Back to the Capital (1)
Back to the Capital (1)
Jormungand took a small stone from her mouth.
"What is this?"
"You, of all people, should know."
Looking closely, it was no ordinary stone. And of course it wasn't—it was a substance produced inside a magic beast's body. Without a doubt, it had to be a Magic Stone.
It was a silvery Magic Stone. A color so common you could see it just by hunting low-grade magic beasts.
But the one presenting it was none other than Jormungand. Jormungand the Radiation Dragon, who commanded the Demon King's 1st Army composed of countless Steel Dragons and Drakes. Considering that the higher the grade of the magic beast, the rarer the Magic Stone obtained upon defeating it, this was no ordinary item.
And that hunch turned out to be correct.
[Material Appraisal Result — Plutonium-239 (80g) / Purity: 99.97%]
"A byproduct from crafting the reward I intend to give you. I have no use for it at present, so dispose of it as you see fit."
Like uranium, it was an element used in the construction of atomic bombs. Although a bomb using it was harder to build than a uranium bomb, it became the more cost-effective material once the necessary technology and facilities were in place.
"B-but why were you carrying it in your mouth?"
"You saw this the last time, yet you ask the obvious. It was processed in my stomach, so that is where it came from."
I accepted the lump of plutonium with a complicated expression.
The quantity was tiny. Had she deliberately split it into pieces to prevent a nuclear chain reaction? In any case, this amount wasn't enough for large-scale research. She probably meant for me to keep it as a test sample.
Next, Jormungand went over to Frey. For the little one, she took something else out and handed it over.
"Here, a gift for your hard work. Take it and be on your way."
"Wow, thank you very much!"
Frey bowed her head adorably. She held a small glass bottle in her hands.
I tucked the plutonium away in a safe place and asked Frey.
"What's that?"
"It's Mana Water! Something the Great Spirit gives you if you do a good job! You can use it to strengthen scrolls or as an ingredient for Mana Cigarettes!"
"Mana Cigarettes?"
So this liquid was used in the production of Mana Cigarettes.
As far as I knew, ordinary Mana Cigarettes were made by plucking mana-rich grass from nature and drying it. But to think Mana Water was used instead.
Come to think of it, I'd heard before that the Gold-Eye Tribe handled part of the Mana Cigarette manufacturing process. The Goldenstein brand Frey and I had shared earlier must have been that kind of product. It was certainly in a different league compared to cheap tobacco.
"Well then, Great Spirit! We'll come back during winter break!"
Frey and I bowed politely and exited the cave. Just as Jormungand had said, finished lumps of uranium were scattered sparsely around the cave entrance. She must have taken care to prevent a chain reaction.
"See? Our Great Spirit is a good person, right?"
"She is."
The Jormungand I had seen in person mostly matched what Vermel had described. She was an overwhelming, intimidating presence who loved the tribe under her command and, at the very least, kept her promises. Judging by this alone, she didn't seem all that threatening compared to her status as the First Seat.
Yes, at least she was like this up to the 'midgame'.
As I was lost in various thoughts, I found myself right at the mansion's doorstep before I knew it. We had clearly set out in broad daylight, but the sun was already slipping past the mountains.
After returning to the mansion, nothing much happened. The Count gave permission, so Frey decided to stay until the start of the semester, and we finished our meal comfortably. In return for the hospitality, Frey spent the next day completely restoring all the flood damage the territory had suffered.
Watching the entire population of the county, including the Count's household, be stunned by Frey's overwhelming earth magic skills was an amusing spectacle. That night, Frey received three bags of sugar candy from the mansion's maid.
Meanwhile, I kept busy with other work. I gave something of a lecture to the Count and Rote.
"Can't this explosive power be harnessed as a good energy source?"
"It's entirely possible. The problem is that building the facility itself would cost a fortune."
"Do you know roughly how much funding it would require?"
"At least a few million Gold Coins, I'd guess."
I fell silent for a moment.
"Inflation is so severe right now that judging the precise value is difficult. We'd also have to factor in material costs and waste disposal."
"I see. Still, they say a currency reform is coming soon, so the economic issues should improve."
The Count's family were people worth teaching. They never stopped asking questions, and if you taught them one thing, they understood two. These were exactly the kind of people who would build the future even if I weren't here.
"You're remarkably good at explaining things, though."
"Yeah. You sound just like a professor."
That was embarrassing to hear. While I let out a short laugh, the father-daughter pair changed the topic.
"That's right. At Iliad Academy, they can hire you as a professor even without a degree, can't they? Isn't that so, Father?"
"Hm, I've heard of it. I'm told they prioritize skill and spirit affinity over academic credentials there."
What was this about? They even hired people who never went to graduate school?
"Elves have a longer average lifespan than humans, so that must be why. Having a master's or doctorate doesn't automatically earn you everyone's reverence there."
