Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

A person’s mouth is too small to articulate numerous thoughts in an orderly manner. Words get stuck and hardly come out.

It was none other than Julia who pulled me back to reality as I was suffering from such a conceptual bottleneck.

She parted her scarlet lips and bit my nape.

“Ugh—”

Intense pain.

Whether I swallowed my scream or not, she lightly licked the affected area, then casually broke the embrace as if nothing had happened.

Even if she was once sickly, does this mean her bite force is still intact?

Forgetting words like ‘You planned this’ or ‘I’m sorry for deceiving you all this time’, I rubbed my tingling nape and said:

“That hurts.”

“It was meant to hurt. It’s your punishment.”

“……”

The reason this didn’t feel like a joke was because Julia’s expression was indeed full of anger.

Her eyebrows were sharp.

Not only that. Her voice trembled slightly, creating an atmosphere quite different from her usual playfulness.

After a brief moment of silence with my mouth shut…

Julia pouted and grabbed both sides of my head, then stood on her tiptoes and put strength into her arms.

While staring intently into my eyes…

When our eyes were barely half a span apart….

She poured out her words.

“Eugene. I hate you.”

“Okay.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“I’m not just saying that this time.”

“…Okay.”

“Is it enough if you ask me to wait? Is it enough if you confess that you’re from the Empire? Idiot. You’re the only one who doesn’t know. Also, also. You leave without saying anything, but then you write everything in a letter. Where did you sell your social skills? Ah, maybe you never had any.”

“I’m sorry.”

Even at my sincere apology, her amber eyes narrowed slightly.

Our faces were almost touching. At a distance where we could feel each other’s breath, Julia muttered softly.

“I don’t want to hear you say sorry.”

Then what words do you want to hear?

When I asked with my eyes, Julia took a few slow, deep breaths before continuing.

“What you wrote in the letter… I want to hear it in your voice.”

Even I could immediately understand what that meant.

In the letter written in formal language…

Based on Sally’s advice, instead of fake or false consideration, I had written a letter full of my true feelings and arrogance, and in the middle of it, I had included this phrase:

[Because I love you.]

“You remember, right?”

“I remember.”

“Will you say it? It’s not like you can write it in a letter but can’t say it directly, right? Right?”

We were somehow touching foreheads and looking into each other’s eyes.

A distance where we could almost see into each other’s souls.

Perhaps because of that, I immediately noticed golden waves starting to form in Julia’s eyes.

Julia was flustered.

“R-right?”

The anger in her expression disappeared in an instant. The corners of her eyes drooped. Her amber eyes began to ripple like the sea.

“Please, say it. Eugene……”

I see.

I won’t make you feel anxious.

Despite resolving this many times, it seems I’ve made her feel anxious even after just ten seconds of waiting.

With a bitter smile, I supported Julia’s nape and lower back.

And lightly kissed those scarlet lips.

A small, cheerful sound echoed.

I looked at Julia, who had her eyes wide open and said:

“Was that answer enough?”

“…I told you to say it.”

A calm reply.

But her face quickly changed to a tearful expression, so her voice was quite wet, and therefore not at all dignified. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Perhaps Julia also acknowledged this fact.

She released her arms that were holding my head and buried her face in my chest.

She spoke as if whispering.

“Don’t do that again.”

It was like she was speaking directly to my heart.

“Never again.”

Suddenly, I had a premonition.

I will probably never be able to break this promise again.

I answered by nodding my head instead of using a hundred words.

When Julia raised her head a moment later, her eyes were faintly red.

This time, it was Julia who was about to initiate another kiss.

“Ahem.”

The sound of someone clearing their throat.

A voice that belonged to neither of us split the gap between us.

As if by agreement, Julia and I turned our heads sharply, and at the end of our gaze, we found Dorothy Oslo, who seemed to be protesting with her whole body, saying ‘I feel awkward’.

She looked calm as usual, but upon closer inspection, her eyes were focused somewhere far away. Why?

“Ah.”

Only then did I realize.

On the way to work…

Since I had to be accompanied by a supervisor every time I went out, I wasn’t the only one who came out of the Oslo family’s front door.

She must have seen everything.

Dorothy, dressed in a dark green uniform, slightly pressed down her hat and said:

“How passionate. Both of you.”

