Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 228

Summer Vacation (3)

Our first destination was Germany.

The front yard of the Leonhardt family.

The Leonhardts, who controlled military power and the economy, might seem like dictators at first glance. However, seeing the guards stationed at regular intervals throughout the airport and the city, that thought quickly vanished. And for good reason.

“This is more like a king than a dictator.”

─Hmm, deploying professionally trained soldiers at regular intervals in every region of the country… Efficiency aside, it’s perfect for controlling and monitoring the citizens.

“What’s even scarier is that no one finds it strange or uncomfortable.”

─That’s true. You can tell by their expressions. They take it for granted that soldiers regularly patrol the city.

“They genuinely trust that the soldiers are maintaining order and protecting them. This is only possible through national-level brainwashing or by earning the trust of the people of this country over a very long time.”

Of course, it’s impossible that the Leonhardt family brainwashed the citizens.

Even though Germany is their front yard, if they committed such unethical acts as brainwashing, the other eight families of the Nine Heavens [a powerful group of influential families] would have launched an all-out attack against them, except for Leonhardt.

Even within the country, those with high mental resistance would have organized protests and fought against Leonhardt. This was solely the result of long-standing trust.

Hundreds of years since the Leonhardt family was established.

For that long, the king of beasts willingly embraced and cared for the citizens.

Initially, the citizens may have been distrustful, but over the decades and centuries, Leonhardt never stopped protecting them. Even if that protection meant seizing military power in a country, the centuries-long relationship of trust remained unblemished.

‘Of course, from the perspective of people from other countries, it’s somewhat unfamiliar and incomprehensible.’

Well, it wasn’t the place of a foreigner to meddle.

It was the choice of the people of this country.

What would someone like me know?

“…Dad.”

“Why did you call? Is there something you want to eat or buy at the airport?”

“…No, not that. Where are we going now?”

Erzebet asked, looking at the baby who had fallen asleep in the stroller.

Well, originally, I was planning to accomplish the biggest goal upon arriving at the airport, but I was too exhausted to do so.

‘I never imagined the baby wouldn’t sleep at all during the long flight.’

As I became terminally ill, my body needed regular rest.

Normally, a good nap would be enough, but in special situations like battles or wars, one hour a day was enough to relieve fatigue.

Mental stress is secondary, but I can alleviate some of the physical burden. But I never imagined I wouldn’t even get that one hour.

─It was quite a sight. Haha, who would have thought the baby wouldn’t sleep and would put all sorts of things in its mouth while in your arms. If it were someone else, you would have turned red with anger. No, you might have burned them to a crisp? Especially gathering your five tails together…!

‘Tamamo, should I make you realize that your mouth isn’t called the root of all evil for nothing? The fried tofu udon I packed for you is going to be eaten by me and the baby.’

─W-Wait a minute…! Hahaha… I was wrong. So, please don’t open the packaging from the airport. There’s no hot water here.

“Why do you assume there isn’t? I can boil it.”

─Ah… please.

I left the airport while having a conversation with Tamamo.

For the record, I didn’t carry any luggage.

I put everything in the ring.

In fact, you can’t bring something like a subspace ring [a ring with storage space inside] onto a plane without knowing what’s inside, but money is the best.

I slipped them a little in their pockets, and they didn’t say anything.

I took out the stroller and some snacks and walked along the streets of Germany with the children.

It was about the time when the airport building was no longer visible to the naked eye.

“P-Please, help me!!”

“Stop right there!!!”

“Huh…?”

Suddenly, a foreign language was heard from behind.

Thanks to memorizing the languages of various countries for command purposes in the past, it wasn’t difficult to understand what it meant. But for a moment, I was confused about which country’s language it was, because.

‘Huh, the pronunciation is a bit strange?’

The foreign language heard from behind was indeed German.

This was Germany, so it was natural.

But the pronunciation wasn’t German.

Just like Japanese people have their own unique English pronunciation, it was a pronunciation that felt like someone from another country was forcibly rolling a German they weren’t used to.

‘It seems similar to the pronunciation of a country in Europe, but I’m not a linguist, so I don’t know.’

There was a time when I studied languages diligently for the sake of incantations and starting words.

But I never studied in depth to the point of knowing the characteristics of each country’s pronunciation or the peculiarities of pronunciation that occur when a person familiar with their native language pronounces another language.

Someday, it might be a necessary process to research and learn 「Dragon Words」, but it was too high a hurdle for me now.

─So, what are you going to do?

‘What do you mean.’

─What do you mean? I’m asking if you’re going to listen to the woman’s cry for help or ignore it.

‘It’s not my business.’

The security here is good, so if something happened, the guards would take care of it. If the guards don’t catch them, then there must be a reason for that.

So, I have no intention of getting involved in the request for help at all─.

‘─No intention of getting involved.’

“Excuse me, sir. Please help me.”

