Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 94

“…..I’m sorry.”

At Archwood’s sudden bow, the students in the lecture hall buzzed, but Lennox knew his judgment was correct. Frankly speaking, the students’ reputation was important for Lennox, who had just joined the lab, but it wouldn’t be the same for that man. Right now, all that mattered to Archwood was how to smooth over this difficult situation. However, Aris, as if she had read his intentions, did not easily accept his apology.

“If something like this happens again, I will send a letter to your family and the Magic Tower to get a firm response.” She spoke, glaring at Archwood with a completely changed tone. “If you understand what I mean, go.”

Instead of answering, he bowed his head once more and straightened his back. In the process, he didn’t forget to glance at Lennox once. Lennox didn’t bother to avoid his blatant gaze but simply smiled back at him, just like he had done when he first saw Lennox.

“………”

It was clear that a slight vein was popping out on Archwood’s forehead, who had been acting calm until now. However, he didn’t forget that Aris was staring at him right next to him. Watching Archwood’s back disappear down the hallway, Aris slammed the lecture hall door shut.

Bang!

As soon as she was free from the students’ gazes, Aris turned her head and said, “Lennox.”

Of course, she had been told Lennox’s real name in advance. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to reveal the alias and fake identity of Evan Bailen and ask for cooperation. It was an easy thing to get confused about, but she was treating him by clearly distinguishing the two names, as befitting a great magician.

“Yes, Professor.”

“This incident didn’t just happen because you were unlucky. As you may have already guessed, Archwood intentionally held a grudge and did it. I never thought he would be so brazen as to shift the blame after doing such a thing…”

“………”

Aris continued, looking troubled. “I’m sorry. Of course, just saying this won’t actually improve the situation. I’ll talk to the administration quickly and try to come up with a solution.”

Fortunately, Aris didn’t seem naive enough to believe that she could fix or lecture someone with just a few words. She was well aware that it was unlikely that someone like Archwood would change his behavior or stop trying to mess with Lennox just because of this incident. Lennox nodded with a calm expression. If she said she would come up with a solution herself, it wouldn’t be an empty promise. Besides, the incident that was happening now was not something he couldn’t understand.

Aris Richelieu was a talented and skilled magician who had reached the high level of 6 at a young age, had a great background in the Sinclair Magic Tower, and was a beautiful woman in her own right. For a Lavatenon University student, just being affiliated with her lab would bring considerable intangible benefits.

“Inside the school, move around where I can see you as much as possible, and when you go outside, make sure to change your face before moving.”

“Understood.”

At Lennox’s answer, Aris nodded with a slightly calmer face. Her expression, as she swept back her bright golden hair, looked a little more tired than before. “I’ll get an artifact that can be used for self-defense soon. I don’t want to hurt a researcher I’ve taken in after all this trouble because of something like this.”

Her thoughtfulness was clearly evident in her words. He could trust her at least that much. At least Aris had never forced a unilateral loss or position on Lennox. Lennox stopped Aris, who was suggesting they return to the lab together, and left the lecture hall.

“……..”

Numerous gazes pierced his back as he turned around. He could tell even without seeing them. Curiosity, wariness, jealousy, neglect…. It had been a long time since he had received such cold gazes since he came to this world. If the fact that Lennox couldn’t use magic spread, it would get even worse than this. But it didn’t matter. He hadn’t accepted her offer to experience the fresh atmosphere of the university. However, there was no reason to tolerate the opponent who had bared their teeth at him first. Lennox smiled faintly as he sensed Archwood’s gaze among the hundreds of students walking around the school beyond the cold wind blowing from the school building.

‘He must be thinking that it’s okay as long as he doesn’t get caught by Aris.’ It was obvious, but it was fortunate. If Lennox had been the only one thinking that way, things would have been much more difficult.

#

Whoooosh!!

The wind roared strongly in his ears. A strong wind, riding the clear night sky and rushing through the buildings, roughly swept over Lennox’s head. Operation start. The request he had received from Evelyn was already on the verge of being executed. The gathering place was the Trade Center in District 41. The rooftop of the 37th floor. As the name suggests, it was a high-rise building of considerable height. As Lennox sat waiting in a place where he could see the night view of Vulcan at a glance, someone slowly walked out from behind him.

“You must be the magician, Van.”

A young man with a long scar on his nose. It was hard to guess his age. He plopped down next to Lennox and asked abruptly, looking at the cigarette he was smoking. “Can I have one?”

“70,000 cels [currency].”

Lennox said that and threw him a cigarette, and the man immediately put it in his mouth instead of paying. A flame that appeared in the air quickly ignited the end of the cigarette, and smoke rose. The young man, who took a few puffs of Cashburn [a type of cigarette], said as if surprised, “It’s stronger than I thought. Are all the cigarettes that magicians smoke like this?”

