Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 69

[ 69. Blood hook (1) ]

#69

Ronan turned his head. A girl with a hood pulled down to her head stood there. Red eyes were shining in the shadows cast over his face.

“…Ophelia?”

“huh. I waited a long time.”

It was Ophelia who left to study blood magic with Sheeta’s feather. Adeshan’s eyes widened.

“Ah, did you come to the interview…?”

“huh. You… have grown taller.”

“Wow, how did you know? Ophelia senior in the third year of magic, right?”

Adeshan clapped his hands in admiration. In fact, she grew one finger more than last month and became 176cm. Ronan, who had been frozen, opened his mouth.

“Are you done with your research?”

“huh. It’s not perfect… but to some extent.”

“That’s nice. Honestly, I thought you ran away with nothing but feathers.”

“I’m sorry… I had a little business.”

There was a hint of fatigue in Ophelia’s voice. It seemed that he had suffered in his own way while he was tense. I had a lot of questions, but I had other things to do now. Ronan asked while holding up the note that became the map.

“Did you do something? It suddenly changed like this.”

“huh. I couldn’t open the envelope and was moaning…”

“Envelope?”

“Ah…you didn’t know that either.”

Ophelia snorted. Suddenly, her voice resonated in Ronan’s head.

[That’s…a letter made with blood magic.]

“It’s a surprise. Why all of a sudden…”

Ophelia turned her gaze to Adeshan instead of answering. Come to think of it, she probably didn’t know that Ophelia was a vampire yet. Ronan, who was dragging his horse, nodded.

“I understood.”

[thank you. That’s putting information in a single drop of blood and compressing it… Opening the envelope means injecting mana to release the information contained in the blood.] Ophelia continued her explanation in a whole tone

. The letter using blood was said to be a method used by vampires when exchanging secret conversations.

“Ummm…?”

Adeshan tilted her head at the sudden silence. A secret air current that he did not know was flowing between the two.

Adeshan looked at Ronan and Ophelia, who were speechless. Ophelia’s face was beautiful, as if it glowed even under the shadows.

…match! Adeshan, who was silent for a moment, suddenly clapped his hands and said.

“Come to think of it, I forgot that the instructor ordered me to organize the paperwork.”

“Adeshan?”

“Sorry. Let’s talk later.”

“Are you angry? Why is your expression…”

“I’m not angry. Senior Ophelia, I will go back first.”

It was a strangely cold tone. Adeshan left those words and turned his back. His steps were noticeably faster than usual. Ophelia muttered as she watched her back.

“Good timing…”

“Good. What did you do to keep it standing?”

“Then why are you angry…?”

“well. Because women don’t even know. The rest of Ophelia, by the way, we’ll talk about elsewhere.”

Ophelia looked around and nodded. Clearly, being open on all sides was not a suitable place for questionable conversation.

They moved to the club building. When the wooden door opened, a dark interior came into view. The other members hadn’t come yet to see if they were taking classes.

Ophelia took off the hood as soon as the door closed. Her silver hair, which had been suppressed, flowed down her shoulders. Stretching as if squeezing it out, she opened her mouth.

“Umm… I think I’ll live a little longer.”

“Is it because of the sunlight?”

“huh. It’s a cloudy day, so it’s a little better… but what about that child?”

“If you’re talking about sheeta, I’ll be back soon. I go out for a walk often these days.”

“I see…I want to see you soon.”

Ophelia slowly looked around the room. In the room, where all the lights were turned off, there was a gloomy aura like an abandoned cabin. She muttered as she caressed the three-tiered candlestick on the bar table.

“It’s a wonderful place…is this your club?”

“It’s us, not you.”

“right. I did…then can I sleep here?”

“sure. He is now our member. Indeed, in our club, all members of the club use short words as a rule. are you okay?”

“Yeah…I’m more comfortable with that too.”

Ophelia laughed bashfully. She seemed to like the club quite a bit.

Ronan briefly explained what had happened during Ophelia’s absence. Baidian Mountains and middling evaluation that were damn right. to Schlieffen’s mouth. Ophelia listened intently, her eyes twinkling with interest.

