Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Killing Rain
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Sometimes there are situations like that.
Situations where you have no clue what to do, damn frustrating ones.
"Why no answer?"
Now was one of those.
"Student Rain, have you come to hate Magic Engineering too?"
Professor Rachel looked at me with sad eyes.
"Why are you silent?! You really hate it now?!"
"... ."
She was quite erratic.
Sad one moment, then pathetic the next...
"Please answer me..."
She even slumped over her desk.
I needed to say something, but nothing came to mind.
Well, it had been a whole month.
Not a day, not two days, not even a week—a full month.
Any excuse now would be way too late.
"Professor."
"Yes, you want to change departments? I'll handle the procedures..."
No.
Why are you giving up on your own like that?
"You know my situation. Changing departments or whatever wouldn't mean anything."
"Should I adjust your schedule then?"
Damn.
I'd been foolish to think she'd just understand unconditionally.
She's a person too. Of course she can't understand everything.
And a one-sided heads-up sure as hell doesn't make it an agreement.
"It's not like that..."
What excuse should I even make?
"...It's fine. It was all my own greed anyway."
This was bad.
Professor Rachel was starting to resign herself.
"I don't even have any claim on you, and here I was acting like a spoiled kid. Sorry."
Honestly, she had a point, but agreeing with the mood right now felt like a bad idea.
"Well, a genius like you wouldn't have time for academy classes anyway. I get it."
Professor, how far are you taking this?
The classes do go in my ears too...
I couldn't just stand there watching. Time to butt in.
"St-still, won't you do research with me...?"
But nailing the timing wasn't easy.
I just kept staring at her as she wavered back and forth.
"...Student Rain, was the research with Professor Pelliana fun?"
Ah, now's the moment.
"Actually."
Professor Rachel was an adult. A pretty mature one at that, despite appearances. She'd probably calm down on her own without any convincing from me.
The problem was not knowing how long that would take.
The current situation was special, and I needed help right now.
"Magic Engineering was more fun than Alchemy."
Professor Rachel knew she couldn't hold onto me.
That had been settled the moment I met with His Majesty the Emperor.
That's why her possessiveness came out as petulance toward me.
She couldn't have me, but she wanted to.
It was her irrational emotions reshaping into a complaint.
I needed to satisfy that urge right now.
Professor Rachel's eyes went wide.
"...Really?"
"Yes."
"Magic Engineering was more fun?"
"So starting today, I'll be doing Magic Engineering research."
Her haggard expression brightened in an instant.
A smile crept onto her lips, and life returned to her dulled eyes.
Professor Rachel's emotions were crystal clear.
She was thrilled.
"Is it that good?"
"Of course!!"
This should do it.
I got to the point.
"But there's a condition."
Professor Rachel's body, which had been buzzing like she might leap up any second, went rigid for a moment.
The word "condition" did it.
"You ghost for a month and now conditions?"
Of course it'd sound ridiculous.
Even I'd think it was ridiculous.
But Professor Rachel...
"Yeah, what's the condition?"
She accepted.
A twinge of conscience pricked at me, but that wasn't what mattered now.
I explained everything that had happened.
Sometimes disjointed, sometimes long-winded, sometimes full of theory.
Germs.
Infection.
Antibiotics.
Treatment.
She listened carefully before letting out a hollow laugh.
"You expect me to believe this?"
A bit of confusion.
But the overwhelming emotion was 'amazement'.
"...Still, I guess I have to. It's you, after all."
Professor Rachel had watched my exploits closer than anyone.
That's why I was sure she'd believe me.
What I'd accomplished was impressive, even by my own standards.
Of course, I hadn't done any of it directly myself.
Suddenly, the thought hit me.
What if I faced a situation where this AI didn't work...
What would I do then?
"...Ah."
I quickly shook off the stray thought.
Getting lost in my train of thought like that seemed to be an unbreakable habit of mine.
Focus on the present.
"What I'm asking for... is proof."
"Proof?"
"I'm just a student. But you're one of the top scholars around."
"...True."
"I want you to prove the existence of germs together with Ms. Pelliana."
Diseases wouldn't spread in the slums anymore.
The residents had built trust with Pelliana, making it easy to distribute soap and antibiotics.
But most of the empire's citizens didn't know me or Pelliana.
If some stranger came along babbling about germs and handed out weird stuff, how many would take it?
"So who do I need to prove it to?"
That's why it was necessary.
The power to make even the most outlandish claims believable.
There was exactly one person in the empire with that kind of authority.
"You don't mean..."
"That's exactly who."
The Emperor of the Meribear Empire.
Reinhardt von Meribear.
"That's a really tough request."
"There's no one else I can ask."
"Even I can't just meet His Majesty the Emperor whenever I want."
"I know, but..."
Professor Rachel let out a sigh.
"Fine, I'll give it a shot."
"Really?"
"Just so we're clear, this is for the research, right?"
Rachel Arte was kind-hearted by nature.
I'd framed it as a research request, but she probably would've said yes even if I'd asked flat-out with nothing to offer.
The situation was just special right now.
"Thank you."
Well, asking for favors without any quid pro quo did bother me a bit.
I figured this was the best approach.
Hearing an academy lecture after so long felt good.
Like coming home, comforting somehow.
Yeah, students should attend classes suited to their level.
The right difficulty made me happy.
"Things'll be normal for a while."
Four majors—what of it?
No demon fights or new discoveries for the foreseeable future.
My bar for 'extraordinary' had gotten way too high.
This qualified as a perfectly ordinary daily life.
"She said she'd handle it within a week..."
Professor Rachel had set one week as the timeframe to meet with His Majesty the Emperor.
A week might sound long, but against the Emperor? I thought even that was impressive.
Anyway.
I just needed to diligently attend classes at the academy in the meantime.
"Where's the Knight Department again."
Today's final lecture was in the Knight Department.
I'd never taken a single one of their classes...
What kind of professor would it be?
I felt a mix of slight anticipation and considerable anxiety.
As I'd mentioned earlier, I'd never once attended a Knight Department class, but they must have proceeded as scheduled every time.
In other words, I was the only one who'd skipped.
"...They must have me marked good."
High chance they'd hate my guts.
Too late to turn back now. I decided to just go in bold.
Yeah, I'd done good things.
Without me, thousands would've died from disease every year.
This was an unavoidable absence...
Time to get boldly scolded and boldly apologize.
"Ah, here it is."
Today's lecture was in the training grounds, or so Professor Rachel had told me directly.
There were some targets around... and training weapons scattered about.
The scene hadn't changed much from the entrance ceremony, stirring up memories I'd rather not revisit.
I'd pulled insane aggro on the very first day.
Who was that professor again?
"The truant has arrived."
I remembered. Professor Cecil.
The woman with red hair and red eyes.
Yeah, someone who looked just like that professor...
Huh?
"What are you doing? Hurry up and get ready if you're here."
A red-haired girl with a wooden sword slung over her shoulder, tilting her head.
That same face from the entrance ceremony was staring at me with a displeased expression.
"Everyone's here, so we'll start the final prep exam now."
...Pardon?
"Rules are as announced beforehand."
Come to think of it, I knew absolutely nothing about this class's schedule.
Why would I, when I'd never attended even once?
...A bad hypothesis popped into my head.
Knight Department students aspired to be knights, so they spent most of their lectures training.
Which meant their final exam was probably 'practical' too?
"Anyone I catch from now on──"
No written exam...
"Will be doing endurance training."
Meant there was nothing an AI could do.
"Go!"
I'd have to run myself.
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