Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 127
Calling it volunteer work, looking after the kids in this already perished world didn't take all that long.
Surprisingly sooner than expected, it wrapped up in under two hours.
Tomorrow would be the last day we could spend here.
Maybe because it was the final day of midterms, the students were especially busy scurrying about, and in the process, Isabel and her group naturally crossed paths with us.
We hadn't been all that far apart to begin with.
The reunion was effortless.
"Isabel, finally found you."
"The shorty like you found me? Wasn't it me spotting you from up high?"
"Quit messing around. You were the one off on your own. Everyone else met up in a day, but you're the only one joining on day six, you know that?"
Isabel and Ji greeted each other warmly the moment they met.
It was an endearing sight.
An endearing sight... right?
'Eh, close enough.'
That much counts as endearing.
Relationships where people try to kill each other right off the bat are way more common in society.
Not based on personal experience, by the way.
For real.
"Isabel! Where the heck have you been this whole time?!"
"Me? See that biggest building over there?"
Isabel pointed with her fingertip at a structure that looked like a pillar.
That was the place she'd been assigned to.
"It's called the Magic Tower."
"Magic Tower? That Magic Tower we know?"
"Doesn't seem to be the same one. The one we know is the most prestigious organization of mages across history and eras. But from what I heard, here on this continent, the Magic Tower's like a public institution in every major city."
"I get the gist."
So basically, the Magic Tower here is a public agency that employs mages for large-scale development and security on a domain level.
They probably handle all the classic mage stuff from the medieval era.
Of course, public order and guards are the knights' domain.
"Work tough?"
"Not really? I'm not an apprentice or anything; I got assigned as a mid-level mage with some experience. This is about as much as I can sneak out for."
"Not a ton of free time, huh?"
"Pretty much. Especially since a few years back, we've been handling orders from the domain lord one after another, so we're short-staffed."
"The domain lord's orders?"
The lord of this land would be Viscount Epots.
What orders did that old man give?
"Dunno. I don't know the details."
"Not enough authority to access that?"
"It's not that. Thanks to my original knowledge and wisdom as a foundation, I've grabbed a top-five position in the Magic Tower."
"That high up... so you weren't just too lazy to look?"
I thought it was a reasonable suspicion, but it must've been pretty insulting to her, because Isabel shot back immediately.
"You think I'm like you? Of course I looked. But... unless you're the Tower Master, you can't read those documents."
"Official docs like that exist?"
Official documents unreadable without the head of the Magic Tower, plus orders from the land's owner.
Ah... this stinks.
Stinks so bad it's twisting my nose.
"Isn't this too obvious?"
"The black curtain's set."
"It's so obvious, it might be a feint. Could be part of some welfare program kept secret from the masses, for example."
"You say that after seeing what we just saw?"
No Yu-ra raised an objection to Ji's matter-of-fact attitude.
But it was brutally shattered by Isabel's claim soon enough.
The spot she pointed to with her eyes was where they'd just been tending to ragged kids dressed like beggars. What kind of welfare exists in a city where this is out in the open?
Vagabond cleanup fits better.
"That scene just now...? Ah, yeah, fair point."
"Hmph, good you get it."
"Hmph my ass..."
"...Hey, what'd you just say?"
"Shit. You heard that from there?"
Isabel stayed ice-cold, and Ji muttered under her breath at the attitude.
But since she muttered out loud, it reached Isabel's ears.
You gotta keep mutters internal.
Everyone here's a superhuman; of course it'd carry.
Still... thanks to that, the mood wasn't bad.
Afterward, the two played tag.
Isabel was still "it."
It felt like dj vu.
But they weren't seriously playing tag.
They were doing it on purpose.
Ji's face was full of mischief, clearly trying to force a bright atmosphere. And it workedthe students watching them broke into small smiles.
Isabel seemed to play along as the group leader. Impressive kids, really.
"Hey, you die if I catch you?"
"Crazy! Don't actually bomb me. My shield's in my bag right now!"
"Then you should've pulled it out sooner!"
"How was I supposed to know, damn it!!"
....
Uh, um.
'...This is for lightening the mood, right?'
Please say yes.
Let's at least keep our group's vibe warm.
* * *
The sun set, and the chilly wind unique to an early spring night swept through the city.
And so, the sixth day drew to a close.
I pulled every book in the city library on the empire's history or intrigues and skimmed them. There were nearly a hundred in this medieval setting, and somehow I finished them all before morning.
Thanks to that, I analyzed the geographical position and advantages of this city called Frontier, along with its political utility.
I memorized plenty of evidence on the behavioral patterns of the Frontier viscounts handed down through generations. And while reading, I periodically used the purple bugs to scout the city's dawn hours and the mansion interiors bit by bit.
That let me plan escape routes if combat broke out, and how to lure the fight.
"Kids."
"Teacher, what's up?"
"Got something to say for a sec..."
"Sis is back!"
"Today, whoa! Meat!"
"Ah, hold on. Kids, we only have dried jerky, but I soaked it in the soupeat up."
"Thank you!"
And while not quite to my level...
I figured since they were the ones taking the exam, they'd tackle dawn seriously too.
Didn't expect them to waste time like this.
The dark underbelly of a city full of ragged kids.
It'd only been a day since we volunteered there.
Seeing the exact same sight, I couldn't tell if I'd time-traveled or was dreaming. I denied the current situation.