“A lot of things happened… Come to think of it, I couldn’t even say hello to the other kids. What if you hate me…?”

“They’re all good guys, so that won’t happen. By the way, I haven’t received any letters in the last few weeks. What happened?”

“ah. I had some friction with my parents… they suddenly told me to stop researching and take care of my temper… I’m sure it’ll be fine since I solved it well. ”

“Last name…?”

Ophelia didn’t seem to have a good relationship with her parents and other blood relatives. Although he seemed to be a member of a fairly high-ranking class, he was reluctant to talk about his family affairs.

Ronan didn’t even bother to pry. Placing the note on the bar table, he snapped his fingers.

“So Ophelia, this is a note made with blood magic?”

“huh. that’s right.”

“Can you guess who sent it?”

“Can I find out…?”

“Eh. It’s not that serious.”

Ophelia nodded. As she picked up the note, the bloodstain in the shape of a map began to move again. The lingering bloodstain eventually transformed into a red hook. Ophelia’s face hardened. “…

this Where did you come from?”

“what’s the matter?”

“Answer me first. Did you get it yourself?”

His eyes were serious. Ronan pretended to have picked up something spilled by someone he knew, Ophelia folded the note and returned it to Ronan

.

“how did you know?”

“It’s written here. The one who sent this note… is an organization called the Bloodhook.”

“It’s a name that doesn’t sound nice to hear. Aren’t they bad guys?”

“Yeah. It’s not that big… but should I say it’s a rising divinity?”

A hook of blood. It was said that it was a group composed mainly of young vampires who were not over 200 years old at most. Ophelia clicked her tongue as if she was pathetic, and continued explaining, “Immature scoundrels. They are obsessed with the glories of the past that they have never experienced

. …”

“…Ophelia how old are you?”

“In this world…there is joy derived from ignorance.”

The Blood Hooks nostalgic for the days when vampires reigned as nightmares of the night. Their main source of income was to roam non-Imperial lands, raiding passers-by and private houses, and making slaves to buy and sell

. He said that he also serves as a treasure hunter to save him. Ronan, who was worried for a while, revealed that it was Professor Jarodine of the Department of Magic who had received the note. A shallow wrinkle appeared between Ophelia’s eyebrows, which was like porcelain. “Jarodin…

? Are you talking about someone who was a top mage…?”

“Oh. That’s right.”

“So that’s why you were in front of Tower 41… The kids are anxious to die…”

“What do you mean?”

“This note… has the essence of the gore, so it’s an invitation to come if you’re willing to accept the offer. The rendezvous point is marked on the map.”

Ophelia said that there was a high possibility that they would ask for something outrageous in return

. “I can ask you to become a member of my household.”

“No way. Jarodine isn’t an idiot.”

“For a desperate person, there is no time other than ‘right now’… If not immediately, in the not too distant future, after asking to become a follower, you can make a blood oath.”

A blood oath was a promise that could never be broken, and life would end the moment it was broken. Ronan laughed, “I don’t understand. Can’t we just

kill everything and take our belongings? There’s no reason to accept such an asshole deal.”

“Of course, if you’re as good as Jardin, you can turn the kids there into powder in an instant… The problem is that the thing you’re looking for is the essence of fresh blood.”

“Why?”

“It’s a lump of pure mana that can’t be dealt with without blood magic… The kids probably have the essence of fresh blood in its unprocessed state. Only after receiving the price will they be able to process it and take it back…”

“They are weaklings.”

Ronan retraced his memories of his previous life. Jarodine was nowhere to be found on the battlefield ten years later. Of course, it was hard to imagine that it was because he had fallen into slavery to vulgar vampires like blood hooks

. Looking at it, the essence of fresh blood was only a material for one of many many attempts at resuscitation. He was not even sure that he could revive his wife, so there was no way he would accept such an offer. ‘If he is sane.

‘

However, Jarodine was addicted to love. It was an idea reserved for addicts to mistake a rare possibility for certainty, no matter what the field. Ronan touched his chin and began to think about it. ‘He’s a good person.

‘

Ronan didn’t hate Jarodine, to be honest, he liked him, and to be honest, he thought he was a damn good guy

. Ronan, who had been drooling, opened his mouth,

“Ophelia. Help me.”

