The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 158

Three days had passed since Aaron’s attack.

Swoosh—

The curtain in the infirmary was pulled aside.

Adela, who seemed much more at ease, looked down at me with lightened steps.

Something about this seems off….

Yes, that’s right. I was the one lying in bed.

Adela had been slashed and stabbed multiple times by Aaron’s sword, yet here I was, the only one sprawled out and bedridden.

Adela looked down at me, incredulous.

“Why are you the one stuck in bed?”

“Ack… Ack…”

Ow!

I tried to sit up but ended up banging my head, completely drained of energy.

Thanks to my self-healing ability, I had no external injuries, but I still felt utterly exhausted.

“Hah… I feel like I’m gonna die….”

I had managed to carry Adela safely back to Ardel Academy, but pushing my body beyond its limits to use more magic left me drained. Now, I was dealing with the aftermath of that.

Adela clicked her tongue and placed her hand on my forehead.

“At least your fever’s down.”

Using the vast magic of the cube had caused me to overheat. For the first two days, I thought I’d get carted off with how high my fever was.

Adela looked at me with pity but also with a confused expression.

“Aren’t you… sick for too long?”

Anyone would think I’ve been bedridden for three months.

It’s only been three days.

I frowned and responded to Adela’s words.

“The fact that you’re back on your feet in three days is what’s monstrous!”

“Oh… is it?”

What’s with this girl?

She got stabbed, and she’s already back to normal?

Or is she just pretending to be fine?

Worried, I asked her.

“Are you sure you’re really okay?”

Adela raised her arm slightly, checking if her side still hurt.

She winced a little, showing it still pained her, but her movements seemed mostly unaffected.

Adela shrugged.

“It still hurts a bit, but I’m managing.”

“…That’s good to hear.”

I meant it.

When I first found Adela, I thought she was a goner.

Despite her toughness, she was in terrible shape, so it’s a miracle she recovered in just three days.

Adela always seemed to heal faster than most.

Maybe she didn’t realize it herself, as she kept worrying about me.

But this is normal, okay?

“I’m fine, really.”

I waved my hand, trying to brush off Adela’s overly concerned gaze.

Then suddenly, a memory from that time came to mind.

“Oh, right.”

Adela had unexpectedly contacted me through the Sound Teleport.

The initial excited voice followed by her screams. I knew the aftermath of Aaron’s ambush, but I was curious about what happened before that.

She wasn’t the type to make expensive calls for no reason.

I turned to Adela and asked.

“So, what was the reason you called?”

“Huh?”

Come to think of it, when I answered the call….

It seemed like she had something she wanted to say to me.

“Ah… well….”

Adela hesitated, trailing off as if flustered by my question.

She moved her lips as if she wanted to say something but then glanced at the bandages wrapped around my shoulder and her expression soured.

Adela waved her hand dismissively and spoke.

“Never mind, it’s nothing.”

“What was it? I’m curious.”

“It’s really nothing. It’s not the right time to talk about it….”

“Come on, just tell me. I won’t be able to sleep out of curiosity.”

“Well… it’s just….”

Adela hesitated for a while, her lips twitching as she pondered, before finally speaking up.

“I… wanted to go see the flowers.”

Flowers?

Adela glanced at me sheepishly, gauging my reaction.

“There’s this cherry blossom festival… or something like that….”

They have something like that here?

* * *

The Cherry Blossom Festival of Ardel.

The trees standing in line around the wide lake were already in full bloom.

Couples holding hands strolled down the charmingly decorated avenue.

Watching them from afar, I turned to Adela and asked.

“The festival ends today?”

“Yeah!”

It was the last day of the week-long cherry blossom festival.

Though she didn’t show it, I could tell she wanted to go, so I dragged Adela along even though she initially refused.

My body had mostly recovered by then, and Adela was in great shape.

She was already standing under the trees, looking up at the falling cherry blossoms.

I smirked.

“Who knew you liked stuff like this?”

I always thought she’d be the type to uproot trees.

