Ch.109Your Student Was Awesome (1)

After the midterm exams ended, I compared answers with Zernya. She opened her general physics exam paper, lifted her head, and proudly declared with her chest puffed out.

“I won.”

“Yeah.”

When I readily admitted it, she tilted her head skeptically. Zernya soon shrugged and started snickering.

Throughout lunch, she kept taunting me. ‘A physics student who knows less physics than a student from another department’ – that was the title I earned today.

Actually, that’s fine. If Zernya is better at physics than me, she could just transfer departments, right? She could do the graviton research in my place.

When I expressed this opinion, her response came quickly.

“G-get lost.”

I swallowed my disappointment. Career choices aren’t something I can dictate to others.

After lunch, a long break stretched ahead. Zernya left early for a quiz.

I was just about to read some research papers, having nothing else to do.

[Professor Feynman: Eidel, could you come to my lab right now?]

A sudden summons to the lab.

Usually, this is something only professors with terrible personalities do.

But I know Professor Feynman is a benevolent ruler.

If he asks me to come to the lab, it must be good news. I replied that I understood and rushed over immediately.

“We’ve received research funding!”

As expected, it was good news.

“It seems your reputation has reached the national level, Eidel. They’ve offered to provide a whole 100 million credits. Now we can conduct our research a bit more comfortably. Thank you so much.”

Feynman grabbed my hand and shook it. A smile bloomed across the professor’s face.

I smiled back outwardly, but my inner thoughts were different.

Yes, 100 million? That’s nowhere near enough.

What we’re trying to do is discover gravitons. We need at least thousands of fellow researchers. Just feeding them would cost around 100 million.

Plus, the experiments themselves cost money. We need a large particle accelerator, and running it just once would drain national finances.

The professor wasn’t unaware of this fact.

Either he had something up his sleeve, or he was burning up inside but not saying anything. I hoped it was the former, but the latter seemed more likely.

“Junior, we believe in you.”

After my meeting with the professor, the lab’s workaholic seniors appeared and grabbed my hands.

“This research will be a huge project. It might take years.”

“We desperately need the help of a junior who’s published two first-author papers in <Universe>!”

“Please help us graduate! Aaaargh.”

Three seniors pleading desperately. It gave me an odd feeling, like looking at puppies about to be abandoned.

Though I had no hobby of holding men’s hands, I couldn’t bring myself to turn them away. I felt a sense of kinship with them.

“Alright. Let’s make it work somehow.”

“Yaaaay!”

“So you three will handle the co-work proposal, right?”

“What?”

The graduate student trio stared blankly before asking.

“Shouldn’t we do that together…?”

“I’m just an undergraduate.”

The lab members’ expressions collapsed one after another like dominoes. They all seemed to think of me as the lab leader, but no way. You’re the ones who have to do the grunt work.

And by the way, with such a small amount of money, we can’t work together right now.

For the sake of more research funding, I’ll go train and come back. Professor, please don’t look for me for a while. Well then, adios.

“Ah, where’s a good conduit for training my inner energy?”

[Professor Stranov: Mr. Rheinland, could you come early today?]

Found one right away.

***

I arrived at Iryuel Academy as evening approached. Like last time, Professor Stranov was waiting for me at the main entrance.

“The weather is quite unpredictable, isn’t it? Come in quickly.”

She gently pushed my back.

I examined her expression with sidelong glances. The professor’s eyes were more radiant than usual, and a triumphant smile was fiercely rising at the corners of her mouth.

She seems to have prepared something.

“If you have time, there’s something I’d like to show you, Mr. Rheinland. Would that be alright?”

When I nodded, the professor gestured.

She led me to a secluded building.

A basement painted white.

Dark and stuffy, with the pungent smell of asbestos. The lights installed throughout flickered as if screaming.

“Here it is.”

When we reached a certain room, she turned around.

With a click, the lights came on, revealing a massive spherical structure.

With a diameter of roughly 50 meters.

It was clearly no ordinary object.

“Professor, this is…”

“Let me introduce you. It’s a gravity resonator.”

My mouth fell open.

“You’ve already built this?”

“It’s still a prototype. Just the framework.”

“Even that is impressive.”

I thought it would take at least until the end of the year to build, but the progress was faster than expected.

My heart pounded as I watched the sphere swinging back and forth like a pendulum according to the non-inertial induction device. Wow, this is so exciting.

So this is love.

“As soon as they heard my research topic, several corporations sent money. Don’t be surprised. The amount is a whopping 50 trillion credits.”

“F-fifty…”

The amount was too stark in comparison. Overwhelming.