“……?”

The voice heard from behind had already come right behind me.

If I wasn’t careful, I could feel her breath.

Turning my head in bewilderment, a woman with an empty baby carrier on her back, wearing suspicious masks and sunglasses.

She was stuck behind me.

‘What is this suspicious woman.’

She was suspicious in many ways. The way she was holding an empty carrier as if it contained a real baby, and the masks and sunglasses.

But above all, the magic that hindered facial recognition was the most suspicious.

「Demon Eye」[a magical ability to see through deception]

The magic eye that discerns the movement of magic power and the truth pierced through the magic and the mask.

Through the purple shimmering light in my eyes, I examined the woman’s face.

A woman with a Western face. A typical Western beauty.

For now, her physiognomy passes.

Physiognomy [the art of judging character from facial features] is superstition, but in this world full of mysteries, one shouldn’t just doubt superstition. In that sense, this woman’s face is often that of a female protagonist who is kidnapped in movies, or.

‘The real mastermind. There’s a high possibility she’s a hidden power.’

Of course, even considering the peculiarities of this world, physiognomy is still just superstition, so I wouldn’t believe it outright, but there are more than one or two suspicious points.

‘Why is she asking me for help? I’m an Asian who anyone can see isn’t from this country. How can she be sure I’d understand if she asked for help in German? Moreover, why would she ask for help from someone who is traveling with a child around middle school age and a newborn baby?’

There were still plenty of suspicious points.

If they knew the price of my clothes, they would keep their distance, saying I was an unusual person. Even if they didn’t know the price, they would feel something as soon as they saw it because it was made of fabric with high magic conductivity.

Ah, that person must be very rich.

I’d be in big trouble if I got involved.

That’s how they usually react.

But the most suspicious thing was something else.

‘Why is she coming to me instead of running to the guards and soldiers overflowing on the street?’

A foreigner walking the streets with a child and soldiers protecting their country.

If you had to choose who to ask for help, you would choose the latter unless you were crazy. And now.

That crazy person was hiding behind me.

“W-Who are you?”

“Baa!”

At the appearance of the woman, Erzebet raised her magic power and was on guard.

She moved slightly, covering the stroller where the baby was lying, and pulled out her nails long. The faint smell of blood on her nails showed that she was ready to go into battle at any moment if things went wrong.

And at the same time, a man with a fierce impression ran from across the alley.

Judging from his physiognomy, I could roughly guess who the villain was, but the problem was that the woman asking for help was also quite suspicious.

“You…! There you are. There’s nowhere else to hide. Come with me!!”

“N-No. I’d rather die here than be dragged away by you again.”

“This crazy bitch is putting on an act!!”

The situation was turning strange.

I was just moving to expand my workforce, so why were these people getting involved? I was starting to get annoyed.

Right then.

“Ugh! Ah, ugh!!”

The baby started to fuss.

The baby was starting to feel uneasy in the grim atmosphere.

Although he was destined to be born as a dragon, he was now just a baby in human form. It was a time when he was bound to be greatly affected by the surrounding environment.

“It’s noisy when we’re talking. Make that baby quiet!!”

“…What’s going on here, coming all the way here.”

“What did you say just now?”

“…I feel very disgusted. How much money, time, and care did I invest to hatch this child.”

At the same time as the words.

Thud─!

Something invisible began to press down on the area.

Nothing was visible to the naked eye. But something invisible was pressing down hard on their shoulders.

The panicked woman and man were confused by what was happening to them, unable to say anything. Erzebet, who was free from something invisible, looked at them with strange eyes.

“Baa!!”

Only the baby stopped fussing and smiled brightly.

Now, he could see the intangible hands made with 「Telekinesis」[moving objects with your mind].

Several giant hands only pressed on their shoulders, and upon discovering this, he reached out his hand.

Just in case, I shook the hand towards the baby, and he smiled brightly, looking very happy.

‘His eyes are as good as his teeth.’

Eyes that see through magic.

Thanks to those who made me angry, I got unexpected information.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to help.

I don’t have any sense of duty or chivalry to help a woman I don’t even know.

Both the woman and the man got on my nerves.

“If you’re going to bother me, come at me together.”

I told them to come at me in fluent German.

Then the two of them looked at me with trembling pupils.

While using 「Telekinesis」, a vast amount of magic power of S+ grade overflowed like smoke. The two of them couldn’t miss that sight.

The woman lowered her head, and the man looked very nervous.

“If you don’t come at me, can I go to you? I’m just an ordinary passerby who got caught up in you two. So be prepared to get hit at least once.”

My mental world isn’t so soft that I’d save a suspicious woman I don’t even know without knowing the circumstances. From my point of view, I didn’t like either of them.

It was enough to crush both the fleeing and the chasing.

I had plenty of time since I had just landed at the airport.

Let’s hear about their circumstances later.