Ch.323I’ll Become a Professor (1)

Welton once said something.

“Do you know what heroes and Casanovas have in common? They’re both surrounded by women. But what’s the difference? Heroes have a sense of responsibility.”

When I mentioned taking multiple wives, I also heard this:

“You lucky bastard.”

No, not that one.

“What will you do if more women come after you?”

What did I answer then?

Ah, right.

I said I would draw a clear line for the sake of family peace.

“Sure, that’s not a bad choice. But taking responsibility and embracing them is also an option.”

At first, I thought he was cursing me.

Only now do I understand.

“A man matures in proportion to the number of women he can embrace.”

Welton had foresight.

“I warned you clearly. You were the youngster who seduced me first.”

I promised to take only two wives. I swore to Rustila and Zernya that I wouldn’t accept any more. It feels like I made that promise just yesterday.

Yet here I am with Sonia and now Cartesia.

Completely pushing her away is impossible.

Not simply because she’s a foreign god—that convenient excuse.

“If you didn’t want to see this, you shouldn’t have saved me.”

“But how could I save the universe without saving you?”

“See? This is why you’re destined to be bound to me. My other half.”

Her tentacles gently caressed my lower body. Being sexually harassed by a foreign god should feel disgusting, but strangely, the sensation was pleasant. Warm, soft, and delicate.

“Ah, please.”

“Your mouth says no, but your body is honest. Isn’t it?”

Not bad.

I snapped back to my senses.

I thought I’d finally gone mad.

I couldn’t surrender control like this. At the very least, I needed to avoid the worst-case scenario of pregnancy.

I summoned every ounce of strength to raise my upper body. And then.

“Youngster?”

I stole the foreign god’s lips.

[— Challenge achieved! <How Did It Come To This>]

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

A kiss for a kiss.

Cartesia’s fierce gaze gradually softened. Her tense tentacles relaxed. It seems that even a foreign god becomes flustered when put on the receiving end.

I maintained this momentum.

I lifted Cartesia and stood up. She blinked blankly. Sparkle, sparkle—stardust burst like fireworks.

“What are you trying to do?”

I turned halfway and sat her on the bed.

“Oh, you want me to use my mouth?”

“No.”

I hurriedly fixed my pants. After calming Cartesia down, I began speaking in earnest.

“Cartesia.”

“What.”

“Do you love me?”

“You shouldn’t ask a woman such things.”

“…I cherish you too.”

It’s not just because she’s the most powerful ally who can help design the gravity bomb.

We’ve spent too much time together.

Our uncomfortable cohabitation began, I was manipulated, and later received her help. Today, I even rescued her. I learned truths that even Ireh couldn’t discover.

I’ve developed both bitter and sweet feelings for her.

No, I’ve become incapable of hating her.

“Because I cherish you, I don’t want to do anything you don’t want.”

I’m not a cold-hearted man.

I can’t choose the convenient option of using the foreign god and then discarding her.

But I also can’t disappoint my wives.

As Welton said, I have no choice but to embrace everyone and take responsibility.

“If you cherish me too, I’d like you not to do things I don’t want.”

“What don’t you want me to do?”

“You just told me not to apply human standards to foreign gods. The same goes for you. Please don’t force your species’ way of thinking on humans.”

“I’ve never forced anything. I’m just acting as my heart guides me.”

“Then how are you any different from Renatus?”

Cartesia gritted her teeth.

“I don’t want to be like him.”

“Then consider my position. If you truly desire me, please don’t force this. Take it slow like Sonia did, step by step.”

Cartesia hung her head low.

Slowly, the tentacles disappeared.

It was a significant achievement to stop a foreign god’s rampage with just one surprise kiss.

“I won’t wait long. If you’re going to do it, do it within 100 million years.”

“I’ll finish quickly.”

Convincing my wives… might get me killed.

But even if that happens, it’s my responsibility, so I can die with a smile.

“…”

“…”

We both ran out of things to say.

Well, I did forcibly overturn the mood that had been building.

I carefully opened my mouth.

“We could make a different kind of child right now though.”

***

“Mmm.”

How long had she been asleep?

Ireh slowly opened her eyes and sat up. She felt rejuvenated, as if her energy had returned after a good rest. However, remembering the situation before she passed out made her feel depressed.

‘My body is fine.’

Powehi had been eliminated.

Consequently, the curse of lust that had been tormenting Ireh for weeks was also lifted.

She was happy, but also sad.

The days when she could (legally?) be close to Eidel were over.

‘…What am I thinking!’

Ireh shook her head vigorously.

This wasn’t right.

Having such dark thoughts about a man who already belonged to someone else.

Yet even as she thought this, possessive desires welled up inside her.

[“You want to be happy with that young man, don’t you?”]

Altair whispered.

[“It’s not strange to propose to a man who’s already in multiple marriages, Ireh. This will be your last life, so isn’t it okay to be a little greedy?”]

