Chapter 257

Public execution is surprisingly one of the execution methods that has continued all the way to the modern era.

The concept of human rights was born around World War II, so if we talk about tradition, then it certainly is one.

Even in countries like China, where the concept of human rights is sparse, public executions are still maintained.

The reason for conducting public executions is very simple: it’s an insult and a warning to the criminals.

It’s a warning that if you commit a crime, this is what you’ll face, which is quite an effective deterrent.

While it has proven effective to some extent, it holds little meaning for those with antisocial tendencies.

In fact, there are plenty of people who still commit crimes knowing they could end up being executed publicly. If someone is going to commit a crime, they will commit it.

Despite this, there’s a genuine reason public executions continue: they provide something to watch.

Unlike modern times with all kinds of entertainment, until the modern era, there was hardly any form of entertainment at all. I’m not kidding—it really didn’t exist.

There were sports, but that alone was not enough. Thus, public executions were sort of treated as entertainment.

Murmur—murmur—

“Huh?”

At the fountain located in the Academy square, a crowd had gathered in front of the notice board.

Even from a distance, Luna could clearly see what was going on. At first, she wondered what was happening, but soon realized.

‘Oh. Did someone post an apology today?’

It’s one of the common cultures at the Academy. If someone writes an apology, it’s prominently displayed on the notice board.

You might wonder what kind of culture that is, but it has an effect similar to a public execution. Moreover, the effect is certainly amplified.

Just writing an apology would make your blood boil, and then to have it made public? That would be shameful beyond belief.

And that’s not all. The level of that person’s sophistication comes through in their apology, as does their eloquence.

Just one apology letter can serve as a pretty significant evaluation of the person, making it a highly effective tactic.

‘Is today another day for dropouts?’

With that thought in mind, Luna walked over to the notice board. This method has caused quite a few Academy students to drop out.

So much so that there are more people who’d rather volunteer than write up an apology. Because of this, the Academy changed the regulations.

Recent volunteers are now required to write an apology if a similar incident occurs. Thanks to that, the noise has quieted down.

“Is this really written by that wild man?”

“They say it is! But writing an apology is a bit much, don’t you think? That fat guy was the one who started it all.”

“What can you do? They say his nose was completely crushed. He must have thought it was excessive violence.”

Luna overheard snippets of conversation while pushing through the crowd. The contents of those conversations felt familiar to her.

Though she hadn’t seen it firsthand, she had heard in class that Sivar had committed violence and faced disciplinary action.

Also, supposedly in front of a crowd, he kissed Kara, like they were a couple, and so on.

Though she hadn’t seen it herself, given the ruckus Grace caused, it was likely true.

“Excuse me. I just need to get through.”

Luna repeatedly apologized as she navigated through the crowd. Although she received some sharp glares, her curiosity could not be quelled.

Finally reaching the notice board, she saw the oversized apology letter displayed right in the center.

By the handwriting, she could tell it was definitely written by Sivar. It was quite beautifully written considering he had only just started learning the language.

Seeing such a carefully crafted apology from him struck her as strange in many ways.

“Hmm…”

Luna quickly scanned the apology letter. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

However, something felt off, causing her to tilt her head. Sivar was surprisingly good at writing, given how elegant his penmanship was.

Last time when he was told to just write anything, he had written some profound words. But this apology seemed hastily put together.

‘Not hastily—more like awkward, right?’

Luna might lack intuition, but her observational skills were quite sharp, even without using her abilities.

As she pondered which part seemed off, suddenly the surroundings fell silent.

Just moments ago it was full of chatter, but with the quiet, Luna could hardly help but snap out of her thoughts.

Turning her head to look back, she spotted a very familiar face.

“Sivar?”

“Hey.”

It was Sivar. The moment the writer of the apology appeared, the crowd parted like the Red Sea.

It seemed everyone felt they couldn’t laugh or anything in front of the person involved, so they could only exchange glances.

Given Sivar’s notably notorious reputation, it was only natural for people to tread carefully.

Ignoring the heavy reactions of the crowd, Sivar casually walked up to the notice board.

“Luna. What did people say?”

“Huh? About what?”

“My apology. Did they say it was well-written?”

“Um…”

Luna, hearing that question, looked around at the various people in the crowd.

In truth, they hadn’t cursed him. Most were simply people unable to resist boredom, looking for entertainment.

So the quality of the apology itself mattered less than the fact that an apology had been written at all.

“Well, more importantly, you wrote this, right?”

“Yeah. I wrote it. Why?”

“Oh, just…”

Objectively speaking, it was a standard apology. But something about it continued to itch at her.

Just as Luna tilted her head, trying to resolve her doubts, another voice chimed in.

“Haha! So you were here!”

A confident shout filled with triumph. At that shout, not just Luna and Sivar but others turned their heads too.

Standing where Sivar had just been, one of the key figures, Tommy, stood there with a grin.

His nose was still held together with a medical plate because it hadn’t fully healed yet.

It looked ridiculous, but in today’s medicine, it was a rather advanced method.

