The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 9

[It was like looking at a single red flower blooming alone in a swamp.]

This was Han Yu-seong’s monologue upon first encountering Shin Seo-ha at the welcome party.

If the current Han Yu-seong had brushed off the crowd and sought out Shin Seo-ha, he might have really thought that.

‘She’s a heroine, but she’s undeniably beautiful.’

At least that’s what I thought.

However, Han Yu-seong, who was now outside the player’s control, couldn’t push away the swarm of people due to his personality.

In that sense, Shin Seo-ha now was somewhat unique. She is a character you can choose to talk to at the welcome party, but one who has the most unpredictable outcomes if you don’t.

“…”

She had a sorrowful look in her eyes. Despite her stunning beauty and enchanting attire, Shin Seo-ha wasn’t trying to mingle with anyone.

“Ugh, it’s Shin Seo-ha. Why does she have to stand near the dessert table? I wanted to get some dessert.”

“Let’s just go. If we get too close and something happens, it’s our loss.”

Or perhaps it wasn’t that she didn’t want to mingle, but rather, no one dared to approach her.

Shin Seo-ha had been known as a troublemaker since middle school. Freshmen aware of her reputation didn’t want to go near her.

Even if they didn’t approach her, Shin Seo-ha’s beauty and notorious reputation were enough to be the subject of gossip.

“By the way, do you know?”

“What?”

Suddenly recalling an interesting piece of gossip, they lowered their heads and voices.

“You wouldn’t know because you’re an external student, but Shin Seo-ha was a model student up until her second year of middle school.”

“Get outta here.”

“I swear, you idiot.”

Everyone was gossiping about Shin Seo-ha, making her the subject of rumors from a distance that she couldn’t hear.

I too watched Shin Seo-ha from a short distance away.

‘Why didn’t I think of this sooner?’

Hunting down characters who weren’t in the selection options was inefficient. Moreover, Shin Seo-ha’s abilities and effectiveness were well-proven, but the current Han Yu-seong had not recruited her.

‘In that case, it’s worth making the first move…’

I couldn’t afford to waste such a golden opportunity.

Building a friendly relationship with Shin Seo-ha would be crucial for preparing for the impending doom.

‘Well, this is all just logical planning.’

I had no intention of wielding clumsy righteousness or developing a liking for her based solely on her appearance.

“She originally had a younger sibling…”

What starts as gossip quickly becomes a rumor with unknown veracity.

Though Shin Seo-ha chose to be a voluntary loner, there was no need for her to also be isolated against her will.

“You know, while her younger sibling was dying right before her eyes—”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I deliberately elbowed my way through the gossiping students.

When our shoulders collided, the girl in the middle of telling her story scowled at me.

“What the—Watch where you’re going.”

“Ah, sorry. My eyesight isn’t great. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

I smiled sheepishly at the girl and added,

“Maybe you should be more careful too since your mouth seems to have a problem spreading strange rumors. Let’s both be cautious from now on!”

“What? What did you just say—”

“Well, see you around.”

To genuinely piss someone off, you have to hit and run. No room for objections.

“What’s wrong with that guy!”

Leaving the girl stomping her feet in anger behind, I approached Shin Seo-ha who was standing alone.

Standing with a glass in hand, she gazed down at the Montblanc on the table as though she were entranced.

“Staring at it like that won’t make the food last forever.”

“A corpse?”

She hadn’t noticed me approaching, and her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Not a corpse, Seol Ha-baek.”

“I told you not to get involved with me. It won’t do you any good.”

Sure enough, as soon as I spoke to Shin Seo-ha, I felt the surrounding gazes. Everyone seemed curious about when I would be sent away. Sorry to disappoint, but I wouldn’t back down due to such stares.

“Who said I’m getting involved? I just came to eat some dessert.”

“There’s plenty elsewhere. Go there.”

“Did you rent this table or something?”

Though Shin Seo-ha retorted sharply, she didn’t stop me from picking desserts onto my plate.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything yet.’

In Babel, the chefs were all top-class, making the tables overflow with sumptuous dishes.

Surely, these desserts were crafted by elite patissiers. Some macarons and Montblancs were displayed in ornate, transparent cases, asserting their presence.

As desserts accumulated on my plate, Shin Seo-ha occasionally glanced at them.

“If you like sweets, just go ahead and eat them.”

“Who said I like that stuff.”

Shin Seo-ha let out a deep sigh after muttering a half-hearted lie.

“Just hurry up with your desserts and get lost.”

If she only treated me this way, it would’ve hurt. But her sharp demeanor would have been the same even if I were Han Yu-seong.

“How about we both get lost together?”

Stopping my hand, I looked at her and asked. Shin Seo-ha frowned.

“What did you just say—”

“Let’s be honest, you’d rather leave right now, wouldn’t you?”

I paused my dessert selection and glanced towards the lobby.

Lively music played, and some students, enthralled by the atmosphere, danced to the rhythm.

But such scenes, straight out of a teen drama, only seemed bleak to someone as gloomy as me.

“Everyone seems to be having fun except me. That’s why I don’t like it.”

A twisted feeling, but a common one.

Having lived as an insignificant person my entire school life, I had always cursed such teen drama-like scenes. You might call it the loneliness in a crowd, in cheap terms.

Shin Seo-ha probably felt the same.

