Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 136

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 136

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius Episode 136

Those Who Sacrifice Tomorrow for Today (1)

The Sword Saint has fallen into despair!

He hadn’t even returned from the battlefield, yet some war correspondent leaked the news. I don’t know who it was.

The article, spread worldwide via special report, drove people into a frenzy.

Naturally, not in a positive way, but in a negative one.

“Doesn’t he have any awareness as a Player?”

“He got promoted to a rank where he’s called ‘Excellency’ at a young age, that’s why. He’s full of himself and wants to take it easy.”

“Wow, isn’t this betrayal? How much are we paying in taxes?”

Without knowing any of the details or the truth.

People just biting and chewing on the hero’s despair.

Of course, the pseudo-religious followers of the Sword Saint firmly believed he would return someday and prayed fervently, but there was no news of his return for a year.

That’s because.

“Oppa [an affectionate term for older brother used by females], are you doing that again today?”

“Hyung [an affectionate term for older brother used by males], that’s no fun. No fun at all.”

“Let’s play hide-and-seek with me, huh?”

“……Just a little more, I’ll play with you in two hours.”

“You really promised? Then I’ll help Mom gather berries. You can’t break your promise?!”

“……Okay, I got it.”

“Then I’ll go help Dad too!”

“Me too!”

“L, let’s go together……!”

From the start, the Sword Saint wasn’t on the front lines.

Well, in a sense, the place he was could be considered an area connected to the front lines, but it was ambiguous to call it an actual front line.

Because this land was too peaceful to be considered a front line.

There are children and parents.

Even if it’s a remote island far from the mainland without modern conveniences.

There is a vitality of people living here.

……How many years has it been since I’ve seen something like this?

“I just need to finish today’s work, play with the kids, and clean up.”

Is it because this land is an island far from the mainland?

Every night, monsters fly in from the sea like schools of flying fish.

To prevent them from wreaking havoc on the island, the Sword Saint wielded his Holy Sword like a broom every night, performing ‘cleaning’.

Most of them are just small fry around the 7th to 9th Circle [a measure of magical power], but occasionally a big shot around the 4th Circle appears. But to him, they all die in one hit, so there’s no difference.

It was literally just a light cleaning at night.

“Excuse me.”

“……Oh, it’s the village chief.”

“Yes, Sword Saint Excellency.”

“Forget the title and rank. I’m just here as Baek Seung-woo, a human from the continent, treating you all. Speak comfortably.”

Your tone makes it impossible to be comfortable, though?

The village chief of this remote island is an old man who has lived on this island for 67 years. There’s no infrastructure, and before he settled on this island, monsters lived not only in the sea but also on the island.

The village chief was the most knowledgeable person on this island, having lived past his sixtieth birthday.

Rather, because he was knowledgeable, he was the only one who knew the Sword Saint’s identity.

“Anyway, why did you call me?”

“They’ve arrived from outside.”

“Supplies? More annoying guys have come. Can’t you receive them?”

“They always request you, Excellency, not me…….”

“Okay, I have no choice. I’ll be right back.”

The Sword Saint, who was carving something into a large stone with his Holy Sword, stood up. He headed towards the coast where the sea 펼쳐져 있다 [spread out].

There, a man in a swimsuit stood on the sandy beach with a large ship.

……Is he crazy?

The coast here is not yet stable, so unless you’re confident in your skills like me, it’s reasonable to wear armor.

I’m seeing all sorts of strange guys.

“Um…… Excellency?”

“Just leave the supplies and go.”

“I haven’t even started talking yet?”

“Either way, isn’t it another request to return to the front lines? Or is there some new condition?”

“……How did you know?”

You guys come once a month.

You’ve done that twelve times so far, why would now be any different?

The guy who brought the supplies I requested this time was different from the ones before, but in the end, he’s the same guy with the same thoughts.

“Whatever demands you make, I plan to stay on this island for the time being. If you really want me to go back, listen carefully to the requirements. Tell that to the higher-ups.”

“I’m just doing what I’m told, if I said that, I’d get fired from my job, you know?”

“In that case, add that if you get fired, the higher-ups’ heads will also be cut off.”

“……Were you always this cool? I heard you were a serious person?”

“What kind of personality are you expecting from a 19-year-old? Oh, is it 20 now? There are no longer many people who 챙겨주는 [take care of] my birthday, so I forgot. Anyway, what are you expecting from someone around that age.”

