Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Everyone has their favorite season, but in fact, only a few people like every aspect of that season.

Even those who love early summer meadows may dislike the scorching sunlight.

I was the same.

“…I’ll need to bring an umbrella.”

After checking the white-tinged scenery outside the window with bleary eyes, I quietly muttered to myself.

I tend to like the Federation’s winter. It’s not gloomy, and snow falls instead of rain.

But I didn’t like the sleet falling on windy days like today.

Morning.

I’m already extremely tired as it is.

As I had no goodwill to spare for obstacles on my way to work, I got up unsteadily with an expressionless face.

I opened the wardrobe and grabbed clothes in a daze.

It’s my recent routine for going to work. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I could probably manage to wash my face, but even that felt bothersome now. I lacked energy after being unusually busy for the past three months…

I put on a shirt, well-ironed by Susan’s skill, and wore a wool coat that, while not particularly stylish, was certainly warm.

I also packed various items in my bag. A pen, spare ink, a pocket watch bought cheaply and thus worryingly unpredictable about when it might stop, and a pipe for occasional fiddling.

Lastly…

“This has gotten quite worn out, too.”

I took out a black scarf from a corner of the wardrobe.

Not only were many of its threads loose, but its color had faded so much that it was hardly appropriate to call it a black scarf anymore.

It befitted a scarf used for nearly seven years.

It had reached the point where people around me were telling me to ‘buy a new one,’ which says it all.

But I had no intention of following that advice.

Being able to wear this scarf was the first reason why I liked winter.

“…Time to go to work.”

I wrapped that scarf around me today as well.

It was sufficiently warm. It would probably last easily until this winter.

#December 20th. Snow.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. That ragged scarf again?”

“It’s not just the scarf that’s the problem. You were dressed neatly at the last academic conference, weren’t you? Why, lately…”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Research Building 3.

As soon as I opened the door to the familiar Room 402, the topic of conversation from my two colleagues turned towards me.

Johannes and Eva. At the beginning of the year, things felt a bit awkward, but we gradually became closer, and for the past few months, whispering about me when they saw me had become an everyday occurrence.

“Are you deliberately dressing shabbily?”

“Is that what it is?”

It really had become an everyday occurrence.

“Come on, let’s work.”

Just as I was about to sit down at my desk piled high with papers and books after vaguely avoiding their questions…

Johannes asked curiously.

“Work? Eugene, didn’t you mostly finish your paperwork?”

That’s right.

After the aforementioned academic conference ended, I had to focus on two major tasks.

First, I needed to do some proofreading and editing work to submit the paper “On the Polarity Magic Studies of Moving Objects” as a doctoral dissertation.

Second, I needed to write an explanatory version and summary of the said paper for submission to the Magic Studies Yearbook journal.

In addition to that, I also had to continue my existing duties as a teaching assistant, so for the past three months, I had been working literally without a moment’s rest.

But as Johannes said, from this week on, the situation was expected to improve a bit.

I had roughly finished work on my dissertation, and as of yesterday, I had completed sending the explanatory version. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

So now, I was no longer the busiest person in the research lab.

I answered with a grin.

“I’m talking about you, senior. You should work.”

“…Sigh.”

It was payback for their earlier chatter, but it seems the impact was bigger than expected.

Johannes responded with a sigh that seemed to sink into the ground, messing up his hair vigorously.

His eyes looked as hollow as mine.

The reason was simple. Johannes was also preparing his doctoral dissertation.

“Eugene, you damnably diligent junior.”

“Yes?”

“I never dreamed that you, a first-year, would graduate at the same time as me, a third-year. Really.”

“Aren’t you graduating smoothly, senior?”

“Don’t show off in front of a chrysalis *1. I wondered what you were thinking when you were spacing out in the lab sometimes, but to think you were planning such an outrageous paper… Don’t forget me when you get famous.”

The one who answered Johannes’s lament was his blonde peer.

Her eyes were sharp.

“Are you not considering my situation, about to see off two lab colleagues in a year? At this rate, I might end up leading the esteemed Professor Müller’s lab.”

“Eva.”

“Either don’t graduate, or stay here. Choose.”

Eva Torricelli smiled and spewed out curses like that.

For Johannes, who was genuinely worried about the former, it was a terrifying thing to hear.

“I’ll stay. I’ll stay, so let’s pretend I didn’t hear the first part.”

“Thank you.”

“But, I’ll stay, and…”

Suddenly, Johannes’s head turned towards me.

I, who had been quite enjoying watching Johannes’s suffering, was puzzled by that questioning gaze. Why was he looking at me with such eyes?

“Do you have something to say?”

“No, I was wondering if you had decided whether to leave Frauzen or not, Eugene.”

“Pardon?”

As I stiffened at the sudden topic, Eva Torricelli added from beside me.

“That’s right. Didn’t you say you submitted not only this paper but also your previous one to the ‘Magic Studies Yearbook’? No matter how young, it wouldn’t be strange for a scholar who has published two papers in the ‘Magic Studies Yearbook’ to be invited as a lecturer at other schools.”

“That’s what I mean.”

“W-well, I’m planning to stay in this lab, of course.”

“We’d be happy if you do. But it means you’ll have options.”

Johannes said with a gentle smile, despite being exhausted.

“Think about it once.”

“…If my paper gets rejected after all this, won’t I just end up embarrassed?”

“Oh my, did I get found out?”

Soon, Johannes burst out laughing and said, ‘Well, we should get to work.’

