I Became A Flashing Genius At The Magic Academy-Chapter 419
The Red Falcon clubroom was no longer a space exclusive to Adolevit students.
Hong Biyeon had opened her heart to not just students from other nations but also to commoner students. This newfound openness brought many visitors to the club.
"Don’t you think the princess’s vibe has changed lately?"
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“She told us not to call her princess in school. If it feels too weird, she said we can call her ‘young lady.’”
“Really? She’s so different from how she was in first year.”
Last year, Hong Biyeon truly felt like a "princess" to everyone.
A rose with thorns.
Beautiful to behold, but prickly enough to discourage anyone from approaching.
She exuded an air of inaccessibility, like a towering wall separating her from everyone else. She always kept her distance, standing aloof and above her peers.
But now, in the second semester of her second year, her image among her classmates was entirely different.
She was still cold and sharp, but whereas last year she had been like a flower blooming precariously on a cliff, now she felt approachable enough for others to enjoy her fragrance.
Indeed, how was Hong Biyeon these days?
“Princess.”
“Call me young lady.”
“Young lady!”
“...Why do you keep calling me?”
Even when commoners addressed her, she didn’t furrow her brows. While she might display mild annoyance, she answered every question without ignoring anyone.
“Um, excuse me...”
Commoners would sometimes approach her with trivial questions, and she brushed them off nonchalantly without making a fuss.
After classes, she was always busy with her studies in royal leadership. If she wanted to truly focus, she would have gone to the library instead of the clubroom.
Today, she had only stopped by the clubroom for one reason: to meet Eijel and Flame, who occasionally visited.
...What should I do?
Hong Biyeon pulled two invitations from her desk drawer and hesitated.
As a princess, she could invite a few additional people as her close associates, but the number was limited.
What would happen if all her chosen associates were commoners?
Some nobles of the Adolevit royal court might start to question her dignity as a princess.
Hong Biyeon no longer looked down on commoners. But the kingdom’s nobles were a different story.
They were raised in a rigid hierarchy and adhered to the belief in aristocratic superiority, treating commoners with disdain.
Though she felt sorry for her friends, Hong Biyeon knew that to solidify her power, she had to bring influential nobles to the royal ball alongside Baek Yuseol.
The ball was a stepping stone to becoming queen.
Even Hong Siwha would undoubtedly attend, and she couldn’t afford to face her with a soft heart.
“Weren’t you going to the library? Damn, I was going to sneak some ice cream from your fridge.”
“I’m not interested in ice cream, but...”
“Oh, uh...?”
Startled by Flame and Eijel’s voices, Hong Biyeon hastily shoved the invitations under her desk. Thankfully, they didn’t notice.
“Ugh, I have another field training session in 30 minutes. Why is the schedule so packed? It’s driving me crazy.”
“I only have monster studies today, so my eyes feel like they’re rotting from staring at ugly faces all day.”
“Oh, so you do care about looks?”
“I don’t judge people’s character by their appearance, but spending an entire day looking at something as hideous as a cult goblin is not my idea of fun.”
“Right? Even monsters should at least look decent.”
The two lounged casually on the expensive sofas, clearly taking a break before their next classes. They seemed utterly indifferent to whatever Hong Biyeon was doing.
After a brief moment of hesitation.
What had been a rational, logical decision moments ago suddenly became difficult as she looked at their faces.
Hong Biyeon stood abruptly and dropped the invitations onto Flame and Eijel’s laps.
“Gah, what’s this?”
“Take it. It’s an invitation to the royal ball.”
“The royal ball...?”
“It’s common for the royal family to invite mages they’ve befriended at Stella to the ball.”
Flame and Eijel stared at her, wide-eyed, with the invitations in hand.
Hong Biyeon wasn’t wrong.
There were plenty of stories of commoners gaining success by entering Stella, befriending nobles, and getting invited to events like the royal ball.
That’s why so many commoners at Stella worked tirelessly to build connections with nobles. A single connection could open up an entirely new life for them.
