Ch.117Love and Thesis (1)

10 years ago.

“Richard, I love you”

And just yesterday.

“You son of a bitch”

Professor Stranov’s face turned red as his DM history was exposed.

“Hey, Lee! Aren’t you going to take this down right now?”

“Why should I?”

Feynman smiled mischievously while maintaining his usual polite speech. However, his tone had become more sarcastic.

Stranov gritted his teeth.

“Pfft!”

One by one, graduate students failed to hold back their laughter. Professor Stranov glared at them with fierce eyes.

She made a gesture of slitting her throat.

Behave if you want to graduate.

“Haah.”

I stopped stomping my feet and peeked into the kitchenette. I needed popcorn. Definitely popcorn.

Near the microwave, Zernya was standing with her arms crossed, raising and lowering her heels.

Our eyes met for a moment.

Zernya flinched.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, none of your business.”

“Are you doing exercises to stimulate your growth plates?”

Zernya burrowed into my chest and punched me in the lower abdomen.

“Ugh!”

“Be quiet.”

That was a direct hit.

“I think at eighteen, your growth plates are already closed? So you don’t need to be too resigned if it’s not working. I personally think you’re plenty attractive in other areas even if you’re short.”

I almost became a eunuch for saying that.

“Kuhhaaack…!”

“Shut up, I said shut up.”

Fortunately, the sound of popcorn popping saved me from further beating.

I left the kitchen hiding the steaming popcorn behind my back. The hyenas must not discover the existence of this food.

We nibbled on the popcorn one kernel at a time, sitting far enough away that the seniors couldn’t see us. Luckily, the seniors didn’t seem particularly interested in us.

Anyway, Zernya and I watched the movie for a while. The title of the movie was “Love and Thesis.”

In the second cut scene, the male lead barges into the female lead’s house and creates absolute chaos.

“From now on, we’ll be conducting our research here.”

“What? Are you crazy? This is my lab!”

“Eidel is in this lab. Since Eidel is our student, naturally this lab is our lab.”

A change in perspective.

“Unless Eidel returns to Stellarium, we’ll stay here for days if necessary.”

“Have you lost your mind? Don’t you have work to do in your own lab?”

“We don’t have any assignments coming in.”

Another change in perspective.

As the male lead nodded, the extras behind him began moving busily.

They set up tents and placed desks. Camping cookware and toiletries were just the beginning. They had clearly brought everything with the intention of staying.

“You crazy bastards!”

The female lead grabbed the back of her neck.

But it didn’t end there.

The male lead placed a small box on the desk.

“From now on, we’ll be collecting a toll.”

The front of the box read “10 credits per entry.” And below that was written “All tolls will be used for quantum gravity theory research lab funds.”

Now I noticed they were guarding the only entrance.

The entrance on the other side had double doors, so if the male lead deliberately locked the doors, the people inside would be unable to enter or leave.

It was truly a brilliant use of terrain.

Meanwhile, another side of the box the male lead presented had this message:

[Eidel von Rheinland – Free]

I guess that means… free passage?

“Richard! I’m disappointed in you. How can a person be so shameless?”

“You’re the shameless one. Trying to break the bond between Eidel and me that we built through research with mere pocket change. The galaxy would tremble and foreign media would be appalled!”

[─ The God of Wisdom and Curiosity nods.]

“If you just return Eidel to us, we’ll withdraw quietly.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out. Get out of here!”

Professor Stranov, her eyes wild, threw a triangle ruler. Professor Feynman caught it easily between two fingers.

“Oh.”

Zernya exclaimed in amazement while munching on popcorn.

***

“Isn’t this all because of you?”

“If you think about it, yes.”

“You really got up to all sorts of things when I wasn’t looking.”

Two hours after the Feynman-Stranov war broke out. As the bombardment that had continued for a while subsided, both armies took time to regroup.

I was waiting in a separate room as a prisoner. Martial law had been declared throughout the lab, and we were cracking nuts while chatting.

I say “we” because Zernya was with me.

“Hey, you could leave if you wanted to.”

“I don’t want to waste money.”

Zernya clicked her tongue while fiddling with her wallet.

“Isn’t your time valuable?”

“Not particularly. If it was, I would have escaped already.”

Professor Stranov was still negotiating with Professor Feynman. Meanwhile, Zernya finished the remaining popcorn, and I focused on revising my thesis.

There wasn’t much we could do.

I need an Outsider. A suitable Outsider who could serve as research data in the resonator.

Should I get on the experimental table myself?

[─ The God of Wisdom and Curiosity flinches.]

Just kidding. Actually, it wouldn’t work because of the effect of <Binding>.

If I put Cartesia in the resonator and trapped her, I’d have to spend the rest of my life calling her “master” in a cramped black hole.

That ending is absolutely out of the question.

In the end, I need to bring Ireh.

But Ireh is likely to go crazy as soon as she leaves the Holy Spirit Chamber. The Outsider Sapaul is definitely waiting for that moment.

Should I move the resonator from here to the South? That’s insane.

Setting aside the cost, it would take two months just to recreate a similar environment to the Holy Spirit Chamber.

And after two months, summer vacation would be over.

The end of summer vacation meant fewer days to commute to Iryuel Academy for research.

“This won’t work.”

I need to execute the plan as soon as possible.

Just then.

“I really shouldn’t associate with that person anymore!”

Professor Stranov opened the door in disgust. I don’t know what happened, but she was sweating profusely.

