The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom: Volume 6 [Parts 1 to 4] by Fudeorca

Author:Fudeorca
Language: eng
Format: epub

II

The next morning, I went to the academy alone.

I entered the building, climbed a few flights of stairs, and reached the corridor where Ms. Ether’s office was located. After walking down the corridor, I stopped outside her door and knocked.

“Come in,” a clear voice from within replied.

“Pardon me.”

There was a click as I turned the knob and opened the door. Inside, a bespectacled Ms. Ether was in front of her well-ordered desk. As always, she was sitting on a cushionless wooden chair.

A slight expression of surprise appeared on her face when she looked at me. “Yuri, I see you made it home.”

“Yes, and I have you to thank.”

“Oh, that staff... Were you injured?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.

I wasn’t using something like a heavy-duty crutch—it was more like a one-handed cane that an elderly person might use.

“Yes, but I’ll recover before long.”

“Oh... That’s a relief. Please, take a seat.” Ms. Ether stood up and gestured toward a chair.

When I reached the chair, Ms. Ether extended her hand toward me. Although it wasn’t necessary, I let her support a little of my weight as I lowered myself into the chair.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Not at all... But how did it go? Your trip, I mean,” Ms. Ether asked after I’d had a chance to sit down and take a breath.

“Ah... Well, it went wrong in a lot of ways.”

“I see... Yes, so I see.” She paused for a moment, then appeared slightly nervous. “Oh, but you were at war, after all. I shouldn’t have even asked. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“No, there are certainly no good memories to be made during a war, regardless of whether you win or lose. Though not everyone sees it that way.”

“Have you ever been to war, Ms. Ether?”

She spoke like someone who’d experienced war for herself. I’d told so many stories about my travels the day before that I wasn’t in the mood to start sharing them again. Instead, I hoped I’d hear some from Ms. Ether. She appeared to be a pacifist, but perhaps she’d been caught up in bloody battles in the past.

“I don’t have any experience taking up arms and fighting on the battlefield in the way warriors do, but I was rather famous for my controversial views in Vaticanus...”

Ah, that might explain it.

“When I needed to demonstrate the validity of my reasoning through debate, I spent time studying rhetoric. Unfortunately, I found that talking people down results in a hollow victory that merely invites resentment.”

I gathered that in her younger days she’d won some fierce debates. That wasn’t rare for young intellectuals—it was a common way to refine one’s ideals. It really shouldn’t have been surprising, but I found it hard to imagine her in that situation. Then again, maybe that was just because I’d never actually seen her take part in a serious argument. The only time I’d seen Ms. Ether get involved in debates at all was when she was acting for the sake of teaching.

“But weren’t there any listeners who came to agree with you?”

Ms.

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