Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 223

End of Summer (3)

How many ordinary people in their lives would ever encounter a mythical being like the ‘Twelve Divine Moons’?

Even if they did, would they be able to believe in its existence?

For someone like Zeliel, who had always lived by assigning monetary value to everything in the world under the rules of capitalism, an appearance by a legendary being from folklore would hardly make her flinch.

The doctrine of wealth being all-powerful.

Unless she could personally witness it and attach a price tag, it was impossible to trust.

This extremely realistic and rational thinking had never once failed her, and so she lived her life without doubt.

It is often said that “Money can’t buy happiness.”

Zeliel had never believed that phrase.

The more money she had, the more happiness she undoubtedly felt.
T h i s w a s c opie d f r o m ki n gm t l . o r g

But…

Today, Zeliel, who once ruled the world as the undisputed richest person, finally realized that there are things in this world that money cannot buy.

‘Follow that path.’

The voice of an old man echoed in her mind.

His identity was undoubtedly one of the Twelve Divine Moons.

Even though she had encountered a being that every mage in the world longed to meet, it didn’t stir her much.

She simply followed him because she could sense the scent of hope emanating from him.

“Hey, Henry. How’s life been treating you lately?”

“Don’t even ask. This summer’s been a disaster for business. Can you get me some makgeolli?”

“Tsk tsk. That’s why I told you to quit early and go into business with me.”

At the southern part of the Haoya Plains, by the Myoho Tribe Lake.

The Myoho Tribe Lake, located at the center of the southern plains trade route, had grown into a fairly large village. The place was filled with beastmen sporting tiger-striped cat ears.

Ssshhhhaaaa—!

Sitting quietly in a street tavern, Zeliel, her face covered by a traditional hat, sipped water quietly.

She had no appetite, but she had no choice but to consume minimal nutrients to keep walking.

As she quietly ate, she eavesdropped on the conversations of the nearby merchants.

“Sigh… I should’ve gone into business with you after all.”

“Did the rain ruin your business?”

“Well, the rain comes down like this every year, so that’s not really an excuse.”

The young merchant took a swig of the high-proof alcohol. The bamboo-made shot glass was quite striking.

“Ugh… Honestly, it’s not that my business sense is lacking.”

“Failures always say that.”

“No, I’m serious. The Baramsang Trading Company recently launched a huge campaign for their coated umbrellas, and they were doing so well; it was a massive hit.”

“And then?”

The young merchant leaned in, lowering his voice as he whispered.

T hi s w a s co pi e d fr o m k i n g m t l . o r g
“…Starcloud Trading Company came in and completely disrupted the market.”

“What? Those guys again?”

“Yeah. When the items launched by Starcloud overlapped with ours, they completely overturned the market so we couldn’t do any business.”

“Tsk, selfish bastards.”

“They always do that. If they even suspect they might lose a little bit, they flip the entire market. And they’re so powerful that there’s nothing we can do about it. What choice do we have?”

Clatter!

“What the—?”

The merchants, who had been quietly bad-mouthing Starcloud, jumped in surprise at the sound of a cup tipping over beside them.

“…I’m sorry.”

Zeliel quietly apologized, setting the cup back upright and wiping the table with a napkin.

Her fingertips trembled.

She was all too familiar with the conversation they were having.

How could she not be?

Those actions… were carried out under Zeliel’s orders.

Her father had always led the business with integrity, never engaging in such dirty deeds.

But from the time Zeliel began to think like a merchant, there was a moment when Starcloud had been severely shaken by her father’s stubbornness. Unable to stand by, Zeliel secretly started engaging in underhanded tactics behind the scenes.

‘I’ll do anything as long as it brings in money.’

She had even taken a life and brought down entire corporations. Zeliel had never felt guilt, and thus had never hesitated in her actions.

“Phew… It’s a tough situation. I have a wife and kids waiting at home, but by winter, we’ll be out of food. Never mind heating; I’m worried about feeding them.”

“Tsk tsk. Don’t worry. I’ll help you out. How about working with me until your failed business recovers?”

“…Thank you, really.”

“What’s there to thank? You saved my life back then, so this is just me returning the favor. In a way, you saved yourself. Haha, wasn’t that line kind of cool? I should write that in my autobiography later.”
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“It would’ve been perfect if you hadn’t said that last part.”

“Hahaha!”

The conversation ended on a warm note, but what about everyone else?

Even at this moment, countless people were probably suffering from poverty somewhere, out of sight.

It could be because of Zeliel.

Or perhaps not… but why did her mind keep returning to that stark reality?

‘…I could help.’

If she got up right now and handed those young merchants a few gold bars, she could save them. With her financial power, it was more than possible.

“Sigh… This business is doomed…”

“Yeah… The economy is awful these days…”

“What happened to that old butcher who left to start his own business?”

“He went completely bankrupt, I heard.”

It wasn’t just the young merchant. People all around were sighing and complaining.

The stories above were not confined to the Myoho Tribe Lake.

