Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 111

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 111

Expanded World (1)

After arguing with Termier for a while, he seemed exhausted and cleanly gave up on trying to arrest or restrain me.

The students, who had been very tense, finally seemed relieved and sighed deeply.

They probably thought I was being let go under the principle of presumption of innocence, but in reality, he had realized something.

‘If he tries to catch me, he’ll inevitably have to fight me. And since I have no reason to let him off easy, he quickly realized his own neck was at risk.’

He is quite strong, but as long as he uses a sword, it’s impossible for him to beat me with it.

I may be a cripple now, but I was once someone who reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

I would suffer considerable damage, but the victor is already half-decided.

Maybe he sensed that instinctively.

Not a bad intuition.

Honestly, it’s a shame.

Such intuition is a talent that could lead to great success as a martial artist, but he’s turning away from higher realms by becoming a knight dedicated to someone.

I would never do such a foolish thing.

Well, unless my intuition is wrong.

“By the way…”

What was I doing just now?

As I looked around, a floating sensation washed over me, and the world flashed white. I naturally closed my eyes and opened them to find something had changed… but I don’t know what it is.

A hazy feeling, like falling asleep.

I shook off the sensation, loosened the sword at my waist, and settled down on the ground near the campfire.

The early bird on the opposite side spoke to me.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

What I saw was a white-haired girl tidying her long white hair.

Her amethyst-like sparkling purple eyes were beautiful. Her name is—.

“—Eve.”

“Why are you calling me? Is there something you want to say?”

In front of the campfire, surrounded by the snoring of soldiers exhausted from days of field duty.

She, poking at the firewood with a twig, felt somehow unfamiliar.

Why is this happening?

I see her face every day, but I felt a mix of joy, like meeting her after months, and a rage that made me want to punch her.

The emptiness above my head and around my waist was a bonus.

Have I been fighting day and night lately, so my body is not in good condition?

I need some energy recovery.

“No… I just called you suddenly.”

“What, that’s boring. Why, should your big sister play with you?”

“Stop talking nonsense about being my big sister.”

“I’m two years older than you. So, of course, I’m your big sister.”

“My rank is higher.”

“Yes, yes~ I understand, Commander. After all, I, the adjutant, devise most of the tactics, and my external authority is similar to yours, my superior.”

A series of truly childish conversations.

The fact that the owners were the supreme commander and adjutant running the military kingdom brought laughter to the soldiers who were not yet asleep.

“Why are our commanders so cute?”

“Haha, I wonder if my child, who is sleeping at home, is saying such things in their mother’s arms.”

“Hey, you’ll get scolded if you say that to your mom.”

“Really? I’ve been home for so long that I’m confused.”

“Me too. I think my son will be old enough to enter high school when this battle is over.”

The inside of the barracks, which had been in a silence so deep that no one would notice if someone died, suddenly turned to talk of families, filled with smiles.

I don’t know how many months it’s been since I’ve seen laughter.

“I never thought there would be a day when I would laugh here. I couldn’t imagine it.”

“Me neither. I was sure that if there was a day when I would laugh here, it would be a day when I went crazy and lost my mind.”

“That’s right. The supply routes are cut off, and several battalions on the front lines are annihilated, so we were just living day by day with anxiety.”

It was all thanks to the two of them wiping out the monsters in the area and building a safe fortress.

Seungwoo hunted monsters with his sword and secured safety and food.

Eve used magic to build buildings and fortresses, and devised ways to protect soldiers from unexpected situations by setting up various traps.

The short conversation between the two of them now.

It was a small reward for such dedication and achievements.

And every time they reflected on that gratitude, they were reminded of their ages.

“They’re young, but they’re doing a really good job.”

“He’s a year younger than my son. When I last saw him a year ago, he was still whining to his mom.”

“Are those two the same as ordinary children? They are… our hope.”

“No matter how much hope they are, they are only half of us. No, they are just kids who haven’t even lived 1/3 of our lives.”

One was a girl who had just become an adult, and the other was a kid who had become the star and symbol of the military kingdom.

They were the most reliable on the battlefield, but when they talked, they were reminded that they were just teenagers in their prime.

What a pitiful reality.

I feel painfully aware that there are not enough adults to mobilize such children in the war, and even to fill the top executive positions.

“When I was first assigned, I thought it was some kind of prank when a 15-year-old kid stood there as the commander.”

To have to spend a youth that should be shining brightly in a bloody war.

How frustrating is that?

But there was no one to replace them right now.

Perhaps until the war is over, or until they die.

No suitable person can be found to replace Seungwoo and Eve.

And actually.

That statement was correct.

* * *

Suddenly, I opened my eyes.

I felt refreshed, but even more tired.

It was a symptom that appeared when I took a half-hearted nap.

“…….”

—Hmm, why does your expression look so rotten? I’ve never seen that face in the weeks I’ve been with you.

“……I feel like I had a dream that wasn’t very pleasant.”

I closed my eyes to rest and recharge my mental strength, but I must have fallen asleep.

Was it because it was the first time I had slept in a long time?

Or was it because I fell asleep sitting down? I felt like I had a pretty disturbing dream.

‘It doesn’t seem like a particularly important dream, and it doesn’t seem like I was exposed to the ability to interfere with dreams. Is it just a bad feeling?’

As soon as I woke up, I replayed the dream.

Dreams are something you can’t remember properly, so there’s no point in trying to remember them, but if you desperately try to remember them, there’s nothing you can’t do.

What came to mind was a memory from my childhood.

Probably between 18 and 19 years old.

‘Looking at the surrounding building structure and natural environment, and Eve’s face, it seems to be the 7th supply route.’

A temporary logistics base built with magic on top of a collapsed supply route.