The man was 깜짝 놀랐다 [surprised].

19 years old?

Isn’t he too young to be called a war hero?

He was usually only interested in the hero’s 행적 [whereabouts].

He was so surprised that he couldn’t hide his surprise because he was hearing his age for the first time.

The Sword Saint waved his hand a few times at his 경직된 [stiffened] appearance and tried to talk to him, but soon gave up and led the 500kg supplies into the island with one hand.

The man was just silently looking at his back.

‘Is the back of the hero we thought was so high, actually this small?’

Although he was 19 years old, perhaps because he spent the time to send his secondary sexual characteristics in the battlefield where it was difficult to supply food.

He was smaller than other peers who lived safely in the inland. The man also had a 17-year-old young son.

When that son was 15 years old, I think he was just about that tall.

Of course, when you’re fighting on the battlefield, that size isn’t very noticeable.

The man’s son was unusually large.

But even considering all that.

It was true that his growing period was 암울하고 불안하다 [bleak and uneasy].

The man was no longer qualified to persuade the Sword Saint. Because he had sacrificed so much, his son was able to grow up so tall and healthy.

“Then I’ll be on my way. Please tell me well. Well, the higher-ups won’t leave me alone anyway.”

Just as the beach was starting to disappear.

The Sword Saint said to the man.

In response, the man, whose 경직이 풀린 [stiffness was relieved], bowed his head.

All he could do for the young hero who was tired in body and mind was this. Express your gratitude with your body.

This was the best.

“……Okay, I will not ask about the matter in the future. But if your mind changes, please tell me when I supply next month.”

“That will not happen. Go safely to the mainland.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The Sword Saint, holding the supplies, headed to where he was.

First, I was going to finish what I was doing, and then give the children sweets such as chocolate or candy that were included in the supplies.

I could already hear the voices of joy clearly.

If I play with them and give them one by one, they will really like it.

Yes, I’m sure they will.

Sreung─!

He took out his sword from his waist and started working again.

What I do is process the huge stones on this island into the form of tombstones, and write down the names and birthdays of specific people. And the date of birth and death.

I can’t fill the entire island with tombstones.

Instead, I tried to 담으려고 [contain] the lives of as many people as possible on a huge tombstone.

The number of people whose names were written on the tombstone for a year was about 120,875,509.

But even though I wrote so much, there were still mountains of names to write. Not only that, but even at this moment, the names to be engraved are increasing every moment.

“In that respect, Jeju Island is definitely better.”

A land that has been cut off from the outside world for 70 years due to a monster attack.

Everyone thought that all the residents of Jeju Island had died, but they were barely continuing their 명맥 [lifeline].

If I hadn’t discovered them when I entered this island as a supply route to kill the source of the disaster that had 자리 잡은 [established itself] in Japan last year, I wouldn’t be here now.

Yes, rather than a battlefield full of blood and death.

Even if it’s annoying to clean every day, it’s better to live each day faithfully, comforting those who have died.

Really.

I really thought so.

But why can’t I protect it again?

“…….”

Stones scattered all over Jeju Island.

As I trimmed the stones into tombstones and filled them with the names of thousands of people, I thought it was strange that the children didn’t come.

The moment I had an uneasy thought.

Before I knew it, the Sword Saint was running.

At the end of it was a small village in ruins.

People, regardless of gender or age, died, and 잡다한 [miscellaneous] monsters were eating the corpses like hyenas.

As I 토막내 [dismembered] their bodies and 적시자 [soaked] the dry land with fire with blood, I realized that everything was turning to ashes.

Who on earth is doing this?

I wondered if it was done by the higher-ups who wanted me to 복귀 [return], but I didn’t feel any artificial traces of humans. Even Eve, called , was 속수무책 [helpless] to the Sword Saint’s 기감 [sense of energy] and 육감 [sixth sense].

I don’t think the old men are better than her.

Then who on earth is it?

As I was thinking deeply.

“…….”

In the end, the Sword Saint dug a pit to prevent the corpses from being reduced to a meal for 잡다한 [miscellaneous] monsters.

There was no shovel.

I could make a shovel with magic, but I didn’t feel like it, so I dug the soil with my hands. It was difficult to dig the dry land that had been touched by the flames.

If I dug the ground so hard that my fingernails and palms were torn dozens of times, I could somehow dig a pit.

Like that, one, two.

