The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 54

A newborn werewolf is as delicate as a sunfish. It can die from bumping into a wall, from excessive stress, from missing a meal or water, or from not having the right temperature maintained.

As a result, the tiny werewolf became the master of the dormitory once it arrived.

“Want some food?”

“Hey, this is expensive stuff. It’s organic.”

“It’s time to drink some water, right? That’s water from Hallasan Mountain.”

Of course, it wasn’t really Hallasan Mountain’s water, but regardless, I raised it with utmost care for a week.

Whether it was due to my diligent care or my natural affinity, the little creature didn’t try to escape and was growing well.

Its downy fur had started to disappear, and gray fur was beginning to come in.

Thankfully, the taming exam was progressing smoothly. Or at least, I thought it was.

“Awoooo!”

“Hey, hey.”

Oh, please.

I quickly covered its mouth as it howled excitedly and glanced over at Won.

“…”

“Sorry.”

Our eyes met, and Won resignedly turned away again. I let out a small sigh and checked the werewolf’s mouth. It had apparently been chewing on some tissues, as its muzzle was covered in white fuzz.

Sigh, I need to do some training.

It’s only two weeks. A short time, but long enough that I wanted to turn this little guy into something closer to a dog, if not fully human—at least in behavior.

It wasn’t too difficult, though. I’ve handled wild creatures before.

“Sit.”

“Woof!”

“Paw. Good boy.”

The little creature, which usually ignored my commands, cautiously sat down, observing me.

I desperately wanted to curb its constant barking, but I gave up on that. Too much stress might lead to sudden death.

Of course, I couldn’t just focus on the werewolf. My responsibilities have increased dramatically recently.

After petting the werewolf a few times, I retrieved the Ptera egg I had stored safely under my desk.

“It’s so beautiful… Ah.”

I have to take good care of this.

It’s the egg of a Ptera, which was graded as an A-rank.

“Let’s check on you… Hmmm…”

It didn’t seem to have changed much since I received it as a random reward last time.

“When will this hatch? It feels like it’s going to take forever.”

As I gently wiped the egg with a soft cloth, worried it might crack, I heard Won sigh and ask a question.

“A werewolf pup, a baby dragon, and an egg. Is this a dorm or a zoo?”

“Woof woof!”

“koo!”

Thud, thud.

Won had barely finished speaking when Basilus grabbed him by the neck and started shaking him like a rag doll.

“Aaah! Basilus, how could you do this to your brother?”

“koo!”

“I fed you yesterday!”

Shake, shake.

“Oh dear.”

“This place is a nightmare!”

After barely escaping from between the two, Won collapsed onto the bed.

Basilus and the werewolf seemed to be getting along well, aside from the noise.

– Or so I thought, until a loud thud echoed through the dorm.

Thud!

The werewolf was sent flying after being hit by Basilus’ tail, clearly annoyed.

“Nooo!”

… But I caught it just in time.

That was a close call.

If it had hit the wall, it would have died instantly.

It’s amazing that it even survived getting hit by Basilus’ tail, but my heart was racing uncontrollably as the two creatures started their second round.

Basilus’ loud cry rang out.

“Blockhead!”

“Whimper…”

It’s been talking a lot more lately…

Where did you learn that language?

Who taught you that?

“Blockhead!”

“Woof woof woof!”

Why does it feel like I’m the one who taught them that?

Hey, stop fighting.

“Aaagh!”

Won, his face pale, clutched a pillow over his ears and screamed.

“Make the barking stop!”

* * *

Since I couldn’t really discipline the newborn werewolf, I spent half a day re-educating Basilus. It clearly understood everything but just chose not to listen.

It was definitely in its rebellious seven-month phase.

Thankfully, the creatures that had been so noisy yesterday were quiet today.

My eyes were dark-circled, though.

Still, it was exhausting.

“Much better.”

Won glanced down at the now-quiet Basilus and werewolf, muttering in awe.

“It’s amazing.”

“What is?”

“These things that are always trying to eat me alive listen to you.”

“That’s how it is.”

I had to admit, the delay in dealing with them was because I had been pulling all-nighters trying to care for the Ptera egg, which was much more demanding than the werewolf.

I had to read through three thick magic books cover to cover, three times, to research temperature-maintaining spells.

Since the werewolf’s ideal temperature differed from the egg’s hatching conditions, I had to create a makeshift greenhouse in the dorm for the egg.

Yesterday, I finally succeeded in my research, and after training the creatures, I should have some peace for a while.

I don’t know what will happen once the Ptera hatches, but the werewolf will be returned to Professor Zepalov next week.

If I can just hang on until then.

Even though I was insanely busy, I should at least get some sleep soon.

As I was spinning my happy thoughts, Won suddenly lowered his voice and glanced around before speaking.

“Hey, did you hear about this?”

“I heard Professor Zepalov’s Taming class is a disaster this time. Half of the students have already failed.”

“In just one week?”

It was true that taming a baby werewolf was incredibly difficult. In fact, keeping it alive was challenging enough, let alone taming it.

But hearing that half the students had already dropped out within a week made me realize just how tough it was.

“Most of the werewolves have escaped, it seems. Those that were locked up to prevent them from running away died from stress. You know Natalie, right? Word is that her werewolf ran away too. She was seen running to the classroom today, her face pale as a ghost….”

Even as a pup, a werewolf was still a monster, with a strong bite. If you let your guard down, there’d be no way to stop it from running off.

The escaped werewolves had fled to the nearby hills, and Natalie was one of the victims.

But… isn’t that her over there?

“Oh…!”

Won, who had been chattering away without thinking, hastily covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

Sitting alone on a bench on the sports field, a blonde student with her head hung low—it seemed like it really was Natalie.

