Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 202

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 202

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 202

Masquerade (2)

The masquerade invitation.

I hesitated to read the suspicious stationery.

Because a disturbing memory came to mind.

─Why are you doing that? Like someone terrified.

……Do I look like that right now?

I have no way to see my face because I don’t have a mirror, but it wouldn’t be strange if fear was revealed on my face.

In my life, masquerades were not glamorous places.

I don’t know what the beginning was like, but most of the masquerades I attended became literal martial arts tournaments. A scene of fists and stabbings.

‘That was my first murder.’

I killed someone for the first time in my life.

I’ve killed a lot of monsters so far, though.

Killing a human who betrayed humanity was a first at a masquerade.

The black blood of monsters was familiar, but the red blood of humans was awkward.

The color that symbolizes me is pure white.

Hair that turned as white as an old man’s.

White armor.

A pure white holy sword.

All of that was stained red for the first time.

Dark red would be one thing.

It was the first time I had been covered in human blood.

That day was one of the most shocking and impressive days in Baek Seung-woo’s life. Time has passed, and thanks to killing far more humans than the human I killed back then, my emotions and memories have become weak and faint.

The masquerade, that short word, still makes my heart flutter.

Rather than being tormented by the memories of that time.

It’s just that the sensation I felt at that time remains faintly like an afterimage.

“……What are you doing?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just reading a letter for a moment.”

“……You haven’t opened the letter yet?”

“There are parts to read on the outside of the letter too. The sender and address are typical examples. And people with as many enemies as I have need to check whether there is poison or germs on the letter.”

It was an excuse for standing blankly in place doing nothing.

I wasn’t particularly embarrassed, but I didn’t want to explain what I was thinking, so I made it up on the spot.

“……I see. Okay, I understand.”

“…….”

Something about her reaction was strange, but I didn’t bother asking.

I just stopped thinking and opened the letter.

Inside was not poison or germs, but elegant handwriting.

I read the letter in the invitation.

Hello, nice to meet you.

We would like to invite you to a masquerade.

This masquerade is a social gathering hosted by our Choi family, and we would like to host a secret gathering where we meet without verifying identity or status.

Here, worldly status too.

Power and force are not important either.

Let’s hide everything behind a mask and enjoy socializing.

As a side note, we also sent invitations to each of the Nine Heavens families [powerful and influential families in this world].

Since it’s an invitation, we didn’t receive a reply, but it will be another fun thing to see how many of them will come and what kind of mask they will hide themselves behind.

Then everyone.

I’ll be waiting at the mansion.

Please prepare a mask and attire that can conceal your identity.

Choi Joo-seok, First Head of the Choi Family

The content of the letter was unremarkable.

What was written inside was not written for a specific person, but rather content for sending out invitations simultaneously.

Not enough sincerity.

It was not like a group that claimed to be a family.

‘In the first place, the Choi family is neither a noble family nor a prestigious family.’

No history, no tradition.

The ‘First Head’ written on the last line of the invitation proves this.

A nouveau riche family with nothing but money.

I don’t know how this family found out my home address, but looking at the date, it seems like it was delivered a few days ago. It came while I was in the dungeon.

[Sent date, June 23rd.]

[Masquerade, June 30th.]

Even the date the invitation points to is today.

From 7 p.m.

Considering it’s 9 a.m. now, there’s less than half a day left.

There was no reason to go.

I didn’t even bother to get clothes and a mask that fit the theme of the masquerade.

I could just throw it in the trash, saying it was an ill-fated relationship.

But I had a strange feeling.

The sixth sense that had saved me several times on the battlefield and made me a Sword Saint was shouting: Think about it one more time.

‘……Should I take another look?’

A masquerade that I don’t have to go to.

Unless there’s a special reason not to go.

Since there wasn’t anything like that, I looked at the invitation again.

The content of the letter.

The sender and the address.

After looking at the letter several times, I remembered.

Isn’t this address near a cliff?

‘It’s not a place where you can send an address. Perhaps the coordinates are recorded in the letter in the form of a cipher [a secret or disguised way of writing; a code].’

There was nothing strange about the letter except for the address it was sent from.

I tried applying the languages and code decryption methods from all over the world that I know, but there was no result. All that is certain at this point is that the place this address is pointing to is unusual.

Tap tap!

Even when I searched with the computer I usually use for information gathering, there was only a cliff at the address.

However, one strange thing is.

“This is a natural protected area, but looking at people’s reactions, access control is severe. Is it because it’s a mining prohibited area?”

The cliff was full of high-quality iron ore that had been altered by the magic of the South Sea.

Even if a blacksmith with poor skills makes a weapon with that iron, it is said that they can make a weapon of at least C grade or higher. Even if someone with poor skills handles it to that extent.

What if a skilled blacksmith gets their hands on it?

What more is there to say?

Among the A-grade or higher equipment that exists in South Korea today, more than 40% of those containing steel are made by refining that iron ore.

