Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Group Project (1)

At Stella Academy, high school students are required to complete community service hours.

There are several ways to fulfill these hours, such as being a one-day assistant for the magic postman or cleaning the streets, but not many students preferred these methods.

This was because joining a ‘club’ to earn service hours was much more convenient and beneficial for their career.

Hence, for the nobles, clubs primarily served as social gatherings, while for commoners, they were primarily for earning service hours.

The ‘Scalven Club,’ where the nobles of the Scalven Empire gathered, could be considered one of these social gatherings.

Even within Stella, this club was one of the few known as a ‘Heavenly Social Gathering,’ originally led by the highest-ranking student regardless of age. Hence, it was natural for the club presidency to be handed over to Prince Jeremie Scalven, despite him being a freshman.

Formerly, the club president was a second-year female student, Verajane Aisel, who now stood with a deep bow before Prince Jeremie.

Behind her, fifty other students were in the same posture.

In the middle of a spacious 100-pyeong room, which seemed too luxurious for mere students to use, sat a boy on an expensive sofa worth tens of millions of credits.

Jeremie Scalven.

He was staring blankly at the colorful chandelier on the ceiling.

Simply observing Jeremie’s softly smiling profile made one feel warm and peaceful.

“Cheap.”

However, the words that came out of his mouth did not allow for any warmth.

“I apologize. I will change it immediately.”

“Yes. Thank you. Please do.”

The cheeks of the young girls who knew nothing blushed at Jeremie’s smile, but Verajane broke into a cold sweat.

‘…This isn’t good.’

Verajane looked at Morso Dorden, who was kneeling and trembling before Jeremie.

Despite being a notable heir of the Dorden family, he was nothing in this place. Compared to him, he was like dust gathered in the corner.

“Morso. Raise your head. Why are you so scared?”

T h i s w as c o p ie d fr o m k i ng m t l.o rg
At the prince’s words, Morso slowly lifted his head. Jeremie was still smiling.

“Ye-Yes…”

“Yes. I wanted to hear your excuse directly from your mouth, so could you explain?”

Verajane hurriedly stepped forward.

“Actually…”

“Verajane?”

“…Yes?”

“I don’t think I asked you to explain. What do you think?”

“I-I apologize!”

She tightly shut her lips and stepped back, praying inwardly.

‘Please, don’t let that idiot Morso say anything stupid!’

Whether he knew Verajane’s thoughts or not, Morso began to babble incoherently.

The story was short. There wasn’t much to it. However, it was enough to chill the room.

‘I wasn’t feeling well. If I try again, I can do it properly. I was careless.’

Excuses upon excuses upon more excuses.

Jeremie, who had been smiling with his chin resting on his hand, finally spoke.

“So, in conclusion, you lost to a half-baked mage who can’t even use defensive magic in a duel? To a student who handles the vulgar ‘sword’?”

“It wasn’t a duel, it was just a practice…”

Oh no. As soon as Morso’s excuse came out of his mouth, Verajane tightly closed her eyes.

Crack!!

Immediately, a sound like something breaking echoed in the middle of the clubroom.

‘Ugh…?’

For a moment, Morso felt as if the world was spinning. He couldn’t grasp the situation for a while. Then, he realized that all the other students had backed against the wall.

‘Did I fall?’

When? Rolling his eyes, he realized that Jeremie had approached and was leaning his face close to his own.

“Why?”

Jeremie asked. Morso couldn’t understand the meaning.

The sound of something grinding filled his ears. His ears actually itched. No, it hurt. Terribly so.

‘Aaaaargh!!!’

Belatedly, Morso realized that his cheek was being scraped against the wall.

“Why?”

Thud!! Jeremie grabbed Morso’s hair and slammed it against the metal locker.

“Why?”

Once.

Twice.

Three times, five times, ten times.

Blood flowed from his head, but Morso couldn’t pass out.

“Why did you lose?”

He wanted to answer. To say he was sorry. But he couldn’t. Jeremie opened the locker and slammed his head inside, closing the door repeatedly.

“Why did you do it? Why, with the name Scalven, did you embarrass me? Do you hate me?”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Blood burst out, his eyes swelled, but as a mage, he wouldn’t die.
T h is w as c o p i e d f ro m k in g m t l . o r g

“I treated you so well. You are my loyal subject, right?”

“Guh… ugh…”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

As Morso struggled to open his mouth, Jeremie brought his ear closer.

“S-sorry…”

“Yes. Keep talking.”

“Please… spare my… life…”

“No. That’s not it.”

Jeremie looked as if he couldn’t understand.

