Ch.296Ph.D (1)

The human mind is like a liquid. It constantly changes and flows, and sometimes takes on a different form when contained in the vessel of another person.

Ireh felt a change in her heart.

Beyond simply thinking “I can’t be away from Eidel,” she had unconsciously started wondering “what would I name our daughter if we had one?”

That was already the end of it.

[“You’ve completely become a girl, Ireh.”]

Perhaps she had feelings beyond companionship for this man called Eidel.

[“You don’t need to force the present to fit the past forever. People’s thoughts change moment by moment.”]

Ireh looked down at the smiling baby.

How could it be so cute and lovable?

She knew that the birth of life was noble. She had simply believed until now that childbirth could never be her role.

“Eidel, I’ll head back to the lab first.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“I have a lot to do. Mountains of paperwork to organize.”

“Alright. See you later.”

Ireh fled the hospital room. If she stayed in the same space as Eidel any longer, her heart would ache so much she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

“Please wait a moment.”

Someone stopped Ireh as she was leaving. It was Sonia.

“Miss Ireh, would you speak with me briefly before you go?”

This was not good.

The person Ireh wanted to avoid most right now wasn’t Rustila, Zernya, or even Eidel—it was Sonia. Having received Eidel’s proposal on her behalf, she felt terribly guilty.

“I’m quite busy right now…”

“It won’t take long. Please excuse me for a moment.”

Sonia stepped forward and leaned in close. Then she began sniffing Ireh’s collar. Ireh couldn’t help but be flustered.

“W-what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Just as I thought.”

“What?”

“I recently kissed the young master, and at that time, I detected an unknown woman’s scent on his lips.”

“And… so?”

“You have exactly the same scent.”

Ireh felt a jolt.

Could she have been found out?

No, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Even with Sonia’s enhanced senses from her android origins, it would be nearly impossible to be certain of everything based on smell alone.

It seemed she was setting bait and watching for a reaction.

Either way, it was clear that Sonia was suspicious of her.

“Let me ask you one thing. About that day when the government officials visited—did anything happen between you and Master Eidel while I was away?”

“Well, I don’t think there was anything special.”

“Perhaps you fell asleep momentarily in the lab, or had some inappropriate contact with the young master?”

“I was tired, but I didn’t doze off. As for contact, I was with Eidel for ten days straight. You saw us together, didn’t you?”

The ten days part was a lie.

They had been together for two years. Just the two of them, excluding the Saint, had gone back in time dozens of times and built a relationship of indescribable intensity.

Thanks to that, Eidel had said he could directly empathize with Ireh’s pain. How choked up she had felt hearing those words.

“I see. Since you were constantly together, your scents might have mixed.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. I should hurry and take a shower.”

Ireh moved without showing any signs of haste. It was the practiced gait of a skilled assassin she had learned and mastered in previous iterations.

“Take care on your way back.”

With Sonia seeing her off, Ireh boarded the shuttle.

As the spacecraft launched, Ireh’s thoughts became even more complicated.

***

Watching Ireh flee, Sonia sighed.

“You must have blushed, right?”

From her gaze control to her body language. Everything was meticulously concealed, but her face was the exception.

There was no way to hide the peach-colored flush that came to her cheeks.

“Your words deny it, but your body is honest.”

It was unmistakably the reaction of someone completely smitten. Master Eidel had finally managed to break down that woman’s defenses.

“Well, well.”

After singing so loudly about not wanting to even touch a man with her fingertips.

It was amusing how she immediately responded that she needed to go wash when told “I can smell you on Master Eidel.”

Sonia had never told Ireh that Eidel smelled like her.

Something had definitely happened between them. And intensely enough to leave a scent on their clothes.

“Well… it’s not my place to judge.”

She was in no position to scold others about infidelity. Sonia understood her own situation better than anyone.

For now, she would just observe.

To see how Ireh Hazlen would proceed in this state.

***

I left Zernya’s postpartum care to Sonia and Rustila. Though I was sad I couldn’t see the cute princesses longer, it couldn’t be helped.

My doctoral graduation was right around the corner.

There wasn’t much time left.

I sent the Saint to the Southern Sanctum to keep in reserve. Even foreign gods couldn’t touch her while she was in the Sanctum. She would be safe for the time being.

For these reasons, only Ireh was by my side now.

But lately, Ireh had been acting strange.

“Ireh?”

“Oh, huh?”

“Why are you spacing out? Is there a problem you can’t solve?”

“No, it’s not that…”

The way she trailed off like someone who had committed a crime suggested something was up.

