Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 113

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 113

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius Episode 113

The Expanded World (3)

Seungwoo, having obtained permission to stay in the village, strolled confidently through it.

Of course, there were several arguments in the process, but he resolved them well through dialogue, like an intellectual.

—Well, physical conversation, including intimidation, can also be seen as a type of dialogue in a broad sense.

“Ahem.”

Physical conversation, indeed.

Why use such vulgar words?

“There always needs to be something appropriate between two parties for a conversation.”

Friendship between friends.

Money between academy instructors and students.

Love and lust between men and women, if required and demanded.

“In my case, it was just power.”

The magical power at the time, which seemed ready to explode at any moment.

Even if it had exploded, Seungwoo, the students, and Termia would not have suffered any damage. It would have only inflicted scratch-level injuries on the village residents, including the chief.

After all, the purpose was intimidation.

“Actually, what’s so important about intimidation? Wouldn’t it be enough if we could just communicate?”

—Well, with that deal, both the village and you gained the benefits you wanted.

After the intimidation, we made a deal that satisfied both parties.

What Seungwoo and the students wanted was information about the villages and cities to reach the end of the Otherworld.

And a brief stay.

In return, Temil Village wanted us to take care of the corpses and contribute to their safety by hunting 1,000 monsters in the area.

Unless the information was enormous.

In fact, their demands were excessively large compared to what we asked for, but we eventually accepted the offer.

We gained the upper hand through intimidation… no, through intellectual means via dialogue, but it was an element that revealed how desperate we were for information.

—You were the one who concluded that deal, yet you dumped everything on the students.

“Well, I’m a teacher and a supervisor. If they want to get high grades, shouldn’t they lead by example?”

—You clearly said before that grades are the most important means for success in this era. To put those grades first… Hehe… You sly fellow.

“Sly, you say.”

—Then… what should I call you?

Seungwoo smiled at her question.

What’s there to ask?

The answer is already decided.

“Well, of course, I’m a teacher who strives to give students good experiences and grades, and a true supervisor who tries to evaluate fairly without getting involved privately as much as possible, right?”

Hehe, Tamamo laughed loudly at the shameless answer.

She seemed genuinely amused.

—Shameless, and doesn’t hesitate to sell others out if there’s a desired goal. Truly worthy of being a descendant of the Gumiho [a nine-tailed fox spirit in Korean folklore].

“Because I’m your descendant.”

—Yes, that part looks exactly like me when I was young.

She, who had been following Seungwoo like a chick in her spirit form, suddenly recalled her childhood.

That time when she was just shedding her girlhood and maturing into a beautiful maiden.

She seemed to have done the same thing back then.

But she doesn’t remember well.

It seems that although her mind hasn’t collapsed during the thousand years, her memories have gradually crumbled like a sandcastle in front of the wind and waves.

“Really? That makes me feel a bit bad.”

Baek Seungwoo subtly read her mind.

Because he and she were connected through the jade ring, he could read simple thoughts and feelings.

Tamamo, who he usually didn’t know what she was thinking, revealed a faint hint of sadness, so Seungwoo smiled and said.

“Maybe I was prettier and kinder than you were when you were young.”

—Ha, what a joke. Even if I acted recklessly when I was immature, I didn’t hide anything as sinisterly as you do. I tended to reveal any desire openly.

It seems that accepting the quest without questioning it back then has become the root cause.

This is a bit annoying.

“Looking at history, it would be better for you to hide your desires and intentions a little.”

She with a hundred names and a hundred identities.

If you look at the legends or history related to Tamamo, most of them are excessively honest about her desires and greed.

You should honestly suppress yourself a bit and live.

A man with many secrets and a woman with no secrets.

The combination of the two was like water and oil, and just when they couldn’t understand each other and the conversation became meaningless.

Tap tap.

Someone poked Seungwoo from behind.

Feeling the sensation near his thigh, not reaching his waist or tail, he turned around and saw a skinny girl.

She was too skinny, probably due to poor nutrition.

“…….”

Just poking his thigh with her finger.

Seungwoo smiled and knelt down towards the girl who didn’t say anything. Only then did their eye levels match.

“Little one, what’s wrong? Is there something you want to say?”

“Umm…….”

Seungwoo took off his glove as the girl seemed to have something to say but couldn’t spit it out.

Swoosh, the sound of leather scraping against flesh, and his right hand, stained with burns and poison, was revealed. It was so hideous that even the emaciated girl unconsciously took a step back.

“My hand is ugly, right? Just wait a moment. I’ll cover it up again soon.”

Ten rings worn on each finger.

Seungwoo brought his hand to the 「Ring of Hyperspace」 and took out a lunch box.

“If you have something to say, will you talk to me after eating this?”

Various food items brought as emergency rations just in case.

However, I hardly need to eat because my calorie consumption is so extreme, so I was thinking of sharing them with the students later.

—You shouldn’t give her the lunch box with fried tofu in it?

Except for that damn fried tofu.

Moreover, I tried feeding her sundae [Korean blood sausage] and 곱창 [Korean grilled small intestines] before, and she secretly liked it.

Because of that, Tamamo takes all the offal-related food.

Anyway, Seungwoo took out the lunch box, floated the surrounding eyes into the air, and lightly warmed the lunch box by combining it with [Fire Magic] on the spot.

As he was about to give the spoon to the girl to eat quickly.

“My mom told me not to take food from strangers!”

An entirely unexpected answer.

Although his kindness was not treated as kindness, he didn’t feel bad.

The kid is really smart.

He stroked her head to mean she was doing well, and the girl closed her eyes as if she felt good.

