Ch.197Polygamy (2)

As Eidel was leaving the room, he ran into Zernya. Before Zernya could say anything, Eidel bowed his head in greeting.

“Mother, hello.”

“Huh? Umm…”

Mother? They’re not even blood-related.

“I’m sorry, but I’m quite busy. I’ll be going now.”

Eidel hurried away like a first-year assistant professor with a packed schedule. He didn’t even give her a chance to call him back.

“…Mother?”

While staring blankly at Eidel’s retreating figure as he vanished like the wind, Seti’s voice reached her ears.

“When did you arrive?”

“I just got here. May I come in?”

“Yes… that’s fine.”

As soon as she entered the room, Seti fidgeted with her fingers and slightly lowered her head. She seemed to have something to say.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why? For what?”

“I couldn’t live up to your expectations.”

It was an apology for failing to become the family head.

Zernya couldn’t say anything. She had no right to be angry. What’s past is past.

In truth, making Seti the family head would have been nearly impossible. If she became the head, Rheinland might fall under Adelbein’s influence. The council of elders would certainly have been aware of this.

Of course, Zernya had no intention of letting that happen. But no one would have believed her anyway.

“I guess my abilities weren’t enough.”

“No, you did your best.”

Zernya stroked Seti’s hair. Startled, Seti stiffened her shoulders.

“M-Mother.”

“It’s okay. Earning that much money is no easy feat. You’ve done more than enough…”

“…”

“So don’t think about anything else. Let’s go somewhere together.”

She hadn’t come to find Seti to scold her. Rather, she wanted to flee with her only family member. It was customary for siblings to leave tactfully once a new family head was selected.

Where would be good?

Yes, the east or west would be fine. The south had Rheinland, and the north was Adelbein territory. Forget about other interests and just live out the rest of her life with her only blood relative.

They had enough money, so it wouldn’t be difficult.

But Seti just tilted her head in confusion.

“Leave? Mother, this is our home. Where would we go?”

“Huh?”

“Mother, Eidel appointed me as his acting representative.”

Zernya’s eyebrows twitched.

“He said he has no talent for managing the family and entrusted me with all the money and seals. You know what this means, Mother.”

She had heard something about him giving deputy head authority. But Zernya thought it was just Eidel’s ploy to test Seti.

What family head would give the deputy position to a sibling who failed the selection? Such positions were typically given only to one’s own children or wife, and even then only temporarily in unavoidable circumstances.

“Look at this.”

As Zernya mumbled in disbelief, Seti showed her an electronic document stamped with the Rheinland seal.

It was real.

Eidel had delegated all substantial authority to Seti.

Zernya staggered.

Not from physical fatigue, but from sheer disbelief. She had never seen a family head who transferred power immediately after gaining it. Even the most devoted husbands wouldn’t do this much for their wives.

Why on earth…

“Actually, I made a deal with Eidel. He said he just wants to focus on research, so he told me to take the economic rights. In exchange, we agreed that I’d provide him with research funds regularly. We decided to help each other.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I just didn’t expect that bastard to dump everything else on me too and run off…”

Seti ground her teeth and smiled bitterly.

Zernya reluctantly nodded. She understood the situation now, though she couldn’t quite accept it.

“Were you two that close?”

“I consider him family. He might be annoying, but he can be impressive when he wants to be.”

Seti rubbed the bridge of her nose. She seemed to be recalling when Eidel presented his thesis. Indeed, even Zernya had been impressed enough to get goosebumps at that time.

“He’s much better than the other two brothers who treat me like I’m invisible.”

The other two brothers.

She meant Brian and Cartrick.

While she didn’t know much about Cartrick, Zernya was somewhat familiar with Brian. They had occasionally worked together as doctors. Her impression of Brian was…

Two-faced.

Outwardly kind, but with no genuine interest in people. Instead, she had glimpsed his obsession with power and wealth.

While she didn’t know about Cartrick, Brian was dangerous. If he had become the family head, Zernya and Seti would definitely have had to leave. They would have been thorns in his side if they stayed.

Compared to Brian…

Eidel was…

“The fact that he gave me this much authority proves that he trusts you, Mother. So I hope you won’t hate him too much.”

He was the child of a man she didn’t particularly like. And not even born from her own body.

But does family require blood relation?

Mother.

Eidel had clearly called her that.

Zernya closed her eyes, remaining silent. There was no way to know why he suddenly started using that term. Seti continued speaking.

“Mother, you are Father’s wife. Even if I were to leave, you, as the lady of the house, don’t need to leave this family.”

Zernya was speechless, her mouth opening and closing. Her feelings were complicated.

“Well, I should start looking at the ledgers now.”

Seti began exercising her economic authority as if nothing had happened. She checked how much was in the bank, what planets and moons they owned, and how much they earned from businesses and stocks.

Seti’s room had nearly twenty monitors. Her eyes moved rapidly. Zernya silently watched her daughter working as the deputy of the family head.