“You are my loyal subject. A true loyal subject would repay the embarrassment given to the master with death. That’s what I learned. But why aren’t you doing that?”

Then, suddenly.

Jeremie stopped his rough actions. Kneeling abruptly, he embraced Morso.

“I’m sorry. I was too harsh. It was my fault.”

“Agh… ugh…”

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m really sorry.”

Morso’s tears, snot, and blood soaked Jeremie’s clothes, but Jeremie didn’t care and patted his back.

“You weren’t a loyal subject. You were my ‘friend.’ I shouldn’t have done that.”

At those words, even through the excruciating pain, Morso’s eyes widened.

Friend. That was a word never to be uttered by Prince Jeremie. Everyone present knew that, and they lowered their gaze with complex expressions.

Not a loyal subject, but a friend.

That meant the Dorden family was permanently ousted from the Scalven political scene.

‘For just this?’ one might wonder. But such questions are meaningless.

Scalven’s royalty often banished entire families to slavery for not enjoying their breakfast.

“Agh, ugh…”

“It must hurt a lot. What should we do… Verajane? You’re kind, so take good care of my friend. If anything happens, my heart will hurt a lot.”

“…Yes. I understand.”
T h i s was co pi e d fro m ki n g m tl . o r g

“I’m counting on you.”

Jeremie gently laid Morso on the ground. His delicate touch, like handling a jewel, sent chills down some spines, but no one showed it.

Verajane helped the half-conscious Morso.

With healing magic, he would recover quickly, but…

‘…Dorden is done for good.’

That realization left her feeling conflicted. Verajane glanced at Prince Jeremie. What was he thinking now?

Anger toward Morso? No, he had probably already forgotten about him.

Instead, he was likely thinking about that uniquely conspicuous commoner, Baek Yu-seol.
T h i s wa s cop i ed fro m k i n gm tl .or g

Verajane felt sorry. She had heard about the talented commoner, but now, with Jeremie involved, it was safe to say his life as a mage was over.

After Baek Yu-seol’s defensive demonstration, two rumors spread around the academy.

The first was, unsurprisingly, about Baek Yu-seol’s ‘chivalry.’

“Chivalry in a magic school? Isn’t he just an attention seeker?”
T h i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m ki n g m t l .o rg

“Why? It’s refreshing.”

“You’re seventeen.”

“Honestly, we’re old enough for this.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, he’s really unique.”

And the second was about Flame’s ‘Radiance attribute.’

“Did you hear? She uses the Radiance attribute, which only the mages of the Holy Kingdom chosen by angels can use.”

“And she inherited it naturally, not learned it.”

“Does that mean she’s an angel?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t have wings.”

Because Flame possessed an attribute humans couldn’t normally use, she drew a lot of attention within the magic school.

She neither liked nor disliked that attention. After all, Flame was also quite bothered by Baek Yu-seol.

‘What the heck is with that guy?’

It was driving her crazy. Yet, there was no way to uncover his identity.

‘He definitely knows the original story.’

So, what was his goal?

“Focus!”

Flame looked up. Alchemy professor Maizen Tiren clapped his hands to gather the students’ attention.

“Alchemy is a discipline that evolved from combining various elements to create gold. Of course, synthetic gold is easy to detect, so no one attempts it anymore.”

Flame had strategically chosen subjects taken by main characters, so this class, which was only attended by Aiselle in the original story, might not be particularly important.

However, Professor Maizen Tiren was destined to become a Dark Mage in the future. Whether to stop him beforehand or deal with him later, learning alchemy was essential.

“Among the great inventions of alchemy are the world’s lightest and strongest ‘Aishiranium’ and the ‘Similer Elixir,’ which can heal any wound. From today, you will practice making your own potions. That way, you can someday create something like the Similer Elixir.”

Alchemy practice was notoriously complex. Precise measurements down to the last CC, impeccable timing down to the second, and temperature control down to the last degree.

While first-year students wouldn’t find it that difficult, these detailed experiments made alchemy incredibly unpopular.

“Now, let’s begin by making the ‘Tiren Fatigue Recovery Potion’ that I developed. First, grind the green tea leaves into powder, then add a spoonful of fairy honey from Airel…”
Th i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k ingm t l.o r g

The long-awaited practice.

Honestly, for Flame, it wasn’t that difficult. She always succeeded in anything she did as instructed.

Thi s wa s c o p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l. or g
‘Ugh… this is so annoying.’

Flame grimaced and removed her protective goggles.

