Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 122
Heavenly Eye.
This is the eye of human distrust.
I can't read an opponent's innermost thoughts, but I can visually pierce through their emotions and information. That's why, with this eye, I can't carelessly judge or trust anyone.
Suspicion is the only landscape I've claimed with this eye.
'The information is too biased to trust blindly.'
The eye that secretly pries into what the other person hides.
What I gain from it is nothing but an extremely subjective interpretation, merely reading others' emotions and information. For someone like me who can't empathize or understand, this kind of subjective and biased info only breeds endless distrust and suspicion.
Others might think it's a pretty horrific power.
But at least for me, it was damn useful.
'Suspicion is the basic mindset everyone should have.'
Nothing in the world can be judged or trusted carelessly.
All the human relationships we've built and their byproducts are founded on suspicion. So suspicion isn't good or bad.
It's just natural.
This eye provides me with information I can never absolutely trust, making me doubt every moment. This power is incredibly useful to me.
'If I awakened another divine power, would it be this useful?'
Suddenly, I grew interested in Buddhism.
The Heavenly Eye I've awakened is one of the six divine powers that make up a monk's physical transcendence.
It was a power I'd claimed as proof of my training.
And right now, I was freely using my powers on the viscount.
'More than half of what he says is lies. For a noble, he's not skilled in schemes. Good at facial acting, but his trick of burying lies in truth is shallow.'
Young. Too young.
He said no other nobles remained in the northern lands except for him, right?
That statement is undoubtedly pure fact, without a shred of deceit.
However, it's entirely possible he killed them.
At least, it's a clear lie that today was the 'first' time he's seen another noble in this land besides himself.
'The trial time for staying in the back world is one week. With tonight marking the fourth night, I need to wrap this up within three days.'
I pondered this while responding to the viscount based on the etiquette ingrained in my body.
Tonight, I need to look into all the empire's nobles, their histories, intrigues, and relationships.
That's where I'll start.
The kids can handle their own activities and rack up points, while I gather intel alone.
Entrusting my back to others isn't an option for me.
My subjectivity, built from countless betrayals and suspicions, has made me stand tall alone.
I can shoulder all the salvation and sacrifice by myself.
The main reason I teach these students is just a safety net to touch places my hands can't reach through them.
The best is always handling it alone.
It's too early for those kids to step up directly.
So I'll handle it alone.
That's always been the best and wisest choice.
* * *
Once the suffocating time with the viscount and his family ended, a butler approached and said,
"I'll guide you. Please follow me."
Meaning they'd prepared a place to rest in this city directly.
Iji and Seong Yeon-hwa seemed pleased, but to my ears, it only sounded like they wanted to monitor us in a place under their control.
After everyone was assigned individual rooms.
Once some time had passed, I began to move.
I spread my mana lightly and widely to grasp the surrounding terrain and scout the optimal stealth routes.
'Out the window it is.'
Grateful for the viscount's hospitality, but I don't take favors without strings attached.
Clunk!
I lifted the window.
Whoosh!
I scaled the wall and leaped onto the roof.
A trick using attraction and repulsion forces.
Leaping lightly like a spider-human, I stood at the highest point of the mansion disguised as a castle and took in the city at a glance.
"Higher than I thought. Brighter too."
Impressions of the mansion and city, respectively.
Estimating the city's visible area by eye, it was by no means small.
The panoramic rooftop view that let it all in at once.
The mansion was 1.3 times taller than I'd imagined.
But compared to the impression that followed, this was nothing.
The thought in my head right after passing inspection and entering the city was simply, 'This city is dead.'
The vitality and atmosphere that should naturally emanate from a city teeming with people was excessively subdued.
Like strolling streets patrolled by corpses on the verge of collapse.
It felt like I'd come to a graveyard.
Maybe because I'd personally made a graveyard just days ago, the sensation stuck vividly in my mind. Yet despite that impression, there were plenty of people milling about the city.
Bards performing, burly thugs browsing the market, optimistic trash chugging booze amid gang fights.
"Feels like peering into modern folks' idealized Middle Ages."
Middle Ages...? No idea what era that is, but it doesn't seem like a fun time.
"Same sentiment. Totally agree."
The idealized Middle Ages.
Utterly different from an era of romance and honorit was one of cruelty and intrigue.
Most modern discussions of the Middle Ages are heavily romanticized.
This raw world felt more authentically medieval.
As I scanned the town here and there with those thoughts, a black puppy hung from the roof of this mansion.
