Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Became the Greatest Genius in History
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Elphus had a long conversation with Ester for the first time in ages.
During that time, there had been no word from him at all, so he had worried that perhaps the horrific events of the past were gnawing away at his mind.
But as expected, it was just groundless fear.
"From now on, the Metal School plans to increase mithril production even further. We're thinking of making it out of metals that anyone can easily obtain."
The genius was still pressing forward into the future.
In a perfectly upright and honest manner.
That was why Elphus could bid farewell with peace of mind.
"Alright. I'll keep looking forward to what you do next. Oh dear, time's gotten away from me already. I should be heading out. If you need any help, feel free to tell me..."
Ester saw Elphus off.
"Take care."
Elphus left the Golden Tower.
A constant smile lingered on the face of the old man walking down the quiet street.
"What an admirable young man."
From the moment he first met Ester, Elphus had been captivated by him.
When a mere boy of fifteen came to him claiming to have solved the Millennium Problem, he had sensed something extraordinary.
When he brought the Hell Tank blueprints and developed antibiotics, Elphus was convinced that no one with such genius would ever appear in the kingdom again.
And yet.
When he completely cured Haniel's incurable disease—something every attending physician had declared impossible—he thought the boy's tenacity was equally remarkable.
Ester was the kind of person who turned the impossible into possible.
Whether he received recognition from everyone or faced contempt like he had in his family.
He would simply continue advancing with the same composure as always.
"......"
Elphus recalled attending the Celestial School's event last week.
It was a gathering of figures who wielded great influence in the mage world, himself included.
"-Marquis Sephirond, or rather, the Golden Tower Master, has achieved countless feats until now, but I believe this synthetic mithril is his greatest accomplishment. I never imagined a day like this would come. The Metal School produced far more mithril in just two months than the kingdom's largest mine yields in a year."
The master of the Celestial School.
The White Tower Master went on a passionate speech, utterly enchanted by artificial mithril.
"-As you all know, magic tools are what allow ordinary people to use complex magic without any hassle. Magic tools are mithril, and mithril is magic tools... Until now, they couldn't be mass-produced, let alone commercialized."
"-But things are different now. The Metal School has announced plans to increase artificial mithril production even more. If we get involved... the era is about to change!"
The purpose of the event had been lighthearted.
The school leaders had gathered to build camaraderie and discuss steering the mage world properly going forward.
But in an instant, that speech turned the venue into a celebration praising artificial mithril.
"-......"
The Blue Tower Master, Noctias, shot to his feet as well.
Expressing complete agreement with the White Tower Master, he continued.
"-Exactly. I think the era is about to change too! We've all thought at least once how convenient it would be to apply magic to our daily lives. But it was impossible. Only a select few could learn magic, and mithril was too expensive!"
Noctias was flushed red from drink.
Perhaps because of that, his already quick speech grew even faster.
"-But if mithril keeps getting mass-produced from now on, if we can mass-produce magic tools that let ordinary people use magic!? Doesn't it feel like our future will transform into something truly beautiful!?"
"-Just imagine it. Farmers summoning rain over drought-stricken fields, soldiers on the battlefield subjugating demons with magic tools, golems taking on the hard labor people can't handle!!"
"-This is nothing short of a magic revolution!!"
A magic revolution.
Every tower master present agreed.
Elphus knew those words weren't mere hype.
Magic was originally a unique technology created to bring abundance and happiness to people.
Until now, mithril shortages had limited magic tools to the simplest uses.
And with far too few mages for the kingdom's scale, the discipline of magic hadn't been able to display its true power.
That was why everyone yearned for transcendence.
Magic defied natural order and wrought miracles.
Transcendence was the realm where one could perform all such miracles.
Those who reached it would wield magic as they desired.
It would be akin to an omnipotent god.
Elphus, Noctias, and all the tower masters present—it was a realm they all coveted.
No one had ever achieved transcendence until now.
