Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

T/N: Kindly read the important announcement at the T/N at the end.

Perhaps the space most similar to a hospital room might be a prison cell.

This is because both aim to change the state of the person inside and only allow passive acquisition of external information.

Of course, it’s an exaggeration, but it’s a fact that patients staying in hospital rooms are not well-informed about outside news.

Therefore, there were clear limits to Benjamin’s insight.

He couldn’t know anything other than that I was lying, and only after hearing explanations from brief international affairs to the story of the two soldiers who visited recently did his eyes show understanding.

With a slight cough, Benjamin opened his mouth.

“Who else did you tell besides me?”

“No one.”

“You said there were two days left in the grace period. It seems you’re not planning to tell anyone at all, rather than just not having told them yet.”

Perhaps I should revise my judgment.

Maybe Benjamin’s insight has no limits.

I nodded.

“Yes. I’ll leave after telling them I’ve been appointed to the University of Vals. That’s how it will be officially on paper, too.”

“Is there a reason?”

Benjamin asked in a tone that seemed genuinely curious.

It was awkward because it was so ordinary.

I thought he would scold me.

After a moment’s consideration, I answered.

“Isn’t it less worrying to think I’m suffering from overwork as a university lecturer than being dragged off to a suspicious Research Institute in a distant land?”

“Hmm.”

“And honestly, if I told them, well… It’s obvious Ellie would grab onto my pant leg. I don’t want to advertise to everyone in the neighborhood to look after them because I made a self-sacrificing choice, so please keep it a secret.”

Benjamin didn’t laugh.

But the lack of movement was limited to his mouth.

Taking in his entire expression at once, I could see the humor nestled there.

Benjamin laughed out loud.

“Hehe. What a shame. I was hoping you’d say something meaningful like it being a promise with me or for everyone’s sake.”

“Why?”

“If you had, I was going to give you a good beating.”

“…”

“But if the reason is that you don’t want Ellie grabbing your pant leg, there’s nothing I can do. I understand.”

Benjamin nodded to himself, then looked at me and said:

“So. You agreed to receive the medicine instead of going to the Research Institute?”

“Ah, yes. They said it’s immediately effective for pneumonia.”

“Is that your wish?”

Benjamin turned his head.

Perhaps thanks to Lena meticulously choosing the hospital room, the private room had a much more open window compared to other rooms.

Maybe that’s why. As I followed Benjamin’s gaze, I saw a scene of autumn framed in the clear glass window.

“Then I’ll do my best to get better.”

“…”

“Don’t make that face. I’m not sure whether my health or your time is more valuable, but in any case, you won’t be able to sleep soundly until I get better quickly, right?”

“That’s, true.”

“If I were to collapse, it would all be for nothing.”

I looked at Benjamin’s profile as he laughed heartily.

The robust old man in my memories was nowhere to be seen.

But Benjamin’s eyes were too bright to be those of an old man fighting illness.

Those eyes seemed to be shouting this.

That he was still my support, and would never fall.

Eventually, Benjamin, with his mouth corners lifted high, placed his right arm on my shoulder with a thud.

“Take good care of yourself. That is, if you don’t want to become more frail than me when we meet again.”

“Benjamin.”

“Hm.”

“I always think this, but you’re a really strange person.”

“Hehe. Do you dislike that?”

I shook my head gently.

“No. I think it’s fortunate.”

“Then that’s fine.”

“Eugene. When are you going to formally introduce that Müller girl?”

I answered with a bitter smile instead.

Because this was the one thing I couldn’t give a definite answer to.

Benjamin’s eyes widened slightly, and then the bitter smile spread to him too.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Wait. Before you go.”

Benjamin called out to me as I was about to get up from the chair and leave the room.

“Yes?”

“Eugene. I’m a firm opponent of the worn-out advice that life is a series of choices.”

“…?”

“What is life?”

“Life is…”

“No, don’t answer. Keep thinking about it. That’s my farewell gift.”

Benjamin waved his hand.

“See you again.”

#October 3rd. Clear.

The fact that a week had passed didn’t give me any meaning beyond the passage of time. It was quite a long grace period to be called sudden.

Unexpectedly, what made me realize my farewell to Frauzen was something else.

The coat.

Not the old, worn-out coat I always wore.

The sand-colored raincoat I received from Lieutenant Zeller.

Only after putting on that garment supplied by the Federal Military did I finally feel prepared to leave.

Letting the stiff fabric and peculiar smell, characteristic of new clothes, pass by, I looked around the laboratory one last time.

It’s a laboratory where my living habits have deeply seeped in after staying for over half a year.

But now, from small items like books and pencils to the entire view, they had changed into cold, inanimate objects that had lost their warmth.

It’s strange.

I haven’t removed any of the items; just the owner who used them is leaving, but…

“…”

Yes.

Although I only stayed for about half a year, I’ve come to cherish this space before I knew it.

If I hesitate even at this level of farewell, saying goodbye to this city would be nearly impossible.

I confirmed that a corner of the bookshelf in the laboratory corner was empty and that the box that was originally there was safely in my bag, and then left the laboratory.

The wall clock I briefly checked as I left showed that there was less than an hour left until the train’s departure.

With calm but somewhat busy steps, I left Research Building 2.

The cool early autumn breeze tickles my cheeks.

