Your Paper Is Dope (1)
Your Paper Is Dope (1)
The student council had held me up and cost me my lunch hour, but it was fine. There was still plenty of time left.
I headed back to the central plaza right after the afternoon classes ended. This time, Vermel and Irka came along. I had planned to just check out a club, but before I knew it, we had formed a party of five.
"...Thanks again for last time."
Every time Irka saw me, she bowed at a perfect ninety degrees to greet me. It was gratitude for me beating the prince senseless last time.
Each time, waving it off exhausted me. I didn't want this kind of top-down hierarchy forming between friends. What I wanted was strictly a business relationship.
How wonderful it would be if we just helped each other as much as we needed. I wasn't planning on staying here anyway. If I was going to leave eventually, the polite thing to do was to leave without causing much trouble for others.
Come to think of it, with this group, I could probably fill up the compendium pretty fast...?
Rote specialized in Fire Magic, Frey in Earth Magic. Irka and Vermel specialized in Water Magic and Air Magic respectively. And they weren't just mediocre talents; they were figures of interest regarded as prodigies even in the Special Class.
I had no choice but to consider myself lucky.
First, Fire Magic. The completion of Fire Magic could practically be considered done once I developed Flare. Once the hardest part was over, the rest became relatively easy. At first, Flare's development had hit a snag, but progress sped up considerably after Rote and I put our heads together.
Next was Earth Magic. At the time, I was interning under Professor Herlein. On top of that, if I combined Frey's expertise in Transmutation, preparing the experimental equipment needed for nuclear development would be a piece of cake.
I still hadn't learned much about Water Magic or Air Magic, so I wasn't sure, but I was confident I'd find out soon enough. If Irka or Vermel helped me later, it seemed like it would be over in no time.
I wasn't sure about Vermel, but Irka was favorably disposed toward me. I'd chased off the prince twice for her. She might help if I asked her to teach me Water Magic.
Hmm, I decided not to get ahead of myself. I could always ask for that after I finished Fire Magic.
To complete Flare, I needed various pieces of experimental equipment. Since it was difficult for a first-year to rent such expensive gear, I decided to join an academic club.
There were various types of academic clubs: places to train in Elemental Magic, places to learn Scroll Writing Methods, and so on.
Among them, the one I had my eye on was the Transmutation Club, which received a lot of funding.
"Speaking of the Transmutation Club, I heard someone I know just inherited the club president position this time. Want to go check it out?"
"Sounds good."
Someone Rote knew? Did she have an older sibling who had enrolled earlier?
At Rote's suggestion, our group climbed the slope beside the fountain. Contrary to my expectations, quite a lot of academic clubs were clustered over here. For a freshman who preferred to have fun, this uphill path must have been a stretch of lamentation.
Among them, one place stood out. It was a booth with a large set-up and several synthetic Magic Stones I'd never seen before. In the center, a male student with crimson hair was introducing items made with Alchemy to the underclassmen.
The male student was someone I knew well. 'Lorwell'. Since we'd met by chance while catching an Iron Drake on the back mountain, I'd occasionally seen him and grown familiar with the upperclassman one year above me. It looked like Lorwell was the acquaintance Rote had mentioned.
"Brother!"
Rote's face brightened as she scurried over.
"Little sister, what brings you here?"
"I came to join the club you're in, brother. I brought friends, too."
No wonder they looked so alike. I unfolded my arms and gave a silent nod to Rote's brother. When Lorwell spotted me, his eyes widened and he spoke.
"Upperclassman?"
It was probably a reflexive slip of the tongue. Lorwell often made this kind of mistake whenever he saw me. It was because he had gotten into the habit of using honorifics with me back when I was Professor Haspelt's slave, from the times I'd helped him with a few things.
Calling a freshman his senior was more than enough of a slip of the tongue to make everyone tilt their heads.
"Did you just call her your senior?"
"Ah, I guess I confused you with someone else for a second...! So, let's see.... Are you interested in our club?"
"Yes. Can I register right now?"
The club Lorwell was promoting at the time was one with a long history at Tillet.
From what I'd looked into, its financial support was top-tier, and as long as the academy permitted it, club members could freely come and go from campus research labs or the museum.
The ability to use the museum's items was particularly important. The museum collected the carcasses of magic beasts and occasionally sold them to research labs for a profit. To test Flare's destructive power, I needed to borrow the carapace of a Calamity-class Magic Beast from there.
We quickly joined the club run by Lorwell. Rote and I signed first, followed by Frey, who looked very interested in Transmutation, picking up the pen and scribbling her name. Her handwriting was terrible.
"What about the two students back there?"
The choice was offered to Irka and Vermel too. Irka hesitated for a moment.
"I was thinking of joining another club too...."
"You don't have to attend every day, so don't feel too pressured. You can just register and come to participate whenever you want something."
"Ah."
After hearing what Lorwell said, Irka nodded and filled out the application form.
"What about the elf boy?"
"Then I'll join too."
