Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

The common perception of the word ‘contemplation’ is generally similar.

Receiving the warm sunlight of early afternoon, holding a cup of tea in one hand, leisurely sinking into one’s inner self.

However, as many people know from experience, contemplation doesn’t insist on peaceful situations only.

Thoughts come at all times.

Even if it’s in the middle of winter while sweating profusely and moving luggage.

“Phew.”

I exhaled heavily.

Four years.

It may be long or short, but it seems it was enough time to turn someone who could easily endure hard labor in a coal mine into a bookish scholar.

“I’m dying.”

A groan involuntarily escaped.

I had been carrying loads, like towers of textbooks and piles of papers, back and forth for two hours.

My mind, which had been filled with excitement or tension until before carrying the luggage, had long been bleached white, and thoughts began to creep in through that void.

I thought about shaking my head to clear these thoughts.

But wouldn’t it be better to sink into contemplation rather than dwelling on the tingling pain in both arms and gasping breath?

Therefore.

I recalled. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

The memory of that day when I met Lieutenant Zeller.

In the end, I couldn’t know what the true intentions of that friendly soldier were until the very end.

What I took away from the party that day was a slight tipsiness and the lieutenant’s boastful claim that “War won’t break out.”

…And the record of the bet that proceeded under the leadership of one young man was all there was.

Various opinions were expressed.

Generally, two to three months was the common opinion. But those who firmly believed war would break out mentioned answers in terms of years, while those with the exact opposite opinion even suggested one month.

I guess the participants in the bet would be quite perplexed by now.

After all, it’s ambiguous who should be considered the winner, given that the city has completely calmed down in just two weeks.

War.

If we exclude that word that overheated the club members, this result actually belongs to the natural category.

It wasn’t even a headline to begin with, and the target of the threat is not visible either.

The Empire is in a far-off place.

Unless there’s a strait within arm’s reach, like in Oslovya, Frauzen is practically a landlocked country.

In a situation where the only object of caution is a gray-haired man striding through the city, there is no reason for Frauzen citizens to tremble in fear right away.

Fear is an emotion that wastes a lot.

Based on extremely rational logic, the city quickly quieted down and regained its daily life as if nothing had happened.

I was the same. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It was certain that Benjamin and Dorothy’s return created a big ripple in my daily life. For a week, Lena would fidget every time she sat at the dining table, and even the twins became calm as if they had never caused trouble.

But waves are bound to subside.

That awkwardness also began to gradually disappear after about two weeks.

Therefore, now that most of daily life has returned to normal, there were two explicit changes that could be counted.

As my status changed from a doctoral student to a postdoctoral researcher, I started receiving a salary and…

Boom―

“Eugene, was that the last of the luggage?”

“I think so, senior.”

“I thought the lab had more books, but it was all that you brought. I didn’t know there would be dozens of textbooks. You really……”

I got my own personal research room.

And so, I left Research Building 3 with all my belongings and arrived at my new research room.

#February 15th. Clear.

Unlike what undergraduates usually assume, the inside of the Research Building is not just a quiet space. After all, it’s a place where many people stay.

Still, if you had to choose between commotion and silence for what suits it, you’d have to choose the latter.

In other words, the commotion on the top floor of Research Building 2 was not an everyday occurrence.

Hoping that the resident of the next research room wasn’t sensitive to noise, I brought in the last pile of books.

“Ugh, phew.”

Boom.

With this, all the luggage has been moved.

But transportation is not the end of moving, it’s the beginning.

Sure enough, the inside of the small research room was in utter chaos.

Documents and stationery, books, and dusty bookshelves.

In the literal pit of dust, Eva Torricelli was crouching with a cloth wrapped around her mouth, sorting out the luggage.

When I was looking at that sight while catching my breath…

Our eyes met.

“You’re here?”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing, just standing there? The place isn’t even organized yet. How can the owner of this research room rest comfortably while the person who came to help is working so hard?”

Eva Torricelli narrowed her eyes.

I didn’t say that unlike before, when she strived to maintain dignity, now in her second year as a doctoral student, she had become quite the homemaker, in response to her angry expression. It was too shameless a thing to say, no matter what.

“That. Please give me that.”

Instead, I took the broom Eva was holding and took over the arduous cleaning work.

She seemed quite pleased to be freed from the double hardship of dust piercing her respiratory system and back pain. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Eva Torricelli, who stretched refreshingly, soon looked around the inside of the research room and said,

“By the way…… This place. It’s really old.”

It might not be the right thing to say right in front of the new occupant, but it was hard to deny.

In fact, this research room looked about ten years older than Room 402 in Building 3, which I had thought was quite old.

In reality, Research Building 2 was older than Building 3, and I heard that this research room had been abandoned for several years.

I decided to evaluate my new research room positively for now.

“I’m quite satisfied in my own way. I like this kind of atmosphere.”

“It might be understandable if it was just the interior, but the location is also the most remote place in Research Building 2. This is like being isolated……”

“Isn’t that too harsh?”

“It’s north-facing, so sunlight doesn’t come in well. Won’t you get moldy?”

“Isn’t that too harsh?”

