Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 224

Chapter 224

End of Summer (4)

The monsoon season of the Haoya Plains, which had seemed to stretch on endlessly, as if it would never end, was finally coming to a close.

Now, the warm sunlight poured down every morning, and the sounds of cicadas and chirping sparrows began to drift in through the window.

The end of the monsoon season in the Haoya Plains signified that summer was drawing to a close, and the merchants, at last, could breathe a sigh of relief.

“…Wow.”

At the Lotus Inn, a place known as the heart of the plains, I welcomed the morning by gazing out at the Haoya Plains, utterly mesmerized.

It’s amazing enough when just one rainbow appears, but there were dozens of rainbows adorning the clouds over the vast expanse of the Haoya Plains.

This was the greatest spectacle in the world, one that could only be seen in the Haoya Plains.

“So beautiful…”

The Haoya Plains alone were beautiful enough, but the sight of dozens of rainbows intertwined and stretching across the sky was beyond words, something truly indescribable by human expression.

Knock knock—

I was lost in the scenery when a knock on the door pulled me back to reality.

“Yes, come in.”

With a polite “Excuse me,” the door opened, and waiters dressed in formal attire entered, pushing in a luxurious hotel cart that would be more fitting in a high-end establishment.

“Breakfast is ready.”

“Oh… alright…”

It felt rather overwhelming.

I wasn’t someone who deserved this kind of treatment. Whether they understood my discomfort or not, they politely set the meal on the table and quickly disappeared.

Since it was morning, the meal wasn’t excessively lavish. There was a truffle soup, a fluffy and moist bread that looked softer than clouds, and a sandwich, among other things.

Even though it seemed simple, the meal was undoubtedly of high quality, and the taste was on a whole different level.

“…It’s delicious.”

As I slowly ate the soup, I thought back to what had happened recently.

A week ago, when I was trapped in the past, ten years ago, it was Zeliel who miraculously appeared and pulled me out.

Why she showed up, I still don’t really know, but the important thing is that she saved me and hoped I would stay here for the remainder of the vacation.

The reason was that once school started, we wouldn’t be able to see each other as often…

Th i s w as c o p i e d f r o m k in gm t l .o r g
To be honest, I didn’t quite understand.

What does it matter if we don’t see each other often? It’s not like we were particularly close… Well, I did save Zeliel’s father before, but I had promised to receive proper compensation for that.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

When I finished eating, the waiters returned, asking if the meal was to my liking and if it was comfortable, even personally making me coffee. If I had said otherwise, they might have bowed to the ground, so I just answered that it was.

“Phew…”

After sending them away and finally catching my breath, I checked the time.

Today was Saturday. Next Monday, Stella Academy would start its new semester.

It meant that it was time for me to head back.

* * *

After returning to the present, I stayed at Lotus Inn for a week, having lunch and dinner with Zeliel every day.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t spare more time, so sharing meals was the most we could do together.

I’m not sure why, but something felt… lacking.

“…Are you leaving now?”

Zeliel always maintained a stiff, expressionless face. I couldn’t tell if she was that way just with me or with everyone else, but her expression was so stern that I sometimes wished she would smile more.

“I can’t attend school from here.”

I casually replied while cutting into my meat, and Zeliel bit her lip slightly.

“I see…”

“Well, I can always visit now and then.”

I really dislike awkward atmospheres. When two people share a meal and both remain silent, it inevitably becomes awkward, so I tended to keep talking. And every time, Zeliel would just faintly smile and listen.

Maybe she just doesn’t talk much, or maybe she doesn’t like conversing.

After I had been talking to myself for a while, she finally spoke up.

“Recently… I started a new project.”

“A project?”

She handed me a folder. On the cover, in large letters, were the words [Sharing Love].

“What is this..?”

“I want to start small.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, we did have a conversation about this before.

I had also thought it would be good to launch a welfare project under the Starcloud Trading Company and was looking for an opportunity to bring it up. But before I could even ask properly, Zeliel had already started.

But…

“Small, you say?”

It wasn’t small at all.

Even just skimming through the documents, I could tell. They had implemented a seven-layered audit system to prevent donations from leaking out, established policies to aid international disaster relief, support volunteers, and more. It was all very systematic and thorough.

“I’ll start with tackling hunger first. Then, I’ll implement an emergency support system for disaster relief and families in crisis.”

“Oh, uh… really?”

Even though that seemed impressive enough, she still didn’t look satisfied.

“There are more people in the world who need my help than I thought.”

Of course.

One of the biggest problems they face is likely financial.

“But… I still can’t fully grasp who needs help and where.”

There are limits to information gathering.

In a world where information is less readily available than on Earth and where disasters occur frequently, it’s bound to be even more challenging.

“That’s…”

“I’ll establish a foundation.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to set up branches of the ‘Human Sharing Foundation’ all over the world. So that there’s no place out of my reach.”

It felt like the scale of this was growing larger and larger.

“It’s small, but… I have to start atoning somehow. Once I finish this work, I plan to personally get involved.”

Zeliel… She had truly started to feel the emotion known as ‘guilt’ and wanted to atone for it herself.

That was…

Since it was the most ideal conclusion I could hope for, I couldn’t help but smile.

For Zeliel, who was once a sociopath capable of pushing all of humanity into ruin for her own gain, to feel guilt and go so far as to establish a charitable foundation…

Of course, that doesn’t mean her sins will be entirely cleansed. But the fact that she’s starting to do good deeds from now on is something worth noting.

If she carries out as many good deeds as she committed wrongdoings—no, even more than that—then surely, the world will change because of her.

“That’s commendable.”

So.

Facing Zeliel, I no longer felt uncomfortable, so I could smile broadly.

“Ah…”

As I smiled, she also followed suit. It was not a forced, mask-like smile for the sake of appearances, but a genuine one.

