Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 21
The letter from the family gave me a headache.
"What? You used the elixir on your own and now you want me to pay for it?"
Who the hell does she think she's talking to?
Baek Seol-hee, Baek Seung-woo's younger sister, was calculating and meticulous by nature.
For someone like her to put that in a letter meant she'd already laid the groundwork to some extent. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good for me.
"Why bill me for the elixir in the first place?"
The elixir was a miracle potion.
A potion that could save anyone short of the dead.
Mass production would make you filthy rich, but even producing a degraded version was next to impossible, let alone the real deal.
That's why the Heavenly Fox Baek Family kept a few on hand for emergencies.
And now they wanted to charge me for it?
What nonsense.
The elixir was unequivocally the Heavenly Fox Baek Family's property.
And I was the Family Head of the Heavenly Fox Baek Family.
Using my own property, and they wanted to bill me for it?
This went beyond oversteppingit bordered on outright rebellion. If Baek Seol-hee actually demanded payment from me, I'd have no choice but to rise up against her.
"...Looks like I'll have to head back to the main house soon."
Until now, I hadn't planned on going.
I'd intended to watch the protagonist's awakening and just observe whatever events unfolded from there. No need to stir up trouble by visiting the main house unnecessarily.
Even if I did go, I'd planned to put it off as long as possible.
But now my mind had changed.
I'll take back every right that's been stolen from me.
I'd reclaim everything Baek Seung-woo had lost, with my own hands.
Do that, and the massive power of the Heavenly Fox Baek Family would fall into my grasp.
Vast wealth, honor, connections to great houses, and the martial might backing it all.
Conquer the Heavenly Fox Baek Family completely, and most episodes would be a breeze. Then a sudden question popped into my head.
Being able to breeze through some episodes sounded great.
But what the hell did it even mean?
"I'm not even the protagonist."
I couldn't do a damn thing.
I'd gone out of my way to block the protagonist's awakening just to save some students.
So what did I gain from it?
Nine students who didn't need to die had died instead.
The protagonist must have taken a dislike to me because of it.
And I'd nearly gotten myself killed upending the episode like an idiot.
No gains whatsoever.
Of course. It made perfect sense.
Everyone had their role to play. Mine was as the extra villain.
Getting utterly crushed for the protagonist's sakethat was my entire purpose.
Had I unknowingly fallen prey to some hero complex and vanity?
How could I have forgotten that simple fact?
"...I can't change a single thing."
Hoo. I let out a deep sigh.
I sighed until my chest ached and throbbed.
Until there was no breath left in my lungs, and my head spun dizzily.
I needed oxygen. Fresh, clean oxygen. A breath to fill this hollow ache in my chest.
I channeled mana into my hand and tore off the restraints.
My mana channels and body still hadn't fully healed, but I used the IV stand as a crutch and stepped outside.
Thud. Thud. My steps were as heavy as my sighs.
* * *
April had arrived before I knew it.
The heart of spring.
New students would've settled into the academy by now, making friends left and right. It was also prime time for couples to sprout up like weeds.
Back in the day, I'd hated seeing all those lovey-dovey students rubbing it in.
"Now there's no one left."
Blossoms were bursting open everywhere.
My pollen allergies made my nose itch like hell, but at least it was a feast for the eyes.
Ah, a park like this would've suited young folks way better than a bitter old guy like me who couldn't enjoy it.
Mentally mid-twenties, physically just twenty-one, and yet so damn pessimistic.
The vibrant flowers blooming in the park, and me the only one aroundit was pretty damn lonely. It wasn't class time, and no one was off-campus either.
The professors were rushing back to handle the aftermath.
The second- and third-years were still out on their uninhabited island midterms and guild training, respectively. Which left the first-years as the real problem.
"All the first-years have PTSD. Talk about tarnishing one of the world's top five academies."
Hundreds of students were hospitalized in Chilseong Academy's infirmary. Plenty of professors were skilled healers or veteran health instructors, so their injuries weren't a worry.
Physical injuries were fine. The mental scars were the issue.
Right now, around a thousand students excluding the injured were reporting mental stress. Who knew which of the injured might crack mentally too? Headache upon headache.
"At this rate, every kid in the academy's gonna be on antidepressants."
Mental hospitals were gonna rake it in.
Two thousand students needing therapy and meds? Cha-ching.
Maybe I should open one myself.
Such idle thoughts crossed my mind, until I realized the numbers were off.
It's not two thousand anymore. It's 1,991.
An unprecedented number in academy history.
Chilseong Academy's maximum per year was two thousand.
An absolute number that had never wavered once.
Over decades, not a single transfer or dropout. But now nine students were gone.
Whether that gap would be filled or left empty, who knew?
The novel never mentioned it.
No screen time for extras like me, especially dead ones. The frustration choked me.
Sigh. I'd hoped some fresh air would help.
It only made things stuffier.
Walking along, I spotted a bench and sat down.
"Come to think of it, I've got nothing to do. Even the professors said they'd handle my sick leave, so I can't even go to work..."
