I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 733 - Side Story 6: Scent of Water (1)

The execution date of Demon King Heathcliff was decided and it gathered great public interest, whether positive or negative.

"The Demon King is finally disappearing!" 

"It's as refreshing as a troublesome tooth being pulled!"

Some thought the Demon King's death was a step toward world peace.

"He was someone abandoned by that damn Holy Kingdom in the first place!" 

"He actually destroyed the Holy Kingdom, so he did us a favor!"

Some insisted he was nothing more than one unjustly wronged person.

The two opinions clashed, sharpening their edges toward each other. But both were somewhat correct.

At least that's how Rudger saw it.

Forces supporting Heathcliff came out waving pickets.

The opposing forces also demonstrated without backing down, and police and knights had to step in to manage traffic so there wouldn't be violent clashes between the two groups.

But no matter how noisy things got outside, once a decision was made, it rarely changed.

Everyone's attention was focused on the imperial family.

The execution date was set, and the location was decided to be the central plaza.

Even though he was a criminal, one might wonder if it was acceptable to execute him in front of everyone, but to put an end to the current controversy, extreme choices had to be made.

Moreover, even though peace had arrived, the current era still lacked in many ways compared to the 21st century Earth where Rudger had lived.

It was better than the old days when people cut off heads on the guillotine and dipped bread in the blood to eat it.

But people still got excited about the execution of evildoers.

"Extra! Extra!"

A young boy wearing a newsboy cap ran around quickly carrying newspapers.

People paid attention to his appearance.

They already knew that newsboy children made a fuss, but today their energy was especially excessive.

"The Demon King is being executed today!"

Sure enough, at the news that the Demon King's execution was proceeding, people who were still slow to hear opened their eyes wide.

People who rushed to the plaza at the fact that what was to come had finally come could only be shocked at the endless crowd already there.

The people who gathered noisily only waited day and night for when Demon King Heathcliff would be executed.

Some shouted approval, some shouted opposition.

But most were people who didn't care either way.

They were just watching to see which direction this interesting situation would take.

The execution method was hanging.

On top of the gallows prepared on one side of the plaza, a man with a hood over his face could be seen being led up by the knights' hands.

People instinctively realized he was Demon King Heathcliff.

Waaaaaaah!!!

With his appearance, enormous cheers shook the entire execution ground.

Some citizens, full of excitement, tried to approach closer, but it was impossible because the knights had taken position near the gallows.

"Show your face!" 

"Kill the Demon King!"

In the midst of this chaotic cauldron, Johann Oceanus, who was in charge of the scene, frowned as if troubled.

"I was going to rest for once, but how did it come to this?"

As the commander of Stella Siren, he couldn't believe he was at this place.

The vice-commander beside him, Doria Imiron, nagged.

"Pull yourself together. We just need to quickly finish the execution and be done with it." 

"Shouldn't the Night Crawler Knights be doing this? Or the imperial family should come out directly. This isn't work for us who should be guarding the sea." 

"It's your fault for idling around doing nothing and catching Commander Luther' eye."

That's right. The reason Johann Oceanus came to this place was all because of Luther.

More precisely, his behavior of doing nonsense during the meeting caught Luther' s eye, so he ended up with the hat of 'you directly command the scene.'

"Why me? There was also Reinhardt besides me! He even dozed off at that time!" 

"But he wasn't making noise. He didn't have a rose in his mouth, and he didn't strip to the waist either."

Do I have to say it directly for you to understand?

Doria's cold gaze implied such meaning.

But if he was going to shut up at such common sense criticism, Johann wouldn't have committed such acts in the first place.

"What's wrong with that!"

That's right. He acted sincerely thinking it was cool and fine.

Doria also knew this, so realizing this man was beyond rehabilitation, she let out a sigh.

"Whatever, just stand guard."

There's one reason why knights of Johann or Doria's caliber came to this place.

It was to prevent any unforeseen situations.

Of course, there were many other knights around and police deployed.

If anyone caused problems in such a place, they would face the hammer of law stronger than usual.

So if you were someone with sense, it was right to hold your breath and watch the execution at this moment.

'If they were such people.'

Doria sighed.

"Commander."

Doria, who usually called him idiot, hey, or you, was different at important moments.

Indeed, Johann also answered with an expression devoid of laughter, different from his usual frivolous appearance.

"Mm. I didn't expect fools who would actually cause trouble to come." 

"There are all kinds of people in the world. Just like there are men who hit on women all the time." 

"That's quite an exemplary man."

Johann deflected like that and drew his sword.

At that sight, other knights who had been tense around also drew their swords.

When the knights drew their swords in unison, citizens were puzzled.

They too sensed some kind of ominous sign.

Meanwhile, a rope was placed around the neck of Heathcliff who had climbed atop the gallows.

If they just pulled the lever like this, the execution would be over.

But there were people who had no intention of letting that happen.

"Protect the Demon King!"

Those who had been hiding among the citizens moved in unison.

Their movements were all swift.

At the same time, explosions occurred at stalls and buildings around the plaza, as if they had been set up in advance.

"Block them all!"

In the central plaza that fell into chaos with screams and explosion sounds, the forces following the Demon King and the knights clashed.

"My, my. Not a single thing in the world flows easily."

Rudger, who set down his glass with a clack, gazed at the scene unfolding below the second-floor terrace.