Lennox ignored his words and asked, “Esper [a person with supernatural abilities]?”

“That’s about right. Nice to meet you.”

“Is this everyone participating in this operation?”

“Well… I heard there were at least three people. Oh, there’s one more coming up.”

As soon as the young man finished speaking, another person appeared. A huge, muscular man. A firm face that exuded restraint and solemnity from his expression. He glanced at the two of them and said nothing. At the same time, a woman in a suit landed on the edge of the building’s rooftop.

“Nice to meet you.”

She opened her mouth, pushing up her antique silver-rimmed glasses with one hand. “That makes four of you.”

“Hmm? Was there one more?” At the young man’s words, Lennox silently pointed behind him. A woman with a blank expression, covered in an old hood, was staring at them.

“I’m Hina O’Neill, in charge of management and supervision for this operation.”

“You must be from the agency, right?”

“We already explained why we hired freelancers.”

“………”

Hina, who easily ignored the young man’s words, said, “Tonight. A terrorist attack by black magicians is planned to target this Trade Center. It’s not just a random crime, but a planned act in cooperation with the professional terrorist organization ‘Falchion’.” A cold light flashed behind her glasses. “As always, the parasites that disturb the peace of the city must disappear.”

New equipment

“She’s a woman with a strong sense of duty.”

The young man muttered indifferently and asked, “So, do we just go down below the rooftop on time and burn the black magician friends to death? That’s all I know how to do.”

Whoosh..!!

With those words, a dark flame rose from the young man’s finger and transformed into the shape of a wolf. An astonishingly precise control of his esper ability. It was an insult to compare him to the pyrokinesis user he had met in the pharmaceutical company request. Hina finally turned her gaze to the young man and shook her head.

“No. But you’re also right.”

“I don’t like riddles.”

The first words the heavy-looking giant uttered were those. “Let’s proceed quickly.”

“…..The force targeting the Trade Center is a decoy. The real target is over there.” Hina’s finger pointed to the building directly across the street. A building slightly lower than where they were standing. About 20 stories high in terms of floors. “A shared office of a small to medium-sized company that is running a cloud computing business. They plan to steal the key that is encrypted and hidden inside.”

“You know a lot. Is that accurate information?”

“We cross-checked it using an informant we planted in the terrorist organization. It’s accurate information.”

“That key must be very important information.”

“I don’t know the details either.”

Hina replied calmly, but no one in this place was unaware that her words were a lie. Thinking about what Jenny had told him, it was probably something closely related to the secret of Senator Reisen.

“We will divide the personnel into two groups to carry out the operation. Three will go straight down to the Trade Center to subdue the terrorists, and one will go over there to protect the encryption key.”

It was a rather strange allocation of personnel to conduct operations in two places at the same time. It was an operation that could only be understood on the premise that the power of the other three and the remaining one were equal. It was natural for complaints to arise.

“So, who’s the one?”

“Mr. Van will take on that role.”

The gazes of the four people gathered here simultaneously turned to him. Instead of answering, Lennox silently raised his head and looked up at the night sky. The starlight, obscured by the city’s dust, seemed to be quite visible when you came up this high. Lennox was surprisingly pleased with that fact.

“It’s hard to accept.”

The expressionless woman opened her mouth for the first time. “I know that the magician named Van is doing well these days, but it’s hard to believe that he has the power to do something on his own. Above all, isn’t he a power user specialized in rear support?”

“I think so too.”

The giant agreed, crossing his arms. “I’m not sure if it’s the best choice for the success of the operation. I came here for the success bonus, not the advance payment. It’s hard to follow orders that I can’t understand.”

“………”

Regardless of the fact that Lennox’s reputation had risen rapidly recently, it was not strange to doubt his skills. Lennox knew very well how many real and fake people were mixed in this world. Was it time for another tedious and familiar proof? Lennox was always ready for this kind of thing. Should he start by hanging that big guy on the rooftop of the building…? Just as Lennox was about to get up, Hina said, “If the success bonus is the problem, you don’t have to worry. The success of the two teams will be evaluated only based on the operation site.”

Even if Lennox failed to protect the encryption key, they would receive their reward if they eliminated the terrorists over there. Only then did the expressionless woman close her mouth as if she had understood, and the giant muttered as if dissatisfied, “I don’t know how great that magician is that they’re treating him like this.”

“That’s our problem.”

She cut off the complaints firmly, took out her phone, checked the time, and nodded. “It’s time. Let’s start right away.”

#

Leaving Hina, who was directing the team members in this operation, the four people immediately split into two groups and entered different buildings. Lennox, who had put a levitation spell on his shoes and easily crossed over to the lower building, heard Hina’s voice in his ear.

[Van.]