The Academy Geniuses I Raised and Dressed

Saturday morning.

I quietly opened my door and peeked outside.

“Ah, Yein! Sorry to bother you so early, but—”

“Nam Yein! Just one more time, hear us ou—”

The ones calling out weren’t from my class, nor from Class A.

They were second- and third-years.

“Upperclassmen, do you not see this?”

I pointed to the paper I’d stuck to my door last night.

No squad recruitment or invitations accepted.

“I’ve told you several times already—I’m not looking to add members to my squad or join anyone else’s for the time being.”

“Come on, just hear us out once.”

“It’s not like we’re going to say anything bad.”

“Please understand.”

I kept my face firm.

“Given that Chen Meiling is in my squad, I think you can guess that this isn’t something I can decide on my own.”

“But running dungeons with only three people—there’s bound to be all kinds of inconveniences.”

“If you’ve got us—people with higher-dungeon experience—we can help you.”

Persistent, aren’t they.

Feeling tired of the back-and-forth, I decided to use my magic phrase.

“Then convince Chen Meiling, not me.”

The hallway went silent.

In Gwangcheon, there were few who didn’t know that Meiling’s father was an executive at Forward Group.

Telling them to convince her was the same as telling them to go persuade Chen Kai.

“Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”

With my toiletries in hand, I left them behind.

Thanks to my magic phrase, they didn’t follow.

If they were unhappy, they were welcome to take their own recording to Kai.

An hour later, I left Gwangcheon and boarded a bus.

Today’s destination was, once again, Eleanor’s workshop.

When I arrived and stepped inside, Eleanor glanced at me with her lips slightly pouting.

“Sigh… wait a minute. Let me finish this first, then we can talk.”

With that, she put the blade she was holding to the whetstone.

The harsh scraping filled the workshop.

I said nothing and simply watched her work.

She ignored me like I was invisible, eyes fixed solely on the blade.

But as time passed, her expression began to shift until she finally glanced sharply at me.

“What? Are you here to nitpick?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Then what?”

“Just watching.”

It was the truth.

I was curious—fascinated, even.

Sure, I had the Craftsman skill, but I didn’t actually know how things were made in reality.

My method of crafting was just summoning a glowing hammer and tapping the material icons in the right combination.

If someone gave me an actual hammer, metal, or cloth and needle and told me to make something, I couldn’t—unless I turned them into icons first.

That’s why watching Eleanor forge a weapon by hammering metal and sharpening the blade was both novel and impressive to me.

“…?”

She raised an eyebrow at me in mild puzzlement, then returned her full attention to her work.

The whetstone spun quickly, sparks flying everywhere, yet she didn’t blink once, wholly absorbed.

A moment later—

“Phew.”

She puffed out her cheeks and let out a breath before plucking a strand of her own silvery hair.

Then she held it to the edge she’d just sharpened.

Without even pulling it taut, the hair snapped cleanly in two.

“Nice. Perfect.”

She smiled in satisfaction—then, realizing I was still there, her cheeks flushed faintly.

She’d probably forgotten I was watching.

“A-hem. Kept you waiting, huh.”

She led me into the storage room.

Once again, there were three inventory crates waiting.

“This time you didn’t have trouble affording the materials, did you?”

“Right.”

Tapping at her tablet, Eleanor showed me the screen.

“The fifteen rare items you left last week sold for a total of 2.25 billion won.”

“Then you’d still have money left after buying the materials.”

Given that Platinum Wing took 30% of the sales, her share would be 675 million won.

She’d told me herself it would only take 30 million to buy the materials I’d specified last time—so she had no grounds to claim a shortage.

“You’re not thinking of keeping the leftover money, are you?”

“No. We agreed on a 70–30 split. Just give me my share.”

“…Nam Yein, could you maybe raise our share by 10%?”

A serious look crossed her face.

I stared at her for a moment, then spoke.

“And why should I do that?”

Her expression quickly fell.

“Don’t get me wrong—I’m just asking you to explain why.”

“…Huh?”

“Tell me why I should increase your share.”

“O-okay.”

She nodded and began.

“As you know, Platinum Wing is currently based inside Crystal Hunter Mall. My father helped me set up the store and workshop there. But my goal is to eventually open my own shop without relying on him.”

“And?”

I crossed my arms.

“Honestly, even if it stings a bit to admit it, our best-selling products are the rare items you make. Actually, they’re practically the only things selling. In just two weeks, word’s spread across the entire Hunter Market—if you go to Platinum Wing, you can get top-quality low-level rare items. We’re getting constant inquiries from wealthy families with hunter-trainee kids—asking when the next batch will arrive, or if we take custom orders.”

“Get to the point.”

Her facial muscles twitched briefly, but she kept her expression neutral.

The effort she put into not offending me made me smirk inwardly.

“Nam Yein, invest in Platinum Wing.”

At last, the real reason.

“Thanks to your items, we’re facing a growth opportunity. But as long as we’re stuck inside the Crystal Hunter Mall, there’s a limit.”

“You need the capital to open your own store.”

“Exactly.”

“And my benefit in this?”

“It’ll be easier to keep the ‘anonymous creator’ condition you wanted.”

“The Hunter Mall asked you to reveal my information?”

“They did. They said it’s a breach of customer trust to sell goods without proper sourcing or a verified maker, and demanded your info.”

“That’s the official reason. In reality, they probably want to make a direct deal with me.”

