Episode 308. Praying (11)

Chapter 308

Desir opened his eyes, feeling somewhat disconcerted. The scene of a party hall appeared in his hazy vision.

‘This is… ’

He squinted his eyes; the blurry scenery was so familiar.

A sapphire chandelier, an antique oak table, and thousands of students filled the room.

The party room was abuzz with anticipation, mingling with the noise from hundreds of excited conversations.

‘No way!’

Desir bolted up without realizing it, and the glass in front of him fell and spilled the wine inside. This was the grand auditorium of the Hebrion Academy, the place where the entrance ceremony was held.

“Desir, what’s going on?”

A gentle voice came from Desir’s side. Turning his head, Professor Bridgette, who was sitting next to him, looked worried. She wore an elegant black suit. It was an outfit quite unusual for her to wear in the midst of a battle.

Noticing something was off, Desir wiped off his bewildered expression and put on an admirable performance. It was an act that would fool anyone into thinking he was pure and innocent.

“Haha, I drank some wine and I accidentally dozed off.”

“Haha, you really can’t help it. I told you to drink in moderation today.”

When Bridgette beckoned, a damp breeze blew and wiped the spilled wine clean.

“Do you feel dizzy?”

“You don’t have to worry. Not to that extent.”

Desir sat down again and drank the cold water that lay on the table. He pretended to be calm on the surface, but a myriad of thoughts passed through his head.

‘That alert said world reversal, didn’t it?’

For just a moment before the dark clouds consumed them, an alert warning of an incoming world reversal sounded out. If the world had been reversed, that could only mean one thing: he was in a Shadow World.

Priscilla artificially created a Shadow World around herself and Desir just before her death.

‘But this is… ’

Desir felt doubtful on one point in particular. Shadow Worlds were set in turning points in history. So why did Priscilla choose to make a Shadow World against this backdrop? If the goal was to kill him, there must have been a better option.

‘That’s not the only thing weird… ’

Desir looked around. Professor Pugman was sipping dark beer alone at a table right next to him, and Professor Lafon and Professor Platwick were sitting opposite and talking.

Desir was seated at a table amongst the professors. He was certain this situation had never existed in his memory.

“Desir, how are you today?”

While Desir was in agony, a middle-aged man spoke to him in a friendly voice.

He was Professor Benquick Periamoss who had been giving him a warm look over the thick lenses of his glasses. Born as a commoner, he was a professor in charge of teaching runic language. But he was actually an Outsider who manipulated the settings of a virtual Shadow World in an attempt to provoke war, at the cost of sacrificing almost all of the promising young talent.

“No problems here, Professor.”

Desir confirmed that there was no ring on his finger. As soon as he checked it, Desir could be certain. This was not a normal Shadow World.

Benquick’s mouth opened before Desir even had a chance to answer his question.

“That’s great. Then, shall we proceed with the Academy’s tradition?”

Tradition. There was only one tradition at the entrance ceremony of the Hebrion Academy. Typically, the keynote speech would be given by the Professor of magic.

Desir naturally looked to his side. This was because Bridgette was the Professor of magic. She returned his gaze with a brief smile, before speaking.

“You must be nervous. Let me give you a quick tip as your previous professor and the dean of Hebrion Academy. Be confident, try to keep it short, and speak powerfully.”

Desir’s complexion immediately paled.

“I look forward to seeing what you prepared, Desir Arman.”

This was not just a Shadow World. It was not a reenactment of a past historical event, but a world created by changing history.

As soon as Desir recognized it, a message rang out in his ear.

[-Entering the main quest ‘The Ideal World’. The details of the quest will not be disclosed until special conditions are met.]

* * *

Warm sunlight shone through the dense vegetation. The sky was extremely clear without a cloud in sight, and the fragrant smell of the blooming pansies filled the garden.

The sound of students laughing in groups of three to five made the atmosphere bright. It was a truly peaceful scene. Desir sat on the garden bench and enjoyed the peace to his greatest capacity.

“Hello, Professor Desir!”

“Good weather, Professor! Are you out for a walk?”

The students bowed their heads whenever they saw Desir. A week had already passed, but Desir was struggling to adapt to the situation.

‘I want to move on fast and get back to reality.’

But it was not easy, due to the unprecedented setting added to this Shadow World.

