I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 165

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟓

The moment the sphere of spiritual power stopped moving, sharp gazes were directed at me, the person in question.

“. . . What is going on here?”

“Who is that person? I don’t recognize him.”

In that situation, an exorcist from the Baek family who knew me came forward and cautiously provided some information.

“An acquaintance of the main family’s daughter, an academy student who was invited here for observation.”

“What? An academy student?”

At those words, the gazes shifted to the exorcist who had cast the spell.

“Isn’t this just a botched job? Did the spell really activate properly?”

“. . . I’m sorry to say this, but I can’t help but think there’s some kind of mistake.”

But despite such reactions, the executive from the headquarters firmly pushed his opinion.

“T-That’s not it. T-The spell activation had no problems. I’m sure of it. The spiritual power that has permeated the corpse must belong to that boy.”

“Hmph! That’s absurd. So you’re saying a member of our Liu family was defeated by that wet-behind-the-ears kid?”

The man’s words certainly made sense, so a subtle atmosphere flowed through the hall. However, just then, Baek So-yul stepped forward and spoke up again.

“. . . Isn’t that a bit too hasty a judgment? That person over there isn’t just some ordinary academy student, you know.”

“What do you mean? Do you know something?”

“His name is Han Kang-yoon. They belong to the graduating class of Cheonghwa Academy, which everyone should be familiar with, and are a student who emerged victorious from a duel with Sophia Charlotte, the top student there. They also recently set a new record on the exorcist qualification exam.”

“What?”

I gave a look of disbelief toward Baek So-yul, who was smiling faintly.

If you were to attach such a flowery introduction, then even if they were a student, people would naturally start to suspect them.

In fact, the gazes of the family members looking at me had subtly changed in meaning.

“Liu Zizhen, Sophia Charlotte is a genius whose talent is among the top in this country right now. If he was able to fight her and win. . . . . . .”

“Are you saying he would have the ability to kill a 2nd-grade exorcist?”

“But wasn’t the technique used the Liu family’s Wibihwa? How could that kid, who only learned Korean techniques at the academy, have learned it?”

Annoyingly enough, the one who answered that question was also Baek So-yul.

“He can handle a wider variety of techniques than even a high-ranking exorcist. It’s entirely possible that he mastered a technique like Wibihwa. Isn’t that right, Eun-seo?”

“Y-Yes. . . . . . .”

Because she remembered the various strange techniques I had shown her in the past, Baek Eun-seo was unable to offer any real counterarguments.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and shot a look at Baek So-yul, as if to ask if she really planned to expose me like this, but all I got back was a cheerful smile.

「𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩, 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚.」

It seemed like she planned to somehow create a situation and get me on her side.

It was unfortunate news for me, but since there were coercive spells that forcibly created a strong master-servant relationship, it wasn’t a completely unrealistic idea.

「. . . 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩.」

She must have somehow extracted my spiritual power while I was sleeping and made it permeate the corpse.

Since the spiritual power that was detected really was mine, I couldn’t offer any excuses in this situation.

I had been backed into a corner with no way out.

“If everything fits so perfectly. . . . . . .”

“I suppose we can’t just say no.”

The gazes that had only held wariness now gradually began to be mixed with hostility.

I frowned at the thought of my misfortune, and an exorcist from the Liu family, who had been building up tension, immediately shot a binding spell at me.

Whoooosh!

“Zilinpo!”

But before I could even move, Cheong Juhwa, who had quietly approached me, nullified it.

“Azure Sky Wall.”

Zzzzaaaap!

“. . . What is this?”

“Are you in cahoots with that kid?”

I blinked in surprise at her sudden actions, and Cheong Juhwa opened her mouth without a hint of nervousness.

“If you’re going to lay a hand on him without any clear evidence, then we can’t just stand by and watch.”

“. . . How absurd. This is no place for kids to be sticking their noses in. If you don’t want to get hurt, then scram right now.”

“No, I don’t think I will. Why don’t we have a little competition to see who’s better?”

With both sides having already made their moves, the atmosphere began to grow uncontrollably tense.

Reading the air, Cheong Juhwa stepped back slightly and asked me,

“Should I call Azure Dragon-nim?”

“. . . No, let’s hold off for now.”

While the detection of my spiritual power left no room for excuses, I wasn’t the one who actually did the killing.

There must be some way left to prove my innocence.

In the end, I sighed, raised both hands, and stepped forward.

“First off, let me make it clear that I’m not the culprit.”

“. . . . . . .”

“However, I will cooperate fully with you until the real culprit is found.”

In any case, they weren’t certain right now, and even if something unfortunate were to happen, Baek So-yul would take care of it.

So for now, I would buy some time and find a solution within that time.

I stared at Baek So-yul with unwavering eyes and followed her instructions.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Creak.

Thud.