“Ugh.”

For the first time in four years, I learned that Julia’s face could turn this red.

Her eyes trembled frantically, and then she started acting.

As if she had never tried to kiss me, she started fixing my tie.

She had done this once before, but her skills were still quite poor. After making a mess of my tie, Julia bowed to Dorothy.

“I-I-I’ll be going now.”

“Okay. Take care.”

And as soon as she heard the response, she left with a whoosh.

Julia disappeared into the alleys of Kram Street without giving me a chance to stop her. I watched her retreating figure with an awkward smile, then suddenly realized it wasn’t the time to smile.

Dorothy slowly approached and asked me.

“Eugene. By the way, who was that girl?”

Come to think of it.

Dorothy was the only one in the family who didn’t know about Julia’s existence.

The commute that day was unusually long. The reason wasn’t just because of the metal badge on my chest.

When the long commute ended and I arrived at the Frauvian Federal University of Magic, I could feel time flowing slowly in a different sense.

In Dorothy’s case, it was a pressure mixed with loose goodwill.

That was also an uncomfortable sensation if you could call it that, but it wasn’t as bleak as what lingered on the campus.

A moment later, when I reached the front of the Research Building.

I encountered a suffocating feeling that was all too familiar.

Late October.

There were still a few days left until the start of the winter semester, and the only people loitering around the notorious Research Building were researchers such as professors and doctoral students. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

They each glanced at me, who suddenly appeared accompanied by a soldier, but.

That was all.

There was cold indifference.

A bitter smile hung on my lips.

The joy experienced when giggling is not the only kind of joy. People find their own joy as they live, and those who find it in academics naturally gather in Research Institutes like this.

And then they find new joy in that place.

I quietly thought.

Now, the Frauvian Federal University of Magic Research Institute had become a place that could no longer give me any joy except academic achievement.

That thought turned into certainty when a doctoral student I knew glanced at my chest and moved on without saying a word.

The academic world is a small society.

While malicious gossip spreads very quickly, rumors about someone who has antagonized the protagonist of that gossip also spread rapidly.

Therefore, when a traitor to the academic world appears, the initial response of its members is quite gentlemanly.

Ignore them.

I let out a light sigh.

I returned to Frauzen.

Not only that. I provided new medicine to Benjamin, avoided house arrest, and was able to conduct research relatively freely.

I don’t regret it. It was certainly the best choice.

But you can’t just gain in the marketplace of deals.

I sacrificed my public reputation.

In other words, I lost all friendships and trust with my colleagues.

And I probably won’t be able to regain them.

“Shall we go?”

“…Yes.”

Dorothy replied softly, and the other supervisor also nodded silently.

I moved towards Research Building 2.

My research lab.

According to Dorothy, the supervisors don’t always accompany me inside the research facilities.

So, I was able to walk up to the 4th floor alone and stand in front of a research lab door.

[Research Building 2 – 412]

The nameplate that greeted me was unchanged from when I left.

I laughed weakly.

Well, I returned less than three weeks after leaving. There wouldn’t have been time to clear out my things.

That’s fortunate.

If the lab had been emptied, I would have had to fill in all those things by myself this time.

Click— 

I turned the doorknob.

I didn’t need a key because I hadn’t locked it when I left.

Amidst the scent that might waft from an old bookstore, a faint pipe aroma, and the dust that sparkled as it met the early morning sunlight, I stepped through the open door and…

“You’ve come.”

“…Professor?”

I dazedly confirmed the face of the unexpected visitor.

In the research lab that should have been empty, belonging to a scholar who had become a traitor from the Empire’s perspective and a foreigner from the Federation’s perspective…

Klaus Müller was tilting a teacup inside.

He said:

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

Is there an ancient magic hidden in the voice of a thesis advisor that makes the listener obey?

Newly understanding the legend passed down among doctoral students, I carefully sat in my seat.

At the same time, Professor Müller put down his teacup.

“When I first saw you, I wondered if Benjamin Oslo had a son. Now it makes sense. Did you meet him when he was sent to the Empire?”

“…So you’ve heard the news. Yes, that’s right.”

“To think his quirk of adopting talented individuals as sons would manifest even across the continent. I understand now.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Professor Müller nodded as if understanding was truly his purpose, and looked at me. Eyes like those of a beast of prey.

