Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Witch (3)

***

The weekend.

Hong Bi-yeon, who had returned to the Frostcliff Palace in the capital city of Teharlan, headed straight to the Special Information Facility.

This was a place within the royal palace where only direct bloodlines were allowed access. Breaching the confidentiality regulations here could result in severe punishment, even for royalty, potentially leading to execution if information was leaked.

“……Greetings, Your Highness.”

The Special Information Facility was managed by barrier mages clad in robes.

Though their combat abilities were negligible, they could handle high-level barriers. Even if an 8th-class mage attempted to infiltrate, it would be nearly impossible to break through.

Of course, if a 9th-class mage showed up, there would be no choice. But security was not designed with such beings in mind.

“Please sign the confidentiality agreement.”

The agreement was a document pledging to maintain the confidentiality of the information and materials within the royal palace. Hong Bi-yeon had seen it before, though not often. She glanced over it briefly before signing.

Creeeeak!

The barrier mages stepped aside without a word and tapped their staffs on the ground. A door made of steel opened, revealing a space filled with darkness.

Click-clack!

As soon as she stepped inside, the sound of her shoes echoed loudly.

Fwoosh!

With a flick of her fingers, flames scattered through the air, igniting the torches and immediately brightening the space, revealing the vast interior.

The warehouse was enormous, filled with all sorts of documents, boxes, magical books, and items, though none of these were of interest to Hong Bi-yeon.

She walked deep into the warehouse, stopping in front of a small room marked [Top Secret].

This area, too, was surrounded by a special barrier—though it didn’t concern Hong Bi-yeon. Without hesitation, she opened the door with force and stepped inside.

Though it appeared there weren’t many documents stored here, each one was a top-secret file that could be catastrophic for Adolevit if exposed to the outside world.

She wandered around for a while, carefully selecting the documents she was looking for.

Like a farmer harvesting fruit, she moved her hands quickly but cautiously, sifting through files at a rapid pace.

Finally, she found what she had been searching for.

[Mount Morfran, Isaac Morf’s Dark Magic…]

Without even a proper title, the report began with a lackluster sentence.

It was clearly a report written by Hong Si-hwa of Adolevit. She was famous for writing reports like diary entries, a quirk that the queen had acknowledged, leading her to write all reports in such a manner.

Though Hong Bi-yeon hadn’t realized it had been going on for ten years already.
Th i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m ki ngm tl .org

Rustle!

As she turned the page, she was met with a vivid and raw portrayal of Hong Si-hwa’s diary-like report.

Slowly reading it through, Hong Bi-yeon frowned. The report was filled with irrelevant details.
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‘Does she really think this is a diary…?’

What she ate that day, who she gave orders to, whom she conversed with—it was full of such content.

No wonder the report was so thick.

Then, her eyes paused on a particular sentence.

[I only wanted to survive.]

[That’s true for anyone. For those born with the Adolevit curse, it’s only natural to fight for survival… I will kill my siblings to survive.]

[Perhaps, my children, too.]

[So it will be.]

The report was filled with traces of emotional turmoil. It was clear that Hong Si-hwa had been suffering from depression at the time.

But even that seemed strange.

The Hong Si-hwa Hong Bi-yeon knew was a sociopath, someone who would ruthlessly discard others for her own benefit.

For such a person to be swept up in emotions?

Something was off from the very start.

Still, Hong Bi-yeon silently turned the pages, reading more of the report.

[I threatened Grand Duke Isaac Morf.]

[I had no other choice. There might be a solution to quell the unquenchable flames burning in our hearts from the White Tiger Flame Spirit.]

[The odds… 0.01%.]

[It’s worth the gamble.]

The report detailed the events that had occurred at the time.

Even things that didn’t seem worth hiding were written down without omission.

‘The White Tiger Flame Spirit?’

She had definitely heard of it before.

Wasn’t it the legendary beast sealed by the twelve mages of the Morf family long ago? The Morf family was currently managing the seal…

‘No way…’

Impossible.

Hong Bi-yeon shook her head, but the diary confirmed her suspicions.

[The ancestors said.]

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[The flame of Adolevit is stronger than any fire, capable of burning everything.]

[Even the fire of the White Tiger Flame Spirit…]

Page after page, she continued to flip through the report.

She didn’t want to read any more of Hong Si-hwa’s diary entries, but for some reason, her eyes kept being drawn to them.

The document was filled with melancholic phrases, and it was deeply tainted by a sense of negativity, as if the writer wouldn’t have been surprised to die at any moment.

‘This can’t be…’

The past had been altered.

Hong Si-hwa didn’t go to subdue the darkened Grand Duke Isaac Morf, as the official story claimed.

Instead, she forcibly broke the seal of the White Tiger Flame Spirit to hunt it down.

And she had even pressured Isaac Morf to help with it.

Was it really necessary to go that far?

Such questions were pointless.

For Hong Si-hwa, anything that held even the slightest value to her was worth gambling on, even if it meant challenging a god.

[It hurts.]

[It feels like my chest is on fire…]

[Tomorrow, we go to battle.]

[I will survive.]

The report ended there, though there were many pages left. No further entries were written.

‘What… What happened?’

In a hurry, Hong Bi-yeon flipped through the pages.

She flipped and flipped until, finally, she reached the last page.

[……I failed.]

The writing was crooked, smeared, and shaky. Here, Hong Bi-yeon finally saw the disgrace of Princess Hong Si-hwa from ten years ago laid bare.

[The White Tiger Flame Spirit awoke, but we could not handle it, and the allied forces were annihilated.]

“What…?”

A failed subjugation?

If the allied forces were destroyed, surely a disaster would have occurred in the area. What in the world had happened?

[Grand Duke Isaac Morf accepted the dark mage’s power.]

