Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Humans have the infinite potential to fear anything.

They fear things with physical forms, like eight-legged spiders, as well as invisible things, like spiritual beings or horror stories, and it’s even common to fear other humans.

It’s natural. The source of fear is the unknown.

However, the unknown is not only the source of fear but is also the root of curiosity.

Therefore.

Click—!

When the firmly closed door opened, I had to simultaneously feel the extreme emotions of fear and curiosity.

Within a few seconds, I had the strange experience of both emotions fading.

Unexpectedly, the person who opened the door to the research lab, which was the unknown itself, was someone I knew.

The tall man promptly opened his mouth.

“Ah, you’re here. Come in.”

Johannes Born.

One of the very few seniors from the university with whom I had a friendly relationship greeted me, looking even more gaunt than before.

“…Hello.”

Research Room 3 – 402. 

It was the research lab of the infamous Professor Klaus Müller, but contrary to its reputation, the interior wasn’t filled with tension.

Probably for two reasons. There were only three people, including myself, and the source of the infamy wasn’t present.

Befitting a theoretical magic research lab, the overall view of the room was similar to an old bookstore that had been cleaned as thoroughly as possible.

From bookshelves packed with specialized books and file folders to the large desk located in the center of the lab. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Despite the neatly organized facilities, it seemed they couldn’t hide the age of the research lab itself. The smell of old books and ink and the unusually warm-colored light from the magic lamps all enhanced that unique atmosphere.

In other words.

It was quite to my taste, reminiscent of Benjamin’s study.

Of course, there was no time to leisurely look around the lab.

I bowed my head in greeting to another figure who was sitting modestly in front of the desk.

“Hello, senior. I’m Eugene Oslo. Pleased to meet you.”

Then, the blonde woman looked at me with wide eyes.

I had realized the importance of etiquette since my time in the Empire.

With gray hair, if you lack manners on top of that, you can’t even beg. For that, I learned etiquette by observing the behavior of federal officers.

I heard that lab life wasn’t much different.

It’s already difficult to make a good first impression with my appearance. I had to at least try to earn points by greeting earnestly, that was the intention.

But.

When I raised my head, the blonde senior’s attitude was somewhat subtle.

She had her eyes wide open, and her arms were trembling slightly. It’s as if she was holding back anger.

She tried to say something but only mumbled.

Around then, I felt a chill. Oh no. Did I make a mistake?

The one who resolved this strange silence was none other than Johannes.

He tilted his head as he sat down.

“Oh? You two don’t know each other?”

“What do you mean we don’t know each other?”

You should know that you’re the only senior I know.

I asked back with that meaning, but when Johannes continued, I had to close my mouth.

“You’re the same age. What year was it again, anyway, this year’s graduates.”

“…?”

“Eugene Oslo, valedictorian. Eva Torricelli, salutatorian. I thought you two would naturally know each other.”

It was an unfamiliar name.

More precisely, it was a name I might have heard a few times but hadn’t remained in my memory. Well, we had never had a conversation…

Ah.

Now that I think about it, I think a blonde female student came up right after me at the degree conferment ceremony.

Was it her?

Looking at Eva, the blonde student, again, I could interpret her incomprehensible attitude.

She was at a loss for words because it was so ridiculous.

It was a clear mistake, but if I let it pass like this, it would be irreversible.

I put on a shameless face and greeted her again. I should use honorifics for now.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“…Yes. Pleased to meet you, too.”

“Is this my seat?”

“……”

There was no answer.

I thought I had been forgiven since she responded to my greeting, but was that my misunderstanding?

Once again, Johannes came to my rescue.

“There are many seats, so you can sit anywhere. But that seat is all set up, so it’ll be more convenient.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Screech.

I pulled out the chair and sat down at the desk.

Is this where I’ll be spending the next few years?

It was hard to say it was clean, even as a white lie.

The origin of the faint pipe tobacco smell that lingered throughout the research lab must have been the owner of this seat, as the smell was particularly strong here. It was a scent that seemed to mix disinfectant and smoke halfway.

The desk seemed to be as old as the research building itself, with patches of peeled paint visible here and there.

It truly was an old seat full of signs of use.

Most people would probably say it’s not great, but just as I liked the research lab, I thought this seat was quite alright. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Why, doesn’t it give you the feeling that you’ve arrived at your turn at the end of a long history of scholarship?

I had also gotten used to the pipe smell thanks to Director Lovelace.

While I was feeling satisfied in various ways, Johannes added a comment.

“That seat, I heard Professor Ehrlich *1 used it during her doctoral studies.”

“……”

Louise. Did she smoke a pipe?

Maybe she had no choice but to smoke a pipe. In my case, since cigarettes don’t suit me, that wouldn’t happen.

After roughly finishing organizing my belongings and the cluttered atmosphere settled down, Johannes began his explanation in earnest.

“Ahem. First, welcome to our lab. Since the nature of our lab isn’t primarily experimental, it might be a bit boring, but still, this is Professor Klaus Müller’s lab, so I’m sure there will be plenty to gain. I guarantee it.”

Johannes was in his second year of doctoral studies, wasn’t he?

If someone like him was guaranteeing it, it seemed worth believing.

“Following the professor’s research tendencies, we’ll mainly be researching polarity magic studies. Though I say this, like all polarity magic studies labs, our main task is to delve into the idea notes left by former Professor Benjamin Oslo.”

“…!”

“In addition, our professor is also coming up with frighteningly new theories. So, you don’t have to worry about stagnation.”

I had anticipated it and had grasped the outline through years of study, but…

Hearing it directly from the mouth of someone in the academic field gave it a new significance.

