The Academy's Undercover Professor Chapter 746 part 1

Side Story Chapter 19: Finding One’s Self (1)

The past is truly abstract.

It is already an event that has occurred, but at the same time, it is the debris that has flowed beyond time.

The only reason people can reflect on the past is due to their imperfect memory and the records they have left behind in words.

Some say that the future is uncertain, but the past is clear.

It can only be that way. In the future, we do not know what will happen.

Predictions are not easy, and illogical events sometimes occur.

The moment it happens, the future becomes the present, but Rudger decided to conflate that too as the future for now.

On the other hand, what about the past?

Once it is determined, the past remains fixed. It never disappears or changes.

The past remains just as it is. It is, quite literally, an immutable truth.

‘But is that really so? The past does not change, does it?’

Although it has now disappeared, one could tell just by looking at the deeds of the Brethus Kingdom in the past.

They manipulated history to fit their own tastes.

People firmly believed that the manipulated past was the truth.

While some may have been influenced by brainwashing, the greater cause was the concealment of the truth and the presentation of falsehoods as if they were true.

This remained the case even after the fall of the Brethus Kingdom and the partial revelation of the truth from the past.

Those who had firmly believed the lies as truth could not properly accept the true truth.

Rather, they dismissed it as false and emphasized that they were never wrong.

Of course, if one were to argue, the past would not change.

What has changed are the people and their perceptions.

The past was always the same, but what if the way people regard that past changes?

If something that was once an apple is called an orange by someone, and most come to think of it as an orange.

Is it an apple or an orange?

‘In the end, the past is also unclear. Rather, it is representational and ambiguous. Remembering the past is a matter of one’s own memory.’

Human memory is imperfect.

They perceive even the scenery before their eyes hazily, excluding what they are focused on.

When asked to recall events from the past, for such people, it is merely a biased section seen from one perspective.

That very section can also be distorted by memory and emotion.

Just like the future, the past can only be regarded as vague.

‘Even if left in writing, it inevitably contains the author’s personal views.’

Not every second of every history can be recorded, so the materials are inevitably fragmentary.

The lacking parts can only be reconstructed through rational inferences, testimonies, and the traces left on site at the time.

Can this truly become the truth?

Rudger doesn’t think so.

‘The past I think of is the same. I cannot assert that the past I remember is truly correct.’

Rudger was not perfect either.

He just tried not to forget the moments from back then as much as possible.

So, Rudger wanted to look back.

To the path he had walked in the past.

And the people he had met along the way.

He wanted to meet them again to confirm his life.

‘Only then can I move forward.’

He had stayed in place for three years.

In fact, it could be said that he awoke from a long sleep, frozen in time.

Rudger lacked the motivation to move towards the future. Although he had already fulfilled his dreams, he was busy adapting to the drastically changed present.

Therefore, Rudger wanted to look back at the past.

He thought there might be some catalyst or clue hidden there.

‘Exploring the past to move towards the future. What an ironic thing.’

But it was also inevitable.

The future was an unexplored unknown jungle.

One could jump blindly and courageously into it barehanded.

That was how those who had an innate spirit of adventure would act.

‘But that is not my way.’

At the very least, Rudger thought that he should understand the geography and have sufficient equipment and knowledge about the jungle.

This is a process for that.

Now that he had finally become a member of this world, it was a process for him to fully live on this land.

Rudger slowly rose from his seat.

The place he was staying in was a luxurious space, just like when he first arrived at the imperial city.

Rudger put on his black coat, which was his.

Adjusting his attire while looking in the mirror, he grabbed his cane.

It was a cane that shimmered like obsidian, with a raven’s shape embossed at the end of the handle.

Srlrng.

He drew out the swordstick contained within the cane once to check its condition.

The blade was perfectly straight, without a single scratch.

Satisfied with the dazzling silver glint that captivates people just by looking, Rudger put it back into the cane’s sheath.

As Rudger opened the door and stepped outside, Pasius, who had been waiting, opened his mouth.

“You are finally ready. The Empress is waiting.”

“I wonder if I have kept her waiting unnecessarily long.”

“Well, she understands.”

Pasius, who smiled faintly, subtly asked Rudger.

“So, did you have a good time yesterday?”

“Thanks to your consideration.”

“What happened with that lady?”

There was a strange anticipation in Pasius’s voice.

Rudger straightforwardly brought up what happened the previous night.

“I discovered a new horizon of magic, so I agreed to help later. Thinking about that, I seem to be quite looking forward to it myself.”

“Uh… magic?”

Pasius asked back.

“Yes. Magic.”

“Hmm?”

Pasius tilted his head slightly in curiosity.

He clearly met Rine, and she helped her meet Rudger.

That was because he had read the emotions and determination she held in her expression when she asked to meet Rudger.

As a knight, he couldn’t just sit back and watch.

Pasius passed on his guiding role to Rine.

It wasn’t because waiting idly was boring.

To say he had no such thoughts at all would be a lie, but curiosity that something more interesting might happen was greater.

So he prepared a place for them, cheering for them, but what was that response from Rudger?

‘It doesn’t seem like he’s intentionally dodging it, and by saying it that way, it sounds sincere.’

That lady failed!