[To confront the White Tiger Flame Spirit.]

[I… I could not stop it.]

If he hadn’t done so, everyone would have been in grave danger.

Though the disaster had been caused by her actions, Hong Si-hwa could do nothing to stop it, and someone else had taken the full brunt of the blame.

“Hah.”

It was truly a ridiculous story.

Hong Bi-yeon flipped through the remaining pages.

Finally, she reached the last one.

[……After that, I remember nothing.]

[When I woke up, both the White Tiger Flame Spirit and the rampaging Grand Duke Isaac Morf had fallen.]

[Standing before me was a man of unknown identity.]

[He was a strange and mysterious man.]

[He wore a mask and held a silver staff.]

“What is this…”

So the one who resolved the incident wasn’t Hong Si-hwa, nor Isaac Morf, but an unknown man?

What an absurd conclusion.

[My memories of that time are hazy. I believe there was a large, beautiful wheel turning in the sky, and light poured down from the heavens. That man closed Isaac Morf’s eyes and vanished like a phantom.]

With that, the sentence ended.

The report concluded with vague descriptions of a wheel and light, leaving the identity of the man a complete mystery.

A mage capable of subduing both the White Tiger Flame Spirit and the darkened Isaac Morf simultaneously.

How many such mages could exist in the world? At the very least, he had to be a 9th-class mage… or perhaps even more powerful.

‘A silver staff, huh…’

But such staffs were far too common to serve as a clue.

If anything, the “mysterious wheel” was more of a lead.

There were mages who fought by summoning unique familiars, after all.

A 9th-class mage who controlled a wheel. While such a figure wouldn’t be common, it wasn’t as if they would easily reveal themselves either.

Hong Bi-yeon returned Hong Si-hwa’s diary to its original place and let out a sigh.

‘…I think I understand why Aiselle is looking into this.’

Somehow, Aiselle had likely uncovered part of the truth regarding the events at Mount Morfran.

That didn’t mean, however, that she could share this information with her openly.

Revealing a top-secret document to someone outside would result in severe punishment.

But…

That didn’t mean she intended to keep this secret hidden from Aiselle forever either.

In fact, she was quite eager to share it with her.

For Aiselle’s sake?

Absolutely not.

Hong Bi-yeon didn’t consider herself such a warm-hearted person.

It was only…

For the sake of Hong Si-hwa’s downfall.

That was all.

***

Arcaneum was bustling with students on the weekend.

The intense summer sun didn’t seem to deter the teenagers, who roamed the streets, some of them in search of the infamous “Witch Restaurant.”

“We should do something for our club activities too.”

On a day so sunny… no, so hot it felt unbearable, Baek Yu-seol spoke with a near-dead expression as Ma Yuseong flashed a bright smile, pulling out several flyers.
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“I found some great places to eat.”

“…What’s this?”

“How about this? There’s a restaurant famous for its ‘Special Revolver Fire Shot’ menu.”

“What kind of ridiculous dish is that?”

Could that even be considered food?
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“They say it’s super spicy. It’s all the rage.”

“Pass.”

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“Then how about ‘Let’s Monkey Dance’? They say it tastes like a monkey is dancing on your head.”

“Wow. Sounds delicious.”

“Should we go there?”

“Pass.”

Watching from the sidelines, Aiselle wore an expression of sheer disbelief.

Ma Yuseong, who was picking the most suspicious-looking menus, and Baek Yu-seol, who was seriously listening, were far from normal.

“Haa… We should probably just go somewhere normal. How about the place I researched?”

Aiselle pulled out a few flyers of her own, drawing the attention of both Baek Yu-seol and Ma Yuseong.
T h i s w a s c op ie d fr o m ki n g m t l . or g

Indeed, she had found mostly normal-looking restaurants, though they all had one thing in common: most of the dishes featured cheese.

“You sure do love your cheese.”

“W-What are you talking about? It’s just… they have good reviews… and they’re famous…”

“Pizza spaghetti sounds delicious.”
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At Ma Yuseong’s words, Aiselle almost nodded vigorously but barely managed to stop herself, holding back her enthusiasm.

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“I’ve heard… that it’s supposed to be pretty good. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try it…”

Pfft. Baek Yu-seol let out a laugh and snatched the flyer from her hand.

“Let’s go there then. I like pizza spaghetti too.”

“Yeah. I like it too.”

With both Ma Yuseong and Baek Yu-seol in sync, agreeing to her suggestion, Aiselle’s ears turned red, feeling flustered.

‘This wasn’t how it was supposed to go…’

In the end, they decided to head to Aiselle’s restaurant of choice, with Baek Yu-seol and Ma Yuseong leading the way, and Aiselle followed behind, stealing glances at them. Somehow, it felt like they were accommodating her, choosing the place she wanted to go.

“It’s this alley.”

Arcaneum’s alleyways were notoriously complex, yet Baek Yu-seol never got lost, as if he had a navigation system built into his brain.

He was naturally smart and had a great memory, but it was still impressive.

As she followed behind him, something suddenly caught Aiselle’s eye.

[Witch Restaurant]

The sign, glowing in an orange light, was unmistakable.

“…Huh?”

What was it doing here?

Last time she saw it, it had been on the completely opposite side of the academic district.
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‘Does the restaurant really move?’

If so, was she just lucky?

Many students had searched for it tirelessly, only to never find it, but she had stumbled upon it twice now.

Submitting a club activity report about an experience at the Witch Restaurant could be interesting… but the strange feeling she had from her last visit made her avert her gaze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Let’s hurry.”

Fortunately, it seemed Baek Yu-seol and Ma Yuseong hadn’t noticed it yet, so she quickly picked up her pace.

She hoped she wouldn’t run into the Witch Restaurant again.

End of Chapter.