Zeliel had crossed the Haoya Plains on a journey to bring back Baek Yu-seol, passing through countless tribes, villages, and cities. Everywhere she went, she found people with the same concerns.

And… the most common reason for their struggles was her unreasonable business policies.

Something started to accumulate within her heart.

And then, suddenly, a certainty came to her.

‘…I can change it.’

While money couldn’t buy everything, as she had recently realized, the world still revolved around gold.

If she could change the world with her overwhelming financial power…

Surely, that boy would be pleased. He was the kind of person who would sacrifice himself for others before thinking of his own well-being.

Zeliel walked across the Haoya Plains for a long time, walking and walking.

Through rainy mornings, misty dawns, and even on clear nights when the Milky Way bridge stretched across the sky.

A land of pure nature, completely disconnected from the magic trains and warp gates.

At the end of that place.

-You’ve arrived.

Zeliel finally reached her destination.

A cliff piercing through the clouds.

Standing atop it was a pure white temple, and the old man she had seen before was waiting for her with his hands behind his back.

He nodded toward the girl as if to follow him and gestured forward.

There… was a staircase stretching out into the sky.

T h i s w a s c o p i e d fr o m k i n g m t l . or g
-Someone once called this the stairway to heaven. What nonsense. Heaven is in the afterlife, foolish humans.

The old man’s joke wasn’t funny, but Zeliel smiled.

-This is the path to the past. Go there yourself and bring Baek Yu-seol back.

The stairs soared high into the sky, their end unseen.

-However, there is one thing you must be aware of.

The old man said this with a stern expression as Zeliel stood before the stairs.

-Though I may be a drunkard and a gambler, I am still a being closely connected to the constellations. Those who have accumulated sins and karma will not be able to step on these stairs.

“Why is that?”

-Because stepping on them will be more painful than death. And judging by your face, you’ve accumulated countless sins in your short life as a half-elf.

It was true, so she couldn’t refute it.

-You… might actually die. The burden of guilt you carry is far too great for someone who hasn’t even lived half a century.
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“I can do it.”
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-Well, if you have the courage, then endure this pain as a form of atonement. All the despair and sorrow they felt will be imparted to you.

“No.”

She shook her head and spoke with a determined expression.

“I will endure this pain because it’s the result of my own actions, but I won’t consider it a form of atonement.”

-…Then what?

“I will atone in my own way.”
T h i s wa s c o pie d fr o m k i n g m t l .o r g

She could never give back what she had taken from them.

She would have to carry the burden of her sins for the rest of her life.

So, she would remove her mask.

And she would devote herself to the world in the only way she knew how.

“This pain… is a punishment I deserve.”

Zeliel kicked off her shoes and, without a moment’s hesitation, stepped onto the staircase.

At that moment.

A terrible pain, as if her entire body was being sawed apart, slashed through her soul.

With bloodshot eyes, she took another step forward.

No scream escaped her lips.

One step.

Then another.

With her eyes tightly shut, she climbed the stairs.

She accepted all the pain, enduring it.

There was no thought of turning back now.

If she were to flee, she would rather fall and die.

But she couldn’t die here.

If she died here, Baek Yu-seol might never return to this world.

Each step was like walking through hell, and each time she wanted to collapse and scream.

But she endured.

‘I have no right to collapse.’

Many people had suffered such pain because of her. The blade of emotion, a feeling that had seeped through the cracks of her once dry heart, was shredding her soul. Ironically, the reason she could endure was also because of that emotion.
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A desperate longing for someone.

How far had she climbed?

She didn’t look toward the destination.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say she didn’t have the time.

Her soul was so torn and battered that it was a miracle she was even alive.

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Her breathing became labored; her feet went numb; and through the cracks in her broken heart, more sorrow and despair clawed at her, whispering for her to give up.

But she could no longer stop.

Could this still be called willpower? No, at this point… she was moving purely on instinct.

Then, at the last moment.

Having no strength left to lift her feet, she tripped on the stairs.

‘Ah…’

She knew instinctively.

If she fell now, she would never be able to rise again.

‘I can’t…’

If she collapsed here, there would be no one left to save him.

But she no longer had the strength to right herself, so she surrendered her body to gravity.

Thud!

…However, strangely enough.

Though she thought she had fallen, it didn’t hurt at all.

Had the previous pain been so terrible that this felt like nothing in comparison?

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“…I was told someone would be sent to greet me, but was it you?”

At the sound of a voice, Zeliel slowly opened her eyes. So close that she could feel his breath… was the face of that boy.

“Ah.”

She had succeeded.

She had climbed that endless staircase, and finally, she had reached him.

As she collapsed weakly into Baek Yu-seol’s arms, Zeliel let out a faint laugh. It was such a surprising and extraordinary sight that Baek Yu-seol was genuinely taken aback.

“What’s wrong? Did you eat a vegetable bun with no vegetables or something?”

She had longed to meet him so much, but the first thing she said upon their reunion was such an unremarkable, unfunny joke.

Even that aspect of him.

It was so Baek Yu-seol, so unmistakably Baek Yu-seol, that it made her laugh through her tears.

End of Chapter