Chapter 163

– Hwaak—!

With the clear sound that opened her breath, Laura von Adelheit’s tightly closed eyes cautiously opened.

“Ah…!”

Before her appeared a golden flower.

A beautiful flower, imbued with the color of gold, the hue of all beginnings, emanated light. Was this the light at the time when this world opened?

It was five flowers. The flower of beginnings bloomed in five, sparkling beautifully on Laura’s exam paper.

‘This is….’

Life. This is how humans live, a lamp illuminating that path.

As Laura gazed at it, she unknowingly thought.

“Proof of Theology….”

The five flowers of beginnings that Professor Antorelli had showcased on the first day of class. Laura had not forgotten them.

No, how could she forget? Blossoming in the palm that connects all things, it grew from something she didn’t know at the time and brightly illuminated the classroom with five flowers.

She didn’t know back then. Yes, she didn’t know then, but….

Now, Laura knows what each of those five flowers signifies. Unconsciously, she reached out her hand and brushed her fingers over the pitiable yet perfect crystallization of the pure essence of humanity that bloomed on her exam paper.

– Sarak.

“Ah…!”

Although her fingers passed through it immediately.

For that brief moment, Laura could feel it.

‘It’s warm….’

Warmth. The most dignified, sublime, and precious of all the innate rights that humans can possess.

It is the proof of Theology itself.

As if the flower bloomed in full, each segment of her finger opened. The softly blossoming golden hue filled Laura’s sight.

Unlike the golden wave that spread like the flowers of beginnings showcased by Professor Antorelli on the first day of class. However, for Laura, simply witnessing it right before her was more than sufficient and felt invaluable.

What if the golden wave doesn’t spread? What if there is no Divine Power?

Right before her, like this….

“It’s beautiful….”

There are five beautiful essences that bloom, made by her own strength.

The golden flower. The embodiment of all things. The crystallization of harmony.

It is so fantastical that one can’t help but admire it. It is beautiful enough to sting the corners of her eyes. It is awe-inspiring enough to fill her heart. Although it may not be the truth of the entire world, at least everything about Laura, the one who caused this flower to bloom, is contained within it.

And Laura remembered.

Her first class with Professor Antorelli, their first encounter. The single sentence that severed the connection she had with the teachings she received from him.

– The Lord said, “Let there be light”; and there the Divine of beginnings blossomed.

‘The reason Professor Antorelli showed the flower of beginnings on the first day of class was….’

The reason Professor Antorelli suddenly bloomed the flower of beginnings.

In front of countless students, the reason he insisted on showcasing everything he had might be….

“Perhaps, just for this day…?”

Laura’s gaze turned blank. It felt like she had been hit on the back of the head three times by a hammer.

On the day Professor Antorelli held his first class, he showed the flower of beginnings to the students, using Laura’s actions as an excuse.

Was the reason for that action simply to spur Laura on? To fully awaken her?

If so, was it necessary to act that way in front of all the students?

‘The professor had already shown the answer from the very first day….’

The flower of beginnings. The five elements that form the basis of those five flowers.

The rationality of looking back at my complete self, and the right and wrong of goodness proven by that rationality.

The faithfulness that arises from honesty born out of the proof of goodness.

While proving that faithfulness, the strength of acting belief grows.

When that belief is acted upon, naturally….

‘To prove… faith….’

A chill ran down Laura’s spine. Her eyes rolled as they turned towards Professor Antorelli, standing on the platform.

‘That can’t be….’

She couldn’t even contemplate uttering a word. Professor Antorelli had embodied the proof itself.

‘Faith’, itself. The acting belief.

The faithfulness that must be cherished more than anything. The goodness that should always serve as a guide.

The reason hidden within it. And….

[Life.]

Professor Antorelli. His life.

“……!”

In that moment, Laura felt as if she locked eyes with Professor Antorelli standing on the platform, so she unconsciously bowed her head deeply. While this caused a clatter as she hit the desk, she didn’t care about that.

Right now, she simply couldn’t meet Professor Antorelli’s eyes. That was all.

– Deng— deng—.

The unforgiving bell rang, echoing quietly in the spacious auditorium. Did the usual bell sound, which was no different from usual, sound like the chime of a church?

“Everyone.”

After the bell signaling the end of the exam quieted, Professor Antorelli’s voice flew toward the students engulfed in silence.

“Please put down your pens.”

– Chararak!

Not a single exception existed. Most of them, being students of the Caldera Imperial Academy, concerning themselves with exams and grades, should have had some reluctance.

After Professor Antorelli’s instruction, no one dared hold a pen in their hands. As if it were choreographed, the pens left hands in an orderly fashion, rolling on the desks and coming to a stop.

Professor Antorelli, looking over the students, continued to speak in the same flat tone as when he began the first class.

“With this, I conclude the integrated exam for the first-year Theology students of the Caldera Imperial Academy.”

Many students were waiting for his words. And just as much, the professors of the Theology department sitting in the back of the auditorium were eagerly anticipating what he would say next.