“Huh? Help me…?”

“Write me a reply. I’ll accept the offer.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened, and Ronan explained the plan he had just devised step by step, clear and insane as always.

“Are you serious…?”

“Eh. Instead, make sure to change the folding paper.”

“I’m really sorry, but I can’t accompany you. Trouble with kinship…”

Ophelia insisted. It seemed to be related to family matters. Ronan yawned profusely and waved his hand

. You don’t have to follow me, man. I’m going alone, so don’t worry about it.”

“…Kids are the standard for vampires, nothing to compare with mortals. Rather, the more they know nothing, the more ferocious and violent they are.”

Ophelia explained the dangers of the blood hook. Its strength itself was incomparable to high-ranking vampires, but it was more dangerous to humans. The malice and cleverness accumulated over hundreds of years have destroyed the human body and mind like a sand castle. Ronan giggled,

“Okay. But seeing as you just say it’s dangerous and don’t stop it, I guess you don’t like my plan either.”

“That’s…”

Ophelia fell silent, a silence connoted with affirmation. Eventually, a light sigh leaked from her lips,

“Okay…but what are you going to do with the bloody essence if I don’t go…? ”

“Ah, that’s what you mean.”

Ronan was about to say something. Tap tap. Suddenly there was a knocking sound outside the curtained window

.

“huh?”

Ronan approached the window and pulled back the curtains. Shhh! As soon as I opened the window, the shadows rushed in and stuck to Ronan’s face. The black and fluffy feathers tickled my nose, almost making me sneeze. “Did you come?

”

“Pun!”

“How far have you been wandering around this time?”

Ronan hugged Sheeta with both hands. Seeing the salty smell, it seemed that she had been far away until the dawn.

“Do you know how much I scolded Lucy for you, man? Didn’t you catch something like a stingray this time?”

“Damn~”

Sheeta tilted her cheeks and rubbed her face against Ronan’s cheek. Ophelia stood up from her seat with both hands clasped.

It was noticeably larger than before. As she gazed at Sita as if possessed, her mouth fell open.

“…would you like to come here?”

“Did you get it?”

Ophelia held out her hand. Sheeta, blindly blinking, moved to the bar table right in front of her. Ophelia stroked Sheeta as if she were handling a jewel that would break if touched. Sheeta’s eyes staring at her briefly blinked.

“Kip.”

At the same time, a rose made of blood appeared in front of Sheeta’s eyes. It was the same one he showed when he met Ophelia the other day. Sita asked for a rose and handed it to her. Ophelia’s eyes widened.

“This…!”

“I seem to remember you.”

Ophelia picked up the blood rose with trembling hands. Sheeta jumped up and landed on her shoulder. Ronan said with both hands in his pockets.

“I will go with him. You just need to teach me how to deal with that bloody thing. Are you okay then?”

After remaining silent for a moment, Ophelia opened her mouth.

“Yeah… I think it will.”

“Teach me as soon as possible, because I need to get this done before Jarodin goes nuts. We will be leaving next weekend.”

“huh. Let’s do it right now. I’ll teach you as hard as I can’t go. There are so many things I want to tell you.”

“I’m going first. I’ll be there soon.”

Ophelia volunteered to be Sheeta’s teacher. She walked out of the building with Sheeta in her arms. Silence hung over the empty room. Ronan, who was quietly fixing the hilt, murmured.

“…I can’t afford to lose someone like that.”

Ronan recalled the mana that Jarodin had been spouting. If there is a possibility of turning into an enemy, killing him in advance was a reasonable strong man.

However, the world did not live by rationality alone. He knew that if he did all he could, he would have no regrets.

It was the car Ronan was refining his plan. Suaaaaagh! Suddenly, an eerie aura penetrated the wall, enough to make my shoulders shrivel.

“Ugh…!”

The hair all over her body stood on end. Ronan hurriedly turned his head. Red mana, like Sita and Ophelia’s, seeped through the crack in the door.

“What the fuck are you teaching me?”

Ronan kicked in the door and stepped out of the building. His eyes widened as he saw the scene outside.