Only after Eva also returned to her work did I finally regain my composure.

Isn’t it too early to talk about lecturer appointments when I’m not even sure if my doctoral dissertation will pass?

But, well.

Leaving Frauzen…

I thought while fiddling with the empty pipe in my right hand. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It’s just a possibility now, but someday, as Johannes said, a moment of choice might come.

After a brief contemplation, the conclusion I reached inwardly was very simple.

Let’s think about it when the time comes.

A few hours later…

“I’ll be heading home early.”

“Alright, take care.”

It was a rather late hour. But compared to the past couple of months, I was leaving the lab at an earlier time.

I planned to go home quickly and rest comfortably.

The heavy snow had also subsided considerably, so as I was about to leave Research Building 3, using my umbrella like a cane…

“Hm?”

I narrowed my eyes.

In the distance, a man with a familiar face seemed to be approaching me, waving his hand.

Only when the man’s features became distinguishable as the distance closed did I realize it wasn’t a hallucination due to fatigue.

His mouth opened.

“Well, it’s hard to see your face once in a while.”

I also waved my hand casually…

“Werner.”

…towards a friend who had become hard to see due to us both being busy with research work.

Even that brazen face that I sometimes wanted to punch during our undergraduate days was quite welcome now.

Like at the academic conference, he’s a friend I can trust and confide in, all things considered.

Werner, his coat whitened by snow, opened his mouth.

“Is the paper wrap-up work going well?”

“It’s settled for now. I’m about to take a break. By the way, what brings you here?”

“I have some business.”

“Business?”

Instead of answering the question, Werner tapped his shoe-clad feet.

Only then did I realize. He was wearing a highly polished black shoe on his left foot, and a worn brown shoe on the opposite foot.

“Ah.”

Now that I look, he wasn’t wearing a tie either.

It might look like a crazy person to others, but it was a familiar dress code to me. What it meant was clear.

Werner grinned and gestured.

“Let’s have a chat after a while before your value goes up even more.”

Alcohol is a cold fire, a nectar of heat.

There was no need for any more reason for people to flock to the western pub district of Frauzen on a snowy winter day.

For similar reasons, quite a few people had gathered at the Nocturne Club, a gathering place for intellectuals. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Having a lot of accumulated knowledge doesn’t make the blood of warm-blooded animals colder. Thus, about a dozen young men, led by Werner, were invariably chattering away with a couple of bottles of wine on the table.

And I guess, they seemed to be using me as a side dish right now.

“Time is relative? Does that make sense?”

“Actually, from a relativistic perspective, it’s quite plausible. Inductive expansion, isn’t it cool?”

“Ignore him, he’s drunk.”

“Forget about time or whatever; just read my writing.”

To be precise, they were discussing using the content of my paper as a side dish.

The circumstances were as follows:

I arrived after changing clothes to keep the strange dress code tradition of the Nocturne Club, only to find that Werner, who had called me, was already occupying a seat at a discussion meeting-cum-drinking party.

The young men, who had roughly settled into their places in society just as I had entered the research lab, were unexpectedly interested in the paper published by scholar Eugene Oslo.

And I became the target of their discussion just as they ran out of topics.

Starting with someone’s words, I eventually had to give a lecture.

And now we’ve come to this point.

I, who had expected to rest comfortably and have a chat, was thoroughly betrayed in my expectations.

I looked down coldly at Werner, who was sitting on the sofa.

“Is this why you called me?”

“Of course not. Shall we let those guys play by themselves now?”

Werner said as he climbed the stairs.

It was probably to move to the quiet second-floor terrace, unlike the noisy first floor.

I also followed him to the terrace and then sat down at the only table placed there.

The terrace is not a space that can be said to have good insulation, even as a white lie. It’s suitable for quiet conversation, but it’s not a place to stay for long.

It was fortunate, at least for now, that Werner was a user of speech habits who didn’t hesitate to get to the point.

Werner, who swirled the wine in a rough glass, opened the conversation.

“Do you remember my aspiration?”

Aspiration, huh…

Judging by his expression tinged with subtle ecstasy, it didn’t seem to be a poetic kind of wish.

Then there’s only one.

“You mean that experiment?”

“Yes. Verification of the irreversibility of magic-matter conversion. Magic can be converted into minute amounts of matter, but why has no one succeeded in the reverse? That experiment.”

I’m not sure why it’s ‘the most dangerous experiment,’ but if the experiment succeeds, it seems certain that it would be one of the most notable discoveries in the history of experimental magic studies.

It’s enough to aim for the Russell Magic Award. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Werner reached out his hand.

“I’ve written the proposal and got research approval. Now, I just need your help, Eugene. I’m planning to invest the entire first half of next year. Can you help?”

“……”

I had decided the answer long ago.

Haven’t I already received help once?

I smiled and took his hand.

“Of course.”

“…Haha, this is reassuring.”

Werner, who let out a chuckle, immediately changed his posture.

In contrast to me, who was about to get up thinking the conversation was over.

“Where are you going?”

“Hm?”

“The conversation isn’t over. I didn’t call you just to say that in the first place.”

What is it?

Although a bit puzzled, I sat back down.

Werner threw a rather serious gaze at me.

After taking a sip of wine by tilting the glass, he said:

“Watching you has been frustrating. You… Are you really going to let that noble family’s young lady miss her marriageable age like this?”

T/N

A chrysalis is the stage in the life cycle of a butterfly where it undergoes metamorphosis from a caterpillar into a butterfly.