What the hell is that?
Thinking I'd misseen, I approached.
Sniff sniff. It smelled.
"...A monster?"
The demonic energy was so faint I almost thought it was animal abuse.
Visually, 10th hierarchy. Right at the tail endbody and energy fitting.
Not that it had any impressive powers.
[[Heavenly Eye] analyzes the corresponding monster.]
[Extremely few elements to analyze.]
[27.8%... 59.9%... 84.6%... 100%]
[Analysis complete!]
'Individual name, Leon...? 37 years since birth this year, no notable powers or abilities.'
A peculiar monster.
Not even decent abilities.
Not sure if you could even call it a monster.
Looking like a black-furred puppy, even a bulldog or hunting hound would be stronger.
No, definitely stronger.
"Still got puppy teeth and claws? How's it survived 37 years?"
...You don't really think that, do you?
"What."
You think that frail thing survived alone all this time?
"Of course not."
Someone raised and abandoned it.
Or the owner who raised it died, leaving it behind.
One or the other.
That was the moment I thought that.
Kiiing...
Looking at me, the monster that somehow walked across the roof rubbed against my pant leg.
'...Should I kill it?'
Rubbing that repulsive demonic stench on my body.
I desperately wanted to off it right then.
But I couldn't bring myself to.
Not some soft pity.
Just... intuition.
The gut feeling that keeping this monster alive would help later.
"Consider yourself lucky."
Kiiing?
As if understanding my words.
The thing tilted its head, then started rubbing against my ankle again. Damn it, again.
A thick killing intent rose like smoke, but it ignored it and marked my foot with its scent.
Animals and monsters are usually sensitive to sharp things like killing intent.
This guy, having lived decades, showing this behaviormy killing intent evaporated.
Made me feel overly sensitive, like a fool.
Whine... whine...!
Not stopping at rubbing, it whined as if begging to be picked up.
I told it firmly,
"I won't touch you with my hands."
Even after I said it, the beast acted like a beast.
Kept approaching me.
And of all places, right near my room.
Haa... Uncomfortable cohabitation for the next three days.
With that, I threw myself off.
I didn't like seeing a monster act like a real puppy.
I didn't want to watch anymore, so I hurried away.
However,
"Hey, Viscount. You entertained the outsiders properly."
"Of course. Just as you said. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that cheeky tone with me? Even horned monsters should keep their promises."
"Ha...! Livestock getting all high and mighty...!"
Bingo.
So this was the intuition I felt earlier.
No idea what exactly, but I'd caught something.
* * *
The scene visible through the glass window.
I'd hidden my body with the concealment magic built into my coat, Seeping New Moon.
Sensitive sensors might find me with this alone, but everyone's attention was on 'him'.
"...Viscount Epots."
The guy who'd been playing nice.
"Outsiders came, just as you said."
"You put them in separate rooms, right?"
"Of course. What do you take me for."
"Livestock. Livestock with a title."
"You bastard! How dare you speak such nonsense to Viscount Frontier!!"
"What's with this clanking-armor bitch?"
He was with demonkin.
That wasn't all.
A robed human and a Termiya were in the room too.
What the hell combination is this?
Even in that confusing situation, I didn't avert my eyes, glaring at something beside them to steady my mind.
It was a massive black object reaching the ceiling.
Just looking at it muddled my mind with its mana.
Plus, the black mass seemed to absorb lightit looked perfectly black. Its outline formed an egg shape.
[You have simultaneously witnessed 3 singularities.]
[You have encountered the causes of the world's distortion.]
[You have beheld the direct factors of the conclusion.]
[Scenario progress rate greatly increases!]
[Progress Rate: 42.7%]
"!!!"
Progress rose just from observing?
And not a low amount42.7%.
Up a solid 20% from around 20%.
This means that egg's existence is deeply tied to the back world's singularities.
In other words,
'...That's the egg of the apocalypse.'
An egg is a world.
In short, something inside the egg breaking out into the world means one world perishes.
Only after witnessing it with my eyes did I grasp the true meaning.
That's an egg for sure?
'An egg... probably. Just don't know what's inside.'
I don't know what apocalyptic thing is in there.
Could be something I forgot, or something I've never even heard of. Trying to think about the contents blanks my mind.
Definitely unknown.
More important than forgotten contents I can't recall.
'How can I destroy it?'
Before the egg breaks through the world, smash it along with the world to avert the end.
Grasping at clouds, pointless talk.
The metaphor felt off, but that was my task.