Chapter 18 – 018. The Secret of the Divine Tree (3)
Listening to Eun-hyeon’s words, Oliver couldn’t say anything back, chewing his own lips and rolling his head.
He said that it was completely unfair that the professors at the school, including himself, had gathered and expressed the same opinion.
It was a conclusion that they came to because they had excellent magical abilities, theories, and knowledge they had accumulated based on experience, and above all, they had very high self-esteem.
The conclusion was that ‘nothing happened at school, let alone a female student who committed suicide.’
But what about the contents of the ‘hallucination’ that a man named Eunhyeon showed?
A hallucination that is so realistic, as if it were a reenactment of what actually happened.
In addition, the reaction of her brother, the black magician, Elvin Hersha, who screamed at the girl jumping off the roof.
Oliver desperately racked his brain to think of a distance where he could refute Eun-hyeon’s opinion, which he had so ignored until now.
“Isn’t this illusion created by you? Who the hell is going to prove that the hallucinations actually happened? The first hallucination is as if the black magician himself testified that he was correct, but there is no one to prove that girl committed suicide.”
“Aren’t there any eyewitnesses? A female student witnessed a suicide in the middle of the night, and the female student reported it.”
“Under! Isn’t that what you’re talking about! If a person fell from that height, there should have been a body or traces left on the floor where they fell naturally, but there were no traces left! Not even any traces of the use of magic have been found! So that’s what the professors and I came to the conclusion. That never happened at school!”
“It is strange that there are no traces of it. Isn’t it a very mysterious phenomenon? How would you like the principal to think? ‘Erin jumped from the roof.’ But you know very well that that doesn’t lead to the conclusion that she ‘hit the floor and dies.’ That’s why you thought of the possibility that magic was used. Yes?”
“… That’s right.”
Oliver didn’t like Eun-hyeon’s gentle, soothing attitude, but he agreed with what he said.
“Why on earth didn’t you think, ‘Someone saved Erin from falling’?”
“That… Wouldn’t it be normal for a schoolgirl named Innis to have witnessed someone who saved the student if he had considered that possibility in the first place?”
“Yes. But it’s also possible that the student just didn’t see someone who saved Erin.”
“What do you want to say?”
“There is. Someone who saved Erin, who threw herself off the roof.”
“Under! That’s funny. Then do you think that ‘someone’ has been saving a girl named Erin and hiding it until now?”
“It doesn’t even have to be a character.”
“What?”
As if asking what she was talking about, Eun-hyeon widened her eyes, received Oliver’s questioning gaze, turned his head, and was staring at the ‘sacred tree of Fernias’.
Others followed Eunhyeon’s gaze and saw the tree in the center of the garden.
Eleanor, who noticed the meaning of Eunhyeon’s gaze, put on a puzzled expression and spoke of the absurd possibility.
“The tree… You mean you saved someone?”
“You’re right.”
“Under! What a surprise! I mean just do it…”
“Of all the things about this tree, the principal knows the most, right?”
Since he barely had anything to refute to the absurd claim, Oliver tried to mock Eun-hyeon with a smile of conversion, but his face hardened at what he heard next.
“The secret of the ‘Divine Tree of Fernias’ that has been handed down only to the final director of this school, excluding the royal family. You’re not going to catch me just because you don’t know, right?”
“That… How to… ?”
“A sacred tree?”
“Secret?”
Looking back at Eunhyeon’s accusation and Oliver’s shocked expression, the siblings of the Duke of Armitas pondered over the meaning of Eunhyeon’s words.
What is the secret handed down only to the royal family and the school principal?
And how does a man named Eunhyeon, who is not a citizen of the alternative kingdom and is only an outsider, know that?
“What secret is hiding in this tree? It’s been several decades, but I’m also an alumnus of this school. But I hadn’t heard of any secrets hidden in this tree. There was only the superstition of listening to the gossip of young students.”
Everyone except for Eunhyeon and Illyana nodded their heads at Riod’s words.
Even though she was from a commoner, Elvin, who had been admitted to Aether because of Renion, who had the status of a semi-nobleman, had heard about the existence of the ‘Tree of Hope’.
Except for Eunhyeon and Illyana, all of them were descendants of noble families who entered and graduated from Aether, so none of them could easily believe Eunhyeon’s words about the ‘Tree of Hope’.
Except for the principal, Oliver, who has a very nervous expression on his face.
“This tree. It’s definitely a famous story among students and alumni of Aether. It also has a long history as it existed even when you were in Aether. If so, when and how did the name ‘Tree of Hope’ come about?”
“That…”
Everyone couldn’t give a proper answer to Eunhyeon’s question.
Even back then, more than 20 years later when Riod was in school, the nickname of this tree was ‘the tree of hope’.
Even though the tree had a real name, from some point on, this tree was called more by an alias than by its real name.
No one knows the reason for the birth of this tree, nor the time and history of its growth.
