Villain: After I died, all the heroines cried themselves to sleep.

During winter break, Rogge and Fiora continued their training in the gym as usual.

As the chief judge, Haina did not return to the Truth Cult, but stood aside and quietly watched the battle.

This wasn't the first time she had come to watch the game.

Both Rogue and Fiora are used to it.

Since the other party isn't saying anything, just ignore them as if they're invisible.

However, on this day, Haina acted out of character and took the initiative to approach Roger.

"I heard you're very interested in the history of other ethnic groups and are planning to start a research club on that history?"

"Does Instructor Henna know?"

Roger glanced at Hena.

A sense of unease crept into his heart.

But then Haina took out Roger's application form from her breastplate and said calmly.

"Your history of being an alien race has always been subject to scrutiny by the Truth Cult. Your application form was stuck in the Truth Cult and was not approved. I just happened to see it."

"..."

Roger then realized that his club application from last semester had indeed been intercepted by the Truth Cult.

"As a Templar Knight, I can process the approval."

Hena adopted an unyielding attitude, staring at Roger with a serious expression.

"But before that, you must tell me your real reason for wanting to investigate the history of other races, beyond what you call interest."

"What else could it be?"

Roger shrugged helplessly and resorted to his old excuse.

"Of course, it's because I want to conquer that remnant of the sinful race! Everyone knows about this, Instructor Haina must have heard about it, right?"

What's wrong with liking long, straight black hair?

Although it will be very embarrassing if my identity is exposed later.

It might even become an indelible stain on one's history.

But since things have come to this, let's enjoy the convenience of using it as a shield for now.

As expected, Hina nodded.

She then raised a pointed question.

"But you actually like the remnants of the Sinner race. According to historical records, the Sinner race looks very similar to humans, but their essence is that of demons filled with madness and bestiality. Do you perhaps believe that the Sinner race still retains some rationality and humanity similar to humans?"

"Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Didn't I establish this organization precisely to investigate the history of other races and uncover the truth?"

Rogge shrugged.

Hena scrutinized Roger carefully, her brows gradually relaxing as she spoke in a measured and articulate manner.

"I will help you get this approval, but in return, I will act as a representative of the Truth Cult and supervise your group's activities."

"..."

Now that things have come to this point, what else can Roger do?

He had no other choice but to agree.

……

Thus, during this semester, Rogge's Society for the Study of the History of Other Races was established.

The members are not much different from the previous interest groups, except that they have just legitimized their research on the history of other ethnic groups.

Rogge no longer needed to hide anything and could act openly, applying to the academy for various books and historical materials. History teachers could also openly provide assistance to everyone.

"Now let's start arranging our club's work."

Inside the event room, Roger, who was sitting in the main seat, stood up and looked around at everyone present.

"Ira is in charge of investigating local customs, Maya is in charge of compiling historical materials for the academy, Sword Maiden is in charge of providing supplementary information on the Holy Race, Julie is in charge of gathering information among the Celestial Race, and as for that idiot Ling Sha... let her be a mascot."

"W-what? I'm not a mascot!"

"You're not even agreeing to be cute, are you?"

"Cute?!?"

"Just kidding."

"Huh? Ha... I knew it! I knew it! It's always like this! Humph!"

"Idiot, because you have more important work to do..."

The Kingdom of Ling boasts the world's largest national library, containing many rare and out-of-print books, as well as numerous others that have never been on display.

As Princess Lingsa, it would not be difficult for her to access the National Library.

The result was as expected, and even somewhat unexpected.

Princess Lingsha did not choose to look it up herself.

During her vacation, she took Julie and others home and brought over bundles of books about alien races from the library.

Roger was astonished when he saw the mountain of books piled up in the activity room.

"Wow, daughters really are a case of 'once they grow up, they're gone.' Having a spendthrift daughter like you who always sides with outsiders is a curse for your family."

"Hmph! Then don't bother looking, I'm moving back right now."

"Wait a minute, don't rush, I admit I was wrong."

"I'll teach you to talk nonsense. Humph!"

As Rogge shifted his focus to historical research, and with access to intelligence and documents from various sources, the Alien History Research Society quickly achieved initial results.

First, the history of the alien races is closely related to the Lost Era, and it can be argued that the Lost Era was the era in which they were active.

Secondly, the Sin Clan is very likely the rulers of the Lost Era, and perhaps even the human race was once ruled and enslaved by them.

Furthermore, the Holy Race was active during the Lost Era, rather than rising to power only after overthrowing the Sinful Race's rule.

"From this perspective, it must be that the Sinful Race touched some taboo that endangered the world. In the end, with the help of the Holy Race, the Human Race ended the Lost Era of Sinful Race rule and ushered in the current Era of Truth."

"In this way, it can roughly correspond to the history recorded by the Truth Church."

"But according to this theory, the Holy Race and the Sin Race are both opposites and similar. Now that Sword Maiden is human, what about the Sin Race...?"

"Don't compare the Holy Race with the Sinful Race! You idiot!"

