Magic Academy's Genius Blinker - Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Shadow Cast by the Wind (8)

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The Poong Empire was a nation whose greatest asset was its vast land, so the culture of erecting towering structures had only recently begun to flourish, and there were few high-rise buildings due to regulations prohibiting structures above a certain height within a radius of 18 kilometers from the royal palace.

However, the wealthy always found ways to show off, and foreign-style skyscrapers began to appear, leading to the establishment of “self-proclaimed 7-star hotels”.

These places became satisfactory retreats for distinguished guests.

Of course, this should have been a completely separate story from an ordinary commoner like me, but this time, as a very special exception, I was able to visit the ‘Hotel Cheongpadan’, a 120-story building even in Taeyusan of the Poong Empire, known as a sacred site for the nobility.

In fact, thanks to the item technology I was collaborating on with Alterisha, I was usually treated as a VIP, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the hassle.

However, the person sitting across from me seemed to be different.

“We’ve come to a really expensive place.”

The daughter of the chairman of the Starcloud Trading Company, Zeliel.

When you think of elves, you usually imagine them in the forest, nibbling on grass, but Zeliel seemed to be a high elf completely steeped in capitalism.

Just from the elegant way she sliced her steak, it was easy to tell that she was accustomed to eating meat.

“By the way, it’s a relief. That I could run into you there by chance.”

It was truly fortunate to have run into Zeliel right after emerging from the Persona Gate.

With the name of Starcloud, I could immediately book a VIP room at Poongryeong University Hospital, and she was someone who could keep things quiet even if dark mana was detected in Anella’s body.

She was also my only helper who could protect Anella until she entered Stella.

If Alterisha was technically the most reliable ally, Zeliel was one of the few people I could trust in terms of power.

Even Hong Bi-yeon couldn’t properly handle her own power yet, but Zeliel was in a position where she could perfectly wield money and power from the start.

“I… guess…”

At my words about it being a fortunate coincidence, Zeliel looked momentarily flustered, and a snicker was heard from beside her.

It was Princess Hong Bi-yeon.

Exuding an even more aristocratic and dignified aura than Zeliel, she speared a salad with her fork and quietly whispered, sweeping her hair behind her neck.

“Coincidence… human relationships are so strange. Right, commoner? To coincidentally run into someone who should be in the Haoya Plains at the entrance of the Persona Gate.”

It sounded a bit sarcastic, but wasn’t it truly a coincidence?

There was no reason for Zeliel to have sought me out on purpose.

“That’s how coincidences are, right? It’s really strange.”

I answered casually and started stabbing my steak with the fork.

Zeliel let out a strangely relieved sigh, and Hong Bi-yeon irritably stirred her salad with her fork.

Come to think of it, those two really didn’t seem to get along.

One was a woman full of anger inside, and the other was a cold-hearted but completely crazy woman.

I thought something might explode if I left them together, but since we were already eating together, I decided there was nothing I could do about it.

So what if they have a little standoff?

As long as the food is good.

Zeliel returned to her usual stoic face and spoke.

“I was wondering how you’ve been doing.”

“Huh? I’m doing well. It hasn’t been long since school started, after all.”

“…contact me sometimes.”

Indifferently, casually.

Like a man from Busan, Zeliel spoke.

“That’s why I gave you my personal line number. Not just anyone can know that.”

Her official number as the chairman’s daughter might be one thing, but her personal number was indeed extremely rare.

It was the only communication network I could use to contact Zeliel privately.

Yeah, I knew that.

I knew how valuable it was… but that didn’t mean I could just contact Zeliel whenever I wanted.

More than anyone else, Zeliel was probably the busiest person my age.

“Uh… I will, sometimes. When I’m bored.”

At my casual response, Zeliel nodded with an expression that could be either satisfaction or not, and quietly sliced her steak.

Watching her silently, I suddenly turned my head to look out the window.

One wall was entirely made of glass, offering a panoramic view of the Taeyusan landscape of the Poong Empire.

It felt similar to when I went up Seoul’s Namsan Tower a long time ago, and the similar atmosphere evoked a strange feeling.

Come to think of it, the world of Aether resembled Earth in many ways.

From the Poong Empire and the fairies to many other countries, they used three-syllable Korean names, and the overall culture had a medieval or modern feel that was very much alive.

‘To be precise… it felt like everything was jumbled together.’

Some countries mixed modern and medieval, others mixed China and Korea, and so on.

It was like countries and eras were mixed up and stuck together.

I glanced at Zeliel.

The culture of slicing and eating steak was also one of the most famous eating habits on Earth.

Even the white lace shirt and black office skirt looked so modern to me, but her pointed ears disrupted my sense of reality.

…No.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even been here for a year, yet I felt like this place was more real.

It was a very familiar feeling.

Thinking about the reason, I realized that my life on Earth had been quite bleak and dry.

Study, home, game, study, home, game.

After becoming an adult, it was an endless cycle of work, home, game.

Yeah, ‘Aether World Online’ was always a part of my life’s circuit.

The countless characters of Aether, including Baek Yu-seol.

Although they were virtual beings I couldn’t converse with, and I even skipped the story to focus solely on PVP all day, I was completely immersed in this game and played it with all my heart.

I had devoted half my life to this place, so compared to the blandness of real life, the feeling of living here must have been more vivid.

I didn’t dare to say that my current life was ‘fun’.

I didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, and there were always life-threatening incidents.

But… my life here had color.

I might have been quite satisfied with that.

I saw Zeliel in a new light.

The feeling of actually meeting a woman I had always thought of as ‘just an annoying character’ while playing the game, and sharing a meal alone with her at a high-end restaurant.

