Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

If there’s something I’ll never forget in my life, it’s probably Benjamin’s first teaching.

Magic requires imagination, but magic isn’t imagination itself.

As long as the essence of magic is defined vaguely and sensually, it loses its qualification as a science. The possibility of refutation disappears, and methodologies like deductive reasoning won’t work.

Magic is a science. It is thoroughly systematic. [Only on GalaxyTranslations! / Axiomatic]

Therefore, when I tried to teach Julia ‘how to walk’ five years ago, I must have been on the border between recklessness and foolishness.

“…You only realized that now?”

“Back then, I thought it could be done with willpower.”

“Really.”

The grass touching my chin is sharp.

Most people don’t know that the leaves that look fresh and green are surprisingly sharp.

Well, it’s a sensation you can only know if you fall face-first on a grass field in early spring.

It’s not easy unless you’re quite clumsy at walking. You have to be someone who tries to walk with magic despite being paralyzed in the right leg.

That was me.

In the garden in front of the hospital…

A shadow fell over my view as I lay face down on the grass.

I barely raised my head to look up at Julia’s chestnut hair.

Her shaded features draw a very serious expression.

Julia grasped my left hand tightly and said:

“Your chin isn’t broken, right? Hold on tight. Heave-ho―”

Simultaneously, she muttered. 

[Levitation].

I stood up with Julia’s help.

Julia lifts me slightly, while my body weight is supported by the Type I Magic spell, [Levitation].

There were twists and turns, but now we’re used to this too.

“Shall we aim for ten steps again? Well.”

“…Because we can do it with willpower, right?”

“Hehe. That’s right.”

I tried to smile at Julia, who was grinning with her hands on her hips.

Rehabilitation Week One.

Best Record: Eight Steps. We decided not to count the number of falls from now on.

#May 2nd. Clear.

“Ack.”

Rolling on the dirt in front of my lover was more pitiful than I had expected. Enough to involuntarily recall something from long ago.

Yes. I said that too.

I deeply empathized with Julia’s outburst from five years ago.

[Walk Assistance] was more difficult than I had imagined.

How do people walk? In answering that question, I was no different from a baby about to take its first steps.

As punishment for underestimating a baby’s lifelong project, I planted my nose in the grass once again.

Julia only physically supported me when I fell on the first day of rehabilitation.

Not only was it difficult to support me due to the basic difference in physique, but unlike her whose goal was ‘to walk somehow’, my goal was a ‘complete return to daily life’, so Julia decided to stand far away and indicate the target point.

Therefore, Julia came running with small steps to me, who had been embraced by the grand soil instead.

“Are you okay? Your nose isn’t broken, is it?”

“You’re not hoping it is, are you?”

“O-of course not. But.”

I turned over and met Julia’s eyes.

“But?”

“I told you, you shouldn’t operate [Walk Assistance] like that.”

It’s quite a serious expression.

There’s no playfulness in that expression. May. With the conference date approaching, Julia had been visiting the hospital every day and sincerely giving advice.

I carefully stood up using only my left leg and left arm, then received the crutch Julia handed me.

“Be careful.”

“Thanks. So, how should I do it?”

Although I couldn’t tell Julia, the advice was mostly unhelpful.

Julia, unaware of my feelings, began to explain.

“It feels like the process and goal are reversed. Instead of moving joints appropriately to walk, it feels like you’re just imitating the appearance of walking. That’s why it’s jerky. Ugh, this is difficult. Anyway, you’re putting in too much force.”

“……”

“You didn’t understand, did you?”

I nodded, and Julia’s expression noticeably became gloomy.

Eventually, after letting out a shallow sigh, Julia suddenly widened her eyes.

Perhaps a good idea had occurred to her.

“Eugene.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll show you directly.”

There was no time to stop her.

Julia, who had approached me briskly as I was catching my breath leaning on the crutch, lifted the hem of her long skirt to reveal her bare legs.

“Uh, Julia?”

“Don’t get distracted and watch properly. I’m more of an expert when it comes to [Walk Assistance].”

Then, she suddenly started walking in front of me.

Her slender legs move organically back and forth, achieving natural walking.

From toes to ankles, knees, and hip joints.

Surprisingly, she seemed to pay less attention to the precision of each joint’s movement, while focusing more on the coordination between joints and flexible speed control.