The moment I completed more than a hundred pits, I realized that the places where the children died were gathered close together.

The place where I often played with myself.

The adults in the village 허허 웃었다 [chuckled] when the Sword Saint played with the children with an unavoidable expression. The village girls blushed as they looked at him, and the young men glared at the Sword Saint, who 독차지한 [monopolized] the girls’ attention.

To be honest, it was very annoying.

At that time, I could 실감할 [feel] that I was not a living strategic weapon, but a living human being.

But now I can’t.

So I can say it without any hesitation.

“I’m sorry…… I hated children.”

I wiped the blood묻은 [stained] on the children with my own hands.

I filled their broken bones or torn flesh with magic and 매웠다 [filled] them neatly.

I buried them in the ground, but at least I had to send them off in a neat outfit so that the children would like it and the parents would like it too.

“I hated them for being noisy every day, and I hated them for 보채는 [pestering] me to play with them.”

There is no one to listen to these words anymore.

The small and vibrant island soon became a deserted island.

So even if the Sword Saint’s words changed from a monologue to a scream, and from a scream to a 절규 [shriek], no one pointed it out.

I couldn’t point it out.

“I hate children. I hate the way their purity sometimes turns cruel.”

Children who catch or kill dragonflies and ants without any guilt.

From the Sword Saint’s point of view, who knows how heavy death is, the purity of such children was a bit 버거웠다 [overwhelming].

“Sometimes when I see children playing happily, I wonder what it would be like if I had grown up like that. But I couldn’t grow up like that, so I was too 부러웠다 [envious] of the children. So I hate them.”

And.

What else is there?

I try to 짜보려고 [squeeze out] the reasons why I hate children in my head, but I can’t think of anything else.

I just buried the children in a clean 모습 [appearance] with an expression that I didn’t know whether I was smiling or crying. Suddenly, the children’s eyes felt like angels.

As I 억누르고 [suppressed] the emotions rising in my heart and the moment to 안치할 [enshrine] the corpse in the last pit approached.

I remembered that this child always called me 오빠 [older brother] and relied on me.

A girl who grew up without parents.

But she grew up 해맑게 [brightly], receiving more love from the villagers than anyone else. If she had grown up like this, she would have been a beauty that would have surprised even the mainland.

Someday, if the girl grows up beautifully, meets a partner, and gives her child, who looks just like her, 모자람 없는 [unconditional] love.

If I saw that scene, there would be no greater reward in my life.

“……Ah!!!”

The Sword Saint, who said he hated children and tried to turn away from their death, cried out 목놓아 [loudly].

It happened to rain, washing the Sword Saint’s eyes and making it impossible to distinguish what was tears and what was rain.

His tears, which were hitting the dirt floor with his head 쾅쾅 [thudding], causing the 실핏줄 [capillaries] in his eyes to burst and shed blood tears, were no longer confused with the rain.

The Sword Saint, who 절규하고 절망한 [shrieked and despaired], cried as if he was going to shed all the tears he would shed in his life.

After the day dawned, the Sword Saint got up from his seat and 펼쳤다 [unfolded] a thick book he had received as supplies.

The names of the dead and missing people 집계한 [aggregated] by the military government so far.

The Sword Saint 외웠다 [memorized] all the names of about 200 million people.

For those who died on the battlefield for me, for those who died thinking about humanity even in the moment of death, all I could do for them was that.

Never forget them.

Therefore, I will complete all the tombstones within a week and 빠져나왔다 [escaped] from the deserted island where no one lives.

And 아마…… [maybe] it was probably from this point on.

Maybe it’s because I hit my head on the floor too hard.

My mind became 혼란스러워지고 [confused], 객체 구분이 힘들어지며 [object differentiation became difficult], I had difficulty distinguishing between trivial things, including inside and outside.

But thanks to that, I started to 터득하기 [master] how to wear a mask as if nothing was wrong, and the 혼란스러워진 [confused] bare face was no longer 드러낼 [revealed] to others.

After all the wars were over.

Jeju Island became famous as the land 다듬은 [cultivated] by the Sword Saint for a year.

General citizens and the bereaved families of the dead heroes 찾아다니며 [searched for] their names on the tombstones, sending words of gratitude and shedding tears.

Soon the deserted island was called 성역 [sanctuary].

But there is one fact that no one knows in the sanctuary.

