Hero’s Downfall Report

86 – Things you can only say when you look back (6)

Professor Osland Koch’s room is on the second floor of the Arts Center. As soon as I was guided up the hallway by the doorman, I heard a loud shout. The doorkeeper, whose face was red, asked for Cain’s understanding and ran to the room where the noise came from.

Soon, students walked out holding mops and buckets of water in their hands. Everyone has a gloomy expression. It looks like he got a lot of swearing while cleaning the professor’s room.

From behind the students, a large man bigger than the door frame ran out into the hallway. A middle-aged man with a bald forehead. Steam rose from my sweat-soaked body.

It already looked like a toad, but when I saw it puffing out its chin and breathing as if it was excited, it really looked like a toad.

The gatekeeper hurriedly stopped the man who was about to shout something at the students and quickly whispered. Her man’s wrinkled face straightened.

“You were disrespectful to a precious person. “Please wait a moment for this!”

Your voice is softer and thinner than you think.

Her man first let Cain in through her door and sat him down at the round table he had made from the stump of her zelkova tree. It’s a large round table that leaves room for ten chairs around it.

Eventually, she took out a bottle of alcohol and a plate from the closet. The plate was sterling silver and the bottle was made of glass and carved into angles like a jewel. It is an expensive item made only in the Southern Kingdom.

When I opened the cap, the scent of ripe grapes and an intimate forest filled the room. It looked like she had aged it in good oak barrels.

The professor poured wine into a glass and put cheese on a plate. Like baked bread, the edges are dark brown, but the inside is light brown and yellow.

The insignia hanging on the wall was received from the Pope and the Empire, and the decorative armor, shield, and sword next to it are in the style of the Southern Kingdom.

There were more books and scrolls than could fill a closet, but there was more alcohol, jewelry, and decorations than a valuables dealer’s office.

‘He is a person with a great desire for power and fame.’

Cain recalled the advice of Allen, a disguised Guards agent. Judging by the appearance of her room, it appears that that assessment was accurate.

No matter how you looked at it, it looked more like a luxury goods dealer than a professor’s room in the Department of Literature.

It was also clear that he was a person who was better at entertaining guests than at personal research, and that he was a person who treated students like his own in the process.

Even as she wondered how to roast and boil this toad-like man in her head, her actions made her professor agree with her.

Cheers. A simple common position.

The more you chew the cheese, the more savory it becomes, and the more you drink the wine, the more fragrant it becomes. Alcohol and snacks that can turn a monk practicing silence into a chatterbox.

Sure enough. The professor secretly wondered what Anna’s research topic was and what Cain’s position was in the process.

“What more can I say about Professor Anna’s academic achievements and intelligence that shines brighter than the sun! I don’t know how much help a southern country braggart like me can give to someone like that, hahahahaha! “If I could find out what topic you are researching, she would be able to get more useful answers!”

“Aren’t you too humble to be a braggart?”

Although he thought to himself, ‘I know, I know,’ Cain accepted the words politely. The professor seems to have been taken aback by those words.

“As you know, literature is ultimately about earning money and fame by selling other people’s stories to others! So I have nothing but bluster about everything in the world.”

“Then you must be a very big braggart. “It makes the whole world shake.”

“Wow, you got lucky! So, wouldn’t it be natural for a guy like me to be curious about where Professor Anna, a ‘real scholar’, is looking?”

Cain took a sip and set her glass down. Anna really hated flatterers. So much so that as soon as she heard, she responded with sneer and disregard.

“Of course you are watching ‘Empire.’ Professor Anna is a historian and member of the imperial family. “As a result, she is very interested in the recent resurgence of the story of the seven heroes among my people.”

“Oh, it was a popular topic back in the day, but not as much as it is these days! So?”

“The professor wants to know why the people of the empire are so enthusiastic about the ‘characters’ of their heroes. As you know, there is a reason for the works that are popular at the time. And analyzing and recording the reasons is also the job of history. But… “

“Just?”

“However, because re-creations and adaptations are so frequent, it has become impossible to know what is original, what is exaggerated, and what is missing.”

“Oh, I know what it is.” Professor Osland nodded his head.

“This is also the difference between history and literary arts! History conveys truth, facts, and lessons, but literature wants to share emotions and feelings. Let’s say it’s literary permission! But it is true that we are a bit removed from what happened.”

“Yes. That’s why Professor Anna sent me here. “I want to hear the professor determine how much is true and what is exaggerated.”

Osland’s eyes were filled with emotion.

“If that were the case, you could have called me to the capital… “

“Because the semester is still in session. Professor Anna always puts her students first. Whether you are a student at the Capital Academy or a student at the Southern Academy.”

“You are truly a noble person. And since you are the one who has come to fulfill the noble man’s request, I will also help you in both material and spiritual ways. Today is truly a meaningful day. “I will never forget it until I die.”

From Noble mtl dot com

Although his stomach was churning, Cain smiled and checked the simple facts.

It was true that during the crusade, the troops were reorganized around the seven heroes, and the closer they got to the center of the wasteland, the more stragglers there were.

“There is a reason why the unit was able to be reorganized regardless of its affiliation. “It may be a bit odd to say this, but the Demon Lord Suppression Crusade could not possibly be called an ‘army.'”

“Why?”

“Well, we have to go back 30 years… Since the Third Great Crusade 30 years ago, nobles have been reluctant to participate in the Crusades.

At that time, we had already acquired all the valuable land. Beyond that is either a desert or a dry land where even a single blade of grass cannot grow.”

It was also the time when Emmaus and Masada, west of Magdeburg, were conquered. As a result of the Crusades, which were counterattacked by western pagans, the empire gained extensive territory, trade routes, and Samaritans.

