Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 373

Let’s Go Back (3)

The youngest head researcher became the Master of the Magic Tower.

The youngest Magic Tower Master. To be precise, he had risen to the highest position in the city in just two weeks.

“Congratulations. Now, no one in this city will dare to touch you.”

“Not really.”

That wasn’t true.

Seungwoo’s status outside this world was even higher than that of the Tower Master.

Besides, there were plenty of people in the city who wanted to mess with Seungwoo.

“The former Magic Tower Master and high-ranking officials of the Magic Tower who are currently hiding. And the hunters who want to make some money are eager to get their hands on me.”

“Ah, even so, the hunters…?”

A lot of hunters lost their lives last night in the city.

And the hunters who arrived at the Magic Tower after taking those lives were reduced to stains on the floor – Seungwoo made sure of that before they could even show off their power.

“Those people have ears and eyes, do you think they would dare to touch you?”

“…Is it because you’re a princess?”

Seungwoo, who almost blurted out something, looked at Luna.

Her beautiful blonde hair and high elf-like beauty.

It was no wonder she was thought of as a princess.

“You don’t know much about the world.”

Indeed, like a princess.

It is only natural that a princess does not know much about the world.

Many fairy tales in the world support that fact.

─Um, isn’t that a very discriminatory prejudice? Generally, princesses don’t have the right to inherit the throne, but if there are no brothers, they can become queens. Besides, that child is a leader who has led people as the head of the Union.

‘So, does that kid seem to know much about the world?’

─……

Discrimination? Prejudice?

Maybe. But at least Luna in front of Seungwoo didn’t know much about the world.

“Hey. I can hear your gossip about me, even if it’s just snippets, you know?”

“……?”

What are you talking about?

“You openly said I’m a little kid who doesn’t know the world.”

“……Ah.”

“Did you think I would badmouth you or plot behind your back?”

Seungwoo shook his head.

You’re not that important yet.

“Rather than badmouthing someone who doesn’t even understand people’s minds in secret, I’d rather badmouth you in front of you.”

“I think that would feel worse?”

“Really? Then I’ll ask you. What do you think the hunters will do in the future? Will they be cautious because so many have died?”

“Wouldn’t that be the logical thing to do? From what I’ve learned, the stronger the hunter, the wider their network and the more subordinates they have. Since so many strong hunters died last night, the subordinates below them are in a state of confusion, and they don’t know exactly what’s happening in this city. Wouldn’t they take a step back and watch the situation?”

“Okay.”

Good answer.

That is the logical way to do it.

“Now I know how little you know about people.”

“What?! What does that mean….”

“You don’t know how foolish people can be.”

A species that can always make the worst choices in the worst situations.

That’s what humans are.

No, the elf in front of me doesn’t seem that smart either.

It can be said that the entire species called humans is like that.

“They’ll rush in like a swarm of bees.”

“A swarm of bees? Even though their leader died at this time?”

“Because it’s such a chaotic time. That’s how it is even more.”

“How many people would be that stupid?”

“There are more stupid people in the world than you think.”

“I don’t think that’s right.”

“That’s how humans are. They do irrational things like eating meals.”

Living, there are so many guys who think they are right even while doing irrational things.

‘Shall I give you an example?’

Seungwoo pointed to the bottom of the Magic Tower with his finger.

“Do you see that little dot?”

“It’s a person. Not an elf-like race, but an ordinary person.”

“You can see well. I guess elves have good eyesight because they live in the forest and shoot arrows.”

“Not all elves have good eyes.”

“Save the quibbles for later. Look closely at that person. What does it look like they’re doing?”

“It just looks like they’re standing still.”

From a distance, it looks like they’re standing still, but.

“Look closely at their hands.”

“Hands?”

“Yeah, isn’t there something on their hands?”

“Even so, my eyesight isn’t so ridiculously high that I can see what’s in their hands from this distance.”

“You can tell even from the silhouette.”

You can easily see what’s in their hand even from the silhouette.

Luna looked at the hand as Seungwoo said. Red is easy to see.

Other than that, she couldn’t see well, but it seemed like she was holding a circular sphere in her hand.

“Is it a red glass bead?”

“A glass bead? Ah, it might look like that from this distance.”

“Surely it’s not glass?”

“It’s not just a bead. If you look closely, you can see that it’s not a perfect circle with a consistent curve like a bead. Observe more closely.”

What does he want me to observe more closely?

Luna suppressed her questions and observed anyway.

At least Seungwoo had never done anything absurd so far, so she acted accordingly. Luna strained her eyes and observed closely, and as a result.

Thud. Thud.

She instinctively took a step back.

Both feet moved behind where she had just been standing.

“Looks like you saw it properly this time.”

“Th, that just now, could it be…!”

“A person’s head.”

“……Ah!”

Luna made a face that said, “I knew it.”

“You saw it properly this time.”

“Why on earth is someone holding a person’s head in broad daylight…?!”

