Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 120

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 120

Toward the City (5)

Dressed warmly, I spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Okay, all dressed.”

Isis was surprised by my nonchalant attitude.

“S-Sir, aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Not really? It’s not like I was naked, and even if I were, I wouldn’t be embarrassed.”

I feel no shame in revealing my bare skin.

Unless my naked body is plastered all over the news worldwide.

This much isn’t embarrassing.

I’ve experienced more embarrassing things than this since I was young, so this is nothing.

However, instead of feeling embarrassed, I felt guilty.

“More than being embarrassed… I’m worried I showed you something unsightly.”

“You mean the scars from earlier?”

“Honestly, they’re not something you’d want to show to others, are they?”

“That’s true.”

Well, a single knife scar could be seen as a badge of honor rather than a scar.

I’ve actually seen several kids who consider that much a badge of honor.

But even among them, there wouldn’t be such diverse and dense scars.

“Who would like a torso full of burns and cuts? Right?”

It’s my own body, but honestly, I’d understand if someone vomited.

I have a strong stomach, but a body full of wounds and scars is more gruesome than you can imagine.

“At this rate, I wonder if I can even get married with this body.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

Isis directly refuted my joking tone.

“I told you before, you are beautiful, Sir. That hasn’t changed even after seeing those scars.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

What an unusual taste.

To find charm in a body so ruined that most people would recoil.

Could it be that she’s been too exposed to ‘Charm’ or ‘Allure’ while studying by my side?

If not, I can only explain it as a rather unique taste.

Still, a compliment is a compliment.

“I appreciate you saying that. I thought girls would definitely hate this kind of body.”

“It doesn’t matter what other people say. I think you look really beautiful.”

Seeing her so sincere, I couldn’t help but smile.

“And from now on, call me Sis. Everyone else does.”

“Alright, Sis. Thanks for the lip service. How about I give you some lessons? I haven’t been able to teach you properly for the past week, being busy with survival skills.”

“Really? Then can I ask for some advanced magic?”

“Advanced magic? You’re barely mastering intermediate magic. What are you going to do learning advanced magic?”

As soon as I said I’d teach her something, the answer came right away.

Was that what you were aiming for with what you said earlier?

Impressive, I almost fell for it completely.

“To become stronger, of course.”

“You know it’s too early for you, right? Have you ever seen me use advanced magic?”

Isis shook her head.

Well, if you knew, you wouldn’t have asked me to teach you advanced magic.

“Ordinary advanced mages readily reach for advanced magic, but in reality, there’s nothing as foolish as that.”

From beginner, lower, and intermediate levels, effort alone is enough, but from advanced level onwards, talent and thorough preparation are essential.

“Why?”

“If you learn it without preparation, you’re bound to button the first button wrong [make a fundamental mistake].”

Before learning advanced magic, perfectly mastering the intermediate magic that supports it is the most basic of basics.

It’s like preparing the needle and thread in a cat’s cradle [a game involving string figures].

But most mages think that’s enough.

Well, if you can do it right away, it doesn’t matter.

Instead.

“If you thread the needle wrong once, you have to consider how to undo it.”

Preparation you need before learning advanced magic.

In terms of cat’s cradle, you need scissors to cut the tangled thread and re-thread it.

However, unlike the analogy, even the preparation for advanced magic is so difficult that the process alone is considerable hard labor. That’s why I don’t recklessly attempt advanced magic even though I obtained the best teaching material called [likely referring to a powerful artifact or source of knowledge].”

“I’ll teach you advanced magic after you study your specialty, so ask me something else today.”

“Then what is Sis’s specialty?”

Specialty, huh?

Are you asking about the school or attribute of magic?

“My specialty? Well, if I had to pick one, it would be [Fire Magic].”

“Is there nothing else?”

As long as I suffer from [likely a condition or curse], fire is my companion.

But if you include other things.

“Hmm… [Word Magic], [Enchantment Magic], and [Sorcery], I guess.”

If we’re talking about the depth of learning, the deepest is elemental magic, led by fire magic.

