Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

To be called an excellent businessperson, exceptional skill alone is not enough.

An appearance that instills trust in business partners. The ability to maintain relationships. Comprehensive abilities, such as self-management to handle schedules, are necessary to make a name for oneself as a businessperson.

Conversely.

“Your fever is burning hot. Lena, aren’t you thirsty? Should I bring you some water?”

“I’m fine…”

Having failed at self-management now, Lena couldn’t call herself a businessperson.

Susan, with her eyes curved in worry, checked the thermometer.

The silvery liquid was clearly indicating a temperature above normal.

Susan let out a self-reproachful sigh.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the flu. But your fever is too high. I shouldn’t have let you go out on such a cold day.”

“…No. It’s just a light cold, that’s all.”

Lena observed her own condition.

Although it was certainly painful and dizzying, the illness itself would pass after lying down for about two nights.

Rather, she was more concerned about worrying her family over just a cold.

There was supposed to be a gift exchange, and Ellie especially must have been looking forward to the New Year’s party.

Lena forced a smile and parted her lips.

“I’m fine, so don’t worry about me and enjoy the New Year’s party to your heart’s content.”

However, Susan firmly shook her head.

“No. Family events are only meaningful when everyone is together.”

“But New Year’s Day is only today.”

“With gifts, the feelings contained in them are more important than matching the date. So just rest quietly.”

As she said this while caressing her forehead, Lena, who would soon be 20, felt somewhat embarrassed but also a bit comforted.

Having received that touch, she had no choice but to comply.

“Okay. I’ll rest well. I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. Oh, right, Eugene said he’d help with the nursing, too.”

“…Eh?”

She doubted her ears.

Eugene’s coming into the room?

Lena shook her head with all the strength she could muster.

“N-No. Please tell him not to come into the room.”

“Lena. Don’t tell me you don’t want to show him ‘these’?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re too much. They’re just cute.”

“C-Can’t you just tell him not to come in?”

Only after pleading earnestly did Susan nod, pat Lena’s head, and leave.

Finally, Lena was left alone in the room.

Now that she was alone, she felt quite uneasy. If it was just her body being sick, that would be one thing, but just lying still made all the worries she had buried start to resurface.

Perhaps the only fortunate thing was that her cold was severe enough to make her consciousness hazy. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

For today, at least, illness and drowsiness were allies.

Accepting them, Lena soon fell into a light sleep.

With wheezing breaths, it’s impossible to fall into a deep sleep.

She would wake up to the sound of Ellie’s footsteps running around the house, unable to contain her energy, or to the sound of Eugene and the twins talking.

Sometimes, when Susan brought a glass of water, she would painfully raise her upper body to drink.

Perhaps because of this, when she woke up to the sound of the door opening, thinking it was Susan again, she raised her body without hesitation.

Lena asked in a hoarse voice.

“Ugh… What is it?”

“I was wondering if you might need a wet towel for your head.”

“!”

She flinched in surprise.

It was because Susan’s voice was extremely deep.

No, that’s not right. A person’s voice wouldn’t change overnight.

Having fallen asleep and woken up repeatedly, her vision was blurry. Only after blinking her eyes several times did Lena finally realize that it was Eugene in front of her.

At the same time, she became aware of how disheveled she looked.

Her hair was matted with sweat, and because she had undone a couple of buttons on her pajamas, one shoulder was completely exposed as her clothes had slipped down.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

“Uh, uh…”

Eugene had come into the room!

Sure enough, Eugene’s gaze, holding a tray with a glass of water and a wet towel, was fixed not on Lena but on something behind her.

Lena’s room is narrow widthwise and long lengthwise.

The desk by the window was neatly organized with various books and letters, giving off an intellectual atmosphere.

But the bed area was a different story.

This was also the reason why Lena prohibited Eugene from entering her room. Because behind the bed on the bookshelf and next to the pillow…

…There was a pile of cozy teddy bears.

They were there to comfort her after a hard day. She hadn’t considered the possibility of anyone other than family discovering them, and accepting Eugene as family wasn’t synonymous with revealing this secret to him.

Now, the secret she had kept for over a year was broken.

Eugene smiled awkwardly and said,

“How should I put it, um. It’s cute.”

“――!”

The heat that had subsided suddenly rushed up to her head.