That means the quality is that good.

The reputation in the market and industry is also high.

The price is that expensive too.

Since it is a place where such iron ore can be mined.

There was no objection to it being strictly guarded.

“But this is too much. To go so far as to use violence against civilians. It’s too undignified.”

When I searched, there were no articles about it, but there was a story on a personal SNS [Social Networking Service] about being beaten for getting close to the South Sea.

A photo posted with it.

The bruised back showed how much the person had been beaten, to the point of being miserable. Of course, it was insignificant compared to my injuries.

In normal cases, it was a big wound.

Swish.

However, when I moved on to the next post, the talk of being wronged or in pain disappeared without a trace.

After that, most of the posts were about certifying extravagance.

‘They bought them off with money.’

It’s obvious.

And the people who were watching his SNS noticed this.

However, as the person concerned remained silent, the public opinion quickly disappeared.

In the end, only words saying that the luxury shoes and clothes were pretty remained in the post.

As expected of the owner of the South Sea.

As a side note, the exclusive mining and supply of iron ore from the South Sea was not a business led by the state.

It was a bit too small to be led by a company.

A single family, specifically the Choi family, was leading the mining, refining, and sale of iron ore. This is completely monopolized.

‘The level of iron ore and special minerals mined in the South Sea is not low, and the quantity is not insufficient.’

I don’t know how much money they put into other people’s pockets.

The ore mined in the South Sea, especially Hanchul, accounted for most of the weapons used at Chilseong Academy.

Cheap and good quality.

Because of that advantage, the academy even had its own supply network.

Chilseong Academy provides weapons to students for free.

And most of those weapons are damaged during the students’ training process.

It was rare for them to last more than a year.

The more weapons students use, the greater the profits the Choi family makes.

Suddenly, I wonder.

Who on earth is Choi Joo-seok, the person who sent me the invitation?

How can he sweep up so much money?

Right at that moment.

“……Ah.”

Ah, that’s right.

I felt like it was familiar.

I remembered while retracing my memories.

‘I probably saw that person at the auction house.’

The opportunity to meet Tamamo for the first time.

The old man in seat number 3, who competed fiercely with me at the auction house I visited to obtain the Killing Stone. He was Choi Joo-seok, the first head of the Choi family.

The students next to me said at the time.

He is the grandfather of Choi Jin-cheol, a promising student at Chilseong Academy.

A symbol of a nouveau riche who suddenly gained a huge fortune.

‘The status of the underground auction house is high. The lower the number, the more money the VIP invested. Number 3 must have wasted a lot of money on the auction.’

It was indeed an action worthy of a nouveau riche.

Of course, I wasn’t thinking of doing it because I dominated the auction with an overwhelming amount of money that even that nouveau riche couldn’t match with money.

Still, my auction was an investment to gain some profit.

And the investment returned with more profit than the money invested.

But he only wasted money.

There was no return on his spending.

‘Choi Joo-seok, I competed with him at the auction house over the Killing Stone. After that, I stole the ring from him.’

The ring of subspace [a storage ring with its own pocket dimension].

The ring I stole from Choi Joo-seok had a space similar to a cargo warehouse.

Due to the nature of subspace, where the larger the internal space, the higher the price soars. It can be seen that Choi Joo-seok spent a huge amount of money on it.

As such, I am using it very usefully.

But if you think about it, he could legally protest or put pressure on me using this as an excuse.

He has never approached me to this day.

I was secretly prepared for even death threats.

Of course, the theft of the ring took place at an illegal auction house, so I could somehow handle it, but there was one thing that bothered me.

That is, joining hands with my political enemies.

‘If he colludes with the family elders out of revenge, even I can’t help it.’

If Choi Joo-seok had approached the elders of the main family for revenge, there would have been almost no way for me to easily know, but if he was a giant earning that much money, there would be a big echo every time he moved.

The footsteps of giants stir up the world where ants live.

There was no way the ants wouldn’t know about the movements of such giants.

‘There are many stories about Choi Joo-seok on SNS and in articles, but there is no story related to the Cheonho Baekga [MC’s family name].’

Did he control the media with money?

I thought so, but if he had controlled it that way, there would have been signs of it somewhere.

Perfect control does not exist in the information age.

Considering that, the fact that there is no story at all means that the Choi family has never approached the elders of the main family. This also means that he has no intention of opposing me.

Then why did he send me this invitation?

My head is getting more and more complicated.

The invitation looked slightly different now.

Until just now, it was a greasy letter from a rich man with obvious intentions.

Now, it looked like a letter from the same rich man, but with black intentions on the back and inside. At the same time, dazzling gold could be seen inside.

How much wealth have they accumulated?

How much cash have they laundered?

I was so curious that I couldn’t concentrate on studying.

This won’t do.

‘I have no choice but to respond to the invitation.’

I smell it.

The invitation reeked of fragrant cash.