Next is the sorcery of the progenitor that I learn from Tamamo every day.

I haven’t even caused a proper phenomenon with Word Magic yet, but I’m dealing with it a little bit in the sub-field of incantations. Of course, that’s not perfect either.

I’ve only learned Enchantment Magic to the point where I can engrave formulas on clothes and equipment.

I haven’t explored it any further.

I know about other fields and schools with the talent of [likely a unique ability or trait], but knowledge is just knowledge.

I haven’t embodied it.

“Sorcery! Um, could I learn that too…?”

“Instead of advanced magic? That would be better. Not all sorcery is difficult.”

“Really…? Can I… do well?”

“You don’t have to worry about that. You definitely have an aptitude.”

“Really…? I have an aptitude for sorcery?”

“The fact that you can handle those gloves is proof.”

Black frilly gloves that a bride might wear.

What dwells within is a curse filled with resentment.

And curses are ultimately a type of sorcery.

If you can handle the resentment that causes frost in May [an unnatural phenomenon], you definitely have a talent for curses, even if you don’t know other types of sorcery.

Still, due to time constraints, I can only teach you a maximum of two sorceries this early in the morning.

Even then, only easy sorceries.

It’s not like I know a lot of sorcery either.

I simply taught her [Telepathy] and [Blizzard Zone], which can be considered a simplified domain for ice mages.

The former depends on skill, but I only learned the latter theoretically, and she mastered it in an hour, let alone half a day.

She hasn’t embodied it yet, but it seemed like she could use it in actual combat if time passed.

…That’s why they call them talent prodigies.

* * *

After lightly teaching Isis.

Sitting alone in front of the bonfire, I looked at the information I had written down in my notebook from the past.

I added the information obtained through torture to the information based on the children’s testimonies.

─You’re a member of the mercenary group.

─Haha… you know that now, Captain? Ah, that’s the wrong expression. You’re not the ‘Captain,’ after all.

─When did you notice?

─From the beginning. The Captain wasn’t as strong as you, and didn’t have animal tails or ears. He was a pure human.

A man named Yuma was more clever than I thought.

She immediately realized that I was the ‘Captain’ but not the Captain.

Even until the moment she was trapped in the underground tomb, she never once used the title of Captain to me.

No, she had no choice.

─This diary. Do you know who it belongs to?

─G-Give it back! Give me back my diary!!

─Sniff, I suspected it might be, since the scent is similar, but you managed to survive my disciple’s demonic hands.

─Disciple? Survive? Ha, haha… Don’t be ridiculous! Does this look like survival to you?

─No, it’s too terrible to claim that turning into a being less than a bug, consumed by that ugly demonic energy, is living.

A scathing criticism.

Yuma learned a little about the other person’s tendencies from that fact.

─You hate demons, don’t you?

─To be exact, I generally hate creatures tainted by demonic energy, including both demons and monsters.

An extreme hatred for evil.

That emotion was evident in his eyes and expression, and you could see how much he hated evil. His eyes were as mad as that.

─In my opinion, your level of hatred is excessive, it seems like you’re rejecting them?

And Yuma dug into that part.

There was no hope of survival anyway.

The group she belonged to.

The ‘Captain’ she loved no longer existed, so she decided to go all out.

I, who did not hesitate to torture, finally found out the reason why the mastermind who turned her into a demon and the mercenary group attacked the village.

─Ugh… kill… me. Just kill me…!.

─You can’t die yet. Instead, if you just do one last review, I’ll kill your consciousness.

─C-Consciousness?

─Yes, your body will be alive, but your head will be like a brain-dead vegetable, so you don’t have to feel any more pain.

─Y-You crazy bastard…

─How new.

Even if the target was a woman, he did not hesitate to torture her if she was a demon.

When the anti-monster torture method used on the battlefield was applied to the strong and tough demons, they endured it well at first.

Ordinary humans would cross the threshold of life and death within a minute of starting.

I guess that’s because they’re abandoned beings who gave up on being human.