It’s not an imitation of walking but is a set of actions that gently guide walking. That must be the key to [Walk Assistance].

This was the result of ‘watching properly’ as Julia had asked, and…

Julia seemed to realize what that meant only after crossing the quiet garden.

“Ah.”

Julia blushed as she saw me subtly averting my gaze.

If it had been one of Julia’s usual pranks, she would have grinned rather than blushed.

But judging by that appearance, it seems it was an action born out of a genuine desire to help with my rehabilitation.

“You’re mean.”

Julia, who had slightly bitten her lower lip, slowly lowered her skirt hem.

“…It was helpful.”

“…Well, that’s good then.”

Julia, who had raised her eyes sharply, softened her attitude again.

It’s probably thanks to me succeeding in walking ten steps after several more attempts.

After ten steps came 15 steps.

Then finally, the last goal was to circle the garden once.

And when I had rolled on the grass about six times before even reaching half of circling once, Julia helped me up with an awkward smile.

“Shall we take a break, Eugene?”

It was a lunch break under the name of rest.

Thanks to the basket Julia had brought, containing enough food to easily handle one meal, we were able to feel the cool breeze after spreading a mat in an open area at the edge of the garden.

After finishing the meal, I handed a steaming cup of tea to Julia beside me.

“Here.”

“Wow. Thank you.”

One of the few advantages of being a magic scholar is being able to drink warm tea anywhere.

It was a joke Louise made when teaching the Type II Magic spell [Ignite] in the [Type II Magic Practice] lecture, but looking at Julia’s profile as she sits demurely tilting her teacup, I think it’s not wrong.

If this were just a leisurely situation, I would have been more at ease, but…

This is rehabilitation, not a picnic, and with the conference approaching, it was far from a peaceful rest.

Seeing the worry underlying Julia’s expression, I smiled uncharacteristically clearly.

“I think I’ll be able to circle the garden easily by this afternoon.”

“Huhu.”

Julia put down her teacup and moved slightly closer to me.

“If you’re going to speak so awkwardly, you might as well just say ‘Don’t worry’ outright.”

“……”

“I’ll trust that and not worry. You said this afternoon, right?”

Her mischievous smile is annoying.

But it’s still reassuring.

After all, we’ve maintained a friendship for nearly five years. We’re not strangers to know that her unique way of speaking is a subtle way of saying ‘I’m okay’.

So I smiled slightly at Julia, who was leaning on my shoulder and looking up at me.

Although I’m not sure about her playing with my hair in return.

Julia, who had been twirling my hair with her slender fingers, suddenly blinked in surprise.

“Gray hair. It’s fascinating.”

“Just now?”

“I’ve only ever looked at it. And as soon as we became close enough that I thought I could touch it a bit, you collapsed. Wow. It’s slightly curly.”

When you put it that way, I have nothing to say again.

After playing with my hair for a while, Julia suddenly moved away from me a bit and hugged her knees.

Julia, who rested her cheek on her knees, looked at me blankly and started speaking.

“Eugene. If it’s not rude, can I ask you something? Could you tell me about the old days?”

“The old days…”

Of course, she’s not talking about the mere few months I spent in the Federation before entering the University of Magic.

My gaze sinks.

I saw Julia flinch at the change in my eyes, but I hoped she would understand that I wasn’t particularly expressing refusal.

It’s because just thinking about it makes me like this.

I’m reminded of that gloomy sky.

“You mean my story from the Empire.”

“Yes. That.”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m curious. I’m sorry. Should we postpone it?”

I shook my head.

There was a separate issue that would really be problematic.

“It’s not that. It’s such a long story that if I start telling it carelessly, today’s walking practice might end just like this. Is that okay?”

“…Didn’t you say you’d be able to circle the garden easily by this afternoon?”

“That’s a difficult constraint.”

A playful smile.

I also smiled slightly and then slowly began the story.

The story of a boy who lived under a bridge.

It was truly a long story. By the time I ended with ‘And that’s how I’m sitting next to you now’, the whole sky had already turned crimson.

It’s different.

That’s what I thought as soon as I took the second step.

Five years ago, Julia’s walking practice was truly no different from a toddler’s first steps. It was someone who hadn’t walked for over a decade learning to walk again.

