Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 27
There are things like status and position between us.
I'm the Family Head. They're the elders.
In terms of hierarchy, the elders can't treat me carelessly.
But it seems they've sold out such decorum.
A chuckle escapes me at their blatant display of negative emotions.
"Ah, don't worry. I'm just here for a quick visit. Plus, I had something I wanted to show you."
"What on earth do you want to show us..."
Haha, grinning slyly, I flexed the muscles in my tail.
The tail they'd never paid any attention to before.
It stood straight up like it was swaying gently in the wind, then began to swish gracefully. The elders' faces stiffened at the captivating movement that drew everyone's gaze.
"Well... what is that."
"Hah, a hallucination. Am I seeing things..."
"Shut it, Seventh Elder. If that's a hallucination, then we're all blind."
The stunned elders.
They weren't stunned by the tail's allure. Well, the Eighth Elder blushing might be an exception, but most weren't.
It was the spiritual power dwelling in the tail.
The power of the soul, distinct from mana. Essential for transcending Nine-Tailed Fox to become a Heavenly Fox, this spiritual power was on a whole different level from that of an ordinary One-Tail Fox.
And adding another reason: after twenty years stuck at One-Tail Fox, not even a month after being exiled, I'd become a Two-Tail Fox. Whatever the cause of their shock, their expressions were a sight to behold.
This is fun. Should I poke them a bit more?
I propped my elbow on the armrest of the throne and rested my chin on my hand.
A gaze and posture that clearly looked down on those beneath me.
Behind me, my two fox tails swayed languidly.
"How does it look? Suits me, right...? No, that's not the tone."
I twisted my lips into a vile smirk.
To stoke as much ill will from the elders as possible.
And threw in a sleazy tone for good measure.
"So, what do you think? I got an opportunity recently, and my tail grew."
"Family Head, please maintain some dignity befitting your position..."
"Hey, Eighth Elder."
A tone plainly reserved for underlings.
The elderly Eighth Elder, angered by the condescension, opened his mouth.
But I cut him off midway.
"Ahaha, expecting some elder respect from me?"
"Family Head!"
"Watch your mouth. It's not 'Family Head,' it's 'Family Head-nim.' Eighth Elder, stick to the hierarchy."
Kuuuung.
As my words ended, mana crashed down over the area.
The mana, armed with pressure and killing intent, crushed the nine elders at the round table and my two siblings. They weren't the type to buckle under this much mana, though.
"Where do you think you're going?"
I extended my left hand forward.
As I slowly lowered it, the mana pressing down grew heavier. In truth, everyone here had a way out.
By taking down me, the caster.
All of them possessed at least Uren-level combat prowess.
Far beyond what a half-dead guy like me could handle. But I invoked hierarchy.
Unless they wanted to start a rebellion, no one could escape me. No, they shouldn't.
"You all must be pretty pissed, right?"
My red gaze sweeps the room.
Some show curiosity, others bewilderment.
One harbors killing intent. That last guy's truly dangerous.
'Plan's going as expected so far?'
This is the best I can do right now.
Crushing them with authority.
To justify their elder status and the council, they'll have no choice but to play along.
Of course, some won't like it.
The one who showed killing intent at the end is probably that type.
'Until I grow stronger, I have to test the waters like this.'
What I want is the Heavenly Fox Baek Family in its complete form.
Not split between the council and powernot divided, but fully in my grasp. Once that's mine, most episodes and scenarios will be easy to clear.
Then I can minimize all damage.
'To seize the Heavenly Fox Baek Family, I have no choice but to nibble away bit by bit.'
From what I've checked, the family's power is fragmented into several branches.
Nine elders and my two sisters.
Including me, that's twelve factions.
And I'm the one with the least power.
Subordinating the other eleven won't be easy.
So I'll erode their power slowly, very gradually, and dye it mine.
Provoking the elders' tempers is the opening move.
Scratching at their dispositions to make them show openings to me.
Plastering on a smiling face, I said,
"I'm heading to the dungeon today. I've only taken one day off this month."
So.
"Anyone who wants to follow, come along. I'll hear out your complaints."
Follow if you want to kill me.
With that, I stepped down from the throne and opened the door.
Clunk. The guards in front startled as the door opened.
I waved them aside.
Outside the meeting room. Walking leisurely down the empty hallway alone, I thought.
Not bad, all things considered.
'At least the first button's fastened.'
The fishing line is cast.
I've scattered bait tempting to those lurking in the deep sea.
Whether it's a trophy fish or a minnow that bites, who knows. Now I just wait for something to take the hook.
I'll be in the dungeon until then.
* * *
Baek Seol-hee harbored ambitions.
To become Family Head and seize not just the family, but the guilds and companies under it.
That was Baek Seol-hee's sole ambition.
And the one closest to that ambitionyet the biggest obstaclewas one person.
Her brother, Baek Seung-woo.
"Why would Brother suddenly say something like that..."