“As a result, compared to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Crusades, which had the justification of protecting the empire, the 4th Crusade, which was more of a preventive war, did not have many people gathered.

So, by boarding the ships of the Eastern Allies, they attempted to occupy the protruding northern pagan peninsula and use it as a base.

As a result, that went wrong and they plundered the eastern part of the empire, but were even stripped of their name as crusaders and were excommunicated.”

‘He was a gambler for Beatrice’s father, Nicolo Dandolo.’

Cain nodded his head. I knew in detail why Nicolo made that choice. However, I had not thought about the fact that the ‘properly organized military group’ disintegrated in the aftermath.

“The Fifth Crusade was formed before the excommunicated Fourth Crusade disbanded and returned home. As a result, human resources were really poor.

Proper fighters were exhausted along with the 4th Crusade. The imperial army was preoccupied with preventing border conflicts and preventing the invasion of pagans in the northern and western regions.

Nobles? I knew that the Demon King was a threat, but I didn’t do anything because I thought, ‘Someone will figure out how to catch him.’ Everyone hates getting their hands dirty.

In this situation, the only people who gathered for the 5th Crusade were local gangsters, gamekeepers, and low-level people who lived a life no better than a slave.

Of course, the main forces were the Knights of the Holy Grail and the Knights of Mercy. Heresy inquisitors and clergy also participated, and even mercenaries from the Eastern United Kingdom crawled in to keep their promise to make a deal with the Pope.

There was no such ragtag group of people. In the end, it was a move that saved the empire, but even the Samaritans who were trapped in the southern part of the empire participated… “

Professor Osland took a sip of wine. He checked Cain’s glass, poured him another glass, and filled his own.

“Well, even if a properly trained standing army had participated, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The Demon King’s shadow brings out the fear in people’s hearts, and it is difficult to overcome even with military training.

So the strategy changes. People with the mental strength to move forward were made the vanguard, and those caught up in the shadows were made to move forward while only looking at their backs.

Among them, the seven special people are the seven heroes. In the end, it was those seven who came before the Demon King and condemned him.

Some people say that the story would have been a little different if the White Blood Knights had participated in the war… Well. Arius the Temperance said, ‘Even if white blood came, it wouldn’t have meant much.'”

“How could they have predicted that?”

“Everyone has fear in their hearts. The crusaders who set out to fight the devil also used all sorts of methods. “They even mobilized a convict unit made up of violent criminals.”

Cain could not believe his ears.

“This is my first time hearing such a thing.”

“Because they were difficult to deal with that the nobles had with them. I don’t know. There must have been someone imprisoned in the Imperial Military Police prison… However, after the first injection, something happened that had never happened before. Everyone said they either went crazy or committed suicide. He said the people he killed came back. “The dead took revenge unintentionally.”

“Is that also testimony from Arius?”

“That’s right.” Unexpectedly, Professor Osland gently nodded his head.

“About three weeks after the heroes returned, I met them and heard their testimony. Not everyone was in good spirits. Sometimes I cry out loud and throw things… Every time this happened, Arius the Temperant would place his hands on their heads and mutter a prayer.”

“Because Arius was the captain?”

“That’s right. It’s not called ‘temperance’ for nothing. Arius gave almost all of the testimony. Occasionally William of Purity would add a word or two.”

It seemed clear that Arius was the main culprit of everything. It may not have been irrelevant that the knight of the scabbard went to him first.

If Arius was a planner, William appears to have been an action leader. However, judging from William’s letters, it appears that he did not really believe in Arius. Or were there more complaints?

“How did the heroes get along?”

“I told you. Everyone was out of their wits. He can’t even control himself, so what’s the difference between them? “We felt uncomfortable even seeing each other.”

Did Arius at least catch the weaknesses of others? Or not… Did he whisper to me to be quiet because he would take responsibility for all my sins?

“That’s an interesting story.” Cain fiddled with his glass.

“Something like a story about a convict unit. There are stories about people not being able to overcome the wounds of that day. But I have a question: I have never seen such a story in any of your works. Why didn’t you write it down?”

“Well. “Because there’s no reason to write it down?” Osland was calm.

“I am a writer, not a historian. And if you are a writer, it is natural to write down what people ‘want to see.’ Who would want to see a story about a convict unit? And that story probably remains in the Pope’s records. “It doesn’t mean I buried that story.”

“But you were able to inform the empire, right?”

Osland chuckled and rubbed his hands.

“Isn’t this a story that is no different from the wealth of nobles? That he just threw away someone in his prison cell without a fair trial. And in fact, I couldn’t help but report it. “Because a succession dispute broke out right after and the empire turned upside down.”

Unfortunately, at that time, Emperor Alexios I passed away. There was a conflict between the siblings over the right of succession, and Anna’s husband, Nikki Brien, stuck his sword upside down in front of Ioannis and swore loyalty, and Anna, a genius born of the empire, was nicknamed ‘a woman without eyes for men’. It was at that time that this was added.

“Then the reason I can say it now is…” “

“Because it’s all over.” Osrant slightly spread his arms.

“Isn’t the story over now? And Professor Anna asked to hear the story from me. I just want to do the best I can. Huh, looking back, this is all just a memory now.”

Cain seemed to know what kind of person Osland Koch was. He was a man who took facts and sold them as he pleased.

But isn’t a person like this more prone to falling into the most plausible trap right in front of him? Cain laid his body down on the back of the chair.

“That’s an interesting story. But although it’s interesting, I don’t think it’s something the professor would be interested in. “If you’re saying, ‘This has happened before,’ then who cares that prisoners died like that?”

It wasn’t something he meant, but Osland was caught and fell for good. Perhaps because she felt that she had not caught Cain’s interest, she was hiding her nervousness beneath her natural virtue.

“Then which story would you be more interested in?”

Cain smiled.