I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 479: The Fruit of Memory (2)

Chapter 479: The Fruit of Memory (2)

"M-Mom?!"

Sedina cried out in surprise at the suddenly hostile atmosphere.

"W-What are you doing? Why are you treating the teacher like this...?"

"Step back. This is a matter that needs to be resolved between that man and your mother."

Ella spoke without taking her eyes off Rudger.

Sedina's eyes widened slightly as if shocked by those words, but soon she stood firmly in front of Rudger with a determined expression.

"What are you doing? Move aside."

"I can't do that! Have you forgotten? The teacher is my benefactor who saved me!"

"Then why are you acting like this!"

"While I'm grateful, that's a separate issue. Our daughter has grown a lot, but she's still naive in this matter."

Just as Sedina was about to protest, Rudger stepped forward and spoke.

"Stop it, Sedina. You don't need to get involved."

"Teacher..."

Sedina's lips quivered as if to say something, but she eventually stepped back.

Ella showed a surprised expression at how easily Sedina backed down.

She was equally surprised by Rudger's attitude of not seeking help from her daughter.

Was he not afraid of death?

"You're strict with your daughter's education."

"Because I don't want my only child to be troubled by some good-for-nothing."

"Good-for-nothing? Are you referring to me?"

"Who else could it be?"

Ella glared at Rudger, who showed no sign of backing down.

"Why exactly is someone of the Bretus Holy Kingdom's bloodline with my daughter?"

So that's it.

So that's why she's reacting so sensitively.

Rudger could understand why Ella was showing such a reaction.

"There's no use trying to deceive me. From the moment you entered this place, I've already read your data."

"So that's what it was. Though I had no intention of deceiving you in the first place."

"I like that confidence. So I'll ask again. What is someone of your bloodline's purpose with me? No, what scheme made you approach my daughter? Wasn't 500 years ago enough?"

"That's the point."

"What?"

Ella asked back as if questioning what he meant.

"That incident 500 years ago. And the whereabouts of the fragment somewhere in the World Tree. I came to ask about that."

"You..."

Ella silently stared at Rudger.

Rudger didn't avoid her gaze.

"If you've read my data, you already know."

In the end, Ella was the first to raise the white flag.

As she sighed, the chains binding Rudger disappeared as if melting into thin air.

Rudger rubbed the parts where the chains had bound him.

"Have your misunderstandings been cleared enough?"

"Not completely. Just enough that there's no need to keep you bound for us to have a conversation."

"That's sufficient."

"So it feels a bit odd to keep calling you teacher, what's your name?"

"Rudger Chelici."

"Rudger Chelici. That's your name 'now.' You've essentially abandoned your previous name, haven't you?"

"You can tell even that?"

"Coming here means you've synchronized your mind with the World Tree. In other words, your mind is connected to this side. I naturally come to know things even without trying to."

Ella added that she doesn't know all his memories, so not to worry.

"I'm so surprised I don't know what to point out first. Even though my daughter helped you, to think there's a human who can synchronize with the World Tree. And for that person to be of the Bretus Holy Kingdom's bloodline no less."

"If you saw the information, you should know well enough. Considering my origins and constitution, there's nothing strange about it."

"Right. The matter related to the divine."

Ella, who knew Rudger was from the Bretus Kingdom, showed a somewhat subtle smile.

"I thought much time had passed, but to think we'd be connected again like this. Is this fate? It's sad that we can't escape fate even after death."

"I've read many documents. And I also heard that you were the one who tried to increase the World Trees 500 years ago."

"Yes. That's right. But I failed spectacularly."

"That reason was also because of a demon's attack."

"What? You knew about that too?"

Ella's face showed complete disbelief.

It was funny enough that someone of the Bretus Holy King's bloodline knew about past events, but they even knew about matters related to demons.

"Haven't you read that data yet? I was the one who fought that demon."

"...Wait."

Ella closed her eyes briefly to confirm if those words were true.

When she opened her eyes after a few seconds, her pupils contained emotions of shock.

"It seems it takes quite some time to read."

