Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 43

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 43

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius Episode 43

There’s No Such Thing as a Good Team (3)

“You did something like that because of your family… What right do you have to say that?!”

Suddenly, the atmosphere turned hostile.

What’s this? Weren’t they just having a nice conversation?

‘Or not. It was hard to see it as a normal conversation, actually.’

One side was on edge throughout the conversation, while the other was just trying to extract information.

That’s not all.

Isabelle may know a lot about Baek Seung-woo from the past, but I don’t.

I don’t know what kind of story Baek Seung-woo has, or what hidden secrets she shares with him.

A subtle sense of distance comes from the difference in information each of us has.

That sense of distance fanned the flames of the current hostile and chilly atmosphere. But there was a more fundamental problem.

‘I have no idea what happened between Isabelle and Baek Seung-woo.’

I don’t know how far I should distance myself from her.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain right now.

My actions provoked Isabelle.

‘Family, huh….’

I wonder if something happened between the Cheonho Baekga [Thousand-Fox Baek Clan] and Sirius.

Or did Baek Seung-woo experience something within the Cheonho Baekga?

Speculation and questions are rampant, but nothing really sticks.

It’s only natural since I don’t have enough information to be sure of things that are just suspicions.

‘I’ll look into this later, and first, I need to smooth things over with Isabelle.’

The expression ‘reconcile’ is wrong.

We didn’t fight.

If I had to say, I was the one being unilaterally attacked.

She’s the only one getting angry, too.

Thinking about it, that’s right.

How do I smooth things over?

Trying to reconcile without even knowing why Isabelle is angry might just make her angrier.

But I can’t just leave this awkward and heavy atmosphere alone.

Since we’re on the same team, building rapport is very important.

“A test of courage, huh.”

Not a bad idea.

There’s no better way to build friendship and test courage and guts than that kind of game.

Nodding at the unexpected suggestion, I said.

“That sounds good. So where is this place?”

“Near the cliffs and waterfalls between the canyons!”

“…Canyons and waterfalls?”

It’s surprising that there’s such a place on the academy grounds, but.

If the place I know is the right place, you can’t just go in there.

That area is the private property of the professor who specializes in monster hunting, called ‘Hunting Studies.’

“That’s going to be difficult….”

“Why, why?”

“I don’t know Professor Tiger.”

Tiger Grylls.

A professor who made a name for himself as a legendary hunter when he was young.

He’s not that old now, but he’s been in education for a long time, having lost the vigor of his youth.

She lives in a cabin built on the canyon.

Moreover, all the lectures take place in natural environments such as canyons and fields, so I have no contact with him, who is stuck in the lab.

I can’t go into the private property of someone I have no contact with.

“Ah, don’t worry about that. You don’t need to get permission from Professor Tiger for that part.”

“As far as I know, your teacher’s ID is enough to get in. Even if it’s private property, it’s still part of the academy grounds. The teaching assistant should be able to come and go freely.”

My teaching assistant ID.

That’s the one I showed Lee Ji before.

I’ve only used it to borrow books from the library, but it had other uses.

I just found out.

Knowing that we could finally enter, we set a date.

Two days later, we decided to meet in front of the training room at dawn.

We’re all going to gather there and delve into the ghost stories.

Whatever the ghost stories are, it’s a good opportunity to build rapport and test our courage.

“Come to think of it, ghosts….”

It’s been a while.

I used to get excited about those rumors too.

I was probably with Eve back then too.

When I think about it, why are most of my memories related to Eve?

Is it because she’s been a long-time friend who’s still alive?

“Feels bad.”

Why are so many memories of that guy left?

I felt uncomfortable and unpleasant.

* * *

Before I took on a key position in the military.

That is, when I had to attend educational institutions like schools like children.

I heard a ridiculous story from my friend Eve.

“So. You received a report that a ghost lives in the foothills of Mount Kumgang?”

“Yeah! The bleak cries of the night sea echo in the mountains.”

“Wouldn’t it be the work of a monster? Maybe a dungeon is eroding reality, and a few Changwi [mischievous ghosts] escaped from the Changwi Cave.”

Changwi is a ghost who died after being eaten by a tiger.

It is a vicious ghost that leads innocent others into the tiger’s mouth with its sad resentment, but like other ghosts, it is just a folktale passed down by word of mouth.

However, in this world where magic and monsters exist, it can definitely appear.

Monsters basically reproduce through sexual reproduction.

Sometimes, they originate from folktales or legends that people talk about.

