I Became the Academy’s Time-Limited Genius – Chapter 72

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Translated By Arcane Translations

Translator: Silverriver

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Adele carefully picked up a cookie from the plate on the table. A small chocolate chip was embedded in its center. She looked at it for a moment, then popped it into her mouth.

-Crunch.

The cookie crumbled, the taste of chocolate spreading through her mouth. This was a cafe she had always wanted to visit. Not just for the drinks, but also for the famously delicious cookies.

If she weren’t the Saintess, she would have come here long ago. Adele savored the cookie, a happy sigh escaping her lips. It lived up to its reputation.

After swallowing the last crumbs, she reached for another.

“When are you going to tell me why you called me here?”

Deron’s voice interrupted her. Adele put down the cookie she was about to take, frowned, and glared at him.

“It hasn’t even been five minutes since we arrived.”

“And you’ve spent those five minutes eating cookies.”

Deron tapped the plate.

“I simply asked because you seemed to be… enjoying them so much, all by yourself.”

“D-Did I really eat all of these…?”

Adele blushed and averted her gaze. The plate, which had been full of cookies, was now empty. She had eaten them all, one by one. Knowing this, she avoided Deron’s gaze and asked,

“Deron, aren’t you going to have any?”

“I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. And you seemed to be enjoying them so much, I didn’t want to interrupt.”

As he finished speaking, the waiter arrived with their drinks: coffee for Deron and hot chocolate for Adele. She took the steaming mug of hot chocolate.

“Ah…”

She took a sip, the warmth spreading through her. She suddenly regretted finishing all the cookies. They would have been perfect with the hot chocolate.

Deron, seeing her wistful expression, sighed and called the waiter over.

“Do you have more of these cookies?”

“Yes, would you like another plate?”

“Please.”

The waiter smiled and returned with a plate piled high with cookies. Adele stared at the plate, filled with cookies ordered by Deron himself.

“Aren’t you going to have any?”

At his question, Adele carefully picked up a cookie. An ordinary cookie, with a sweet chocolate chip, just like the others from this cafe. Deron couldn’t have done anything to them.

She took a bite. Delicious. It melted in her mouth, especially with the hot chocolate. Sweet.

As she savored the cookies and hot chocolate, she felt Deron’s gaze on her. He was watching her, sipping his coffee.

“Ahem.”

After finishing the cookies and hot chocolate, Adele cleared her throat and spoke,

“I have something I want to ask you.”

“That was quick.”

She glared at Deron, who was smirking, then continued,

“I heard you went to Winter Castle with Agnes during the break. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“I…”

Adele hesitated, then spoke.

“Could you tell me about Winter Castle? What it’s like… what happened there?”

“May I ask why you’re so curious?”

Deron frowned slightly as he sipped his coffee. He had already finished his drink. He put down his empty cup and looked at Adele, wondering why she wanted to know about Winter Castle.

“I heard many people died there… and Agnes hasn’t been herself since returning. I… I want to bless the fallen, even though I wasn’t there.”

Deron stared at her. Adele, the plate of cookies untouched, looked at him with a determined expression.

That small blessing… it wouldn’t do anything for the dead. Yet, she wanted to offer it anyway.

Her sincere compassion was truly befitting of a Saintess. Deron chuckled.

“Very well. But it’s a long story.”

“That’s fine. I don’t have any classes or appointments after this.”

Deron nodded at her words and began his story.

The tale of a fortress that had endured a harsh winter, its flames burning brightly amidst the snow and ice.

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The story of Winter Castle took longer than expected. I had tried to keep it brief, but Adele insisted on hearing every detail.

So I told her everything. Everything I had seen. The deaths, the burning passion, the frenzy of battle.

I told her everything, except for what had happened with my mother. After hearing my story, Adele asked,

“Are you… alright?”

I tilted my head, unsure what she meant. Adele hesitated, then spoke,

“Everything you just described… you experienced it all.”