"...What exactly are you?"

"It's exactly as it seems. Although I'm of the Bretus Holy King's bloodline, I'm someone who ran away because I was sick of it. But damn fate wouldn't let me go."

"So you came to ask me about what happened 500 years ago?"

"Yes. I needed to confirm exactly what happened back then."

Ella Plante let out a small sigh.

It was surprising enough that the teacher who saved her daughter was of the Bretus Holy King's bloodline, surprising that he entered the World Tree, and even more surprising that he had a purpose with her.

She needed a moment to organize her thoughts after so many things happening in such a short time.

"...Alright. I have no reason not to tell you. Follow me."

Ella immediately turned her back.

As Rudger silently watched her back, Sedina who was beside him carefully asked.

"Aren't you going?"

"I should. Ah, do I need to hold your hand again?"

"...!"

Sedina ran away from Rudger like she was escaping and stood beside Ella.

Rudger shrugged his shoulders lightly and followed the two.

As they walked, the beautiful scenery disappeared, and the space filled with green letters that was visible when they first entered appeared.

"This might be a bit bleak."

When Ella snapped her fingers, the space distorted.

The green data gathered and clumped together, beginning to take various forms.

In an instant, the changed scenery became an orchard full of fruit.

However, while the appearance changed, the contents remained the same.

The trees and fruits were all collections of data but looking closely, something strange caught the eye.

While some fruits proudly displayed their plump appearance, others had turned black or rotted.

Noticing Rudger's gaze, Sedina spoke instead.

"That's corrupted information."

"Corrupted?"

"Yes. A significant amount of data stored in the World Tree was lost due to malicious code. That's how it's visualized."

"The remnants left behind by Ventmin."

"We tried to recover most of it, but there's some information we couldn't. It won't completely disappear. It'll just take a long time to recover."

The deeper they went into the orchard, the number of rotten or damaged fruits gradually increased.

"This doesn't feel very good. Surely the data I'm looking for hasn't been lost?"

"We'll have to see about that."

Ella, who was walking in front, stopped before one tree.

Unlike other trees in the orchard, this one was very small.

At the end of thin, bare branches that could be called saplings, a single red fruit hung.

"Fortunately. Should I say you're lucky? This data alone remains intact without damage."

"That's..."

"Right. It's the fruit containing the incident from 500 years ago that you've been desperately searching for."

Ella carefully caressed the fruit of memory.

All sorts of complex emotions dwelled in her pupils as she gazed at the fruit.

It was natural since it was the ignition point that triggered the downfall of the Plante family.

An unprecedented incident that caused the fall of the kingdom that existed before the Exilion Empire along with the Elf Kingdom.

Looking at the fruit containing the failed past couldn't be a very pleasant feeling.

"To think I would find this again. You really never know what life will bring."

"...Mom."

"I wanted to ignore it forever, but it was also a past that needed to be faced someday because someone needs to know this."

Ella looked back and forth between Rudger and Sedina.

"Are you ready?"

When the two nodded, Ella plucked the fruit from the tree with a resolute expression.

The bright red fruit scattered into powder.

Looking closely at what seemed like powder, they were actually tiny letters.

The bright red data rose like a sandstorm and engulfed their surroundings.

As the dust-like data settled, the scenery that unfolded was a massive underground cavity.

"This is..."

Rudger's eyes showed a strange light as he looked at the cavity from his memories.

It was the massive cavity existing under Lindebrugne, the capital of the Exilion Empire.

In that cavity was a newly growing World Tree.

It could be called a World Tree sapling if one had to be specific.

But even so, it was massive enough to reach the high ceiling of the cavity.

"If that grows fully, it would break through the ground and grow right in the middle of the capital."

Rudger looked at Ella and asked.

"What was your purpose in trying to increase the World Trees?"

When first hearing about increasing World Trees, the thought wasn't much.

It was just a slight surprise about trying to increase the trees they considered sacred.

Not much was known about World Trees, but they were just thought to be big trees at most.

But after experiencing the incident in this kingdom, Rudger's thoughts changed greatly.

