Chapter 281
Chapter 281
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 281
>Chapter Title: Efficiency Relative to Mass
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Parun, who had hurriedly left the mansion, headed straight for the academy.
"From here on, you guide me."
"Me?"
"There has to be a passage you use to come and go."
Parun was insisting on sneaking in through the back way instead of the main gate.
There were more than a few suspicious things about it, but I didn't ask any questions and led him to the wall I frequented.
"To the lab?"
"Yeah."
Sneaking into the academy with an academy professor.
It was a pretty novel experience, but Parun's expression was too grave to savor it.
We arrived at Parun's private lab, avoiding prying eyes.
"Wait here."
Parun moved hurriedly around the lab, gathering documents from here and there.
I watched him silently for a moment, then heightened my senses in case of trouble.
Beyond the office, the shared lab was bustling with people even on the weekend.
They must have been Parun's assistants—coming in on weekends showed their passion for scholarship was no joke.
'Someday, the Magic Tower should be like that too.'
How long did I wait like that?
"Done. Let's go."
We retraced our steps back to the mansion.
But...
'What the hell is going on?'
I couldn't make sense of Parun's actions at all.
Sneaking into the academy might not have been hard for Parun, who knew the ins and outs.
But...
- From here on, you guide me.
He'd been extremely cautious, even asking me to lead the way.
And the way he gathered the documents was as delicate as if he were stealing from someone else's lab.
'Is he really embezzling?'
It was possible.
Embezzlers always prepare meticulously even for minor risks.
Lost in such thoughts as we walked, we soon arrived back at the mansion.
"Good thing we're not late."
Parun only relaxed and sighed with relief once we were inside the office. At this point, I had to ask.
"Real embezzlement?"
"More bullshit?"
"More?"
No, that wasn't the point.
"What the hell is going on?"
Parun's reaction was hard to understand.
The principal's predecessor being taken away was due to the imperial family's succession struggle, to check the Third Imperial Princess.
It wasn't something Parun, who had no ties to politics, should react so sensitively to.
And above all...
'He definitely knew something.'
Otherwise, he couldn't have moved so quickly after hearing the news.
So, Parun might know the full story of this incident—and that's exactly what I was curious about.
I needed to know the details to decide whether to worry about the principal predecessor or not.
Parun opened his mouth not long after I asked.
"...Hmm, yeah. You need to know too. It's not entirely unrelated to you."
"Unrelated?"
Muspelun Grand Duke... no, just call him predecessor. People should always be consistent, even dukes.
He was my senior back in Rehime, so he should stay my senior even as a grand duke. Of course.
Anyway, I wondered if the "related" part was because of Muspelun predecessor.
I'd told Parun that Muspelun predecessor had stepped up for the Magic Tower.
But that didn't seem to be it.
...Not entirely unrelated, but not the main reason.
"Let's assume the worst case. Do you think the imperial side will end this with just the principal teacher? The odds of them sending auditors are very high. Maybe not, but we're assuming the worst. So, if auditors come, what happens? If it were me, I'd ransack every professor's lab in the academy."
"And?"
"What 'and'? You think imperial auditors will just take documents? They'll strip everything—documents, sub-spaces, the works. Get it?"
No further explanation needed.
When he said "sub-space," I realized what he meant.
"Heavenly Origin Art, and Infinite Chain."
"Yeah, that's it."
We'd almost handed over all the secret arts and artifacts we'd kept hidden away to the imperials.
A truly horrifying thought. But then another question popped up.
"What about the lab documents?"
"Calculations for Heavenly Origin Art and Infinite Chain."
I worried they'd been left too exposed, but apparently not.
They were fragmented and piecemeal, so even a magic scholar studying Heavenly Origin Art and Infinite Chain wouldn't connect the dots.
Then why grab them so urgently?
The answer was simple.
'Completely unrelated to any public research?'
That alone could give imperial auditors perfect pretext.
Imperial auditors were relentless, clinging to even the slightest suspicion like mad dogs until satisfied.
"But isn't that jumping the gun? It's not even certain."
"The possibility is very high, and even if slim, we consider the risk."
"...Hmm."
He had a point.
Anyway.
'I get the gist up to here, but...'
My fundamental doubt wasn't resolved.
What I wanted was the background behind the principal predecessor's arrest.
So I probed that part, and Parun explained what he knew as if it were no big deal.
'Not much different from my guess.'
First Prince, Second Prince—whoever it was, they took the principal predecessor to check the Third Imperial Princess.
