longer, and her expression seemed a bit brighter.
...If only those incredibly gloomy eyes weren't the problem. Also, perhaps due to her aura, the other students were sitting a slight distance away from her.
With looks like Cherry's, she should have been popular among her peers, but her atmosphere completely nullified her beauty.
'Wait...'
If I wasn't mistaken, her chest seemed larger than the last time I saw her. This wasn't me being a pervert; it was just that she had grown noticeably.
Her school uniform had already been screaming for mercy like Cecile's, but now it couldn't even manage a scream.
It was so tight that the buttons looked like they were about to pop off at any second. If that uniform were personified, it would probably be making nothing but choking sounds.
Cherry usually paid attention to her clothes, so seeing her uniform in that state suggested she was growing at a rapid pace. One could say it was a very healthy development.
"Ahem. Ahem."
"..."
As if noticing where my gaze had drifted, Adelia cleared her throat beside me, signaling me to focus. Only then did I snap out of it and return my attention to the lecture.
But even as I focused, I couldn't help but be mindful of Cherry. I didn't mind her sitting in the front row watching me.
The problem was the way the students sitting next to her were awkwardly keeping their distance.
As I've mentioned many times, Cherry is very beautiful and has a great figure. Not to mention her family background.
And yet, no one was showing her interest; instead, they seemed uncomfortable around her. I started to worry if something was wrong with her social life.
She had the drawback of being gloomy, but Cherry was a woman overflowing with enough charm to bury that flaw.
'Did something happen while I was away?'
I was planning to meet Cherry separately later anyway, so I could think about it then. I needed to collect the manuscripts I hadn't received and send them to the publisher.
She had only released Volume 1 and hadn't even put out Volume 2 yet, so I wondered how much she had written. I was slightly looking forward to it.
Of course, I wouldn't get my hopes too high. I didn't really know Cherry's writing speed yet. I did hear, however, that she had finished the manuscript for Volume 2.
It was just that I had been too busy to send it off. I slowly formulated my plans while assisting with Elena's lecture.
"Professor. May I ask a question?"
"Yes. Your name was..."
"It's Hasir Kelik."
"Right. Student Hasir. Go ahead."
In the middle of the lecture, a student raised his hand and questioned Elena. His slightly curly blonde hair and deep blue eyes were quite striking.
As he stood up, he glanced at me once before voicing his curiosity.
"As you said, Professor, history is objective but interpreted through various subjective lenses. But doesn't that also mean records can remain that differ from the actual history?"
"Yes, that's true."
"Then, in order to uncover such history—especially history that even the parties involved were unaware of—what must one do?"
It was a sharp question. However, I immediately realized it was a statement aimed at me.
The moment Hasir asked that, all sorts of gazes shifted toward me. Even Elena looking at me was more than a little burdensome.
I couldn't really complain, though, because Hasir's question itself was excellent. It perfectly represented the mindset a scholar should possess.
The only problem was that I was in the room. Elena pondered Hasir's question for a moment before explaining slowly.
"That is a very interesting question. However, to uncover such history, one must be prepared to take risks. History is recorded by the victors, but that doesn't mean the records of the losers simply vanish. If history is lost or erased entirely, it is usually a deliberate act by someone with significant power. The newly changed Elven Mythology is, quite literally, a myth, so while it had room for various interpretations, it never actually disappeared."
"What would be an example of that?"
"The most prominent examples would be the Dark Elf Expulsion Incident and the forbidden magic known as Fusion."
There's a reason hidden history is called "hidden." It refers to stories that shouldn't be known to the world, truths that could shake the very roots of a race, let alone a nation.
The Dark Elf Expulsion Incident was a tragedy born from the peak of Elven pride, much like the Race War, and Fusion was a magic discarded because it was far too dangerous.
"However, what is more dangerous than hidden history is twisting the flow of history itself."
"Twisting the flow of history?"
"Yes. Until recently, the demon worshippers who ruled the underworld were engaged in exactly that. To the point where there was even a Fallen Cardinal..."
As she said that, Elena glanced at Kate by the door. Fortunately, Kate didn't seem to have any particular thoughts on the matter and showed no reaction.
