Ch.227From Space Menace to Graduate Student (2)

Theoretical physicists live by their backs. Because they have to sit in chairs for long periods.

I received a normal diagnosis for my disc. It’s not that my back is gone, but simply accumulated fatigue causing stiffness. That was fortunate.

“Hmm, this nostalgic scent of graduate school.”

“Young master, please maintain your dignity……”

It’s Stellarium after a week. Now my homeland, my salt, my light. Stellarium, me.

When I become a professor later, I should aim for the chancellor position.

Of course, that’s still a distant goal. I need to graduate from graduate school again first.

I parted ways with my two wives midway. Rustila Kersil returned to her military life, and Zernya von und zu Trisha Adelbein, the medical student, starts her semester the day after tomorrow. All three of us were busy.

“Where are you going now?”

“The lab. Want to come along?”

“Of course. I am your exclusive attendant after all.”

Sonia followed behind me. Yes, this flat and cool feeling. This is Sonia. Suddenly she asked:

“By the way, young master, what exactly is an avatar body?”

“Avatar body? Why suddenly ask about avatar bodies?”

“Just… I think you and your wives will encounter them frequently in the future. Of course, I know roughly what they are, but I still can’t grasp specifically what they are.”

What is an avatar body, she asks.

If I had to focus on just the core concept, well.

“It’s like being the eyes of an outer god.”

“Eyes?”

I nodded.

“It takes a lot of energy for outer gods to manifest directly. So they contact various subjects in this world. Saying, ‘You, become my eyes and ears!’ They share their power and create very powerful monsters.”

The difference between avatar bodies and monsters is that they directly receive the power of the outer god.

That’s why there are no grades like A, B, C, and the variance is large.

“The weaker ones can be caught at the EX level. They’re not the ones who receive a lot of power or are leaders. If the compatibility is bad, even three or four Great Omegas attacking together can’t win.”

“How do you know that, young master?”

“I have my ways of knowing.”

Actually, this was information compiled by Ireh Hazlen. But it generally matches with my brain’s speculation. It’s what outer god experts always talk about.

“Then could you or I become avatar bodies if propositioned by an outer god?”

“Hmm.”

“Is it possible?”

Well, it is. One of the Five Kings, the mad scientist from the frontier.

“Theoretically, it should be possible. But generally, outer gods don’t make such offers to humans.”

“What’s the reason?”

“They have to share their power. Why would they take on that risk when they could just possess or consume flesh?”

“I see. That makes sense.”

Sonia nodded her head. As we talked, we were already in front of the lab. I opened the iron door and went in.

“Everyone! I’m back…?”

What?

Where did everyone go?

“Seems they ran away.”

“No way. That can’t be. After how well I treated them.”

“You just paid them well, but worked them harder than most professors.”

“I never did that?”

“Please get a grip.”

Sonia repeatedly jabbed my solar plexus with her head. Ugh, it hurts a bit, probably because her head is like steel.

“Most people value work-life balance. Don’t assume they’ll burn with passion just because of high wages.”

“…Really?”

“Oh, young master.”

Sonia pounded her chest in frustration. Her silicone bounced.

“We’re in an era where some androids are claiming rights. What about humans? You just returned from your honeymoon, so humanely speaking, your lab interns deserve vacations and compensation too.”

“I suppose.”

I guess I pushed them too hard.

To be precise, I had no leeway. There was the incident with Rustila’s hymen, and the great invasion of outer gods is about to begin. I mistakenly thought that just throwing money would produce results. I knew that wasn’t the case originally.

“I hope you’ll take it easy.”

“Sigh, alright.”

“Then, while we’re at it, could you pay me, Sonia, a wage as well?”

“Alright. I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you plenty.”

I answered while tapping Sonia’s shoulder. Instead, Sonia looked surprised.

“…Really?”

“Yes. Buy delicious food with it, change your clothes. If you have outdated parts, replace them. Oh right, I promised to buy you new maid uniforms? I’ll create a personal account and deposit money, so buy as many as you want.”

“Then, I won’t hold back.”

Sonia happily placed her hands on her waist and swayed. The dance she does when she’s in a good mood. It’s become a pattern now. I decided to call this the “Sonia Happy Dance.”

“I should clean first.”

“If I do it alone, will I get additional pay?”

“5,000 credits per hour.”

“10,000.”

“6,000.”

“9,000.”

No, this crazy android. As soon as I mentioned money, she immediately starts wage negotiations?

“8,500! I can’t give more than that.”

“I’ll ask Seti for the remaining 1,500.”

“Well.”

“Young master, you just focus on research. Leave the cleaning, housework, data mining, and visual computing all to me, Sonia.”

“There was a time when you were surprised to see me cleaning.”

“That was then.”

