Chapter 149
Han Si-hyuk picked up the sketch with trembling hands.
The intuition of a Seer was shining through.
There was potential here—potential for something revolutionary, even more so than the Sound Teleport System.
In all his years approving artifacts at the Ministry of Magic, he had never seen an invention like this.
“Explain this to me.”
Struggling to keep his excitement under control, Han Si-hyuk looked at Han Siha.
“It’s a miniature version of the Sound Teleport System, designed for two-way communication.”
“….”
“And we’ve added a function to send text as well.”
“Text? You mean, you can send written messages?”
“Yes. We’re calling it ‘messaging.’ You can send a message to the other person, just like writing a letter.”
Han Si-hyuk’s mind was working overtime, trying to process this. The level of innovation was almost overwhelming, even for him.
After frowning in concentration for a while, Han Si-hyuk finally nodded as if he had understood.
“How do you send the text? Do you write it by hand?”
“We’re planning to input it using a keyboard.”
The Sound Teleport System already had buttons to input the recipient’s magic code. But in Han Siha’s sketch, the front was sleek, without any visible buttons.
“What do you press?”
“Pardon?”
“What do you press to input the text?”
“You touch it. With your hand.”
“…!”
Han Si-hyuk’s eyes widened in realization.
“Touch…? You mean you touch something with your hand?”
“The message.”
“What is the message?”
“The letter.”
“A letter that you… not write by hand, but… no, wait….”
Han Si-hyuk clung to his rapidly fraying sanity and asked again.
“Is this even possible?”
“Yes. I believe it is.”
Even as he asked, Han Si-hyuk already knew. The idea wasn’t completely outlandish. Given the potential he sensed, it wasn’t an impossible notion.
But the fact that it had come from Han Siha—his own brother—was hard to believe.
“Are you… a genius?”
Han Si-hyuk muttered under his breath, almost unconsciously.
If all of this had come from the minds of Han Siha and those other young kids, there was no other explanation.
The shock he felt was far greater than what he had experienced with the detoxification artifact.
This wasn’t the kind of idea a mere sixteen-year-old could come up with.
Han Si-hyuk was left speechless, repeating the same phrase over and over.
“You’re a genius….”
Han Siha’s expression cooled as he heard this.
“…Why are you acting so scary?”
Praise from a professor never bodes well.
—
Han Si-hyuk held the sketch of the “Smartphone” close to his chest as he headed to his office.
The Sound Mana Trans Telephone—an innovative device that could change the history of the Ardel Empire.
Even if his students failed to invent the Smartphone within the six-month timeframe, Han Si-hyuk was determined to gather a team of engineers to see the artifact completed.
“If that happens… could I get a share of the profits?”
If that Smartphone became commercially available….
He might even surpass Han Taesu in wealth.
“…Insane.”
Han Si-hyuk couldn’t help but feel a twinge of greed.
Muttering under his breath, he shook off the thought and continued on his way.
Whether they succeeded or failed didn’t matter.
He needed to secure his share through full support.
As Han Si-hyuk was quickly calculating in his mind, someone grabbed him from behind.
“Han Si-hyuk, Investigator! Oh, should I start calling you ‘Professor’ now?”
A woman with long, flowing hair approached, arms crossed and a leisurely gait.
Her clicking heels made Han Si-hyuk frown as he turned to face her.
“Playing house with kids now? Are you neglecting your investigations?”
It was Sepia, the head of the Academic Society and former Chairwoman of the Ministry of Magic.
Why she had come all the way to Ardel Academy was beyond him, but Han Si-hyuk was far too busy with the Smartphone matter.
He couldn’t afford to slack off on his investigative duties, even with his new teaching responsibilities, so he definitely had no time for idle chit chat.
Han Si-hyuk straightened his posture and responded curtly.
“The Academy extended an offer, and I accepted. It’s just an honorary position for one semester.”
“I’m not criticizing. I’m just curious.”
Sepia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she smiled.
Han Si-hyuk, unimpressed, frowned and tried to walk past her.
If this woman, who was always busy, had come all the way to Ardel Academy, it must mean she had something important to say. He wished she’d just get to the point.
“Hey! Hey!”
Sure enough, when Han Si-hyuk ignored her, Sepia’s pace quickened.
“Goodness, why are you in such a rush? Can’t you at least pretend to be interested?”
“What do you want?”
“There’s a banquet this weekend. Would you be interested in attending—?”
“Not interested.”
“Excuse me?”
“Not buying.”
“I’m not selling anything!”
Sepia sighed dramatically and came to a halt.
Han Si-hyuk detested banquets—pointless gatherings that were nothing more than a waste of time and an excuse for indulgence. Sepia’s invitation held no appeal for him.
But her next words made him stop in his tracks.
“The Katablam unsolved case.”
“…!”
“Weren’t you investigating that…?”
Sepia chuckled softly, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
“What kind of investigator locks himself in a room and just shuffles through papers?”
It was a fairly significant banquet, with many prominent figures from the political world in attendance.
Han Si-hyuk understood the point Sepia was making and frowned.
“There’s bound to be someone there who remembers that case.”
“…I’m going.”
“But you said you wouldn’t.”
“I’m going.”
“But I’m not selling anything. You know how expensive these invitations are… Ah! You snatched it!”
—
It was a relatively peaceful afternoon.
Some time had passed since Archant’s death, but there were no signs of a new main episode on the horizon.
Furthermore, according to the original storyline, nothing significant was supposed to happen early in the semester, so I could afford to relax for a while.
At least, that was my hope.
“Please, just let me rest.”
Even though nothing major had happened, I was still ridiculously busy.