She nodded.

“They even said if I refused to disclose it, they’d stop us from selling your rare items entirely.”

“A bit harsh for the boss’s daughter, don’t you think?”

“…”

She fell silent.

Well, it wasn’t hard to see why.

From the Crystal president’s point of view, he’d poured support into his daughter—only for her to hoard the identity of a valuable rare-item maker. It could easily feel like betrayal.

Whether that’s how he truly felt, I didn’t know.

“All right. I’ll invest. We’ll reset the split to 50–50.”

“Really?!”

She looked like she wanted to say That easily?

“It’s in my interest for you to have your own shop and workshop.”

“…!”

Her eyes widened as she stared at me.

“What’s with that look?”

“N-no, I just… honestly thought you’d refuse. Last time I tried to set terms, you cut me off immediately.”

Her lips pursed slightly, like the memory still irked her.

“Of course, there’s a condition to splitting it fifty–fifty.”

“I knew it.”

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

Eleanor averted her eyes toward the upper right corner.

“From the looks of that blade you were sharpening earlier, it seems you’re about to finish a new piece of equipment.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Make something with it that will satisfy me.”

“What?”

She frowned, as if she didn’t quite understand.

“You said my items are your chance to grow, right? But what if I stop supplying you?”

“Ugh…”

Her expression told me I’d hit a sore spot.

“If you can’t stand on your own without relying on me, then what’s the point of being independent?”

“Ghh…!”

Eleanor clutched her chest in mock agony.

“If you want my investment, then show me you’re worthy of being called my partner.”

“!!!”

I locked eyes with her.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flame flicker in those silvery irises.

“…Fine.”

Her voice trembled slightly—not from nerves or doubt, but from barely restrained excitement.

The corners of her mouth kept twitching upward.

“Two weeks… no, just give me one. I’ll make something on a whole different level than last time.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I glanced at her tablet.

“I have a question, though.”

“What is it?” she asked, her tone noticeably softer now.

“When I first came to your workshop, I saw certain materials in storage, but I couldn’t find them on your order list.”

“Which ones?”

I listed the ingredients used in the Substitute Doll, Black Pearl Ring, Potion of Accord, and Ezonnil’s Teachings.

“Ah, those. No wonder you didn’t see them.”

“And why’s that?”

“They weren’t bought—I got them as gifts when I opened the workshop.”

“From whom?”

“My uncle Donghyuk had a friend who ran a materials shop.”

Had? “Meaning he doesn’t anymore?”

“Yeah. He retired last month and closed the store.”

“Can you introduce me?”

“Hmm… sure. I’ll tell Uncle Donghyuk.”

I nodded.

Everything I’d taken from Eleanor’s storage had been rare materials that were hard to obtain in-game.

If I could secure a steady supply of them, I could keep producing Substitute Dolls and Potions of Accord.

Owning those was like carrying extra lives into a dungeon.

For this frail body of Nam Yein’s, they’re absolutely essential to survival.

After that, I drafted a new list of materials for Craftsman experience grinding and, as before, received seventy percent of the rare item sales directly into my account.

That makes it nearly two hundred million won now.

When I was Hong Heecheol, I’d never touched money like this.

That was when my smartwatch buzzed.

Seeing the caller, I frowned.

It was Meiling.

“Excuse me a moment.”

I put in my wireless earbuds and answered.

“What is it?”

[What do you mean ‘what’? Where are you right now?!]

“Why?”

[Just answer me!]

“No.”

“What kind of call are you answering like that?” Eleanor asked, giving me a strange look.

[What? Are you meeting a girl?!]

Apparently, she’d overheard.

“It’s not what you think, so stop spouting nonsense. If that’s all, I’m hanging up.”

[Ugh, seriously! It’s the weekend, so Lumina and I were going to go somewhere with you, but they said you’re not in the dorm!]

“If that’s all it was, you should’ve just said so from the start. I’m at the Hunter Market right now.”

[Hunter Market? Perfect. Come to Yongsan Station. We’ll head there too.]

She hung up without waiting for my reply.

“Well, I should get going. Oh, I still haven’t given you your items.”

I pulled several rare pieces of equipment from my inventory—crafted with the materials I’d taken last time.

This batch was slightly higher level, around seventeen to twenty.

“…!”

Eleanor’s jaw dropped.

“The quality’s even better than before…”

“Then get to work on your own gear. I’ll be expecting it.”

“Mm…”

Her gaze never left the equipment as she answered.

Leaving the workshop, I made my way toward Yongsan Station. It was close enough to walk, so I didn’t bother with a bus.

About five minutes of waiting in the station plaza—

“Yein~!”

I turned toward the call to see Lumina waving enthusiastically, Meiling walking beside her.

I waved back and approached the two of them.

“So, where are we going?” I asked, eyeing Meiling in her black dress.

“To buy clothes at the department store.”

“Clothes?”

“Look at this.” Meiling pointed at Lumina.

“She says she doesn’t have any decent clothes for going out.”

“D-decent…?”

Lumina’s face froze.

“And why am I here?”

“Why else? To carry the bags.”

“I’m leaving.”

I turned toward the nearest bus stop.

“Ah! Yein, wait! I’ll carry the bags, okay? Just hang out with us today! Please??”

She grabbed my arm.

“….”

I couldn’t bring myself to shake her off.

In the end, I let the two of them drag me toward the department store near Yongsan Station.

(End of Chapter)