This feeling was unfamiliar, yet it felt incredibly precious.

But as I kept looking at her, Zeliel kept her gaze fixed on her plate, unable to lift her head, and fidgeted restlessly.

“Commoner.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not polite to stare at someone while they’re eating.”

Hong Bi-yeon’s belated remark made me realize my mistake.

“…Is it impolite in human culture to stare at someone’s face while they’re eating?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“It’s… fine…”

She said it was fine, but something was off about the way she couldn’t lift her head and kept slicing her steak.

‘Was it that uncomfortable?’

Zeliel was probably used to this kind of attention.

As the daughter of the chairman of the Starcloud Trading Company, she was always in the spotlight, and even before that, her beautiful appearance always captured everyone’s attention wherever she went.

Maybe it was still uncomfortable when there were fewer people.

But that wasn’t it either.

Usually, Zeliel was the type to glare at people as if she could kill them with her eyes.

Still, seeing her so embarrassed, just moving her lips, made me feel a little sorry for her.

“You…”

After barely eating half her steak and just poking at it with her knife, Zeliel finally lifted her head after a long while and looked back and forth between me and Hong Bi-yeon.

“Do you two usually go on missions together often?”

The question was directed more at Hong Bi-yeon than me, but I was about to answer.

“Not really-”

“We do, quite often.”

Hong Bi-yeon cut me off and answered for me, so I had to shut my mouth.

“I see.”

Zeliel nodded and remained silent for a moment, then said casually.

“When you go on missions, try to come to the Southern Plains often. I can provide support.”

“Is there really a need for that? The commoner can handle things just fine without your help.”

“You never know. Something might happen where Baek Yu-seol is in trouble, like today. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh… well, I guess so?”

After all, it was thanks to Zeliel that Anella could be treated and her safety guaranteed.

“See? I was right.”

Zeliel said with a smile, and Hong Bi-yeon nodded in agreement with a dry expression.

Even after that, the meal was a repetition of a strange, tense atmosphere.

I became genuinely curious if there was some kind of discord between the Adolevit family and the Starcloud Trading Company.

The two families were so influential worldwide that they must have clashed somewhere, but it was still unfamiliar to see them snarling at each other like they wanted to tear each other apart.

‘Bulbul, do you know anything about that?’

[There have been no major conflicts between the Starcloud Trading Company and the Adolevit Royal Family in the last 50 years.]

‘Really?’

[On the contrary, three years ago, the Adolevit family greatly assisted in the establishment of the ‘World Merchant Alliance’, so their relationship could be considered quite friendly.]

‘…Then why are they acting like that?’

It felt like a shrimp caught in a fight between a dragon and a tiger.

After that, their quiet, tense standoff continued like a storm, and I barely managed to finish my meal in that nauseating atmosphere.

“Phew, it’s hard to eat in peace.”

After finishing the meal, I used the excuse of having coffee to escape.

The aroma of hot, high-quality coffee stimulated my nose, but I didn’t feel like having caffeine.

‘I hope those two don’t actually fight, right?’

As I was quietly sipping my coffee alone, I heard the slow sound of shoes approaching from behind and turned my head slightly.

There stood a person with a familiar appearance.

“Hmm, Professor Laydin.”

A new moon professor at Stella Academy, and the root of the group of dark mages.

With his neatly combed hair and monocle, Professor Laydin, with a deeply intellectual image, approached me and stood beside me, looking out the window.

“Have you mentioned the transfer?”

“Yes, well. Thanks to you.”

In fact, Anella’s transfer was helped by none other than the dark mages who had infiltrated Stella.

Isn’t it ironic?

To protect Anella from the dark mages, I had to rely on the help of the dark mages.

If it had been Vice Principal Aki Haydn or someone else, I would have firmly refused.

I might have even tried to somehow persuade Principal Eltemon Eltrine.

But if it was Laydin’s hand… it might be a little different.

“With this, you are in my debt.”

“Yes. I will definitely repay you somehow later.”

I ended up owing Professor Laydin the ridiculous debt of transferring Anella.

He would probably try to collect that debt from me in some way in the future.

I was counting on that.

He would never collect the debt from me in an ordinary way.

Probably because he was quite aware of my existence.

“Shall we say a mana oath?”

“No need. I know that won’t work on you.”

“That’s a shame. Let’s settle for a legal contract then.”

“Alright. As a mage, you must be well aware of the consequences of breaking this contract, right?”

A legal contract was just that, a legal contract, so breaking it wouldn’t take away my mana, but it would put significant social restrictions on me as a mage.

“Don’t worry. As a man, I’ve only broken promises three times.”

“…So, three times.”

“That’s right. When the time of the appointment is approaching and you suddenly need to use the restroom, what can you do?”

“Such pointless wordplay.”

Professor Laydin frowned slightly and turned around, disappearing.

I didn’t know what he was doing here, but I figured the dark mages must have some business in the Poong Empire.

Not everything that happened in the dark mage society was recorded in the Bulbul Glasses, so it wasn’t easy to find out.

Still, for Professor Laydin to come here himself, someone with significant presence, or some event, must have occurred in the Poong Empire.

‘How could I not know about that?’

I tilted my head in thought for a moment, but I still didn’t know.

Maybe I could find out later if I asked Anella.

After all, she came here as a dark mage.

‘For now, more importantly…’

I looked back at the restaurant I had quietly slipped out of.

Hong Bi-yeon and Zeliel were still glaring at each other, having a silent standoff as if they were shooting lasers from their eyes.

“Sigh…”

Forget about dark mages, I needed to appease those two women first.

End of Chapter