“So? What’s it like having your mistakes publicly exposed?”

“Who’s that guy?”

“That must be the reason he’s writing a reflection letter, right?”

“Oh, a sexual harasser?”

Normally, the expected reaction would be sympathy, but people felt no such thing.

The rumors had already spread widely. They painted Tommy as someone who was beaten up after harassing someone else’s girl.

So the stares toward him couldn’t possibly be kind. Especially since the apology letter was also a forced act on Tommy’s part.

“Is he actually here to get hit again?”

“That poor wild man, being stalked by that guy.”

“He really didn’t need to show up.”

With rumors not working in his favor, it was only natural for prejudice to be heavy. People threw him disapproving looks.

However, whether Tommy was completely clueless or just didn’t care, he made his way over.

The parted crowd felt like they were worshipping him, and his walk was nothing short of proud.

“Sivar. Is that guy?”

“Yeah. He bothered Kara.”

“That must’ve been terrifying for my sister.”

Luna pieced together the situation. She knew Kara was completely head over heels for Sivar.

But with a guy like that getting too close and even confessing, just how scary could that have been? She felt a bit sorry for Kara.

“What’s the feeling? You must’ve faced shame upon shame.”

“…”

“Not saying anything means you’re embarrassed, huh? I suppose even beasts have feelings?”

Tommy kept on with his bombastic attitude. Yet Sivar only looked at him with his characteristic blank expression.

The look said he didn’t get what the pig was rambling about. He scratched his head as if completely clueless.

In the meantime, Luna closely examined the reflection letter. She was trying to locate where the bothersome part was.

After examining it carefully, she was finally able to uncover the secret behind the letter.

‘Ne…am…‘Huh?’

Just in case, she traced the first letters with her finger. Then a sentence that made sense popped out.

The problem was that the sentence was an extremely offensive curse. Luna grimaced as she called out to Sivar.

“…Sivar?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you do this on purpose? It looks weird when I pick out the first letters.”

“…”

Sivar said nothing. He simply blinked, maintaining a stonewalling demeanor.

Wondering if her grasp of the common language was off, Luna decided to ask someone else.

First, she approached a passerby. A stranger, but asking wouldn’t hurt.

“Could you take a look at this for a second? I’m wondering if there’s something wrong with my grasp of the common language.”

“What should I look at?”

“Just read the first letters.”

The passerby focused closely on the reflection letter as Luna requested. One by one, they read each letter aloud.

“Um… Neamadasi… What?”

“What?”

“What does that mean? You said just the first letters?”

As people realized the hidden secret within the reflection letter, more individuals began to gather to check it out.

While Tommy found himself flustered in the unexpected situation, Sivar still wore an expression of indifference. He didn’t seem to care much.

“What? It’s real? Did he hide something like that in a reflection letter?”

“Wow, though, it’s funny that the reflection letter itself is well-written.”

“Hahaha!”

There were expressions of admiration, bursts of laughter, and even applause. The reactions were intense.

At that moment, the focus of public execution shifted from Sivar to Tommy. Instead of reflecting, he was handed a good dose of insults.

It had effectively turned into an unparalleled act of public humiliation for Tommy.

“This little…!!”

Naturally, the person involved couldn’t help but feel furious. Confirming it once or twice made it an undeniable vulgarity.

Let alone a vulgar reference to parents. Insulting one’s parents is always effective, regardless of time or place.

Tommy’s cheeks quivered in anger as he turned away from the notice board.

Looking in the direction he turned to, there stood Sivar, still with that clueless expression on his face.

“This uncultured barbarian! How dare you not even reflect?! Do you want to leave the Academy forever?!”

Tommy unleashed his fury with finger-pointing, the largest public humiliation one could suffer, so of course he was angry.

Sivar’s gaze shifted from the reflection letter back to Tommy. He tilted his head.

“What?”

“What, what?”

“Is there a problem? I wrote a reflection letter, didn’t I?”

He maintained he had simply written a reflection letter without doing anything wrong. Why are you so angry?

His attitude was so brazen it was as if he had a thick shield on his face. Tommy found it not so much infuriating as simply ridiculous.

And that brief silence was enough to turn public opinion upside down in an instant.

“Do you think he wrote it knowing? He said he came from the forest.”

“Writing in vertical sentences is pretty historical. Living in the wilderness, is that even possible?”

“His insight is limited. Must be a coincidence. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense.”

Sivar’s background began to sway people’s opinions favorably. After all, he was someone from the wilderness.

Despite ultimately functioning as a proper civilized individual, he wouldn’t be without flaws that still remained.

Particularly, the act of writing in vertical lines was quite challenging. Was he supposed to think about that while he was busy writing a reflection letter?

There were more than enough reasons for it to be perceived as ‘an unreasonable accusation.’ Thus, people leaned toward Sivar.

“Oh. Oh…”

As if sensing something was off, Tommy began to stutter in his speech.

“…”

Meanwhile, Sivar remained silent, standing there with a vacant expression.

[Faith is rising!]

Late to notice, Chaos sent forth divine favor.

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