Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 273

Field Training (2)

***

It was a warm, sunny afternoon.

Sa Yelan Orkan found herself having tea with the princess she served, Hong Si-hwa Adolevit, at the Stella Sky Balcony Cafe.

This was not a frequent occurrence.

Although Hong Si-hwa had some influence within Stella, she had many external affairs to attend to, typically leaving internal matters entirely to Sa Yelan.

“How was it?”

It was an abrupt question.

Hong Si-hwa, who had been gracefully sipping tea with one hand while her gaze was fixed on some documents, finally spoke after thirty minutes.

Sa Yelan hesitated for a moment before answering as she always did.

“It was a method befitting of you, Princess.”

“Fufu, not that. Your impression. Was it disgusting? Do you dislike me now?”

“…Not at all.”

How could she dare use the word ‘disgusting’ to describe the lord she served? Knowing this, was it acceptable to describe Hong Si-hwa’s question as cutely “mischievous”?

“Then, let me change the question. How was my sister? Hm? What was her reaction?”

Her eyes sparkling with curiosity like a child, Hong Si-hwa rested her chin in her hands as she inquired. What was this princess thinking?

“She was merely… indifferent. Is Princess Hong Bi-yeon’s reaction important?”

“Yes. It’s extremely important. I intentionally revealed my secret, after all.”

“I did think it was a rather sensitive secret…”

“No. You don’t know anything. It’s not that kind of secret.”

“…Pardon?”

So, the secret Hong Si-hwa had been hiding was not just about entombing Isaac Morf’s body in the altar. Was there more?

“You may not know, but she might have figured it out. She’s a bright child.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. Were you upset that I disregarded you?”

“Not at all.”

“Don’t worry. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I can’t imagine a life without you, so you don’t need to worry.”

When Sa Yelan was very young, just learning to read and understand etiquette.

Her parents introduced Princess Hong Si-hwa to her for the first time.

At that time, Sa Yelan had heard that the princess was preparing to enter Stella Academy, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation. She was too young to fully understand, but she knew that Stella Academy was where the world’s most elite mages were admitted.

However, when she finally met the princess, Sa Yelan felt a slight… chill, as the reality was quite different from her expectations.

Her vacant eyes seemed devoid of a soul.

Dead eyes.

Her hollow movements, as if she existed somewhere other than this world.

Each one made Sa Yelan’s heart ache as if it were being torn apart.

‘She is so radiant and beautiful, yet she cannot shine on her own.’

Although she was assigned to serve the princess by her parents, Sa Yelan made a personal resolution at that time.

She would definitely bring this princess back.

…She didn’t know then.

What the implications of her decision would be.

“I’ll be going now. Make sure to get along with Bi-yeon!”

She didn’t understand why Hong Si-hwa, who knew better than anyone that this was impossible, would say such a thing.

After Hong Si-hwa left, Sa Yelan stared blankly at the tea she had been drinking.

‘Princess Hong Bi-yeon…’

The ‘purification ritual’ that took place this past weekend.

It was a very unfamiliar and horrifying experience for Sa Yelan.

Hong Bi-yeon, who must have felt the most revulsion, completed the purification ritual with composure, without showing any sign of discomfort, and elegantly departed.

Naturally, the nobles of the Hong Si-hwa faction were disappointed.

They had anticipated a young princess terrified by an unimaginable truth upon learning the secret, but she remained consistently elegant from beginning to end, perfectly fulfilling her role before coolly disappearing. Although they were political enemies, even Sa Yelan had to admit that it was impressive.

And there was one more question.

‘The restriction.’

At that time, Hong Bi-yeon seemed to be severely affected by the side effects of the restriction. However, knowing Hong Bi-yeon’s personality, Sa Yelan was certain she would have refused the restriction.

Would that haughty personality have willingly accepted the restriction created by the Queen and Hong Si-hwa? Terrybun seemed to have dropped his suspicions, believing that Hong Bi-yeon couldn’t deceive his eyes, but Sa Yelan, who was less adept at discerning magic, found her even more suspicious.

‘She must have done something.’

It was an absurd thought.

It would be impossible for a mere seventeen-year-old girl to resist the restrictive magic created by Queen Hong Seriu.

Sa Yelan Orkan viewed the world realistically and thought calculatingly.

Nevertheless, the feeling she had sensed in Hong Bi-yeon’s eyes at that moment… could it really just be her imagination?

At that time, Sa Yelan had intended to point out Hong Bi-yeon. If she had just said one word to Terrybun, suggesting they return to scan Hong Bi-yeon to confirm the restriction, they might have been able to uncover the truth.

But she didn’t.

Strangely, she couldn’t.

She couldn’t bring herself to attack Princess Hong Bi-yeon.

In her entire life, she had never hesitated, but what was the reason this time?

Thinking about it again.

This was the first time… she had looked into Hong Bi-yeon’s eyes and conversed with her as one person to another.

They had only attacked each other from afar; how many times had they actually met in person?

Clatter-!

She gently touched the teacup the princess had been using and quietly closed her eyes.

The secret of the Morf Forest was so horrifying and revolting that even Sa Yelan’s cold rationality struggled to comprehend it.

Knowing that all of this was orchestrated by the princess, could she truly serve her with the same sincerity as before?

When her sincerity was no longer directed towards her, what should she do?

Crash!

“…Ah.”

Hong Si-hwa’s teacup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor beneath the table.

A waiter quickly came and cleaned up the mess…

‘Is it too late?’

The shattered teacup of Princess Hong Si-hwa could not be restored.