But for Flame and Eijel, who already had clear paths to success, the meaning of the invitation was different. It was more about the fact that Hong Biyeon saw them as close enough to give such an invitation.
The princess, destined to be queen, was offering these invitations to two individuals with no significant political power. It meant she was willing to risk a hit to her standing at the ball just to have them by her side.
“Hey, Hong Biyeon... You...”
“If you refuse, I’ll kill you.”
Flame started to say something, but Hong Biyeon cut her off. Flustered, she avoided eye contact and hurried back to her seat.
Eijel and Flame exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Their laughter only made Hong Biyeon’s face turn redder, but they didn’t stop.
They were simply... happy.
So they laughed.
“Wow, it suits you so well!”
Baek Yuseol stared at his reflection in the full-length mirror, his expression awkward. Dressed in an elegant tuxedo and with his hair neatly styled, he looked like a completely different person.
With glasses, he gave off an intellectual vibe; without them, a sharper, more intense aura.
The speed at which he had matured in just a year was astonishing.
“Of course, with a frame like yours, you can pull off anything!”
“Would you like to see anything else?”
“No... I’ll take this one.”
“An excellent choice!”
Glancing at the price tag, Baek Yuseol’s jaw dropped at the exorbitant cost. A single tuxedo... this expensive?
“Does it have diamonds embedded in it?”
Well, it might as well have. Enchanted with defensive magic, temperature control, and resistance to deterioration, the tuxedo boasted dozens of convenience-enhancing spells.
Leaving the tailor shop with his purchase, Baek Yuseol felt a wave of buyer’s remorse.
Wanting to look good for a girl was a natural instinct for men.
But still...
“...I’m almost thirty.”
Even if he looked like a teenager on the outside, his mind was that of an adult.
What kind of thirty-year-old splurges millions to impress an eighteen-year-old girl?
“At least no one knows my real age...”
The only person who might have an inkling about his real age was Flame.
“How did it come to this?”
In the past, Baek Yuseol had seen the girls around him as nothing more than kids. But lately, something had shifted within him.
He no longer viewed them as mere children.
Had living as a teenager warped his mind into that of a teenager as well?
Jelliel felt like an older sister, while his classmates seemed like genuine peers.
“But it’s strange... This feeling doesn’t apply to everyone.”
Perhaps it was because these particular girls had mentalities far beyond their years.
Eijel, who had lived a harsh life before Stella. Jelliel, who had helped run a business alongside her father from a young age. Hong Biyeon, who had faced deadly competition for the throne since childhood.
Even Flame, if he counted her past life, was likely close to his actual age.
It was only natural that they would possess a maturity that even rivaled his own.
So.
“...Maybe it’s okay to bend the rules a little.”
Baek Yuseol returned to Stella, dragging his feet, a small question lingering in his mind.
The world seemed on the brink of catastrophe with events unfolding everywhere, yet here he was, fretting over trivial romantic concerns. It felt utterly ridiculous.
Sigh. “Guess I’ll grab some gukbap.”
There weren’t any cheap gukbap joints around high-end tailor shops. So, he shuffled toward Rodeo Street, where students often hung out. Then, someone familiar caught his eye.
It was Mayuseong. He was sneaking into an alleyway, glancing around cautiously.
“Huh?”
For someone as vigilant as Mayuseong to be moving like this, it clearly meant he was up to something.
“Probably meeting one of those Dark Magicians’ contacts.”
Mayuseong often communicated with the Dark Magicians under the guise of monitoring their activities.
He would justify it as gathering intel about their society, but that wasn’t the real reason.
Whenever they plotted something dangerous, Mayuseong would step in to stop them.
In fact, he had likely thwarted their plans multiple times without anyone’s knowledge.
“Not that it could ever be publicized.”
If the world learned that the son of the Dark Mage King was secretly fighting against the Dark Magicians, they’d brand him a traitor. The Dark Magicians would throw a fit.
Baek Yuseol shrugged and ignored Mayuseong, continuing on his way.
...Or at least, he tried to.
Boom!
An explosion roared from the alley.
“Ugh, give me a break...”
