Baekhwa I-yeon
The woman hired as a tutor for the Yeon Clan was one of the newest members of the Imperial Academy, renowned as the empire's finest scholarly institution.
On the surface, there seemed to be no reason for someone of her standing to take a position teaching at the Yeon Clan.
"Ugh... I'm short on funds again."
That is, if you ignored the issue of research funding.
The academy provided its members with imperial grants, but it wasn't enough to support her work.
For ordinary members, the funding would have sufficed, but her expensive field of study made that impossible for her.
Like a money-devouring beast, she'd drained her grants dry over the years.
Eventually, they ran out completely, forcing her to make some tough choices to continue her research.
"What am I going to do...?"
Her exceptional talent was inversely proportional to her sparse connections, making it impossible to cover the astronomical costs. With no answers in sight, she could only sigh repeatedly.
That's when the summons from the academy director arrived.
"What!? They'll pay in platinum for tutoring a child!? And this much!?"
She devoured the commission letter with her eyes and immediately decided to accept the Yeon Clan's offer.
"I need to hurry before any competition shows up!"
The academy had likely only extended the offer to a select few with real talent!
With a prestigious clan like the Yeon Clan seeking a tutor for their Young Master, she had to move fast.
"I'll pack the bare minimum and head out right away."
Returning to her quarters that doubled as her lab, she began preparing for an extended trip.
Not just her research documents, but basic primers for teaching a child, along with books on pedagogical methods for more efficient instruction.
In her rush, she paused in front of a bookshelf crammed with volumes.
"Hmm..."
Staring at the shelf filled with her specialized texts, she briefly hesitated before sweeping them all into her bags without exception.
"If I'm doing this, I might as well be thorough."
It might seem excessive for just tutoring a child, but what if the kid turned out to be a once-in-a-generation genius?
'Though that's just in case, of course.'
She probably wouldn't need them.
But contrary to her expectations, she later reflected on this choice as the greatest accomplishment of her life.
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On her way to the Yeon Clan estate, she picked up etiquette books and basic martial arts texts she'd overlooked, and surprisingly, she was hired as their tutor without much hassle.
Perhaps it was her affiliation with the prestigious Imperial Academy.
Once she revealed her membership, the interview sailed through smoothly.
After a brief Q&A with the intimidating Clan Head, she was led by the steward to meet her charge, the "Young Master."
And there he was—the Young Master.
Her first impression of him could only be described as unique.
"You're the tutor?"
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Baekhwa I-yeon, the one who'll be handling your education from now on. Feel free to call me Baek I-yeon."
"Nice to meet you, Teacher I-yeon. I'm Yeon Je-seong. As you can see, I'm six years old."
His appearance was that of a typical child, but conversing with him felt like dealing with a fully grown adult man.
An old soul in a child's body, perhaps.
He was anything but ordinary, in every way.
Then again, as the Young Master of the Yeon Clan, maybe that was to be expected.
Anyway.
Their brief first meeting passed, and full lessons began.
Hired not as a regular teacher but as a private tutor, she meticulously covered not only various subjects but also basic common knowledge.
Three days into the lessons, she realized the Young Master possessed talents far beyond her imagination.
Perhaps she'd underestimated him because he was only six.
She still couldn't forget the question he'd thrown at her on the first day.
"Teacher, how can you substitute mana with aura?"
Substitute mana... with aura?
Of course, research on the topic was underway worldwide.
The Imperial Academy was conducting similar studies, and she'd even read the relevant papers.
In a standard lecture, she could have explained it coherently.
"Uh... w-well, you see..."
But the boy before her was still just six, old soul or not!
Explaining aura-mana correlations and the papers' complex theories at a six-year-old's level? Her eyes darted wildly from that moment on.
"Y-Young Master? How about we do a fun puzzle instead..."
"Later. Right now, I want to know if aura can replace mana. Mana draws in external natural energy, refines it in the body, and uses it. But aura uses internal energy. Their properties differ, so they have clear strengths and weaknesses as cultivation methods. If we could substitute one for the other, we could achieve revolutionary progress beyond our current limits."
What was this six-year-old saying?
"My guess is aura's like a ceaselessly flowing gaseous energy. But I've heard mana feels more like a liquid that stays in the heart, independent of the caster's actions. Like there's a faucet in the heart, and activating it draws out the mana? What do you think, Teacher?"
To put it bluntly, she'd grossly underestimated the Young Master.
What was that about packing her specialized texts "just in case" and not needing them?
What nonsense!
That choice had been the best decision of her life.
Without those prepared texts and papers, teaching him would have been a nightmare.
Of course, that didn't mean things were easy now.
Still, extending what should have been a one-month gig into a full year? That had to count for something.
For someone like her, who saw herself as a hardworking mediocrity, handling a prodigy worthy of being called talent's darling was impossible.