To them, the ‘tree of hope’ was just a tree existing there.
“The birth of this tree is the starting point of the founding of a school called ‘Aether’.”
“What?”
“… ?”
As if not sure what she was talking about, Eun-hyeon left the reaction of the people who questioned her and started talking again.
“The beginning is a long time ago, when the fight between humans and demons was endless, and the sacrifice of many people put an end to the fight, and the ‘era of emptiness’ came to an end, and human history began. That was Year 0 of the Arcena Continental Calendar.”
It was a story that opened a new era in this world, announcing the beginning of the ‘Arkena Continent’ and the destruction of the ‘Civilization of the Earth’.
People questioned Eun-hyeon’s sudden history lecture, but listened to his story with bated breath.
“And in the era of emptiness, one of the things that made a great contribution to standing on the side of mankind and ending the war against the demons was the help of these ‘divine beasts’.”
“Shinsu?”
“Are you talking about ‘mysterious beasts that are said to have divine power’ that only appear in fairy tales or legends?”
Eunhyun nodded at Liode’s words.
“You’re right. Gods are real beings. They are a truly benevolent race that helped create peace by joining forces with humans to fight against the demons, the beings of the void. Now it has lost its former power and declined, and it seems that only a few races that accepted some of its power survived.”
Eunhyeon looked at the divine tree and continued.
“The starting point of this divine tree was the determination of a divine beast in a world where peace came after the war. At that time, in the aftermath of the war against demons, every country had a hard time, and when each country was struggling to rebuild and revive their country, a divine beast came to the kingdom of Pernias and had a private meeting with the king at the time.”
[My life span is short. When I die, bury my corpse in the land of the kingdom so that many children can live on it, and create a happy daily life that many children can live with a smile.]
“King Pernias, who heard Shinsoo’s will, buried the remains of Shinsoo in the ground and built a building over them. That is the beginning of Aether, the Royal School.”
Eunhyeon looked at each other’s faces and asked.
“Have you ever had any doubts? Why is it that there are more children of nobles than commoners in the process of young talents with talent becoming wizards or knights?”
“It means that we nobles have superior talents and a large amount of mana than commoners…”
“Wrong.”
“Keugh…”
Oliver tried hard to hide the truth by attaching reasons, but Eun-hyeon coldly cut off his attempts.
“Precisely, the mana flowing from the remains of the divine beast buried in the ground is the cause. The Tree of Hope grew by absorbing this highly nutritious mana flowing from the remains of the divine beast as nutrients. Then he was refining mana and spraying it all over the school. Refined mana with high purity dissolved in the air permeated the bodies of students in the midst of their growth, helping to form a strong body through training, and students exposed to mana for a long time naturally absorbed the mana management into their bodies. By learning it, you will promote your growth as a magical user.”
This is why the nobles of Pernias were able to grow overwhelmingly unlike the commoners.
Unlike the common people, they were different from the environment surrounding them.
The royal family was aware of this fact and had established a school where only nobles could enter, so that this privilege would only pass on to themselves and to the children of noble families.
Accepting the admission of the richest man or foreign student was tantamount to selling the privilege so that he could enjoy the benefits of the school as a means to finance the kingdom, including its working capital.
“Aristocrats who were educated and trained in such an amazing environment were created as ‘talented bloodlines’, and children of noble families born as ‘lineage inheritance’ through marriages between nobles possessed overwhelmingly superior mana than commoners and became talented knights or knights. Isn’t becoming a wizard a natural result in a way?”
In other words, you are not special, but this tree is special.
There is no meaning to differences in talent or lineage, and you are only enjoying the exclusive benefits of this sacred tree.
Eunhyun was saying this.
“This is the identity of the ‘Tree of Wishes’ that fulfilled the wishes of young nobles who made immature wishes, saying, ‘Please make me a great knight!’ Or ‘Make me a strong wizard!'”
“…”
Oliver gnashed his teeth at Eun-hyeon who laughed at him and put on an angry expression, but he didn’t respond.
If this fact is really exposed, there will be resistance from the nobles as well as common people, and interference mixed with greed from other countries.
‘If this secret gets out while I’m in charge, my job and even my life will be in danger!’
“In other words, do you mean that the ‘Tree of Hope’ saved Erin Hersha?”
“You’re right. She threw down her body and made a wish before committing suicide.”
– No one… I want to go to a place where no one bothers me… Please someone please hide me
“Ah.”
Elvin remembered the words her brother had muttered just before she jumped from her rooftop in despair.
“‘I want to go to a place where there are no people.’, ‘Hide me.'”
“You’re right. The tree granted the child’s wish.”
“…”
Her silver bowed her head, and Alvin was staring blankly at her silver strings, while the others were still giving suspicious glances, unable to determine whether his words were true or not.
Even Eun-hyeon knew that it was hard to believe until she actually saw it with her own eyes.
“It seems that there are still people who do not believe properly. Then I will try to find the child myself.”