The reason was just as I'd guessed: the principal predecessor was a member of the Bear-Eaten Moon.
'In other words, they feared Muspelun predecessor backing the Third Imperial Princess due to his ties with the principal predecessor...'
Parun added his own view: it might also be to check Muspelun predecessor, not just the princess.
"If a Bear-Eaten Moon mage is academy principal, the imperials wouldn't like that. His influence already pierces the heavens, and now academy talents go to Muspelun Grand Duke too."
"Does it work like that?"
"You wouldn't know, but many imperial talents are academy grads."
Even without the Third Imperial Princess, plenty of reason to take out the principal predecessor.
'...Is that why predecessor was prepared to die?'
Muspelun predecessor had no interest in succession or power, but others wouldn't see it that way.
Having heard that much, I asked casually.
"So, the principal's done for?"
"Nah. If they wanted him dead, no need for this fuss. And Muspelun Grand Duke and Bear-Eaten Moon are headaches for the imperials too."
Just one mage unit, but tons of admirers.
...Including quite a few like the principal predecessor, holding positions while hiding their identities.
Once a group skilled only in "combat," now wielding influence too.
'So, principal predecessor's safe for now.'
A relief.
But that raised another question.
"Isn't pissing off Muspelun Grand Duke the same risk? What if he gets mad and actually backs the Third Imperial Princess?"
"That's..."
I asked thinking he knew something I didn't, but Parun trailed off.
Seemed even he had no clear answer for that.
Well, it's murky, but...
'...Probably doesn't matter.'
"By the way. Are auditors really that likely?"
"I said even just the risk justifies it. And use your head. What sword can the imperials draw most easily?"
Auditors?
"Few people come out dust-free under scrutiny. Plus, chance to fill academy staff with their own. Or break the new principal's spirit for an easy takeover."
Ah, got it.
I finally nodded in understanding.
"Efficiency relative to mass is kinda..."
"What, you punk?"
"Shut up and hold these."
Parun smoothly changed the subject, pulling documents from his sub-space—the ones from the lab.
And...
"Take this too."
Another bundle from the secret safe.
And...
"This too."
"..."
Soon the table was piled high with documents.
Finally, receiving the wooden box with Infinite Chain, I had to admit it grudgingly.
'Efficiency relative to mass...'
So this was defeat.
"All fit in your sub-space?"
"...Seems like it."
"Good. Now get going. And stay away for a while. I'll contact you later."
"..."
I didn't reply, just stowed the documents in my sub-space.
Who said it? Wheat bows as it ripens. Now I got it.
...Efficiency relative to mass.
* * *
My dejection didn't last.
After leaving Parun's mansion, I hurried straight to the academy.
'High chance auditors are coming, huh?'
Just Parun's guess, but I decided to act assuming they were.
With resolve, I had work to do.
'...Professor Pellina.'
Had to retrieve Prezen's artifact from her.
Arriving at Professor Pellina's private lab.
I clicked my tongue in disappointment at the empty room.
"What... always gone, this lady."
She held classes diligently, so she was around the academy, but never in her lab.
Always just assistants buzzing in the shared lab beyond.
'Tch, what now?'
Scratching my head, I racked my low-efficiency brain.
What to do with Prezen's artifact.
Trust and leave it with Professor Pellina?
'...Nah.'
Prezen's artifact could be key to the Magic Tower's defense system later.
Think about it.
During the Trial Chamber incident, professors couldn't breach Prezen artifact's space severance even at full power... If applied tower-wide?
"Would be great."
No way to give it up.
So, had to secure Prezen's artifact somehow.
"Carrying it around? That'd be lucky... Wait."
Scanning Professor Pellina's lab, my eyes landed on the bookshelf.
Ordinary bookshelf.
Packed with magic tomes and document stacks like any professor's.
But I noticed the structure.
'That structure...'
About here?
Reviving my righteous Troubleshooter instincts, I felt along the books one by one.
'Not this. Not this either.'
After pulling and replacing several.
Click!
A faint frictional click.
Shrrrk—
One side of the bookshelf slid open, revealing the wall.
When it stopped, I spotted the safe embedded in the wall.
"Let's see... dial type."
Expensive custom job, complex mechanism, but not hard to open.
I'd done this a hundred times over.
Thus.
Clunk, clack!
With a satisfying click, the safe door opened.
I thought:
"...Lucky."
One glove inside the safe. Definitely Prezen's artifact.