Midterm Exams of the First Semester (7): Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?

I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of this idea from the very beginning. Create a two-dimensional single formula by combining the core sections of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the fire and cold systems.

I had been too obsessed with drawing everything in two dimensions. Three dimensions were nothing more than stacked layers of two-dimensional images. If you could build three dimensions by piling up two dimensions, then the opposite had to be possible too. Slice the three-dimensional structure into thin pieces and express it as a continuous sequence of two dimensions. If I had approached it mathematically from the start, this problem would have been solved ages ago.

"Thank you, Trie! Thank you so much!"

"Huuuh? I'm covered in sweat, you know?!"

Without thinking, I pulled Trie into a tight embrace. She had always felt like an immovable mountain to me, but today she seemed strangely light. I lifted her up and spun her around in circles...

"I'm dying of embarrassment here, Professor..."

"......"

Only then did I notice the eyes watching us from all around. I set Trie down—she was covering her face with both hands—cleared my throat, and turned away. I felt like I could die of embarrassment myself.

"What? What's going on, Schluss?"

"I think I solved the problem. Thanks to Trie's help."

"What...?"

Ainz's expression twisted strangely. Why did he look so shocked all of a sudden?

"I-I haven't even caught a hint yet!"

"Ainz. I have one favor to ask."

"What is it? Just say the word!"

He seemed depressed that he hadn't been any help solving the problem I'd given him. Still, there was one thing only Ainz could do.

"Could I ask you to escort me back to the residence?"

"Escort? What kind of escort do you need inside the academy?"

"Just in case."

"If that's all, I can do it anytime. You're my lifesaver, after all."

Ainz thumped his chest confidently. For all his bluster, Ainz was the heir to the Wigenstein family—one of the three great magic houses. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He was every bit as precious as Erika, or perhaps even more so. With him by my side, I could make it home without fear of attack.

"What? Escort? If that's the case, I'm in too!"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you? Why are you suddenly speaking so casually?"

"Then who exactly are you?"

"Tournament champion. I think I'm far more qualified to escort than some weakling who got knocked out in the round of thirty-two."

"That was only because my opponent was Schluss!"

"Whatever."

"And why are you still talking down to me!"

I didn't think I'd ever seen the two of them talk much before. They seemed to have grown surprisingly close. Their conversation level hadn't risen above elementary school kids, though. Still, it was good news that they were getting along. Trie was unmatched in close combat, and Ainz held the advantage in raw magical firepower. If they meshed well, they could become an incredibly strong combination.

As for me... I was mediocre at both magic and close quarters, so I would probably just dance around between them.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing. We just walked together."

"That was more than enough."

Walking with Ainz and Trie, I reached the chairman's residence without encountering any threats. I'd stayed on high alert just in case, and I did feel eyes glancing our way here and there, but no one attacked in the end. Even if a few lunatics had lost their minds and tried, Trie would have crushed them all.

"Thank you too, Trie."

"Ahaha, no need. But you know..."

"......?"

"I didn't know you had a weapon like that, Professor. If I'd known, I would have given you a different gift..."

Trie smiled awkwardly. Ah. She was talking about Bappe.

"There are many advantages only a true sword possesses. The blade you gave me will definitely prove useful."

"Oh, is that so?"

Bappe wasn't some all-purpose sword of light that I could pull from my palm at will. First of all, it could never leave my right hand. Whether it was bound to my right arm or not, no matter how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I tried to switch it to my left, it refused. And above all, the biggest drawback was that I couldn't even draw it without circulating my internal circuit.

"I see. I was worried I'd given you something useless as a present."

"Not at all."

"The elemental magic exam is still underway, right? I hope you do well on the rest of your tests!"

"Thank you."

After sending Ainz and Trie off, I returned straight to the mansion. As expected, Emilia greeted me with her usual neat and upright demeanor. Having someone waiting whenever I came home brought an unexpected sense of comfort. Maybe this was why people got married. The reasons for divorce were probably the same.

"I'll be in the training room."

"Mr. Heinkel! Just a moment!"

"Yes? Ugh..."

When I spun around, a spoon came flying straight at me. I nearly dodged it on reflex, but instead caught it neatly in my mouth. This was... risotto.

"It's dinner. Don't skip it again—take it with you and eat."

"Yes. Thank you."

She used to insist I eat before going in, but after I kept ignoring her and starving myself, she seemed to have given up. For Emilia, who firmly believed meals belonged only at the table, this was quite the concession. I must have been incredibly stubborn.

The rose risotto tasted excellent. It would obviously go cold while I focused, but that didn't matter. Emilia's cooking was delicious even cold.

"Mr. Heinkel."

"Yes?"

"Um... would I be a distraction if I came in with you?"

"Not at all. Want to join me?"

"Eh? Really?"

For a split second, Emilia wore an adorably blank expression. Her flustered acting was flawless.

"Yes! I'd like to come in!"

Well, this bastard Schluss would naturally be curious what I did for hours once I shut myself inside. Since all I planned to do today was focus on the exam problems, there was nothing too sensitive for her to see. If anything, the only concern would be the exam questions leaking to the intelligence bureau.

"I'll stay perfectly still like a folding screen."

"Then I'd appreciate it."

Once we entered the training room, Emilia went to a corner and stood there without moving a muscle. At first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her occasional glances were distracting, but eventually I kept forgetting she was even there. She made absolutely no sound or movement whatsoever. I wondered if her legs would cramp up standing like that.

