30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

30 – 8. Night of Counting Stars (4)

*

Oswald is a freshman in the School of Magic, like most elves.

Considering the racial distribution at St. Hanskr University, most elves were inclined towards the School of Magic and the School of Music. It was probably due to the inherent laziness of a race that initially preferred not to exert themselves physically.

In the midst of classes in the morning, Ivan and Eugene were making their way to the School of Magic.

“Sir, I’ve been thinking.”

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t it strange that there are no Paladins in this world?”

This guy seemed to have no intention of hiding the fact that he was the possessed one.

“Well, it’s a different world from the original, whether it’s me or you. In a world with gods, divine spells, and knights, isn’t it common sense to have Paladins?”

“Do priests really need to wield weapons?”

Ivan knew that the title of a Paladin itself was close to a fantasy.

On Earth, Paladins were essentially knights who took up arms for religious beliefs during the Crusades, so strictly speaking, they were not priests. They hadn’t taken the vows. (They were also quite secular in many ways.)

However, that didn’t mean that priests who had taken vows never engaged in activities similar to knights. In such cases, they couldn’t be called knights; they were just armed warriors.

The same was true in this world. Priests in the pre-modern era were essentially elite individuals who had to accumulate a diverse range of knowledge comparable to modern legal professionals.

Moreover, if they took the vows of purity, chastity, and humility and obtained divine spells, they had no need to physically exert themselves further.

Why bother going to the front lines when you could easily overpower most knights with a single blow in a seated position…?

There was no reason for priests who had taken vows to go to the front lines, so why bother…?

On top of that, there was one more significant reason.

In a world where divine beings exist, the authority priests possess goes beyond imagination. If they lack virtue, they cannot use divine spells.

In other words, all priests in this world were inherently good. Surprisingly, it was true. And because this common knowledge was prevalent, priests were all highly respected in society.

Hence, the occasions where they wielded swords and directly joined the front lines were only during the Maou War, and even then, they were never truly at the forefront.

The idea of knights using divine spells itself was a fantasy.

Eugene, who had received kind education from the headmaster, a 30-year veteran in this world, clapped his hands and said, “So, am I the first?”

“…What?”

“After applying to the Theology Department, I obtained a sacred spell slot! Although there aren’t many spells I can use yet, it’s still possible, isn’t it?”

Moreover, Eugene has a specialized passive skill called ‘Sword Mastery,’ meaning his swordsmanship is exceptional compared to others.

“So, a priest who uses sacred spells and excels in swordsmanship… Wouldn’t that be a paladin? Wow, sir. You seem to be the pioneer of paladin tech.”

It wasn’t a wrong statement. Ivan nodded, lost in thought for a moment.

A sacred spell slot…?

“Can you learn other spells too?”

“It’s possible, but I haven’t tried because the experience points consumption is too high. Life is all about choices and focus, right?”

Sacred, magic, swordsmanship. Can one master all three types of skills?

Ivan narrowed his eyes, looking at Eugene. In his mind, snippets of past conversations flashed by.

– “It’s good to learn anything! Except magic. That one is really too difficult.”

– “It’s a bit awkward if a knight can’t use magic.”

– “Ahahahaha, I’m in the Knight Department!”

It was a conversation that had passed by like Isabelle and Maxmillian.

The daughter of a knight becoming a knight is not a given, but considering Maxmillian’s case, what if?

‘Able to use sacred, magic, and swordsmanship simultaneously as a possessed person.’

This guy, a knight?

Ivan looked down at Eugene with a complicated expression. Eugene walked alongside, smiling like a confidant.

“I always wanted to say this if I became a paladin. Why, ‘Deus Vult (God wills it)! Ka.”

Reminded of Maxmillian, Ivan shook his head. It seemed like the world didn’t need this guy as a knight.

Ivan and Eugene soon arrived at the Magic Department lecture hall.

*

Oswald, who was in the midst of attending class, felt a shiver run down his spine as if someone was staring at him intensely. An intense gaze, filled with almost tangible desire…

It was Evelyn Rustpits. The daughter of the Duke of Chumeil, the forbidden beauty of the Rustpits family, was eyeing him.

Oswald was dumbfounded.

‘What’s going on…!’

He was a normal adult in his twenties. In other words, he had never seen what is known as the ‘romance fantasy aimed at women,’ which is commonly referred to as ‘female-oriented romance fantasy.’

In other words, he had no information about this novel at all.

Without even the perks of being transmigrated, he found himself in a situation where he had to survive in a world whose contents he knew nothing about.

“I should have read a romance novel, even a trashy one!”

He felt the urge to pound the ground and wail. While he hadn’t entirely avoided novels entangled with love and tragedy, those were clichés only enjoyable in fiction.

In the stern reality of 21st-century South Korea, situations where heroines regret, deteriorate, and obsess over the protagonist are labeled as something else entirely.

Stalking. It’s a date violence so serious that even the police are involved!

Anyway, the current situation.

So, why was Evelin glaring at him?

It all happened because of a mistake Oswald made while walking down the corridor. He had accidentally bumped into a female student and reassured her with a smile, saying it was okay…!

“No way, should I just slap him right there?”