‘It’s impossible to believe that the content of the quest itself has not been disclosed… ’

The aim of a Shadow World was to solve the problems existing in the reproduced historical event, and a minimum clue would be given immediately after appearing in the world.

For some reason, this Shadow World had not given him any clues to work with, even though he had entered the main quest. When he had no idea what needed to be done, there was not a thing he could do.

Of course, that did not mean Desir was left idle. Over the past week, he spent all his free time scouring the world for clues and information.

Desir Arman. His role in this Shadow World was also one of the lines of inquiry he pursued.

He was a technical adviser to the Magic Tower. The youngest Professor of magic. An unparalleled talent for leading-edge modern magic.

There was no end to the list of titles and monikers that followed. The reputation of the name Desir Arman carried in the field of magic was unparalleled.

‘Truly, it’s a dream-like world.’

Desir closed his right eye and looked around with only his left eye. His vision in his left eye, which should have been lost after he defeated Dadenewt, was all too clear.

That was not the only thing that changed. The distance between the nobility and the common people, which Desir struggled to completely eliminate despite so much effort, was gone. There was no conflict or disgust between the two.

It was simply an ideal world for him. As much as he wanted to, Desir could not accept it.

‘This world is a lie.’

No matter how elaborate it was, this place was not based in reality. Living here was no different from living in a well-made play.

To keep himself from losing his way, Desir repeated this fact over and over again.

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Suddenly, someone hugged Desir from behind. With a warm body temperature, a subtle perfume invaded his nostrils. Desir could tell who it was, even if he did not look back.

“What’s the matter, Romantica?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been watching some flowers for a while.”

“Well, it’s a perfect day to enjoy the flowers.”

Romantica hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“Hey, why don’t we take a walk together for a while?”

“That’s not a bad idea. I just happened to be free this afternoon.”

“I marched over here in person, so even if you had a busy schedule, you better clear it for me.”

Romantica deftly smiled and unlatched herself from Desir. Only then did Desir look over his shoulder at her.

Romantica was wearing an exotic dress with a broad shoulder cut. The frills at the end and the black wave patterns were strangely blended. In contrast to the black dress, her bright blue rose earrings popped, giving her style a fresh charm.

In this world, Romantica was a world-renowned fashion designer and the founder of Diva, an eminent fashion magazine.

“What are you staring at?”

Romantica hit Desir’s nose staring at her with her finger. Their eyes met for a moment. They smiled at each other, not speaking at all for a long moment.

“I haven’t seen that one before. Did you design it yourself?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

“You’re the only one capable of designing a dress as intricate as that.”

“Oh, haha. Thank you.”

The triumphant Romantica equivocated and bowed her head. Desir smiled at her ears, which had turned red, like lumps of hot iron.

“Oh, so you still turn red. You used to turn red whenever you got compliments.”

“S-Stop it! Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m not kidding. That compliment was sincere.”

Desir smiled again and rose from his seat.

“Let’s go to the lake. The cherry blossoms must have bloomed by now.”

They walked along the path, and the conversation they shared bloomed like the flowers and trees they passed.

When they got to the lake, they bore witness to the cherry trees having come into full bloom. When Romantica beckoned, a fresh wind blew in and they began to be peppered by light pink petals. It was an ecstatically beautiful landscape.

‘She looks happy.’

Romantica looked perfectly happy. It was a matter of course. She had gotten the one thing she wanted from this world.

Just like Desir, she had also achieved her secret wish in this dream-like world.

‘Everyone looks so happy… ’

In the process of gathering information, Desir looked at not only himself but also what the people he remembered were living like.

Radoria von Dorice. Argeria G Rogran Nimbias. There were so many other people who had achieved their wishes.

As far as he could tell, there were no exceptions. Because of the lack of time he had at his disposal, he could not follow up with everyone, but at least as far as he knew, this seemed to be the truth. Even Crow Mask, Icarus Quirgo…

‘Maybe… ’

Had it not been the fate of the world to perish… If everything had gone smoothly without any threat… Is this how the world would have turned out?

‘… Maybe this world isn’t so bad.’

As soon as he thought this, Desir suddenly felt like he had forgotten something important.

‘What did I forget?’

He did not know. He was sure he forgot something, but he just could not recall.

Eventually, he gave up and looked towards the sky in defeat.

The blue sky filled with showers of pink blossoms was so beautiful.

—-

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