The Kind of Evil-Chapter 162: Recognition.
Maximilian and the others were gathered in the library, and they heard about things that had happened around Neva. They heard about demon forces that appeared in each corner of the world. They were worried about their families and how they were doing.
"Aren’t we wasting our time here?" Alexander asked as he looked at the book in his hands.
Everyone took a deep breath and didn’t know what to say because they all agreed with his words.
"We learn nothing here, really..." Alexander closed the book and looked at Maximilian and Isador. "We can learn everything we want, anywhere we want, and with whom we want."
"Ever since Instructor Rasmus quit, the things we learned were bland, tasteless, and pointless. What he taught us, they were for this moment..." Maximilian nodded in agreement.
"I miss him..." Aurelia said as she rested her head on her arms on the table. "I wonder what he’s doing right now..." She mumbled and stared blankly at the bookshelf.
Everyone thought about Rasmus and the exciting things he did. They then remembered the situation in South Neva and how Rasmus had dealt with it. Deep down, they believed that Rasmus would survive and achieve a lot of things at the same time.
"I have made up my mind..." Monica said as she stood up. "I’m quitting and want to return to the North to help my mother."
Maximilian was surprised and looked up at Monica. She wasn’t the type who made an impulsive decision, which meant she had thought about it long enough.
"What? Are you serious about this?" Maximilian asked with his brows furrowed. "Your mother, Her Holiness, wouldn’t let you do that, and if she knew, you would be in trouble."
"I hate to say this, but right now, our families need us. I know that I’m being bold here, but what we learned from Instructor Rasmus, we might be able to prevent our nations from having similar fates as those nations in the South and East," Monica explained as she looked at them.
Valari, Alexander, and Isador also felt the same way as Monica. They knew what they learned from Rasmus might be useful because so far, the way South Neva and East Neva dealt with the situation was nothing but righteous. The flaws were visible to the naked eye how their plans had backfired, and they had to deal with the consequences of their actions.
"Remember what Instructor Rasmus said to us before he left?" Valari stared blankly at the table with his brows raised. "He said that the future is in our hands. What good or evil, we are the ones to decide. What do you guys think about that?" Valari asked.
Monica sat down, and she already knew the answer the moment Rasmus said that to them.
"Because righteousness has flaws, just like every other thing," Monica answered with a stoic expression. "Balance is what Instructor Rasmus taught us. He wanted us to be different from everyone else. He wanted us to be in the middle where good and evil are balanced out."
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"If righteousness is perfect and is the ultimate way to deal with all kinds of situations, evil should have gone extinct a long time ago, and yet it still exists," Isador muttered, remembering how foolish and naive he was when he believed righteousness could fix everything.
"But righteousness isn’t the one to blame, it’s the humans themselves. Which was why Instructor Rasmus taught us about it, about human nature and how to deal with it..." Alexander added as he nodded in agreement.
"The most dangerous thing isn’t evil itself but the illusion of righteousness. Just like a leader who has incompetent allies makes it worse than a powerful enemy," Maximilian added as he clenched his fists.
There was only silence for a whole minute after they listened to each other. They digested what they learned from the discussion and carved that deep into their hearts.
"I’m going to write a letter to the Chancellor. I can’t stay here and do nothing," Monica said as she got up and grabbed the book she was reading.
Alexander and Valarie got up as well, and they wanted to do the same. The others were shocked, but then they all stood up and decided to quit as well. Monica was stunned that everyone would do the same as her even though she wasn’t trying to convince them.
"(Recognition... so this is how it feels...)" Monica thought when she realized how powerful recognition was and how it could move the people around her.
They went to their dorms and began to write a letter to Lenin. They gave various and valid reasons as to why they wanted to quit the academy. They were from influential and powerful families in Neva, and they didn’t have to wait while the world was in danger.
After they had written the letter, they all went to the main building and went straight to Lenin’s office.
...
Lenin was dumbfounded when she read all the letters from them. She had never seen any students who wanted to leave the academy. She felt like a failure because the whole academy couldn’t give them a single thing that made them stay.
"Thank you for everything, Chancellor," Monica bowed her head. "We are grateful that we can enroll into this academy and for bringing us the best instructor that we could never imagine."
The others bowed their heads as well and expressed their gratitude to Lenin. They also mentioned Rasmus and how he taught them the most important thing in life.
Lenin was worried about them when she realized how impactful Rasmus’s presence was to those students. She was worried that they would turn out like him, dangerous figures that might turn the world upside down more than the first Great Era.
"I understand all your concerns and the main reason for leaving," Lenin said as she looked at the letters in front of her. "I respect and accept your reasoning, but there’s one thing that I would like to say to all of you," she looked at Monica and the others.
They looked at Lenin with their brows raised, waiting for her to speak again.
"Please, do not take everything that Count Blackheart said to you. He’s not a man that you should look up to or follow in his steps. He’s a man that ignores morality to achieve his purpose efficiently," Lenin said with a serious expression, hoping that her words could prevent them from turning into dangerous figures in the future.
They looked at each other for a few seconds before they all smiled and chuckled. Lenin was surprised that they reacted like that when she was being serious about it.
"With all due respect, Chancellor, we already know that," Aurelia smiled at Lenin.
"We know how dangerous Instructor Rasmus was from the moment he taught us about recognition and the task he gave us," Isador said as he nodded, agreeing with Aurelia’s words.
"But he never, not even once, convinced us to follow his path," Valari said with a smile on his face.
"He was the contender for our conscience, beliefs, and principles. He was the one who tried to make us see the world in its ugliest and purest form," Alexander added and nodded to Valari’s words.
"He taught us how one side isn’t better than the other. Any side has flaws, and he taught us to find balance in all of it. The good can be exploited, and the evil can be defeated, that was what he taught us," Monica explained with a gentle smile on her face.
"He didn’t want us to be like him, he wanted us to be different from him and the rest. He hoped that we could be the light that guided Neva and made a better place for everyone," Maximilian said with a serious and confident expression.
"We are all here, standing together, all because of him, Chancellor," Aurelia said and looked at the others beside her. "We have shared visions, and we understand each other," she added and smiled at Monica. Monica responded with a soft smile as she nodded in agreement.
Lenin was speechless. She had never been so shocked to the point that she didn’t know what to say. She then realized how mature their way of thinking was and how they had each other’s backs. She couldn’t prevent them from staying because they had achieved something that even the alumni couldn’t achieve.
"I understand..." Lenin sighed and nodded with understanding. "I’ll grant your request, all of you," she smiled.