“Pfft, what are you two doing?”

A sudden burst of laughter from behind.

Turning my head, I saw Johannes laughing while he was in the middle of putting books on the shelf.

Perhaps he thought our fierce verbal exchange was something like a comic dialogue.

Finally, after laughing for a while, Johannes handed a pile of books to Eva and defended me.

“Having your own research room means the institute recognizes you as a proper scholar, Eugene. It’s a shame it’s an old research room, but the academe values time and reputation, so it can’t be helped.”

“……You’re really relaxed, aren’t you, Dr. Johannes Born?”

“HAHAHAHA!”

Johannes burst into laughter again, but it didn’t take long for that laughter to subside.

Mountains of books, papers, and documents…

Traces of the previous user scattered everywhere, and dust flew around like cotton balls…

There was a mountain of cleaning to do.

Realizing that their return time would be delayed if they didn’t deal with it quickly, Johannes and Eva, who had volunteered to help, began to move their hands busily.

Wiping the bookshelves, filling them with books, gathering dust… [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

While these simple repetitive tasks continued, when Johannes opened his mouth again, it might have stemmed from the unexpectedness of contemplation I had felt earlier.

Johannes spoke softly as he put the last book on the second bookshelf.

“Eugene. Your commute must have been quite uncomfortable recently because of that newspaper article.”

“……”

“I hope you don’t mind such things and focus on your work.”

“You don’t need to worry.”

“Haha. Concentrating is your specialty, right?”

With a slight laugh, Johannes continued.

“Do well. That pile of papers… Those are ideas you wrote down as if possessed but didn’t use in your thesis, right? If you combine those well, you could probably write another paper.”

“It’s not that much.”

“Being modest here is just making me miserable, Eugene. Anyway, if you work harder from now on, you could certainly be appointed as a university lecturer, so work hard.”

“To become a lecturer or professor, wouldn’t I have to leave Frauzen?”

“Hmm. That’s a possibility. But no matter what anyone says, Frauzen is the center of magic studies, right? There are a few nearby, too. Universities, I mean. Even if it’s just a lecturer position, the salary is better than a postdoctoral researcher, so personally, I recommend not refusing because of distance. You need to build your foundation, too, right?”

“Foundation.”

I repeated that word while sweeping up the piled dust. 

Foundation.

What does it mean?

It was just about time to stretch my back.

As I lightly stretched, I tapped Johannes’ back and asked:

“Senior.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly does ‘foundation’ refer to?”

The reaction was quite dramatic.

Johannes looked at me with wide eyes, then immediately smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek before answering.

“Why are you asking so grandly?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s ordinary things. Ordinary things. The foundation of life. Getting a job and a house, getting married, taking care of family, building a home.”

“Ah.”

“That’s my dream, you know. Of course, it would be great to succeed as a scholar, but no matter how I think about it, I don’t think I’ll become like Professor Müller even if I age 30 more years.”

“You do lack dignity.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Eva. Were you listening?”

“What? We’re right next to each other, why are you acting like I was eavesdropping……”

Johannes, who started bickering with Eva Torricelli, suddenly looked at me.

He had an expression as if he had forgotten something.

“Oh. Right.”

“Yes?”

“No, I think I didn’t consider that succeeding as a magic scholar might be your serious goal. Of course, I’ll support that goal too. Don’t mind what I said too much.”

“……”

I remained silent, and Johannes seemed to interpret that as affirmation.

“Well, let’s finish working. The sun is setting!”

Johannes smiled brightly and started on the task of filling the last bookshelf.

But there wasn’t a big reason for my silence.

It’s just that, for some reason, it struck me anew that one could dream of such ordinary things.

“No, senior.”

“Hm?”

Facing Johannes and Eva, who turned around, I slightly raised the corners of my mouth.

“It’s the same for me too.”

The sorting of the luggage finally ended as the moonlight began to shine brightly.

After seeing off the two who looked like corpses, instead of going home, I returned to the research room.

[ Research Room 2 – 412 ]

When I opened the door with the unfamiliar nameplate attached, the whole view of the research room came into sight at once.

It might be half the size of the previous research room. If I had to say, it looked closer to a research room used by a professor alone.

One large window and a bookshelf fill one wall. Even that wasn’t enough, so the desk had to be covered with piles of books, and the blackboard was attached bare without any chalk or eraser.

It’s a rough and unfamiliar space in many ways, but…

I smiled.

The thought of coloring my own space with my own colors was quite enjoyable just to think about. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Afterward, until late into the night, I focused on adjusting the research room.

I ended up slightly messing up the space that had been overly organized, and even checked the room note of tobacco leaves I wouldn’t smoke, thinking, ‘Maybe fragrance could be a good method too.

#February 16th. Slightly cloudy.

Knock, knock―

“I’m here.”

When I knocked on the laboratory door after finishing organizing the research room, I found a man there, holding his head in his hands just like two weeks ago.

Shaggy beard and wildly unkempt hair.

“Hmm. I wonder why.”

Werner Ross Diemann, who could be nicknamed a ‘Fallen Magic Scholar’ just by outward appearance, was muttering to himself, not even realizing I had arrived.