“If this research succeeds, the Maxwell and Descartes foreign gods will be finished. We may not be able to kill them, but we can at least contain them so they can’t harm us. Can you imagine the economic benefits that would bring?”

“I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“That’s why I’ve staked everything on this research.”

This time, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure no one else scoops it. That was the meaning behind the radiance in Professor Stranov’s eyes.

“There are still many shortcomings. What to use for the resonator mirrors, how to operate it, whether it’s safe. There’s a mountain of things to test.”

She looked at me and said.

“I need one excellent theoretical physicist.”

“…”

“If the project progresses well, we could receive hundreds of trillions more credits.”

“…”

“Then we could buy even more experimental equipment.”

“…”

“What do you think, Mr. Rheinland?”

My thoughts were bleached white. Of course, when a theoretical physicist sees such a large and beautiful experimental equipment—

“Mr. Rheinland.”

“Yes, yes, Professor.”

“Do you have a lot of time during summer vacation?”

“O-of course, Professor.”

“Then how about we have another leisurely conversation at that time?”

She whispered in my ear. It was a proposal as sweet as honey and as meltingly soft as cotton candy.

I was about to nod under some unknown force, but barely managed to regain my senses and answered.

“…I’ll have to check my schedule.”

“Is that so…”

For a very brief moment, Professor Stranov showed signs of disappointment. She soon regained her original expression and said.

“Would you like to have dinner before you go?”

***

“That was a close call.”

Having returned to Stellarium after midnight, I heaved a sigh of relief.

50 trillion.

Just hearing it made my heart race. With that much funding, one could conduct almost any experimental research.

I had originally planned to collaborate with Professor Stranov, but I didn’t realize she was such an impressive person. I almost became a master’s student in her lab.

But my heart ultimately belongs to Professor Feynman. After all, developing the graviton bomb is his achievement.

I shouldn’t choose a lab just because of research funding. Yes, absolutely.

[“You seem quite troubled. Unlike your usual youthful self. How about taking a walk?”]

Unusually, Cartesia was looking out for me. Since it wasn’t wrong, I slowly walked along the campus park.

And then I encountered someone.

“Eidel, why are you here?”

It was my father. Why are you coming out of there?

“Father, why are you in such a secluded place?”

“I was on my way back after finishing a lecture. Come with me if you’re not busy.”

So I followed my father.

There wasn’t anything special about our father-son conversation. What did you do today, how are your studies going, are you doing well at school? Just the usual questions.

Even those ended when I answered with brief “Yes, yes” responses. For a while, only our footsteps and cricket sounds lingered.

On our way, we found an unmanned café and stopped by briefly. I inserted a card and got two iced coffees.

“Is that your card?”

“It’s Seti’s.”

“You still haven’t come to your senses. Even among family, there are boundaries. Using your sibling’s money recklessly…”

“She gave it to me to use.”

“Pfft!”

Father spat out his coffee. He seemed to have choked, so I patted his back.

“Your sister gave it to you?”

“Seti earns money, you know. For tax deductions.”

It was my sister’s struggle to avoid all kinds of taxes like monthly pension, health insurance, and special taxes for the wealthy.

“Your sister definitely has business acumen. She already knows such things without being taught.”

“Don’t you think she’d manage assets really well if she became the family head?”

I subtly probed my father. As expected, he showed signs of discomfort.

“If she brings home a skilled doctor as a husband, perhaps.”

“That’s a difficult problem.”

“It’s not just about money.”

My father and I moved to an outdoor table. On the serene campus, a bridge stretched across an artificial stream.

Appreciating the scenery, I could hear nature’s concerto.

I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the prelude performed by frogs. Being like this helped me regain some stability.

“Eidel.”

“Yes, Father.”

“How are things going with the Adelbein family’s child?”

“You mean Zernya? What about her?”

“Wedding preparations.”

“Ugh, cough, hack, cough…!”

Coffee went up my nose.

“Since we’re talking about the family head, let me tell you this: this father has no intention of handing over the position unless you marry that child. Make sure you understand this one thing.”

“Y-yes. I understand…”

Marry Zernya?

This is actually the first time I’m hearing this from my father’s mouth. Why did the conversation suddenly go in that direction?

“Let’s talk about this another time.”

I used an evasion technique for now. Marriage with the College Chapter Boss? Is there any better way to ruin both families at once?

Rehabilitation comes first. If I can’t change her personality this year, I’ll have to prevent Zernya from running for the student council next year. It’s just one thing after another.

Yes. Just one thing after another.

“Wait a moment, I got a DM.”

With my father’s permission, I checked my phone and found messages from two different people arriving simultaneously.

[Professor Feynman: Eidel]

[Professor Stranov: Can you receive messages now?]

This is driving me crazy.