Well... if I thought about it, it wasn't entirely implausible. Even back on Earth, there were people who'd won the Nobel Prize with only a bachelor's degree.
It didn't seem like a particularly critical topic. As the two chatted about this and that, I wet my throat with black tea.
"Good, Lady Aether. Something has come up that I would like to ask of you."
Where did this come from all of a sudden?
"Yes. Please tell me."
"With funding from our house, would you consider undertaking a major research project together with Rote?"
Clink.
I set down the teacup on reflex. My eyes narrowed involuntarily at the Count's unexpected proposal.
"Pardon...?"
I needed a moment.
I'd been through this exact situation somewhere before.
**
Vacation—normally a time to step away from academia and focus on self-improvement.
Vermel had no such time. For him, it was merely a continuation of hellish days.
And no wonder. He'd been dashing all over the capital practically every other day.
He'd done everything in his power to stop Professor Herlein from leaving to find Professor Haspelt. Incurring Rosemary's ire in the process was an added bonus.
Rosemary had invited him to her vacation banquet. The invitation had come under Duke Blanton's name, so refusing was impossible.
"Ugh."
Just recalling the waltz he'd danced with the ducal lady there made his skin crawl.
— What is your relationship with that second-ranked Gold-Eye Tribe?
— We are merely classmates.
— Is that truly all?
— Yes, it is.
— Hmmm. I don't think so.
Simply remembering that conversation turned his stomach upside down.
Vermel let out a deep sigh and laid down on the bed. The moment his back touched the mattress, it felt as if all the accumulated fatigue was draining out of him.
This wasn't laziness. It was a reward of sorts for having endured so well until now. If he didn't relieve his exhaustion somehow, even like this, he was going to drop dead from overwork.
Of course, lazing around in the middle of the day wasn't exactly diligent behavior....
-Knock knock
"Who is it?"
"Ah, hello!"
When he opened the front door, a girl with hair rolled up like bread buns was standing there.
Looking closer, she wasn't alone. A whole swarm of students stood there holding press tools like notepads and microphones.
An annoying premonition washed over him.
"...Who are you?"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Angelica of the Newspaper Club at our school! You're Vermel Horde, correct? I came here today to interview a student, so I hope you'll excuse the intrusion!"
"Me?"
Vermel's finger pointed at himself. Angelica adjusted the notebook in her hand and nodded.
"Yes!"
"Why me all of a sudden...."
A complicated feeling settled over him. Could these be people Rosemary had sent?
Perhaps this was a prank from the 4th Seat to waste his time. As he stood there on guard with those thoughts, Angelica replied with a surprised look.
"Oh? Haven't you heard? Even during the break, you're at the center of a romance scandal that has the entire Tillet campus buzzing!"
"I've never dated anyone."
He'd had no time to establish any 'heroine' relationships since coming to the Empire. Enjoying romance on any difficulty above Nightmare Mode? He'd go ahead—if he wanted to watch the world burn.
"Oh my."
At Vermel's reaction, Angelica and the entire press corps let out a collective sigh of lament.
"So Horde was the only one who didn't know, while everyone else was already aware. There won't be a bigger extra edition than this!"
"Wait, more importantly, isn't campus dating prohibited by school regulations? Shouldn't you not come here to conduct an interview like this?"
"That's exactly why we came in secret! Rules are meant to be broken!"
With a click, Angelica thrust her index finger toward Vermel's chest.
"And you're the one who broke the rules! Didn't you have a cozy secret rendezvous with your Gold-Eye Tribe classmate?"
With that remark, Angelica began rattling off a string of things he knew nothing about, like an unbridled foal. To summarize, the gist was that Aether and he were dating.
He felt as if he'd been clubbed over the head with a sledgehammer. And with a festive rhythm, no less.
"It's baseless slander."
"Heh, it's already too late to try and hide it. Look! There's even a novel about it already!"
Another club member thrust a manuscript about fifty pages long at Vermel. Skimming through it, it was a novel about the love between the top-ranked elf and the second-ranked Gold-Eye Tribe.
He felt dizzy.
"What on earth is this?"
"A masterpiece of our era produced by the Literature Club! Wow, if they turn this into a movie, it'll be a massive hit!"
The world went dark before his eyes. So this was what it felt like to faint.
"Now then, let's begin the interview, shall we...."
"Please leave."
He was already pressed for time; he had no emotional energy left to waste here. Vermel desperately fought off the press vermin's room invasion, then laid down on the bed once more.
[Please open the dooooor!]
[You’re making things really awkward for me...!]
There was a brief commotion, but it died down quickly. Before long, peace returned to the tiny one-room flat. Vermel popped a headache pill and lay back down on the bed.
"Hssss...."
He was pretty sure he was coming down with something.