Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker

Chapter 250

The Noble Soul (3)

***

Bang-!

Aiselle suddenly jolted awake at the loud noise of someone slamming the desk.

Her head was still foggy, and her vision was blurry. That’s when she realized she had been dozing off.

“Hey, are you sleeping?”

She forced her eyes open, trying to focus on the blurry figure in front of her. It was Flame, smiling brightly at her.

“…Huh? No, I wasn’t.”

“Yeah, right. Meditation time is basically nap time anyway.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Aiselle remember that the class she was attending was meditation time. Normally, she would have been deeply absorbed in meditation, but perhaps because she had been so tired these past few days, she couldn’t focus and ended up dozing off.

It was a class where it didn’t really matter whether you meditated or slept, so there was no chance of her getting in trouble.

“Here, take a look at this. I’m busy, so I’ve got to run.”

“Wait, hold on…”

Flame tossed a magazine onto her desk and quickly dashed out into the hallway with her friends.

Aiselle tilted her head in confusion as she picked up the magazine to check it out.

[Arcaneum Magic Magazine]

‘Ah.’

Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing about it.

The five prestigious schools in Arcaneum often held joint extracurricular activities. The “Arcaneum Magic Magazine” was one such collaboration, a joint project by the magic journalism clubs of the five schools.

She had heard that there were several other clubs that collaborated and exchanged with each other, but Aiselle wasn’t particularly interested, so she didn’t know much about it.

‘As expected.’

Flipping through the magazine briefly, Aiselle couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Witches, witches, witches.

It was all about witches.

It seemed like the student journalists were eager to show that they could report on significant topics, even without professional experience. They had run around everywhere to gather interviews, even managing to speak with professors and members of the Stella Knights.

Most of the content praised Baek Yu-seol’s witch hunt, raising questions about how he managed to accomplish such a feat. There were also some deep reflections on why witches still existed in modern times from a mage’s perspective.

However, the student journalists clearly had their limitations. The key details of the incident were mostly simplified.

For example, they had no idea that Aiselle, Flame, and the 13th Extermination Unit had supported Baek Yu-seol from behind. They also didn’t mention that the witch was the successor of the “Last Witch.”

As she casually read through the magazine, treating it as a light after-the-fact report, Aiselle came across a particular section that caught her attention.

‘Hmm?’

It was an interview with one of the Stella Knights. His evaluation of Baek Yu-seol wasn’t particularly favorable. Though he had tried to be polite, it was evident that he didn’t view Baek Yu-seol in a positive light.

“Baek Yu-seol acts independently and has a self-centered mindset that doesn’t fit well with group dynamics.”

Aiselle interpreted his words carefully, figuring that was the gist of what he meant.

It seemed Baek Yu-seol had rubbed the Stella Knights the wrong way. What could have happened?

“How did Baek Yu-seol conduct a joint investigation with the Stella Knights?”

That was one of the questions in the article, and it was something Aiselle was curious about as well.

She had always thought that the Stella Knights’ Commander Arain had taken a particular interest in Baek Yu-seol, and there had to be some connection. But she hadn’t expected that the Stella Knights would work with a mere first-year cadet.

However, judging by the article, the results of that collaboration didn’t seem to have gone well. Not only had Baek Yu-seol fallen out of favor with the knights, but there was also this additional piece of news.

“Baek Yu-seol obtained temporary knight status but voluntarily relinquished it. Why?”

Aiselle’s eyes widened as she reread the sentence.

“He gave up his knight status right away?”

It was common knowledge within the school that Commander Arain had temporarily granted Baek Yu-seol the authority of a knight.

Yet, as soon as the mission was completed, he gave up the title of knight… even though there was no reason to.

‘Why?’

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand. To be a knight of Stella was one of the most honorable positions a magic warrior could hold.

And it wasn’t just anyone who had granted him the status—it had come directly from Commander Arain.

If Baek Yu-seol had retained the status of a temporary knight until graduation, a high-ranking position would have been guaranteed for him.

Given that he had successfully completed the witch-hunting mission, he could have reaped incredible benefits in the future. Yet he had given it all up without hesitation…

For Baek Yu-seol, being a knight of Stella must have been nothing more than a temporary tool to solve the immediate issue at hand.

‘Even for a regressor…’

No, perhaps it was because he was a regressor that he could make such a decision so easily. After living through countless lives, wealth and honor must have lost their meaning to Baek Yu-seol.

But there wasn’t enough time to finish reading the entire magazine, so Aiselle slipped it into her bag and left the classroom.

The hallway was bustling with noise, but since students had been busy preparing for their club projects recently, she didn’t pay much attention to it.

‘I wonder what our club is going to do…’

Since the “Gourmet Club” was already a bit of a stretch as a club activity, it seemed unlikely they would have much to present for the final project.

Baek Yu-seol had come up with a bizarre plan called the “Gourmet Roadview Project,” and while he claimed he had it all figured out, Aiselle wasn’t sure how well it was going.

As someone who could enjoy just about any food, Aiselle didn’t quite understand the point of “gourmet” as a concept, so she was honestly skeptical of Baek Yu-seol’s preparations.

Additionally, ever since her unpleasant experience at the Witch’s Restaurant last time, she had developed a sort of aversion to the whole idea of “gourmet.”

‘Well… I’m sure he’ll handle it.’

She decided to trust Baek Yu-seol on this one.