“There’s some waste here.”

Seti’s abilities were exceptional. Having experienced the pain of health insurance payments, she knew tax laws inside out.

She quickly cut unnecessary expenditures, like taxes they didn’t need to pay.

It was almost supernatural skill, like watching a highly skilled robot at work.

“Here, Mother. Look at this item.”

Seti explained various things to keep Zernya from getting bored.

“This is a list of asteroids our family owns. As you can see, they make up a significant portion of our physical assets. They’re easy to transport and rich in precious metals, each worth at least tens of trillions.”

Seti continued, licking her lips.

“Eidel told me not to touch these.”

“Why?”

“He said he needs to build some kind of accelerator later.”

There was one thing Zernya learned today.

Eidel von Rheinland. He was a person with no interest in any power or honor outside of his research.

***

Ah, I want to build a particle accelerator.

I want to build a particle accelerator as big as the solar system, run it all year round, analyze the data, and observe gravitons.

It’s a distant dream.

I’ve gained enough prestige as the head of Rheinland, but I don’t have enough countermeasures against foreign gods until I create a graviton bomb.

“So, if we do this, you’ll really send us, right?”

“I really promised. I really promised. I really did promise.”

Welton and Mathers were begging desperately.

These guys, after doing one research project, are now pleading to be sent to a conference.

Of course, their abilities are outstanding. Compared to their peers, they’re outliers. They have the skills to enroll as master’s students right away. After some consideration, I nodded.

“Alright, I’ll send you.”

“Holy shit, really?”

“You promised! You promised! You definitely just promised right here! No taking it back!”

“Yes, yes.”

Look at how happy these kids are.

I smiled warmly as I reassured them. With that, they began working even harder for the remaining period.

The next task was to verify various theoretical research.

In other words, testing.

I needed to complete experiments and equipment development that couldn’t be done due to time constraints. Only then would the papers be formally accepted, and funding for follow-up research could be secured.

So, what should I start with?

Enhancing the Plasma Sword.

Producing traps to contain Darwin’s Legion foreign gods.

Even research on manipulating the neural network of constellations.

“Eidel.”

A pitiful voice interrupted my thoughts. Rustila, who had been taking a nap, groggily raised her head at the sound of the experimental equipment running.

“You’re back? You should have woken me…”

“You were sleeping so soundly. And today’s a holiday. You’ve been working hard, you should rest a bit.”

“No. Hehehe.”

A languid and eerie laugh.

“Eidel. I worked hard…”

“Yes, I know. You did well, Rustila.”

She gave her all. She handled most of the necessary processes. Taking military science classes while also doing research must have been physically demanding. But she managed it without problems, which showed she had good stamina.

“Your contribution to the experiments in this research was the greatest. All four papers will have you as the second author, Rustila.”

“…And the first author?”

“I’ll give the sword enhancement research to Mezulen. The rest will be under my name only.”

“Couldn’t I be listed as a co-first author…?”

I shook my head.

“To be a first author, you need to contribute significant ideas during the paper writing stage. You also need to write the paper yourself. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that.”

“I… I see.”

Rustila seemed intimidated and mumbled with her lips.

“It’s okay. Being second author on a flagship paper is already impressive, especially for someone with no academic background. Oh, Rustila, want to see this?”

I handed her the papers.

Looking at the author names, mine and Rustila’s were always together. We had co-authored all of them. Yes, we wrote this one together too.

“Look. Except for the one I first wrote with Professor Feynman, your name is on every paper I’ve written.”

“You’re right. How many is that now?”

“At least six.”

I smiled as I stroked her hair.

[─ ‘Fragment of Purity’ is displeased.]

What do you want me to do about it? What can you even do if you’re displeased?

I’m going to write many more papers with Rustila. I’ve decided to establish a pillar in academic journals. Even ten papers wouldn’t be enough for that.

I skimmed through one of the papers.

[First Author – Eidel Rheinland]

[Second Authors – Rustila Kersil / Ireh Hazlen / (…)]

Of course, Ireh worked hard too.

She did well for her first time. As a fellow physicist, I have high expectations for her future. I separately thanked Ireh for her hard work. Rustila spoke up.

“Since I worked so hard, I think I need a reward.”

“What would you like?”

“You know, something very precious that money can’t buy.”

Rustila smiled slyly and signaled to Erica. Erica then brought a design blueprint from the side room. It showed a complex and intricate device.

“Your humble servant has drawn up a blueprint for a ‘constellation containment device.’ I hope you’ll use it when you start production.”

[“…Constellation containment?”]

[─ ‘Fragment of Purity’ is shocked.]

“Great. I’ll make it right away.”

Rustila’s expression immediately brightened.

This will be my final research before going to graduate school.

[“Wait, what are you two doing…!!”]

What else?

Preparing for a wedding.

***

[—— Brother ——]

[“Money.”]

“Is he crazy?”