PAID

The day after the Great Incident, discussions and debates filled the halls of the Academy.

“The temple has fallen. And not just one, but all across the South… simultaneously. It still feels like a dream.”

“Exactly. But at least they caught the terrorists. I can’t believe they were just commoners.”

“It’s terrifying. How could they commit such an atrocity?”

“…Well, I don’t think it’s that simple. Weren’t they victims too? It almost feels like justified vengeance—”

“Hah! And you actually believe those ridiculous rumors?!”

“Why shouldn’t I? The temple’s corruption wasn’t exactly a secret.”

“You—!?”

The news of the Grand Temple’s destruction, along with the coordinated attacks on various regional temples, had spread with unnatural speed.

Almost as if it had been planned.

Even the newspapers had immediate reports, already prepared with details of the attacks—the motives, the background, and the events that led up to them.

Alongside them, the temple’s darkest secrets were laid bare.

Some cried, “Propaganda! A conspiracy!” while others scoffed, “So it was true all along? Hah! I knew it!”

And it wasn’t just commoners who had suffered under the temple’s oppression.

Many nobles and knights, especially those from impoverished families, had their own bitter history with the clergy.

The wealthy and well-connected quickly verified the reports. Some nobles had the time and resources to dig into the truth, while the information guilds had their own ways of confirming what was real and what wasn’t.

And so—

“A duel, you say?! How dare you insult the Light’s glory!”

“You, you blind fool! The evidence is overwhelming! The temple is not the Light—it is merely a representative of it! And after this, they have lost the right to be God’s emissaries!”

“You bastard—!!”

In the South, where over 80% of the population were followers of the Light, the divide was sharp.

Some refused to believe the temple could ever be at fault. To them, faith was absolute, and no act of corruption could outweigh the temple’s role as a beacon of the Light.

Others saw the temple as nothing more than a self-serving organization, separate from the true teachings of the Light.

Fights broke out everywhere—not just among students, but between instructors, professors, and even Academy officials.

No—to be precise—

“Damn nobles! They only act like this because they weren’t the ones suffering!”

“Whose side are you on?!”

“What, am I wrong?!”

“You—!!”

This was not just an Academy issue.

It was chaos across the entire kingdom.

An Uncharacteristically Silent Place