Morning classes, afternoon training, and nighttime research.
It was only after being on the go all day that I finally got a moment of rest.
Meanwhile, Kloshti was lying on my stomach, fast asleep.
“Beeep… Beeep….”
Kloshti was sleeping soundly on my stomach.
Sniff, sniff.
Basilus, who had been watching from the side, seemed annoyed by the sight. He tried to force his way in.
He had grown too big for me to handle.
“Basilus, you’re too heavy… Ugh!”
Basilus jumped right onto my stomach, and my body reflexively curled up.
“Gah!”
Damn it.
“You little brat, you need to consider your weight!”
This wasn’t like when he was just a hatchling; jumping on my stomach like that could really hurt!
Basilus grumbled as if he was the one who was hurt.
“Basilus… not… fat….”
Yeah, sure. You’re not fat.
But.
“A dragon weighs more than a pig!”
“Grr….”
“Hey, you need to lose weight. You’re on a diet starting today.”
“…That’s a bit much.”
“No more cheese.”
“Grrraaawr!”
“Nope. Not happening. No more cheese for you.”
Thump.
Before I could finish speaking, Basilus swung his tail at me.
I almost got smacked.
“What the… What do you think you’re doing?”
“….”
That’s right.
Basilus was going through a tumultuous adolescence.
“Are your feelings hurt?”
“….”
“Do I have to be considerate of a dragon’s feelings now?”
“Grrr!”
“This is ridiculous, seriously.”
Basilus was pouting, his cheeks puffed out adorably, so I let it slide.
I thought his rebellious phase was over when I tossed him a piece of the fancy cheese I had bought at the market last time, but…
“Squeak?”
Kloshti, who had woken up in the meantime, hopped up and snatched Basilus’ cheese.
Basilus’ reaction was immediate.
Thwack.
“Eeeeek!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
“Give it back, you little thief!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Chaos ensued as they started fighting, and I had to forcibly separate them.
“Is this the animal kingdom?”
“Squeak… squeak….”
Basilus, who had just swatted Kloshti with his tail, was panting as he guarded his cheese, while Kloshti, who had been smacked, was now nibbling on it with a sulky expression.
“Did you already eat half of it…?”
Actually, that wasn’t the problem.
My gaze shifted back to Basilus.
“Did you just say, ‘Give it back, you little thief!’?”
“Grr…?”
“Hey, where did you learn to swear, you little rascal?”
I clearly heard you muttering, ‘this thief’ and ‘that thief’ under your breath!
Basilus immediately tried to dash out of the room, but I caught him by the tail before he could escape.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Grrr…!”
“Where did you learn that kind of language?”
Basilus flailed his little arms as he glanced up at me with big, guilty eyes.
“Grr….”
He seemed to be testing my patience.
Wait a second.
“Grrr…!”
“Did you learn that from me?”
Basilus nodded enthusiastically.
His cheerful admission left me speechless.
…Who else could I blame?
This was all my fault.
A heavy sigh escaped me.
“Damn it.”
“…!”
“No, hold on. Basilus, you can’t repeat that! Don’t copy that kind of language!”
“Dammit!”
“No, you can’t say that!”
“Dammit! Dammit!”
Basilus had a habit of using new words over and over again once he learned them.
But this… this was not okay!
“Dammit!”
I was about to cover Basilus’ mouth when—
Ding!
An all-too-familiar alert sounded, and a message window appeared in front of me.
[Sub Episode: The Katablam Unsolved Case]
[Assist Han Si-hyuk in investigating the truth behind the Katablam Unsolved Case.]
I released Basilus and tilted my head in confusion.
“Katablam Unsolved Case?”
—
The main episodes followed the original plotline of *Academy Chronicles*.
Most of them were related to dark mages, with clear rewards and risks.
Out of the blue, a sub-episode had appeared.
It wouldn’t take long to figure out what that meant.
“I’m planning to attend a banquet this weekend. You’re coming along as my field assistant.”
“Hello there, little student! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
I was in Han Si-hyuk’s office.
Next to him stood a familiar woman—Sepia, the head of the Academic Society.
“Hello, I’m Han Siha.”
“Well, well, is that a dragon next to you? How adorable.”
Sepia glanced in my direction and focused on Basilus, who was hopping around excitedly.
“Dammit! Dammit!”
“Hmm? What a cute way of talking.”
“Dammit!”
“Why does that word sound so familiar? How strange.”
I ignored the overexcited Basilus and Sepia and turned my attention back to Han Si-hyuk.
“Investigating the Katablam Unsolved Case… at a banquet?”
Even though Han Si-hyuk held the rank of an investigator, wandering around a banquet asking about a case from over a decade ago would undoubtedly raise suspicion.
That’s why he needed someone who could blend in more naturally.
He planned to bring me along as his assistant.
“The Emperor will be attending, so don’t do anything to draw attention.”
“Don’t cause any trouble.”
“Don’t go around grabbing other adults by the collar if you get upset.”
Ignoring Han Si-hyuk’s rapid-fire nagging, I picked up the file on the Katablam Unsolved Case.
“It’s a case you wouldn’t know about. Just gather information while you’re there.”
“…Ah.”
The Katablam Village Mass Burial Case.
I didn’t recognize the village’s name, but just reading the first line of the document made it clear.
This case was connected to Adela.
Was it fate?
That this case, of all cases, had come to me?
[Sub Episode: The Katablam Unsolved Case]
[Assist Han Si-hyuk in investigating the truth behind the Katablam Unsolved Case.]
I glanced at the message window floating in the air and chuckled bitterly.
So, I was supposed to dig into why I had to suffer.
Was I supposed to uncover the truth with my own hands?
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