Cute.

“Then it’s okay if I’m not a stranger, right?”

“How?”

“We can introduce ourselves to each other.”

“Aha!”

A smile naturally appeared on his face at the sight of the girl smiling brightly as if she had realized a new truth.

Actually, she must have really wanted to eat chocolate.

“My name is Seungwoo. Baek Seungwoo.”

“Baek… Seungwoo? Oppa [term used by younger females to address older males], your name is weird.”

“Really? I saw it on a map before, and it said it’s a name used a lot in the south.”

“South……?”

“Yeah, south.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! I’ve never seen a southern person before!”

The north and south of this world were as different as the West and East are on Earth.

She was very curious as if it was the first time she had seen someone with a southern-style name, which was quite cute.

“Then did oppa come from the Great Forest?”

“Great Forest?”

“Yeah! I read in a book a long time ago that if you have pointy ears and a tail, you’re a beastman from the Great Forest.”

Beastman, huh.

Does such a thing exist in this world?

In our world, most beastmen have been extinct for a long time, and only nine tribes are passing on faint blood to future generations, calling themselves the sky.

It seems that they all live together in an area called the Great Forest here.

How interesting.

“My name is Amy, nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you too.”

“Then can I eat it now?”

“Are you asking me that? We know each other’s names now, so eat it quickly if you want to.”

“Thank you for the food!”

Untainted innocence and purity.

Amy, who had passed all the conditions to eat the food given by others, dug into the bottom of the lunch box with a plastic spoon as if she was about to make a hole in it.

She’s thin and slender, but she eats well.

However, the fact that her eating speed didn’t decrease but rather increased made him feel uneasy. She seemed possessed by a glutton, and he got the impression that she was desperately trying to store nutrients rather than eating food.

What is this?

“Phew. I ate well, kind oppa.”

“Amy, can you bring some other friends?”

“Why, do you want to do something for my friends?”

“I’m going to give my friends some food too. Instead, if you bring them, I’ll give you chocolate.”

“Chocolate!”

“Yeah, chocolate.”

The girl looked happy at the word chocolate.

Leaving those words behind, Seungwoo thought the girl would bring her friends.

But he wondered what she was doing, staring blankly.

Then he realized when she held out her left hand.

Present first.

This kid… is going to be someone great.

At least she won’t get scammed when she grows up.

Seungwoo handed her a chocolate and promised to give her one more chocolate as a reward each time she brought a friend.

Amy ran away then.

She’s really a promising sprout.

* * *

More children came than expected.

There are so many children in this small village.

Thanks to that, he gave out Tamamo’s fried tofu lunch boxes generously.

—I won’t forget the grudge of this fried tofu.

She has a troublesome personality.

Scratching his head, I looked at the children who were eating hard.

As expected, not only Amy but also the children’s nutritional status was generally poor.

At first, I thought they only brought children without parents, but I could tell that they had all been touched by adults just a few hours ago. The traces of someone combing their hair were a prime example.

“Oppa, it’s delicious!”

“Thank you for the food. But… where do I throw this away?”

“I’ll take care of it. Leave it there. But kids, has anything happened in the village recently?”

“““““…….””””

“I’ll give you one chocolate for each time you tell me.”

“Richard grandpa passed away a few days ago!”

“Cho, the village chief… came to our house and had a cup of tea. We don’t have tea at our house…….”

“Yesterday! Wolves invaded the village, and the hunter brothers and sisters went outside the village.”

The children brought up all sorts of stories when they offered chocolate as a reward.

There were many useless stories among them, but I didn’t spare the chocolate. Those useless stories tend to reveal a big picture when they are intertwined with each other.

“Oh, and Jonya oppa disappeared four months ago!”

“Disappeared……?”

“Yes! The village ladies say he went to the city…….”

“There are a few people like that these days.”

“Really? I only know about Jonya hyung [term used by younger males to address older males], but I haven’t heard about anyone else disappearing?”

“I just heard my mom and dad talking in the living room at night.”

“Sam next door also disappeared two months ago.”

“Huh!? Really?”

“Do you know that Gwen and Nava disappeared two weeks ago?”

“Huh?! Why didn’t I know? No wonder I couldn’t see them!”

“Everyone’s leaving for the city. Is the city that good?”

“They must have left for the city because it’s good.”

Stories that I had never heard when talking to the villagers, including the village chief, until now.

‘……City, huh.’

It clearly meant Frontier, where the knight, Termia, came from.

It seemed that I had to go to that city to see the end of this world. The midterm exam period is one week.

It’s the second day now, so I have to leave at least by tomorrow.

But for now, before that.

“Um, why are you suddenly stroking my head, oppa?”

“Oh, did it make you feel bad? Because there was something on your head.”

“Um, it’s okay. Because oppa is someone I know.”

“Okay, then I’ll stroke it for a moment.”

“Okay.”

As he stroked Amy’s head, he caught something in his hand.

The wriggling thing looks like a creature living in the gaps between the scalp and hair. But when I grab it with my hand, I don’t feel any vitality.

Sniff, when I smell it, a disgusting stench pierces my brain beyond my nose.

A smell that is so disgusting, dirty, and ugly.

There is only one such smell in the world.

“……It’s a demon.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t just Amy.

There were very small and faint bugs on the heads and clothes of other children as well.

A bug that looks like a purple flea.

The smell of demons felt there was quite different from the smell of monsters, a refined stench that seemed to imitate humans.

However, as the smell becomes more and more unpleasant when trying to cover the stench with perfume.

The smell of magic vibrated.