She struggled in her own way, but as I slowly increased the intensity, her consciousness collapsed like a broken toy.

─It’s broken.

─……

─Still, you provided information for sure.

I tapped around her heart.

Then a formula was engraved.

─I can’t kill you yet because I still need your senses. Instead, as a reward for providing information, I’ll definitely kill you when the event is over.

A terrifying reward.

However, Tamamo, who was from 1,000 years ago, could not find any peculiarities. She also agreed with his thoughts and actions.

The only thing she denied was.

─Isn’t the way you torture too harsh?

─I’m not violating human rights. I just gave overwhelming pain to extract information.

It’s not like I gave her any shame.

After listening, Tamamo nodded, thinking that was right, stared at the limp demon, and then turned her head forward.

* * *

A medieval atmosphere that is hard to find in modern times.

The Frontier, where that culture is well revealed, was a city that most people would associate with medieval Europe.

Everyone who sees this sight should be fascinated.

There was a woman here who felt nostalgia rather than fascination.

“Ah… the same land as my hometown that I’m stepping on after a long time. I really miss it.”

“Hmm? As far as I know, isn’t the Duchess’s hometown a warm southern region where it doesn’t snow?”

“Human, you should shut up a little. That woman is 착각ing [deluding herself] that she was a real medieval lord in her lifetime. If you touch her with unnecessary words, it will be annoying.”

Ah, Simon clapped his hands.

He realized why the Duchess was showing such a reaction.

“Duchess. Do you want to enlighten the uncivilized humans of this land?”

Enlightenment of mankind.

The choice of words is provocative, but there is no expression that can better express her inner thoughts. As proof of that, she turned her head towards Simon and nodded vigorously.

“Hmm! I want to share my knowledge with the uncivilized humans right now. I want to teach Simon the schemes to seduce and drive people!”

“Just wait a moment. Marchioness Mimo.”

“Marchioness? Are you calling me?”

“Of course. Who else would be a Marchioness in this place besides you?”

Even though he was sitting in the rank of Baron, he called her Marchioness.

That’s not flattery.

Marchioness Mimo, with her large and beautiful bird beak, was only a Marchioness in the hierarchy between nobles.

In the days when nobles were not sealed on uninhabited islands and regarded humans as livestock, she stood right above the humans with nobles who shared her views, as if playing house, with the modifier Marchioness.

In short, it means that she reigned as a Baron among demons and as a Marchioness above humans.

She remembered that time.

She nodded with a satisfied attitude to the modifier Marchioness Mimo.

Since she was wearing a peacock mask, I couldn’t see her bare face, so I couldn’t rashly judge her emotions.

In Simon’s eyes, she was smiling now.

Very bizarrely.

“Hoo… hooh… kihhihihi…!!!”

“You seem to like it very much.”

“Does that look like she likes it to you?”

“Yes, she’s so happy that she’s revealing her true nature. It seems like she’s burning with a passion for education since she bestowed her authority on the dying corpse yesterday.”

Simon said that and straightened his clothes.

He, who organized the fluttering cloth unique to religious people, stood in front of the two nobles and headed towards the high place of the huge castle.

“Don’t worry.”

Click, the door opened.

The door with splendid decorations is a symbol of luxury that openly reveals that a high-ranking person resides beyond this.

Luxury… Luxury is good.

But luxury without the power to protect oneself is proof of a cripple. I have a lot of money, so please plunder me. It was no different from advertising.

“W-Who are you?!!”

“Don’t treat us so badly. We came to help the Baron.”

Fortunately, there was someone in this world who agreed with her enlightenment.

Kugugung, the huge door slowly closed and soon became filled with madness and screams.

And right after that.

Puhahaha!

A hearty laugh that could not be matched with the screams just now mixed with several voices and echoed in all directions.

Of course, there was no one left to hear it.

“Anyway, the end of the reverse world is destruction.”

Whether it’s a terrible destruction or a comfortable destruction, the same death comes to everyone equally.

So… can’t the process change a little?

A hollow question.