Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Sorry
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"Professors."
Having left the imperial palace, we were back at the academy.
The three of us gathered in Professor Rachel's private lab, sipping tea.
"What the hell just happened?"
"……."
"……."
The two professors fell silent at my question.
Wow.
Even the professors renowned for their intellect couldn't answer this one.
This had to be a real conundrum, right?
No wonder even I couldn't make sense of it.
"Please answer me."
They exchanged glances, and eventually, Professor Rachel was pushed to speak first.
"C-Con-congratulations on getting multiple majors!"
"Haha……."
Yeah.
This was reality.
A multiple major thrust upon me, skipping every procedure imaginable. No, in this case, "multidisciplinary major" was more accurate.
"Shall we count how many?"
"……If you want."
"First, Magic Engineering Department."
"……."
"Magic Department, Knight Department, Alchemy Department. And even the Theory Department."
I let out another hollow laugh.
Who knew I'd ever need fingers to count majors?
Increased study load was one thing, but more subjects across the board? Worlds apart. The latter was far tougher.
And the emperor had told me to do everything I could. Know what that meant?
He had expectations. His Majesty expected great things from me!
"What am I supposed to do about this?"
"……I don't know either."
"Me neither……."
Damn it.
Should I have come up with a different excuse?
Something about inheriting the family business…… Nah. That wouldn't have ended well either. He'd just tell me to work until I could take over.
Wasn't this the same system that solved conundrums?
Suddenly feeling pretty useless.
"Rain. Look on the bright side now that it's happened. Who knows? You might find your 'true calling'."
"Hold on, Professor Meriel. What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing special. Just what I said."
"You're playing word games……."
Bang!
I slammed the desk.
Of course, I wasn't angry. Was I insane? Yelling at professors?
"I've decided."
It was like the beat of war drums signaling resolve. My future was set.
"I'll drop out."
"Wait!"
"You can't do that!!"
After the professors' fervent persuasion, I finally calmed down.
To be fair, dropping out was a pretty thoughtless idea even by my standards.
"We'll do everything we can. Maybe drop one department……."
"I'll make your new schedule nice and loose. Even add a free period."
All sorts of perks were offered. Since I had to do it anyway, I just accepted.
"……Rest tomorrow."
"No dropping out, got it? No dropping out!"
And so, here I was in the dorms.
Lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for what felt like an hour.
Not sure if it was exactly an hour—just a rough guess. Either way, I'd been like this for a while.
What should I do now?
Serious thinking was in order.
A single AI blunder had landed me in a situation where I'd have to ace every department in the academy.
Question: was that realistically possible?
"It should be possible, right?"
With this guy's help, sure.
Second question: could I endure it?
Fine, the AI in my head could handle it.
But I was just a mere human. Could I bear all this pressure and keep up the "genius act"?
……No idea.
"Do you know?"
"Not helpful at all."
It acted like it knew everything, but it was just an AI in the end.
Couldn't read people's hearts or the future, huh.
"Tch."
Truth be told, that question was meaningless. In the end, all that remained was the fact that I had to do it.
Conclusion reached.
Whether it kills me or feeds me, I'll give it a shot.
I'll worry about the rest later.
A day passed like that, and I received a new timetable from Professor Rachel.
Charlotte Merhen.
She was a lowly commoner girl with nothing to her name.
Her grades alone could've gotten her into Pellit Academy's Magic Department, but her background landed her here instead.
What kind of place was this?
"An academy forever in second place, with no future in its studies."
Runia Academy accepted commoners, but it still cared about origins.
So they offered the high-achieving Charlotte a deal.
There was an opening in Magic Engineering.
Prove yourself, and after one semester, they'd approve her transfer.
Charlotte decided.
Better to claim top spot here and transfer to Magic Department than rot for four years.
Background? Just where you were born.
She could overcome it.
"Damn it, why do I have to study this crap?"
The problem? Magic Engineering was boring as hell.
No fun, tough labs, no future.
Too many pointless cancellations, and the professor favored one student.
What was this?
Study or not?
Her patience snapped during midterms.
"Practical……?"
Practical exam notice.
Invent something yourself and show it off in a duel.
The department had lost its mind. No other explanation.
Fight? Against those monsters?
"Damn it……."
She pulled an all-nighter for three days straight to make something.
A disposable wand infused with fire magic.
"Look, the limits are obvious."
A machine made sleepless for three days.
Yet it could only fire one flame spell. Of course. Not in Magic Department, she couldn't use anything beyond basics.
Pathetic.
And inevitable. No magic, no Magic Engineering. Non-mages' inventions were trash by default.
Charlotte's stress finally peaked.
Whatever.
She didn't care anymore.
"So frustrating……."
She decided to forfeit right after failing.
Screw the exam.
If this killed her transfer…….
'I'll drop out.'
Give up everything.
She was smart enough to make that call.
No value in investing in a dead-end field.
But then.
"That is……."
Something unexpected happened.
"No magic?"
No trace of magic's form. Not even the "magic circle" precursor.
Pure Magic Engineering, no magic.
It didn't take long for her to grasp the situation.
She saw it with her own eyes.
This field's ideal future!
'This is it.'
Even in Magic Department, success wasn't guaranteed.
A commoner surviving nobility central? Slim odds.
But this.
That tech.
'I can succeed.'
Rain Ortiz.
The prof's pet, annoyingly enough.
The favoritism had clear reason now.
"……I'd favor him too."
That guy was what they called a "genius."
She schemed.
Steal the tech.
Publish the paper first, get verified first.
Snatch the "first" and claim academia's recognition.
"How to steal it?"
She was smart. Not genius-level, but she knew how to think differently.
'……Plain-looking. Probably no girl experience.'
A somewhat cowardly plan dawned.
Objectively, Charlotte was quite pretty. Seducing a plain guy like that? Easy.
Perfect.
This plan works.
Right after midterms, she approached Rain.
"Hey, Rain Ortiz, right?"
She flashed a smile.
"Nothing big, but that machine you made."
Showing interest.
"Can you teach me too?"
Closing in fast.
"Uh?"
Look at that dumbstruck face.
Already hooked.
"Well……."
"Ah…… It's kinda hard?"
Don't play hard to get.
You're gonna say yes anyway.
"No, I can teach. But it's tough."
"Really? Can I come after class?"
"Not today."
So picky.
"Tomorrow then?"
"Tomorrow's fine."
Gonna agree eventually.
Charlotte retreated with a victorious smile.
One year tops.
I'll take all your tech in one year.
"Hm hm~."
She slept well that night.
The next day.
She met a somewhat haggard Rain.
Curious why, but no need to ask. Just achieve the goal.
Charlotte entered the lab alone with Rain.
"I'll explain from the basics."
"Great!"
Rain started explaining.
Charlotte panicked.
"Can you explain again?"
"So, this is……."
What the hell?
"Huh? Wait. What's the principle of this circuit?"
"Oh, said it too complicated?"
Explanations repeated many times.
Rain cracked first.
"You don't know this?"
"……First time seeing it. How would I?"
"I just explained it."
"Haha…… Can you make it simpler?"
"Can't get simpler than this."
Rain muttered.
"……Professor got it first try."
A bit stung, but Charlotte kept smiling.
The real problem was next.
"Ah…… I only teach people who do this too. Sorry, can't teach if you're not smart enough."