I unnecessarily stood up and handed her a handkerchief.

“How did it go?”

“Eidel, don’t leave this room.”

It seems things didn’t go well.

Stranov began cursing Feynman. Her profanity-laced tirade was mixed with a hint of regret and despair.

“I’m sorry for keeping you here. But there’s no other way. As a quick compensation, take this and buy something nice with your girlfriend later. Understand?”

And so I received a check worth 100 million won. This person is not in her right mind.

Eventually, she took out whiskey from the refrigerator and drank straight from the bottle.

“Haah. Just one more bottle…”

And so two bottles, three bottles, four bottles—what the hell, how many does she have?

It wasn’t long before it started.

“Hic, stupid man.”

Drunk rambling time.

“Am I such a flawed woman? A woman with personality issues! I didn’t lock him up at home like those psychopaths on the news, nor did I chase him with a knife!”

There’s only one way to survive a superior’s drunken rant. Agree with everything they say and wait until they fall asleep.

“I just, just followed him to graduate school, that’s all. What’s so scary about that…! Hey, am I wrong? Eidel?”

“I think he’s intimidated because you’re too beautiful, Professor.”

“Then, sniff, that’s good… No, that’s not good at all!”

Ah, I’m so happy. My eardrums feel like they’re about to burst.

“Then should I get some plastic surgery? Or should I ruin my figure?”

What do those Japanese people call this again? I can’t remember.

Yandere? No, that’s not quite it.

“Ah! Right, family! If I abandon my family, it might work. They say birds of a feather flock together, so if I throw away my status as one of the 10 great families, then he and I…”

Stranov couldn’t continue and dropped her head.

“The smell of alcohol is really strong in the separate room.”

“Ventilation, we need ventilation.”

After roughly tidying up the room, I poked my head out the door. Zernya also peeked out below me.

Perhaps because Professor Stranov was here, the graduate students’ vigilance was lax. If we play this right, we might be able to reach the exit without being detected.

Next, I checked the opposing camp.

Neither Professor Feynman nor any other seniors were there. Only Senior Plance was standing guard at the double doors like a sentry.

That was a good sign.

“The situation looks good. Even a fool could escape now.”

“Sorry Zernya, but I have no intention of running away right now.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I need to see the bigger picture.”

***

“Senior. Senior Plance.”

“Wha, you startled me…!”

I covered his mouth and put my index finger to my lips. The struggling senior soon nodded.

We hid in a tent to avoid being discovered. Only after locking the inner door and zipping up the tent could we feel completely safe.

There was no one else except me, Zernya, and Senior Plance.

“Where is Professor Feynman?”

“He’s a busy person. Right now, it’s just me here.”

“I see.”

This is the perfect situation.

Senior Plance grabbed my hand and wiped away tears. I think I heard him mutter “Now I can graduate” in between, but let’s ignore that.

“Just a moment. I should contact the professor…”

“Wait. There’s no need for that.”

I calmed the senior down while fingering the check in my pocket. Senior Plance tilted his head.

Zernya was watching me and Plance with her arms crossed. She wanted to see how I would use my silver tongue.

“Senior Plance. Do you know what kind of relationship Professor Feynman and Professor Stranov had?”

The senior nodded.

“Professor Stranov is still in love with Professor Feynman. What happened today is just a lovers’ quarrel.”

“Professor Feynman isn’t very fond of Professor Stranov. He’s basically a free spirit. He’s the type who would rather look at papers than start a family.”

“But don’t you think he still has some interest?”

“I don’t know that much.”

A wise answer.

The exploration phase was over. I gradually shifted the topic.

“The reason I thought Professor Stranov’s lab suited me better was because of funding. I really liked being able to freely pursue my ideas without budget constraints.”

“…So?”

“I’d like to suggest a collaboration with you, senior.”

The senior wasn’t a fool. He said with uneven breathing:

“So you’re telling me to switch professors?”

I smiled slightly.

“Junior, do you really not know how small this field is? You might be fine since you’re still an undergraduate, but once you’re in graduate school, switching labs without a legitimate reason will definitely lead to bad rumors. I absolutely cannot betray Professor Feynman…”

“I’m not talking about switching, senior. I’m talking about riding both horses—collaboration.”

“What do you…”

“Professor Feynman overflows with ideas. Professor Stranov overflows with funds. They even work in similar fields. I don’t understand why these two have never collaborated even once from the past until now.”

As Senior Plance said, it’s already a small field.

Without collaboration between people working in the same field, quality papers cannot be produced.

“I want you to understand the true reason why I came to this lab.”

“The true reason, huh.”

Hesitation began to show on Plance’s face. This was my chance.

“Take this, senior.”

“No, this! This money…!”

“It’s part of the ‘snack money’ the professor gave me. You’ve been looking quite gaunt lately, senior.”

“But I…”

“…Ah, I apologize. I suppose it’s too little.”

I added the other half to the half I had already given him. Plance’s face turned pale.

“Do the 10 great families spend this much on snacks?”

“Yes. Most of them do.”

At times like this, it’s really helpful to embody the role of a young master from a wealthy family. Your economic perspective changes.

“Still, I can’t accept this much money personally.”

“As expected of you, senior. Then please use it for research funds.”

“…Junior.”

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

I stood up confidently and brushed myself off. Just as I was about to open the zipper and leave the tent with Zernya, I felt resistance on my right wrist.

“How much do they pay over there?”

The fish has taken the bait.