“You asked me to tell you everything…”

“People died. You witnessed a war. Why are you acting like… nothing happened?”

I fell silent at her question. It was the same question I had been asking myself. Why didn’t I feel the same way Agnes did?

I unconsciously clutched my chest, where the demonic energy was contained. Just like Bell and Count Cardia had said…

…my heart was cold. I felt nothing, neither the thrill of my first kill nor the frenzy of battle. When the demonic energy surged, my mana suppressed it.

When it was dormant, my heart, cold and lifeless, beat steadily in my chest.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s not…”

“Perhaps I… simply don’t feel those emotions.”

Adele fell silent. I glanced at her, then stood up.

“I’ve answered your questions, so I’ll…”

“Stop.”

My body froze. I looked at Adele. Her brown hair shimmered, tinged with gold from the divine power she had used.

“There’s a difference between not feeling pain and not being able to feel pain, Deron.”

“I’m not saying I can’t…”

Adele pressed her hand against my abdomen, hard. I winced, the bandaged wounds stinging.

“Did you think I, the Saintess, wouldn’t notice your injuries?”

“….”

“Sit down. Before I get angry.”

I sat down without a word. I could have left, but there was no reason to. Adele sat down next to me.

She stared at me intently and muttered,

“Stay still.”

A golden light gathered at her fingertips. Divine power. The demonic energy in my heart stirred at its presence, spreading warmth through my body.

But unlike what had happened in the auction house…

“My body rejects divine power. You know that.”

“I remember.”

Adele’s hand touched my abdomen. A warm energy spread through me.

‘…The demonic energy isn’t reacting?’

For some reason, it wasn’t going berserk like it had in the auction house. Instead, it concentrated in my heart, as if trying to block the divine power.

“Hmm…”

Sweat beaded on Adele’s forehead. She seemed to be concentrating. The warm energy spread through my body, healing my wounds. All the injuries, except for the one on my arm that Medea had treated.

The lingering aches and pains vanished.

“There. All done.”

Adele wiped the sweat from her brow. I unconsciously touched my body. The wounds were gone.

“How…?”

“How what?”

“My body didn’t reject it. I should have coughed up blood if I received divine power.”

Adele took a bite of a cookie.

“Oh, that. I just… saw it.”

“…?”

Saw what? I tilted my head, and Adele explained,

“I did a lot of thinking during the break, after my spar with Agnes. I felt like I was… falling behind.”

“What does that have to do with my condition…?”

“So I strengthened my divine power during the break.”

My jaw dropped. I knew Adele, the Saintess, was incredibly powerful, but… divine power wasn’t something you could just… strengthen.

Divine power was a miracle, a divine blessing so rare that most people never even witnessed it. It wasn’t something you could simply increase like mana.

Well, mana wasn’t something you could just increase either, was it?

“I strengthened my divine power and traveled around a bit, to practice controlling it. And… I started seeing things.”

“Seeing what?”

“Places I should go, and places I shouldn’t.”

Adele’s expression turned serious. She touched my chest and asked,

“What is it with your heart? I can cleanse the rest of your body, but I can’t even approach your heart.”

I hesitated, unable to answer. I couldn’t just tell her about the demonic energy.

“I can’t tell you about…”

“Then have a cookie.”

Adele suddenly picked up a cookie and offered it to me. I took a bite, the sweet chocolate melting in my mouth. I frowned.

“What are you doing…?”

“You weren’t going to answer anyway. So have a cookie instead.”

Adele sat up straight, a smug look on her face.

“There. Delicious, isn’t it?”

I swallowed the cookie and asked,

“Did you forget which cookie that was?”

“Which cookie?”

Did she really not know? I sighed.

“It’s nothing.”

“What? What is it? Why did you stop?”

“It’s better for you not to know.”

I could imagine the trouble she would cause if she realized she had just fed me a cookie she had already bitten into. I decided not to tell her.

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“Yeah, I know the title seems like it’s jumping, but it’s actually correct. It is what it is!