That’s why Mount Kumgang, where stories about tigers are constantly passed down, has a huge dungeon called [Changwi Cave] and a monster called Sangun.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not the work of a ghost.”

“Isn’t that just a ghost-type monster like a Wraith or Specter? There are no ghosts in the world.”

“Were monsters originally in this world?”

“Hmph, I have nothing to say if you put it that way.”

As Eve said, it is a world where monsters exist.

There is no reason why ghosts should not exist.

Personally, I hope they don’t.

The world is already scary enough, and I didn’t want to fight creatures other than monsters.

Absolutely not because I’m afraid of ghosts.

Absolutely.

“By the way, why did you bring that up? Are we going to Mount Kumgang this weekend to find ghosts?”

“Since we have to close [Changwi Cave] anyway. Let’s go together this time!”

“I’m too lazy… Ah, shouldn’t we take Wei? He’s on vacation this time.”

Wei is my friend’s name.

He is a guy I met as the world was destroyed and the concept of the country became ambiguous.

He’s two years older than me, but he’s weaker than me, so I just treat him like a friend.

In the first place, he himself hates being treated like an older brother.

…Or, is it because I ‘educated’ him several times?

“Let’s leave him out. Wei is not in this country right now.”

“Where is he?”

“Beijing.”

“…Beijing?”

He was in Gyeonggi-do until a few days ago, and he went up to Beijing without saying anything?

Wei’s nationality is Chinese.

But he didn’t live in China for long.

In my opinion, he feels like a local friend who is good at Chinese.

How did he get there?

“This time, he’s obsessed with Tai Chi or Baji Quan [Chinese martial arts styles] and is trying to find hidden masters at random. I don’t know why he’s trying to find hidden masters in the city.”

“Hahaha, that’s Wei-like behavior.”

I’m not really laughing.

Wei, that troublemaker, always acts according to his curiosity.

It’s always my job to clean up the mess.

In fact, cleaning up Wei’s mess is not that difficult.

The problem is that I have to clean up the mess that Eve made.

I grabbed my throbbing head and said anxiously.

“The Sangun of Mount Kumgang will be at least 4th level.”

“So, can’t you do it? If you’re scared, that’s fine.”

“Hey, who said I was scared? I’m just saying to be careful.”

“That’s proof that you’re scared. Pfft, coward.”

“You’re talking nonsense. You’re the one who has a safety insensitivity.”

I tried to scare her by mentioning the level of the monster that rules Mount Kumgang, but Eve took the lead in the conversation.

Well, she’s a monster who can catch high-level monsters without any problems.

4th level is not a big deal.

Eve started teasing me, asking if I was scared.

The way she smiled so brightly was annoying.

Ugh, I’m really angry.

“Don’t laugh. Even a toddler wouldn’t laugh so carelessly.”

“Sometimes I think your 말투 [manner of speaking] is really like an old man.”

“An, an old man?”

“Yeah, who uses words like 삼척동자 [samcheokdongja – a Korean idiom for a young child] these days? Isn’t it because you hang out with adults too much?”

Certainly, my vocabulary and 말투 are very similar to those of adults.

I enlisted as a boy soldier at the age of 5, but at the time, I was too young to be employed as a soldier.

Therefore, officers took turns teaching me.

Of course, that’s not the only reason.

There was also an anecdote that I was so good that I absorbed everything I taught like a sponge and bought the military’s interest and love.

Thanks to this, I learned skills and survival methods from all kinds of retired soldiers and veteran veterans.

In this process, I also met the teacher who taught me swordsmanship and the teacher who taught me about life.

So I had self-esteem in my 말투 learned from adults.

To express that as an old man.

“Don’t say that. I’ll just laugh it off, but if those people hear it, they might pick up their swords and go wild.”

“Well, it could be annoying if you do it wrong. But it’s not like it’s wrong.”

“You’re really brave. Well, that’s why you’re saying let’s go find ghosts in Mount Kumgang.”

Eve and I walked along the road, chatting about this and that.

We had trivial conversations about what to do if a ghost really appeared and what equipment to bring to [Changwi Cave].

“If a ghost appears, defeat it with your sword. Even a coward can do that much, right?”

“What coward, isn’t it better to just wipe it out with your magic? No, if you do it wrong, the whole mountain might collapse.”

“You’re treating me like a monster. You blew up a few hills in the last operation, too.”

Eve and I, laughing and chatting without any worries, looked no different from teenagers in their teens.