Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 122

The City and the Tramp (2)

Clairvoyance.

It is the eye of human distrust.

Even if I can’t read minds, I can visually perceive emotions and hidden information. Therefore, with this eye, I can’t rashly judge or trust anyone.

Doubt is the only landscape I’ve gained with this eye.

‘The information is too biased to be trusted without question.’

The eye that secretly unearths what others have hidden.

What I obtain from this is an extremely subjective interpretation, merely reading emotions and information. Unable to empathize or understand, such biased information only brings constant distrust and doubt.

Others might think it’s a terrible power.

But to me, it’s quite useful.

‘Doubt is a basic mindset that all humans should have.’

Nothing in the world should be rashly concluded or blindly trusted.

All relationships and their byproducts are based on doubt. So, doubt is neither inherently good nor bad.

It’s perfectly natural.

This eye provides information that can never be absolutely trusted, so this power that makes me doubt every moment is very useful.

‘If I master other divine powers [powers attained through spiritual practice], will they be as useful as this?’

I suddenly became interested in Buddhism.

The Clairvoyance I awakened is part of the six divine powers that make up a Buddhist’s spiritual abilities.

It was a power gained as proof of training.

And I was now using that power to my heart’s content on the Baron.

‘More than half of what he says is a lie. For a noble, he’s not very skilled in scheming. He’s only good at putting on a facade, and his tricks of burying lies in truth are shallow.’

He’s young, too young.

Was it said that apart from that Baron, no other nobles remained in the northern lands?

That statement would certainly be the unadulterated truth.

However, there was a high possibility that he had killed them.

At least, it was clear that it wasn’t the ‘first’ time he had seen a noble other than himself in this land today, which was a definite lie.

‘The trial period to stay in the reverse world is one week. Tonight is the fourth night, so I’ll conclude it within three days.’

I thought, responding to the Baron based on the etiquette ingrained in my body.

Tonight, I need to learn about all the nobles of the Empire, their history, intrigues, and relationships.

That’s where I’ll start.

The children would act on their own, accumulating achievements, and I planned to gather information alone.

The option of entrusting my back to others does not exist for me.

The subjectivity accumulated through countless betrayals and doubts has made me stand tall alone.

Salvation and sacrifice are all I have to bear alone.

The main reason for teaching the students is merely a security measure to touch places that my hands cannot reach through those children.

The best thing is to somehow manage on my own.

It’s too early for those children to step forward directly.

So, I’ll somehow manage on my own.

That was always the best and most excellent judgment.

* * *

After a suffocating time with the Baron and his family, a butler approached and said.

“I will guide you. Please follow me.”

He was saying that they would directly provide a place to rest in this city.

Iji and Seong Yeon-hwa liked it, but to my ears, it sounded like they would be monitoring us within their reach.

After everyone was assigned a room.

After some time passed, I slowly began to move.

I lightly spread my magic widely to grasp the surrounding terrain and searched for the optimal route to move secretly.

‘I can go out through the window.’

I appreciate the Baron’s kindness, but I don’t usually accept favors without a price.

Thump!

I lifted the window.

Whoosh!

I immediately climbed the wall and flew to the roof.

A kind of acrobatics using attraction and repulsion magic.

Like a spider-human, I lightly jumped up and stood on the highest point of the mansion disguised as a castle, taking in the city at a glance.

“It’s higher than I thought. And brighter than I thought.”

Those were my impressions of the mansion and the city, respectively.

Estimating the area of the city that came into view, it was definitely not a small land.

The rooftop view allowed me to see the entire city at a glance.

The mansion was 1.3 times higher than I thought.

But this was nothing compared to the impressions that would follow.

Immediately after being inspected and entering the city, the only thought in my head was, ‘This city is dead.’

The vitality and atmosphere that should be felt in a city where people live were excessively subdued.

It felt like walking through the streets of corpses about to collapse at any moment.

It felt like being in a graveyard.

Perhaps because I had directly created a graveyard a few days ago, that impression remained more vividly in my mind. But considering that impression, there were many people walking around in various parts of the city.

From minstrels performing, to muscular thugs walking through the market, to optimistic trash fighting and drinking.

“It feels like seeing the ideal Middle Ages that modern people think of.”

─Middle Ages…… I don’t know what era you’re talking about, but it doesn’t seem like a very pleasant era.

“That’s the same impression I have. I completely agree.”

The ideal Middle Ages.

It was an era of cruelty and intrigue, quite different from the era of romance and honor.

Most of the Middle Ages that modern people discuss are usually heavily embellished.

Rather, the raw world as it is now could be said to be more like the Middle Ages.

As I was thinking that and looking around the town, there was a black puppy hanging on the roof of this mansion.

What is that?

I thought I saw it wrong, so I went closer.

Sniff, I smelled something.

“…A monster?”

The magical energy was so faint that I almost thought it was animal abuse.