“Stay put in here. You’re under tight surveillance, so there’s no way you’ll be able to escape.”

In the end, I was left imprisoned in a vacant room that was about 5 pyeong in size, with restraints binding my entire body.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮. 」

By this time, they must be deep in a discussion about my sentence.

So, inside here, I have to find a way to turn the situation around.

「𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛. 」

Even though they had heard about me before, they didn’t use a spell that was as strong as I thought they would.

Well, it’s not that surprising.

In this situation, it would be incredibly difficult to undo the spell on my own, and there are numerous guards outside the room.

But with the knowledge I have of the future, I can recover my freedom quite easily.

If the worst comes to the worst, I might have to make a break for it, so it’s not a bad idea to be able to get out of these restraints.

「𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩, 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧. 」

It goes without saying, but I didn’t kill them. If that’s the case, then who is the real culprit?

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙝𝙪𝙞 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙪 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡. 」

I overheard Baek Eun-seo talking earlier, and Baek Sang-hui’s job description wasn’t much different from the original.

That is, an exorcist from the Liu family who found out about their corruption killed Baek Sang-hui to keep him quiet.

The probability that things have proceeded as they did in the original is quite high.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨. . . 」

As for the other victim from the Liu family, I can’t be sure who killed him or why he had to die.

「𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩? 」

But if that were the case, the first murder was too quick and perfect.

It doesn’t add up that the Baek family exorcists, who were within Baek Sang-hui’s range of motion, didn’t notice, but the Liu family exorcist just happened to find out.

「𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙪 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮? 」

As I was thinking about this, I suddenly had a strange feeling and came up with a new hypothesis.

「𝙒𝙖𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙? 」

What if the exorcist who killed Baek Sang-hui was killed instead of another exorcist from the same family?

If you think about it that way, there are many parts that can be surprisingly resolved.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙. 」

The blocked train of thought opened up, and the outline of the case gradually began to emerge.

「𝙄𝙣 𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙝𝙪𝙞’𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩. 」

That means there’s a high probability that they weren’t on guard against the person right in front of them. At first, I thought it was just because it was someone from the same Liu family.

「𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙝𝙪𝙞, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. 」

It was none other than Baek So-yul.

「𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙤-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜. 」

At the very least, it would be impossible if she didn’t know about it in advance or wasn’t in cahoots with the culprit.

In order to use my spiritual power to create traces on the body, it would have been better to cooperate with the culprit.

「𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙤-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩. 」

As revealed in the original, the Liu family exorcist who killed Baek Sang-hui was at the very beginning of 1st-grade.

I clearly remember that part because they had a fight with Yoo Ha-on and her party, who had discovered their true identity.

And in order to kill a 1st-grade exorcist like that in one blow, even if it was a surprise attack, a being of a higher level would have to step in.

Right now, in this Baek Manor, there aren’t many people who could do that, even if it wasn’t Baek So-yul.

After making a rough estimate, I was able to grasp the true circumstances of the situation that hadn’t been revealed in the original.

「. . .𝘽𝙖𝙚𝙠 𝙎𝙤-𝙮𝙪𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜. 」

She would have been capable of doing that. It would have been enough for her to be satisfied with the fact that the Baek family she was part of would fall into chaos as a result.

Come to think of it, it was Baek So-yul who had also dealt the final blow to the culprit who had fought with Yoo Ha-on and her party in the original.

That would add up if it was all part of keeping things quiet.

I still didn’t have enough evidence, but my unique instincts were convinced.

However, that didn’t mean that I could resolve the situation right away.

「. . .𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣? 」

Just as I was deep in serious thought, the door to the room suddenly opened.

The person who came in through it was Liu Zizhen, the representative of the Liu family members who had visited Korea this time on invitation.

“. . .What’s going on?”

“After some testing, it has been determined that the spell on that enforcer is effective. In other words, the probability that you, the little vermin, are the culprit has increased greatly.”

And immediately after that, a huge spiritual power was released, and the air began to feel heavy.

Whoosh.

Clatter.

“What. . .?”

“The way to confirm it is simple. If you can undo your restraints and block this attack, then it will be judged that you have the ability of at least a 1st-grade exorcist, and it will be confirmed that you are the culprit in this case.”

Then doesn’t that mean that if I can’t, I’ll just die?

I looked at Liu Zizhen, full of absurdity, but he didn’t show any sign of hesitation.

Besides, judging from the way things were going, it seemed that the other family members were also tacitly agreeing with Liu Zizhen’s actions.

「. . .𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙩. 」

Having grasped the situation, I clicked my tongue and kicked the ground, putting some distance between myself and the restraints I wasn’t bound by.

And toward me like that, Liu Zizhen’s attack flew.

“Receive this, Jaucheonrin!”

Whoosh.

Clatter, clatter!

The moment of choice was just around the corner.

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