However, Professor Antorelli simply stated.

“Thank you for your hard work. As much as you all have put in effort, I hope you achieve the results you desire.”

In a manner too matter-of-fact.

In a demeanor that hardly seemed believable for the one responsible for creating such an exam.

“You may leave the exam sheets as they are. Once again, thank you for your hard work.”

With those words, he closed his mouth.

The students and professors of the Theology department, of course, Laura as well, were just dumbfounded.

‘Is this… it?’

He could have shown a little more pride.

He had easily shattered the firmly established notion of theology and, whether students answered all the questions or not, had opened a new perspective for them; he could have boasted about that a little more.

Professor Antorelli seemed so apathetic. As if this were the most natural thing. As if he had finished everything he needed to do.

Perhaps it was because the thoughts of the students and professors were visibly expressed on their faces, Professor Antorelli once again brought the microphone to his lips.

“The exam is over, everyone.”

At his words, the students and professors who had seemed to drift in a dream suddenly regained their senses and started managing their expressions. However, the expressions that had already been revealed could no longer be hidden.

“One hardship that had been looming right before you has finally passed. Are you not happy?”

Including Laura, everyone sitting in the auditorium dared not speak.

“Yes. Of course, the results may not be to your liking. Perhaps you may have been deeply disappointed in yourselves.”

Several students nodded readily. Among them, a few from Class A showed expressions of considerable desperation and regret.

Even amidst this, the students did not rise from their seats. The same went for the professors sitting in the back and…. Laura as well.

Seeing that, Professor Antorelli let out a faint sigh, barely audible.

“…Alright, everyone.”

As all eyes turned toward him, Professor Antorelli spoke with his usual stoic expression.

“I will not deny the possibility that the exam you just took has affected you in some way.”

He spoke firmly.

Expressions of another kind appeared on the students’ faces. ‘He realized that, didn’t he?’ It was an interrogative expression.

“However, my dear students. I am not a great figure who can intervene in your realizations.”

Was that a statement indicating he cannot agree with that? The gaze directed at Professor Antorelli mixed with uncertainty and resentment.

Though the resentment was conveyed to Professor Antorelli with good intentions, he looked lamentably pained that such gazes were directed at him.

“I will emphasize again. I cannot interfere with that realization. Because….”

He spoke even more resolutely.

Was it simply his humility that led Professor Antorelli to take such a submissive stance? Or was he subtly showing off his achievements?

At least, it seems none of those sitting in this auditorium thought that way, but surely, ill thoughts still arose among them.

And those thoughts were.

“Isn’t it your ‘life’?”

With a single line from Professor Antorelli, those thoughts shattered into pieces.

“…….”

Laura, opening her mouth slightly and left speechless, did not notice that those around her were also behaving similarly. She merely stared blankly at Professor Antorelli on the platform.

‘Life…. My life….’

The way I prove my faith. The way I live.

The path I walk. That path will have hardships, and every moment will bring a ‘test’ proving my faith.

Ultimately, it is the owner of life who must bear those adversities alone.

In other words, it is something I must resolve myself.

“I’ll take the exam paper.”

“Oh, yes….”

As the 320 students filling the auditorium quietly sat, looking at Professor Antorelli, Sofia Sub-priest slowly began to walk among the desks shining with a golden hue.

She was there to gather the exam papers, considering that the time remaining in the auditorium was longer than expected.

Every time the pious-looking Sofia Sub-priest collected the exam sheets, the flower of beginnings blooming on those sheets turned into golden dust scattering into the air, and a flower pattern was engraved upon the paper equal to the number of flowers that had bloomed.

As he watched this, Professor Antorelli stuffed several papers that had been on the lectern into his bag and said.

“My exam is not over yet.”

The exam is not yet over.

“Your path is still unclear, and what dangers may lurk, or what encounters await… are unknown.”

The direction in which our lives progress is still an uncharted world….

“So, move forward with confidence.”

We should just move forward.

“Do not forget the exam you took today, and engrave it in your heart. I am not sure if I should say this, but it will not hinder you from living your lives.”

The students listening to his words, as well as the professors of Theology, felt a premonition.

“Therefore, while remembering the problems you encountered today… face the multitude of tests that lie ahead. My exam is not yet over.”

This is truly Professor Antorelli’s…. once-in-a-lifetime lesson.

As he spoke, as Sofia Sub-priest gathered the remaining exam papers, darkening the auditorium gradually, Professor Antorelli began to step away from the lectern.

Slowly, very slowly, as he stepped back, he murmured a single line.

“The Lord said….”

“Let there be light”; and there the Divine of beginnings blossomed.

– Hwaak———!!

The wave of golden light began to ripple.

That wave of light, creating intense yet gentle ripples, began to spread across the auditorium.

It resembled a light cutting through the darkness.

“Life….”

The five flowers of beginnings that bloomed above Professor Antorelli’s hands.

“Therefore, do not forget.”

It became a lighthouse of life that would be etched in everyone’s minds, one they would never forget.

It was the proof of ‘faith.’