Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 108

Chapter 108

28. I Have a Lover (3)

I woke up to find that I had gained a girlfriend. Baek Yu-seol was experiencing this unbelievable phenomenon firsthand.

“What did you say I was to you?”

Thinking he might have misheard, he asked again. Flame replied with a very apologetic expression.

“…Girlfriend.”

At a restaurant on Arcaneum Street.

He was having dinner with Flame, who had called him out, and heard a rather absurd story.

He should have sensed something was off when she offered him a free meal.

Baek Yu-seol momentarily forgot to move his spoon and asked again.

“Why?”

Thi s wa s c o pi e d f r o m k in g mt l .o rg
“Well, it’s just… I had an urgent situation.”

Th is w as c o p ied f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
Baek Yu-seol had heard the rumor spreading throughout the school today. He thought it wasn’t good that Jeremie was showing interest in Flame.

Since the Jeremie route almost always led to a bad ending, he had been thinking of ways to help her, but he never imagined he would end up helping in such an absurd way.

“Well… if this helps, then that’s good.”

“Yeah… thank you. In return, I’ll treat you to meals more often.”

Understanding the situation, Baek Yu-seol resumed using his spoon.

“Why me, though?”

“…I thought about Hae Wonryang for a moment, but that would be a bit difficult.”

She had many male friends who could pretend to be her boyfriend, but they couldn’t handle Jeremie.

Hae Wonryang could handle it, but he genuinely had feelings for her, so she wanted to keep her distance.

Even if it was just pretending, if she gave him any chance, his feelings would only get more confused.

She wanted to remain friends with him, and to do that, she needed to keep clear boundaries.

For that reason, Baek Yu-seol was a perfect candidate.

No matter what Jeremie did, he wouldn’t care. They had no feelings for each other, so pretending to date was comfortable.

“I see.”

As expected, he didn’t seem to care much. He was relieved that they could get through this easily.

“Do I get paid for being your fake boyfriend?”

“…I’ll treat you to meals often.”

“The pay is too low.”

Despite his complaints, Baek Yu-seol continued eating.

Flame rested her chin on her hand and stared at him blankly.

Boyfriend.

Wasn’t that a mythical creature?
T h is w as cop ie d f r o m k i ng m t l . o rg

Even if it was just an act, to get something she never had in her previous life after reincarnation felt surreal.

“Anyway… I’m really sorry. I’m sure you have someone you like, and I’m causing trouble.”

“…?”

Baek Yu-seol looked puzzled, even while eating.

“Like? Who do I like?”

Since he was originally twenty-nine years old, liking high schoolers would make him a criminal.

Even if not for that reason, it was hard to communicate with kids much younger than him.

So, he preferred people closer to his age.

With no one he liked at school, his puzzlement was understandable.

“…You don’t have anyone you like?”

“No.”

Flame was slightly taken aback.

T h i s w a s co pi e d f rom k in g m t l . o rg
‘Wasn’t he supposed to have returned for Aiselle out of love?’

She had believed that all along, but apparently, it wasn’t true. He had never specified anyone, so she had no reason to deny he liked someone. She wanted to ask if he was serious, but there was a huge wall between her and Baek Yu-seol.

They had promised only to share 50% of the truth with each other.

Even though they seemed close, they could never fully open up to each other.

Just as she had some ‘restrictions’ as a character in a romantic fantasy, Baek Yu-seol, a returner, would have restrictions too.

She really wanted to ask, but she had no intention of crossing the line.

“…Anyway. Just endure it for about a month. I’ll be counting on you.”

Since they had already claimed to be dating, it would be better to act like real lovers for now, even if they broke up later for some excuse.

That way, they could completely uproot the seed Jeremie had planted.

Love.

A vulnerable area for both Baek Yu-seol and Flame.

The next day, at lunchtime.

While eating together, Flame asked first.

“Hey. What do high schoolers usually do when they date?”

“How would I know?”

If they were adults, they could at least drink, but with two minors, he had no idea what to do.

Still, they had to follow what others did…

“Isn’t just eating together enough?”

“…You should never date. It’s unfair to the girl.”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”

“That’s kind of sad.”

“But do we really have to act like lovers?”

“At least for a month, pretending to date without getting caught would be enough.”

If they did that, all of Jeremie’s groundwork would be rendered useless.

“Sigh. It’s annoying.”