Bubble, bubble, bubble.
Th is w a s c op ie d f r o m k i ng m t l .o rg

She had excellent dexterity and concentration, and soon succeeded in making the ‘Tiren Fatigue Recovery Potion’ as Maizen Tiren instructed.

“Oh, well done. Excellent.”

“Thank you.”

Flame forced a pleasant smile at Maizen’s praise.

Alterisha, the assistant who was following Maizen around, approached Flame’s potion out of curiosity. Just as she was about to show it to her, Maizen suddenly shouted.

“Alterisha! What are you doing? That’s dangerous! How can you call yourself an alchemist?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Other students, startled, widened their eyes. One student, distracted, accidentally spilled a potion, causing steam to rise from the desk.

‘It’s you who’s dangerous.’

Though she couldn’t say it aloud, Flame swallowed her thoughts and looked around.

‘Where’s Baek Yu-seol?’

Baek Yu-seol. He was indeed unique. The main character attending this class was Aiselle, so she had been watching to see if he had any ill intentions towards her, but no.

“Hehehe.”

T h i s w as c o p i e d f r o m k i ngm t l. o r g
Not at all. He seemed to have forgotten Aiselle’s presence and was entirely engrossed in alchemy… Honestly, he seemed to be enjoying it so much that it was a bit creepy.

“Hehehehe.”

‘Is he mad…?’

Every time he added an ingredient and stirred, he chuckled sinisterly, which sent chills down her spine.

‘Is he really just a pervert…?’

Flame turned her gaze away from him and looked at Aiselle. She was doing well.

Then a question arose.

‘…Just well?’

The potion Aiselle made had the same completion level as her own ‘Tiren Fatigue Recovery Potion.’

That shouldn’t be…

In the original story, Aiselle accidentally found ‘Maela’s Magic Engineering Notebook’ in an old bookstore.

Interestingly, the notebook also contained detailed alchemy formulas, and by mirroring it in her first practice session, Aiselle ended up making a superior fatigue recovery potion compared to Maizen Tiren’s ‘Tiren Fatigue Recovery Potion.’

However, the response wasn’t good.

Maizen Tiren, jealous of Aiselle’s abilities, recalled the destruction of her family and tormented her, lowering her grades and causing her emotional distress throughout the semester.

Thanks to the male protagonists who took care of her, she barely managed, but without them, she wouldn’t have endured.

‘So why? Why did she make an average potion?’

Of course, it was fortunate. Aiselle wouldn’t be bullied. But there must be a reason for this change.

Something clicked in Flame’s mind, and she checked Baek Yu-seol’s experiment table, only to be shocked.

‘What…?’

T h i s w a s c o pie d f r o m ki ngmt l . o r g
The superior fatigue recovery potion that Aiselle should have developed in the original story was on his table.

…And the scene she remembered unfolded exactly.

“Baek Yu-seol. Feeling overly confident since you joined Class S? Who gave you permission to change the experiment materials?”

“Huh? The results are better this way.”

“Who cares about the results? What if something goes wrong because you used the wrong materials? What if there was an explosion and students got hurt?”

“There are no explosive materials here. Can you make green tea leaves explode, Professor? Amazing.”

“Talking back! This is why commoners are no good, tsk…”

Flame remembered that the original last remark was ‘This is why your family was destroyed, tsk…’

A remark that cruelly pierced Aiselle’s heart and kept haunting her throughout the story.

That one remark was disappearing from history at this very moment.

‘No way…’

Baek Yu-seol, knowing this in advance, deliberately got on Maizen Tiren’s bad side to protect Aiselle from trauma?

‘Unbelievable. His school life will be terribly difficult.’

It would be unimaginably painful and challenging. Professor Maizen Tiren had considerable influence within Stella, so it would undoubtedly affect other subjects.

Knowing this, he acted as if it didn’t matter at all.

‘Seriously, what is with that guy?’

Flame lowered her head with a frustrated look. She suddenly recalled Baek Yu-seol’s playful response during the dungeon practice when she asked about his identity, saying he was trying to ‘protect her.’

Realizing that it might be true, Flame stood there, stunned.

‘Darn, I forgot.’

Baek Yu-seol sighed inwardly.

“Why did you do that? Answer me!”

“I am answering.”

“Why are you so rude! Bring your parents here!”

“I don’t have parents.”

Enjoying alchemy too much, he had completely forgotten about this annoying development.

As he cursed his stupidity, he listened to the scolding with one ear and read the notebook on his desk with the other.

“Keep talking back like that and…”

‘Shall I make a Kimchi Potion and Cola Potion tomorrow?’

Honestly, no matter what Maizen did, it didn’t bother Baek Yu-seol at all.

End of Chapter