Rogge delivered a chop to Princess Lingsa, interrupting her subconscious association.

The chief judge is watching from behind!

Roger glanced at Haina out of the corner of his eye. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, expressionless, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Seeing that the other party did not react, Roger breathed a slight sigh of relief.

……

After that, some time passed.

Hena did not make a big fuss over Princess Lingsa's slip of the tongue.

Roger gradually felt relieved.

Based on the intelligence gathered from Shulan and others' subsequent investigation, as well as their interactions during this period, it is clear that...

Haina came to the Royal Academy not to hunt down the remnants of the criminal clan, but more to relax and take on the role of an instructor, setting aside her official duties.

Roger grew increasingly curious about the real reason why Hanna had come to the academy.

He began trying to strike up conversations with Haina.

Perhaps because they had spent so much time together, and because she hadn't served as a judge for a long time, Haina didn't suspect anything when Roger approached her.

"Rogge, others avoid me like the plague, but you dare to approach me. You're getting bolder and bolder."

"After all, I'm not a bad person. Instructor Haina, you can't just attack me for no reason, can you?"

"...That's true."

Hena and Roger sat on a bench in the school courtyard.

It was late at night.

She gazed at the dark woods in the distance.

"You just asked me why I, as a Templar Knight, would come here to be an instructor? This is the first time anyone has ever asked me such a question."

"This only proves that you, Instructor Haina, have no friends."

"I have dedicated my life to the truth, so naturally I have no friends and do not need any."

"..."

"So that's all I can tell you..."

Hena shook her head and slowly explained why she came to the Royal Academy.

"Aren't you researching the history of alien races? Actually, during my time as a Templar Knight, I hunted down quite a few alien races and had a lot of contact with them..."

It turns out that during her pursuit of the remnants of the criminal clan, Haina, through verbal and sword duels, recognized her own shortcomings while being misled by the other party's words, causing her faith in the truth to become confused.

She discovered that the Sin Clan was not as insane and cruel as she had always thought; on the contrary, they possessed rationality and were able to communicate normally.

On the other hand, she was basically certain that the half-orc who launched the terrorist attack during the training was not an alien race, but the Truth Cult ultimately classified him as an alien race.

This made her doubt and waver.

In order to strengthen her faith, she secretly investigated the matter of the half-beasts, but the more she investigated, the more confused she became.

Truth and reality are not always the same; sometimes they are even completely opposite.

She couldn't tell which side was right.

Finally, she voluntarily applied for a temporary suspension of her duties to sort out her thoughts.

"I am considering whether to undergo the baptism of the Astronomy of Truth in order to deepen my understanding of the truth and strengthen my faith."

Hena said earnestly.

Unbeknownst to her, the culprit behind her confusion was sitting right next to her.

Roger feigned innocence, remained silent for a moment, and then leaned back against the bench.

I casually looked up at the night sky.

"Is the truth of faith more important, or the truth of objectivity?"

Is someone else's truth more important, or one's own truth?

"Should we deceive ourselves with falsehoods, or bravely face the truth?"

"I think the key is not what choice you make, but what you think in your own heart."

"If you make your own choice and walk down that path without regret, what is there to hesitate about?"

"..."

Hena opened her eyes wide and looked at Roger, her expression seemingly quite surprised.

She couldn't help but reach out and rub Roger's head.

What are you doing?

Roger quickly broke free from Haina's grasp.

The usually serious and proper Hina was seen to show a rare hint of appreciation in her smile.

"You really are an incredible person."

"ha?"

"As an ordinary person, you disregard class differences and get along well with the Sword Maiden, even changing her heart. Now, I am also inspired and motivated by you."

Hena looked at Roger solemnly and said seriously.

"You may not know this, but to some extent, it was because of you that I chose to stay at the academy."

"From the first moment I saw you, I was captivated by your swordsmanship and developed a fondness for your talent."

"Your swordsmanship is ordinary and simple, unlike the genius swordsmanship of Sword Princess and others, but you have managed to compete with it through hard work."

"This greatly inspired me and showed me a completely different possibility."

"Thank you for helping me strengthen my resolve and enabling me to make a choice."

"……You're welcome."

Roger's lips twitched slightly.

I was quite speechless.

Something's not right with this script.

Fiora did the same thing before.

He was just spouting nonsense, trying to shake Haina's faith, but it backfired; she became even more energized...

Roger felt like he was digging his own grave again.

No wonder he's a failed avenger.

"Since you helped me, I'll do you a favor in return."

Unaware of what Roger was thinking, Haina continued.

"I've been watching your fight with the Sword Maiden. In terms of swordsmanship, you're evenly matched, but due to the difference in talent, your attack power is severely lacking."

"You should know very well that talent can be acquired later in life, and I possess several acquired talents, as well as the methods to awaken them."

"So, would you be interested in undergoing my special training and trying to awaken a new talent?"

"Next year is the Royal Academy's quadrennial anniversary celebration. If you awaken a new talent, you might be able to shine in the martial arts tournament."