I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 177

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝟕

“Did you just make fun of the lady by stealing her memory?”

“That’s not my intention. I was equally surprised. I didn’t think you’d be connected to her.”

Hwa Baek’s expression was one of utter confusion at my earnest reaction, which was more genuine than she thought.

“My dear friend is dead. I can still vividly recall that sight, yet you speak so glibly.”

That may be how Hwa Baek perceives it, but the truth is different.

Echinacea Lianqi, who was once human, has become a yokai like Hwa Baek and is now acting for a different purpose.

Judging from her lines in the original work, it seems that Echinacea Lianqi herself was unaware of Hwa Baek’s survival, which makes this a truly ironic twist of fate.

Hwa Baek’s expression was seemingly filled with rage, but there was also a hint of unease beneath the surface.

She may think it’s a lie, but deep down, she wants it to be true.

So now was the time to push my case, regardless of her feelings.

“Even if you say that, I’ve actually met her.”

“. . .”

“She also thought you were dead.”

This would be the sweetest thing Hwa Baek could hear.

It’s the same as the reason Hwa Baek is still bound to this garden, and it’s the same as the meaning of being able to meet Echinacea Lianqi again.

“. . .Then prove it. Don’t just talk.”

So I told Hwa Baek something that Echinacea Lianqi knew, but Hwa Baek didn’t.

“Do you know what’s inside the wooden box that she refused to let you touch when she was young?”

“. . .Are you saying you know about that?”

“It was a letter she wrote for you when she had to leave the mansion and couldn’t come to the garden for a while.”

My words were not some random lie, but the absolute truth. Sensing this, Hwa Baek’s expression began to waver like never before.

“. . .It makes sense. It definitely makes sense.”

Despite this, it was difficult for her to make a clear judgment.

After all, it was an unbelievable story from her perspective.

That’s why I gave her another fact to reinforce my claim.

“Do you know why she bought three identical hair ornaments the day before the mansion burned down?”

Even if they split one of them, there would still be one left over. Hwa Baek wouldn’t have known the answer.

No matter how much she asked, Echinacea Lianqi refused to tell her the truth.

“They were offerings for the tree you inhabit. It was a way of showing her gratitude for meeting you.”

Of course, she couldn’t say it to her face. It would have been too embarrassing to express it so directly.

Upon hearing this, Hwa Baek no longer seemed to disbelieve me.

The answer was convincing enough for her not to think it was a lie.

After all, these were all facts that Echinacea Lianqi herself had admitted. So they weren’t exactly lies.

“. . .I admit that you’re quite persuasive. You’re making me believe it despite myself.”

With that, Hwa Baek slowly retracted the plant stems that had filled the space around her.

“If you’re lying, I won’t forgive you.”

It was a clear sign of cooperation.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

The method to remove Hwa Baek from this garden was simple.

Now that the infatuation that had bound her was gone, all I had to do was transfer her to my shadow through the shikigami contract.

Furthermore, with the cooperation of Hwa Baek, the ruler of the garden, even more was possible.

“. . .Are you saying I can enter and leave this garden whenever I want?”

“Yes. It’s possible. All I have to do is create a passageway, without having to maintain it.”

Sahwanjae, who had been summoned from my shadow, opened up a passageway to the garden, looking quite disgruntled as he did so.

However, I felt no pity for him. After all, this guy had secretly stolen and absorbed the remnants of Geusdae’s power during the resurrection ritual.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚.」

As a result, his level and abilities had increased slightly.

It seemed like he would be able to do something like this.

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay this kindness. . .”

Regardless of the circumstances, the citizens were overjoyed at the fact that they could finally leave this space.

On the other hand, the exorcists’ reactions were divided.

There were looks of awe directed at me for subjugating such a powerful yokai, and minor complaints about not disposing of the yokai that had killed their comrades.

But it couldn’t be helped.

Cold as it may sound, I had a very clear goal, and I had to separate public and private matters in order to achieve it.

In the first place, the fight to the death had been fair and square.

All exorcists in this era were prepared for the possibility of dying.

Even if I were to die, I wouldn’t hold a grudge against my opponent.

「. . .𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣.」

Actually, it was a rather shameless thing for me to say, considering that I had an extra life thanks to the Shadow Assimilation trait’s second phase.

『Keheek!』

Just then, Sahwanjae finished constructing the passageway, and we were finally able to escape the Garden of Death and return to the hospital.

After escorting everyone back to the shelter, I relayed the more accurate details to Hwa Baek without holding anything back.

I told her that Echinacea Lianqi was currently acting for a different purpose, so she couldn’t meet her right away. However, it wouldn’t be long before they encountered each other again.

