Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Summer is often thought of as synonymous with scorching heat, but August in the Federation doesn’t quite match that preconception.

In situations where sunlight is blocked, such as under tree shadows, inside buildings, or in the early morning, the air can become quite cool.

“Ugh…”

As such, Lena Oslo wrapped herself in a blanket, without fail, today as well.

A morning that could be described as ‘dim’ rather than ‘bright.’

Click― 

Lena opened the front door with slow movements.

It was to check the mailbox.

“Oof, it’s cold.”

Lena is sensitive to cold. Having been immersed in the warmth of summer for the past two months, she felt cold in the suddenly cool August air.

Still, she couldn’t skip checking the mailbox. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It was a habit she had maintained for over three years, and it was essential for being a businesswoman.

She had recently expanded her business a bit. Normally, two or three letters would come, but today it wouldn’t be strange if there were three or four…

With such thoughts, she opened the red mailbox beside the entrance.

Rustle―

“Huh?”

She found more than a dozen letters suddenly pouring onto the ground.

Even the most diligent person tends to have slow reactions right after waking up.

Lena, too, blinked her eyes for a moment and then slowly crouched down.

On the envelope surfaces, words like this were written: ‘Inquiry regarding 《A Heuristic Perspective on the Generation and Transformation of Light》published on the 23rd of last month.’

What is this about?

For one thing, it certainly wasn’t related to her business.

Then, she flipped the envelope to check the recipient’s name. The part where [Lena Oslo] should have been written normally.

There, in elegant handwriting, was written another person’s name.

[Eugene Oslo]

It wasn’t just one letter either.

As she collected and checked the letters that had fallen to the ground, 12 out of the 16 letters in the mailbox were like this.

“…?”

Lena tilted her head slightly.

As for letters that would come for Eugene, there should only be monthly sponsorship-related ones…

It was strange.

#August 4th. Slightly cloudy.

The strange occurrence didn’t end with that day but continued further.

Was it from the point when it was revealed that all of the more than ten letters flying in every day since that day were ‘nitpicks’ on the published paper?

No. As Lena guessed, it was from before that.

About one or two months ago.

It must have been since then. That Eugene was strangely dazed.

Even now, he was. During breakfast, he was just standing still with a piece of toast in one hand.

He had a serious expression as if there was something he was worried about.

Lena spread jam on her bread, then lightly tapped the small spoon she was holding against the jam jar.

A clear sound rang out, but Eugene still didn’t come to his senses.

So, she just spoke to him.

“Eugene. Do you need jam?”

“Huh?”

“I’m talking about jam. Jam.”

“Oh, please…”

Only then did Eugene regain focus and took the jam jar. Then he spread jam on his bread, but it looked quite sloppy.

Lena narrowed her eyes.

As expected.

It’s not just that he’s strangely dazed.

He’s quite openly out of it. She was certain of that.

“I’m heading out.”

A moment later, when Eugene left for work after haphazardly finishing his preparations, everyone at the dining table was seeing him off with worried looks.

Although by ‘everyone’, it was just Susan and Lena since Louise was at the University of Magic and the twins were deep in their late sleep.

Susan let out a light sigh.

“It worries me to see that energetic child so dazed. Lena. Do you know why Eugene is like that?”

“I don’t know for sure, but…”

Lena didn’t know the reason either, but she had been told about the dozen or so letters that had been pouring in.

Lena explained briefly.

Eugene’s paper,《A Heuristic Perspective on the Generation and Transformation of Light》, was written around April.

That paper, which was recently officially published, had become a small but hot topic in the magical academic world, and inquiry letters were pouring in from all directions to verify the authenticity of the paper.

“…And to be recognized in the academe, he has to reply to all the letters?”

“It seems so.”

“Benjamin was like that, too. He hardly wrote papers, but he kept complaining about letters flying in because he kept talking nonsense. Oh my, no wonder Eugene is so distracted. What should we do about this…” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Lena opened her mouth but stopped.

She was about to say something cliché like ‘Won’t time solve it?’ when suddenly a conjecture flashed through her mind.

Perhaps.

It’s just a wild guess, but could it be that Eugene is overworking himself because of her?

That was the conjecture.

There was a reason for suddenly thinking this.

The investment-related letter mixed in with the dozen letters this morning.

Mr. Underbridge. Once again, a large sum of money had been sent from the anonymous investor who had been continuing for nearly three years.

“……”

Lena’s eyes darkened.

Why hide it?

She had already figured out long ago that that ridiculous character was Eugene.

Lena is proficient in postal matters. There weren’t any particular measures taken to hide the identity, so tracing the address was no trouble at all.

Anyway, what’s important is something else.

The amount Eugene had invested under the name Mr. Underbridge had already exceeded 5,000 pounds.