Probably more than half of them died in a raid in less than a month.

It wasn’t a pleasant memory.

I have to shake it off quickly.

It was almost time to talk to the villagers, including the village chief.

For reference, all the children I couldn’t find were involved in this village.

Noyu was a hunter, and Sung Yeonhwa was a village guard.

However, Isabel was nowhere to be found in Temil Village.

Where did she go again?

Anyway.

“Why does the atmosphere feel like a hearing?”

“I think it’s closer to a trial than a hearing.”

“That’s right. So, you’re the village chief, right?”

A typical old man with long white hair.

The old man, who looked like a village chief, opened his mouth.

“You know well. Yes, I am Yuron, the village chief of this Temil Village.”

“Um… can I just call you village chief?”

“It doesn’t matter. After all, most people already call me that, and there will be no more opportunities to face you.”

“Oh… is that so?”

He clearly intends to do something to me.

I guess he trusts the knight next to him.

He has excellent physical abilities, but he is inferior to me in overall aspects.

Well, that’s only natural since he chose the path of a knight, not a martial artist.

“That guy can’t beat me. Let’s start with that in mind.”

“What? Sir Knight, is that true…?”

“…Ahem, I’ve never fought a beastman before, and I’ve never fought a mage above 5 circles, so I can’t say for sure… but probably.”

“Damn it!!”

The village chief doesn’t seem to be in a good mood because his plan went wrong from the start.

I had no intention of listening to his curses until the end, so I tapped the wall and woke him up.

What kind of manners is that while talking to me?

“Won’t you focus on me? Before that, it would be better to introduce ourselves.”

“…That’s right.”

The village chief and I lightly introduced ourselves.

The children who were watching swallowed their saliva and looked very nervous. Well, the surrounding atmosphere is so dark, so it’s understandable.

Are you going to set the mood from the start?

Well, that’s fine.

We continued the conversation without much fuss.

However, what was unique was Sung Yeonhwa’s reaction when she heard that most of the northern territory, including this village, was a fiefdom [an area of land controlled by a lord].

She was also in this village.

“The Northern Grand Duke and the Northern Grand Duchess are gone?”

“Northern… Grand Duke?”

What is that again?

What did she learn before Korean when she came to Korea?

“Teacher, don’t you know? Originally, the northern region is the Northern Grand Duke’s territory.”

“…Sorry.”

I don’t know at all.

I don’t really want to know.

Meanwhile, the village chief cleared his throat and gave a warning because the conversation went astray. It means to focus on the conversation.

I don’t think it’s something he should be doing.

“So, our conditions are simple.”

“Am I also being punished?”

“Even if you didn’t know, if you are the leader of a group, you must take responsibility.”

I can’t listen to it anymore.

I jumped up from my seat.

Then everyone’s eyes turned to me.

There was tension in their eyes due to the sudden movement.

“No, I’ve been frustrated since a while ago. I didn’t do anything.”

Isn’t that important?

At the question asked so openly, not only the villagers but also the students widened their eyes.

They didn’t expect me to come out so openly.

“…Do you know what the Black Wolf Mercenary Corps did after accepting our village’s request?”

“No, I don’t know.”

“No, you saw it. The villagers dying from their evil deeds right in front of you. Taking away the only remaining family from us who have nothing and live in the cold.”

The village chief appeals with emotion.

In fact, that’s right.

Whether he gave the order or not, the owner of a group must be able to take responsibility.

That is the virtue of a ruler and a leader.

‘But this isn’t even the real world in the first place.’

Even if it existed, this world is a fragment of a world that has already been destroyed long ago.

All the episodes in this world are just showing a dusty DVD.

Even if we struggle to prevent the predetermined destruction.

No matter what we do, the end of this story will lead to a conclusion called destruction.

Even if that’s not the case, we were just given roles in the first place.

There was no obligation to take responsibility for the assigned role.

“So what do you want me to do?”

“!!!!”

You should go and argue with the real leader who founded the mercenary group.

I don’t know why you’re doing this to me.

The village chief, who was trying to appeal with emotion, and the villagers who were silent next to him, shook their eyes greatly at the resolute answer that had no blood or tears.

Termier, who only revealed his eyes from his helmet, and the students were the same.

“Did I kill your families myself?”

“No, even if that’s not the case, you have a duty to take responsibility as the leader…!”

“Then shouldn’t you also take responsibility for not protecting the villagers as the village chief and shamelessly surviving?”

“What kind of nonsense is that…!”

“Nonsense? If you hate me so much, arrest me right here.”

I immediately ignited my magic power.

I heated up my magic power simply.

It was a trick I naturally learned while reviewing and revisiting various beginner to intermediate levels in preparation for advanced magic.

However, even if it’s a trick, the charm of the technique is that the power and utility vary greatly depending on who uses it.

The heated magic power seemed as if it would wipe out the area at any moment when it formed any [Fire Magic].

“For reference, I’m going to struggle as someone who is being unfairly arrested.”

The magic power grows more and more as if to explode together if they try to put shackles on me in the name of responsibility.

It was an obvious intention.

A threat that if you try to put shackles on me in the name of responsibility and duty, I will explode with you.

Termier raised his head above his helmet as if he had a headache.

I looked at him and slightly raised the corners of my mouth with an interesting look.

The faces of the people who were guarding the place were flushed with the smile that showed he was enjoying it. They seemed to have forgotten that the magic power was gradually raging like a fierce flame.

Even the village chief, who was yelling in anger, blushed and tried to lower his facial muscles with his hands, but the smile and blush did not go away.

The skill, 「Charm」, was activated.

Later, according to the people who blushed in that place, it was truly the appearance of a Gumiho who coaxes people at will.