Couldn’t he have one peaceful day? It was probably just another Dark Magician sneaking into Arcanium. Mayuseong wouldn’t lose, but Baek Yuseol grabbed his Teriphon Sword and sprinted toward the alley just in case.
What he saw there was something he hadn’t expected at all.
“Grrk...! Cough!”
Mayuseong’s opponent wasn’t a Dark Magician.
It was a Stella student—a first-year student, no less.
“Uh, Mayuseong... What the hell are you doing?”
“...?”
Mayuseong turned around, his expression cold and menacing, but he relaxed when he saw who it was.
“Oh, it’s you, Yuseol.”
Then, as if nothing had happened, he flashed his signature bright smile. Except, his face was smeared with blood, which made the sight unnervingly eerie.
“Never mind the greetings. Did you just beat this kid up?”
“Yeah. He insulted my father.”
“Your father...?”
The only ones who could even know about Mayuseong’s father were Dark Magicians.
But...
“There aren’t any Dark Magicians among the students, are there?”
Most of the Dark Magician infiltrators among the faculty had been cleaned out last summer by Altman Altwin.
Among the students... there were none.
Not almost none. None.
Even in the original story, there were no Dark Magician students.
“Did something else change that I don’t know about...?”
Wanting to prevent any further issues from this commotion, Baek Yuseol decided to intervene. If word got out that a senior had assaulted a junior, it would be a massive scandal.
“Alright, just put him down for now.”
“Sure.”
Mayuseong complied... by dropping the first-year to the ground with a loud thud.
“Ugh... Cough...”
“Hey, you okay?”
It felt ridiculous asking a Dark Magician if they were okay, but Baek Yuseol’s instincts took over. The kid had the appearance of a young human, after all.
“Taseron?”
It was an unfamiliar name.
Another unknown character.
The boy, bloodied and beaten, lifted his head and grinned.
“Hello, Senior Baek Yuseol. I’ve always respected you.”
“...Uh, thanks, I guess.”
“You’re truly a natural-born genius, Senior. That’s something you’ve earned for yourself, which makes it even more admirable.”
“Wait, hold on. What are you talking about? Me, talented?”
“Of course. You may not have any innate talent for magic, but your mastery of Blink and swordsmanship is unparalleled. That’s truly remarkable.”
“Uh... Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.”
“Though, I don’t get it. How can I be naturally talented and self-made at the same time?”
Baek Yuseol tilted his head, confused. Taseron, meanwhile, turned to Mayuseong.
“To be born with talent is a blessing for the exceptional. Envying or resenting that is foolish.”
Mayuseong remained silent, his lips pressed together.
“But... receiving talent later in life and using it to rise above natural geniuses? That’s cowardly.”
“Acquired talent?”
The conversation made no sense. Taseron struggled to his feet, dusting off his uniform—though it was still drenched in blood—and turned to Mayuseong.
Bowing slightly, he then faced Baek Yuseol with a polite smile.
“I’ll be going now. Thank you so much for your help.”
“Uh... sure.”
Taseron’s demeanor was so polite it was hard to believe this was the same kid who had just been beaten senseless.
As Taseron left, Baek Yuseol turned to question Mayuseong. But the latter was already walking away, vanishing deeper into the alley.
“...Taseron, huh.”
His name was unfamiliar, and his words even more so.
“Acquired talent?”
Now that he thought about it, how much had the original game actually revealed about Mayuseong?
Not much.
In both the original romance novel and the game, Mayuseong remained an enigma until the very end.
So, this could only mean one thing.
Taseron must know something about Mayuseong’s secret.
“Hmph...”
The solution was simple.
“I guess I’ll just have to beat him up and get the answers.”
Mayuseong had already been everyone’s punching bag, so it wouldn’t change much if Baek Yuseol roughed him up for some intel. No matter how well he masked his true nature, Mayuseong wasn’t human; he was a Dark Magician.
Baek Yuseol wasn’t going to fall for those fake expressions.
With that, he decided not to follow Mayuseong but instead to head in the direction Taseron had gone.
“I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. This’ll be a good way to blow off some steam.”