He was good at just about everything.

***

The entrance to the Warp Hall that connected the Main Tower and the Annex Tower was always crowded with students. This was because the warp hall could only transport people to one location at a time. If students wanted to go to Location A, they had to gather and depart all at once, while those wishing to go to Location B had to wait for their turn.

Typically, the first group to gather, or the largest group, would get to use the warp hall first.

Since the academy was so large and students rarely knew each other, arguments about who could use the warp hall first were frequent. But due to technical limitations, even the professors couldn’t find a way to solve the issue.

Of course, there were exceptions—figures who could end those arguments in an instant.

A professor using the warp hall, or… a student with an overwhelming presence.

This was one of those times.

The students, who had been bickering over who would use the warp hall first, suddenly fell silent and stepped aside when a third-year female student appeared.

‘Sa Yelan Orkan.’

With jet-black hair and skin as pale as a doll’s, her gaze was cold and emotionless—so much so that it was easy to understand why people called her the “Living Doll.”

Sa Yelan was the eldest daughter of the Orkan family, one of the two great families of the Adolevit Kingdom, and she was well-known as the right-hand woman of Princess Hong Si-hwa.

Tap-tap.

As Sa Yelan walked down the hallway, several attendants followed behind her.

Though they were all students of Stella Academy, they had been raised from birth with the sole purpose of serving the Orkan family. As such, they exuded an unusual atmosphere compared to the rest of the students.

Their unwavering gazes, focused solely on Sa Yelan, were so unsettling that the other students kept their distance.

Vrrr!

As the warp hall activated, the destination shifted. Even though she was the last to arrive, Sa Yelan stood there as though it was only natural for the warp hall to be prepared for her.

“Ahem, where are you headed today?”

The assistant managing the warp hall looked uncomfortable as he addressed a student with honorifics. He seemed new to this position, but it couldn’t be helped. Even though she was a student, he didn’t have the audacity to speak informally to someone of her noble status.

“…19th Annex Tower.”

Sa Yelan answered coldly, and the assistant nodded, adjusting the warp hall.

Or at least, he was about to.

“Hold on. I’ll be using it first. Move aside, will you?”

That was, until Hong Bi-yeon suddenly appeared.

“Change it to the 13th Annex Tower.”

Hong Bi-yeon had shown up alone, without an attendant, and stood with her arms crossed, her chin slightly raised.

Her posture radiated an air that said, “You have no right to disobey me,” causing the assistant’s face to turn pale.

‘Ugh…’

The two of them were complete opposites.

Sa Yelan’s presence invoked pure fear and dread, while Hong Bi-yeon… exuded an overwhelming sense of authority and awe.

But such emotions were of little concern to the assistant.

He was just a commoner, working part-time managing the warp hall to save money for attending the University Magic Towers. There was no way he could muster the nerve to go up against both the Orkan family and the Adolevit royal family.

“…I was in the middle of using it, Princess.”

Sa Yelan frowned in displeasure as she responded, and Hong Bi-yeon tilted her head.

“Is that so? Then I’ll go first.”

“No, you won’t.”

Sa Yelan clearly had a lower status than Hong Bi-yeon, but that didn’t mean the princess could mistreat her.

After all, Sa Yelan had the powerful backing of Princess Hong Si-hwa.

“No? And why not?”

At Hong Bi-yeon’s question, Sa Yelan pressed her lips together. If she simply said, “Because I got here first,” Hong Bi-yeon would undoubtedly respond with:

“Then what about the others who arrived before you?”

Sa Yelan understood this well.

She had power, and she used it naturally. But this was the first time she had encountered someone with even greater authority challenging her.

She pondered for a moment.

Why was Princess Hong Bi-yeon acting like this?

In the past, Hong Bi-yeon had been nothing more than a prideful but insecure fool, a pitiful underachiever who couldn’t even hold a candle to Hong Si-hwa.

She wouldn’t have dared speak to Sa Yelan, let alone pick a fight with her. If their eyes ever met, Hong Bi-yeon would immediately run away with her tail between her legs.

Yet now, she was openly provoking her.

“No reason, right? Then I’ll use it first.”

“…Go ahead.”

With that, Hong Bi-yeon casually stepped forward, adjusted the warp hall herself, and disappeared in an instant.

“My lady… Are you alright?”

“That insolent princess! How dare she?!”

“I’ll make sure to report this later.”

“It’s fine.”

Though her eyebrows twitched in annoyance, that was the extent of Sa Yelan’s reaction.

Letting emotions get the best of her over something so trivial was the mark of an amateur.

If she wanted to dominate the political landscape someday, she would have to endure this level of humiliation. In fact, she considered it a valuable experience.

“You seem quite annoyed, though…”

“My irritation isn’t because of that.”

Sa Yelan was more upset about something else.

Throughout their entire exchange, Hong Bi-yeon had smiled as brightly as the sun, as if she was truly enjoying herself.

As if something genuinely delightful had happened to her.

Considering that anything good for Hong Bi-yeon was usually bad news for her, it was impossible not to feel uneasy, especially since she hadn’t figured out what it was.

More than anything, the brief moment she had to endure that radiant smile was deeply unsettling.

‘Whatever it is…’

For now, it didn’t matter.

Sa Yelan placed her foot on the warp hall platform. She was far too busy to concern herself with Hong Bi-yeon’s affairs.

End of Chapter