Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

There’s no more traditional and convenient means of conveying news than a letter.

If there’s a single drawback, it might be that it’s too slow. That drawback is so fatal that sometimes primitive methods must be used.

Therefore, when Susan opened the door to a knocking sound heard towards evening, it wasn’t a postman standing in front of the door.

Click―

As Susan returned to the living room after closing the door, Lena addressed her.

“Who was it?”

“Well, it was someone from the Müller mansion. They said Eugene would be staying for three more days.”

“…What?”

This was unexpected.

“I’m worried. Eugene has never stayed out for several days before.”

Susan expressed her concern quietly, but Lena focused on something a bit different.

Three more days?

Her eyebrows crossed. She didn’t know what expression to make herself.

Of course, she was the one who first suggested the trip.

It was because she was worried about her brother’s health, and had decided to quietly cheer him on, intending to give him a little push.

But, even so, isn’t the progress too fast?

That gray-haired one, second to none in insensitivity, wouldn’t be likely to take such active steps. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Could it be that the brown-furred fox has shown its true colors?

Lena quietly sipped her milk. Who knew such a beast was sleeping inside that delicate exterior?

Just as she was about to return to her room, feeling somehow unsettled and with rain coming,

Louise, who had returned home after a month and was sprawled on the sofa, opened her lips as if interested.

“Oh, ho. Look at Eugene go.”

“…?”

“I expected it from the young lady’s side, but I didn’t think Eugene would be like that. Can we hope for good news?”

“S-Surely, it’s not like that?”

At this, Louise’s gaze changed abruptly and turned towards Lena.

“Like what, Lena?”

“Ugh.”

“Won’t you tell this sister of yours what you mean by ‘that’?”

Lena ran away.

#August 30th. Rain.

The third day of my vacation and the second morning at the mansion dawned.

I got up from bed quickly and stretched.

The bed was so soft that my back ached instead, but this served as an appropriate stimulus.

From today, I had to do everything I could for three days to ease the father-daughter relationship in the Müller family.

I quietly steeled my resolve.

“Alright. Let’s go…”

…And that resolve dissipated before long because the gap between the two people was much deeper than I had expected.

The start was good.

“Today, neither the master nor the young lady have plans to go out.”

As the passing butler said, both of them remained in the mansion, so I thought if I guided them well, I could create a place for dialogue.

It didn’t even take an hour to realize how difficult that would be.

First, they eat separately.

It was the opposite of the Oslo family, where at least dinner was eaten together. Of course, they often go out early in the morning for their respective tasks, but even when they don’t, they never eat together in the dining room, it seems.

Today was the same. Klaus Müller skipped breakfast, and Julia finished her meal simply in her room. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If only that was all, it would have been fortunate.

That meant I could start by creating an opportunity for them to eat together.

However, as I wandered around the mansion with Julia during the day, I realized.

There were implicit routes within the mansion for each of them to avoid encountering each other in the first place.

“Don’t you use the central staircase on the second floor?”

When I asked, Julia smiled faintly instead of answering. It was probably a roundabout expression of refusal.

It felt like they avoided not only conversation but even encountering each other.

There was a deep-rooted gap there.

In the afternoon…

I knocked on the door of Professor Müller’s study.

Both to hear his advice on my thesis idea, which was the justification for staying at the mansion, and to figure out how to get him out of the study.

I put more emphasis on the latter in my heart.

―Come in.

But after entering the study, I couldn’t do that anymore.

“Assuming the invariance of the speed of light. It’s a plausible idea. It’s just not in line with common sense, but it matches the results of the Michelson-Morley experiment. However, as the aether theory hasn’t been completely refuted, there will be strong resistance from the academic world. The publication of this paper won’t be smooth.”

“You’re saying it denies the absolute time of classical Auchlimé magic studies even though you brought in the principle of relativity in inertial reference frames. Also, the coordinate transformation in that inertial frame is the Müller transformation, not the Auchlimé transformation… I understand for now. For that part, refer to Professor Minkowski’s paper and my paper. I’ll assist with the calculations later.”