It didn’t look like she’d heard Won’s needless gossip, but that wasn’t the real issue right now.

Natalie hadn’t heard it. Or rather, she was too distracted to notice.

Sniffle… sniffle….

The faint sound was unmistakably the sound of someone crying.

The area wasn’t particularly crowded, and Natalie seemed unaware of our presence, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in her hands.

“What should we do?” Won nudged my side, his voice trailing off.

He looked guilty, probably feeling bad about his careless words. After a moment of hesitation, he suggested, “Shouldn’t we… try to comfort her?”

* * *

Natalie was wiping away tears under the shaded bench.

This wasn’t a spot many students visited.

Natalie, who always tried to appear cheerful, hadn’t shown any signs of struggle even during the recent kidnapping incident.

She thought it was only natural.

Expressing her emotions wasn’t something she was good at yet.

So, the feelings she kept bottled up eventually turned into a lump that poured out in the shadows, like they were now.

It seemed that this midterm evaluation was a disaster for her.

Aside from the Magic Practical class, none of her other subjects had gone well.

To prevent failing, Ardel Academy had a strict rule that if a student failed even one subject, they would be held back, and if they failed three or more, they would be expelled.

Natalie was on the verge of failing Taming after losing her werewolf.

She felt the sting of impending failure.

“Why did I do something so stupid….”

Sniffling, Natalie wiped her tears on her sleeve and looked up.

In the distance, Han Siha and Won were approaching.

“Oh.”

She almost got caught.

Natalie quickly ducked her head again, wiped away the last of her tears, and forced a bright smile.

As always, she reverted to her cheerful self.

“Oh, Han Siha! Won!”

But when they got closer, she realized something was seriously wrong with them.

They both looked exhausted, their faces pale and worn out.

“Did you two have a fight in the dorm? Why do you look like that?”

“The dorm has turned into a zoo…”

“Oh dear.”

Natalie let out a reflexive sigh, her voice filled with concern.

“Are you okay now?”

“Fortunately.”

“It’s a good thing you know how to handle them to some extent. The dorm was almost destroyed.”

In reality, the person who was least okay was the one asking if others were.

Han Siha glanced at Natalie with an unreadable expression.

Just then, Won’s eyes widened as if he remembered something important.

“Oh, crap. I totally forgot. I’ve got something to prepare with Creek. Hey, I’m busy, so I’ll head off first.”

Won, who had recently become much busier due to his decision to run for student council, hurriedly left, rummaging through his pockets.

“Talk things over, and I’ll see you both later.”

“Yeah, see you!”

“Bye!”

With Won gone, Han Siha and Natalie were left alone.

Natalie broke the brief silence.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You look really tired… Haven’t you slept at all?”

“Are you okay?”

Before she could finish her question, Han Siha turned the tables by asking about her well-being first.

Natalie blinked in surprise, taken aback by his unexpected response.

Usually, when she asked that question, people would start complaining about their problems.

It had been a long time since someone had asked her the same question back.

“Uh… no.”

Was it Han Siha’s mysterious gaze that made her falter?

Without realizing it, Natalie shook her head.

It was a mistake.

She knew it was a mistake, but…

“My… my werewolf ran away… So now… I’m going to fail… No matter how well I do in the finals, it won’t matter…”

Natalie’s words tumbled out in a jumble, her voice trembling.

She just wanted to get it off her chest, hoping it would make her feel better. Words she was too embarrassed to say before now spilled out.

“Why can’t I do anything right?”

Her mediocre abilities weighed heavily on her, leaving her on the verge of tears.

Han Siha looked down at Natalie, his expression as calm as ever.

What was Han Siha thinking?

From a student once looked down upon as a failure, he had risen to become a prominent figure at the academy within a semester.

Would he find her complaints pathetic?

For a moment, Natalie felt a flicker of fear.

But Han Siha, still watching her, spoke nonchalantly.

“When an average person is surrounded by geniuses….”

“Self-doubt becomes a daily occurrence, dozens, hundreds of times a day.”

What’s he talking about?

Natalie paused, unconsciously taking a deep breath.

She had a feeling she knew what Han Siha was going to say.

And that’s why.

“I felt the same way.”

Han Siha gave a small, wry smile and sat down beside her.

“Everyone goes through it, Natalie.”

* * *

There was someone who had already gone through what Natalie was feeling, eight years ago.

That someone was me.

It’s not like I hadn’t encountered geniuses before.

When I first left the small pond I had been swimming in, to be honest, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Just like breathing, I experienced a constant wave of reality checks.

A university where it felt like all the geniuses were gathered in one place.

Naturally, the results were obvious.

There was the guy who could memorize a few hundred pages of a PowerPoint presentation in half a day, the one who aced exams without studying at all, and the one who just attended lectures but had already memorized everything.

The world is vast, and geniuses are plenty.

You come to terms with that reality eventually.

You just get used to it.

“Repeat after me: ‘I’m just a small fry!’”

“…?”

“It’s okay to screw up a few times! You just need to be confident.”

“Repeat it?”

“Uh, I guess asking you to repeat that might be a bit much?”

“I’m just a small….”

“No, no, don’t say it. Don’t say it.”

Hearing her innocently repeat it made me feel like I was the bad guy.

It seemed like this kind of pep talk wasn’t going to work.

Hmm.

Usually, eating something makes you feel better. That’s the universal rule.

She’s feeling down, so maybe if I treat her to some food, she’ll perk up a bit.

I patted the bench and suddenly stood up.

Okay, let’s go.

Let’s go get something to eat.

Um… but what should I buy?

I turned to Natalie, who was standing up with me without really knowing why, and asked her, “Wanna go get some gukbap?”

“Huh?”

Ah.

Menu choice failure.

—

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