It was fortunate that she had caught a cold. At least her blushing face wouldn’t be noticeable.

Lena hid under the blanket, covering her face with a swiftness unbelievable for a sick person. It couldn’t be helped. Given the situation, hiding was the best option.

It was a “laugh if you want to laugh” strategy.

However, Eugene didn’t laugh at all.

Rather, he said this:

“That’s a relief.”

“…What is?”

“Lower the blanket a little.”

“…”

Finally, Lena peeked out with just her eyes and soon opened them wide.

Eugene had taken out some kind of doll from behind his back.

It wasn’t a teddy bear but a small rabbit doll made of fluffy white yarn.

“A gift. Ah, not for the New Year’s party. I picked out a gift for everyone while shopping. I’m giving it to you early, thinking it might cheer you up.”

“…How did you know? How did you find out that I like these things?”

“Well, the pattern on the blanket you usually wrap around yourself is oddly cute. I thought you might like this kind of thing.”

Lena let out a grumbling sound while still peeking out with just her eyes.

He had been observing so carefully.

“Somehow, it feels unpleasant.”

“Ack.”

“…”

Although her words were curt, Lena’s feelings were complicated in many ways. Unlike herself, who had spent a long time just buying a fountain pen, Eugene had effortlessly guessed her tastes.

…Or so she thought.

Until Eugene said this:

“I was worried you might not like it, but I’m glad. It took me the longest to choose your gift.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t really know your tastes. Even if you didn’t like the doll, I was going to insist you accept it because it’s the thought that counts.”

Lena was about to say something but then closed her mouth.

Just as she didn’t know Eugene well, it seemed Eugene didn’t know her well either.

The reason was obvious. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It’s because they hadn’t completely opened their hearts to each other yet. In Director Lovelace’s words, it’s because she had been ‘shy’ with him.

I see. It was about feelings.

How could she give a gift with heart when she herself didn’t treat Eugene openly? Lena thought so under the blanket with her reddened face.

Eugene placed the rabbit doll at the head of the bed and then prepared the wet towel, placing it on Lena’s forehead. For this, she had to remove the blanket, revealing her disheveled appearance once again.

However, Eugene’s expression was serious.

He was family.

“…”

The cool sensation eased the fever. Yet somehow, her chest felt warm.

Lena focused her eyes on Eugene’s face.

Curiosity arose.

Would he like the fountain pen gift? Isn’t studying hard? What kind of worries does he have, and what advice would he give if he heard her worries?

These were curiosities she would have normally hidden.

Curiosities she could naturally bring up now, having shown all there was to see, good and bad.

“…Eugene.”

She started talking about her worries in a mumbling voice. The conversation didn’t stop.

Until drowsiness came and closed her eyelids, Eugene seriously, and sometimes with playful smiles, shared their worries with each other.

As she fell asleep, she thought.

When the cold gets better, she should go to the general store again.

#January 6th. Snow.

On a weekend with snow falling like on New Year’s Day, while silence had settled over Frauzen, a belated New Year’s party was being held in one household.

Crackle, crackle.

In front of the fireplace where embers were burning, Susan declared:

“Let the gift exchange begin! First, receive my gifts.”

Eugene, Ellie and Sally, and Lena, who had overcome her illness, had accepted her gifts.

What Susan handed to all of them was none other than wool socks.

“I knitted them myself.”

Susan said that with a bright smile.

Was knitting her hobby? She had been busily knitting something for a month, it seemed it was in preparation for this day.

After that, the full-fledged gift exchange began.

Susan pointed to Eugene first.

“Eugene. Who did you draw?”

To this, Eugene stood up silently.

While hiding something behind his back…

Carefully moving his steps, Eugene knelt in front of Sally.

“Ta-da. L. Frank Baum’s new book.” *1

“W-Wow!”

He handed over the gift in a posture like a lord presenting tribute to a king. It was a novel.

For some reason, Eugene seemed familiar with that posture, but Lena couldn’t understand why.

“Th-Thank you.”

Sally usually can’t resist when it comes to books. A bright smile spread across Sally’s face, which usually wears a pitiful expression.

Susan continued to point.

“Next is Sally.”

Sally didn’t show the same performance as Eugene. She just handed over the book she had been holding in her arms to Ellie sitting next to her.

