Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Academy’s Gumiho is a Magic Genius – Chapter 41
"......Why did it have to be you standing in front of me?"
"That's exactly what I want to say. Why are you, of all people, in my line of sight?"
I felt a headache brewing in my mind.
I'd run into a student I absolutely never wanted to see.
Isabel Siriusone of the protagonist's many heroines.
Baek Seung-woo's former fiance.
In the original story, when Baek Seung-woo appeared as a mere extra side character, she got tangled up with the protagonist during a clash with him.
She wasn't just some heroine who needed protecting; she provided the protagonist with all sorts of aid thanks to her exceptional magic skills.
And the most impressive part was her family's power.
The Sirius Family, right there in her surname. If my memory's correct, they're one of the Nine Heavenly Great Families, just like ours.
The Sirius Familyone of the great houses that make up a corner of the Nine Heavenly Great Families.
Taking their name from the Heavenly Wolf Star, they originated from the Heavenly Wolf and have their roots in England, where they hold sway over the nation.
Isabel was the eldest daughter of that very Sirius Family.
Realistically speaking, it wasn't a match that made sense for an engagement.
Just like Baek Seung-woo back when he was the young heir, Isabel was the legitimate successor as the eldest daughter.
Even if she did have a younger brother two years her junior.
If she were chosen as heir, the engagement would clearly be a major obstacle.
They weren't planning to bring in a daughter-in-law or son-in-law from another family.
Both spouses as heads of Nine Heavenly Great Families?
That could shatter the delicate balance of power the nine families had maintained in opposition to one another.
And sure enough, a few years ago, they broke off the engagement, citing verbal abuse and physical violence as the reason.
"It's been a while, anyway. You look radiant."
"Ha, are you mocking me right now? If you thought I'd been wasting away like some lovesick girl with a fever ever since we called it off, you'd be dead wrong."
"I didn't mean it like that."
I didn't know the details of what had gone down between Baek Seung-woo and Isabel.
All I knew about her was that she was a capable mage and my former fiance.
So I wanted to keep the conversation as polite as possible, but it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped.
Every response from her was laced with barbs.
"......So what are you doing here?"
"I'm a student. Isn't it obvious I'd come to check out the teachers? You didn't seriously think I came here to see you, did you?"
"Good. Then we're done."
She was really hard to talk to.
Someone who knew the Baek Seung-woo of the past that I had no memory of.
One of his victims, even.
I figured she'd be just as uncomfortable around me as I was around her.
But whenever the conversation lulled, she'd toss a question my way.
"So, what criteria are you using to pick your students? You're not planning to just take the leftovers like some scavenger, are you?"
"Based on raid party composition, of course......"
"You think you have the bandwidth to teach all those at once?"
"I'll make it work."
"Ha, that shamelessness hasn't changed."
The conversation wouldn't die down.
Her endless questions made me wonder.
Does she actually have some interest in me?
No, that couldn't be.
No matter how I thought about it, there was no way she'd feel that way about the fianc she'd dumped over bad blood.
I answered her as sincerely as I could, hoping she'd just go her own way.
"So, how many spots do you have left?"
"I've picked four already. Now I just need someone who can handle the commander role and a mage for rear-line firepower support."
"Aren't those conditions a bit too strict?"
As she said, the remaining positions were the picky ones.
The head, who directs the team, and the caster, who handles the team's firepower and destruction. Neither was unimportant.
The real headache was the head position.
No matter how great the hardware is, if the software sucks, it won't perform.
I could teach tactics and command basics, but there were limits to what I could impart.
Especially charisma and courage.
"What are you thinking about right now?"
"......I'm worried about finding someone to take the commander spot. Even if they've got the physical talent, without the brains to match, their body will suffer for it."
"True. In a team or squad, the leader's ability is crucial."
Deep down, I wanted to take command myself.
But I wasn't a studentI was a TA.
A teacher, even, tasked with instructing them.
My role was strictly advisory. Overstep that, and it stops being teaching.
"......What if I did it?"
"What?"
I looked at Isabel in surprise.
She turned her head away, as if she didn't want to meet my eyes.
Wait, does she actually have feelings for me?
A flurry of scenarios flashed through my mind.
A tragic pair of lovers forced apart by family elders, tears in their eyes.
Or maybe they'd steeled themselves for each other's sake, but now that they're face-to-face, the emotions are shaking loose.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not doing this because you want me to."
"......Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Don't say gross shit like that. I just hate the idea of some unproven nobody lording over me."
Oh. Not that, then.
Well, even if this was a novel world, I wasn't its center.