To this, Hwa Baek nodded her head, surprisingly readily.

“I can tell for sure now. That what you’re saying is true.”

The shikigami contract she and I had formed was one of mutual assistance, where we were equals.

That’s why she was able to know such information.

And so, the first day of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons finally came to an end.

It had been a day filled with so many events, so I left the night watch to the exorcists in the shelter and went to bed without anyone noticing.

My mind was still racing, thinking about what was to come.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

For the next two days, nothing particularly special happened.

No powerful yokai like Madu Yuksa or Hwa Baek appeared near the shelter, and the citizens gradually grew accustomed to life in the shelter, no longer expressing any major complaints.

And then, another day passed, and the situation finally began to stir.

“. . .This is a request for support from headquarters. Two entities have been classified as S-rank, effective immediately. It seems an assault force is being organized to subdue them.”

Normally, this would be a job for the carefully selected exorcists from headquarters, but unfortunately, there was a shortage of personnel nationwide right now.

That’s why they seemed to be putting out requests for support wherever they could.

“Are there any volunteers?”

I glanced around, but not a single person raised their hand.

It was understandable. Confronting an S-rank yokai essentially meant facing a high probability of death.

Furthermore, I couldn’t help but be rather taken aback by the news.

「𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨?」

As far as I knew, there was only one S-rank yokai that was supposed to appear at this point in time.

If that was the case, then the implications were clear.

「𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙮?」

I didn’t know any information about it. If I were to encounter it, it would be a troublesome opponent.

But no matter what, I had been waiting for this moment all along.

Therefore, not going wasn’t an option.

Sigh.

“I’ll go.”

Everyone stared at me in surprise, and Hwang Gwang-sun, the head of the shelter, looked flustered.

“Can’t you reconsider? As presumptuous as it may sound, I believe you are a talent who will lead the shamanic world of this country in the future. You don’t have to put your life on the line by taking the lead.”

It was advice that was genuinely sincere.

But it couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t an exorcist with such great abilities that I could single-handedly change the tide of the battle, but the information I possessed was different.

The level of casualties the assault force would suffer would likely vary greatly depending on whether I was there or not.

Seeing my firm resolve, Hwang Gwang-sun seemed to realize that further persuasion would be futile, and he soon nodded his head.

“. . .I won’t try to stop you any longer. But please, be careful.”

And then he bowed his head slightly.

It was an expression of respect, acknowledging me as more than just an exorcist.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣.」

A mountain located in Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, with a peak of 1,187M.

It used to be called Seoseok mountain, and although it was created by volcanic activity, it is now considered an extinct volcano.

And right now, the yokai that had caused so much damage and been classified as S-rank was hiding there.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞, 𝙔𝙪𝙨𝙪-𝙗𝙞.」

It was an extremely powerful yokai with special abilities.

And I, who had experienced the original work, knew what it was planning to do right now.

「𝙄𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤.」

In other words, it wanted to turn the land into a flowing river of lava and flames, making it its own domain.

「𝙊𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙔𝙤𝙤 𝙃𝙖-𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . .」

Now that another S-rank yokai had appeared, it was impossible to know how things would unfold.

That’s why I put my thoughts on hold for the time being and diligently crossed the region to head to Jeollanam-do.

And finally, I was able to join the subjugation force that had gathered to defeat Yusu-bi.

“Ah, you’re Han Kang-yoon, the 3rd-grade exorcist. Yes, confirmed.”

There were conditions for a 3rd-grade exorcist, who could be considered the lowest rank, to participate in a subjugation force.

They had to have at least 10 years of experience or achievements that could make up for that.

At the very least, it could be considered a measure to reduce casualties.

「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.」

Thanks to my grades at the academy, my results on the qualification exam, and my temporary affiliation with the Red Unit, where I had repelled an S-rank yokai, I had more than enough achievements.

Although it hadn’t been officially recognized yet, I had also exorcised numerous yokai on my way to the temple and here.

As I was resting in a small room that had been assigned to me, I soon realized that my hunch had been correct.

「𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.」

The other S-rank yokai, the location where it had appeared, just so happened to overlap with the Defense Corps’ jurisdiction where Yoo Ha-on’s party had gone for their practical training.

Yoo Ha-on’s party would probably be assisting the assault force that had been formed there to deal with it.

「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」

I wanted to help, but the side where I could definitely get information and produce results was here.

So I had no choice but to leave that side to her, the true protagonist of this world.

「𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩.」

As I calmly meditated to calm my mind, I sensed someone approaching.

“What the hell is this kid?”

It seemed like I had to focus on the other side for now.

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