“So, let’s get out of here together.”

“…”

For a brief moment, Shin Seo-ha turned her head in the direction I was looking.

But it was so brief that I couldn’t deeply imprint the seemingly choked-up expression on her face.

“You. Come with me for a moment.”

Without warning, Shin Seo-ha grabbed my hand. This caused the desserts piled on my plate to fall to the floor.

“Wait. I haven’t eaten anything yet—”

“No more talking, just follow me.”

As hungry as I was, I had no other choice.

Shin Seo-ha dragged me out of the auditorium.

‘What strength…!’

Though I had no intention of resisting, my arm felt like it was going to be torn off.

Bang!

Shin Seo-ha, having dragged me to the back of the auditorium, suddenly pinned me against the wall.

Is this that wall slam I’ve heard about? It’s not exciting at all.

Well, my heart is racing a bit, but that’s because I’m worried about being murdered.

“Who the hell are you? You think you’re in some cheap melodrama, flirting with anyone?”

Grit

Biting her lip, the sound of skin being bitten rang out.

“I told you not to get involved with me. Why do you keep trying to mess with me?”

“I just wanted to grab some dessert and sneak away.”

“Cut the crap!”

Shin Seo-ha raised her fist.

A spark ignited at the end of it, and her fist flew straight towards my face. Hot air swiftly brushed past my cheek.

Bang!

But I didn’t dodge.

Shin Seo-ha’s punch grazed my cheek and created a deep dent in the wall.

‘Her spirit wavered.’

Spirit correlates with the mind and willpower.

From the start, she didn’t intend to actually hit me. She just wanted to scare me off.

Despite that, seeing me standing firm and making eye contact, Shin Seo-ha finally retracted her fist.

“Fine, forget it. I can’t exactly beat you to death. Why are you so stubborn?”

“Look who’s talking.”

Shin Seo-ha turned around and looked up at the sky. The moonlight shimmered in the early night.

“You’re an external student, so you don’t know much about middle school, but there’s no benefit to getting involved with me.”

“At least I won’t lose anything.”

“No, you’ll lose a lot.”

A bitter smile spread across Shin Seo-ha’s lips.

“You’ve heard the rumors, right? I killed my younger brother when I was in middle school. Someone who kills their own family can’t be normal, right?”

So she had heard everything while pretending not to.

Shin Seo-ha’s twin brother, Shin Seo-jun.

Babel Middle School, second year. The siblings, who were in the same grade, got caught up in an “incident” during an outing, and only Shin Seo-ha survived.

[A faint longing and]

Her spirit, which had been blue, now had a faint greenish tint mixed in.

[Such heavy guilt…]

Yomi clicked its tongue as a deep purple hue overlaid the greenish tint.

After Shin Seo-jun’s death, Shin Seo-ha, who had been one of the top students in the school, began to go astray.

It was as if she had thrown away her entire life; she acted before she spoke and frequently resorted to her fists.

This might be just speculation, but perhaps the reason why Shin Seo-ha looked so sorrowful throughout the welcome party was that she was reminiscing about her brother. If Shin Seo-jun were alive, they might have been sharing a Montblanc and chatting about trivial things.

‘Guilt, huh…’

She spewed self-deprecating words about being abnormal, but I knew better than anyone that she wasn’t that kind of person.

In the final chapter, she single-handedly held back a horde of monsters when all support was cut off.

“Shin Seo-ha. Honestly, I don’t know a damn thing about you.”

Whether the deceased Shin Seo-jun blamed her, I didn’t know. It was never revealed in the story.

But I believe that the deceased Shin Seo-jun wouldn’t have blamed his sister, Shin Seo-ha.

“There’s no need to be so hard on yourself.”

Even now, Shin Seo-ha’s guardian spirit, Shin Seo-jun, was sleeping while hanging on her shoulder. At the very least, he wouldn’t remain as the guardian spirit of someone he resented even after death.

“You don’t know anything about me, so stop acting like you do!”

Shin Seo-ha shouted furiously.

It’s understandable; no one would like a stranger claiming to know everything about them.

“You’ll probably never understand.”

Han Yu-seong couldn’t resolve Shin Seo-ha’s trauma. He merely taught her how to move forward despite it.

That was impressive enough, but it also meant she would carry her trauma and guilt for the rest of her life.

‘In that case, what I need to do is…’

To prevent the impending disaster, it’s not enough to do one’s best. I need to bring out the absolute best in every character, including her.

“What a fool I am. Venting like this to someone I just met today.”

Shin Seo-ha knocked her head with her fist a few times. With a sigh, she turned back towards the auditorium.

“Anyway, thanks for today. But really, don’t get involved with me anymore. It will only bring you trouble.”

Shin Seo-ha waved her hand and started to walk away, her back turned to me. I felt a sense of déjà vu. Just like this morning, I couldn’t just stand by idly.

“Wait a minute.”

Instinctively, I grabbed Shin Seo-ha’s wrist as she was walking away.

“Do you happen to have nightmares every night?”

“How did you know…”

Shin Seo-ha looked quite surprised.

Of course, she would be shocked. The fact that she had nightmares was something only revealed in her monologue during the mid-story.

At this moment, what I needed to say was clear.

“I’ll end your nightmares.”

I felt a strong desire to put an end to the suffering of this unfortunate character.