Among the approximately 200 million tombstones, which will increase to nearly 500 million by the time the war ends, there were about 100 names written by people that others did not know.

The one who puts his hand on their names and performs 제사를 [memorial service] every year has been doing so until now, and there will be only one in the future.

* * *

Meanwhile, Frontier, a self-governing territory.

A riot broke out in the only city in the north.

Isabelle hoped that the culprit of the riot was a member of the rebel group called the Revolutionary Army, but seeing their bad complexion.

“Tsk, they’re 단단히도 걸렸네 [completely caught] in mental magic.”

She clicked her tongue.

She felt a strong sense that something was 조작된 [manipulated] in this riot.

The Revolutionary Army didn’t even show their faces at this time when it was easy to 야단법석을 떨기 [make a fuss], and a small number of residents 걸린 [caught] in mental magic were creating an atmosphere that 불안하게 [uneased] most people.

I had a thought.

‘Could it be that the self-governing lord 안배한 [arranged] all the rebels and brainwashed residents?’

The 행패 [violence] of people 걸린 [caught] in mental magic.

The students turned their heads at the terrible sight of 초가삼간 [thatched houses] burning and 방화 [arson] and 살인 [murder] happening without any hesitation, but she didn’t turn her head.

Isabelle’s blue eyes were as calm as the waves of a quiet lake even after witnessing the 잔혹한 [cruel] situation in front of her.

She seemed to be excited instead.

She may not know it herself.

The symbol of the Sirius family is the wolf, the werewolf.

The 형질 [nature] of ancestors who 추종한 [followed] the night and moonlight and 즐기던 [enjoyed] blood and hunting flows in Isabelle’s body even if it is 미약하게나마 [slightly].

In an environment where the full moon is rising and the smell of blood is 만연하는 [rampant] from all directions, she becomes more 냉철하고 계산적이게 [calm and calculating].

“Gr, ah, ki, kill……!!”

“Hey! What do we do about this? Just kill him?”

“Why do you kill him! You have to knock him out!”

“How can you knock this out 상식적으로 [logically]! It’s too 날뛰어서 [frantic] to do anything.”

Suddenly a man jumped into the group of students.

The man 걸린 [caught] in mental magic tried to 깨물려고 [bite] the students’ arms and legs as if he were a zombie.

It was lightly 막혔다 [blocked] by Easy’s shield.

He was an ordinary man with no great power or ability.

“Anyway, this is a dungeon. Isn’t it okay to kill him?”

“There’s…… some truth to that?”

“Then shall we kill him? If you leave these people alone, you don’t know what they’ll do, so it’s better to take care of them in advance.”

Click.

The ax 달려든다 [lunges] to 효수 [behead] the man’s neck.

At that moment, Isabelle shouted.

“No! Never kill him! Do you think it’s over if you kill him!”

Why?

The same question did not fly.

She is the head appointed by the teacher.

The leader of this group.

Isabelle’s command is absolute.

“Easy, you run in front with your shield.”

“……It’s not something to be proud of, but I’m short, so I’m smaller than the shield? I can only 돌진 [charge] because I can’t secure a view.”

“Do as I say. And Yura, find the way.”

“Where are we going?”

“To where the self-governing lord is.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Noh Yura 장전한 [loaded] bullets into the 화기에 [firearm].

The moment she 안내한 [guided] a guide, Noh Yura’s eyes, which read the surface of others, quickly 돌아갔다 [turned].

The 속내 [inner thoughts] of the people around me.

She 탐색했다 [searched] for someone who knew the whereabouts of the self-governing lord, 훑으며 [scanning] the surface of the 속내 [inner thoughts].

And I finally found it.

─How terrible can this be…… I never imagined that the self-governing lord, that 능글맞은 [sly] man, would do such a thing. ……But as an accomplice, I have no choice but to 함구 [remain silent]. First of all, I have to hide in the basement of the mansion where Eports is.

I found it.

I finally found someone who knew where Eports was.

Noh Yura slowly followed him, and the rest of the students followed her.

Such movements of the students were 송출되었고 [transmitted] to the academy through the body cam.

At the same time, there were two men 실실 웃는 [smirking] at their footsteps from afar.

“I can 입가심을 [refresh myself] with the 기름진 [greasy] belly of young sheep after a long time.”

“Is that your taste?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing. Heh heh…… I learned an interesting fact.”

“I feel dirty for some reason.”

It was Simon and the nameless red-haired demon.