He felt the sharp gazes from around. After the rumored relationship with the famous Jeremie, it was only natural for them to attract attention when she claimed to be dating someone else right away.

‘Why are they so interested in two commoners dating?’

Unaware that she wasn’t an ordinary commoner at all, Flame couldn’t understand.

She had to abandon her plan to take it easy. She had no choice but to stick together like glue, due to the attention.

She watched Baek Yu-seol, who was eating with one hand while reading something with the other. He wore glasses when studying, which suited him quite well, making him look nice.

‘Well, dating this guy is a hundred times better than dating someone like Jeremie.’

In fact, both Jeremie and Baek Yu-seol had only good reputations, so her friends would probably call her lucky.

After lunch, Flame parted ways with Baek Yu-seol for their respective classes. She happened to attend a class with a friend who had a boyfriend.

“What do you usually do with your boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“We just hold hands and walk around. The east garden is full of flowers.”

“…Is that fun?”

“Huh? Is that a strange question? Just being together is nice.”

Is it really? Walking in the flower garden is?

‘Love is complicated…’

So, there’s something money can’t solve. Seems like capitalism isn’t omnipotent.

“I like just looking at each other.”

“Yeah. On days when classes end early, we go on dates on Rodeo Street, which is nice. No need to go far.”

“Rodeo?”

Now that she thought about it, there was such a place in Arcaneum. Similar to Korea’s university streets, Rodeo Street was full of dating high school couples, a place she couldn’t dare to step into.

But if she had to pretend to date Baek Yu-seol… it might be a good idea to show that they were dating by going there.

“By the way, Flame.”

“Huh?”

Her friends chuckled mischievously.

“You always seemed indifferent to boys, but suddenly you snagged an A-rank? How did you do it?”

“Snagged? What are you talking about?”

“Baek Yu-seol doesn’t look like he’d confess first. Did you catch him first?”

“No?”

“Then did Baek Yu-seol confess?”

“Wow. Didn’t see that coming.”

“Lucky you.”

“But isn’t it like watching kids in a relationship with Flame and Baek Yu-seol? They both look so young.”

“Yeah, I thought so too!”

“I saw them together earlier, and they were both so fresh and cute~”

What are they saying, these kids.

Flame sighed and buried her face in the desk.

‘Damn Jeremie…

To have to suffer such humiliation because of him. She vowed to crush him someday.

* * *

It was time for magical combat practice.

This time, without joint training with other classes, S-Class students would duel against each other.

Coincidentally.

Baek Yu-seol’s opponent was Hong Bi-yeon.

Fwoosh!

Even before the starting signal was given, it felt like her entire body was blazing with fire.

Baek Yu-seol wiped his cold sweat, gauging Hong Bi-yeon’s mood.

Thi s w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n g m t l . o r g
In the original game, her nickname was ‘Always Angry’ or ‘Angry Hong Bi-yeon’ because she was constantly angry, but today she seemed unable to contain her anger.

‘Did something happen…?’

Whatever it was, he didn’t really care, but being her target for venting her anger was a terrible situation.

“Bow to each other.”

They placed their staves vertically against their chests and lightly bowed.

“Arm yourselves with staves.”

They pointed their staves at each other.

“Duel, begin!”

As soon as the signal was given, Hong Bi-yeon explosively summoned small fireballs.

A spectacle of flames filling the air. It was a strategy of overwhelming Baek Yu-seol with sheer numbers.

She had observed and analyzed his combat style countless times.

His swordsmanship deflected all magic, and his sharp cutting power and destructive force could even slice through gigantic waves.

Not to mention, his Blink ability made the concept of distance meaningless, easily dodging critical strikes.

T h i s w as co pi e d fr o m ki ng m t l . o rg
“…It will be different from last time, commoner.”

Recalling the beginning of the semester, Hong Bi-yeon fired dozens of fire bullets at Baek Yu-seol in rapid succession.

Thi s w a s c opi e d f r om k i n gm t l .o r g
Boom boom!

If he could break big spells and deflect small ones, or dodge through Blink…

Wouldn’t overwhelming him with quantity be enough?

“Ugh!”

But he spun his sword like a windmill, blocking all the fire bullets.

‘This much won’t work.’

The bullets were just a taste. While Baek Yu-seol defended against her magic, she positioned flaming arrows all around.

She planned to fire three at a time to force him to dodge, and then shoot more arrows at his location.

[Blink]

Whoosh! Boom!!