Let's just solve the problem quickly.

I took a spoonful of risotto and refocused on the test sheet. Combining the core sections of the fire and cold systems was simple enough. Though it was three-dimensional, breaking it down and expressing it as a continuous series of two-dimensional images was definitely possible.

The issue was that this method was endlessly inefficient. The number of two-dimensional cross-sections would multiply infinitely, making the whole thing far too wide. The result would be something massive in size yet utterly worthless—less than trash.

This doesn't seem like what was intended.

It was hard to believe this was the answer Ludwig—who loved beautiful formulas—had in mind. Maybe he had a different correct solution, and I was simply exploiting a loophole. Still, it didn't matter. Ludwig might shake with rage when he saw it, but as long as it fulfilled every requirement in the question, he couldn't mark it wrong.

This is just pure grinding.

The process of slicing three dimensions into two was quite tedious. It was simply repeating relatively simple calculations almost infinitely. After working on the formula for a long while, I lifted another spoonful to my mouth and suddenly realized.

"Ah."

Quite a lot of time had passed. The rice grains were cold. Only then did I remember Emilia's presence and looked up at where she had been standing.

She was still there. In exactly the same posture, completely still. As if frozen solid.

Sudden embarrassment flooded through me. I'd been acting like she wasn't there, behaving exactly as I would when alone. Had I done anything shameful? I couldn't even remember what I'd done. Aria once told me that when I got deeply focused, I tended to swear out loud... I suddenly worried whether I'd looked like a madman cursing at thin air.

"Haaaam... I'll head to bed now, Mr. Heinkel."

"Go ahead. It was more boring than expected, right? You must have been bored out of your mind."

"Not at all. It was nice seeing a different side of you, Mr. Heinkel."

"......"

Emilia's giggling reply left me speechless. There must be countless men across the world who had fallen for that smile. Yet I was keenly aware that right now, that smile was directed solely at me.

There were only the two of us here. No information could leak beyond this barrier. So if I were to push Emilia down right now...

Should I really do it? The self-destruct formula.

The impulse rose to open her heart and carve the self-destruct formula into it. It had been a lie to control Hurtlocker, but this was my chance to make it reality. If it had been earlier, maybe not, but now I was confident I could overpower Emilia by force. If I engraved the formula on her heart, I wouldn't have to worry about being stabbed in my sleep anymore, and controlling Hurtlocker would become much easier.

There were no downsides.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing. You must be tired from standing so long. Go upstairs and rest."

"Hehe, okay. I can't tell you not to push yourself during exam season... but please don't overdo it to the point of collapsing!"

"I won't."

"And even if I'm not here tomorrow morning, don't be alarmed. I'll probably be out shopping for groceries."

I let Emilia leave. There would be plenty more chances to be alone with her inside this barrier in the future. There was no need to rush. No need to ignore this turbulent heart and force myself to act.

"Why? Why am I so shaken?"

But that was all just an excuse. The conclusion had been decided first, and this was a justification patched together afterward to fit it. I... didn't want to hurt Emilia. I didn't want to shatter even the thin thread of trust between us.

The characters from the novel I had written—I was now seeing them as real people.

"Get a grip. Fuck..."

I had to pull myself together. Emilia and every other character were ultimately nothing but tools. Tools to be used for me to reach the ending of this novel. Tools to send me back to my original world. They were things I would discard someday, things I would eventually have to part with. There was no need to share any affection.

*

Thanks to the idea Trie provided, I solved question eight rather easily. Even if the answer sheet had become quite messy...

Next came the time to use the ability I had saved. Today, aside from the one second I used during the fight with Ainz, I hadn't touched Selection and Concentration at all. That meant I could pour the remaining four seconds entirely into solving the problems.

Selection and Concentration. Four seconds on computational power.

Of course, increasing computational power didn't suddenly raise my intelligence or make previously impossible formulas pop into my head. It simply made calculation speed absurdly fast. So when given the problem's conditions, even if I didn't know the exact answer, if I drew every possible formula that satisfied those conditions...

"Bingo."

The answer would inevitably emerge. Normally this method would be impossible even if I pulled all-nighters for days, but with computational power exceeding one hundred, it became feasible. It was the brute-force approach of checking every possibility...

Even I hadn't expected to solve an exam problem in such a crude way.

"Done. Up to question nine."

Right before the ability expired, at the very last moment, I found the answer. Then, at an uncanny timing, the clock struck past midnight and the time limit for Selection and Concentration increased back to five seconds. Shall I tackle the final question, number ten?

"Graaah..."

Insane. Just looking at it, the number of possibilities was astronomical. Even dumping all five seconds into it, the chance of finding the answer was slim. It would be better to use my head first and narrow the conditions...

Since the deadline was nine o'clock anyway, I could stay up all night and put in some effort. After focusing on the test sheet for a short while...

"Oops."

I brushed against the cold bowl and my concentration shattered.

"Ugh..."

Since my focus was already broken, I did some stretching. Checking the clock, it was fortunately still only six. It was a clock I had hastily acquired recently in case I missed the midterm submission deadline. The sun would already be rising outside. The diligent Emilia had probably left to do the shopping by now.

"Wait a second."

At that moment, my mind snapped awake. I rolled up the test sheet, stuffed it into my inner pocket, and rushed outside.

Crazy. Why hadn't I thought of this until now?

As if the system was trying to taunt me, the quest window appeared. Damn it. Fuck. I'm screwed.