Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Magic Tower Genius Hides Physics
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"We've all decided on it."
Professor Gedric looked pleased.
At least, that's how it seemed to me.
The other professors around him felt the same way.
'If I refuse, they'll be heartbroken...'
But honestly, I had no interest in becoming the head of the Ideal Gas School.
It wasn't that I disliked ideal gases.
That field had plenty to explore, including phase changes, and diving deep into it could be fascinating.
But it wasn't my main focus.
My interests lay in something more fundamental.
Watching the people of this world apply Calculus and the Ideal Gas State Equation, I'd realized something.
If I played my cards right, I might even develop a 'Standard Particle Model including Mana' before I died.
That's what I wanted to lead—a new school for that.
Of course, there'd be mountains to climb.
I'd have plenty to learn along the way, too.
"..."
"Is there a problem, Uphills?"
Seeing my silence, Gedric grew uneasy.
I let out a soft sigh.
"I'm truly sorry, Professor Gedric... but I have a different field I want to research."
"I see..."
Strangely, his voice mixed disappointment with a hint of relief.
He glanced at Professor Grangel beside him and smirked.
"What did I tell you? He was going to turn it down, right?"
"..."
Grangel rolled his eyes before bursting into a loud "Hahaha!"
"I didn't think he'd actually refuse. There go my 10 gold..."
"Pay up. A bet's a bet."
Grangel grumbled as he handed over a few gold coins to Gedric.
Their wager broke the ice, and the tense atmosphere melted away in an instant.
"As expected from the capital's hero—such bold resolve!"
"That's the spirit!"
Amid the rowdy cheers, I stood there utterly bewildered.
Then Gedric placed a heavy hand on my shoulder again.
His expression dead serious, he said,
"It's fine if you refuse. Your research comes first, Uphills. We didn't think that through."
He continued,
"Still, we'll keep the head position open. When you rise to senior professor someday, even a month in the role would be great."
"..."
"We'll wait until then."
With that, the Ideal Gas Magic School professors huddled together and moved to a corner of the conference room.
Having just founded a new school, they probably had plenty to discuss among themselves.
Though honestly, with them all clumping together like that, they looked less like professors and more like a gang of thugs.
'Time for me to slip out?'
As I turned to leave, the other professors grabbed me.
"Now it's our turn to talk."
"I've got so many questions... Can you spare some time?"
"Uphills. Do you think the essence of heat lies in motion, or in caloric?"
...Caloric, huh.
That last one lit a fire under them.
After that, we dove into a chaotic mess of research discussions.
The Ideal Gas Magic School professors were thrown for a loop.
Gedric and Grangel laughed it off, but no one had imagined Isaac refusing the head position.
It was a role everyone wanted—so why?
In the corner of the conference room, whispering just loud enough among themselves that Isaac wouldn't hear,
"I never thought he'd actually say no. This is beyond imagination."
"Tell me about it. What do we do now? The kid wants to do his own thing—we can't stop him..."
They grumbled with voices full of regret.
Gedric stared blankly into space, listening to his colleagues chatter.
Then one professor addressed the silent Gedric.
"Acting Head, what do you think?"
"Hm? Me?"
Gedric had been thinking about Isaac.
The J-tube. Double the pressure.
The moment his hypothesis turned to certainty.
The instant the pent-up wind was released.
The thrill he'd felt on the exam committee was honestly greater than when he'd first been appointed professor.
A young genius had appeared, and he could sense wind magic's history was about to be rewritten.
But at the same time... he'd sensed Isaac would leave them behind.
-'The relationship between gas volume and temperature... You know it, right?'
-'...Yes.'
Back then, Isaac had clearly grasped the concept of 'absolute temperature.'
But he hadn't stepped forward.
Thank goodness they'd coaxed him into writing that paper. If they'd left him alone, ideal gas research would have progressed without Isaac.
...And that was probably his original plan.
Isaac had been aiming far beyond Gedric from the start.
The Ideal Gas Magic School headship wouldn't satisfy him.
Gedric spoke up.
"Thinking about it, it's only natural. This is our wind—we have to see it through."
"Acting Head..."
His colleagues' eyes wavered.
Gedric met each of their gazes in turn.
"Don't tell me you're lacking confidence? That without the young genius's help, you're all half-baked researchers who can't do anything?"
"What? You bastard—want to throw down over the acting head spot?"
Grangel's retort lifted the gloomy mood a bit.
Gedric pressed on.
"Ahem. That was a bit harsh."
"Yeah, take it back."
"Then why don't you act the part? Moping over failing to recruit one junior? That's not professor material."
"This guy, really."
Laughter rippled through the group here and there.
"Woke me right up. Yeah, if we were gonna rely on the next generation for everything, we wouldn't be professors."
"Right, let's give it a shot. When have we ever had a clear path anyway?"
"Yeah. Drinks after the assembly, then."
"...What does that have to do with this?"
"Don't wanna?"
"Nah, not that."
In the end, they decided to drown it all in booze.
Of course, Isaac Uphills had to be at the center of that drinking party.
That was non-negotiable.
The next morning, I woke up suffering from a pounding headache.
"Ugh... my head."
The cause? Hangover.
After the assembly ended, I'd been dragged into drinks with the Ideal Gas School professors.
My memories after that were spotty at best.