Ellie’s expression naturally crumpled.

“What’s this?”

“…A poetry book. Read some books.”

“I do read books! Field guides!” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…You only read those.”

Ellie, who dislikes boring prose, kept grumbling, but seeing how she was tightly hugging the book Sally gave her, it seemed she liked it after all.

Next was Lena’s turn.

Receiving Susan’s gaze, Lena slowly got up from her seat and headed towards Eugene.

And stared at him intently.

“…?”

Eugene opened his eyes wide as if puzzled. It probably meant, ‘Why are you staring?’

She hadn’t stared with any particular intention, it was because she couldn’t think of what to say.

In the end, after about five seconds of silence, she decided to just hand it over.

Eugene, receiving the gift in wrapping that looked expensive at a glance, seemed a bit surprised. Thankfully, it was much closer to delight than bewilderment.

“Thank you, Lena.”

“And.”

“And?”

She didn’t intend to end it with just handing over the fountain pen and bookmark set. Because while it was a gift with effort, it wasn’t a gift with heart.

Rustle—

Lena unfolded the blanket she was wearing and draped it over Eugene’s shoulders.

It wasn’t the cute blanket she usually uses, but a blanket with a neat pattern to match Eugene’s taste.

It’s a reasonably priced, ready-made product. Except for some minor processing.

In one corner of the blanket, Eugene’s name was written in white thread.

It was embroidery done by Lena herself.

Soon after, Eugene discovered the embroidery and smiled softly.

After confirming that, Lena hurriedly sat back in her seat. There was a limit to controlling her expression.

Just then, Ellie sprang up from her seat.

“It’s my turn now!”

Since it was the last turn, it was obvious that Ellie’s gift was for Lena.

However, ignoring that, Ellie confidently declared and ran out of the house, breaking everyone’s expectations.

“…?”

While Lena was blankly staring at the wide-open front door with a dumbfounded expression, Ellie shouted from somewhere unseen.

—Ah!

Soon after, Ellie, who had rushed back into the house, was half in tears.

“The snowman melted! It was a gift for Lena!”

Lena couldn’t tell who burst into laughter first at that cry. They all started roaring with laughter at once.

One thing for certain was that Lena also laughed until tears formed in her eyes.

As if on cue, heavy snow was falling again today. The snowman they all made together adorned the Oslo family’s gate for a while, proudly displaying its carrot nose.

And.

#January 12th. Snow.

After a long time, I visited the Nocturne Club and bowed to make a request.

“Mr. Mahler. Would it be possible?”

“Hmm… Sending a letter to the Empire isn’t as easy as you might think. Even I need to go through an acquaintance because I don’t have permission, and there’s only one ship, the Eddington, that carries mail, so it takes time. It’s better not to expect a reply. Is that alright?”

“Yes. Please, I beg you.”

“If you insist so much.”

The elderly composer grinned and accepted the envelope.

It was a success.

I bowed deeply once more and turned around, letting out a sigh of relief.

Thanks to explaining the reason well-packaged, I avoided being suspected of being an Imperial citizen, but there was also a high possibility that he would refuse outright.

Fortunately, things worked out well.

With lighter steps, I returned to where Werner and the other young men were gathered.

It’s late at night. Everyone was quite drunk, so they naturally continued their conversation, assuming I had just gone to the bathroom.

Only Werner, in the seat next to me, smiled mysteriously.

“A letter?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a bit of a shame. If the timing had been right, it could have been sent to arrive on New Year’s Day.”

“Maybe. But.”

I hadn’t expected it to take this long to gather letters from six people, including myself. That’s why we ended up sending the letter at such an ambiguous time.

But it’s okay.

Because that letter contains the hearts of six people.

“It’s fine even if it’s late.”

“Hm?”

“What’s important is that we all came together.”

I turned my head to look out the window. The full moon hanging brightly in the sky would look the same shape no matter when or where you see it.

It’s still snowing in Frauzen.

I wonder if it’s snowing there, too.

“I hope they come back soon.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Anyway, let’s talk about research quickly. There’s a journal called ‘The Magic Studies Yearbook’…”

“Alright, alright.”

T/N

L. Frank Baum is a real author, born in New York, and is famous for writing the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thanks for reading this set of five! See you in the next!