Unless you’re a psychopath, such actions are generally avoided. Even if elves are known for their arrogance, they don’t engage in such uncivilized behavior.

Arrogance is seen as another aspect of nobility. In other words, Oswald’s response was reasonable even in elven society…!

But to our dear Evelin, who seemed to transcend the bounds of elven nature, it didn’t appear that way.

“Well, the class was a bit boring, wasn’t it? It can’t be helped. Everyone, wake up the sleeping student there, take a 10-minute break, and then we’ll continue, okay?”

The professor on the podium spoke with a warm smile, and students across the classroom stretched and stood up.

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Oswald also stood up casually, avoiding Evelin’s still intense gaze, and headed for the corridor, this time being very careful not to collide with any female students.

“Capture him.”

“Yes, sir!”

As Oswald walked down the corridor, he accidentally bumped into a group of possessed individuals instead of a female student.

*

The impression Oswald had of these individuals was simple. A pair of lunatics.

Indeed, the young man with a deranged look and jet-black hair, who incessantly wiped his palms on his face, said this upon seeing Oswald:

“Nice to meet you, Eastvelpen! I’m Yevgeny, called Kim Yujin in Korea. And this one here is Ivan, we don’t know his Korean name, but he’s from Korea too!”

“…?”

“We came knowing you’re a possessor. Need any help?”

“…???”

Was this an event from a few episodes back? At least within the chapters he’d seen, there hadn’t been another possessor…

The [Villainous Maiden Obsessed with the Magic Prodigy] that Oswald had read didn’t have this kind of content. Of course, it wasn’t set in this strange Russian background either.

While he was momentarily engulfed in confusion, the elderly man introduced as Ivan opened his mouth.

“We understand you’re surprised. But both you and we need each other’s help. Can you spare a moment?”

“Oh, uh… but how did you know about me…?”

The most distinctive feature of a possessed individual? Naturally, it’s the act of concealing the fact of possession.

To put it bluntly, possession is the act of seizing the body of a person who was once alive. What happens when it enters the body of someone whose family and relatives are living healthy lives?

No matter how well it’s portrayed, it’s a precarious situation—human experimentation. One wrong move, and there’s a danger of being seen as the avenger of a son (or daughter), facing the imminent threat of having one’s throat cut.

This is a well-established fact in the plethora of possession-themed works in Korea. From the perspective of family and relatives, the possessor is nothing more than an enemy.

Therefore, after Oswald learned the truth of possession, he spent enough time in profound despair before thoroughly concealing his true identity.

So, it should have been perfect…?

“It doesn’t seem elvish.”

“Yes…?”

“Elves rarely use honorifics, you know. Except for beings like a saint or a king of a nation, or those equivalent. Elves don’t even use formalities in official letters. Well, that’s how those long-lived beings usually are.”

But this guy detached an admission document using honorifics from the admissions office. The moment Ivan heard this story, rather than thinking of a “polite and kind elf,” he couldn’t help but think of the word “possessor.”

There can’t be a proposition like a polite and kind elf in the world.

So naturally, Ivan, with a casual underline beneath Oswald’s name, was watching him.

An elf who, after colliding with a human classmate in the corridor, laughs and says it’s okay…?

That’s impossible.

-Even monkeys have frontal vision, right? Are they herbivores? Can’t they see the front? Don’t misunderstand, even herbivores are worthy of respect.

Isn’t this something that typical elves wouldn’t say to a rude human…?

Listening to Ivan’s explanation, Oswald’s expression gradually hardened.

What on earth is this old man saying…?

Is this racial discrimination? Feeling emotions in this world, as an elf even, that he hadn’t felt on Earth, made the judgment complicated.

“So, what story did you see?”

“Oh, by the way, I was the ‘[Rogue Sword Genius of the Northern Capital’s Delinquent Martial Arts].'”

“…I was the ‘[Villainous Young Lady Obsessed with a Magic Genius].'”

“Oh, really. Looks like you were possessed after 2021?”

“It was May 2023.”

“Oh…!”

Oswald ignored Eugene, who was boasting about himself, and turned his head to Ivan.

“Are there more possessors?”

“Probably.”

Eugene nodded heavily.

“Head to the Knight Department.”

Yuri looked at the three men blocking her path and let out a pale scream.

A suspicious gardener with a towel around his neck and Kim Taeyang, who was wiping his hands with a smirk on his face…

“Hello? I’m Oswald from the Department of Magic. We’re both first-year students. My major is Mind Sorcery, um, so it’s related to the mental realm.”

There was also a confident gaze that casually admitted to using hypnotic magic.

“You’re the possessed one, right? I heard you’re from Korea. hahahaha, I feel like we should create something like the Seoul Welcome Club, or something like that.”

Kim Taeyang reached out with a laugh.

“hehehehe!”

Yuri’s vision darkened!

Knight Department’s top student, Yuri Frank.

Evgeny Nobikov Karamzin, who mastered both swordsmanship and theology in the Theology Department.

Oswald Eastvelpen from the Department of Magic, majoring in Mind Sorcery.

And there was Ivan Petrovich, a former member of the Extermination Unit.

Ivan scanned the possessed individuals gathered in the small club room and thought.

Isn’t this more like a party of heroes…?