Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Swish. 

I carefully fastened the last button and looked up at the mirror.

In the mirror was a gray-haired young man with a very stiff posture.

That is, me.

“Should I say this suits me?”

As it was a tailored suit, there were no rough edges, but the clothes were so luxurious that it felt like the clothes were wearing me rather than me wearing the clothes.

The clothes I was wearing in the mirror were none other than a new suit.

It’s the dark gray double-breasted suit I bought during an outing with Julia about two months ago. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

The reason for taking out and wearing new clothes early in the morning was this:

Last night, as I was enjoying a comfortable rest on the sofa, Lena, wrapped in a blanket, slowly approached me and said.

She had essentially given an order like this.

At the end of the university’s summer semester, I also got a short vacation.

So, I had no intention of going out on the first day of my vacation today, but because Lena issued an order disguised as a request, I was preparing to go out as she said.

Following the instruction to “dress nicely,” I was even taking out the most luxurious clothes I had.

“Really…”

While grateful that my relationship with my younger sister, just a year apart, had become much closer, I worried that she hadn’t become too shrewd.

Letting out a shallow sigh, I smoothly tied my necktie.

As I was about to insert the silver tie pin last…

Knock, knock—

I turned my head at the sound of knocking, followed by the sound of the door opening.

It was Susan.

“Eugene. Do you have a moment?”

“What is it?”

“A guest has arrived, and it seems to be your guest.”

Susan continued with an unusually flustered expression.

“Eugene. Did you perhaps know the young lady of the Müller family?”

I opened my eyes wide.

I didn’t expect Julia’s name to suddenly come out, especially from Susan’s mouth.

“What?”

“You’re all dressed up, too. Go to the entrance and see.”

I did as she said.

Only when I put on my shoes and stepped out to the entrance did I understand Susan’s reaction.

There was a carriage that filled Kram Street, which couldn’t even be called wide as a white lie.

As if not satisfied with just being large, various decorations densely embroidered the exterior of the carriage. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

There was also a glimpse of dark brown hair visible inside the window.

“Huh.”

It was undoubtedly the Müller family’s carriage.

I had seen Julia use it for commuting a few times during my undergraduate days. Why was it here?

It was so unrealistic that even after rubbing my eyes several times, the carriage was still standing there.

Susan asked from beside me.

“Did you have an appointment? I thought a guest had come, but I didn’t expect a carriage to be parked.”

I couldn’t answer that question because I didn’t know the circumstances, either.

I hadn’t heard anything about her coming like this in the first place.

“……”

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

Along with one reasonable suspicion, I turned around.

Sure enough, unlike me, who was fully prepared, Lena was still in her pajamas, leaning on the stair railing.

I tried to speak calmly.

“Lena. Is this your doing?”

“……”

Instead of answering, Lena turned her head. They say silence is affirmation.

Just as I was about to demand further explanation…

Suddenly, Lena walked briskly towards me and started pushing me firmly towards the outside of the entrance.

“Go.”

“What?”

“Don’t ask for details, just go!”

Lena continued to push me out while mumbling to herself things like ‘Anything for the investor…’.

Originally, those thin arms shouldn’t have been able to move my body at all, no matter how much they pushed.

But just as Lena’s words were close to commands, her touch also seemed to have an irresistible quality, so I was practically driven out of the entrance.

“No, explain—”

As I said that…

Click.

The carriage door opened, and someone inside recited a familiar phrase. 

[Levitation].

I was sucked into the carriage as if being eaten by a huge monster.

Type I Magic, Levitation. It was one of the magic types I was most confident in, but it was the first time someone else had used it on me. The feeling was quite strange…

In the end, I was pulled in without any chance to resist, and the carriage door closed with a click.

The interior was decorated with red plush as if it really were a monster’s stomach.

The passenger already inside greeted me.

“Good morning, Eugene.”

Julia, the notorious kidnapper who abducted people in broad daylight, smiled brightly.

A carriage.

A mode of transportation responsible for medium to long-distance travel for hundreds of years and an ancient invention that still firmly maintains its status even today when railways and internal combustion engine vehicles are on the rise.

I had ridden in them several times, too. It had become quite a popularized vehicle by now.

But this carriage was different. Very different.

Red plush with gold thread embroidery forms a canvas. The seats and backrest were softer than my bed, and the glass windows were large and clear. They must have used custom-made, high-end products.

To my eyes, all of that was secondary.

I spoke towards those amber eyes that exuded a more elegant golden light than the gold embroidery.

“Julia. What is all this?”

“Oh my, didn’t you hear?”

Julia pretended to be surprised while covering her mouth, but it was the most artificial expression I had ever seen on her.

It was obvious that she was full of teasing intentions.

Seeing that face, my intention to seriously question her completely dissipated.

It seemed I had already been caught up in a scheme.

While inwardly sighing, I changed my question.

“…I’ll ask just two things and then obediently follow along.”

“Hmm. What are they?”

“First, what you and Lena plotted. Second, where we’re going.”

“Ahahaha, you’re sharp.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her smile deepened.

Julia, this time sincerely smiling slightly, placed both hands on her demurely closed knees.

Then, looking at the passing scenery outside the window, she started thinking with a “Hmm…”.

“Let’s see, first of all.”

