Chapter 85: 22. Autumn Semester
Several days have passed, and after the hottest time in Saint Nali, the rain began to pour continuously. Despite the rain, the annoying heat lingered, almost like a nightmare entangling every Nali person, allowing businesses selling cooling magic to earn a fortune.
Fortunately, the weather was nice on the first day of the autumn semester. Early on, Fisher changed into his suit, organized his speech notes, and prepared to set off to the Royal Academy for the opening speech. Starting tomorrow, all schools in Saint Nali would begin classes.
Sitting on the tram heading to the Royal Academy, Fisher’s thoughts returned to the case involving the Sorceress Research Society from a few days ago, particularly the information uttered by the informant that he was very concerned about.
Since Renee was not the “Undying Sorceress” he was looking for, could the sorceress who escaped from the Sorceress Research Society possibly be the one prophesized to carve the tombstone for humanity? Fisher couldn’t guarantee it, but since he had a lead regarding the Apocalypse Prophecy, he decided to keep a closer eye on things.
With Fisher’s help, they had basically confirmed that this murder case was indeed the work of the Sorceress Research Society. Fisher deduced that the Undying Sorceress must have escaped to Nali, and the members of the Sorceress Research Society were sent on a mission to bring her back, and they likely had not found her yet.
Fisher wanted to locate the sorceress before the Sorceress Research Society could find her. This might require a bit of help from an “old friend.”
His thoughts briefly paused as they arrived at the tram station closest to the Royal Academy. Fisher greeted the passengers beside him and squeezed out of the overcrowded station, where many students got off with him.
The Royal Academy was no longer as quiet as before; besides a few seemingly dazed researchers, there was nothing else. Many young scholars, like those at Saint Nali University, appeared at the school gates, gathering in groups to chat and play, all dressed in matching black formal attire for the autumn semester opening ceremony.
Fisher, in his elegant Nali suit, swiftly approached the ceremony site with his staff. He bypassed many professors and researchers who were scrutinizing him and walked straight to the front of the area. There, Heilson and Damien, also wearing black ceremonial robes, were seated in the front row.
Several other deans from various departments were present. Among the six deans, other than Heilson, who was not insulted by Fisher during his graduation, most received some form of retribution. They all wore faces that were smiles on the surface but not in their hearts, epitomizing superficial etiquette.
“Mr. Fisher.”
“Fisher!”
Fisher nodded to them before sitting down to the right of Damien. To Damien’s left was the smiling Heilson, who held a box of pastries. He opened the box and said to Fisher,
“Hey, Fisher, come try the snow flaky pastries my granddaughter made. They’re delicious.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
“Try it, try it. Is it good?”
Fisher smiled and took one of the white, snow-flake-like pastries. After taking a bite, he almost vomited from the cloyingly sweet taste. He chewed awkwardly, meeting Heilson’s expectant eyes, then managed to swallow it before replying,
“Delicious.”
“You see, Damien, I told you he and my granddaughter are a perfect match!”
“Give me a break. Didn’t you see his wax-chewing expression? Only you two would enjoy this kind of stuff. Why not just chew on raw cane sugar?”
“Oh my god, you hurt me, Damien! I’ve decided not to talk to you again until the end of the ceremony!”
Damien crossed his arms and fell silent, a clear “I don’t want to deal with you” posture.
Fisher chuckled, quietly glanced at the watch on his wrist, and noted that only a few minutes remained before the ceremony began. Behind him, the scholars were entering the venue and taking their seats in the middle and back sections, with professors and deans seated in front, followed by researchers from the institute.
“Everyone! Silence!”
As the time approached, the sturdy Damien stepped onto the stage, pulling the microphone standing there. Perhaps he didn’t notice the design of the venue; the microphone was nailed to the floor, and when he yanked it, the nail flew up, causing him to look puzzled at the audience below.
Heilson stifled a laugh as he popped a cookie into his mouth.
Whether it was due to his commanding voice or his impressive strength, the scholars and researchers in the back all fell silent.
“Starting today, the 54th autumn semester of Godlin the Ninth is about to begin, and everyone will soon embrace a busy and interesting semester. But before we announce the start of the new semester for our researchers and scholars, we have invited Mr. Fisher Benavides to give a speech for this new semester.”
“Oh my god! It’s that rebel!”
“Oh heavens, who will he insult this time?”
“I thought Damien had already learned his lesson from the graduation ceremony; this old fool has no shame left!”