'Increase something like that? That's truly madness.'

A fully awakened World Tree could easily destroy an entire country.

Considering what Ventmin tried to do, it could be said to affect the entire continent.

The academic world said World Trees were very ancient species of trees but to Rudger, that was an extremely dangerous high-tech bio-weapon.

"Were you planning to rule the world?"

"It might look that way."

In response to Rudger's question, Ella merely kept a bitter smile on her lips.

"You can see it too, but the World Tree has a will. It can think and has emotions. It's essentially a personality, no, an existence far superior to that. But aren't you curious? Why does a being that can think for itself doesn't use its power according to its own will?"

"Isn't it because there are restrictions?"

"Who do you think placed those restrictions?"

Rudger stared at the World Tree with a 'don't tell me' look.

"Don't tell me it placed the restrictions on itself?"

"This child is too kind and loves nature. That's why it suppresses its enormous power and stays curled up, spending most of its time in sleep."

"Suppressing power and staying still for the sake of nature's providence. That's like..."

"An Elemental Lord?"

At Ella's words that seemed to see through everything, Rudger let out a "hah" sigh.

The World Tree is not a spirit but as Ella said, it wouldn't be wrong to call it the Elemental Lord of trees.

"The World Tree that suppressed its power and stayed still while killing itself, but because it has a self and can think, it couldn't stop such thoughts from arising."

"What thoughts?"

"Loneliness."

-Ah.

It was Sedina who made such a sound.

She could feel the World Tree's will because she had contacted it.

What that one emotion felt within that enormous self was, she recalled again only after hearing Ella's words.

"Having to stand alone forever without any being like itself was too cruel for the World Tree. Everyone seems to support it, but none look at it as an equal. Living for over thousands of years as something to be relied upon without having anything to rely on itself."

"So...you tried to make it a friend."

"Right. The elves say we Plante betrayed the World Tree's will. But the reality is different."

Why would a family that considers the World Tree sacred try to increase World Trees?

The answer to that question was surprisingly clear, because the World Tree wanted it.

Those who serve the World Tree simply followed that will.

"But why keep it a secret?"

Because of that, the Plante family became traitors, and most of the family's elves were executed.

If this was the World Tree's will, they could have announced it publicly and acted proudly.

If the World Tree said so, other elves couldn't object.

Nevertheless, Ella chose the human kingdom over other elves.

"There must be another reason."

Ella nodded at Sedina's question.

At that sight, Rudger recalled Ella's reaction of greatly guarding against him.

No way.

"The Lumensis Order and its home country, the Bretus Holy Kingdom."

It was almost instinctively spoken, but it was essentially correct.

Ella didn't give an affirmative answer, but her reaction was already enough of an answer.

Soon the scenery changed.

The growing World Tree spread its roots throughout the entire underground cavity.

Originally, another World Tree would have grown successfully.

However, Rudger knew well what happened after.

This would fail because of the demon Basara.

The scenery changed again and Basara appeared.

Basara, who had his original body, turned the kingdom and its surroundings into a wasteland using his authority.

Despair, pain, frustration, fear, hatred, anxiety.

All sorts of negative emotions surged as the kingdom's capital fell into chaos, and countless mages, knights, and Plante elves were sacrificed.

However, after a fierce battle, they succeeded in sealing demon Basara in the World Tree.

Even while being sealed, Basara struggled to escape outside, and those traces were engraved as human forms trying to escape from all over the roots.

That distorted appearance looked like an artist's work foretelling the end of the human world.

Ella Plante and the ancient kingdom's plans were ruined by Basara's appearance but there were those who drove the final nail in.

The scenery changed, and holy knights in pure white armor entered the chaotic kingdom.

"The Bretus Holy Kingdom."

500 years ago the Bretus Holy Kingdom, known to have wielded the most powerful authority commanding the entire continent, dispatched a large-scale military force.

A woman stood at the head of that army.

Although she wore white ceremonial clothes with a deep hood, Rudger could see the ash-gray hair that escaped from under the hood's shadow and eyes that sparkled as if containing starlight.

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