Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

People say that humans rarely change, but that doesn’t mean they possess immutability.

People do change, it’s just a matter of degree.

Take me, for instance. It took less than a month for a young man engrossed in research, wearing tattered clothes, to don a metal badge.

But the man before me had changed particularly little.

Werner Ross Diemann.

Now, as I face him in front of the Experimental Building, the only change I can find in him is that he’s ‘a bit neater’.

Since it’s the final experiment, he must have groomed himself a bit. Nevertheless, the air of a research fanatic still emanates from him inevitably.

There stood a man with a shabby exterior but an upright interior.

Looking at me, who had lived hiding a shabby interior.

“Long time no see, theorist.”

“…Long time no see.”

“Good thing you’re not late. I’ll give you a lab coat and safety goggles, so follow me. You weren’t planning to enter the lab in that outfit, were you?”

I smiled bitterly.

Indeed, it’s not an appropriate outfit for experiments. The sand-colored raincoat and metal badge were closer to that of a soldier than a scholar. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

But I didn’t follow Werner’s words.

There was something I needed to do first.

“What are you doing, not following?”

Did I say he had hardly changed?

I suppose I should correct that. He too is human, and has changed.

The tone urging me feels awkward.

It’s not just the words. All the actions and atmosphere somehow feel different from usual. Why?

He’s not smiling.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“For deceiving you for five years.”

Werner stopped walking and turned to look at me.

“……”

“You’ve probably already seen it in the newspapers, but I felt I should tell you personally. I’m from the Empire, deserving of hatred.”

“Huh.”

“I’m not someone worthy of your approval.”

I could feel Werner quietly looking down at me as I bowed in apology.

Although we’ve spent time together since our undergraduate days, there haven’t been many instances of prolonged silence between us.

Even when immersed in study, Werner used to constantly chatter about something.

Not now.

Amidst the cool silence, Werner approached me, stepping firmly on the dry grass.

I was prepared to accept any insults.

I humbly closed my eyes and…

“Gah.”

Suddenly my throat was constricted.

“Has it been so long that you’ve become strange? Did that cane woman dump you?”

“Not, dumped. But, wait.”

Just like his appearance, Werner’s physical strength can hardly be called impressive even as a joke, but his attack targeting my weak spot perfectly choked my windpipe.

The humble apologetic posture was just psychological preparation. It wasn’t enough to withstand this retaliatory chokehold.

Squeezing tightly, Werner spoke with my head trapped between his side and arm.

With that brazen smile I remember.

“Let me rephrase. Did you think I was gullible enough to be completely fooled by your shoddy lies for five years?”

“Let, go, and talk.”

“Puh, this is revenge for when your sister came to visit, so bear with it quietly.”

It was crystal clear which incident he was referring to.

He was still holding onto that?

This bastard, was he actually narrow-minded? I wanted to protest like that, but in this immobilized situation, opening my mouth would only result in choking sounds.

I couldn’t raise my head due to the chokehold. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

In the end, without even being able to confirm if there was a smile on his face, I focused on listening to Werner’s words.

“Don’t ask anything? You should say something that makes sense.”

“……”

“I’ll return the favor exactly. Don’t ask anything. You came to observe the experiment you once helped with, and that’s enough.”

“Are you, accepting my apology?”

Only then did the restraint loosen.

I straightened my posture, holding my aching neck.

Finally, I could face his grinning face.

“There’s no need to accept or not accept in the first place. I would have answered long ago. From the Empire? It doesn’t matter. You’re a theorist, and a man I acknowledge. Nothing else matters.”

Werner lifted one corner of his mouth and lightly punched the area around my solar plexus.

“Let’s go conduct the experiment now.”

“Ah.”

“Surely you’re not thinking of disregarding my aspiration just because you’ve achieved enough research results yourself?”

The suspicious gaze he shot at me with a quite serious attitude was the most ordinary behavior.

Just then, my breathing recovered.

I smiled, as if smiling for the first time in my life.

“Of course not.”

“Hmm.”

“By the way, it ended safely after all. Is this really ‘the most dangerous experiment’?”

“Shut up, theorist.”

We walked towards the experimental building, both of us loosening our ties slightly.

Although there was a metal badge on my chest, the smiles on our lips were quite similar.

“A lot has changed, hasn’t it?”

Screwdrivers and wrenches. Various parts and the grease stains from them.

Those were all I remembered, but in the lab I returned to after half a year, it was hard to find any of that crudeness from before.

The experimental equipment occupying the center of the lab is still there.

But starting with the temporary concrete barrier with a glass window erected in front of it, to the number of people ultimately participating in the experiment, many things had changed.

The most noticeable change is the number of people involved.

In stark contrast to when Werner and I conducted it alone, there were three or four people in the lab.

