episode_0085

Dumas was born with outstanding talent from childhood.

There was a time when an unstoppable monster called the Kraken appeared in the sea and merchants stopped traveling.

While everyone was disheartened by the sudden disaster, Dumas alone succeeded in importing tea and spices from the East by pioneering a route discovered in an old book.

He gained great fame and profit from this incident and became a rising star in the business world.

So when he became very successful as a merchant, he proposed to his childhood friend, Mercedes, and she kissed him on the lips with tears in her eyes.

But for Dumas, who had achieved success as a merchant and was even engaged to his childhood love, misfortune came without warning, like a midday shower.

The place where Dumas lived was the Stollbar fiefdom in the western part of the empire.

The lord of Stolbar was Count Haxen, and he had one son named Schwein.

Schwein, the son of such a lord, had always been very resentful of Dumas, and the reason was none other than a woman.

Dumas’s good looks and abilities, which were so good that not only the women of the estate but also the surrounding noble ladies were attracted to him, made Schwein feel inferior.

If he were just an ordinary citizen, he might have been able to vent his anger, but Dumas was a very successful merchant, so he couldn’t be touched lightly.

Schwein, who had been developing ill feelings on his own, heard the news that Dumas had promised to marry Mercedes, whom he had been trying to take as a concubine.

I crossed a line that should not have been crossed in my jealousy towards him.

-The author colluded with Sylvania! Here is clear evidence.

It was not only Schwein who was jealous of Dumas, but also other merchants whose profits decreased because of his growth.

Schwein and Dumas were lured into a trap together.

Taking advantage of the war that was happening between the Borus Empire and the Kingdom of Sylvania, Schwein and his men framed Dumas.

Since Duma was traveling not only to the East but also to the neighboring kingdom of Sylvania, they used that as an excuse to bring forward fabricated evidence and false witnesses to accuse him of being a traitor.

Dumas vehemently denied the allegations, but since it was wartime, no one cared about his false accusations and his injustice.

Only after the war ended several years later was Dumas finally freed after being proven innocent.

But when Dumas returned home, he had nothing left.

A family that fell into ruin while he was in prison.

The wealth at the top had long since passed into the hands of those who worked below him, as well as to the nobles and competing merchants who coveted his wealth.

Mercedes, above all else, was Dumas’ fiancée and the reason he was able to endure the horrific prison life.

She was no longer in this world.

‘Mercedes? That was a shame. The Schwein gang came and threatened to make you their concubine every day.’

It was a terrible ending in which Schwein, angry at Mercedes for rejecting him, killed her in a fit of rage even though Dumas had disappeared.

And when I heard that Schwein, who murdered Mercedes, avoided punishment by giving Mercedes’s family a generous compensation.

Dumas was howling like an animal, shedding tears of blood.

After that, he fought a long battle by taking Schwein and his colleagues who had framed him and fabricated evidence to trial.

But time had passed, the evidence had disappeared, and no one was there to help Dumas against the rich and powerful Schwein.

Having lost everything and unable to even punish the criminals, Dumas decided to murder Schwein.

He thought that he could not live under the same sky as that fat pig without cutting its throat.

That was the moment when I decided that I should take Schwein with me as a companion since I was going to die anyway.

What happened was a book that caught his eye.

, by Rupert Somerset.

One of Dumas’ few remaining acquaintances gave him a book to read as he was a shut-in at home drinking every day, and it brought him back to his senses.

He had finished reading the comic book and instead of going out to buy alcohol in broad daylight for the first time in a while, he took a walk around town and happened to see a notice.

‘The Universe’s Strongest Comic Contest?’

It was a notice with a miraculous story written on it, offering the winner a prize of 100 gold and the opportunity to become a comic book writer.

It was then that Dumas realized.

The trials that have come to him now will only make him stronger, rather than killing him.

To seize this opportunity and succeed once again, and to chew up every single bone of Schwein, as well as those who betrayed him and those who sided with him.

Dumas couldn’t give up.

Before he knew it, his hands were holding a pen and paper.

***

“Please bring the items from the first group.”

The midterm exam period for the first semester has arrived at the Academy quickly.

Students despaired at the fact that they had to take tests even though they didn’t feel like they had learned anything properly.

Even among those students, there were a few who showed outstanding grades as if they had prepared for it.

There was a rumor going around in the Military Science Department that Third Prince Edric had received overwhelming grades in both the practical and written tests.

In the Faculty of Magic, Amelia was clearly standing out.

And Amelia was now in a situation where, of the Faculty of Magic midterms, only the magical engineering exam remained.

Since the only assignment for Magic Engineering was to create one piece of work by the end of the semester, the midterm was more of a checkup than a test.

