BSS 50

Chapter 50

Inside the transparent communication orb appeared Marquis Lyle, the headmaster of Drike Academy.

He was one of the most esteemed scholars of Dmitri, the former tutor of the king, and a powerful figure in the kingdom.

Stroking his beard leisurely, he continued speaking.

[You’ve had quite a rough time.]

“Not at all, sir!”

[I know well that Miss Genie is unpredictable. She’s no ordinary child… Still, it’s truly fortunate she’s alive. Well, she’s not the type to die so easily anyway.]

“…I’m deeply sorry for worrying you due to my rash judgment.”

The Knight Commander bowed deeply toward the orb.

[Think nothing of it. I’ll explain everything properly to His Majesty, so don’t worry about disciplinary action. Just keep the children safe.
Ah, and bring that boy named Leo with the group as a provisional student. We’ll take care of matters on our side.]

“Th–Thank you, sir!”

[If Miss Genie causes trouble again, send me a detailed report. She’ll certainly stir something up again. I forced her to join the delegation even though she didn’t want to go, so she must be quite angry now… In fact, when she went missing this time, I genuinely thought she might’ve run away from home. Hohoho!]

“…I-Is that so?”

[She’ll insist on strange things, but that’s just how she is. Just give in when you can. Winning is impossible.]

“Yes, sir.”

[Then, take care.]

Marquis Lyle’s image vanished with a pop, and only then did Tonell slowly lift his head.

Cold sweat dripped down his back.

He knew Genie Crowell was being carefully watched by the higher-ups, but he hadn’t expected the Marquis himself to demand personal updates the moment she was found alive.

Normally, he wouldn’t even get the chance to exchange greetings with the Marquis—a noble so far above him it was dizzying.

“To think it was this serious…”

Just that morning, the Knight Commander had been grinding his teeth at Genie Crowell.

But after the communication, he understood the situation painfully well.

He must never, ever make Genie Crowell an enemy.

He was someone who obsessed over power, and he had sharp instincts in that regard.

It wasn’t hard to realize that befriending Genie Crowell was the only path to survival.

In ten years… no, even in just five, that arrogant blonde girl would undoubtedly wield influence no one could ignore.

It wasn’t just because the king was mindful of her and the Marquis doted on her personally. Even judging from what happened yesterday, it was obvious.

That small girl was certain to secure a major position in this festival.

Whenever he thought about the moment when his head had suddenly been shoved underwater, his vision still went dizzy.

She was already far beyond the level of a child—everything she did proved it.

The girl with cotton-candy-pink hair, Iruje, refused to leave my side.

She wouldn’t let me sit still even for a second—worried I might disappear again if I was left alone.

Listening to her chatter nonstop made me realize how lucky I was that Mia wasn’t here too.

Mia was just as talkative as Iruje.

“Genie! We’re doing a warp today! Warp! Did you know?”

“I heard.”

“It’s amazing!”

Iruje hooked her arm through mine with bubbly excitement.

She had an incredible talent for finding joy in the smallest things, and honestly, I envied that.

Especially for someone like me, who was dissatisfied with everything.

“I’m nervous! I’ve never used warp before!”

“Oh, me too.”

“For someone saying that, you don’t look excited at all.”

“Well… it’s not exactly something to get excited about?”

“But I’m excited!”

Warp was a travel magic.

A high-level spell that could transport someone from one end of the continent to the other in the blink of an eye.

I’d heard that even nobles found it expensive to use.

What a strange world. Science was underdeveloped, but they had teleportation technology.

“Don’t you think it’ll be super fun?”

“It’ll be over in a few seconds, so what fun could there be? It’s not like a roller coaster.”

“Roller… coaster? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s just… a thing.”

Today was the day we were moving to the next city, so we’d gathered on the first floor with our luggage, waiting to use Valen’s state-of-the-art warp facility.

Most of the delegation kids were buzzing with excitement.

They were all busy talking about the long-awaited festival ahead.

But whenever they accidentally met my eyes, they instantly stopped talking, stiffly turning their heads away.

Ever since the duel with Leo, the way people looked at me had completely changed.

Previously, they muttered behind my back with annoyance, but now it felt like they were terrified—like mentioning me might bring disaster upon them.

Maybe I’d exposed too much of my rotten personality, and now they saw me as a dangerous individual.

“Ugh, I’m hungry. I should’ve packed some bread. Genie, aren’t you hungry?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Want some chocolate instead of bread?”

“…Oh. Sure.”

Even so, Iruje stayed with me. She was strange—but I appreciated it.

Not because she fed me chocolate like it was bread.

I put more effort into our conversation.

“I heard warp can make people dizzy. Will we be fine?”

“Why does it make people dizzy?”

“I’m not a magic major, so I don’t know… but think about it. Our bodies are flying across the continent, right? Maybe we’re being broken down into particles and reconstructed, so—”

“…Particles? I’ve never heard that word.”

“I don’t actually know that well either. Might not have anything to do with particles… Maybe it’s a theory of some sort? Expecting theory from magic might be asking too much.”

“Genie, even though you’re a spirit user, you seem smarter than me! You know so much!”

“That’s an illusion.”

I shrugged as I accepted the chocolate.

“Hey, I’ve been wondering—how are mages and spirit users different?”

“How?”

“Aren’t they both difficult fields? And they use the same magic…”

“The method is different. Mages cast magic using their own bodies as the medium. Spirit users cast through spirits. So technically, spirit users are closer to summoners.”

“Ooh, I see!”

Iruje was very curious about everything, much like Mia. Maybe that was a shared trait among alchemy students.

Magic students were known for their strong academic curiosity too, so maybe all knowledge students were like that.

Do smart kids just naturally have endless curiosity?

“Genie, look behind you.”

“Why?”

When I turned, I saw a pathway clearing toward me.

The kids were stepping aside for someone.

A boy—taller than others his age—was walking straight at me, making it obvious I was his target.

His uniform showed he was in the youth division.

While the boys in the children’s division wore green-and-black tones, the youth division had blue-and-black uniforms. Easy to distinguish.

“You’re Genie Crowell, right?”

The confident boy stopped right in front of me and Iruje. He looked about sixteen.

I definitely had never seen him before.

I had no acquaintances in the youth division to begin with.

I took a cautious stance, while Iruje simply watched with sparkling curiosity.

“…Who are you?”

“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. My name is Bright Kenyan. Magic division, as you can see from my uniform.”

Bright puffed up with pride as he said his name, but all I could think was, Who on earth is this guy?