The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 75

Ise-ah was Cheon Tae-seong’s fiancée, arranged through a political marriage.

Even in this era, such customs persist, especially when the power of individual families grows—strategic marriages among powerful families have always been prevalent historically.

“Lord Tae-seong…”

Ise-ah sent a pleading gaze toward Cheon Tae-seong. However, Tae-seong remained indifferent, not even glancing at her.

“Now, where to sit…”

Choi Tae-min scanned the room. With many students having transferred out, there were plenty of empty seats.

“Alright, how about the second seat from the left in that corner? You can sit there.”

Of all places, it had to be the seat next to mine.

Both Ise-ah and my expressions twisted with mutual distaste.

“No! Since there are so many empty seats, I’ll sit near Lord Tae-seong.”

“I agree with her. That’s a really good idea.”

Seeing their reactions, a mischievous smile appeared on Choi Tae-min’s lips.

“This looks fun, so let’s finalize that seat for her. You know you’ll get demerit points for changing seats without permission, right?”

“Ugh, how annoying.”

Ise-ah openly displayed her displeasure. Another teacher might have gotten upset, but Choi Tae-min was unbothered by such provocations.

“I’m going to find a way to get rid of that teacher.”

Ise-ah muttered as she sat next to me.

‘This is already irritating.’

A few students, not as perceptive, cautiously approached Ise-ah.

“Where did you transfer from?”

“Do you know Cheon Tae-seong?”

It seemed none of them knew who Ise-ah was. Unlike Tae-seong, Ise-ah’s face was surprisingly less known. This was because she avoided media exposure as much as possible.

‘Yet she scoffs at people for not recognizing her—definitely not normal.’

She despised being in the public eye but expected people to recognize and revere her based on her status whenever the opportunity arose.

“Could you not talk to me? It’s unpleasant.”

That was Ise-ah’s response.

Not all privileged people are like this, but Ise-ah was filled with a sense of entitlement and authority that one might find depicted in underdog stories.

However, regardless of her attitude, at this moment, Ise-ah isn’t fully classified as an antagonist. She’s more like an egg that has yet to hatch.

Especially before Ise-ah fully embraces her role as a villain, she can be a rather useful character.

‘An artifact dealer.’

Engaging in events related to Ise-ah provides opportunities to gain information about artifacts or obtain the artifacts themselves. In other words, the event rewards are quite efficient.

Furthermore, another factor that oddly fueled her fanbase was the sympathy she garnered. One might question how an antagonist can evoke sympathy, but—

“Lord Tae-seong…”

Her feelings for Cheon Tae-seong were genuine. In that sense, by the latter part of the story, the sympathy for Ise-ah grew even more.

“Just so you know, don’t even think about talking to me.”

“Of course.”

After all, Ise-ah is killed by Cheon Tae-seong.

* * *

In the end, Ise-ah became isolated in the class in record time. She drove away those who approached her with goodwill and hovered around Cheon Tae-seong without managing to say a word to him.

‘It’s obvious she’s only hurting herself.’

Knowing Ise-ah’s real motives and background for transferring to Babel, every move she made seemed like a misstep to me.

Though her repeated missteps would ultimately benefit me, watching it unfold was frustrating.

“I should just go work out.”

My plans remained unchanged.

Ise-ah’s appearance was anticipated. Meeting her in person only confirmed how annoying she was, but it presented no particular trouble.

As I grabbed my towel and water bottle and headed to the training room, I unexpectedly ran into an annoying figure in the lobby.

‘Ise-ah.’

Standing in the center of the lobby and looking around blankly. I hoped she’d ignore me as I headed straight for the main entrance.

“Oh my.”

But wouldn’t you know it.

Upon spotting me, Ise-ah raised her eyebrows.

“Look who it is. Even someone as clueless as you lives in a place like this? I thought Babel was a prestigious educational institution, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Didn’t you tell me not to talk to you?”

“I can talk to you if I want.”

Ise-ah let out an arrogant laugh upon seeing me. She then crossed her arms and began scrutinizing the lobby again.

“The furniture, the cleanliness—it’s all subpar. Really tells you about Babel’s standards.”

As she said, the lobby had sofas, vases, and other decorative items like paintings. Unlike the run-down dormitory I lived in during the first semester, this place showed signs of attention to detail, even in the lighting.

‘A pampered flower dares to talk about quality of life?’

I can tolerate many things, but slandering the dormitory I fought hard to get into is unacceptable. This place is the result of my blood, sweat, and tears. Aside from having an annoying neighbor in the next room, this place is heaven.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

I planned to set the event flags and deal with her later, but maybe it’s time to put her in her place.

“You there.”

I set down my water bottle and towel and sat on the sofa. Missing my workout might mean doing double the squats, but I’d gladly entertain this.

“Didn’t I tell you not to talk to me?”

“Why did you come to Babel?”

Ignoring her words, I continued.

“It’s obvious you have no interest in being a hunter, and it doesn’t make sense that you transferred here just for Cheon Tae-seong.”