The meeting had ended long ago.
The Family Head's abrupt appearance had thrown the elders off during the meeting.
As a result, today's session wrapped up faster than usual.
All because of Baek Seung-woo.
That wasn't why she'd sent the driver.
A total miscalculation.
'I thought a thug-faced guy could intimidate him.'
It was Baek Seol-hee who'd contacted Baek Seung-woo about sending a driver.
She'd ordered one of her particularly rough-looking subordinates to do it. She figured that faceenough to startle her walking the halls at nightwould pressure her brother sufficiently.
"Haaa, but it was the complete opposite..."
He'd pressured not just her and her sister, but the other elders too.
The expressions of the First and Fifth Elders were especially priceless.
The First Elder, a family pillar, looked pleased as if his grandson had grown well. The Fifth Elder, who handled the family's military might, showed clear veiled killing intent.
Veiled, but plain as day to her Divine Eye.
Baek Seol-hee pondered briefly. There must be a reason her brother, who'd shown zero interest in family affairs, acted that way at the meeting.
A sudden suspicion crossed her mind.
"Did he get arrogant just because his tail grew?"
Not impossible.
For the Heavenly Fox Baek Family bloodline, tails symbolized power and authority.
Obtaining ten tails through cultivation to become a Heavenly Fox was the family's founding goal. Though time had blurred that aim, the tradition that more tails meant greater authority endured.
In that light, Baek Seung-woo's extra tail complicated her thoughts.
"I thought he'd live his life with just one tail, but now this."
One extra tail wasn't a big deal.
Two tails wasn't an impressive realm.
Baek Seol-hee herself had three, while the elderly First Elder and martial Fifth Elder had eight each.
Compared to them, the Family Head having two was embarrassing. Even the neutral elders didn't truly acknowledge him deep down.
"...But what if Brother keeps gaining momentum like this?"
Cultivation is no easy path.
Unlike acting on religious faith or building martial might, it fundamentally focuses on accumulating realms through mental discipline.
Her brother, only now growing a tail, couldn't catch up.
No matter how hard he trained starting late, closing the time gap wouldn't be easy.
"No, it's fine. I'll be the next Family Head. No matter what..."
Baek Seol-hee buried herself in bed, imagining herself as Family Head.
No need to dwell on troubling futures. Time to dream of happy ones.
Meanwhile, lights still burned in the meeting room.
Many seats were empty, but some remained.
"Who would've thought the Family Head had become a Two-Tail Fox."
"The late previous Family Head and Madam must be overjoyed."
"Haha, we would've been thrilled if his cultivation had been just two years fasterbut."
"Too late. Way too late."
The elders conversed.
Their topic: changes in their incompetent Family Head, Baek Seung-woo.
He hadn't burned himself out at Chilseong Academy just to be hailed a hero in news and papers. Suddenly sporting two tails, he'd started acting differently.
Above all, his confident demeanor stirred nostalgia in the old-timers.
"Before he got that TA job at the academy, he was quite prickly."
"Late entry into society might've helped."
"Hm, still doesn't make sense. That spacey Family Head suddenly wise? He didn't care when we painted him as a wastrel externally."
"Either way, it'll hinder the greater cause."
Sudden silence.
Indeed, the Family Head's change brought more harm than good.
The proxy rule under the Fifth Elder's lead was likely doomed. Neutral elders would cling to neutrality like upright pines.
"We need to change plans."
"Coup's possible with the First Elder."
"Then our best option is obviously."
The elders spoke in unison.
Having guarded the family together for decades, they could read each other's minds.
"Intimidation."
"Or assassination and silencing."
"Most effective."
"Most realistic too."
Hostage-taking was pointless.
The Family Head wasn't one to grow attached to others.
Isolation impossible.
He was already exiled to the academy as a lowly TA.
Chilseong Academy was nearly extraterritorial, beyond Heavenly Fox Baek Family influence.
Cutting funds tricky.
Even a powerless Family Head had income sources.
Enough for a cozy life.
Only one way left.
"Send assassins."
"Threaten with lives as stakes."
"That's the surest. Of course, if the First Elder catches us, we're all dead."
"But to remove that ominous thing, it's the best."
Anyone would cower under threat of deatheven the Family Head.
The elders dispatched three assassins to tail Baek Seung-woo and strike at the perfect moment. Family and guild-trained, failure or backlash unlikely.
One silent elder thought as he left.
"...That wasn't the aura of a mere Two-Tail Fox."
The Fifth Elder didn't see Baek Seung-woo as Family Head.
The current family was a tiger surrounded by foxes.
That's why they'd exiled him to the academy.
"This time, crush him thoroughly."
Or kill him before he grows.
Swallowing the rest, the Fifth Elder donned armor and headed to work.
His role: Heavenly Fox Baek Family elder and guild leader.
Burying one person was no big deal.
Even if it was his supposed lord.
He could do it anytime.
He just hadn't until now.