When you look up indoors, the ceiling blocks your view, but not outdoors.

So, I looked up as I walked along the path. I wanted to check how high the sky had become.

However, I had to stop abruptly in the middle of raising my head.

There was a person.

Someone I know. More than that, it was a face I knew very well, too well to simply say I was acquainted with.

A woman wearing a coat much deeper in color than my raincoat wore a brown scarf around her neck.

Seeing me stop, she blinked her amber eyes and likewise stopped her steps and cane.

It was a sudden stop, and because of that, her chestnut-colored hair, which had grown to her waist, swayed greatly.

Fifteen steps ahead…

Julia tilted her head slightly and smiled gently.

“It’s been a while, Eugene.”

Simultaneously, the autumn sky took a grand step.

A majestic wind blows.

The expression ‘a stream’ doesn’t suit it. It feels as if the entire atmosphere is advancing at once.

A slow gust swept the world.

The gust seemed to have sacrificed speed instead of increasing its scale. It was far from enough to make people stagger, but it wasn’t quite so for the reddened leaves, as the trees surrounding the Research Building all shook at once.

Whoosh―

A rain of fallen leaves descended.

As the view was dyed entirely red, Julia Müller saw Eugene walking briskly towards her in the red rain.

She puffed her cheeks slightly because his expression was too normal for someone who hadn’t shown his face for three weeks.

Remembering that the reason she visited the Research Building was half resentment and half worry, she also thought about putting on a more angry expression.

But.

“…Huh?”

It was strange.

Julia remembered what Eugene’s face had been like for the past few weeks, no, the past few months.

A face full of worries, or a face constantly suffering from a sense of oppression.

It wasn’t like that now.

During the seven seconds it took for Eugene to stand in front of her, Julia tried to figure out what kind of expression that was and came to a conclusion.

Why are you looking apologetic?

Of course, that’s not what came out of her mouth.

She parted her lips.

“You finally bought new clothes? Hmm, though it looks like an ambiguous outfit to wear these days.”

Instead of answering, Eugene smiled slightly.

An inexplicable smile.

Julia smiled back, but her tilted head, which had been a sign of welcome, had already changed to a puzzled tilt.

Regardless, the distance between them narrowed to two spans.

Even though their eyes met as Julia looked up and he looked down, Eugene showed no sign of opening his mouth.

Julia, honestly feeling lonely all this time, decided to act a bit arbitrarily.

She closed her eyes with her hands behind her back.

It meant to kiss her.

After a moment of silence, she heard the sound of Eugene reaching out. The raincoat, which looked new, maximized that noise.

As Julia waited for Eugene to support her head like that…

“…Uh. What are you doing, Eugene?”

She opened one eye due to the sudden hand on her cheek.

What is this? Some new kind of joke?

That thought didn’t last long.

Because of Eugene, who started tapping or stroking not only her cheeks but also her forehead, chin, and all her features, she couldn’t do anything but quietly feel his touch.

Eugene, who had been doing this for a while like a blind person trying to remember objects through touch, only removed his hand when it seemed he could make a mold of her face.

It was ticklish. Quite a bit.

Just as Julia was about to open her mouth to scold him a little…

“Mmph―”

…that attempt was immediately prevented.

Eugene took another step forward and embraced Julia.

It was a hug without mutual agreement, and because of that, Julia met his warmth in a somewhat awkward posture.

“Wow.”

The arms wrapping around her shoulders were stronger than usual.

Not to the point of pain. Well, strangely embarrassing.

Julia smiled awkwardly and buried her face in Eugene’s chest.

“If someone catches us like this, we’ll look like a couple making a big fuss.”

After casually retorting for a moment…

When he didn’t release the hug even after 20 seconds had passed, Julia, with a puzzled feeling, hugged Eugene back and patted his back.

It was indeed strange.

“Hey, Eugene. Did something happen?”

As soon as she asked that, the inexplicable hug ended.

Right after, Eugene took a very strange action, though minor.

He took one step forward, passing by Julia’s side.

The steps continued. 

Thump, thump.

Soon, at the fifth step, Eugene turned back and slowly waved his hand.

It was a common gesture, but Julia couldn’t tell whether it meant a first greeting or a farewell.

Because it was already past the first greeting, and it was strange to part after meeting for just a few minutes.

But even if she didn’t understand the meaning, she could respond.

Julia reflexively waved back.

“Oh.”

Once again.

Whoosh―

After a storm of autumn wind and fallen leaves swept through Julia’s field of vision, only Eugene’s back view, walking far away, remained.

He appeared to leave leisurely without hurrying.

So Julia, without feeling any strangeness, quietly watched Eugene gradually becoming a dot.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thanks for reading this set of five! I have just recently edited Chapters 45 and 50 as they were missing the latter parts, so please re-read them if you haven’t already. 

Also, I will mention ahead of time that I will unfortunately keep the ending of this novel hostage. The site’s ads are currently not being monetized, so I’ll be coin-locking Chapters 136 onwards at 15 coins each. For them to be made free for everyone, for every $5 donated to my Ko-fi (see the start of every chapter for the link), I’ll permanently unlock a chapter for this novel. Anyone may also choose to donate in advance; in that case, I’ll post the chapter free immediately and credit the donator at the start of the donated chapters. 

I apologize for the inconvenience and see you in the next set of five!