Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 79

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Episode 79

Academy Gumiho is a Magic Genius Episode 79

Housemate (4)

I ate midnight snacks and roughly sorted out my relationship with Tamamo.

Now there’s no reason to pore over dusty old books in my room searching for information about her.

Seungwoo left the Head of Family’s office.

“H, Head of the Family? What are you doing here? I thought the seniors were in Chilseong?”

“Really? Where?”

“Hey, don’t stare! Haven’t you heard the stories about those seniors who got chewed out and almost fired for staring back in the year before last?”

“Didn’t the news say they were in Jongno early yesterday morning? How did he even get into the Head of Family’s office in the first place?”

The carpet stretched out across the wide mansion.

Seungwoo confidently strode across it, and the servants, busy with their morning cleaning, pressed themselves against the wall, bowing low and avoiding his gaze.

Looking at him the wrong way could lead to unnecessary trouble.

The servants were mentally exhausted.

Working in this mansion meant an unbelievably good salary, but the constant need for caution was truly draining.

Nevertheless, the senior staff couldn’t give up an annual salary equivalent to a large corporation’s executive just for cleaning, so they silently bowed their heads.

However, the new recruits, still full of energy, had only heard stories about the Head of the Family, since he had been demoted to Chilseong, or more accurately, exiled, earlier this year.

Hearing stories wasn’t the same as experiencing it firsthand.

No amount of hearsay could quell the new recruits’ rampant curiosity.

They stubbornly straightened their backs and raised their heads.

“Wow… he’s so handsome.”

“Hey, what’s the point of being handsome? I heard his personality is trash.”

“With that face, wouldn’t it be okay even if his personality is trash? I actually like bad boys more.”

“His skin is so white. Wow, he’s like a shining sculpture…”

The new servants who raised their heads fell into two categories.

Those who blushed like schoolgirls while gazing at Seungwoo’s appearance, and men who, captivated by his looks, desperately felt God’s unfairness and tried to diminish him by focusing on his supposed bad personality.

The latter group consisted entirely of men.

So, it seemed to be classified by gender.

“Why is my heart fluttering like this even though I’m a man…?”

“Isn’t that arrhythmia [irregular heartbeat]?”

“Seeing that mine is fluttering too, I don’t think it’s arrhythmia.”

“Since when did arrhythmia become an infectious disease? Am I also attracted to the Head of the Family?”

“Wow, with that beauty, honestly…”

The latter reaction was understandable, but the former was a bit unsettling.

It was nice that the female servants found me attractive, but every time the male servants whispered among themselves, I felt a bit unnerved.

Especially the last guy.

I think I heard the word ‘쌉가능’ (ssapganeung) [a slang term meaning ‘totally possible’ or ‘definitely doable’, often used in a suggestive context].

A question suddenly arose, but I didn’t want to hear the answer at all.

─Contractor, you seem to be popular.

‘I don’t dislike or like being popular, but I don’t really like being popular with men.’

─Hehe, don’t think too much about it. It’s all because you’re pretty, so act confidently. When I had a body, I fascinated both men and women.

A magical charm that captivates regardless of gender.

It wasn’t exactly a skill I wanted.

Rather, Tamamo seemed pleased with Seungwoo’s appearance, looking truly satisfied.

In her eyes, the servants looked like fry that could be caught with a fishing rod at any time.

And Seungwoo’s charm didn’t end with just catching the servants.

He even caught someone he didn’t want to catch.

“Oh my…”

To see that old man here.

I thought he was working at the guild even on weekends.

I never expected to meet him in a place like this.

If this is fate, then it must be fate.

“It seems we were destined to meet, Fifth Elder.”

The man who was passing by reacted to Seungwoo’s words.

Well, even if he’s just a figurehead Head of the Family, ignoring the greeting after being spoken to so openly would make him seem like he has no sense of family, regardless of being an Elder or anything else.

The more the old men cling to formalities, the more thoroughly they adhere to that part.

“…It really seems so, Head of the Family.”

“Haha, Head of the Family, Fifth Elder. I’ve joined the team under you socially as a team leader, so please speak casually.”

Fifth Elder.

Looking at the middle-aged man who exuded dignity, prestige, and an overwhelming presence that couldn’t be hidden even though he was wearing a pure white martial arts uniform, I smiled brightly.

That man is really something; he must be over sixty, but he looks young and dignified for his age.

But what is that man’s actual personality like?

I’ll have to test it directly.

“Ah, that’s right. The team I run has decentralized command, personnel authority, and most of the authority, so there’s no need for you to speak lowly to me. Besides, this is my house, my mansion.”

“Ah… yes.”

“In that sense, Fifth Elder.”

Seungwoo smiled brightly and glared at the Fifth Elder with the most innocent expression possible.

Hahaha, geez.

“I’m walking. What are you doing not moving aside?”

I don’t even expect you to bow like the servants.

There was only one thing Seungwoo wanted.

