Bold Genius Girl (5)

* * *

I was slowly getting used to academy life.

Even the shitty air that filled my lungs with sand every time I breathed, and watching humans steeped in arrogance.

Many days had passed since I broke that female student’s wrist. It wasn’t the first time, and Aileen had broken the bones of more than one or two students, but somehow it passed without much fuss. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that it ‘passed’, but that they ‘couldn’t’ touch me, anyway.

Still, I was restraining myself. I wanted to rip off all their necks and grind them to dust, but there were things you just couldn’t do while living in this world. Going beyond ‘punishment’ wasn’t Aileen’s role.

I was mad as hell about it, though. But I didn’t go beyond being mad. I wasn’t so one-dimensional that I didn’t know how to conform.

Aileen thought she was pretty normal, all things considered.

I think about my dad when other students are dating, and I go wild every now and then, but I’m managing to balance things out pretty well.

However.

“Hey.”

There’s always dissonance in harmony.

An uninvited guest came to Aileen, who was on the roof of the building, summoning spirits and meditating.

“Hey! Are you ignoring me?”

“More Amelda lackeys… or followers? Aren’t you getting tired of this?”

Aileen waved away the spirits gathered in her hand and opened her languid eyes.

Amelda Cecilia had decided that she couldn’t beat Aileen in terms of skill.

So, she chose to isolate me.

Spreading malicious rumors and using her followers to flesh out the empty rumors.

The information that Aileen was a child of the Rushellini family was slowly becoming false. No, it didn’t matter whether it was true or false. Public opinion gathered, saying they couldn’t just stand by and watch a noble who didn’t even reveal their family name flaunt their status.

Aileen didn’t reveal her parents’ identities-mainly for Rushellini’s sake-easily. Not being recognized as family was heartbreaking in many ways, but thinking about Yujin and Shuriel, who would soon return from demon subjugation, made all the stress disappear.

So, I didn’t care if I was alone or not. As long as the result was good, I didn’t care.

Yeah. As long as the result was good.

Aileen’s personality was excessively result-oriented. For her, the ‘process’ was such an easy puzzle that she naturally focused only on the result.

“Kkeueung~”

Aileen stretched and smiled brightly.

“So, why did you come?”

• Umjil.

They flinched when Aileen smiled.

The smile that seemed so innocent when I first entered the academy now looked like a creepy mask. In fact, Aileen was truly at peace.

She had never hidden her personality. I was a model human who knew how to smile when happy and frown when angry.

“….”

That’s why even more.

They must have been frightened by Aileen’s cold eyes.

“I didn’t come to fight.”

“Huh?”

There were three students who came to Aileen.

‘Rahil Pennianne, Nariang Belz, Frostian Kenomus…’

All of them were nobles.

‘Surely you didn’t come because you wanted to get beaten up again…’

What they had in common was that they were all students whose wrists had been wrecked by Aileen.

But they didn’t come to fight.

Aileen’s face was filled with questions.

When Aileen asked for an answer with a blank expression, the brown-haired female student who seemed to be the representative came forward and said.

“I came to protest officially. Attend the Dispute Council.”

Astra Student Dispute Countermeasures Committee.

As the name suggests, it is an organization that resolves disputes between students.

But in reality, it is a judicial institution that boasts absolute power. Being summoned here as a student was like a clergyman going to the Holy See for trial. Attending the Dispute Council was in itself a disgrace and a stigma.

“Dispute Council, huh… eu-eum~…”

“Don’t even think about backing out. You were going to get away with acting like that? You should have stopped showing off.”

“Eu-eum…!”

But.

Aileen couldn’t understand.

“What qualifications do you have?”

The Dispute Council is one of the few places where the presumption of innocence is applied. It could be said to be a relatively democratic place in this world where the barbaric aspects of feudalism and the caste system are rampant.

But the punishment handed down is always expulsion. Expulsion without considering fairness or the quality of the crime.

There are too many disadvantages to being expelled to even mention. Especially for nobles, it would be difficult to live without putting on an iron face.

Aileen.

I had heard rumors that some students were unfairly expelled through the Dispute Council. But I didn’t want to waste my breath explaining it. Because I knew they would just put on an iron face and live on.

“Qualifications? What qualifications?”

“Eu-eum. You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

The noble, enraged by her resigned appearance, shouted.

“How pretentious. You’re just a fox who thinks she’s the best. You’re just a dropout obsessed with heroism. You know that?”

“It’s funny to hear that from a thug. Anything else to say?”

“W-what? Thug? You’re the one who doesn’t even attend class!”

“My theory and practical skills are perfect. I just need to attend on exam days.”

No professor bothered Aileen. In Astra, where graduation exams and individual assignments accounted for 80%, they didn’t interfere as long as the ‘result’ was good. Even though my reputation wasn’t good among the professors, my grades were always the highest.

Perhaps it was because even if such an outstanding student graduated smoothly, it would remain on their career. They even gave me favors. Even this rooftop I’m on now was originally off-limits, but access was granted at Aileen’s request.