“Are you trying to profile me or something? That’s amusing.”

Ise-ah sat on the sofa opposite me. Her expression suggested she was entertained, like a child finding a new toy when bored.

“It might be interesting, so listen up.”

If my guess is wrong, she’d probably tear into me. But what can I do? What I’m about to say is information about you disguised as a guess.

“This is just a ‘theory,’ but you have no interest in becoming a hunter. In reality, your family likely doesn’t want that either.”

Seonjin Networks is a global company rooted in distribution. Unlike Tae-seong’s company, which deals in military supplies, there are no hunters in her family lineage.

“You probably listed a school for appearances but mostly had private tutors at home. All of it is likely related to economics or family business management.”

“Is that so? Any kid passing by could make that deduction.”

I nodded.

Up to this point, it was just light groundwork before hammering in the nails.

“The crux of the matter is that you have no reason to enter Babel, which aims to train hunters. Probably, it wasn’t your decision…”

I stroked my chin, letting my eyes wander.

I needed to create the impression that I was genuinely deducing, rather than reciting memorized information.

“Your father, the chairman of Seonjin Networks, likely ordered you to build a good network at Babel before taking over the family business. That’s why you transferred in such a hurry. How did I do?”

“…”

Ise-ah’s previously smug expression hardened as the conversation progressed. It wasn’t surprising, since these were facts that had not even been disclosed to the media.

“Now that this amateur deduction is over, let’s talk about the problem.”

I grabbed my water bottle and towel, standing up.

“If my guess is correct, you need to build ‘connections,’ but you see yourself as so noble that you look down on everyone around you.”

Even as I edged toward the exit, Ise-ah gritted her teeth. Her neatly trimmed hair swayed back and forth every time her face trembled with anger.

“Because of that, making connections becomes difficult. Your family probably didn’t teach you how to make friends.”

Then, I dealt the final blow to her mental state.

“If you get pushed down the succession line by your siblings, what will you do?”

“You little shit—”

Ise-ah reached out.

Before something translucent came flying my way, I bolted out of the lobby.

CRACK!

As the door slammed shut, a large crack appeared in the reinforced glass entrance. If I had been a second slower, I might have seriously injured myself.

‘I almost died.’

Still, I managed to land a good jab. The best way to win an argument is to utterly dismiss your opponent’s last statement.

[Puhahaha.]

“You find it funny that I almost died?”

Yomi shook her head as she laughed on my shoulder.

[While it’s certainly amusing, did you see that girl’s face? She looked like she was about to burst into tears.]

Yomi, thoroughly entertained, rolled around gleefully.

[I thought you were just a busybody, but it turns out you do know how to speak your mind.]

“Yomi, just how much of a pushover did you think I was…”

I can hold my ground when needed.

Until now, I tolerated Shin Seo-ha’s abusive language and Jin So-yul’s irrational behavior because there was goodwill behind their words.

Shin Seo-ha didn’t want to drag others into trouble.

Jin So-yul was grateful and excited about having someone to explore the unknown with her in the occult.

Though both were somewhat misguided, none were unpleasant enough to frown upon.

‘On the other hand, Ise-ah…’

Ise-ah needed a bit of a lesson. While Han Yu-seong might have laughed it off, I couldn’t stand seeing such behavior.

Moreover, unlike other characters whose events wouldn’t trigger if you started off on the wrong foot, Ise-ah’s events had a different trigger.

[Yup, you certainly made an impression on her.]

Yomi hit the nail on the head.

The conditions for triggering events with Ise-ah were simply having multiple conversations. In reality, it means making an impression significant enough to be remembered.

The reason for these conditions is that building a good relationship with Ise-ah before the events is nearly impossible. Approaching her usually results in repeated insults.

“Yeah, it was a huge success.”

The reason I was wary of Ise-ah in the first place was precisely because no one had ever given her a reality check, partly due to Han Yu-seong’s accommodating nature as the protagonist.

Given that context, taking the opportunity to give her a piece of my mind and leave a lasting impression wasn’t a bad choice.

‘Still…’

A certain scene suddenly came to mind—a future event. A rainy day. Ise-ah, bleeding after being stabbed from behind.

“Yomi, what would you do if someone you didn’t like was in mortal danger?”

[That’s a foolish question. Obviously, I’d leave them be. They could become a threat in the future.]

Yomi frowned as if to say what a silly thing to ask.

The developers must have particularly disliked the character who provides information about artifacts because Ise-ah’s death is inevitable no matter which route you take in the game.

In other words, in the game, there’s no way to save her.

[But you know…]

“Yeah?”

Yomi added one last thing.

[You’re the type to jump in and save them anyway, aren’t you?]

“…”

Yomi’s words left me speechless.

Ise-ah’s presence is undeniably beneficial. But beyond that, standing by while someone faces a death I know I could potentially prevent would make me no different from a villain.

“I have to save her.”

Yes, I know Ise-ah’s future.

And this isn’t just a game.