Perhaps pleased that the membership had suddenly grown by five, Lorwell saw us off with a beaming face.
It was the following day when I took Rote and Frey to the club room.
It was spacious. But compared to its size, it was quiet and empty of people. It might have been partly because we came during an off-peak hour, but there wasn't a trace of any other members.
The supply room was packed full with various experimental materials, including Magic Stones and Magic Paper. I rather liked the sign in the corner of the supply room that said [Use as you see fit].
"You must have a reason for bringing us here on the very first day, right? So what are you going to show us?"
"Let me ask you one thing first. Frey, if you're just given blueprints and materials, you can whip up any device in no time, right?"
"Tch, what do you take me for? I could even craft a cannon or an airship if you wanted! I grew up seeing nothing but those things! So what are you going to show me! Hurry up and tell me!"
Frey's eyes sparkled as she swung her arms around wildly.
"Alright, alright."
I took out a large sheet of paper from the bag I was carrying. It was colored paper, about the size of an A3 sheet. As the rolled-up paper unfurled, the elaborate diagrams and formulas drawn inside revealed themselves. It was a blueprint I had been designing and drawing up in my spare time over the past few days.
"Whoa, what's this? It looks like a donut!"
"It's not a donut."
"Then what is it?"
Answering their curiosity wasn't difficult. I opened my mouth and just spat out a single word first.
"Tokamak."
**
Kleis was alone in the research lab.
She was in the middle of crafting a scroll, scribbling on Magic Paper with an etching pen.
'Just a little, I think I can do it if I try just a little more.'
[Maso-Energy Exchange Theorem.]
Ever since she had been inspired by that theory created by an anonymous author, Kleis's research life had completely turned around.
'Soon, I can complete Flare.'
The mathematical theory that Mana Particles and energy were interchangeable was simple, clear, and possessed the destructive power to rapidly advance Flare's development. It felt like a path that had been blocked for years was suddenly blown wide open.
The speed at which she moved her wrist grew even faster. After setting down the etching pen, she picked up a regular quill and continued the calculations.
'If Mana Particles exchange with energy, then it should be possible to reduce a condensed mass of mana back into Mana Particles. If I can make good use of that, I might be able to trigger Flare without putting strain on the scroll.'
Even thinking such thoughts was a joy for Kleis at that moment. With the anticipation that her long-held wish would soon be fulfilled, her head was a garden of flowers in full bloom.
'I don't know who proved that Mana Particles and energy are interchangeable, but I have to thank them.'
Aether had turned her back on Kleis, so she wouldn't be developing Flare. She probably wouldn't even spare it a glance. Rather, she was surely focused on enjoying a pleasant academy life with her classmates.
Initially, Kleis had tried to coax Aether back into developing Flare. She had even been willing to put on a thick face and ask her to come as a teaching assistant for Basic Fire Magic. Though it had been thwarted by the Second Prince's interference and Aether's refusal.
It couldn't be helped. Back then, no matter what she did, the research hadn't progressed, and Kleis was at her wits' end. It was a known fact across the Arens Continent that the Gold-Eye Tribe had brilliant minds. So she had believed that developing Flare without Aether's help would be difficult.
'But not anymore.'
The 'Maso-Energy Exchange Theorem' was a formula that also possessed economic viability. The theorem simultaneously served to reduce costs in the design process of Flare. This was why Kleis could advance her research with only a minimal amount of Magic Paper and formulas, without state support.
If she crafted a scroll based on this theorem, it felt like she could deploy the magic while minimizing damage to the output unit. With that thought, she hadn't been able to sleep properly for the past few days.
So absorbed in her research, she hadn't realized it was already past midnight.
'Come to think of it, I didn't do any proper external activities today.'
At best, all she had done was finish the morning assembly and teach Fire Magic for two hours. She had poured the rest of her time into researching Flare.
She had worn only the bare minimum of makeup, and the number of times she'd washed her face could be counted on one hand. And the amount of coffee she'd drunk—her heart kept pounding even when she tried to take a deep breath.
To calm her circulatory system, she put a Mana Cigarette in her mouth. As a hazy smoke settled over the lab, her mind and body began to soothe.
A Mana Cigarette smoked when one was in a good mood provided a particularly fine pleasure. She chuckled softly, blowing out rings of smoke.
I can do it. I must do it.
Everyone had given up. Everyone had said that Fire Magic could never stand against an Extinction-class.
'Not anymore.'
The time to break free from that humiliation and persecution was drawing near.
No matter what happened, the Flare research had to be published under Kleis's exclusive name. She had absolutely no intention of handing the credit over to anyone else.
By doing so, she would gain recognition in the academic world, and before the cowards who had fled to other fields, she would prove that she had not been wrong.
For that time to come, enduring the pain then was not a problem at all.
Huuu, she exhaled the murky smoke once more. Dark circles had descended, and her skin was rough and dry, but none of it mattered.
To Kleis, only Flare was everything.
No one would ever steal this achievement.