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“To the Class B students, who were not in the same Class C as me, the Great Master’s image was at rock bottom. They did not hesitate to treat the Great Master like dog droppings rolling on the street, insulting and mocking him loudly.”

“……”

“They skillfully mixed truth and lies to cloud others’ judgment of the Great Master, and exaggerated his shortcomings to portray the Great Master, who was nothing but trash, as a servant of the devil.”

“……”

“Their mistake was to bring up the Master’s past disgraceful behavior, which has already changed, and speak as if he were still committing such errors. However, since it is a fact that the Great Master had abysmal physical abilities in the past, it is difficult to say that they have necessarily committed a wrong……”

“Stop.”

I slumped over the desk and covered my face.

I hated them all, Rozalin and Yuria.

Get out.

“Were you sent from the future to embarrass me……?”

“The meaning is difficult to understand.”

“Please try to understand……”

I was well aware that Yuria’s moral sense and social skills were worse than average.

But to think she would blurt things out like this without any consideration for her surroundings.

No matter how lacking in social skills she was, this was a bit much.

‘It must be because of God.’

I looked at Yuria while covering my forehead.

A girl of only 10.

It was said that she already held the position of High Priestess because of her outstanding holy power.

In other words.

‘She must have lived only in the temple of the Holy Kingdom since before she was 10.’

It would probably have been from 2-3 years ago, so she had lived the life of a priestess since she was 7 or 8.

It meant that at the time when she should have been forming her social skills, the doctrines of religion were instilled in her.

And a year from now.

When she turns 11, the demons appear, and for 9 years from then, she fights against over 70 demon invasions.

It was said that the current Saint would die by a demon that invaded the Holy Kingdom two years from now.

That meant she would become the Saint at the age of 12.

‘The world ends when she’s twenty…….’

Considering her age, I could understand why she was talking about abandoning God and becoming an apostate.

But understanding and finding a way to educate were separate issues.

I did say I would tell her how to ask proper questions.

But to be honest, I hadn’t come up with a clear idea of how to teach Yuria yet.

And for good reason.

‘I’m not someone who lives in this world with some grand belief and purpose.’

I'm just living in this world, so how can I teach others?

I could offer my opinions on swordsmanship or education theory because that was my area, my profession, and my expertise.

But when it came to religious doctrines, Yuria knew much more and much better.

Wouldn't it be a huge problem if I carelessly explained various things and instilled in her some cult-like religious views?

‘……Huh?’

I found a solution among the thoughts that had just passed by.

A cult.

……Why not?

“Alright, Yuria. Let’s have a simple lesson from now on.”

I took Yuria and crossed the old building.

As the building used when Akarind Academy was founded, the old building had a charming quality.

There were places like a large gymnasium, and there were also small lecture halls that wouldn't even fit ten people.

Seeing the lockers, closets, and a long desk that spanned the entire lecture building, it was probably used as a club room rather than a lecture hall.

I had Yuria sit here and picked up a piece of chalk.

“Yuria. Ever since you came to see me, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I should teach you. What was your question?”

“It was a fundamental question about what we should live for in a world where God has abandoned us.”

“Right. And we said we'd look into how to ask questions. So, have you looked for some questions?”

Yuria kept her lips tightly sealed and stared at me with her purple eyes.

Still, it seemed she was somewhat interested, as her eyes seemed a little more lively than usual.

Though, it was only a very subtle feeling.

“It's natural that you couldn't find any. Because these are things you've never asked questions about before. So from now on, I'm going to explain about people who asked similar questions.”

“Was there anyone who asked such a ridiculous question?”

So you were aware that this question was ridiculous.

For some reason, I felt slightly betrayed, but okay.

I slowly recalled a subject I had learned at the Empire's academy in the past.

“A long time ago, there was a madman. In a way, you could call him a cultist. He questioned what others believed to be right.”

“Did he lose his world too?”

“According to the records, he lost both his spouse and child due to a volcanic eruption.”

So he came to resent the world.

Why did he have to suffer such misfortune despite having lived a righteous life?

It was said that he went to the temple and resented God, and questioned numerous priests about the doctrines.

“God would not have answered. God is merely an observer and a posthumous being who judges life in reality, not a being who controls what happens in this world.”

Still, as a Saint(-to-be), she knows her religious doctrines well.

I could even see a defensive side to her when it came to religious matters.

‘Just as I expected.’

No matter how much she said she didn't believe in God or was an apostate, it was unlikely that she was being entirely truthful.

Because humans don't know themselves as well as they think.

In the first place, isn't it a contradiction for someone who claims to have abandoned God to emit that much holy power?

I smiled inwardly and continued my explanation.

“So this person rejects God. He declared that God was dead in his heart.”

The focus in Yuria's eyes deepened a little more.