One was a supervising soldier. The other two were experiment assistants and observers from the Federal Military.

Their gazes were, of course, unwelcome.

“Looks like I won’t be welcomed, even though I participated in the initial stages of the experiment.”

“It might be my fault too.”

“Huh?”

“Theorist, I tried to request your help to finish the experiment, but those who aren’t even part of the Research Institute kept rejecting it. After continually protesting to at least give you observer status, permission was finally granted, so the military gentlemen’s mood is quite unpleasant.”

So that’s why I was granted observer status despite it being a group research.

Since there was a supervising soldier openly attached, we had to converse at quite a high volume, and consequently, the two military researchers’ expressions soured.

One of them pointed at me and said: [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Dr. Oslo. Don’t forget your status as an observer and stay put behind the barrier.”

An aggressive yet stern tone.

I silently nodded my head in agreement.

There’s nothing to gain by irritating them.

Only one person, Werner, furrowed his brow as if displeased.

“Well, let’s start. Check the sample and mana field strength first. It’s the last experiment, and we’ll increase the mana field strength to the maximum, so let’s confirm properly.”

It sounded like instructions at first glance, but apparently, it wasn’t directed at the two military researchers.

While Werner prepared the experimental equipment alone, the two researchers put on safety goggles and entered behind the barrier where I was.

A different one from earlier. I quietly asked the one who looked gentler:

“Aren’t you participating in the experiment?”

“We are experiment assistants.”

Due to his gentle appearance, it was easy to read his intentions.

He didn’t have a scholar’s enthusiasm to help with the experiment of the century. He was probably just following orders from above.

Considering how much Werner had been looking forward to this experiment, they’re not very suitable partners.

I want to help, but.

On the other hand, just as I had read his expression, he seemed to have read my thoughts as well.

“As I said earlier, you are here as an observer, Doctor. Experiment participation and access to research data are not permitted, so please stay here quietly.”

“Why was this barrier erected?”

“Just in case, and to provide a safety zone if an accident occurs. But there haven’t been any accidents or malfunctions during the experiments, so you can rest assured……”

“Theorist!”

At that moment, there was a cheerful voice cutting through the conversation.

I let out a small laugh and looked at Werner through the small glass window.

“Yes?”

“We’re starting! Watch carefully!”

He looked quite excited.

I understood. After all, Werner had dreamed of accomplishing this experiment since we first went to that restaurant after arriving in Frauzen years ago.

I know well how one’s heart pounds just before a long-held wish is about to come true.

Surely Werner’s heart is pounding just like mine did when I first set foot on Frauvian soil after disembarking from the ship.

I smiled slightly and waved my hand.

At the same time, Werner lifted the switch.

Click. 

Along with the mechanical sound, a rumbling noise gradually began to circulate inside the lab.

A mana field forms in the massive experimental equipment, accelerating the material inside it.

Because of the enormous mana needed to accelerate a sample too small to be seen even with a microscope, the operating noise was as formidable as the amount of mana.

This is the final experiment and a maximum acceleration experiment.

Amidst the noise and vibration befitting that grand title, I could see Werner, who hadn’t yet come to the barrier side, smiling slightly.

A thoroughly satisfied smile. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I know that smile.

It once graced my lips too, and it’s the kind I’ll make when I pass this year.

“Wait.”

I, who had been looking at the glass window, adjusted my posture.

I tapped the researcher next to me who was staring intently through the glass window.

A puzzled gaze returned.

“What is it?”

“Isn’t it strange?”

“Pardon?”

“I hear a sound I’ve never heard before.”

A high-pitched sound pierced the eardrums.

It’s a sound I didn’t hear when I was helping with this experiment in the spring of this year.

It’s clearly a malfunction.

However, the intense noise was more than enough to bury my muttering. The researcher frowned.

“I can’t hear anything. More importantly, stay still. How many times do I have to remind you of your observer status?”

Of course, I couldn’t hear his angry response either, but it wasn’t just because of the noise.

Goosebumps cover my entire body.

What should I call this feeling?

An unpleasant sensation circled my entire body, as if magic studies, which had clearly ascended to the ranks of proper science, had suddenly reverted to ancient superstition.

I moved half-unconsciously.

I grasped the grimoire in my pocket and pulled it out.

“Dr. Oslo!”

“Werner! Get behind the barrier!”

Did he not hear my shout?

Werner, who had been intently looking at the experimental equipment, finally raised his head after a few more seconds had passed.

He was frowning.

I quickly recited the activation phrase. 

[Barrier].

Even an old combat spell that has lost its effectiveness should serve its function if layered about five times. 

With that judgment, a blue barrier enveloped Werner as he turned away from the experimental equipment―