Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 129

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 129

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius 129

The Dead City (4)

I’ve stalled long enough.

I was just about to shake her off.

“Why are you following me? Are you some kind of stalker?”

“I’m in charge of this city’s security.”

Ah, I see.

How impressive.

“So, I don’t know what you want from me.”

“You… didn’t your true feelings just spill out?”

“So what? What do you want?”

“……I really don’t like you.”

Scratching her the wrong way gets a reaction quickly.

I’ve teased her several times, but I can’t believe she’s the commander of the Knights, responsible for a city of this size, with such a fragile and dull mentality and reaction.

At this point, I don’t know what Count Eports was thinking when he put her in the position of Knight Commander.

“So? I don’t like you either.”

“But if you want to stay in this land, you’ll have to bear with it.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s the Count’s order. Even if you’re a guest, he said I should monitor you as long as there’s a possibility of disturbing the peace.”

A possibility of disturbing the peace?

As I wondered what the Count was thinking when he said that to her.

The image of Termia and the Count, who were secretly with the Mind [a powerful, manipulative entity] in the window, came to mind. Maybe.

‘It’s possible that the order wasn’t given by the Count, but by the Mind.’

Unlike Termia and the Count, who lack information about me, the Minds from outside were likely wary of me.

That’s because I’ve already disrupted two of their plans in the past month. Most Minds would likely use their negotiations with the Count to keep her, the most skilled person in the Count’s territory, by my side as a deterrent.

It’s better to comply for now.

There’s no real justification for refusing anyway.

I’m not a noble with a higher status than the Count, and I haven’t been harmed by them yet.

If the lord of this land says so, it’s best to nod.

“You’re going to follow me around?”

“Yes, you don’t like it, do you? I don’t like it either. But this is an order from the Count, who strives to protect us from the northern cold, so disobedience is…”

“Alright. Let’s go together then.”

“Where exactly?”

“Can’t you see? I have to take care of the children. Since you’re coming along, lend a hand.”

She ended up following me to an alley full of vagrants to take care of the children.

It was a bit far from where the students were.

What’s strange is that even though I’ve been here several times, I haven’t seen a single adult.

It’s a space filled only with children.

I was serving them food, feeding them until they were full, and trying to play with them lightly when.

“I don’t like that! It’s scary!”

“S, scary……?! This armor?”

“Wow……! It’s an armor monster. Everyone, run away!”

“Waaaaaa!!”

Everyone was busy running away at the appearance of Termia, who had covered her entire body with solid and sturdy armor, with no skin exposed.

I tried to use food as bait to gather the children, but for some reason, they all wouldn’t leave my side.

They all seemed afraid of her.

Well, a knight in clean armor clanging around in such a remote and neglected place. I would have been suspicious and avoided her too.

So much so that the students were glaring at her from afar.

“The kids don’t follow you at all?”

“T, this is absurd…….”

“Wouldn’t the kids stick to you a little more if you took off your armor?”

I asked, but there was no answer.

It seems that the option of taking off her armor carelessly doesn’t exist in Termia’s mind.

“I, I was also from the slums. So there must be at least one kid here I know……!”

From the slums, huh.

She was living a pretty successful life for someone with such a past.

Is that why she serves the Count?

Perhaps Termia had a fantasy about salvation. When you live in a sewer like this, there are times when you desperately want salvation.

I know that feeling well.

I used to be like that too.

However, the helping hand of salvation is very narrow and limited, so it’s extremely rare for someone to receive the help and grace of others like her.

Perhaps she attributes her success and advancement to Count Eports and looks up to him.

How… foolish.

She hasn’t even shed her girlishness yet, but is it because she’s young? She was too naive and foolish compared to her skills and talents.

‘There will definitely be a moment to use this.’

Her past and the inference about her character.

This was definitely a trump card that could be handled usefully tonight.

So, very carefully, hiding it in my arms like a dagger, I turned the topic in the usual teasing direction.

“Puhahaha! Weren’t you just mistaken that you were friends with them?!”

“Shut up! You tear-to-death fox!”

“But I’m just a fox who speaks the truth.”

“Eee……!! The way you stubbornly try to win every argument is like a child. I will no longer respond to your words!”

Good.

I succeeded in teasing her naturally.

Now it’s time to slowly scratch our Knight Commander’s nerves and slowly dig out deeper information.

“Really?”

“…….”

“Are you sure?”

“…….”

When there was no reaction even after saying the same words twice.

I changed the course to a direction that she couldn’t help but pay attention to.

“Really? Really? You’re not going to answer? Okay, you don’t have to answer or respond. I can just keep talking. But really, you’re not going to talk? Are you sure? If you keep doing that, I’ll keep doing this too. Really…….”