Well, she actually does specialize in that, yet here she was, smiling as she gazed up at a cherry blossom tree.

Somehow….

“That’s kinda cute.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Adela beamed brightly as she turned to me.

She held up a pile of cherry blossoms she’d gathered in her hands, seemingly from somewhere random since they had bits of dirt on them.

“Did you pick those off the ground?”

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?”

“Throw them away. Why pick up something people have been stepping on?”

“Geez. No sense of romance.”

Adela pouted as she dropped the cherry blossoms she had gathered.

Thud.

The petals fell from her hands.

Since when was that considered romantic?

“That’s not what romance is about.”

Rustle—

A spring breeze blew cherry blossoms over our heads.

The petals fluttered in the wind.

I jumped up slightly and caught one.

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“They say if you catch a falling cherry blossom, your wish will come true.”

“Really?”

I didn’t mention that it’s just an old tale.

Instead, I slowly opened my hand to reveal the cherry blossom petal inside.

Adela stared at the petal with wide eyes, clearly wanting it.

“Want it?”

“Yes!”

The delicate pink petal was so thin that it was almost translucent.

I handed the cherry blossom petals to Adela.

She took it as if she’d found a rare four-leaf clover.

“Wow….”

Adela murmured softly, her eyes sparkling.

“It’s really pretty.”

Is it? To me, it’s just a petal. I don’t get what’s so special about it.

But seeing her so happy wasn’t a bad feeling.

“I want to try too.”

After a brief hesitation, Adela jumped up and down in place.

“Haah!”

Failed right away.

Swish—swish—

Adela waved her arms under the tree, quickly becoming disheartened.

“What the, how did you do that? You caught them so easily.”

“Huh? I just did it.”

“Why… Why can’t I catch them?”

Adela’s curiosity prompted me to reach out again.

Thwack—

I casually waved my hand, and the cherry blossom petal landed right on it. It wasn’t hard at all.

Wow, at this rate, I could make dozens of wishes.

Holding another cherry blossom petal effortlessly in my hand, I grinned.

“It’s not that hard, you know?”

“What the… How did you do that?”

Adela’s competitive spirit flared up, her eyes burning with determination.

“Hmph, I’m going to catch one too.”

Uh, you know these aren’t monsters, right?

“I’m really going to catch one!”

But no matter how hard she tried, the petals weren’t going to let her.

The delicate petals caught the breeze each time Adela reached out, floating just beyond her grasp.

At this point, even Adela was getting stubborn.

“Hey, just give up.”

I added fuel to the fire.

Adela clenched her fists and shook her head fiercely.

She looked up at the tree and muttered under her breath.

“If I can’t catch them this way… maybe I can use a different method?”

Wait, what?

“As long as I catch one, it counts, right?”

Hold on.

You’re not seriously—

Whoosh—

Romance quickly turned into madness.

I stepped back in shock as a fierce spring wind, like the one she conjured when summoning a dust storm, swirled around her.

“What are you doing?”

The whirlwind enveloped Adela.

The cherry blossoms that were gently falling to the ground were now caught up in a fierce gale.

This… this….

What kind of romance is this supposed to be?

If you didn’t know better, you might think it was a tornado—a chilling form of romance, indeed.

Adela, exuding magical power effortlessly, leapt with a bright smile.

And in the midst of the swirling cherry blossom tornado, she finally managed to catch one.

“…Got it.”

Adela beamed with pride.

“How’s that? Pretty good, right?”

She caught a petal from a tornado….

Adela slowly opened her clenched fist, revealing the cherry blossom petal she had worked so hard to catch.

For some reason, Adela extended the petal towards me.

“Here, you take it. I’m giving you my wish. It was hard to catch.”

“Uh… okay….”

That’s all fine and good, but—

People are staring.

To everyone who just watched, you probably looked like a walking natural disaster.

“You’re really not gonna take it? I seriously worked hard to catch this.”

“…”

“It was really hard to catch… Why are you acting like that?”

I’m dying of embarrassment.

“Please, let’s just go.”

“Aaah!”

