Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

T/N: Chapter was cut off, added the ending part on 10/31/24.

“It’s raining heavily.”

Grace Brown looked up at the sky and quietly muttered to herself.

The sound of “Shwoosh—” hits her eardrums.

The difficult and boring lecture, [Type I Magic Practice], had just ended.

Although the students who rushed out of the classroom might have been inclined to chatter, the dark clouds filling the sky didn’t allow it.

Both voices and laughter faded in the noise of raindrops hitting the ground.

It was a sudden downpour.

Even the campus, which had been colorfully dyed until just now, looked gloomy in the dreary rain.

After standing still for about ten minutes like this, Grace was about to be colored by the weather and become depressed when…

“Sorry, did you wait long?”

“Ugh… it’s raining again. Grace, did you bring an umbrella?”

Two female students who had just come out of the classroom approached Grace and opened their umbrellas one by one.

Grace looked at the two of them quietly without opening her umbrella.

The two students seemed to think she was upset. Soon, they started making excuses about assignment submissions and such.

But Grace’s lips soon curved into a smile.

Why on earth would she reproach them?

She had made friends like this.

“We’ll be late at this rate. Let’s hurry to the next lecture.”

With that said, Grace smiled brightly and opened her umbrella, running towards the rain outside the lecture building.

If she was with friends, even this could become a pleasant memory of college life.

#May 8th. Rain.

Suddenly, she recalled the day of the entrance ceremony.

About three weeks ago. When the long-awaited first day at the Federal University of Magic was ruined by an unexpected fire, Grace had half-screamed.

Classes were canceled, and she couldn’t even have a conversation with her classmates.

It was a situation as if God had decided to ruin her college life.

She doesn’t even remember how many hours she cried buried in her blanket after immediately returning home.

Just as she had at School 3, she was about to spend lonely days at the Federal University of …Magic as well.

But lo and behold.

Once the summer semester started in earnest, things started to go well.

Despite being intimidated by the notoriously difficult lectures, the classes that dealt with magic in depth were much more to her taste than the simple, repetitive studies she had suffered through at School 3.

Somehow, she even made friends.

And they were diligent and kind children at that.

Even when she passed the student council, which supposedly rarely accepts freshmen, Grace had to pinch her cheek to see if this wasn’t a dream.

It wasn’t a dream.

She had really achieved most of her desired goals in less than three weeks since the summer semester started. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Grace was now at the point of wanting to thank the unknown culprit of the first day’s fire. Perhaps, thanks to that person’s misfortune, things were going well for her.

Anyway, Grace now had only one goal left.

Romance.

Grace twisted her hair with the fingers of her hand not holding the umbrella.

“Romance…”

Just thinking about it made her want to sigh.

To be honest, she wasn’t confident about that at all.

Bright brown hair reaching her waist and a neat appearance. Even her clean skin, which had been her pride since childhood.

Although Grace was flawless in appearance, it was precisely because of this that she knew better.

Regardless of appearance, romance is ultimately dictated by personality.

There’s no room for chance in relationships with the opposite sex. Things like love at first sight only happen in romance novels.

After reading dozens of novels as romance guidebooks, Grace’s conclusion was clear.

Will and charm.

Only those who possess both can win a suitable partner.

And Grace was not confident in either.

Meanwhile, Grace’s soliloquy was a bit louder than she thought.

The friend on her right peeked her head out from under the umbrella.

“Grace?”

“Yeah. What’s wrong?”

The friend’s expression changed in a way that was hard to describe.

If one had to express it, it might be called a ‘mischievous’ expression.

“You’re interested in romance, huh?”

“Ugh.”

“As expected, innocent kids like you are the most honest inside. Fufufu, tell me your ideal type. I’ll introduce you to someone with my wide connections.”

Seeing her friend cover her mouth and laugh like some old matchmaking lady, Grace was about to answer honestly, half unconsciously.

Just as she was about to open her lips…

“Hup.”

She closed her mouth.

Ideal type.

Grace’s ideal type, honed by dozens of romance novels, was quite bizarre.

Even the most handsome man at the Federal University of Magic probably wouldn’t meet conditions like ‘a sculptured face with tall height, cold to others but warm only to me, with eyes like a lake’…

She had just made friends. It would be troublesome if they found out about her history of reading romance novels in her room.

So Grace blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Someone over six feet tall, good at studying, and kind…”

“Hmm. You’re picky.”

“Grace. You have higher standards than I thought…”

Grace shook her head vigorously.

The next lecture was [Calculus I], and to get to that classroom, they had to go down quite steep stone steps.

As they went down the stairs step by step, her friend said:

“Grace, if it’s someone who’s good at studying by your standards, it would be someone who’s around the top of the class, right? There probably aren’t many among our classmates.”

“R-Really?”

“Ah. But there are some among the seniors. For example…”

The friend gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

As Grace took another step forward while looking at that face…

Slip—

“Oh.”

Her right foot flew through the air.

Feeling a sense of buoyancy engulfing her entire body, Grace was shocked.