So after a year...
Having exhausted every ounce of her knowledge—and even inventing some on the spot—she finally raised the white flag.
"You're quitting? W-Why!? Was something uncomfortable? Or am I going too slow? Should I speed up the pace?"
Stop.
Any faster, and I'll actually die.
"No, it's not that."
It wasn't the clan's accommodations, the Young Master's attitude, or the generous salary.
It was simply...
"A genius needs to be taught by a genius."
She just wasn't cut out for it.
'Though I've never felt the wall of talent quite this sharply before.'
Back in her academy days, she'd never felt this level of helplessness...
Her trivia knowledge had reached its limit for teaching him.
It was time to go.
But the Young Master didn't see it that way and desperately tried to hold her back.
"Don't go, Teacher! I need you—no one else!"
"Young Master...!"
He truly valued her that much!
"You promised to demonstrate mana cubes from a fourth-dimensional perspective and multi-dimensional unfolding today!"
"Thank you for everything. Farewell!"
It absolutely wasn't because she feared his questions.
"Teacher! Wait—Teacher!!"
Definitely not.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After announcing her resignation to the Young Master,
the Yeon Clan desperately tried to retain me as I prepared to leave.
Not only did the Young Master adore me, but they'd already recognized his extraordinary genius within the clan, so they felt no one could replace me.
The steward, the chief administrator, even the Clan Head himself stepped in with subtle persuasion. They must have been quite desperate.
But my resolve remained firm despite their pleas.
They offered raises, better conditions, even future research support, but I gently shook my head.
As I turned down what anyone would call a golden offer, the Clan Head sank deeper into the sofa and slowly spoke.
"Sigh... If that's your decision, I won't stop you. Since you're the one breaking the contract, there should be a penalty, but considering your contributions to my son's education, we'll waive it."
"Thank you for your generosity."
"...Just one last question. Why are you leaving?"
You must be one of the top members at the Imperial Academy.
His acknowledgment filled her with pride, even as she offered a wry smile.
"Because there's nothing left to teach."
"...What?"
"Did you know? The curriculum I planned when I first arrived was shattered on day one."
"Hm."
"Clan Head, the Young Master is a genius."
"..."
Etiquette and history progressed normally, but general knowledge and martial arts showed absurd learning speeds.
Especially common knowledge—he seemed so proficient, it was like he already knew it all. No wonder she'd pegged him as an old soul.
Martial arts was no different, if not even more so.
Day one: Discussion on aura.
Day two: Debate on mana.
Day three: Theories on fusing aura and mana.
Anyone might think that progression sounded natural, but for a six-year-old? No.
"A genius needs to be taught by a genius."
Not a mediocrity like me.
"I think you're genius enough..."
"No. I've just mimicked one through effort."
I'm sorely lacking compared to the real thing.
At that, the Clan Head lifted his teacup and spoke.
"...You might have mimicked a genius with ordinary talent. But even glimpsing their realm through imitation—that's talent in my book."
"..."
"My son said something similar. That the textbooks you gave him weren't the kind sold in shops."
"That's..."
He was right.
All the textbooks for the Young Master were handwritten by me.
Standard texts covering limited scopes couldn't handle his education.
I needed books encompassing broad theories and concepts.
But none existed on the market...
So I wrote them myself.
"Compiling books might just take knowledge and effort. But integrating, organizing, and simplifying them for a six-year-old? No ordinary tutor could do that."
That's talent in itself.
"I doubt I could find anyone in the empire more helpful to my son. So, one last time: Won't you share more of your knowledge with him?"
His words brought memories flooding back.
'Teacher I-yeon! Look! I made my own cultivation method!'
'Teacher I-yeon! I want to research aura circulation—any good books?'
'Teacher I-yeon! I came up with a revolutionary training regimen! 100 push-ups! 100 sit-ups, 100 squats. Then 10km run. Every day! Won't that make me stronger than anyone!?'
'Teacher I-yeon...!'
'Teacher I-yeon—!'
'Teacher—!'
I slowly opened my eyes.
"I'm sorry. There's someone more suited than me."
The thought was fleeting; my answer swift.
And so,
after a year of teaching, she decided to step down.
Thanks to the unexpectedly generous pay from the Yeon Clan, her research funds were ample.
But she resolved to pause her research for now.
The reason was simple.
"I'm still not good enough."
Watching the Young Master had made it clear.
What good was the Imperial Academy? They were just the empire's top talents.
Her learning was still insufficient.
She needed more.
A place to gather even more knowledge.
If there was a next time, somewhere she could teach him to the end.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Yes.
"Shall we head to Academy City?"
She'd been there once before, but viewing it as an educator would be different.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Yeon Je-seong was—
"Argh! What do I do!? I was just about to research if I could replicate comic techniques!"
He practiced manifesting aura in both hands, deep in training.