Maxin Cronell was able to wander freely within the Empire without any resistance. Orders from the Imperial Palace dictated that he should not be disturbed, allowing him to explore the Empire without any hindrance.
Finally, Maxin arrived at the Rodren Academy, standing before its grand entrance. The academy's main gate remained unchanged from his previous visits, still imposing and sturdy.
As Maxin gazed at the entrance, he noticed the guards blocking his path.
"When will I be allowed in?"
Maxin casually asked, but the guards remained tense, their hands resting on their weapons.
"It's getting boring."
"Uh, please wait a mont..."
One of the guards nervously replied. Initially, Maxin had thought it was a joke, but when he realized that the guard truly believed he was Maxin Cronell, he felt sowhat sorry for the man. The guard had been so terrified upon recognizing Maxin that he was practically holding his breath, hoping that soone more responsible would arrive soon.
And soone did approach them.
"Oh? Deos? Deos Canon?"
"Ah, long ti no see, Maxin."
The person closest to the entrance was Deos, who greeted Maxin awkwardly.
Maxiin nodded in acknowledgnt. "I didn't know you were here at the academy. How long have you been here?"
"It's been quite a while. Even I didn't imagine I'd beco the headmaster when I was younger."
"Huh... That's a bit surprising."
"I couldn't have predicted it either when I was young."
After a brief chat, they got to the main point.
"So, what brings you here?"
"I have soone I need to et."
"Soone to et? Who is it?"
"Adrias Cromwell."
The na that ca out of Maxin's mouth was the one he had heard about.
Deos, who was cautious, asked again, "Maxin, you are aware that you're a wanted criminal in the Empire, right?"
"I am."
Maxin slowly raised his hands. "I won't hurt anyone unless provoked."
"Maxin, can you wait for a mont? It may sound strange, but I'm currently bound by the Empire. I'll report to His Majesty and then co back."
"As a headmaster, there isn't much you can do, it seems."
"That's right. I can't simply let you barge into the academy with students inside."
"What if I force my way in?"
"I hope you won't. Just wait here for now."
Maxin watched Deos leave with a relaxed expression. He then set the coffin aside and patiently waited. After a short while, Surahan, the head of the Knight Departnt, appeared.
"You have been granted permission. Please follow ."
Maxin silently picked up the coffin again and followed Surahan.
After approximately 40 years, Maxin Cronell returned to the academy and took a mont to look around, filled with a strange sense of nostalgia.
"What's your position here?" he asked.
"I'm the head of the Knight Departnt," Surahan replied.
"Not bad," Maxin comnted.
Surahan narrowed his eyes, puzzled by Maxin's nonchalant attitude. Maxin Cronell, despite his strength, was he really strong enough to challenge his own abilities?
"I have one thing I'm curious about," Surahan began, hesitating slightly. "I heard you're not from the Empire. Is that true? Did you really defeat an Aura Master before becoming one yourself?"
Surahan had always been curious about that. To be known as the strongest swordsman on the continent, with rumors of defeating an Aura Master without even being one himself, seed unbelievable.
"Don't attach too much importance to Aura," Maxiin replied. "In the end, it's people who wield swords."
Surahan's complicated emotions surfaced. To defeat him without Aura? He couldn't even imagine it.
"Here we are," Surahan announced as they arrived at the administrative building. He opened the door, and inside the room were Bart, Berial, and Deos. Maxin looked around and calmly remarked, "The one I wanted to et isn't here."
"It's been a while, Maxin," Bart greeted him.
Maxin glanced at Bart for a mont before a faint smile appeared on his expressionless face. "Kid."
"It's not much of an age gap," Bart retorted. "We're only three years apart."
Bart's comnt was casually ignored by Maxin, who placed the coffin on the ground and took a seat. Deos questioned, "First, I'd like to know why you're looking for Adrias. Your sudden appearance has caused quite a commotion, and I can't allow you to interact with the students without an explanation."
"I have sothing to ask him. That's all."
"Just for that, you've turned the Empire upside down."
"Just for that?" Maxin's voice trembled as he questioned, causing everyone in the room to feel a chill. Surahan gulped down his dry throat.
'I thought I was going to be beheaded.'
Bart, on the other hand, regarded Maxin's reaction with interest, while Deos moved the conversation along, trying to maintain so control over the situation.
"May I ask what you want to inquire about?"
"Have you heard about it? The story of Evan leaving the Holy Kingdom," Maxiin replied.
The story of Evan leaving the Holy Kingdom had already been a significant topic of discussion. In fact, if Maxin hadn't visited, it would have continued to dominate social circles.