“That head. It was someone like the vice-commander of the nearby hunters.”

A person who tried to control them and maintain order as a vice-commander while the hunters were in chaos because the boss died.

But with the leader dead, he was attacked by powerful hunters trying to become the new ruler.

“He was attacked by his own people.”

“Why on earth?”

“I told you. People aren’t that smart.”

Because she had seen something worse in the basement of the Magic Tower, Luna was not shocked any further. However, she couldn’t understand why those people had chosen the worst action that could shake the entire group just for power.

The heads of numerous hunter groups died.

In this situation, not even having a vice-commander to be the center of gravity.

Moreover, the group that eliminated that center of gravity with their own hands will naturally perish.

‘I think I need some time to think.’

Luna fell into deep thought.

Perhaps because she had reigned as the head of a closed group called the Union for a long time at a young age, she still felt immature in these areas.

That won’t do.

Even to go back there again.

Luna must become someone who can perfectly control this place.

Leaving her in thought, I briefly looked around.

I was wondering what happened to that guy just now.

In the process, I discovered someone I never expected.

“Huh?”

That’s not where she should be.

Why is she there?

* * *

This city has no name.

There was no reason to name it with a designation other than the city.

Outside the city, monsters are teeming. In such a world, no one knows how many cities are still standing, or if there is even one person alive.

That’s why there was no reason to name the city.

Even if there were other cities, this was the only city that the people living in this city knew.

“The only city in the world. Thanks to that, there’s no competition in this city. All the competition is between the companies that make up the city and the hunters.”

The absence of competition is the same as being stagnant.

A river where no new water flows quickly stagnates, and all the creatures living in the river die. In Isabel’s eyes, this city was as good as dying in real-time.

“Anything can happen in a city that has begun to die. But I didn’t know it would be so broken that they would take people away and force them into human experimentation.”

“Wh, why are you suddenly saying that…?”

The hands and feet of the man wearing the researcher’s gown were tied to the chair.

Isabel glared at the man with cold eyes.

A man with a small build. Because the traces of time are felt on his face, it is impossible to guess his age by his build. Perhaps he did not eat properly as a child, so his development was stunted during his growth period.

‘Maybe around that person’s age.’

Early to mid-20s.

It was clear that he was about the same age as Baek Seungwoo.

Such a person was found in the basement of the Magic Tower. Moreover, he was not tied up, but simply fainted.

‘What this means is obvious.’

I’m not 100% sure, but I can be 99% sure.

“You took those people and conducted experiments, right?”

This person is in the basement of the Magic Tower.

That means he is related to that terrible facility.

“I, I didn’t do that.”

“You didn’t do that? Suspicion and material evidence, everything has come out. Easy.”

“Ah, I was told to show this.”

While Isabel was glaring at the man, Easy was guarding the front of the door so that no one could enter or escape without permission.

Easy, standing with his back to the door, took out an object from his pocket at Isabel’s words.

It was a knife and tongs stored in a plastic bag.

A surgical knife and tongs with clear, hardened black blood.

“Your fingerprints were on the fingertips.”

“That’s not my stuff!”

“As a result of the analysis, there were no traces of other people’s fingerprints on the knife and tongs. Only your fingerprints were on them.”

“……Yes?”

“Moreover, it seems that you didn’t just hold it once, but regularly for a long time. The earliest remaining fingerprint was a trace left about 2 years ago.”

“……!”

The man’s body flinched briefly.

It was a subtle movement that ordinary people would hardly notice, but Isabel and Easy noticed which part he was shaken by. It seems that some important information is hidden in the phrase ‘2 years ago’.

“It seems like you’re not going to confess. How about some torture?”

“……Amazing. I can’t believe I would come up with the same idea as you at a similar time. I just thought that would be a good idea too.”

Easy suggested nonchalantly.

Isabel, hearing the suggestion, readily accepted as if she was thinking the same thing. It was to scare him.

‘I don’t actually intend to torture him.’

In case, there is a possibility that he will not open his mouth even if he is scared.

In that case, I have to torture him. I have no experience, but I know it in knowledge.

‘Rather, if I put into practice what I only know in knowledge, I may not be skilled and it may hurt more.’

That’s why even more.

I hope he confesses as soon as possible.

This man was the only living person Isabel and his party found in that disgusting basement of the Magic Tower. If this person dies without opening his mouth, Isabel and his party have no way to obtain information right now.

“You. If you don’t open your mouth, be prepared.”

“I, I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

“Tear off your hands and feet… Huh?”

“You surrendered faster than I thought. By the way, isn’t it fingernails and toenails that you pull out?”

If you pull out your hands and feet, you’ll die.

Ah, won’t you die? If you can somehow stop the bleeding, you won’t die.

“…….”

“Whatever. Should we just start the interrogation quickly?”

“……Yeah, sure.”

Isabel’s face turned red.

Anyone could tell that it was her first time torturing someone.

“I’ll tell you everything I know, so please spare my hands and feet…!!!”