“Even if I’m just a figurehead, no, a figurehead Head of the Family. When you meet me in the family, you should move aside on your own. Surely you, who are old, aren’t saying you won’t uphold the family’s etiquette and traditions, are you?”

In the guild, Seungwoo had no choice but to yield.

That place was a complete extraterritoriality where his influence didn’t reach.

But in this house, you have to save face for the Head of the Family, even if you don’t want to. Acting like a member of society in society, and like a family member in the house, is what he should do as an Elder.

…Well, if you don’t want to, fine.

Anyway, I’m planning to replace you someday.

* * *

I wanted to argue more, but I couldn’t push it any further.

This is the limit of the actions I can take.

If I cross the line any further, my head might be taken off by the Fifth Elder for real, before the scenario or the mind takes over.

“Haha, why are you reacting like that? Of course, it’s a joke. A joke.”

“…Ah, yes, is that so.”

“Okay, let’s meet at the guild later.”

“…Yes, let’s meet later.”

I turned my back on the Fifth Elder and walked elsewhere.

A sound of grinding teeth, to the point of breaking them, was heard from behind.

Well, it probably wasn’t real teeth.

Considering the Fifth Elder’s age, there’s a high possibility that it was his dentures that broke. Oh well.

I’ve become the team leader of , so I should give him dentures as a gift as a gesture of goodwill.

Ah, of course, I’ll send it with collect on delivery [the recipient pays the shipping fees].

While waving my hand towards him with my body, and thinking such thoughts in my head.

Tamamo, who hadn’t been involved in the conversation between me and the Fifth Elder, spoke in a voice as if evaluating a work of art.

─An Eight-Tailed Fox. He seems to have some talent. Hey Contractor, can you evaluate how good a person with that much skill is in this era?

‘Well, it depends on the evaluation method. But still, he’s the guild leader who runs an S-class guild and one of the high-rankers, so he’s probably in the top 100 in the world.’

─…Really?

Tamamo, unable to believe my answer, pushed off my shoulders with both hands and stood up.

Hey, my shoulders hurt.

─A skilled person who has achieved eight tails, undergone eight transformations, and eight regenerations is only in the top 100? Is this land some kind of demon’s den? What on earth happened during the thousand years I was asleep?

Why is she so excited?

Is an Eight-Tailed Fox such a great realm?

To me, who is only a Three-Tailed Fox, it was such a distant realm that I didn’t feel anything.

‘Calm down. That’s just saying, the Fifth Elder is in the upper ranks even among the high-rankers. If you’re just talking about force, he’s probably around the top 10.’

─Considering he achieved eight tails, that’s also a low ranking. When I achieved eight tails, there were no rivals, and when I became a Nine-Tailed Fox, the world was practically mine.

Tamamo, mentioning the old past before her death.

Her words were quite different from those of an old man reminiscing about memories while intoxicated with nostalgia.

She seemed to be speaking based on facts, with conviction.

Apparently, in her time, just becoming a Nine-Tailed Fox was enough to dominate the world.

Unfortunately, the era has continued to develop.

The same was true for mysteries such as magic and sorcery.

Along with the development of technology, the structure of mysteries has been analyzed and popularized in a more systematic and progressive form for a long time.

No longer can a fox with nine tails dominate the world.

In Tamamo’s time, the Nine-Tailed Fox may have been a symbol of absolute power.

But in the current situation, and in the world of the novel that will unfold later like hell, the realm of the Nine-Tailed Fox is like the minimum realm for me to survive.

In the hell of a few years later, it will be difficult to even survive if you are not a Nine-Tailed Fox.

The deaths of civilians are becoming a foregone conclusion as mere numbers.

That’s why I have to become a Nine-Tailed Fox as soon as possible.

In a world where even Nine-Tailed Foxes can’t guarantee their lives, the actions I, who am only a Three-Tailed Fox, can take will gradually decrease.

I must reach the highest realm I can reach as soon as possible and eliminate everything that can become the foundation of hell. In the process, I don’t even want to reach the realm of the Celestial Fox, who is the whole body and ancestor of the family.

Anyway, the possibility of reaching it converges infinitely to 0.

If the situation comes where I have to reach the Celestial Fox, that means this world is running towards the worst, even worse than the tragic development of the novel.

Nine-Tailed Fox.

I just want to grow quickly to the realm of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Then, not only can I keep my life intact, but I can also save the lives of others.

Even though this world is a novel, the value of human life is not degraded or damaged.

I hope that this world, at least, will no longer be a world where anyone is sacrificed or hurt.

I know it’s greed.

I hope the end of this world is different from the world I’ve protected.

While praying so.

─Contractor, hey Contractor. Can’t you hear me?

‘Ah, sorry, my thoughts were too long. You mean high-rankers, the top 100 out of hundreds of rankers selected by the system…’

─Answer the question later. More than that, I’ve asked at least ten times who that old man is.

‘Huh? If you say that, I don’t know. There are more than one or two old men in this house. All those Elders are like foxes, getting old and only getting greedy…’

─The old man on the left, trimming flowers in the flower garden. What on earth is that old man’s identity?