Surprisingly, it seemed she had no intention of deceiving or hiding anything.

Soon after, Julia began explaining willingly.

It was about three weeks ago. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

After that chance meeting that day, Lena and Julia began exchanging letters occasionally, and the content naturally centered around the common topic of the two, she said.

That common topic was none other than me.

The beginning of the full-fledged incident started with Lena. About two weeks after their meeting, Lena sent a letter that said: ‘Eugene might go crazy soon.’

“Huh, what?”

“Just listen.”

I agreed to do so.

The content of the letter with the strange title was roughly this: 

‘My brother lives obsessed with research and study, and it’s getting worse. It turns out that his recent dazed state was because he was thinking about the topic for his next paper.’

‘Seeing him start to spout such nonsense, his condition seems quite severe. It looks like he’ll just stay at home thinking about magic studies all day, even during his vacation, and I’m seriously worried he might get sick. So how about forcing him to get some fresh air?’

“And then?”

“I replied like this.”

‘Sounds good! ☆⸜(⑉˙ᗜ˙⑉)⸝♡’

Julia smiled broadly, mimicking that expression.

As I quietly watched that, troublesome emotions welled up, causing me to slightly avert my gaze to the embroidery inside the carriage…

Soon after, Julia finished her explanation in a slightly grumpy tone for some reason.

“Anyway, that’s how it happened. It’s for your own sake, Eugene.”

“Really?”

“Is it not okay if it’s for my own sake?”

“……”

There’s nothing wrong with that.

But anything sudden isn’t good, especially when the first day of my vacation was stolen when I had planned to peacefully continue my thought experiments.

The thought of going out together is quite welcome.

Since entering the doctoral program, a significant portion of my non-academic pleasures have come from her.

However, I wanted to spend this vacation alone.

Unlike my previous paper on the photoelectric effect *2, which was mainly formulas and experiments, this new idea consisted mostly of thought experiments.

So recently, thinking alone was research, and I had been looking forward to having a vacation since hearing about it.

Even if it was a short vacation, I thought I could gain considerable insight if I thought leisurely during that time.

Paradoxically, even in the most relaxed time, time felt most precious. This was why being forcibly dragged out like this was quite regrettable.

While I was thinking this inwardly…

Screech—

The carriage stopped.

At the same time, Julia opened her lips.

“Oh my. We’ve already arrived before I could answer the second question.”

The second question.

Where we were going.

Indeed, I no longer needed to hear from Julia. I just had to look out the window.

The scenery framed by the glass window was a somewhat unexpected place.

A familiar yet unfamiliar place.

[ Frauzen – Orris Station ]

“The train station?”

Orris Station.

The massive station building, which might be more familiar by the common name Frauzen Station, was spread out in its usual majestic appearance.

I asked.

“Why here?”

Julia answered as if it were obvious.

“Why? We came to take the train.”

“I mean, where are we going?”

“To Lutenberg. I hear the World Expo is being held.”

“Ah.”

Lutenberg.

It was definitely the name of a satellite city about two hours away by train from here.

Right. Articles about the World Expo being held had been in the newspapers for a few months.

I, who had thought we would at most travel within Frauzen, quietly held the carriage door handle.

I suddenly remembered.

I had been living here for four years since arriving in Frauzen, without traveling to other places.

Four years. It’s not a short time at all.

Julia tapped my back as I was lost in thought.

“I’ve already reserved the tickets, so we just need to go. Come on, let’s go.”

“…Alright.”

It’s not something I can cancel now.

I opened the carriage door and got out.

The acrid smell unique to train stations wafted to my nose. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

They say nostalgia is often triggered by the five senses. That saying was right.

At this moment, my feelings had gone back to four years ago.

Despite the difference between arriving then and departing now, my excitement hadn’t changed at all. I was surprised to find my feelings were just as intense as they had been four years ago.

This meant that there were still plenty of new experiences for me to experience.

It also signified that I was still just a foreigner who had smuggled into the Federation.

What broke the thoughts occupying my mind was a clear voice from behind.

“Eu―gene―!”

It was Julia.

With her cane in one hand, she was half-sitting, half-getting out of the carriage. Why?

“What?”

When I answered, Julia smiled brightly instead of replying and held out her hand.

A pale, delicate right hand.

I didn’t recall that the hand extended with such an elegant movement was a preparatory gesture for escorting, that gentlemen follow this implicit rule when accompanying ladies, and that Julia, with her leg difficulties, needed even more assistance.

I just took that hand gently and imitated based on the knowledge I had picked up.

“Be careful.”

“Thank you.”

It was a clumsy, stiff movement, but one thing was certain.

Even if the gentleman didn’t know, the lady was smiling.

That’s enough, isn’t it?

It was the perfect start for a short trip that would end in just one day.

T/N

Simultaneity here seems to refer to the relativity of simultaneity. In simple terms, whether two events occur at different places but occur at the same time is dependent on the observer’s reference frame. This basically implies that time is not absolute (as Newton had assumed) but is relative to the observer. A thought experiment involving trains by Einstein illustrates this fact elegantly, but it seems to be discussed later on, as hinted by the illustrations, so I’ll leave it at that for now. 
I have no idea why the translation suddenly reverted to the normal term of the photoelectric effect, but it seems we’ll be using that from now on.