After saying that, Eun-hyeon placed her hand on the tree of hope and let her magical energy flow.
Dismissed!
“Uh… ?”
Eun-hyeon’s hand, which was placed on the trunk of a tree, sparked green.
At that, Illyana frowned and tried to use her magic, but Eun-hyeon raised her opposite hand to stop it.
Dismissed! Paperweight!
Sparks continued to fly and the Tree of Hope’s resistance intensified, but Eun-hyeon didn’t care and continued to let his magic flow.
‘Because I’m here to rescue that child. Stop loosening this barrier.’
Great!
Something surrounding the tree, a thin wall-like curtain, began to crack, and only then did everyone who recognized the change look shocked.
The reactions of the people who had doubts also gradually changed to ‘Certainly?’
Eun-hyeon grabbed the cracked curtain with her hand and tore it apart roughly.
Blasphemy!
At the same time as the broken curtain was completely lifted, the ‘Tree of Hope’ was able to see a beautiful scene of high-density mana circling around the Tree of Hope and decorating it, embracing the same bright light as when Eun-Hyun saw the tree for the first time.
“Wow…”
Eleanor gazed enthralled at the feast of green light she had never seen before.
“This…”
It was the same with Illyana, who recognized the identity of the green light that was concentrated with high-density mana.
Seeing this as a magician, she was being tested to see if she could control her inquisitive mind and thirst for knowledge.
“Let’s do the analysis later, shall we?”
“Ugh…”
At Eunhyun’s persuasive words whispering in her ear, Illyana turned her head as if she couldn’t help it, even though she put on a very sad expression.
“Ah… AA AA AA!”
While everyone was stunned and gasping for breath, only one let out a sigh close to screaming.
The owner sighed and hurriedly moved on.
“Erin, Erin… !”
The figure of Erin Hersha, leaning against a tree with her eyes closed, did not give the impression of being mentally exhausted.
She did not have a broken head or other signs of trauma as a result of her jump from the rooftop.
She was so peaceful that Elvin, who confirmed that she was sleeping, hugged her and shed tears.
“Really… As?”
Oliver looked at the girl sleeping against a tree and wondered if this could really happen.
In this way, Eunhyeon proved the claim that the tree of wishes really saved Erin, who had attempted suicide.
Since the missing person was found in this way, there was no distance to refute.
It was the moment when it was clearly proven that a single man named ‘Eunhyeon’ was superior to Aether’s magic professors, including himself.
It hurt, hacked, and ripped apart his honor and pride, but there was only one thing that came to his mind.
“How… How can this happen… ? I’m lying so comfortably… How is it that he didn’t eat anything for nearly four days and was preserved in such a fine state… ? Besides, without anyone noticing…”
“It’s because of the barrier the Tree of Hope made to make Erinn’s wish come true.”
“Barrier?”
“Yes. The contents of Erin’s wish were as follows. ‘I want to go to a place where no one bothers me.’, ‘Hide me.’ So this was the barrier I made. Even though it exists intact, the Tree of Hope created a barrier so that it cannot be seen by others.”
Oliver recalled the barrier that had been dismantled just as Eunhyeon was tearing it apart with his bare hands.
“But with that… They cannot survive for more than three days without eating and without nourishment.”
“You’re right. That’s why the second characteristic of this barrier was created. The Tree of Hope was waiting for someone to come to save Erin one day. But I didn’t know how long that would take. It could be a day, it could be a week, it could be a month, it could be a year. So, the Tree of Hope took a special measure. So that time does not flow inside the barrier surrounding Erinn.”
“I stopped time… ?”
“That’s right. If time stopped, Erinn’s body would have been able to maintain the barrier no matter how many years it took without vital activity. Until someone came along to save that child, the tree was hiding and protecting that child from people.”
Recalling the first time he saw the Tree of Hope, Eun-hyeon realized that the scene producing bright green lights like now is the true face of the Tree of Hope.
If so, the reason why he usually pretends to be an ordinary tree, but shows his true self as soon as he first sees Eun-hyeon, maybe the tree expressed his intention to ask Eun-hyeon to save Erin.
Eunhyun thought that she couldn’t know that.
“Now, Principal Oliver Baotman?”
“… What.”
Oliver replied as if he was squeezing with a stare at Eunhyeon.
It must have been very humiliating to lose to a young man who was blue with knowledge of magical phenomena.
Eunhyun smiled at him and continued.
“Do you remember what I said earlier?”
“What you said… ? Ah…”
– If you concede the guidance of the black magician’s recruit here, can we also condone one of the big mistakes the principal made?
Is that what you meant by this?
Oliver gnashed his teeth and glared at Eun-hyeon as if he were going to kill him, but he lowered his head in surprise when he saw Illyana glaring at him with her eyes wide open behind Eun-hyeon.
Only then did Oliver realize.
He said he never had a choice in the first place.