When she smiled like that, she looked even more beautiful, perhaps because she already had the features of a leading heroine.

T h i s was co pie d f r om k i n g m t l.o r g
I felt truly relieved that Zeliel had come to understand emotions.

On my way back to Stella Academy, I took the train. I had been talking with Zeliel until late in the evening, and as a result, I missed the direct airship to Stella.

With no other choice, I had to take a train to one of the satellite cities of Arcaneum and then use a nearby airship to continue my journey.

A train trip.

It wasn’t bad.

The Haoya Plains were beautiful, and sometimes, I just wanted to relax and enjoy the scenery.

Looking back, I realized how hectic my life had been since falling into Aether World.

I had been running nonstop, chasing main episodes, the Twelve Divine Moons, and other goals, all of which had helped me form many connections.

But, it wasn’t enough.

I took out a small white orb from my backpack. It was an item I received as a reward for completing the recent episode.

[Witch’s Crystal Orb of 498]

While the Wheel of Dawn is the representative item for growth, I had used it up like a consumable during that time, and I could never obtain it again.

But even though the Wheel of Dawn was stable, it had the drawback of only allowing very gradual growth over a long period.

Moreover, because I suffer from Mana Leakage Syndrome, its efficiency was significantly lower, so I didn’t favor it that much even when I was playing the game. However, this Witch’s Crystal Orb was different.

It was dangerous, but it allowed for significant leaps in growth in one go.

This was reality, and I only had one life, so I wouldn’t do anything extremely risky, but I needed to grow a bit faster, even if it meant taking some risks.

‘While I’ve been running around, Ma Yuseong has probably powered up even more…’
Th i s wa s c o p ie d f r o m k in g m t l. o r g

Of course, no matter how extraordinary Ma Yuseong is, he wouldn’t do something as monstrous as achieving 5-Class power in his first year.

But during the summer vacation, he will gain ‘experience’ and return.

According to the story of the original game, Ma Yuseong in his first year had been known to be on par with Hae Wonryang, possessing strong power but lacking experience.

But what if he also gains experience and starts feeling a rivalry with Hae Wonryang?

A truly terrifying monster would be born. While Ma Yuseong could be guided to become a force for good if handled carefully… The problem is that not only Ma Yuseong, but all the other protagonists must have achieved tremendous growth during the summer vacation, while I alone remained stagnant.

T h i s w a s c o p ied fr o m k i n g m tl . o r g
If I want to step into the upcoming episodes and play a key role, I need to grow faster.

‘What was the episode that followed the summer vacation?’

If I remember correctly, there were multiple episodes happening simultaneously, and the player could only choose one to play through. The most popular storyline was probably…

‘Urban Legend, I think.’

I pondered for a moment.

In the game, you could only choose one episode to play, but could that convenient feature exist even in reality?

No way.

Probably, all the possible episodes would occur simultaneously.

And to play a significant role in them, I needed to use this Witch’s Crystal Orb…

Rattle! Thud!

“Ugh?!”

While I was holding the crystal and deep in thought, the train suddenly jolted violently, sending me tumbling forward.
Th i s w a s c o p i ed f r o m k i ngm t l. o r g

Thanks to my superhuman physique, I reacted quickly and avoided serious injury, but I dropped the Witch’s Crystal Orb onto the floor.

“Damn it…”

Lifting my head with difficulty, I glanced outside the window. It was pitch black.

“What… a tunnel…?”
Th i s wa s c o p i e d fr o m k i ng m t l . o r g

—No.

A voice echoed directly in my mind, like a hallucination, but I quickly realized it was telepathy. I hastily pulled out my Terivon and activated the sword, but the light barely flickered.

‘Oh no…!’

During my battle with Isaac Morf, my Terivon had been damaged. I hadn’t yet reached a level where I could conjure a sword with another staff, but I hurriedly pulled out a temporary staff and dashed into the train corridor.

There.

Someone stood, shrouded in black robes, silently staring at me.

Though their head was covered with the robe, there was nothing where their face should have been, just an empty void.

As if they had intentionally severed their head.

—Who are you?

He, or she, asked me.

“…That’s what I should be asking, don’t you think?”

Who is this? What’s going on? I thought about who I might encounter on this train as I reached for my waist to put on my Bulbul Glasses, but the figure reached out a hand toward me.

—Stop.

T h i s wa s c o pi ed f r o m k i n gm t l.o r g
“Ugh…!”

My hand wouldn’t move.

Damn it, without the glasses, I couldn’t identify them.

— I’ll ask again. Who are you? And why are you holding the Witch’s Crystal?

“Well…”

Even though the Witch’s Crystal is an item, once it appears in reality, it becomes a ‘real object.’ Just like the Bulbul Glasses I’m using right now.

So that means…

It must have caught the attention of those who know about the existence of the ‘witches,’ who had completely vanished from this world.

T hi s w as co p i e d f r o m k i n gm t l. o r g
‘Damn it, you idiot…’

Thi s wa s co p i e d from kin g m t l . o r g
Why didn’t I consider that?

I wasn’t thinking deeply enough.

In the game, I could pull out and put away items without triggering any minor events like this.

—You’re not answering.

Seeing that I was lost in thought, the figure seemed to take it as a refusal to answer, and the black-robed person raised both hands.

—But you don’t need to answer.

“What the hell is that supposed to—”

T hi s w a s c o pi ed f r o m k i n g m tl. o rg
—I am a Witch Hunter.

The unexpected words made me widen my eyes, and the black-robed figure pulled out a staff, summoning a massive black scythe as they spoke.

—And you, holding the crystal… must be a witch.

After saying that, they swung the black scythe at me. Without a moment’s hesitation, it was a strike aimed directly at my neck.

End of Chapter