***

As expected of a dating simulation game, there were choices in this episode. It wasn’t about choosing a heroine (male), but rather deciding where to be dispatched for a mission.

Most players chose to hunt monsters. There was no reason to undertake the difficult Persona Gate during a breather episode.

However, it was said that there were very rare cases.

Cases where players had meticulously built relationships with characters, leading to situations where they were forced into choices by the characters.

Since the protagonist played the game rather casually, such events were naturally non-existent for him, and he heard that they were rare even for seasoned players…

“You’re taking on a Persona Gate mission?”

He didn’t know how he ended up getting swept up by Hong Bi-yeon like this.

Well… he had infiltrated the Adolevit Kingdom and melted the frozen Leviang’s Coast together, so their connection was deep in a way, but it wasn’t like Hong Bi-yeon to be fixated on someone over such trivial matters.

‘Hmm. Is she interested in me?’

It was a thought that every man had at least once. Just because he made eye contact with a beautiful woman, he couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Maybe she’s into me?’

Of course, 99% of the time, it was just a fantasy.

The reason he didn’t say 100% was because he had heard stories (source: internet) that it happened very, very occasionally.

The way to confirm that 1% possibility was very simple.

“Hey.”

“…Speak.”

He called out to Hong Bi-yeon, who was filling out the mission application, and she glanced at him sideways before giving a curt reply.

Just by looking at her, he could tell.

“Do you like me?”

At that, Hong Bi-yeon’s hand, which had been writing on the document, stopped abruptly, and she turned her head with a creaking sound to look at him.

Was it an illusion, or was it a real magical phenomenon that her crimson eyes seemed to burn fiercely?

“…Are you crazy?”

“Ahem, if not, then not. You look like you could kill someone with that gaze.”

He quickly snatched the document Hong Bi-yeon had filled out and read the mission application.

[Persona Gate Conquest Application]

[Difficulty: 3 Risks]

A 3-Risk Persona Gate typically required a minimum of five 3rd-class mages for a stable conquest. Therefore, the Mage Association had established a regulation requiring at least one 4th-class mage and seven 3rd-class mages as the minimum deployment.

This was to ensure that the conquest could be completed with 100% certainty and safety, without any casualties, by preparing an adequate level of force.

“Are you two a duo?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

The assistant who received the application looked at the two of them with a dubious expression. Occasionally, when a male and female pair submitted an application together, he would joke, ‘Dating within the academy is prohibited,’ but the combination of a commoner and a royal seemed so unusual that he didn’t even attempt such a joke.

“The two of you will be joining another team. Student Hong Bi-yeon is not yet officially registered as a 4th-class mage because she is still a student, and you… are registered with the association as a 0th-class mage.”

“Uh, right?”

“So, we will exclude you as outside the combat force and supplement the team with members from another group.”

It was an unavoidable reality.

Baek Yu-seol was officially a 0th-class mage, which meant he was often treated as a mobile bag or a porter in the game, earning him a lot of criticism.

The poor treatment even within the game was one of the reasons for the character ‘Baek Yu-seol’s’ low popularity.

“Anyway, the mission briefing will be distributed later…”

“Wait.”

Hong Bi-yeon interrupted the assistant while he was quietly listening.

“A commoner… registered as a 0th-class with the association?”

“Huh? Yes… no, uh. Yes.”

Intimidated by Hong Bi-yeon’s intensity, the assistant unconsciously used formal speech before correcting himself with a cough.

“Why?”

“Why, you ask… It’s obviously because they couldn’t properly measure his mana.”

The most basic unit for classifying mages was the total mana capacity.

The number of mana circles a mage could create was a clear criterion for determining their level.

A 2nd-class mage was not necessarily superior to a 1st-class mage. It was possible to perform great magic even with the mana of a 1st-class.

However, that was the stereotype.

On average, it was common sense that a mage with denser mana and more mana circles could perform more powerful magic.

“I can’t understand…”

“Ahem, I agree. Just by looking at his recent actions, it’s clear that student Baek Yu-seol is not ordinary. But what can you do? You know how strict the association is, Student Hong Bi-yeon.”

The older mages tended to dislike change and clung to existing traditions. Even though they knew that breaking those molds was necessary to advance, they remained stagnant.

The physiological limitations of mages.

To them, a ‘0th-class mage’ was someone who threatened their established framework, and the old mages, unable to tolerate such insolence, designated Baek Yu-seol as a 0th-class.

“Foolish… utterly foolish. If it were up to me, I would issue identification based on pure combat ability rather than this useless mana capacity.”

“St-Student Hong Bi-yeon? I can’t do anything about this. It wasn’t my decision.”

“Haa…”

He looked blankly between the flustered assistant and the angry Hong Bi-yeon. He didn’t understand why she was suddenly upset, but he knew that once she started getting angry, it was hard to stop her.

“Excuse me, Princess. I don’t care if I’m 0th-class or whatever, so can we just go…?”

Hong Bi-yeon shot him a fierce look before snatching the mission briefing from the assistant’s hand.

“I care.”

Then, she left to attend the orientation for the Persona Gate mission, and he felt a sense of dread about following her.

‘This… is going to be okay, right?’

As he stood there watching her retreating figure, the assistant poked his shoulder.

“Student Baek Yu-seol…? This briefing…”

“Ah, yes.”

The assistant looked back and forth between the receding Hong Bi-yeon and him, then awkwardly grinned and clenched his fist.

“G-Good luck.”

“…Thanks.”

It was such a helpful encouragement.

End of Chapter