“I understand the logic that length and time vary according to the observer. But it’s still too conceptual. It needs a mathematical foundation. Read the paper on contraction that I published with Professor Fitzgerald. Although it’s a concept under the aether theory, it seems it might be helpful.”

I answered seriously, putting strength into my hand and holding the pen.

“Yes, I understand…!”

There was no time for distractions.

Klaus Müller. The reputation of being the best magic scholar at the Frauzen Federal University of Magic was certainly not an empty title.

Every word that came out of Professor Müller’s mouth was worth its weight in gold to me.

The time spent advancing ideas alone was also meaningful, but the number of ideas he provided was on a different level. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

In the end, I spent about four hours in the study, concentrating on the conversation, and putting all my effort into taking notes, without finding an answer about the father-daughter relationship.

A sense of fulfillment and disappointment came together.

Therefore, just before leaving the study, I suggested to him in a last-ditch effort:

“Um, Professor.”

“Speak.”

“You must feel stuffy being indoors all the time; how about taking a walk around the mansion together?”

The answer came, without fail, seven seconds later.

“I’ll pass.”

And that ended the day.

It’s a day that paradoxically had no gain despite gaining a lot.

More than that, the fact that this pattern probably wouldn’t change even tomorrow made me sigh.

Unfortunately, the bed isn’t equipped with a function to perceive the user’s emotional state.

The bed was still excessively soft, and I quickly fell asleep.

#August 31st. Rain.

The fourth day of my vacation and the third morning at the mansion dawned.

The rain showed no signs of stopping.

The weather, reminiscent of the rainy season in the Empire, felt vaguely familiar yet resentful. That’s because it even resembled the gloominess unique to the rainy season.

As if reflecting such weather, there was a hitch in the plan.

“The master is scheduled to be out until late afternoon today.”

Professor Müller had gone out.

Although the plan wasn’t completely overturned as both of them were supposed to be here tomorrow, it was clear that it would be much tighter.

Therefore, today became a day spent with Julia.

Julia, who had quietly come out of her room, saw me and approached with quick steps.

Then, she smiled primly and said:

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.”

I answered, hiding a slight agitation. Her elegant indoor attire, usually unseen, and the scent of roses were quite bewitching. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It might have been a potentially dangerous situation, but…

Fortunately, it was a gloomy morning outside, and I had a more important purpose.

Having quickly regained my composure, I said:

“Shall we go to the dining room?”

“Yes.”

Her answer was somehow sulky. As always, I couldn’t figure out why.

After finishing the meal, we went out to the terrace for tea time.

Even though a rainy day is said to be gloomy, the raindrops themselves carry their own sentiment.

Tea time on a roofed terrace had quite an atmosphere.

Julia, sipping tea that resembled the color of her eyes, said:

“Eugene. Do you like rainy days?”

“I don’t dislike them.”

“Me too.”

After fidgeting with her fingers for a while, Julia opened her mouth again.

“I don’t dislike them, but instead, when it rains, I feel a bit lonely.”

“And?”

“So, I was wondering if you could spend time with me today?”

I was planning to do that anyway.

I nodded without hesitation and answered.

“How about a walk?”

“…But it’s raining?”

It was logic that was difficult to deny.

In the end, we spent time together indoors.

Of course, I couldn’t freely enter and exit Julia’s room as if it were my own. Although we were grown adults, there was no way for a subtle atmosphere to develop under the presence of the head maid, so the time we spent was wholesome; we played board games together or read.

Julia’s expression became increasingly sulky. It was incomprehensible…

And, I felt the need to make a decision.

In the evening, not long before Professor Müller’s return…

I left Julia’s side, saying I was heading to the study.

However, instead of going to the study, I headed to the terrace where we had enjoyed tea in the morning.

It wasn’t to drink tea.

As I sat on the terrace with the mindset of a fisherman casting a line, sure enough.