Am I falling now?

On a rainy day. And even on steep stone steps. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

This wasn’t a situation that would end with just a bruised knee.

Grace wasn’t the type of person who was always prepared for bleeding and broken bones, so she was terrified.

“Eek—”

She couldn’t even let out a sharp scream.

She closed her eyes tightly and fell forward. Towards that cliff.

And, thud.

She stopped falling midway.

Feeling strange that the pain didn’t come even after five seconds, Grace slowly opened her eyes.

“…?”

She had dropped her umbrella and was looking at the sky.

And.

A man who had been walking up from below was supporting Grace’s body, which was about to roll down the stairs.

“Be careful.”

“Eh?”

“It gets extremely slippery here when it rains. Here, I’ll support you, so stand up properly.”

She wanted to do so right away.

But Grace, half crying, said:

“I don’t have strength in my legs.”

“……”

The man seemed to glare at Grace silently, then his lips moved slightly.

[Levitation].

Her body floated up gently.

Before she could flail her arms and legs at the sudden feeling of buoyancy, her body was set upright.

“Th-Thank you.”

Instead of answering, the man just slightly raised his hand.

Grace thought. Could this be a ‘fateful encounter’?

Was the problematic arsonist even helping with her love life now?

If so, she couldn’t just keep her head down. She immediately picked up her umbrella and looked at the face of her fateful partner.

She was shocked.

The back view of him passing by her and her friends, going up the stairs. She couldn’t see his face, but she could see his back view.

He had gray hair.

Grace recalled romance novels again.

Imperial bloodline. A barbaric and violent kind. Wasn’t that the type of character that always appears as a villain? [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Even though a romance with a villain is also good material, there’s a limit.

Is that person really my destined partner?

It was then.

Her friend, who was also following the man’s back view with her eyes just like Grace, seemed to have sold off her worry about Grace’s near fall somewhere and suddenly grabbed Grace’s shoulder.

The friend demonstrated the art of shouting quietly.

“Grace!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s that person. Your ideal type.”

“What did you say?”

“Someone over six feet tall, good at studying, and kind. It’s that person.”

Grace asked as if enchanted.

“What’s his name?”

“Teaching Assistant Oslo.”

“—That’s what happened this afternoon.”

“Interesting. Why don’t you tell it to a passing stray cat when you have time? They’ll probably listen more attentively than me.”

“…Do you dislike hearing it?”

“You catch on quick. Don’t come if you have no business.”

The Student Council Room.

Located in the Student Council Building, it had become one of the places Grace visited most frequently lately.

The reason was simple.

Because it was a place where there was always someone she could be comfortable with and someone she respected.

Among them, the person she could be comfortable with, Vice President of the Student Council Gustav Mach, spoke indifferently while sitting at his desk.

“It’s fine to come and go from the Student Council Room, but as Deputy Director of the Planning Department, you should complete that work. What are you doing coming here to tell pointless stories?”

“Do you know him, Senior Gustav?”

“You’re not even listening to me.”

Gustav sighed deeply and put down his pen. His brilliant blonde hair fluttered.

“You mean the gray-haired one?”

“Yes. Teaching Assistant Oslo.”

Gustav answered while checking someone’s reaction in the student council room.

“…He graduated early so he’s the same age as me. He has gray hair, but well. He’s a diligent guy.”

A diligent guy, huh.

Grace sat quietly and became lost in thought.

Honestly, the gray hair didn’t look good to her. While the Brown family, natives of Frauzen, hadn’t lost much in the war 10 years ago, as citizens of the Federation, they naturally harbored hatred towards the Empire.

The fact that just hair color could evoke such emotions needed no further explanation.

But seeing how her friend had told her his name with an excited face, and how Gustav Mach, a strict senior, gave such an evaluation, her thinking was starting to change a bit.

He might unexpectedly be a decent person.

Especially if he was her destined partner.

“Hmm.”

While she was groaning and agonizing…

A clear voice rang out.

“Vice President Gustav Mach.”

“What.”

“Please focus on your work. There are documents piled up that need to be processed.”

“…Right.”

Grace quickly turned her head to look at the owner of the voice.

With an admiring gaze.

Julia Müller, President of the Student Council.

She was someone Grace deeply respected.

From early admission to the Federal University of Magic to maintaining excellent grades every year, and even emanating such charisma from that delicate body – it was awe-inspiring.

Even those who had been swayed by her beautiful appearance or her status as a professor’s daughter naturally came to show respect when they saw those amber eyes like those of a bird of prey.

There were rumors that her body was weak and she had trouble with her legs, but seeing her stance as she leaned on her staff, one wouldn’t think that at all.

Look at her now. Even with whatever conversation happening beside her, she’s focusing intently on her duties as president.

While respecting her, she wanted to become a bit closer to her.

Just as she was thinking that to herself.

The Student Council President spoke.

“And, Miss Grace.”

“Yes?!”

Tap.

Julia Müller put down her pen and smiled gently.

“Things like destined partners only exist in novels, you know?”