There were those with talent close to it, but even they failed to grasp the truth before death.
But one genius had changed the flow of the era.
If.
If mithril's value kept plummeting indefinitely and they could sustain it.
Magic would no longer be the exclusive domain of mages.
The old man gazed at the trail the genius had blazed thus far.
Ester had ascended to a place incomparably higher than his own level.
Had it been that way from the start?
Or was he still advancing?
He didn't know.
It was invisible.
So profoundly distant and profound.
His emotions recognized Ester as an ordinary person like himself.
But his reason saw him as an untouchable monster.
Compared to Ester.
Perhaps all the geniuses recorded in history were mere mortals.
'Magic revolution.'
The kingdom would change in astonishing ways.
No.
Even that statement was ultimately rude to Ester.
Because from now on, the world would change.
"......"
Elphus returned to the Red Tower.
In his tower lord's chambers, he gazed at the sky through the window.
The stars symbolizing the Tristy family shone high above.
Among them, one burned the brightest.
That star.
Remained fixed in place until the dark night faded away.
***
"A vacation?"
I nodded.
"Suddenly?"
Nod nod.
"Did I make some kind of mistake?"
Shake shake.
"I consider working by your side the ultimate rest."
Shake shake.
"Answer with words before I devour you."
"Ugh..."
If I had to name the people I was most grateful to in my life, I could say without hesitation that it was Dalpi and my big sister.
No need to explain my big sister, who had supported me like a pillar in my childhood...
"No need for a vacation."
But Dalpi, stubbornly refusing right now.
She had suffered greatly, insisting on becoming my personal maid when I had nothing.
She was a precious person who had stuck by me without complaint until now.
-I'll do it.
-Does the reason matter that much? There's no one else to play personal maid anyway, right? Keep me around for now, and if you don't like it, fire me.
-I'll even handle chores like a court lady. Oh, no need to be moved. I wouldn't die even if I ate poison anyway.
I still didn't know why she insisted on being my personal maid.
When I asked, she brushed it off playfully with things like "Because you're handsome" or "Because you're fun to tease," so who knows for real.
Well, I'll find out naturally when the time comes.
Moving on.
What I knew about Dalpi boiled down to just two facts.
One of them, well.
This could get heavy, so to sum it up.
Before becoming a Tristy maid, she had lived doing grueling work with fierce determination.
She cheerfully called it "easy mode" because she was inhumanly strong compared to others, but it was heartbreaking.
Of course it was—wielding a sword as a mercenary or plowing fields for eighteen hours a day under exploitative landlords.
That was completely divorced from the life of an ordinary young girl.
It was probably even harsher than my previous life slaving away at a black company.
-I didn't do anything bad, though. Praise me lots and lots.
So I patted her head and praised her right away.
Anyway.
The last one was that she wasn't human.
-I'm half-demon.
Half-demon.
That's what they call hybrids born between demons and humans.
The day after my coming-of-age ceremony, Dalpi confessed her true nature.
-Yeah.
Honestly, she didn't even use aura.
For someone who could lift a Hell Tank single-handedly, whatever her identity turned out to be, I figured it'd be par for the course.
I'd thought she was some kind of super-soldier like Captain America with body mods.
-You knew after all.
-Nope. For real.
After that, we've kept our smooth relationship as is.
Right now she's glaring at me with arms crossed, but that's our usual WWE routine.
"You've worked hard all this time. Take a week off. If you need more time, just say so. People need a refresh sometimes."
The reason I was telling Dalpi to rest was to prepare a surprise gift for her.
That said, it required some preparation.
And to peel her off my side, where she stuck like glue no matter what, nothing beat a vacation.
Plus, it'd let her rest too, so best of both worlds.
But.
"No, why on earth do you hate it so much when I'm telling you to rest!"
"You're infringing on my right to work."
"It's paid vacation. I'm protecting workers' rights here!"
"No. Nope. Don't do it."
This maid showed no intention of resting whatsoever.