From far away, the head maid approached stealthily.

Footsteps bordering on tailing…

She must have been wary of yesterday’s incident recurring.

I addressed the head maid.

“Could we talk for a moment?”

“…!”

It seems she didn’t expect me to set a trap like this, judging by the hint of surprise in her otherwise stern expression.

Not long after, the head maid nodded and quietly sat down in front of me.

It’s a rule that the one who called should state their business.

Carefully, yet directly, I broached the topic.

“Did something happen between Professor Müller and Julia, the father and daughter?”

“…Please mind your boundaries. Even if it’s you, Mr. Eugene, I can’t reveal the family’s intimate matters.”

The expected answer came back.

I didn’t call the head maid out with the intention of giving up at this level.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke in a serious tone.

“I have feelings for Julia.”

The old woman’s eyes widened.

“It’s simply my own willfulness, and it can be rejected at any time, according to Julia’s feelings. But my desire to care for her and her father is undoubtedly sincere. Is this still not enough?”

Silence.

Having rained for two days straight, the rain had thinned considerably, and accordingly, the sound of rain had also subsided.

Amidst the pitter-patter of rain, the head maid glared at me quietly.

“Mr. Eugene Oslo. You’re quite a foolish person, aren’t you?”

“What…”

“Such words should be conveyed to the young lady as soon as possible. Not to this old woman.”

It hit the mark.

However, it also meant that the head maid believed my words.

Her mouth opened again.

She told a story from about ten years ago.

Returning to the guest room, I sat on the bed with only one candle lit.

And let time pass. Endlessly.

Until late at night.

The old story of the Müller family that the head maid conveyed didn’t contain such a significant secret. It’s a minor discord that might be quite common if you look closely.

The reason for thinking so was simple.

Human death is very common.

Therefore, discord triggered by the death of a family member is also likely to be common.

Such a disposition was appropriately passed down to her child, and the daughter grew up to be a child who inherited her father’s calmness but smiled well like her mother.

Even when the child sat in a wheelchair, even when the father became busy with work, and even when the mother occasionally became bedridden, that smile didn’t disappear.

But.

As a promising young scholar, Klaus Müller invariably left on a long journey to attend an academic conference. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

What he faced upon returning from the arduous journey was the cold body of his wife, and an eight-year-old child quietly crying beside it.

Human death is common.

But it’s unique.

Even if everything is relative, the uniqueness of a single event occurring at one position doesn’t change.

It’s not that the love disappeared.

But there aren’t many ways to distinguish between the absence of expression and the absence of love. Even for family.

“Phew.”

Having organized my thoughts, I exhaled the breath I had been holding.

It was just a sad, single event.

But the aftermath, interpreted differently by each, left scars on the hearts of the father and daughter even now, after more than ten years.

“……”

Just because I heard the head maid’s story didn’t mean that the clue to the solution was clearly revealed.

Instead, I gained a small but firm resolve.

The absence of expression would be resolved by expression.

Just as I was about to extinguish the candle after strengthening my resolve once again…

Knock, knock―

A small knocking sound was heard.

Knock, knock―

Once more.

I slowly got up from the bed and carefully opened the door.

“…Ahahaha, you’re still awake.”

My eyes met with Julia’s, who was standing in front of the door wearing pajamas and holding a pillow.

The candlelight flickered in those amber eyes.

“Can I come in?”

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thankfully, the site is back! The schedule will have to be pushed further due to the issues with the site, so see the revised schedule, linked both at the homepage and the announcement located at the start of every chapter. Due to the delays, keeping my pace of 5 chapters per day, this novel will be fully translated by Sept. 9, 2024.

If you’re enjoying the novel so far, please do rate and review this novel on NovelUpdates. It helps people find this novel! Also, if you want to be updated when I release new chapters, join the GalaxyTL Discord and react to this novel under #novel-roles-f-j to get pinged when I release them.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow for the next set of five!