When you think about it, it makes sense.

How much had she suffered all this time?

A compensation psychology was at work. This psychology had been amplifying ever since she nearly lost her position as “office wife” to Cartesia.

Would it be so wrong to be just a little selfish?

“Unnie, you’re awake?”

It was then that Rustila entered the hospital room. She frowned, rubbing her temples, and sighed.

“I’m fine. But what about you? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Ah, after what happened, I lay down for a bit and then got up. My head hurts so much. I wonder if the foreign god played some trick…”

“What about Zernya?”

“She collapsed too. I tried to wake her, but she wouldn’t get up? So I just left her.”

At that moment, one possibility flashed through Ireh’s mind like a passing breeze.

Descartes-type foreign gods could control sleep, couldn’t they?

Ireh asked urgently:

“Eidel, what about Eidel?”

“Eidel is in another hospital room… why?”

There was no trace of a foreign god within several meters.

Then.

Ireh rushed out of the hospital room in her slippers. She was running so urgently that she nearly tripped twice as her feet tangled.

Following behind Ireh, Rustila felt complicated emotions.

She was beginning to understand.

Ireh Hazlen.

What her trusted sister-in-law was feeling right now.

When Ireh reached Eidel’s hospital room, she put her ear to the metal door and held her breath. She could hear the voices of a man and woman.

– I can co-author the second paper with you too.

– Really?

There was no doubt.

The man was Eidel, and the woman was Cartesia.

It seemed they were planning to write a new paper together.

‘Liar. You promised to write the next paper with me after we caught Powehi…’

Jealousy bubbled up inside her.

But what Cartesia said next was even more outrageous.

– That black-haired wench’s name should not be on the research paper. Absolutely not.

Black-haired wench.

She must be referring to Ireh herself.

Eidel added, driving in the wedge:

– I’ll explain it well to Sister Ireh. Since you and I will develop the theory for setting the gravity bomb deployment point, I’ll ask her to take care of other parts.

– Couldn’t you and I work on the other parts together too?

– We don’t know when Laplace will arrive. The more people helping, the better.

Ireh slowly moved away from the door.

Rustila saw it. Ireh’s complexion, reflected in the dim lights, turning pale blue in real time.

With her excellent hearing, Rustila had also heard everything being said behind the door.

“Unnie.”

“…This fox-like creature, daring to make a move first?”

“Unnie?”

“Fine, let’s see who wins in this situation.”

Ireh’s eyes filled with determination.

She soon returned to the Stellarium research lab. Gritting her teeth, she began finalizing the paper she had been working on privately.

Stupid Eidel.

Liar Eidel.

You stole my heart.

So I too will steal something.

***

The similarities between babies and research papers:

They both require considerable time and effort to create. There’s pain in the creation process, but also corresponding pleasure. Once created, people around you offer congratulations.

“As expected of my other half. To come up with such an idea.”

How can we instantly deploy a gravity bomb to a distant black hole? I found a breakthrough while discussing methods with Cartesia.

The idea itself wasn’t difficult.

“What do you think?”

“Understanding and utilizing Stellalines… it would be an interesting attempt.”

Stellalines are the communication networks between constellations. Seti was already using this network to operate delivery personnel called “constellations” who didn’t charge fees.

I knew they existed, but questions arose.

How exactly can stars far apart from each other exchange opinions faster than light?

I folded a piece of paper in half, then pierced it with a pen. When unfolded, there would naturally be two holes.

“Warp.”

“You understand well.”

No lengthy explanations were needed between Cartesia and me.

Having grasped the concept, it was time to write the paper.

Quickly, busily.

We needed to work in a short time to prevent someone else from stealing this idea. I asked Ireh to wait and work on other research for a while, after confirming her curse was lifted.

Two weeks passed like that, and we were reviewing the completed draft when:

“W-what is this?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at the journal. Something’s wrong.”

A paper titled “Folding Theory” had been uploaded to the flagship physics journal <Physica> just the day before yesterday.

Despite being a fresh publication, it had already exceeded 1,000 views.

With an ominous feeling, I downloaded it.

[Even if one creates a bomb using gravity particles, transporting or launching it to a black hole is a separate issue. To solve this problem, it is necessary to introduce a theory of dimensional folding, similar to paper folding.]

A theory about folding dimensions.

Folding Theory.

[Folding theory, or paper folding, describes the transmission relationship between one dimension and a higher dimension. It’s like when you fold a 2D plane and pierce it with a pen, creating two holes. The positions of the two holes are the same on the 2D plane, but due to the 3D ‘folding’ action, they are recognized as the same physical point.]

The more I read, the more cold sweat formed.

“This… is exactly what the youngster and I are working on.”

It wasn’t just similar—it was precisely the same.

It didn’t take long to assess the situation.

Our paper had been scooped.

My head spun, and my legs trembled.

“Who on earth…”

[Lead Author: Ireh Hazlen]

Cartesia and I were speechless for a while.