“So he came to have the same worries as you. We have lived our lives evaluating right and wrong according to God’s standards, but in a world where God has disappeared, by what standard should we live by for right and wrong?”

“Did he find a standard?”

A voice tinged with a faint anticipation.

I shook my head.

“No. He failed.”

At my answer, the curiosity that had been in Yuria's eyes began to fade.

So I quickly tapped the chalkboard with the chalk, making a sharp sound.

“Only he did.”

“……?”

“There's a field of study that began with his question.”

A field of study begins with one person’s chance or genius discovery.

But that alone does not make a field of study.

It is by following the footsteps left by the leader, and treading those footsteps deeper and wider.

“It's called philosophy.”

“……Is philosophy a study of apostates?”

I shrugged.

“Perhaps it’s a study to properly understand God.”

Let's take a romantic relationship as an example.

When you fight with a lover you love, about two kinds of reactions come out.

You might try to understand why this person is angry, why I am angry, and empathize with the other person.

Or, because you resent the other person, you might think of a life without them.

After breaking up like that, we get back to our pre-relationship selves.

Ah, I used to like this kind of thing. You start to think like that.

“In that process, one’s understanding of God changed.”

I could feel Yuria focusing on my story again.

I continued my explanation, slowly adjusting the pace.

“You said that God is a posthumous being who observes and evaluates everything that happens in the human world, right? But what if everything that happens in this world is actually God’s arrangement and possibility?”

“Are you saying that God even decided the end of the world?”

“The doctrines of the Holy Kingdom are a bit deterministic.”

The classical faith of the Holy Kingdom considers God to be perfect.

He is the creator who created all things, arranged all fates, and looks over the world.

“But if it's really a world where God has made everything, we don’t need to live diligently.”

A person of low class can just live a life befitting their station.

A person who has lost their parents and children to disease, natural disasters, hardships, and countless misfortunes should just accept their misfortune and suffer for the rest of their lives.

Avril, born as the youngest son of the Goldline family, can just enjoy a superior life than others simply because God has chosen him.

“But humans don't live like that. They do their best in everything. Isn't a God who speaks of that in terms of success and failure too cruel?”

“God is an absolute being who cannot be spoken of in terms of mercy and cruelty by human standards.”

“That could be. But I don't like a God like that.”

“Dislike… God……”

As if my last words were impressive, Yuria looked at me with a strange expression.

For the first time, a clear vitality was shining in Yuria’s purple pupils.

“Well, that’s about it for now. Let’s start with the most basic things today.”

“Ah.”

At my words, Yuria let out a disappointed exclamation.

But the sun was already slowly setting outside the window.

As winter approached, the beginning of the night was getting earlier.

“Understood.”

Yuria, who had answered so, seemed to be organizing the lesson with her eyes gently closed.

Though when she opened her eyes again a moment later, she had her characteristic dead eyes.

“As expected, there’s a reason why Pan calls you the Great Master.”

“No. Anyone who has studied philosophy at the Imperial Academy can tell you this much.”

“No.”

From her expressionless face looking at me, I could feel a strange sense of trust.

“It was helpful. I look forward to more in the future.”

It seemed as if a faint light was flowing from behind Yuria's body in the dark lecture hall.

……?

It must be my imagination.

* * *

On her way back to her dormitory, Yuria spotted a group of people.

It was the Class B students who had been badmouthing Cassian last afternoon.

“Really, we need to screw that bastard over once.”

“A mere first-year brat is acting up just because he has backing.”

Their faces were flushed red, so much so that they were clearly visible even in the darkening evening.

They were clearly drunk.

‘Violation of school rules.’

Akarind Academy prohibited students from drinking.

But the rules weren't so strict that students who had finished their classes would often go down to the village for a secret drink and come back.

Yuria ignored them and walked towards the dormitory with steady steps.

There was just one problem.

Their destination and Yuria's destination were the same.

“Oh, look who it is. Isn't it the priestess from the Holy Kingdom.”

“I heard you hold the position of High Priestess at just ten years old.”

“A noble person! But why on earth did you come to a place like this.”

“And to Class C, of all places! Speaking of which, you call that Cassian guy by some weird title, Great Master or something, right?”

Yuria just kept walking as if she couldn't hear their voices.

Fortunately, the Class B students just giggled as they looked at Yuria.

It was a story that would have ended as a single incident in the middle of the night.

“Teacher Cassian, I really don't like him. Should we try to mess with him tomorrow?”

“Ooh, good idea. If we embarrass him once during class, he won’t be able to show his face around, right?”

“Didn’t you do something similar before? You called him out during swordsmanship class saying you didn't understand, and then you beat him to a pulp in a duel.”

“Ah, last year? I did. It wasn’t me who did anything, he tripped on his own feet and fell. But he was pretty good at defending, though.”

Yuria’s body stopped.

And she slowly turned to look at the drunk students.

Her purple eyes gleamed with an eerie light.

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