“Kuaaa! You’re like a man who would float with only his mouth even if thrown into the sea!! Someday I’ll knock you down and soak you in a salt pan!!!”

“Try it. If you can.”

From the beginning, where is there a salt pan in this frozen land?

The sight of her shouting about a salt pan in this land where you can’t even smell the sea was quite ridiculous. But anyway.

Wow, really.

‘The impact is no joke.’

This is my theory after living for quite a few years.

It’s not easy to find a toy that’s so fun to react to.

Termia may not know, but I was having a lot of fun.

Is it because she’s the only one in this dead city who shows a somewhat human reaction?

Perhaps it’s even more interesting because of the contrast.

But.

“……But how long are you going to keep doing this?”

“…….”

“It’s almost evening. Hey. Are you ignoring me?!”

“Ah, sorry, what did you say?”

“You’re the kind of person……! How can you be so annoying the more I get to know you!!”

Her angry appearance was perfect for teasing or joking, but what about now?

‘I won’t be able to wear this mask for long either.’

I was slowly getting tired of answering or responding to everything.

I was getting bored and annoyed.

The reason I was playing these pranks on her was to forcibly increase my inner intimacy and then use her as a trump card, but now that the end of my time in this world is slowly approaching.

I wondered if it was worth investing time in Termia while doing emotional labor. I’ve already obtained enough information.

‘It’s inefficient…… but should I hang out with her for a few more hours anyway?’

You never know.

The fleeting moment of time I invest now might give me some kind of trump card.

I put on the mask of ‘Baek Seung-woo’ again and act to approach Termia.

There is not a moment of hesitation in that acting.

Is it this city that is dead?

Or is it myself?

I couldn’t bring myself to answer that question.

“Now it’s evening, so go back to the mansion quickly. We should hurry if we want to make it in time for dinner.”

“Can’t you stop talking like that? You sound older than a 60-year-old grandfather.”

“What if I want to!? Don’t nitpick everything I do!”

So I teased her again.

Um, it’s still fun.

The moment I teased Termia, I felt the joy rising in my chest, and I was sure.

It seems I’ve properly put on the mask. Is it because I’ve established a sense of self in some form?

I no longer had any doubts about myself.

* * *

The empty city at night.

Underneath it, in the underground waterway, a secret gathering was held every night.

The people who participated in the gathering were mostly citizens who earned a living day by day, and they were people who rebelled against the northern society ruled by the Count.

This group was not originally large.

However, due to the kidnapping and missing persons cases that have occurred periodically for several years, the trust in the Knights and the Count, who should protect the peace, has rapidly declined. These complaints have piled up to become the current gathering.

It became known as the Revolutionary Party.

Their goal was to overthrow the Count, find the whereabouts of the missing people, or hold the nobles accountable for this.

“Oh, 10,281 people are properly aligned. Have they already opened their eyes to the new light?”

“Of course. The ‘enlightenment’ has already ended.”

“As expected of Marquis Mimo. I didn’t think you would spend less than an hour changing people’s values.”

The people had a somewhat blank look.

Marquis Mimo and Simon talked behind the people who were neatly aligned like people who had been rolling around in the army for several years.

They didn’t seem to care about the Revolutionary Party.

“They’re just insignificant creatures in an era where civic consciousness hasn’t even sprouted properly. This is a very easy prey.”

“Has the Count found out?”

“That old man probably knows too.”

“Well, he was a man who exuded that much spirit. Even if they are livestock, it’s better not to judge such people rashly.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind. Then I will be on my way.”

With that, the man named Simon left the waterway.

Marquis Mimo lay down on a huge chair that looked like a throne and remained still.

At the same time, a pair of humans who looked like siblings secretly escaped out of the waterway. She watched them carefully, then closed her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

“Hoho, it’s hard to pretend not to know. But should I start moving myself soon?”

Marquis Mamo, who covered her face with a peacock mask, laughed softly.

If she were given a fan now, she would blend in with the background and look like a noble lady.

She looked much nobler and more dignified than the Count’s wife.

She didn’t look like a Mind that people hated at all.

However, the traces of blood dripping from her mouth like drool, as if she had just finished a pleasant meal, were ruining her dignity.

“The appetizer wasn’t bad, but since it’s raw, I can’t help but feel that the variety of flavors is lacking. But that’s why I’m even more excited about the main course, hohoho.”

The screams and raw flesh of a handsome man are always sweet.

Feeling her mouth watering, Marquis Mimo crushed a purple bug with her finger and burst it.

Soon, all the citizens of this land will meet their original end.

Like this bug.