Yeah. Even the rooftop floor you’re standing on now. If it were you, you wouldn’t even be able to set foot on it. …I showed a smile that implied that. The noble, Frostian Kenomus, gritted his teeth at Aileen’s smile and said.

“You, you…! Haa, yeah. What would I get from talking to a stupid bitch like you.”

“Well~ Kenomus, you. Aren’t you barely passing this exam? Did Professor Laminak say? You’re terrible. What have you been learning so far? I clearly――“

“Shut up! How, how did you hear that! You didn’t even come to class!”

• Beolteok!

The students flinched as I suddenly stood up.

Aileen stretched out her stiff muscles one by one. Except for the coolness of stretching her muscles, Aileen’s face was terribly expressionless.

The nobles were nervous, unable to read her emotions. Was she going to fight? Was she going to break their wrists again? They pretended to be strong on the outside, but they were very nervous on the inside.

It’s not just breaking them, but smashing them and dragging them around. Once you’ve been through it, you can never forget it.

Aileen said with an emotionless face.

“Who’s the student representative?”

There must be someone who filed a complaint with the Dispute Council.

Kenomus said in a slightly subdued voice.

“…Collin Angheln.”

“Ah, that blonde? Eu-eum. I wonder how Serena is doing.”

Isn’t Amelda Cecilia here? Well, no way the young lady of the Marquis family would take the lead.

There was only one reason Aileen didn’t touch Cecilia. Because she doesn’t bully anyone but me. That’s all.

The real problem was the lackeys who did dangerous things to get into Cecilia’s good graces.

There are so many minnows gathering because there are so many political benefits to be gained just by getting close. Cecilia herself doesn’t even care about them. Rather, she tended to hate them. Cecilia had never laid a hand on a commoner or told them to bully anyone.

Aileen walked to the rooftop railing and said.

“External practice is coming up soon, so take it easy. Don’t bully the kids.”

In two days, we’ll be going out to an external area. And it’s not just practice, it’s cooperative practice. I was already having a hard time getting along with my teammates, but these guys were leisurely demanding attendance at the Dispute Council, which was pathetic.

• Poljjak.

Aileen jumped over 1m high with just one tiptoe, easily crossed the railing, and fell down the building.

“Wait a minute! This is the 8th floor…”

―Hwiing!

“De-e….”

A sudden gust of wind.

If you brush away the fluttering hair and look down below the railing, you can see Aileen walking in the sky, leading the spirits.

* * *

“Ah, it’s Harvest.”

“The lazy genius has finally arrived. Where have you been?”

Aileen found Harvest while walking aimlessly in the sky. Seeing the sweat dripping from his forehead, it seemed he had come to find me.

He gently commands the spirits. Take me to the ground. The voice that flowed out like a song became a spirit and enveloped the spirit.

The speed decreases.

Soon, I gently stepped on the ground without any shock.

Is this what it would look like if a fairy came down to earth? Harvest thought that no matter which student you compared her to, or even if you brought a famous beauty from the Empire, they couldn’t beat Aileen, and had some useless thoughts.

Aileen brushed off the dust on her feet and said.

“Hello! I heard you’re busy with cooperative practice too, what’s going on here?”

“I came after hearing that news.”

“Eu-eum. What news?”

“Why are you so carefree? Haa. I heard you’re attending the committee?”

Harvest scratched his head. He had already heard the rumors that Aileen was beating up reckless nobles. That’s why I ended up going to the Dispute Council.

“There are eight nobles trying to bury you. Can you handle it?”

The noble faction gathered around Collin Angheln. Among them was even a Count family. I didn’t think you would touch even the young lady of the Count family. Harvest sighed and sat down on a nearby chair.

“It’s a bit late… but how about revealing your identity now? Maybe you can avoid expulsion.”

Harvest was frustrated with Aileen, who didn’t want to reveal her family name. Is she really a hidden child? No, if she has this much talent, I would rather bow and take her in.

Of course, expulsion is the rule without exception, but the circumstances of adults apply everywhere. And she’s the top student. Surely they won’t expel her mercilessly.

That was the moment.

―Beonjjeok.

The blue sky suddenly brightened. The world brightened as if white paint had been poured on a blue canvas. But it was so instantaneous that only a very few people noticed the change.

Harvest and Aileen were among those few. They sensed a huge amount of mana leaking from the pure white light.

“…What is it? Did the alchemy club cause an explosion?”

Is it an explosion that the alchemy club often causes? But the mana distribution was too weak. As if it had spread from a very far place.

But the alchemy club is only three blocks away from here. Considering the epicenter, it was a distribution that couldn’t happen.

“…!”

At that time.

Aileen opened her mouth wide and looked at the sky.

‘Holy power.’

This was holy power. Different from my dad’s, but an extremely similar type of holy power.

Aileen immediately kicked off the ground and went up into the sky. Blue mana spreading from her fingertips. She traced the mana and holy power scattered in the sky to find the source.

Soon, Aileen came down to the ground with a slightly excited face.

“…What did you do?”

I was momentarily embarrassed by the sudden strange behavior.

Aileen replied with the happiest face.

“North.”

The source of the explosion was in the North.