Stumbling to the dining hall, Liam was already seated, waiting for me.
"You okay, Isaac? You were wild last night."
"What did I do?"
"You came in holding liquors I'd never seen before, and offered me some right away."
"...What?"
Oh. I remembered.
Drinking with the ideal gas mages...
Suddenly, I craved soju.
I didn't know why I missed that tasteless stuff, but after so long without strong distilled spirits, I wanted some bad.
So I made distilled liquor on the spot.
In front of the ideal gas mages, using vacuum distillation.
'Liquor... this clean?'
'No fusel oils at all?'
'Lower the pressure to extract just the components you want... Intriguing. One more round.'
'Uphills, me too!'
They loved it.
...Probably because they could use it in their research?
After that, my memory blanks out.
Just a vague sense that I'd done something outrageous.
'Blackout in front of professors...'
Something I'd never do in my past life.
Guess coming to the Magic Tower changed my constitution.
I downed hangover stew with Liam.
Naturally, loaded with chili powder.
Shoveling in the fiery red broth somehow soothed me.
I finished mine at double Liam's pace and stood up.
"...Already done?"
"Yeah. Had fun last night—now back to work."
"Whoa."
Liam stared up at me, forgetting his own stew.
"What?"
"Nothing. Good luck with research."
"Thanks. Appreciate the cheer."
With that, I headed back to my lab.
The moment I opened the door, I said,
"Isaac Uphills, returning after the assembly..."
...But the words died in my throat.
The lab's atmosphere felt off.
"..."
"..."
Inside were Dolloren, Giuseppe Garneri, the Imperial Princess, and Laura.
All four sat in utter silence.
I knew Laura was the quiet type, but the others?
Dolloren spoke to the princess.
"Your Highness... We'll hand over all that land to Isaac, so please calm down."
"Ahem... Very well."
"I never wanted it in the first place. Don't you know my heart?"
"..."
Dolloren looked a bit downcast, while the princess seemed to be holding back anger.
...But the princess's side felt a tad theatrical?
Anyway, seeing her, I hurriedly bowed.
"I greet Your Highness."
"Enough. Be at ease."
A smile crept onto the princess's lips.
"Feeling better?"
"Thanks to your concern, I've recovered well."
"Good."
At my words, Dolloren's frozen expression softened from across the room. She said to the princess,
"See, Your Highness? I told you I controlled the force properly."
"...So it seems. Glad to hear it."
The princess cut straight to business.
"Isaac Uphills."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"It's just been decided. That land where the wasteland mountain vanished—it's yours now."
"Pardon?"
The princess's eyes gleamed. She declared,
"Not a speck left behind. All of it."
I was stunned by the princess's plan.
The moment my thesis verification was approved, Dolloren had anticipated I'd wipe out a whole mountain and designated the defense zone accordingly.
Wouldn't most people just think to spare me the effort...?
And so, the 'Uphills Foundation' was to be built on the cleared wasteland site.
It did make sense for a foundation site.
A few days later, I visited the land the princess had granted me.
Laura came along.
The spot where the wasteland mountain had stood was now a vast emptiness.
I'd been unconscious and hadn't realized.
It had turned into this.
If it were just flat plain, fine—but smack in the center of the expansive flatland stood the dome I'd made.
I asked Laura,
"That thing's not dangerous, is it?"
A vacuum inside would make it structurally weak.
Laura shook her head.
"The Dean already checked it out. She equalized the pressure inside and out."
"Phew, good."
Then Laura spoke up.
"Her Highness had a proposal. What if we keep the dome's shape intact, coat it with bricks and mortar to make a permanent domed structure?"
"Build on top of the dome?"
"Yes. Once the building's complete, dismantle the inner earth dome with magic to free up space. That solves the stability issue."
Oh.
I started calculating in my head right away.
Dome curvature, load distribution, minimum material strength...
"...It could work."
Theoretically, it was feasible.
With the earth dome acting as scaffolding during construction, it'd be far easier than a standard dome build.
Laura continued,
"Construction costs will be covered by Her Highness. Once done, the domed arena could serve as a banquet hall for nobles or the foundation's grand hall..."
"No. That won't cut it."
Laura tilted her head at my response.
Since we were getting this massive 'dome arena' anyway.
I couldn't let it rot as some mere banquet hall.
The vague idea from watching that chariot race was crystallizing.
What about starting a sports league?
Demand would be plenty.
Bored nobles.
Merchants swimming in cash.
Masses stressed from endless wars.
'Introduce a ball sport? Soccer or baseball...'
No. Too Earthling.
This was a world with magic. So...
"Let's make it an arena for mage duels."
"...Pardon?"
Laura's eyes widened.
"What kind of vibe are you imagining for this duel arena?"
"A battleground where mercenary mages or field mages test their skills."
Inside this dome, turbulence would be minimal.
Everyone could cast precise spells at peak condition.
"Sell premium seats high, open cheap ones to the public—deliver spectacles."
"...Next to a foundation for raising kids?"
"..."
Won't the kids just grow up tough on their own?
Keep security tight, and it might even be healthy for them.
'Could foster creative talent...'
Of course, just a guess from a developmental psych layman.
But it'd probably work out fine.
I grew up watching tons of WWE as a kid, after all.
Sigh.
Laura let out a small sigh and said,
"Fine. Let's give it a shot."