The left flower garden here?

If my memory is correct, that’s the First Elder’s flower bed.

Following Tamamo’s gesture, I turned my face, and an old man in a straw hat looked at me while trimming the flower garden.

Seeing him bowing his head and greeting me right away, he must have felt my gaze at once.

“It’s the First Elder after all. His sensory perception is good.”

─The First Elder, is that old man also an Elder? I definitely thought he was the captain of the guard.

“Look at the white tail at the end. What branch family would achieve Seven Tails and become the captain of the guard? With that much ability, he would naturally become an Elder.”

First Elder, or Grand Elder.

He is the oldest of the Cheonho Baekga [Thousand Fox Hundred Families, a prominent clan] and the Elder who has seized the most real power within the family.

If the Fifth Elder subdued and controlled the outside of the family, the Grand Elder’s role was internal affairs.

“Ah, my, when did you come? I was managing the flowers, but the Head of the Family’s beauty is like a flower, so I couldn’t distinguish it with these old eyes. First Elder, Baekro greets the Head of the Family.”

“…Nice to meet you, Grand Elder.”

“Hehe, just call me First Elder or Old Man.”

The Grand Elder, starting with flattering words as soon as we met.

Tamamo might have reacted to his words, but now her nerves were only directed at the Grand Elder’s tail and aura.

─Haa, I was momentarily blinded by the number of tails and was a little late in realizing that there was a real monster separately.

Seven tails.

It was fewer than the Fifth Elder’s eight tails, but the aura felt from him was undoubtedly stronger than anyone else in this house.

So much so that when I first saw his aura, I mistook him for a Nine-Tailed Fox like myself being born on this land.

As such, the Grand Elder will have an immeasurable power.

This was proven by his remarks.

“By the way, the Head of the Family has a ghost attached to his back.”

“…!!”

─…!!

What, can you see Tamamo now?

Even the Fifth Elder, who would have been more sensitive to spiritual concepts after becoming an Eight-Tailed Fox, didn’t notice Tamamo, who had completely hidden her presence with magic.

But now you can recognize it at a glance.

I and Tamamo didn’t show it on our faces, but we were deeply surprised inside.

“This old man’s presbyopia [age-related farsightedness] doesn’t show the type or aspects of the ghost, but this old man is worried that you might be possessed by some kind of 잡귀 (japgwi, miscellaneous ghost) [a minor or insignificant spirit].”

The Grand Elder’s 잡귀 (japgwi) remark.

Rather than surprise, anger was the first thing to appear on Tamamo’s face.

─Me, a 잡귀 (japgwi)? Me, who conquered the continent under the name of Mujoe and was even called the epitome of the Nine-Tailed Fox? Haha… Times have changed a lot.

‘I understand, so calm down. Why are you so upset about being treated like a 잡귀 (japgwi)?’

─What did you say…?

Oops, I misspoke.

I turned my eyes away from her, and focus and a firm aura settled in the Grand Elder’s eyes, which had been blurry due to presbyopia.

Apparently, he judged that the magic that responded to Tamamo’s anger was dangerous. This isn’t good?

The Grand Elder was about to move his hand at any moment.

“This old man doesn’t have the ability of exorcism, but I can do something equivalent to it. What should I do, Head of the Family?”

“Don’t do it. This 잡귀 (japgwi) is my property.”

─These guys are double-teaming the ancestor.

“If that’s the case.”

The Grand Elder’s aura subsided at my words.

He trimmed the flower garden again and said.

“By the way, Head of the Family, I just heard an interesting rumor.”

“What is it?”

“I heard from the servants that you argued with the Fifth Elder. I heard the news that you joined the guild he leads last time. I’m worried that you might be harmed for no reason.”

The rumor has already spread.

I couldn’t believe it, but there was no room to worry about the truth of the Grand Elder’s words.

The Grand Elder wore a gentle smile like a rural grandfather and at the same time a mysterious smile that felt like a snake.

“More than anything, as this old man who wants the stability of the family, I’m just curious about what kind of accident the Head of the Family will cause next. And if you do, where will you cause it?”

The Grand Elder’s direct words.

What should I hide from this?

I boldly revealed the next move I would make.

This was a declaration to the Grand Elder, who was managing the family’s internal affairs, and at the same time.

It was a dark-hearted statement containing the political intention to force him, who maintains neutrality in the center of the hardliners and moderates, to join the game.

“The Jotunheim Inferno.”

The next destination I had already told the Fifth Elder.

At the same time, the first destination I would head to as the team leader of was the Jotunheim Inferno.

The three uncaptured dungeons of South Korea, called the player powerhouse.

It can’t even be compared to ‘Efnell’s Flower Garden’, which is also an uncaptured dungeon.

Those who enter die or suffer near-death injuries.

A true hell that has proven that even S-class players or rankers are no different from civilians in the Inferno.

I was going to head to such a place in a half-crippled state.