He could see people running away noisily, tangled here and there.

Black smoke rose in places, and fighting had already broken out near the gallows.

Rudger couldn't hide his regret watching that scene.

To think they wouldn't even allow him to die easily.

"Makes me wonder if I came out for nothing."

A new start is such a difficult thing.

Rudger, muttering as if regretful, was calm enough to be disconnected from the surrounding situation.

"You're really having a grand time, aren't you?"

There was a voice that couldn't stand Rudger's appearance and pointed it out.

The empty air across the table rippled and revealed a woman who had been hiding her appearance.

Casey Selmore.

She who had been hiding her appearance by distorting light with a curtain of water finally couldn't stand it and came forward.

Even though she appeared after hiding, Rudger showed no sign of surprise.

Rather, as if meeting someone he met often, he responded naturally.

"What are you talking about?" 

"Ha. Should I even bother speaking?"

Casey, who had been expecting some reaction, shook her head and sat in the empty seat across from Rudger.

She frowned looking at the coffee placed in front of her.

Since Rudger wouldn't be drinking two cups of coffee alone, it meant he had been waiting for her to come from the start.

"Didn't I tell you? That I would definitely come to catch you." 

"That's why I was waiting, wasn't I?" 

"This wasn't the picture I was thinking of. Shouldn't you be running away while teasing me like usual? Hiding your identity and hiding your appearance." 

"How long are we going to play that hide and seek?" 

"This from the person who started it?" 

"I'm not the one who started it first." 

"No. It's you." 

"Fine, let's say it's me. But three years have passed since then. Shouldn't we stop this childish game soon?" 

"Childish game? Ah, is that so?"

Casey gestured.

Then a torrent of water arose around them, tangled together and caught people who were about to fall.

Not only that, but it even extinguished all the fires meant to cause chaos.

"Uh, uhhh?"

People who had been running away in surprise froze upon witnessing an even more surprising scene.

Not in the middle of the ocean, vast torrents were surging around them.

Moreover, that water was supporting or lifting up people who were about to fall.

Some transformed into water spirits, guiding people so they could escape outside the plaza.

Casey lightly calmed the chaos that had occurred in the surrounding area without even giving it a glance.

"Why did you come out here to drink coffee in the first place?" 

"I received permission to go out." 

"Weren't you being detained? Why are you so neat as if you came out on vacation? And how is that permitted?" 

"You'd be more surprised if you knew how I'm living inside. Didn't you hear from Commander Terina Lionhowl?" 

"Terina’s busy these days."

Casey took a sip of coffee with a blank face.

"So what's the reason you came all the way here?"

"To watch my farewell with my identity."

"They really cleverly permitted it. Well, I didn't believe it when they said they'd execute you. It was obvious they'd use a double." 

"Since I'm facing a new start, I sat down to watch and say farewell, but this kind of thing happened."

Rudger said that and pointed his finger at the plaza.

From that fingertip, blue mana shot out like a bullet with a flash of light.

A Demon King follower who had been causing chaos among the citizens was hit in the back of the head and collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

In less than a second, over 10 followers were already subdued.

It happened so quickly that they didn't even know how they were hit.

"Hmph. Didn't you anticipate this in the first place? Didn't you value yourself too low?"

Kwaaaaa!

A tidal wave arose in the middle of the plaza.

Both the knights and the Demon King's followers were surprised and had their gazes stolen by that scene.

But the knights with quick wits realized that the tidal wave belonged to their side and moved with courage.

The tidal wave swept through the plaza once.

Surprisingly, ordinary citizens were not affected at all. Only the Demon King's followers were soaked and sprawled on the ground.

The guards quickly selected and subdued only those who had fallen.

"I didn't know I'd be this popular."

Rudger didn't stop responding either. When he snapped his fingers, one pure white beam of light shot toward the sky.

The beam exploded spectacularly like fireworks and split into dozens.

Those lights drew brilliant trajectories in the air and shot at the followers confronting the knights.

"Keurk!" 

"Keuhk!"

They, who had raised their tension to the extreme, moved quickly and responded the moment they saw the light.

But they couldn't avoid the light that chased them while changing direction.

The followers hit by the light collapsed letting out groans and gasps.

They were brave and strong enough to fight against the knights, but it was useless before Rudger's magic.

"Do they know? That the Demon King they're trying to save is actually fake, and the real Demon King is here looking down at them and subduing them." 

"Sometimes ignorance is medicine."

Judging that the situation was adequately resolved, Rudger quietly drank his remaining coffee.

Casey, who had been watching that appearance with a dissatisfied gaze, asked.

"So, what did you do for the past three years?" 

"In an imaginary space where nothing exists, I just waited quietly for someone to come save me." 

"......At least you managed to come back alive." 

"How about you?" 

"Me? Well, I......"

Casey hesitated to answer for a moment.

Toward Casey, Rudger said.

"You look more tired than when I last saw you. As a Colour Mage, didn't you awaken your true ability." 

"That, that's right." 

"But you're tired, did something difficult to handle happen?"

Casey changed the subject noticeably.

"Ah! It's starting again."

The commotion that occurred in the plaza was resolved faster than one would think considering the initial chaos.

It was all thanks to Rudger and Casey stepping forward. Of course, the knights also worked hard.

The Demon King's followers were arrested as suspected terrorists, and the execution that had stopped due to the commotion proceeded again.