“I was just thinking about something else. I just can’t believe this situation. Finding the graviton and all.”

“Speaking of gravitons, I feel the same way. I never dreamed we’d discover it this early.”

“I never once thought it would be possible to get this far without significant casualties. So, I wanted to tell you something…”

I waved my hand.

“If it’s to thank me, you don’t need to. We’re all in this together to survive.”

“No, it’s something else.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did you by any chance tell Sonia you would take her as your wife?”

What was this about all of a sudden?

“I did propose to Sonia separately. When you weren’t around. But why?”

“You already did?”

“Yes.”

“I think it would be better to do it formally again after the dummy android is made. And change her status at that time too.”

There was no context, but after hearing Ireh’s words, I found myself nodding.

“I made a mistake.”

Confessing twice might lack impact, but someone like Sonia would probably be twice as happy. Of course, I would need my wives’ consent first.

“Could you contact Seti for me? I want to know how far along she is, but I don’t have time.”

“Sure. I have to grant the request of the soon-to-be doctor.”

Soon-to-be doctor. Hearing that made me feel good, but also a bit melancholic. I was originally already a doctor…

That’s when Professor Feynman entered.

“Student Eidel! Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’ve prepared all the materials. Just making some minor adjustments now.”

“Excellent. We start tomorrow at 11, so please come well-prepared.”

Professor Feynman gave me a hearty dose of encouragement, saying it was the final stretch. It was quite touching.

Of course, we weren’t saying goodbye. The academic world was so deep and narrow that everyone ends up meeting again eventually. I would probably be working with him until the day I died.

The remaining time passed excruciatingly slowly. I remember feeling the same way when I first earned my doctorate.

The next day.

I did a final check of my presentation and headed to the reserved lecture hall.

Ireh came with me. She cast various buffs on me like “Bullet of Stability” and “Bullet of Focus.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. Here, take this. Toast I made myself. Eat it before you go in.”

I was surprised. I never expected Ireh would even prepare breakfast for me.

I was actually hungry since I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday evening. I thanked her repeatedly as I bit into the toast.

“How is it?”

“Wow, it’s delicious. But I’ll only eat half.”

“Huh, why?”

“I’m supposed to have a meal with the professors after this is over.”

“Oh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

In reality, I only ate about a third of it. I didn’t want to risk my stomach turning during the presentation from eating too much.

“Thanks, it was good.”

“Y-yeah.”

Ireh nibbled on the remaining portion of toast. Meanwhile, I organized the lecture hall and loaded my presentation onto the projector.

Two hours later.

Five professors entered one after another. Naturally, they were all familiar faces. After exchanging brief greetings, I composed myself.

The doctoral dissertation defense.

The so-called “defense” was beginning.

“…Now that the graviton has been discovered and its characteristics confirmed, we can better understand the structure of singularity points and their surrounding systems.”

The message I wanted to convey here was simple.

Gravitons can be used to make graviton bombs. And with those, we can drive the foreign gods far away.

“One interesting point is that gravitons can decay with a certain probability. When they decay, they generate ether-pron pairs and emit waves. Analysis shows that if the most frequent vibration of these waves exceeds the event horizon, it can have a physical impact on the internal structure of black holes.”

I had fully developed the theory.

Now all that remained was to pass.

“Using this theory, we can potentially deliver effective strikes against the main bodies of foreign gods, according to our analysis.”

“Hmm.”

The professors’ expressions varied. Some nodded with interest, while others frowned slightly.

“It’s a bit of a pie-in-the-sky idea.”

“But the proposition itself is interesting.”

“And there are no rough edges in the mathematical development.”

“We’ll need more experimental data to know for sure.”

Positive and negative views intersected.

This was, after all, a doctoral defense.

A test to determine if one could conduct independent research as a scholar. It comprehensively evaluated the originality of ideas, logical coherence, and completeness of the dissertation.

“Let’s end the discussion here.”

“Thank you for your work.”

“We need to vote, so could you wait outside for a moment?”

I agreed and waited in the hallway.

Strangely, I felt anxious. I hadn’t felt this way during the presentation.

All the experiences I’d gone through to get here came back to me one by one, making my chest feel heavy.

It seems like just yesterday that I lost my doctoral degree on graduation day and was beaten by Sonia, but five years have already flown by.

During that time, I conducted various research projects and became the father of two children. I gained substantial capital and honor, and was recognized for my efforts to become the head of the family.

But what I wanted most of all, I still hadn’t obtained.

“Please come in, Doctor.”

I slowly made my way forward.

To reclaim what should have been my qualification all along.