The midterm exam was a direct evaluation by the professor of the degree to which the submitted items were completed compared to the submitted plan.

but,

‘Are you really that picky?’

‘Be careful, don’t you know that last time a student was carried away for talking too loudly?’

Because Professor Nicola Howard, who was originally in charge of the magic engineering lecture, was away on a business trip for a while.

In his stead, Xenia, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Magic, was in charge of the mid-term inspection and evaluating the students’ items.

At first, the students were skeptical that even though she was Yustav’s disciple, the young Xenia would be able to properly evaluate the things they had painstakingly created.

However, she was destroying the students’ mentality by leaving comments that were almost savage, as if she could tell something of this level just by looking at it.

“Please bring the following 6 items,”

As the students of Group 5 who were sullen after being pointed out about the circuit by Xenia entered, it was finally Amelia’s group’s turn.

“Magic pen?”

Zenia’s expression became subtle as she received the 6 items and plan.

The other students who were watching couldn’t hide their frustration at the sight of Xenia taking a look at the pen that had been made into a prototype.

After glancing over their work, the first thing that caught their attention was a small pen like that.

“Interesting idea, but it seems like they’re trying to use illusion magic.”

“Yes, Assistant Professor Xenia. I want to use illusion magic and telekinesis magic in conjunction.”

When Amelia, the representative of the group, answered, Xenia shook her head in denial.

“It might be possible to do so using illusion magic, but it would be a huge burden on the user.”

-If you want to use this, you must be a teacher, or a principal, or someone like that.

Using illusionary magic to link the user’s mind to the pen’s device was certainly a risky approach.

The human brain is the organ that requires the most control of all body organs.

Since even a single misalignment of the signal would result in a completely different action, if one were to use illusionary magic to force synchronization with the device, it could easily destroy the user’s mind.

Amelia and the crew members become gloomy at Xenia’s explanation.

They had not anticipated this side effect because they had only been concerned with how to simply connect magic, so they were overwhelmed by the thought of having to try a completely new method.

It was too late to change the work now, so I had to improve it, but it wasn’t easy to come up with a solution.

Amelia, who suggested the work, felt sorry for her team members and at the same time regretful.

“I thought it would be a great help to that person.”

“That guy?”

When Xenia heard Amelia’s soliloquy, she asked back.

“Oh, Professor Rupert. I want to help him because he always has a hard time drawing.”

Xenia’s eyes suddenly widened at Amelia’s answer.

Amelia thought back to see if she had said something wrong in response to Xenia’s reaction, but there was nothing that could be said to be a mistake.

“Mr. Rupert… No, do you know Professor Rupert?”

Xenia’s voice seemed to be trembling.

But because the trembling was so subtle, Amelia didn’t notice the difference.

“Yes, I have met you several times since you started making picture books.”

-Since coming to the academy, I’ve been seeing the professor more and more often, taking his classes and joining his clubs.

In fact, it was thanks to Amelia who had applied to Rupert’s place on purpose, not by chance, but other than that, there was no lie in what she said.

Because the noblewoman, or rather the noblewoman of his age, that Rupert met most privately was Amelia.

“… Yeah.”

He paused for a moment at Amelia’s answer, then answered in a small voice and finished his evaluation.

Afterwards, the students felt that the evaluations of the remaining groups had become more brutal than before, but they did not know why.

***

-Xenia, emotional turmoil can pose a great danger to you.

Xenia remembered Yustav’s words when he noticed the change in her in the principal’s office a while ago.

The feeling of anger that surged as he remembered the student who had insulted his benefactor, Rupert.

Although she didn’t realize it, her teacher, Yustav, could immediately notice the change in Xenia’s appearance at that moment.

It was the first time Yustav had seen something like this, and he could only guess that it was probably the dragon blood flowing through Xenia that caused this change.

‘Rapid growth can cause physical breakdown, so you should never be swayed by emotions in the future.’

After hearing those words, Xenia stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.

It was clear that he had grown significantly since he first met Yustav.

At first I thought it was because of the good food and enough rest, but when I thought about it, that alone could not explain the rapid growth.

Xenia’s body, which was originally smaller than her peers, had now grown to the point where it was almost like an adult woman.

‘If you see me now, you probably won’t mistake me for a boy.’

As she recalled the sight of Amelia Bluewell, whom she had met during class earlier, the air around Xenia stirred in response to her mana.

A person who is dazzlingly beautiful.

She was a beautiful person with blue hair, unlike her red hair.

Xenia almost felt emotions flowing out to Amelia, who was talking about Rupert as if she was close to him.

‘When I grow up a little more, I’m sure…’

Xenia, who had been thinking dangerous thoughts for a moment, quickly came to her senses and slapped herself to hide her evil thoughts.