The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 165

“Hahaha… haha!”

“Hahahahaha!”

Laughter filled the office.

Han Siha patted Count Dwayne on the shoulder, looking quite pleased, while Count Dwayne made a noise that could’ve been either laughter or crying.

“Hahaha!”

“Oh wow. Your handwriting is quite neat.”

“Of… of course… ugh….”

“Let’s try laughing one more time, shall we?”

“Hahaha….”

It was a scene bordering on madness.

Thanks to Han Siha, Count Arkenent swiftly secured the signature.

The contract was signed under the watchful eyes of the guards.

After seven years, the land that had been taken was reclaimed.

Count Arkenent, momentarily overwhelmed with disbelief and joy, quickly composed himself.

Standing beside him was his now-grown daughter, Solia.

She was witnessing the historic moment of reclaiming their territory firsthand.

Count Arkenent cautiously asked Solia.

“…What’s your relationship with that boy?”

“Pardon?”

Solia looked up in surprise at her father’s question.

She couldn’t understand what he was implying.

After a moment’s thought, Solia answered honestly.

“We’re classmates….”

Count Arkenent burst into hearty laughter at Solia’s response.

No matter how close Han taesu might be to him, it’s not easy to send troops to intervene in another territory.

Especially not on such short notice.

Only Count Arkenent knew that Han Siha had made a special request to Han taesu—a fact he had heard directly from Han Siha.

For Han Siha to make such a request, it couldn’t just be a casual classmate relationship.

Count Arkenent figured that his daughter must be too shy to say more.

Patting Solia gently, he spoke reassuringly.

“As your father, I approve.”

“What?”

As the only son of the Castica family, Han Siha was already a highly satisfactory candidate for a son-in-law.

However, he had been worried about Han Siha’s carefree personality, which differed from Han taesu. But after today, he saw that Han Siha had grown up to be quite the proper young man.

Count Arkenent nodded approvingly, smiling fondly.

“What did you like about him?”

“…?”

“Was it because he’s so handsome? I didn’t know my daughter valued looks.”

“Father, what on earth are you…?”

“Haha, don’t be shy. I understand completely. At your age, it’s natural to have such preferences.”

“What?”

“My daughter isn’t lacking in beauty herself….”

Solia, having missed the chance to respond earlier, was left wide-eyed and silent.

Count Arkenent looked at the dazed Solia and made a mental note to himself.

“Haha.”

…He would have to bring up the topic of engagement as soon as possible.

* * *

We had come to find black obsidian, but unexpectedly ended up helping the Arkenent family.

After driving out Count Dwayne and reclaiming his land, Count Arkenent invited me to his office to express his gratitude.

During our stay, we were treated to various banquets and provided with luxurious accommodations.

He even kindly permitted us to miss a day or two of classes.

“Thank you. You helped fulfill my lifelong wish.”

“I felt it was the right thing to do.”

Count Arkenent looked at me with a contented smile.

His gaze, which lingered on me with a hint of pride, was followed by a soft mumble.

“You suit my daughter quite well….”

It seemed like he said something just now.

Was it just my imagination?

When I looked up curiously, Count Arkenent cleared his throat.

“Hmm, so, I heard you had a favor to ask?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Go on, speak freely. If it’s within my power, I’ll grant it.”

Now that he had regained his land, Count Arkenent was willing to do anything.

This was great; the pleasant atmosphere made it easier to bring up my request.

I asked about the black obsidian that was rumored to be in the Arkenent Territory.

“I’ve heard there’s a black obsidian mine that emits magi.”

“Black obsidian? Ah, yes… I did hear of such a place. It was sealed off long ago due to ominous rumors.”

That was something from Count Arkenent’s childhood.

Raising an eyebrow, Count Arkenent inquired further.

“But why do you need that black obsidian?”

Since I couldn’t reveal everything, I decided to drop Han Si-hyuk’s name as an excuse.

“I’m taking a magic manufacturing class, and we need black obsidian.”

“Ah, manufacturing class?”

“Yes, so I asked Solia to bring me here, hoping you might know something.”

Since it was his territory, he would be familiar with the geography.

Count Arkenent, more than willing to assist, nodded readily.

“It was a long time ago, so my memory might be a bit fuzzy.”

Rustle, rustle.

Count Arkenent pulled an old map out of a drawer and marked the location of the black obsidian mine with a pen.

I thought it would take a while to find it, but he pinpointed the exact location immediately—no need for me to return and search further.

This was going more smoothly than expected.

Feeling grateful, I bowed my head slightly.

“Thank you, Father.”

“…!”

Count Arkenent froze for a moment.

His hand, holding the map, stopped in mid-air.

Oh, I must’ve gotten too used to calling Han taesu that….

I realized my slip-up too late.

“Oh, I meant Count.”

I corrected myself, but Count Arkenent let out a boisterous laugh.

“I like the sound of that. Why don’t you say it one more time?”

“…Pardon?”

“What you just said a moment ago.”

“Father?”

“Hahahaha.”

Slap, slap.

In high spirits, he playfully patted me on the shoulder.

What the—this is terrifying!

“Hahahaha! Han taesu raised a fine son.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

“Hahaha, would you like to stay one more night?”

“Excuse me? Oh… no, no, thank you….”

