I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 731 - Side Story 4: Things You See When You Look Back (2)

After seeing Grandel off, Rudger sat on the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment. Considering his master's personality, she would have opened a dimensional gate with her near-infinite magical power.

'Since the destination, Earth, is somewhere I've already connected to once, it shouldn't be difficult to find the coordinates.'

He could have gone with her, but Rudger was currently confined here as a war criminal.

Escape would be possible if he put his mind to it, but the consequences he'd have to bear would be even greater.

'If only I could not care about anything.'

After meeting Aileen and talking with Grandel, Rudger had realized several things.

That he was ultimately born and raised in this world, and was a member who had lived together with the people of this world.

The essence of his soul was that of a person who had lived on Earth, but while staying here, he had become tainted at some point.

Before, he could cut off his hesitation and confusion under the pretext of having a firm goal. But now he knew better than anyone that he could no longer do so.

That's why, even while watching Grandel leave, he neither stopped her nor went with her.

He had a mountain of things to deal with while remaining here.

'A bond cannot be maintained by just one side holding onto it. The thread remains because the other side also grasps it together, and their relationship continues.'

Right. He ultimately couldn't let go of this thread.

In a way, that was weakness, but Rudger accepted even this weakness of his. Weak, hurt, suffering. All of that included, everything was himself.

'I'm worried about Master going to Earth alone, but surely nothing unfortunate will happen.'

Though Grandel was unpredictable, Rudger was certain that this time would be fine.

That trust was possible because he believed in his master who taught him and the mother who raised him.

'Now that I've returned to this world, I can no longer turn away. I'll untie the knots one by one.'

Rudger opened his closed eyes, revealing his blue pupils.

"I didn't think another new guest would come visiting."

Words directed at empty space, talking to himself. Naturally, there was no answer. But Rudger continued speaking as if he didn't care.

"There's no need to be cautious. Master has left, and there's no one here who would recognize you."

After a moment, a voice resonated from the empty air.

"When you put it that way, it hurts my pride a little."

A clear, high-toned, yet sultry voice responded. The air rippled like water struck by a stone, and soon a woman revealed herself.

Body-hugging, somewhat daring style clothing, black and white divided hair, and that mischievous smile still full of playfulness.

"You noticed I came." 

"I've seen it a few times, so I've gotten used to it."

Rudger smiled slightly and greeted her.

"It's been a while. Helia." 

"What? Isn't it proper etiquette to first ask if I'm alive?" 

"I thought you would have survived just fine on your own." 

"I guess that's true too. Well, in the eyes of someone who returned after falling into a dimensional rift, nothing else would compare."

Helia laughed while spinning the umbrella she held in her hand. Rudger watched her closely, then cast his gaze at Helia's forehead.

"Horns have grown."

Curved horns were growing above both sides of Helia's forehead. One of them was half-broken, revealing a smooth cross-section.

These horns he'd never seen before should have felt out of place, but strangely enough, they suited Helia's appearance.

"They didn't grow, they were there from the beginning." 

"Tch, you're quick. I thought you'd point this out first when you saw it, but you're accepting it too quickly. That's right. I was normally hiding them with my ability." 

"Considering your birth, there's nothing strange about it. But seeing you reveal them like this in front of me, does that mean you no longer intend to hide them?"

Helia stretched and approached a small round table. Then she picked up one of the refreshments placed on it with her slender fingers and tossed it into her mouth.

After chewing and swallowing the refreshment a few times, Helia said.

"Still, we're comrades who fought together, and it didn't seem right to hide even this. It's not good to hide too much from someone I'm grateful to, right?" 

"Someone you're grateful to?" 

"You ended this damned fight."

Three years ago, with the final holy war, everything that had bound Helia's life ended. The Bretus Holy Kingdom was destroyed, and the chief god Lumensis lost his divinity and met his death.

The inescapable karmic cycle that Helia couldn't achieve for ages. The curse that she had half-given up on and only evaded and fled from, Rudger had severed it.

"Thanks to that, I now have the freedom to not worry about anything. So you're someone I'm grateful to. It's because of you that things turned out this way." 

"You're unexpectedly sentimental. So what are you planning to do from now on?" 

"I don't know that either. I've just been wandering the world for the past three years." 

"Haven't you ever thought about what you want to do?" 

"I thought it was a freedom that wouldn't come. It's freedom I gained too suddenly, so I can't sort out my thoughts well. Even when I try to find what would be good to do, the more I try, the less it works."

She grumbled as if complaining about something trivial, but her voice held an anxiety she couldn't hide. Rudger realized why Helia had come to see him.

"You want to seek my advice." 

"What? Who said that? I just came out of curiosity because someone who was once a comrade returned, okay? And to give my thanks while I'm at it." 

"Right. Since we were once comrades, I can give you some advice. Am I wrong?"

Helia tried to say something but soon pressed her lips shut. It wasn't easy to think of words to refute. In the end, Helia dropped her shoulders and declared surrender.

"I don't know. What I should do from now on. What on earth am I anyway?" 

"That's a philosophical question." 

"I was raised as the future of our clan. And I was destined to become a priestess serving a god."

But their god disappeared because of Lumensis, and the dragons also went extinct. The only one who survived was Helia.

Born as the future of her clan, but if that clan disappears, what should the remaining child do?

Destined to become a priestess who should serve a god, but if the god to serve disappears, what should the priestess do?

What found Helia after the sadness of losing her family subsided was emptiness as deep as the ocean.