As expected, Baek Yu-seol Blinked to evade the flaming arrows, and Hong Bi-yeon shot arrows at that spot.

Slash

But he deflected them all. To him, her seemingly carefully devised strategy was just child’s play.

She knew.

No matter how much she trained and got stronger, she couldn’t beat Baek Yu-seol.

Yet, something about those recent rumors made her angry at him, driving her to attack with all her might.

“Ugh!”

Fwoosh! Bang bang bang!

Flaming chunks fell from all directions, blocking his path, while fiery arrows from 36 directions kept interrupting his swordplay. Whenever he tried to catch his breath, a wave of fire swept over him.

‘Ugh! This is too much!’

Did Hong Bi-yeon realize? Her level had surpassed Class 3, nearing Class 4.

With added creativity, her destructive power became even more threatening.

‘If only I had 10 seconds, no, even 5 seconds…!’

With no time to activate Taeryeong Divine Art due to her relentless attacks, he couldn’t prepare anything and was just busy dodging.

He couldn’t even use concentrated mana to cut through a single fireball.

Without using Taeryeong Divine Art, his attack and defense power were significantly lower.

“I surrender! I surrender!”

Eventually, Baek Yu-seol, engulfed in flames, fell to the ground and quickly surrendered, ending the duel.

“…Huh?”

Only then did Hong Bi-yeon come to her senses, staring dumbfounded at Baek Yu-seol brushing off the flames.
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f r o m kin g m t l . o r g

‘Did I win? Did I really win?’

Thanks to Stella Dome’s protective effects, Baek Yu-seol was barely injured, though his uniform was charred.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, I won’t die.”

“No need to visit the infirmary, then.”

“Actually, I feel like I’m dying.”

“Fine. Head to the infirmary.”

After Baek Yu-seol left, Hong Bi-yeon reviewed the duel. Her faction members rushed to praise her.

“As expected, you’re amazing!”

“We knew Princess Hong Bi-yeon could easily beat Baek Yu-seol.”

“He couldn’t even fight back!”

But Hong Bi-yeon didn’t seem pleased. Arshuane, noticing this, cautiously asked,

“Princess. Aren’t you happy about your victory?”

“…No, I’m annoyed.”

“Did something happen?”

Th i s was c o p i e d f r o m k in g m t l . o r g
With a look that said, “Can’t you see?” she answered her faction members.

“Isn’t it obvious? He went easy on me.”

“…Huh?”

“Last time, that commoner could cut through even waves. But today, he didn’t properly swing his sword and just dodged before surrendering.”

“Oh, come to think of it…”

Only then did her faction members recall Baek Yu-seol’s duel against Yuslec.

Although Yuslec was far below Hong Bi-yeon’s level, he was still a formidable mage.

Baek Yu-seol’s combat style of perfectly cutting through Yuslec’s magic and exploiting openings was indeed threatening.

But none of that was shown today. If he had swung his sword like before, he could have easily cut through the flames, but he didn’t and just dodged?

‘He did it before, too.’

During the dungeon practice, he had gone easy on her.

Th is w a s c o p ie d fr o m k i ng m t l . or g
So, in the end.

Then and now… does that mean she hadn’t changed at all? That she was still someone he had to go easy on?

“Oh, Princess. Could it be?”

“…What?”

“Didn’t Baek Yu-seol say he follows the ‘Path of Chivalry?’ I read old books, and knights always prioritized ladies.”

“Oh, right, that’s true.”

“Come to think of it, there was such a thing.”

One of the legendary chivalric codes.

‘Lady First’

It didn’t just mean ‘ladies first.’

A knight would loyally protect and never raise a sword against a lady.

“But he hits other female students just fine?”

“Maybe he only spares those he recognizes as ladies.”

Her faction members’ opinions seemed plausible. Since Baek Yu-seol followed the old code of chivalry, it wasn’t strange for him to uphold ‘Lady First.’

…So, does that mean Baek Yu-seol recognized Hong Bi-yeon as a lady…?

“…Nonsense. Let’s head back.”

She flung the words and turned away, but Arshuane, standing beside her, saw it.

Her much more relaxed expression.

Seeing more of her lord’s human side than he had thought, Arshuane found himself smiling.

Who else in the world could manage Hong Bi-yeon’s emotions so effortlessly?

‘She’d be a better match for the princess than some commoner girl…’

With that silly thought, Arshuane followed Hong Bi-yeon.

End of Chapter