Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Became the Greatest Genius in History
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The atmosphere at Tristy Academy was chaotic and hectic.
The lively academy classes had come to a temporary halt.
Under the guidance of the faculty and staff, students were either staying in the dormitories or preparing to return to their hometowns. The reason was Insein's Curse.
A natural disaster that occurred every twenty years, lasting a full month, during which countless demons flooded out en masse.
Tristy Academy, part of the autonomous region, was one of the places where the disaster struck.
"I'm all for saving money, but if we set up the barrier spells like this, the right flank will be too vulnerable. If the demons press hard, it'll collapse easily. Wouldn't it be better to hire more mages and reinforce the barrier?"
"The budget's already tapped out. Any word on the funding support?"
"I discussed it with Family Head Porto, but it seems difficult to get any more assistance beyond this."
The academy's faculty and staff were diligently discussing measures to protect the students.
"Mages are expensive. Even hiring wandering mages is tough right now. How about employing cheap mercenaries to cover in case the right barrier gets breached?"
"Hm. Shall we approach Carlson's Mercenary Group and Johnson's Mercenary Group?"
"That sounds like a good plan. Go ahead and proceed with it."
"The curse will kick off in earnest a month and a half from now. Everyone got enough time to prepare?"
Aria, attending the professors' meeting, gazed at the calendar.
It wasn't a long time by any means, but it wasn't insufficient either.
In any case, Porto's Tristy soldiers were stationed and waiting at the main spawn points and pathways where demons typically appeared.
She knew they had ample supplies and had purchased large quantities of magical weaponry.
All they had to do was ensure that any demons Tristy couldn't handle didn't invade the academy or reach the students.
Everyone gathered at this meeting was a specialist like her.
Collaborating with them, she was confident they could pull it off.
"How many students are leaving the academy?"
"Including Etilla, fifteen students are heading back to their territories in three days."
"Won't that be dangerous? There's barely two months left... They could run into trouble on the way."
Most of the current students at Tristy Academy were nobles.
The tuition was exorbitantly expensive, beyond imagination.
There was a scholarship system for talented students, but unless they were exceptional standouts like Etilla Bedford, they had to cover a significant portion themselves.
Even with scholarships covering some fees, commoners couldn't afford it except in rare cases.
Therefore.
"We have no choice. The parents are being so insistent that refusing could lead to the worst if anything happens to a student here at the academy."
If the upper crust of Ustina Kingdom started filing complaints against the academy, it would be a headache. In such sensitive matters, they needed to clarify responsibility.
Professors were employees before they were the students' mentors.
In this situation, they had no choice but to fully respect the parents' wishes.
"Then let's move on to the next item. Regarding the food supplies for the students over the next month..."
That was when it happened.
Aria's crystal orb lit up.
It was an urgent communique from the Flame Faction.
"Hm?"
"Sorry. Excuse me for a moment."
Leaving a meeting midway was poor etiquette.
But she was a Flame Faction mage before she was a professor.
Aria immediately stood and stepped out into the hallway.
She checked the communique directly from the tower master to the mages.
"What the hell..."
Aria muttered a rare curse.
Her blood ran cold throughout her body.
If the communique's contents were true.
They would have to overhaul every plan they'd made so far.
Aria returned to the meeting room.
"Dean, I'm sorry to interrupt. An urgent matter has come up. I think it's best to address this first, so please forgive my rudeness as I speak."
The communique's contents were as follows.
『Urgent news from the Blue Magic Tower. An anomaly has occurred in Insein's Curse. According to the Blue Magic Tower, this polar phase has advanced by about a month, limited to the kingdom's eastern region including Tristy. Mages of the Flame Faction residing in the kingdom's east should take note and prepare for the disaster...』
It was news like a bolt from the blue.
"Is that true!?"
"It's a communique sent directly by the Red Tower Master. We need to revise our plans entirely."
Suddenly, only the kingdom's eastern region had its polar timing shifted?
It was unprecedented.
Those gathered were initially skeptical, but upon hearing it came from the Red Tower Master, they let out sighs.
"Our prep time is just a fortnight now."
"Still, finding out early is a blessing in disguise."
All the professors agreed with Aria.
If they hadn't heard this, the academy—no, the entire Tristy Autonomous Region, and even the kingdom's east—could have suffered massive losses.
Demons were strong.
One could tell from how the kingdom's forces were struggling on the front lines.
They weren't pushovers that could be killed easily without preparation.
Even if they won, the casualties would have been severe.
"Then we'll have to restart the meeting from scratch. We should send thanks to the Blue Magic Tower later."
Aria shook her head.
"This anomaly wasn't observed by the Blue Magic Tower. It was observed by Young Master Ester Tristy."
"What...?"
Ester Tristy.
No one could have imagined that the name of the genius young master who solved the Millennium Problem would come up here too.
***
"Daughter, are you really okay...?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry. Since coming to Tristy Academy, the only demons I've seen were in combat training. Worry about the territory folks instead of me."
Etilla Bedford was speaking tiredly into the crystal orb.
Her conversation partner was none other than her parents.
"With that anomaly hitting the kingdom's east, how can we not worry?"
"We should be spending time together at the estate right now after so long apart. This is just..."
Etilla was originally part of the return group.
The return group meant students whose parents, fearing accidents during Insein's Curse, demanded they head straight home.
But when the Blue Magic Tower discovered and announced that the polar phase in the kingdom's east had been shortened.
The academy took the extraordinary measure of keeping even the return group students on campus.
It was unavoidable. There were only a fortnight until the polar phase now.
"Still, it's a blessing in disguise."
"If Etilla got caught in the polar phase on the way home... Ugh, I don't even want to imagine it."
Etilla was the only daughter of the Bedford family.
The Bedford family was a noble house just like the Tristys, a venerable lineage ruling their own autonomous region.
Bedford Autonomous Region was famous for its high-quality herbs and skilled physicians, and it even had a small mithril mine, so its prestige was no less than Tristy's.
Compared to Tristy's cutthroat dysfunctional family, it would be an insult, but thanks to parents who doted on their precious only daughter like gold and jewels, Etilla's home life was in the top 0.1%.
"You have to call Mom every evening without fail. Got it?"
"Ah, geez."
This overprotectiveness could feel suffocating at times.
'I have research to do—how long are they gonna hold me up!'
Etilla didn't have time for this.
She needed to show off skills amazing enough to shut up that arrogant genius Ester Tristy.
Insein's Curse or whatever be damned—Etilla's mind was filled only with thoughts of beating Ester.
She had lost back then... but things were different now.
Because.
'Since then, my magical aptitude has leveled up another stage, and I've prepared my trump card too!'
After losing to Ester, Etilla had honed her magic furiously.
Her already rapid growth accelerated further, elevating her realm.
Now, she was confident she was at least at legendary mage level in terms of skill.
Even if Ester had miraculous computational ability, magic wasn't an art won by theory alone.
Creativity, judgment, memory, mana circuits, affinity, incantations, and more.
There were many factors to gauge a mage's skill.
Ester might have the edge in computation, but they hadn't competed in the others.
Etilla finished her goodbyes with her parents and cut the communication.
As she turned to head back to the dormitory, a familiar face appeared.
An extremely familiar one, at that.
It was Ester Tristy.