Bart nodded. "Of course, I've heard about it."
"I t him not too long ago," Maxin continued.
"t him?" Everyone in the room was surprised.
"At first, it was just curiosity. Evan and I often clashed over the question of the existence of gods. So I wondered why he had made such a decision. And I got to hear it."
"You got to hear it?" Bart asked.
"Adrias Cromwell. He claims to have had a conversation with a god."
.
.
.
.
Maxin's sudden appearance quickly spread throughout the academy. Since he had already road through the Empire, students could only receive news through their own communication networks.
"Shouldn't we run away quickly?"
"Co on, even if Maxin Cronell is crazy, would he attack innocent students? If that were the case, the Empire would have stopped him."
"I'd rather see him in person. The strongest swordsman, when will we ever have the chance again?"
Despite being part of the School of Magic and having no connection to swords, the Knight Departnt was likely in turmoil given the students' reactions.
And there was a misunderstanding among the students: Maxin was already inside the academy.
"When Bart left in a hurry," I thought, "why did he ask if sothing related to Maxin had happened? Did Maxin co to the academy because of ?"
It was an unlikely story, but I couldn't afford to let my guard down. It wasn't just a matter of timing. Maxin's visit to the academy was unprecedented.
'No, it's not the timing. It's the fact that he has never visited the academy before.'
eting with him would likely happen during the later episodes related to sins. It wasn't sothing you could et all the ti. In that sense, it was understandable that he ca to et .
'It's a headache.'
It was a story with a character that had slipped away from . I didn't have a clear way to deal with it.
"Senior!"
Lucia, who looked excited about sothing, noticed while she was talking to soone else.
Seeing her wave her hand so enthusiastically, I thought to myself that she really did recover from her illness.
"Senior! Have you heard?"
"Maxin?"
"Yes!"
"That's unexpected. You showing interest in sothing like that."
Lucia spoke with eyes full of excitent.
"Aren't you curious, Senior? He's called the strongest swordsman, after all. Since Senior practices swordsmanship, I thought you'd be more interested than ," Lucia said.
"If he were a normal person, I might have been interested, but he's not," I replied.
Having experienced Maxin in the ga, I didn't want to get involved with him unnecessarily. He wasn't a psychopath like Beriel, but he was aware of the power of his strength and knew how to wield it effectively. He would use his power ruthlessly if it served his purposes.
'It's different from what you see on the surface.'
He only acts for Isabelle and himself. If sothing didn't align with his goals, he wouldn't hesitate to use his weapon.
'In the end, the only way to control him is through Isabelle.'
Isabelle, the woman he loved, was sealed inside the coffin he always carried. If I could find a way to awaken her, I could potentially control the strongest swordsman, but I had been unsuccessful so far.
"In any case, I'm not particularly interested. I'd rather he just road around quietly as usual."
"Still, I'd like to see his face at least once, to know what he looks like. Do you think he looks like that?"
Lucia pointed behind , and I couldn't help but turn around.
Thud, thud.
A man carrying a coffin.
He wore a hood that concealed most of his features, but his well-grood beard was particularly noticeable.
"Huh?" Lucia sounded surprised.
She had spoken without thinking, and now it seed like she had realized sothing was off.
"Lucia, step back."
I grabbed the handle of Galakshur at my waist.
The students around us began to wonder what was happening, and so even started to back away.
Finally, the man took about twenty steps forward and stopped.
"Are you Adrias Cromwell?"
"Maxin?"
At my words, the surrounding area fell silent.
So students began to panic and tried to run away.
"Is, is that Maxiin Chronell?"
Despite the chaos, Maxiin remained calm, seemingly unaffected by the commotion.
How could he roam around the academy so freely?
What were Bart and the heads of departnts doing?
"Could it be...?"
Were they deliberately letting him in?
As soone who knew about his aura, I couldn't help but connect the dots.
"I have sothing I want to ask you," Maxin said.
"Did we have any reason to be involved with each other?"
I asked while scratching my head.
The only thing that connected him and was...
"The ancient god?"
That seed to be the only possibility.
One thing that piqued my curiosity was how he found out about it.
"I t Evan."
"Ah!"
So he heard it from Evan. Did Evan reveal that he was a black mage? Well, Maxin probably wouldn't care whether I was a black mage or not.
Maxin slowly lowered the coffin he was carrying in front of .
The coffin containing Isabelle.
It suited him quite well, considering Isabelle wasn't a human.
Then, unexpectedly, sothing happened again.
Ding!
["The Guardian of Forgotten mories" detects traces of another god.]
[Conditions t.]
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