“Does anyone have earplugs?”
Compared to the whispers of the researchers, the scholars below were furious. They had all heard of Fisher’s legend to some extent, and for the young scholars still in their academic careers, nothing could be more appealing than a rebellious and bright elder’s exploits!
Especially when the handsome young Nali gentleman in his suit took the stage, the scholars behind him erupted into applause, warming the atmosphere of the venue.
Thus, amid the excited attendees, no one noticed a woman at the very back dressed in a light gold dress and wearing a white hat, quietly sitting in the last row. Outside the main entrance, several armed Royal Soldiers were discreetly observing everyone entering and exiting.
Beneath the hat, a pair of gentle golden eyes looked towards the young and accomplished Nali scholar Fisher on stage.
“Fisher!”
“The legend of the Royal Academy!”
Responding to the excited scholars below, Fisher raised his hand to quiet them,
“Everyone, I’m honored to be invited by Principal Damien once again to stand on this familiar podium. To be honest, after that day six years ago, I thought I would be bidding farewell to this place.”
His expression was calm, but his words made the scholars below burst into laughter.
“To get back on track, as a speech for the opening ceremony of the autumn semester, it’s customary for the speaker to offer some advice regarding the future, whether academic or personal. Today’s theme, therefore, is: Capital.”
“Let’s start with a story. I have many close friends in Saint Nali, one of whom is quite peculiar. In one of his accounts, he always keeps 100,000 Nali at all times.”
“After years of work, he has never touched the Nali in that account. When I curiously asked him about it, he said it was to have the capital to boldly say ‘get lost’ when bullied or exploited by his boss one day.”
Fisher occasionally glanced at the speech notes below, but most of his attention remained on the audience below. Seeing them smile at his words encouraged him to continue,
“For a person, the so-called ‘capital’ is their intrinsic value; it is the strongest proof that they can avoid unfair treatment, boldly be themselves, and resist critique. Just like many years ago when I loudly declared that you deans were the ‘corpses of the old era’ here, despite your anger, you cannot deny my excellent academic achievements.”
Damien, sitting with his arms crossed, darkened in expression. The muscles hidden beneath his ceremonial robe began to show blue veins. Heilson patted his shoulder and whispered,
“Calm down; this is your choice.”
“…”
Damien took a deep breath, continuing to glower at Fisher’s calm smile above.
“Just like now, I thought at least those buried corpses could transform into fertilizer to nourish the future’s towering trees, but it turns out they only nourish the flies that swarm in from the institute.”
The expressions of all the researchers below darkened to match that of Dean Damien. They looked at the silent Damien in front and gritted their teeth, saying nothing. However, the scrutinizing gazes of the younger scholars behind them felt like needles in their backs. Many of them, having overindulged in drugs, even broke out into a cold sweat due to the summer’s heat, their bodies beginning to tremble.
“They are unwilling, they are angry, they want to refute my evaluations, they want to angrily denounce what I said as untrue. But upon careful reflection, aside from the numbers recorded on bills spent during weekly entertainment outings, they have nothing to counter my academic accomplishments. Just as I said, they have no capital.”
“Of course, I do not intend to teach you to act recklessly or arrogantly. I hope you can enrich yourselves as much as possible within the limited time, determine what kind of person you want to be and the path you wish to take, so as not to find when you reach a crossroads that you have no ticket to get on the carriage.”
“It is true that I have insulted the Royal Academy for so long, but am I insulting the environment here, every brick, every tree? What tarnishes the Royal Academy’s reputation are those worms wallowing in despair, corpses decaying without the ambition to progress, but that doesn’t mean you, the emerging generation, should be the same.”
“It is time for you all—meaning you young people now—to determine what the future of this place will look like. Whether it will be a hell of daily indulgence or the lofty academic hall of the entire Saint Nali is not something any political power or deceit can decide; it is always up to you, the members of the Royal Academy!”
Fisher gently crumpled the already finished speech notes into a ball, his gaze sweeping over the researchers, looking as though they’d lost their last family member, the thoughtful members of the Griffin Party, and those starry-eyed young scholars, as well as the blonde lady at the end of the row who had started to softly applaud for him.
He paused for a moment, casually crumpling the paper in his palm, donned his gentleman’s hat, and ended with,
“Students, happy new semester!”
Following that was a thunderous round of applause sending him off the stage.
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(End of Chapter)