This was a large sum that accounted for nearly 20% of Lena’s capital.

Where did all that money come from?

She already knew that there was no way he could have that much money as a doctoral student. In fact, she had heard that his salary was even reduced due to a big incident he caused around April.

Then, he must be allocating a significant portion of the monthly sponsorship money he receives, but there’s no way he could receive such an amount without any compensation.

She hadn’t asked because she thought there must be a reason for not disclosing the source of the sponsorship money.

But seeing him so dazed like this, anxiety gradually filled her.

On top of his already busy doctoral student work…

He had to reply to dozens of inquiry letters flying in every day…

…and even raised sponsorship money through some kind of activity.

“…!”

Her eyes widened.

She realized anew. Isn’t it to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed from overwork right now?

Lena raised her voice and asked.

“Wh-what should we do?”

“Lena.”

However, Susan’s answer was utterly cold. Why?

The reason was soon apparent.

Because Susan’s gaze towards Lena was similar to the gaze directed at Eugene. A look of concern.

“The same goes for you. It’s been over two years since you graduated from school, so I think it’s good that you’re working hard, but aren’t you too busy, no matter how you look at it?”

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, the arrow was pointing at her.

Regardless of whether Lena shrank back or not, Susan’s nagging mixed with worry continued.

Or is it worry mixed with nagging?

“Didn’t you say you’re consulting for the telegraph bureau, expanding your investment business, and recently even extending into the department store business?”

“That’s…”

“I saw the diary on your desk. ‘Establishment of a Magic Research Foundation.'”

“Y-you saw that?”

“It’s for the family, right? We already have three scholars in our family. Still, take it easy. Your happiness is the most important thing. Don’t just go out and work all the time, make some friends your age, too.”

The last phrase was particularly emphasized.

That must have been what she really wanted to say.

At that point, Lena escaped from the kitchen.

“Phew.”

Lena, who hurriedly returned to her room, first hid her diary deep in a drawer.

It’s a diary full of gloomy inner thoughts. She never wanted to show it to anyone. Even if it was Susan.

“…Ah. She didn’t see the front page, did she?”

A Magic Research Foundation.

The reason for harboring such a grand goal was not only humble but even embarrassing.

How could she tell others? There probably isn’t a single person in this world who would try to establish a foundation for such a reason ―because I secretly entered Eugene’s room early one morning out of curiosity, sat in his chair, and found it so hard and cold―.

Thud.

She lay face down on the desk and closed her eyes. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

A feeling of thoughts being organized.

She pushed the business-related content to a corner of her mind for a moment and focused on her future.

Why does she make money?

She could answer immediately. For the family.

She has little material desire and even less desire for luxury. She doesn’t have a lover, she doesn’t even have peers to talk freely with anymore, and the only person she can have a proper conversation with is Director Lily Lovelace…

Susan’s guess about the foundation was correct, too.

Eugene. Sister Louise. Benjamin, who shows no signs of returning from the Empire yet but someday will.

It’s for them.

“……”

However, it’s nonsensical to overwork Eugene in the process of achieving the goal of making research life comfortable.

Lena opened her eyes.

She needs to make Eugene rest.

To do that, she first needs to understand the reason.

That night.

Around nine in the evening, when the front door opened, Lena was standing near the kitchen to greet the exhausted young man.

“You’re late.”

“I’m back. You should rest too, Lena.”

Eugene, who returned late from work, quickly washed up and went to his room.

As usual, he left the door half-open.

But Lena didn’t rest. Instead, she sat at the dining table wrapped in a blanket.

“……”

She opened a book to read and poured milk into a cup.

It was all a ploy to peek through the gap of the storage room door and further observe Eugene’s behavior.

Without fail, there were more than a dozen letters piled on Eugene’s desk.

All letters seriously question and nitpick the content of the paper.

He looked quite tired when he came back from work, would he now force himself to reply to all those letters?

If that’s the case, it’s no wonder his mind would be worn out.

Is there a way to help?

As she was thinking this while sipping her milk.

“…Huh?”

Something’s strange.

Eugene’s face, sitting at the desk, looked fresh.

As if he was about to do something enjoyable.

Soon, Eugene was even grinning as he enthusiastically wrote replies in one go, completing 13 letter-form replies in just 45 minutes.

Then, he stretched satisfactorily and went to bed.

Lena was dumbfounded. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Right.

She had forgotten that Eugene Oslo was someone who would happily stay up all night studying for exams at the University of Magic.

It might be possible for him to excitedly reply to even burdensome inquiry letters…

With a mix of feelings – half disappointment and half relief that it wasn’t overwork – Lena was returning to her room when she suddenly thought.

Then why was he so dazed?

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here. 

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