"Tell me about it. From what I see, you could handle some paperwork if you showed up."
A low voice responding to my mumble.
I'd heard it before, but it wasn't familiar.
I turned my head and realized whose it was.
"...Why the hell are you here?"
"Can't I visit the park?"
"The academy's in chaos right now. You must be swamped."
"Yeah, this is my ten-minute break after twenty-nine straight hours."
The guy who'd dumped errands on me the moment I arrived in this world.
After that, he'd burned with inexplicable hostility toward me and avoided me like the plague.
Never thought he'd come seeking me out.
"TA Bang Seok-hun..."
"Call me sunbae, Bang Seok-hun sunbae. Who're you calling TA, you rookie?"
"Didn't you get chewed out by the professor for that crap? If you're gonna pull that old-man act, go bother someone else."
I had zero interest in chatting with Bang Seok-hun.
We knew each other, sure, but not well enough for a casual park talk. How do you even handle a walking bundle of hysteria?
Not me. No way.
"A leech like you, talking to your sunbae like that? You're one of a kind."
"If you want respect, start acting worthy of it. So, what do you want with me?"
"Heard you got hurt. How's your lung?"
Good lord.
Bang Seok-hun, who'd been a total asshole from day one, asking about my well-being? I was stunned.
But what stunned me more was the specific concern.
Not "you okay?" but straight to my lung? Classic Bang Seok-hunexceptional in all the weird ways.
"...Why the dumbass look?"
"No, I just figured you're the only one in the world who'd ask something that stupid."
"You little punk... I just can't warm up to you."
Same here.
Over the past month, I hadn't exactly bonded with anyone, but two stood out as bad blood: Bang Seok-hun and Kyle.
Kyle was entirely my fault, and I felt nothing toward the other TAs freezing me out. But Bang Seok-hun? He was the exception.
"I don't wanna get chummy with you either, so just go on your way."
"...I'm sitting here for a bit."
"No, why pick my bench out of all these empties... Ah, you're already sitting."
Bang Seok-hun plopped down next to me.
The bench was wide enough to avoid full body contact, but it still creeped me out. Part of me wanted to swing the IV stand and tell him to scram.
But it'd probably just snap on him.
TA or not, he was a mage training under Nam Hwa-yeon. I might've had a shot back when I fought Yuren.
As a half-cripple now? No chance.
"Your tails grew, huh. Heard it's a Heavenly Fox Baek Family trait, but wild. What's the trick?"
"...That your business?"
"Half of it."
Fair enough. It was pretty fascinating even to me.
Growing a tail was a bizarre sensation.
Not like gaining an extra limb. Something alien sprouting from your lower back, yet moving as if it were yoursindescribable.
"Less a family trait, more the result of training."
"...Training?"
"Yeah, training. Like a monk attaining enlightenment and stepping into nirvana. There, explained. Now scram back to work."
I gave a rough explanation, but I'm not sure how clear it was.
I barely knew the details myself.
Foxes growing tails wasn't just about accumulating knowledge.
Not raw power, not patient century-long waits.
Couldn't even guess the method.
That's why they called it training.
"Fascinating."
"Now you know. Off to work."
"Gonna smoke one first."
"You son of a!"
Bang Seok-hun pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
Flick flick. He lit it with a lighter.
What the actual fuck?
"What're you doing smoking in front of a non-smoker? I'm a patient, you psycho!"
"Good memory."
"I knew you were nuts, but this level?"
He'd been answering off-topic since he showed up.
I'd suspected from day one, but damn, not this crazy.
Bang Seok-hun offered me a cigarette.
"...You want me to light it?"
"Have one."
"I don't smoke."
"..."
Offering a cigarette to a non-smoker. And I'm a patient.
Thinking back, that's probably why he asked about my lung specifically.
Jesus, what a sunbae.
The absolute worst.
"Bet you smoked back in the day, though."
"...How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess."
"..."
Like I'd ask him for advice.
Talking to him just blanks my brain.
I stared blankly at the cigarette he held out.
Not that I never wanted one.
Smoked on the battlefield to kill stress, quit when supplies ran low. Not opposed in principle.
But from this guy? Hell no.
Look at it. No brand, nothing.
How do you trust and smoke that?
I couldn't. No way.
Bang Seok-hun watched me intently.
No hostility in his eyes this time. Pity? No, more like kinship.
Felt his gaze on the back of my head, so I turned.
There he was, snapping his fingers to snuff out the rest of his cigarette.
White ash poured from the butt, then vaporized into the air.
Glittering like gold dust sprinkled by an angel.
Some seriously fancy smoke.
He straightened his collar and stood from the bench.
"...Don't do this shit."
"Pardon?"
"I'll head out then. Get better quick and come back."
Is he insane?
Before I could ask, Bang Seok-hun walked off.
He retraced his steps, and someone approached from that direction. They seemed to know each otherexchanged greetings and parted.
As they drew near, I saw the face and froze.
Someone I never expected.