I was just an extra villain with suspiciously good specs.
I reined in my thoughts.
Right. Let's think this through.
Normally, no ex-fiance would volunteer to serve under her former betrothed.
Especially not after dumping him over abuse.
So why was Isabel hoping to join my team?
The more I pondered, the more I realized how little information I had.
Not just on her relationship with Baek Seung-woo, but on Isabel herself.
Was there some hidden backstory between them?
Eve hadn't filled me in on the fine details.
She'd mentioned minor squabbles, but I'd brushed them off as unimportant and forgotten them long ago.
......Yeah, this isn't working.
I was seriously short on intel.
No choice but to fish for info carefully through conversation.
"And the same goes for you. I don't think you're cut out to be a teacher."
"So? You planning to skip my lessons too?"
"No matter how much I hate you, that's no reason to blow off Chilseong Academy's curriculum."
Her attitude toward me aside, she seemed like a diligent type.
Which meant Baek Seung-woo must have done something pretty bad to her.
Man, it was a pain dealing with fallout from sins I didn't commit.
The sidelong glares from everyone didn't help.
If I'd actually done it, finebut why was I paying for karma I didn't rack up?
This makes it hard to pry info out of her.
If she's ending up under me anyway, I'll have plenty of chances later.
For now, focus on talking to Isabel.
"I'll take your lessons. But if the content sucks, I'll self-study after hours, so you better watch out."
"Got it. I'll prepare stuff worthy of your approval."
I nodded in agreement with her words.
Even without her saying it, I planned to teach rigorously.
To extract info from Isabel, I needed to keep our connection going as long as possible.
My knowledge, packed with experience and know-how, would surely boost her command skills.
That way, even if she hated me, she couldn't shake me off easily.
And in the meantime, I'd milk every bit of information from her.
Starting with the little incidents between her and Baek Seung-woo.
Her personality, Sirius Family details.
Best of all would be stories about Baek Seung-woo from childhood.
Those were precious intel I couldn't get anywhere elsecut off after I possessed this body. With only vague memories of the novel and Eve's mentions, I desperately needed it.
So I put real effort into keeping the conversation pleasant.
"......Ha, how do you manage to say not one nice thing?"
"Think of it as my charm."
"......"
Of course, sometimes my efforts backfired spectacularly.
Judging that she couldn't keep talking, Isabel turned and headed toward a group of students.
The stifling atmosphere lifted, and I could finally breathe easy.
I took a deep breath and scanned the crowd.
Who's left among the mages?
No real gems among the remaining students.
All the professor-track magesespecially the geniuseswere under Professor Nam Hwa-yeon.
Eh, maybe I can just grab anyone for caster.
A shame, but no one caught my eye.
The silver lining: Isabel, our head, had magic talent that no first-year could match.
She'd end up pulling double duty as head and partial caster, increasing her load but lightening the caster's.
I could teach her the basics by element quick enough.
That was when it hit me.
"......What the?"
As I approached the students, a chill washed over me.
Not from their cold stares.
It felt more like opening a window in midwinter.
No, it wasn't just a feeling.
The closer I got, the colder my body grew.
This was weird.
Even I, with my veins clogged by yang energy keeping my body temperature high, felt the freeze.
I breathed out, and white mist formed.
Abnormal temperatures.
At the center was one girl.
Is she the source......?
No one was near the girl.
The other students shied away, complaining of the cold.
I pegged her as the culprit.
Despite the biting chill, she stood there unfazed.
She even seemed used to it.
Curiosity piqued, I reached out to speak to her.
......Cold.
Just approaching made my hand go numb.
Not static.
Like the prelude to frostbite in winter.
Any closer, and it'd probably burn like ice.
Trait or constitution, who knows.
But definitely intriguing.
Feeling my curiosity spike, I said,
"Could you introduce yourself?"
"Isis Walker. No family, no friends. Specialty is freezing anything. Maybe that's my strong suit too. Anything else you wanna know?"
"......Where'd you transfer from?"
Why's her speech so stiff?
She wasn't just cold-bodied; she was cold all around.
Her mana and presence suggested real skill and potential.
Now I got why no other prof or TA had snapped her up.
Talent matters for teaching, but more important is how much the student can absorb.
That's tied to personality and mindset.
Even if they want to learn, communication issues make it tough.
In my case, though, I just thought she'd be fun.
"Got a position in mind? You know, a role?"
"My role's clear. Freeze the enemy's feet, rain ice from afar."
"Uh...... so, like a mage?"
"That's what I just said."
"......"
Can I really put her on the team?
I mulled it over right there for over ten minutes.