For her, who had only lived for given goals until now, finding a new goal was too difficult a task.

"Revenge, I thought about that too. But actually, I wasn't that obsessed with revenge. Whatever else, surviving came first."

It was then that Helia met a certain being. Someone like herself, an apostle serving a god yet called a demon.

It was just curiosity. Maybe she would realize something by meeting someone in a similar situation. While meeting various apostles with such expectations, Surna caught her eye.

Though weak compared to other apostles, he was an apostle with an unusually strong will. Unlike other apostles who merely lived blindly for their god or burned only for revenge, Surna had some other purpose.

Helia was curious about that, so she stayed with Surna. Through that process, she came to think of Surna as a friend.

But now even that friend was gone. Helia had become alone again.

"What should I do now? Would it have been better to die back then?"

Helia touched the broken horn with her fingertips. That day, Helia had sacrificed one of her horns to survive.

The symbol of pride as a descendant of dragons. In a way, more precious than life itself, this proof that she was the only dragon. She had consumed it just to preserve her life.

"My master had similar worries. Should I have asked when she was still here?" 

"What? You're joking, right? I hate even getting close to that monster vampire." 

"And yet you came to find me." 

"So what's wrong with that? It's natural for a demon to seek the demon king."

Demon king. Rudger had to hold back a chuckle. It was an excuse uncharacteristically weak for Helia, but that meant she was cornered to that extent.

"Unfortunately, I don't have such knowledge to tell you what to do." 

"What's with that...? You worked as a teacher. When students worry about their future aspirations, don't you give them advice?" 

"I didn't have students who asked me about such futures."

The ones who did, like Aidan and Rene, were already finding their firm paths even before he could tell them. Helia sighed. Just as she was about to turn around in disappointment, Rudger spoke.

"But I can give you faint advice." 

"...What is it?" 

"First, do what you want to do." 

"What kind of disappointing answer is that? I asked because I don't know what I want to do." 

"Anything is fine. If you're hungry, you can eat delicious food. If you're tired, you can sleep. If you're bored, you could visit a theater or read a book."

Helia silently listened to Rudger's words. By this point, she was curious about what he was trying to say, what the end would be.

"Even trivial things are fine. You can impulsively do what you want to do right now. If you do various things like that, someday you'll find something you like, something you want to do." 

"What is that even...?"

"During the hundreds of years that have passed, have you ever done anything else?"

At Rudger's sharp question, Helia couldn't answer immediately. How could she? She had been busy avoiding the eyes of the Bretus Holy Kingdom as a demon, and all she did was watch and observe what Surna did.

"I gave the same advice to my master. The world is wide. There are still countless things you don't know, things you haven't seen. Like countless stars spreading across the sky, the possibilities this world holds will show you countless paths."

Helia silently listened to Rudger's words.

"If you don't know what to do, first make finding what you want to do your goal. Then at some point, you'll realize."

Rudger gazed at Helia with a much calmer look and asked.

"Is there anything else you're curious about?" 

"...Since you worked as a teacher, the students probably couldn't finish your lessons out of boredom."

It was a completely unexpected answer, but Rudger responded with a slight smile and a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'm an idiot for expecting anything. I'll be going now. Or else escape together." 

"I'm waiting for the execution date to be set." 

"...Alright, I understand."

Helia gradually disappeared as if melting into her spot. Before she completely vanished as the boundary between illusion and reality collapsed. Helia gave her final greeting.

"Thanks for the advice."

Day broke. Rudger woke up and ate the breakfast prepared by the imperial palace.

It was a meal so lavish it was hard to believe it was for a war criminal and demon lord.

He could feel his taste cells, dried up for three years, vividly coming alive with each bite of food.

'Should I call this a condemned prisoner's last meal?'

But seeing that the execution date hadn't been set yet, it seemed there were many discussions going on internally in various ways.

Rudger didn't bother being bound by that and simply quietly enjoyed the given daily life.

Perhaps because Aileen had thoroughly silenced people, there were few people wandering around where Rudger stayed.

But that was just to say they were few; it didn't mean there were none. And the people who could come and go here were basically people who had their own skills and influence within the imperial palace.

Like the two women who appeared now.

"I was just about to go for a walk, and I see familiar faces." 

"You really have it good."

Flora, who had now become the head of the Lumos family, crossed her arms and reproached Rudger.

"Well, it's an opportunity given after a while, so isn't it better to enjoy it?" 

"You seem to have become much more slick since I last saw you." 

"I won't deny that. It's been three years since I couldn't converse with people. So, is there a reason you came to see me? I'm also curious about the opinion of the Guardian next to you."

Rudger cast his gaze at Terina Ryanhowl, who came with Flora.

Unlike Flora, who had now become a proper adult different from her student days, Terina still maintained the same appearance through those years.

She was staring intently at Rudger with a complicated gaze.

"It's awkward to just stand and chat in the hallway, so let's go for a walk together."

Rudger said with a faint smile. Flora seemed full of complaints and tried to argue something, but she lost to Rudger's smile.

"Hah. Fine, Mr. Rudger Chelici." 

"You don't call me teacher anymore?" 

"I already graduated from Theon, you know? And now I'm properly the head of House Lumos." 

"It suits you well. I believed you would become like this."

It was a statement asking to be treated as a head of house, but when praise came back instead, Flora's face went blank for a moment.

"...Really underhanded."

Flora muttered to herself, but it didn't reach Rudger's ears.