And rightly so.
"This wasn't in the deal, right?"
We didn't agree to volunteer two days straight.
"But we promised we'd come again tomorrow."
"...Hey, No Yu-ra."
I couldn't take it anymore and pressed a hand to my forehead.
My head throbbed, words swirling in my mouth.
I mulled over if what I wanted to say would hurt the kids, if it was okay to say it, and finally spat it out.
"Are you all insane?"
"...Pardon?"
"Tomorrow's the last day. You think you can afford this?"
The week-long midterm ends tomorrow.
If we don't hit the minimum 50% by tomorrow night, it's zero points for everyone, no partial credit.
Partial scores are for those who stick it out to the end.
Not for quitters.
It might seem harsh, but the inflexible grading mirrors the cold reality of the player industry. It doesn't suit these kids.
Even with grades on the line.
My students were too kind to ignore the kids in front of them.
Even knowing it was all an illusion, volunteering would just leave them empty.
"Do you even know how far the has progressed?"
"Ah, yes? Of c-course. We checked at the mansion this morning. 41.2%."
No Yu-ra opened her Status Window and eyed the air.
When her gaze dropped to the floor, specific numbers came out.
41.2%.
Perilously close to half.
But too much to fill in one day.
To clear it in a day, we'd need nonstop planning from dawn, executing by now.
But this is what we're doing.
As I spaced out in shock at their complacency, anger bubbling up...
Tap tap!
Something poked my gut. Looking down, a notebook had bumped into my stomach.
"...What's this?"
"Conversations I overheard between the viscount and Tower Master at the Magic Tower. Plus, price trends in this city over the last three years, citizens' thoughts on them. And a bunch more I investigatedcheck it out."
"Got it."
I took the notebook and flipped it open right away.
I'd read it first.
Whatever the students investigated would all be in here.
The hundred-page notebook contained data, analyses, inferences, and supporting evidence.
Way more detailed and precise than I expected.
'The ratio of conscripted male peasants by the viscount over five years, differences in size and quality of buildings built with that labor. Tax uses and gaps over ten years. Mysterious vibrations from nearby land every twenty years.'
And more.
Rumors of rebelsself-styled revolutionariesdisgruntled with Frontier viscount's rule hiding in the city's underground sewers, plus evidence.
Data and stats showing mansion food stores dwindling day by day.
Thorough, objective analysis of everything in this land.
Of course, much overlapped with what I'd analyzed staying up all night, but some parts I hadn't even considered.
Like the rebels.
"...Did I underestimate you?"
While I scoured for info on demons and the viscount via imperial history with my purple bugs...
They'd tapped their own sources, digging into the city and world.
If I searched shadows and light with bugs...
They'd woven subjective info from vagrants and citizens into a mind map.
Though for a mind map, it was more like a fifty-page report.
"See? We didn't come here clueless or just 'cause we're softies. Volunteering's just a bonus."
"Good work."
I skimmed the notebook, then used Magic Saint's power to memorize it instantly. Even if not magic-related...
If it's knowledge-shaped, Magic Saint's thirst and ability greedily store and categorize it.
Now it's near-perfect recall.
Just for storing knowledge, though. Using it properly's up to me.
And I had the skill for that.
"Reason we came here today. Revolutionaries, right?"
"Whispers of rebellion are spreading among the residents. They're being extra cautious, so no contact spots elsewhere."
"Can't be helped then."
In the end, the students resumed volunteering.
But behind it, the goal was contacting the group opposing the viscount's housethe main backdrop here.
Isabel said their info source was a kid.
A young boy.
All the kids looked the same age to me, giving me a headache, but the moment I turned, instinct hit.
Like a commanding order to my body, forceful and immediate.
In words:
Turn your head.
Scan and look.
The instinct clashing with senses and gut stabbed my nerves like needles, no warning.
Don't ignore me.
Move now.
Ultimately, instinct overrode reason, moving my body.
At its end:
"This... think you can eat it?"
"Uh, y-yeah."
"Want me to cool it first?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, got it. Just a sec."
Heh heh, cool breath cooling the soup.
No need, reallythe near-spring city's temps could cool a warm soup just sitting.
Still, the boy personally mouth-cooled soup for the one in his arms. Beyond affectionnurturing, love.
Can't do that without feeling I have to cool it for them.
These kids look really young.
'Yeah, unusually so.'
Heartbreaking.
A scene brimming with humanity.
Was my instinct overriding reason to show me this?
No, not at all.
My eyes weren't on the two kids supporting each other.
They were on what hung below.
Clink!
Something on the boy's chest bumped the soup bowl, ringing clear.
The distinct sound of metal lightly clinking.
It was a name tag.
Engraved on it: the little kid's name.
I couldn't tear my eyes from the name tag's glint, even from afar.
Step step.
Before I knew it, my feet carried me toward the little one.
"You're the kid named Charles?"
"...Wh-who're you?"
"...Ugh."
Barely thigh-high.
That tiny kid cradled an even tinier one.
The name on the smaller one's tag: Mary.
Seeming siblings.
The moment I faced them, my chest clenched.
The stiff paper feel against my chestletters pressed full of heart, note paper formpressed into my coat against Seung-woo's chest.
It was foreshadowing.
Proof this world headed to its fated end on the right path.