"Ahem. They possessed the power to change even history. If you dig just a little deeper into history, you'll find parts that don't quite add up. For instance, a noble or a hero with no apparent issues suddenly committing suicide, or being arrested for treason, and so on. If you, student, have a grand ambition to save the world, I won't stop you... but your personal safety will be at great risk."
"..."
The atmosphere in the room turned heavy in an instant following Elena's explanation. Since a living witness was standing right there, the weight of her words surely hit home.
Of course, I had never been directly threatened by demon worshippers until now. But the moment I let my guard down, they would surely strike.
As long as the demon worshippers weren't completely eradicated, I would have to live under threat for the rest of my life.
"Well, I suppose he could at least give some advice. Isn't that right, Student Isaac?"
"I don't know anything."
The irony was that I truly didn't know anything. The frustrating part was that no one believed me.
Elena let out a faint laugh, seemingly taking my answer as a joke. She definitely didn't believe me.
"Don't be like that; just a bit of light advice will do. I asked for advice, not for you to tell the future."
"Whew..."
I let out a sigh filled with weariness. Fortunately, I had expected this to some extent, so I wasn't flustered.
I slowly scanned the students in the lecture hall. Almost all of them were looking at me with eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Except for one person, Cherry, whose eyes held no light whatsoever. Instead, she settled for giving me a smile.
'...That's kind of scary.'
Her eyes were dead, but her mouth was smiling, which felt eerie. Was that why her classmates were avoiding her?
Regardless, I had to say something. I scratched my head, feeling a bit awkward under the students' gaze. Honestly, as far as advice went, I didn't have much.
"As Professor Elena said, searching for hidden history is like walking an unknown path where nothing is visible. You have no idea what records might exist, and they might turn out to be trivial. In the worst-case scenario, it could be a truth you were never meant to know."
Not that this applied to me. Far from walking an unknown path, I had simply pulled the imagination from my head.
It just so happened that all of it matched reality and became the present. I hadn't actually dug into history. I just relied on an imagination richer than most.
"But if you still wish to walk that path, I won't stop you. Research is a fundamental duty of a scholar. However, I want you to understand clearly that once you fall into it, it's hard to escape."
It was true. There's a reason people call scholars "obsessive" or "eccentric."
Most people who become scholars are those who have thrown themselves into a field because they love it, and they often commit bizarre acts just to gain related knowledge.
I was the same. Although the Xenon Chronicle was a work of fiction, I used the history of this world as its foundation.
And because I threw in various clichés I had encountered in my previous life, things ended up like this.
"In fact, there's no such thing as 'hidden' history. If you become scholars in the future and conduct research in a specific field, all sorts of things will come pouring out. That is exactly what a scholar does."
"Then how did you, Lord Xenon, uncover the truth?"
A student interrupted. However, I had no intention of answering.
More accurately, I couldn't. I had clearly stated this when I revealed my identity:
That the stories in the Xenon Chronicle were all things that came from my head. That all of this was a coincidence.
Apparently, the student who asked didn't believe me. Whether they believed it or not was their choice, but a bitter smile escaped me nonetheless.
"That's a difficult question to answer. If I told you I wrote the book by pulling stories out of my head, would you believe me?"
"No."
"Then let's move on. I'll leave it at that. Thank you."
The students were taken down by the sudden declaration of the end. Still, they immediately broke into thunderous applause that made my ears ring.
I bowed politely while receiving the shower of applause. I was slowly getting used to these embarrassing situations.
"Then we'll end today's lecture here. Good work, everyone."
Following Elena's declaration, the students stood up in a swarm. I remained standing, intending to leave with Elena.
While making eye contact with each student, I shifted my gaze to Cherry. She showed no intention of getting up and was just staring blankly at me.
Feeling somewhat burdened by that gaze, I gave a bitter smile and waved my hand slightly. That got a reaction out of her.
Grin—
As I had seen earlier, she gave a spine-chilling smile. She was definitely smiling, but it didn't feel like a smile at all.
'Wait. Why is she...'
She seemed even worse than before. Later, when I went into another class...
"...Cherry?"
"Yes..."
"Didn't you just take the history class earlier?"
I couldn't just ignore it when I saw Cherry sitting in the front row again.
"I wanted to see you, Senior..."
"..."
"You said you wouldn't abandon me..."
It's my fault.