Unlike the cooled gazes of others, it was an unchanging gaze.

I suddenly recalled what Klaus Müller’s original reputation was like.

He’s someone who doesn’t come out of his research lab.

He’s someone who undoubtedly has the greatest power in the academic world but never participates in academic faction fights.

He was still looking at the scholar Eugene Oslo. Not Eugene Oslo from the Empire.

“Until when, you said?”

I easily understood the context of his words.

The premise of my proposal, that is, using me as a propaganda scarecrow, is that ‘Eugene Oslo must be an outstanding scholar who stands out in the academic world’.

And that’s not a title befitting a scholar who has only published two papers in journals.

Of course, if you examine the content of the papers, you can guess how much impact those two papers will have on the academic world in the future, but as with any organization, the upper echelons are always busy.

Moreover, this time the counterpart is the Federal Government. They don’t have time to read papers one by one.

So they wanted explicit evidence.

Numbers.

“For now, I was told to submit a draft of the paper before the end of the year.”

“So you’re under pressure for results. There are less than two months left until the end of the year. I think it won’t be easy even for you.”

“As you said.”

“Can you do it?”

Honestly, it’s not easy.

It wasn’t a matter of time.

No matter how hard-working one is, you can’t farm with water drawn from a bone-dry well.

Given that ideas are a sufficient condition for completing a paper, I’d need considerable luck to finish a draft by the end of this year.

But.

“I have to.”

What one can do and what one must do are extremely different propositions.

I must absolutely do it.

If I don’t, I’ll have to leave for the Leslie National Research Institute.

I won’t be given another chance then.

Klaus Müller seemed to have decided to help me by not prying into the detailed circumstances. He opened his mouth.

“Have you decided on a topic?”

“It’s the topic I asked you about a few months ago. The expansion of relativity using Absolute Differential Calculus. I’ve tentatively named it the initial theory.”

“If completed, it would certainly be groundbreaking. Do your best. And.”

And?

Professor Müller changed his gaze.

The void left by the disappeared composure was filled with reproach instead.

He said:

“You…. You didn’t listen to my advice.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t I advise you not to stray far from her side?”

At the same time, his voice replayed from the recesses of my memory.

It’s not even a distant past event.

It was at the beginning of this year, when I received permission to date.

“I remember hearing you say you’d keep it in mind.”

“……”

“I trust my daughter. I don’t care who she chooses as a partner, but I will adamantly refuse someone who stays apart from her.”

“…If I explain that regret will strengthen my resolve, would you understand?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Professor Müller closed his mouth.

With that, I realized my answer was greatly mistaken.

There’s probably no one as stained with regret as Professor Müller.

There’s no energy left to hide my confusion. 

Just as I was about to hastily correct my words…

He said, with a slight smile:

“I understand. It couldn’t be helped.”

“Thank you.”

I expressed my sincere gratitude and resolved once again.

To keep this resolve, I must complete the draft of the paper by the end of the year without fail.

“By the way.”

“Yes?”

Klaus Müller, who had picked up his teacup again, asked casually.

“What’s that mark on your nape?” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It was probably his way of changing the atmosphere.

However, I slightly covered the wound that wasn’t really a wound and diverted the topic with a do-or-die determination.

I won’t lie. I won’t lie.

“It seems I’ve earned quite a bit of hatred due to announcing my origins. I received some physical criticism from a Frauvian resident on my way to work.”

“…You were attacked? You should be careful.”

“Y-yes. I’ll be careful.”

“Since you’ve announced your origin, you won’t be welcomed in the Research Institute as well as in the city. Even if I intervene, I won’t be able to do much. But Johannes Born and Eva Torricelli are in the same research lab, so they’ll welcome you warmly. Rely on them often.”

“Thank you.”

I managed to change the topic well.

While feeling relieved about that, on the other hand, thinking that at least those two people would treat me warmly made me feel much more at ease.

Right. Maybe I’m being too pessimistic about the situation.

I tried to count how many more people would welcome me warmly.

“Ah.”

I ended up freezing my expression.

I recalled the brazen face of my only friend.

“……”

Him.

What thoughts will he have when he sees the badge on my chest?