Visually, it was a 10th circle monster [a monster with a high level of magical power]. A body and magical energy that would be at the very end of that circle.

That’s not to say it has great powers, either.

[ is analyzing the monster.]

[There are extremely few elements to analyze.]

[27.8%… 59.9%… 84.6%… 100%]

[Analysis complete!]

‘Individual name, Leon……? It was born 37 years ago this year, and it doesn’t have any particular powers or abilities.’

A strange monster.

It doesn’t even have any decent abilities.

I don’t even know if I can call this a monster.

Looking like a black-haired puppy, a hunting dog like a bulldog would be stronger.

No, it’s definitely stronger.

“Are its teeth and claws the same as when it was a puppy? How did it manage to live for 37 years?”

─……You don’t really think that, do you?

“What?”

─Do you think that weakling could have survived alone until now?

“Well, of course not.”

Someone raised it and abandoned it.

Or the person who raised it died, leaving it behind.

It would be one of the two.

That was the moment.

Squeak…….

Seeing me, the monster somehow walked over from the roof and rubbed its body against my pants.

‘……Should I kill it?’

It’s getting the disgusting smell of magical energy on my body.

I desperately wanted to kill it quickly.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

It’s not a soft emotion like sympathy.

It was just…… intuition.

An intuition that saving this monster would be helpful later.

“Consider yourself lucky.”

Squeak?

As if understanding my words.

The guy tilted his head, and soon, he started rubbing his head against my ankle again. Damn it, he’s doing it again.

Instantly, a thick murderous intent floated up like smoke, but the guy didn’t care and smeared his scent on my foot.

Animals or monsters should be particularly sensitive to sharp things like murderous intent.

The murderous intent disappeared because the guy who had lived for decades was showing this appearance.

I feel like I’m the only one who’s sensitive and has become a fool.

Whine…… Whine……!

Not only rubbing, but the monster even whined as if asking me to hold it in my arms.

I told him clearly.

“I will never touch you with my hands.”

Even though I said it, as if a beast is a beast.

He kept coming to me.

Unfortunately, the monster is located not far from my room.

Sigh…… It’s going to be an uncomfortable cohabitation for the remaining three days.

With those words, I threw myself [jumped off the roof].

I didn’t like the sight of a monster acting like a real puppy.

I didn’t want to see it anymore, so I hurriedly jumped.

“Hey, Baron. You treated the outsiders properly.”

“Of course. I did as you said. But I wish you wouldn’t use disrespectful language to me? Even if you’re horned monsters [demons], I wish you would keep what you need to keep.”

“Ha……! A livestock is so arrogant……!”

Bingo.

Was this the intuition I felt earlier?

I don’t know what it is, but something got caught.

* * *

The scene visible through the glass window.

My body was hidden by the stealth technique built into the coat, 「Creeping New Moon」.

Those with sensitive senses would be able to find me easily enough with just this, but everyone’s attention was focused on ‘him.’

“…Baron Epots.”

The guy who pretended to be likable.

“Outsiders came as you said.”

“You put them in separate rooms, right?”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

“Livestock. Livestock with a title.”

“You! How dare you say such a thing to Frontier Baron!!”

“Who is this woman wearing clunky armor?”

He was with the Majin [a race of powerful demons].

That’s not all.

A human wearing a robe and Termia [likely a race or group] were also in the room.

I wondered what kind of combination that was.

Even in that confusing situation, I didn’t turn my eyes away and focused on something next to them, calming my mind.

It was a huge black object that seemed to touch the ceiling.

It had a magical power that made my mind dizzy just by looking at it.

Moreover, the black object only appeared as a perfect black, as if it absorbed even light. And its outline was in the shape of an egg.

[You have witnessed 3 singularities simultaneously.]

[You have encountered the causes of the world’s distortion.]

[You have witnessed the direct factors of the ending.]

[The scenario’s progress rate increases significantly!]

[Progress rate: 42.7%]

“!!!”

The progress rate increases just by observing?

Even at a high number, 42.7%.

It rose by a whopping 20% from around 20%.

What this means is that the existence of that egg itself is deeply related to the singularity of this reverse world.

In other words.

‘……Is that the Egg of the End?’

The egg is a world.

In other words, the meaning of something inside the egg breaking through the world and being born is the same as the destruction of a world.

I could only realize the true meaning of those words after witnessing it with my own eyes.

─Is that really an egg?

‘It is an egg…… I guess. It’s just that we don’t know what’s inside.’

I don’t know what kind of end is inside.

It may be something I forgot, or it may be something I’ve never even heard of. Because whenever I try to think about the contents inside, my head turns white and I can’t remember.

I’m sure I don’t know.

The present is more important than the contents that are not in my memory.

‘How can I break that?’

Before the egg breaks through a world, I prevent the end by destroying it along with the world.

Meaningless words.

Something about the metaphor is strange, but that was what I had to do.