But in my case, it’s just rehabilitation.

One leg is fine, and if I can regain the lost feeling using [Walk Assistance], it will be an immediate success. There’s no need to spend a whole month on it.

And now.

“Phew.”

My steps were almost identical to those before the accident.

I quickly circled half the garden, and half remained.

Julia’s expression, watching me silently from afar, was quite dramatic.

However, she didn’t say a word, probably to avoid breaking my concentration.

One step.

Another step.

With the last ten steps remaining before reaching Julia.

Twilight poured down.

The sun hangs on the edge of the horizon. As the whole world is divided into a world of black and red, a woman resembling the sunset gathers her fists in front of her chest.

Wavy chestnut hair. Eyes focused only on me.

It feels fateful.

Now is the time.

One, two. When I finally took seven steps, I collapsed as if sitting down. Julia embraced her body as if truly regretful.

“Ugh. You were almost there!”

As if disappointed by the failure just before success.

It’s not a failure.

“Still, yes. It was a comfortable gait. You really might be able to circle the garden once this after―”

Hup. 

The sound of breath stopping brushed my ear.

It was natural.

I hadn’t collapsed but knelt down, and I was in the posture of lifting a small box placed on my left hand.

There’s no way she, being so perceptive, wouldn’t guess.

“Uwah……”

“Julia.”

“Y-yes.”

I was short of breath. After taking a slight breath as if quenching thirst, I raised my head and met her gaze.

Her amber eyes were wide open.

It’s time to say the prepared words. I spoke while opening the box with one hand.

“Miss Julia Müller. Will you spend your life with―”

Clunk.

An unpleasant sound touches my eardrum.

In a split second, I blamed my stupidity a thousand times over.

Where is there an idiot who realizes in practice that opening a ring box with one hand ―and the non-dominant hand at that― is quite difficult?

A vast amount of confusion rushes in.

The paralyzed reason instantly rendered [Walk Assistance] useless.

“―Oh.”

Thud―!

I fell to the left, still in the posture of holding out the box.

It’s so absurd that I can’t even laugh.

It was always like this. Constantly stepping on feet at the ballroom, always being seen through when trying to put on airs. I can’t help it since I’m not the protagonist of a play.

Will she laugh at me?

When I opened my eyes that I had closed like that…

“Heave-ho.”

Thud― 

Another person fell in front of me.

It was closer to laying down rather than falling ungracefully like someone, but still.

From above, it would still look like a man giving a ring to a woman.

Of course, since our vision doesn’t resemble a bird’s, I could only look at Julia’s amber eyes through the gaps in the grass. The scent of roses brushes by amid the smell of grass.

So what about Julia?

She’s looking at me.

Just blinking her large eyes while looking at me, then slightly surprised by my gaze and lifting the corners of her mouth.

That was all.

She doesn’t point out the cheesy proposal phrase or laugh at the gray-haired fool’s disgrace.

Quietly, tenderly.

It was so lovable that…

I somehow managed to open the box and picked up the ring.

Without any conversation, the simple ring fits perfectly on the slender ring finger.

“Ah……”

Julia, still lying on the grass, curled up and hugged her left hand.

Then she slightly raised her head to look at me.

“Nice to meet you. Sir, over there, may I ask your name?”

What kind of farce is this?

I have no idea, but I played along for now. An involuntary laugh escapes.

“Eugene Oslo. Doctor of Magic Studies. And you?”

Julia.

With a smile half full of mischief and half full of happiness, she reached out with her hand where the ring finger sparkled and embraced my neck.

“Julia Oslo. I’m Mrs. Oslo……”

#May 14th. Slightly cloudy.

The news of Dr. Eugene Oslo’s discharge spread by word of mouth but quickly died down.

He returned despite suffering the worst accident since the founding of the University of Magic. That alone would be surprising news, but the person in question didn’t appear anywhere in the University of Magic.

―In the end, he’s just all talk. Even the research results he presented must have been thanks to his advisor’s help.

―Isn’t he just spending time with his family?

Only such groundless speculations circulated.

Like that, finally, the morning of the conference day dawned.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thanks for reading this set of five! This is another reminder that the set of five starting chapter 136 will be coin-locked.

See you tomorrow!