Sonia immediately got to work. She opened the windows and started dusting. I watched her while organizing the desk papers. But it was cleaner than I expected.

“Was someone here?”

I opened the door to the separate room and entered. And there I discovered a woman sleeping soundly on the makeshift bed with an eye mask on.

Black medium-length hair cut at the shoulders. Wearing just a white shirt and black sweatpants. Using a cardigan as a blanket. Papers scattered everywhere. A tablet turned off. A decadent beauty visible even with her eyes covered.

“Well, well.”

The average science and engineering graduate student.

I quietly pulled up a chair and sat down. I picked up the fallen papers and skimmed through them. The traces of effort were evident on the paper stained with fingerprints.

The sound of birds chirping came through the window outside. A gentle breeze blew. The sound of Sonia dusting the desk was also sweet. I continued skimming the paper with my arm resting on the chair back.

How much time passed?

“Mmm, mmmm…!”

The woman stirred and stretched.

She yawned, took off her eye mask, and got up. I put down what I was reading and met her eyes. The woman’s eyes widened.

“R-Rheinland! Eidel…!”

“Did you sleep well? Junior Ireh.”

“W-when did you… Ah!”

Ireh, who tried to get up abruptly, fell forward. I quickly stood up and caught her. If I had been a little late, she might have broken her nose or mouth.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, uh, uh! Just a moment!”

Ah, right. Ireh was still uncomfortable with men. I momentarily forgot because I’d been having sex with my wives.

Ireh immediately pulled away. She crossed her arms and rubbed her shoulders. Her plump lips were tucked inward.

“S-sorry. I was going to welcome you but…”

“Have you been living here?”

“Uh, yeah. So what?”

“So, you spent the entire week in the lab?”

“…Was that wrong?”

I touched my forehead. The corners of my mouth rose involuntarily.

[“You were too hasty. Why didn’t you just marry this woman from the beginning?”]

Shut up, Cartesia. It’s rude to give Ireh false hope.

Above all, the reason Ireh is going this far isn’t because she likes me. It’s because we need to prevent the apocalypse. The fact that bigger events will unfold in the future is something only the two of us know.

Ireh, hurriedly fixing her hair, turned on the computer and reported the progress.

“I created all the data and organized it in cells. I also printed clean images. And I’ve sent it for proofreading to the editing department, so all three papers should be accepted soon if we submit them well.”

“What about the research on controlling constellation characteristics with crystals?”

“I did that too, but I wanted to ask your opinion before deciding on publication.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised. It was perfect work that couldn’t be attributed to an undergraduate physics student.

This level… at least a 5th-year PhD’s experience.

Well, Ireh had also worked in office jobs before. It could be said that her ability to adapt to work processing is outstanding.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, my workload has been greatly reduced.”

“Of course. We’re colleagues after all.”

Ireh held out her fist. I smiled and bumped my fist against hers. Although Ireh was wary of men, this level of contact was now possible between us.

I hope Ireh grows into a good research colleague.

“I successfully made Zernya my wife. Is Aurore next?”

“…Yes. We need to do this properly from now on.”

Ireh’s expression darkened. I also furrowed my brow and entered into contemplation.

The Queen of Elegant Finale, Aurore.

The highest-ranking outer god of the Darwin faction.

The timing varies slightly with each iteration, but on average, Aurore only reveals herself around the time Rustila graduates from the military academy.

She initiates the Southern Great Invasion, formally revealing that ‘god-killing’ is a ruined object. Because in this scenario, Rheinland is destroyed, Hueritia is annihilated, and Mezulen and Rustila die.

Additionally, Seti, who was being manipulated by Brian, tries to revive with a new company but gets hit and goes bankrupt. Eventually, she’s driven mentally and makes an extreme choice.

“We don’t know when it will be. It could be as soon as next year. We, we have to stop it…”

Ireh was subtly trembling in her voice. Recalling memories from the previous iteration must be painful for her. Especially this part where she experienced the most frustration.

I nodded.

Ireh asked:

“You look very tired.”

“Yes, after traveling, in many ways.”

“It’s small, but I’ll cast a blessing that might help.”

Ireh pulled out a golden gun from thin air.

[— 19th Bullet: Scale of Energy]

Pik!

An intangible bullet penetrated my head. I staggered for a moment.

“How is it?”

“Oh…”

My stiff back felt much better.

“This is one of the more expensive holy bullets. I can’t use it just anytime.”

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

“We’re colleagues.”

We bumped fists again. Ireh gave a slight smile.

It was right then that an email arrived from Professor Feynman.

[Student Eidel. I’m sorry, but could you come to the 5th floor colloquium room as soon as you return to the college? Something urgent has come up that needs to be discussed with the other professors.]