I poked Adela in the side, still buzzing with excitement, and pulled her away.

* * *

During festival week, merchants tend to gather in large numbers.

We left the tree-lined avenue and headed towards the shopping district. Vendors were busy hawking their wares, their voices loud and energetic.

One vendor up ahead shouted out loudly.

“We’ve got expensive potions! Come take a look!”

“No, no, no.”

The vendor beside him waved his arms, trying to outdo his competitor.

“These are special, custom-made potions by Ardel Market! Hey, you students over there! Come take a look, will ya?”

Wearing Ardel Academy uniforms made us stand out, and we couldn’t avoid the attention.

In fact, the main customers of this shopping area are wealthy academy students who don’t hesitate to spend on pricey potions and magic books.

Adela, with no spare funds to her name, seemed uninterested, but her curiosity was piqued.

I wonder what kinds of potions they have.

“Wanna take a look?”

Adela nodded at my suggestion and followed me.

As soon as we entered the shop, a friendly-looking man gestured to us in welcome.

Sales mode activated.

The vendor, his face lighting up, began his pitch with enthusiasm.

“Oh, you came to the right place, you really did. Want to see what’s popular these days?”

“Uh, yeah. What do you have?”

“Oh, we’ve got a famous one. Ever heard of it? A potion that improves the quality of your magic.”

Huh?

No way.

Isn’t that…?

Adela turned to me with a surprised look, whispering softly.

“That’s… that thing.”

“Yeah, it seems like it.”

Having gone days without food after taking it, I knew that potion all too well.

Back then, it was sold in small quantities from a tiny stall, but now it seemed to have gained some fame and was spreading by word of mouth.

Not that I needed it anymore.

My previously poor magic level had already been boosted by that potion and was now at a decent level.

Since it had permanent effects, taking it a second time wouldn’t make any difference.

“I’ve already taken one before.”

“That’s alright. We’ve got others too. Similar, but new.”

The vendor quickly pulled out a different item at my words.

A shiny potion with a mysterious purple hue, definitely different from the one I’d taken before.

The man looked at me as I examined the potion slowly.

“This one boosts your body’s healing ability. It’s been selling like hotcakes.”

Improved healing?

I turned to the vendor with a surprised expression.

Sensing he’d found a potential buyer, the vendor spoke excitedly.

“It’s not entirely permanent, but it lasts almost three years. It’s even better if you take it while you’re young! You can heal quickly from minor injuries. Do you have any idea how many students are after this?”

“What about stamina?”

“Oh, of course it works for that too. Kids who take this run around like maniacs, never getting tired. Seems like it works well for the younger crowd. Students your age should be fine.”

Hmm.

The more I listened, the more he sounded like a snake oil salesman.

I glanced at Adela and signaled with my eyes.

“It worked the last time, didn’t it?”

“Last time? Oh, you mean the magic-boosting one?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. This one’s made by the same person who made the last one. She’s become really famous around here, you know. You’re talking about that eccentric lady, right?”

“Oh, really?”

That unusual woman.

So, she’d created this new potion as well.

Hearing that made it a bit more enticing.

She was trustworthy, after all.

“Hmm.”

It’s not like taking it would kill me, so maybe I’ll give it a try.

I looked at Adela, who nodded as if saying I should go for it.

Normally, she’d be the one to warn me off strange places like this, but having seen the effects of the previous potion, there was a hint of expectation.

“I’d recommend it.”

Adela nudged me in the side and spoke.

“Go ahead and buy it. You know….”

Then she looked at me with a pitiful expression.

It was clear she was thinking: “I was running around in three days, and you were still laid up, weren’t you?”

Ugh, that stings my pride.

Scoffing, I responded to Adela.

“Hey, I was just exhausted. I was already fully recovered, you know? When I use my abilities, I’m healed up in an hour, tops. So why would I need something like this?”

Besides—

“I don’t need stuff like this. I’m already, you know, flying around without them. You get what I mean?”

Hmm.

Adela scratched her head, looking uncertain.

“…I didn’t say anything, though.”