I wasn’t sure why he was acting this way, but…

…it felt overwhelming, so I decided to make a quick escape.

* * *

The next day, Solia and I headed to the black obsidian mine that Count Arkenent had mentioned.

We had been receiving such generous hospitality that I didn’t particularly want to leave, but the way Count Arkenent kept looking at me felt rather uncomfortable, so I decided to make a quick exit.

It was like the way Professor Ernst used to look at me—eyes practically dripping honey—but there was something… unsettling about it. It was as if I’d have to serve him loyally for decades, so I left early in the morning.

The mine wasn’t too far, and we arrived quickly by carriage.

As Solia and I got off near the mine, a familiar face waved from a distance.

“Ugh… ugh. You’ve both grown a lot.”

“Kuoo?”

“Huh?”

It was Yoon Haul, holding Basilus and struggling a bit.

Solia and I waved back at Yoon Haul with smiles.

As Yoon Haul approached, Basilus hopped out of her arms and ran quickly toward us, jumping into my embrace.

“Kuoo! Kuoo!”

Thud!

After getting hit in the face by Basilus’ tail, I looked at Yoon Haul and asked,

“Did you wait long?”

“No, not really….”

She must have had a tough time bringing Basilus and Kloshti out of the dormitory.

Yoon Haul looked a bit worn out, probably because of that.

“Phew, I’m glad you’re here. And also….”

Yoon Haul quickly filled us in on the situation at Ardel Academy.

“The professor said he’s going to kill you when you get back.”

“Han Si-hyuk?”

“Yep!”

Although it was the weekend, and there were no classes today, Solia and I had missed a total of three days of classes.

In that short time, we missed two magic manufacturing classes.

It was clear we’d get an earful when we returned.

But that wasn’t the priority right now.

We were here to find black obsidian, and we had to find it no matter what.

I slowly surveyed the vast area of what used to be the mining site.

A vast, barren sand pit resembling a desert. There were no traces of the old mine, and it seemed untouched by human hands for a long time.

Although the place looked almost like a ruin, with our numbers, we could surely find something.

I turned to Yoon Haul and said,

“Let’s start searching.”

“Kuoo!”

Basilus responded enthusiastically.

I set Basilus down as he wriggled in my arms.

Sniff, sniff.

Basilus quickly dashed off, trying to sense the magi, and Yoon Haul rummaged through her bag, pulling out some useful-looking items.

They looked like two metal rods at first glance….

It seemed familiar.

“What’s this? Dowsing rods?”

“Huh? No, it’s for detecting magic!”

I had seen Won doing something similar during course registration, but it was still bewildering to witness, even a second time.

Seeing Yoon Haul doing it too, I realized there might be some validity to it.

Yoon Haul waved the two metal rods around, mumbling to herself.

“Hmm. I can’t sense any magi… over here.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Yoon Haul, cheerful as ever, ran off in the opposite direction of Basilus.

Watching her, Solia whispered into my ear.

“Seers are really fascinating.”

“I think dragons are more fascinating, though.”

“That… that’s true.”

These are creatures that would normally be highly esteemed, yet here they were, digging away because they met the wrong owner.

“Kuoo! Digging!”

Thump thump.

I chuckled as I watched Basilus digging into the ground with his front paws in the distance.

Must be a dragon thing—his digging speed was on another level.

Thump thump thump.

After making a round of the area, Basilus stopped at one spot and tilted his head.

Oh, did he find something?

I nudged Solia’s side.

“Doesn’t it look like he found something?”

“Yeah, it does. Basilus! Did you find something there?”

As we rushed over with excited expressions, Basilus shouted loudly.

Basilus’ murmurs echoed across the wide-open space.

“There’s nothing!”

“What?”

“There’s no magi!!”

…There’s nothing?

Yoon Haul, who had also made a round waving her dowsing rods, shook her head.

“Basilus’ right.”

“What?”

“There’s no black obsidian buried here at all.”

* * *

We took a break at an old food stall in the Arkenent Territory.

Yoon Haul and Solia looked quite serious, likely due to what had just happened.

If this had been a black obsidian mine, there should have been at least some remaining, but there wasn’t a single trace.

It seemed unlikely that it would have disappeared naturally.

After a long pause, Yoon Haul finally spoke up, cautiously.

“I think… someone took it.”

It seemed we were all thinking the same thing.

I nodded in agreement with Yoon Haul’s assessment.

“Minerals buried in the ground don’t just vanish.”

“But if something like that happened… I think my father would’ve known about it.”

Solia sighed deeply, unable to comprehend the situation.

“Well, it could’ve happened in the past seven years.”

It had already been seven years since Count Arkenent had left the territory.

With such a long time, it wouldn’t be strange if something happened without the Count’s knowledge.

Solia, looking anxious, said,

“What if someone took the black obsidian…?”

It was something everyone avoided; if someone took it, there must have been a reason.

It could be related to the dark magicians. We needed to approach this without ruling out any possibilities.

We all shared the same thought on that.

“We need to figure out who did it because there might be some foul play involved.”

“Right.”

But there was still one question.

“But how?”

Hmm.

Where did that guy Dwayne go?

After a moment of contemplation, I found the answer.

“Let’s go catch that bastard.”