Benjamin.

How great a scholar he was was being represented not by individuals but by the entire academic world.

My heart rate gradually increased.

Can I finally start completing Benjamin’s leftover theories, my first wish?

No. I shouldn’t expect too much from the start of my doctoral studies. Even if I can’t start research freely, I can gain a lot of insight by assisting Professor Müller’s research.

Either would be welcome.

“Then, first, take these.”

Johannes took out a thick stack of papers from under his desk and placed them with a thud.

Right. If it’s Benjamin’s theory, it should be about that thick.

As I was thinking that.

Thud, thump.

Johannes continued to place stacks of paper about a hand span thick on the desk.

Even so, this is too much.

As I was watching this shocking scene, a question flashed through my mind.

It seemed Eva Torricelli felt the same way. She asked, trying to appear calm.

“Senior. Is all this material Professor Müller’s research data?”

“No. There are also academic journals and famous thesis papers mixed in. About half. Reading these is also part of a doctoral student’s job.”

“…Then what’s the other half?”

Johannes smiled brightly.

At the same time, I realized.

Those circles under his sunken eyes were fully darkened.

“What the professor assigned. Things we have to calculate from now on.”

I learned soon after that Professor Klaus Müller was absent due to attending a magic studies conference in Oslovya.

In other words.

“We have to finish before the professor returns.”

The lab life began in a direction that greatly deviated from my expectations.

#March 5th. Cloudy.

For four days, Eva Torricelli and I received a handover from senior Johannes.

The duties of a doctoral student were roughly as follows:

Research assistance. Mostly calculation. Difficult.

Seminars. Only when Professor Müller is present. Difficult.

Other miscellaneous tasks. Difficult.

“When the summer semester starts, the professor will probably conduct a couple of lectures, and being teaching assistants for those is also our job. Right now, it’s not as busy.”

“……”

“But it’s manageable, right? Look, you’ve already finished all the calculations.”

It was hard to deny.

As if to argue that having only three people is because things can run with just three, even the mountain of calculations piled up was somehow processed in four days when the three of us shared the work.

4 PM. We were gulping down tea, exhausted after finishing our work.

I reflected on the past four days. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Not only was the difficulty of calculations high, but reading papers in between was also grueling.

But if you ask if it was unbearable, it wasn’t. The past three years weren’t much different from this.

Johannes asked.

“How do you find lab life?”

I pretended to be lost in thought.

There was a more fundamental impression than ‘very tough.’

If my studies so far had been an accumulation of knowledge, what I’m doing now was pioneering.

This is the frontline of magical knowledge.

“…Somehow, it’s enjoyable.”

Things that weren’t visible started to become visible, and I discovered meaning in formulas that I had merely memorized.

This process was enjoyable.

Of course, as the level increased, more than half became shrouded in fog, but the fact that my vision had cleared was a sweet fruit in itself.

Perhaps because of that…

For some unknown reason, I kept wanting to indulge in imagination.

I had thought imagination and theory were completely separate until now, but it seems that’s not entirely true.

The desire to progress my own research, even if it meant reducing sleep, was rising.

“Yes. It’s enjoyable.”

I said again, conveying such meaning.

I noticed that Johannes and Eva Torricelli were looking at me as if I were a monster.

“I thought you’d definitely say it was tough.”

“Haha……”

“You really have amazing stamina. Sometimes, I think having good physical strength is much better than a brilliant mind or fast calculations.”

As he was sighing…

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the lab door.

A concise yet weighty knocking sound spread through the lab.

Eva, who had put down her teacup for a moment, asked.

“Is it a visitor?”

“No.”

Johannes’s face turned pale.

“It’s the professor. You two, quickly prepare the documents with the summarized calculation results.”

News like a bolt from the blue.

While Eva Torricelli and I quickly pulled out the documents, Johannes took a deep breath and opened the door.

Click—

The door opened.

A man with a physique almost identical to the doorframe entered the lab, slightly bowing his head.

The giant wearing a jet-black coat and gleaming monocle, Professor Klaus Müller, spoke in a deep voice.

“Good work. Have you finished the calculations?”

“Yes.”

Johannes answered and gave me a look. It meant to hand over the materials.

It was when I handed over the organized materials.

Our eyes met. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Amber eyes resembling a predatory bird.

Just as I was thinking anew whether that iris color was hereditary…

His gaze went back and forth between me and Eva Torricelli a few times, and then he dropped a word.

“Welcome.”

Then, he turned back to Johannes and spoke.

“Double-check the calculation results. And about this conference…”

“Yes.”

“Professor Minkov *2 came up with a groundbreaking theory in his later years. He integrated time into the spatial dimension and interpreted it geometrically, and perhaps because our research areas overlap, he asked our lab for help.”

Klaus Müller, who said this, handed something to Johannes.

It was a notebook densely filled with equations.

“These are notes I took at the conference, but they need calculation verification. I need to send a letter, so please do it as soon as possible.”

“By when?”

He pondered for a moment, then answered.

“Two days from now.”

T/N

I only realized now that Louise’s surname, Ehrlich, is a reference to the German physician and scientist Paul Ehrlich. In 1908, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contributions to immunology, the study of immune systems in all organisms.
Although the surname “Minkov” isn’t directly tied to the name of a famous physicist or scientist, in reality, this groundbreaking theory of defining spacetime as 4-dimensional space was a theory by Hermann Minkowski. Einstein initially disagreed with Minkowski’s idea but eventually used his idea for geometric interpretations of his theory of relativity and acknowledged his indebtedness to him.