Ch.77College (3)

“I’m… sorry. This is… there seems to be some misunderstanding…”

“Well… you see…”

“…”

On the soft, plush bed, Chloe and Ines are kneeling before me, fidgeting nervously, while I lie limply on the bed without enough strength to even lift my body, only able to look down at them.

“”Hik…””

At that, both of them simultaneously gulp audibly and clamp their mouths shut. It’s a stark contrast to how they were trying to make various excuses just moments ago.

“Haaaaah…”

This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

The reason they did this… was because they heard some baseless rumor that I did something inappropriate with Jeanne?

It’s fortunate they figured out the truth quickly; if they had been any later, I might have passed out completely.

To think I endured four hours with my head covered by a blanket and my face pressed against someone’s behind—looking back, it’s nothing short of a miracle.

“There’s no way I would do something like that without telling you both…”

“Ah, uh…”

“Ungh…”

At my words, which were close to a lament, Chloe and Ines’ faces turn deathly pale.

I didn’t say “I never thought you would doubt me” for fear of hurting them, but it seems the distinction hardly matters to them.

To think they would do something like this without properly checking the facts… It’s fortunate nothing serious happened, but if things had gone just a little wrong—

‘…Huh?’

Something seems off about their condition.

Rather than feeling sorry for their mistake… they look scared?

It’s a bit disrespectful to make this comparison, but they remind me of abused puppies whimpering at the mere sight of a human hand.

Even in just the moonlight coming through the window, I can clearly see how the blood has drained from their faces.

Their eyes have lost focus, staring blankly, and their hands wander aimlessly in the air as if they don’t know where to place them.

“I’m, I’m sorry… I, I…”

“Ah, aah…”

Screeeech—

Crunch—

“AAAAAAHHH! What are you doing?!”

Chloe’s wandering hands suddenly extend their nails and begin clawing at her own body, while Ines’s hands move to her mouth where her teeth come down to bite them.

Just moments ago, I was lying on the bed completely drained of energy, unable to move even a finger, but now I find myself grabbing both of them, trying to stop them.

Grip—

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Ah, aah… well… ah…”

Their arms are pinned down by my body and hands, unable to move.

The situation has reversed.

Until just now, I was pinned beneath them, but now they’re pinned beneath me.

“O-Oppa… sorry, I’m sorry… you see…”

“Master…”

“…You two.”

Their eyes are too clouded.

Just because I got angry once—and not even severely, just slightly expressing disappointment—they’re reacting like this? Because they’re afraid of being hated?

“Listen carefully, I don’t hate you. There’s no way I would over a simple misunderstanding.”

“But just now…”

“That was just… yes, I was angry at whoever spread those false rumors.”

Of course, I did feel slightly disappointed that they didn’t trust me and believed such baseless rumors, but in this situation where I’m trying to calm them down, it wouldn’t be wise to mention that.

“”…!!””

‘Huh…?’

At that moment, life suddenly returns to their eyes upon hearing my words.

The eyes that had lost their light in despair just moments ago have now changed to eyes that seem to have gained some realization while simultaneously burning with some emotion.

I just said whatever came to mind to calm them down, but… was it that effective?

Well… at least they’ve calmed down now.

……….

“Your Majesty, you look quite tired.”

“Well… I had a lot going on last night.”

“Oh, I beg your pardon.”

Leclerc’s eyes changed to those of a grandfather looking at a grandson who had accomplished some great feat.

Don’t look at me like that!

It’s not what you’re thinking.

…Well, I did do that, but that’s not why I’m tired.

‘Haaaaah…’

Fortunately, yesterday’s incident ended well.

The two, now calm, apologized for causing a commotion and nestled into my arms, and exhausted from various events, we all fell asleep sharing the same bed.

I feel like I’m missing something, though… hmm…

Clap—

“?”

At that moment, Leclerc’s clap interrupts my thoughts.

“Come now, there will be another night, so you shouldn’t dwell on those thoughts too much. We have many unfinished tasks from yesterday.”

“…Right.”

Leclerc said this with a slight smile on his face, and I decided not to explain further since he probably wouldn’t believe me no matter what I said.

Well, I should get back to work.

“Let’s see…”

Reading the report, I’m relieved to see that the castle being converted into a university is in quite good condition.

Although it hasn’t been used for a long time, it’s been consistently maintained as it was a previously used castle, so there’s hardly anything that needs repair. Moreover, the engineers are quite excited because the rooms are spacious and the areas are well-divided, requiring only minor adjustments.

It seems the castle renovation will be completed faster than expected.

Then all that remains are the students who will study at the university and the professors who will teach them.

“Leclerc, how is the compilation of potential professors coming along?”

“As you commanded, for theology, we’ve received Bishop Armand’s list of recommendations and are filtering out the most secular individuals. For alchemy and celestial physics, we’ve sent invitations to alchemists and astrologers within the country, planning to have them compete against each other to select the most outstanding personnel.”

“Ah, make sure to include mathematicians among the professors teaching celestial physics, not just astrologers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Despite being a world with magic, there are still many charlatans pretending to be alchemists and astrologers here.

There have been many lunatics who troubled Leclerc during interviews—claiming they could turn mercury mixed with urine into gold and attempting to demonstrate by dropping their pants in front of Leclerc, only to be caught with gold pieces they had previously placed in the mercury, or pretending to have foresight about the future with vague predictions. Just imagining it gives me chills.

Eventually, tired of this, Leclerc decided that rather than interviewing each person individually to distinguish between frauds and genuine practitioners, he would invite everyone at once and hold a tournament. Yes, this definitely seems better.

If things go well, we might be able to separate chemistry from alchemy and astronomy from astrology. Good, very good.

“And as for the administrative studies field and the university’s personnel structure, I’ve entrusted it to Advisor Luca as you instructed. Since he was assigned to the university matter just yesterday, not much progress has been made, but the attendants I assigned to him report that there are no issues with the personnel structure being organized so far. Also, an attendant who was educated at Lombard Principality’s university mentioned that it appears similar to his alma mater’s organizational structure at first glance.”

“Hmm… For now, have them focus on observing where personnel from the Republic of Vines are primarily being assigned.”

“Yes.”

Most of the people Luca will bring from the Republic of Vines will likely be highly capable individuals. After all, it’s an opportunity to deeply embed their country’s influence in a foreign nation—it would be nonsensical to bring incompetent people.

If key positions are filled with people from Vines, the university could quickly be swallowed up by Vines, so we must be cautious.

Of course, the cautious Luca wouldn’t do such a thing openly, but conversely, that means he might try to pull something discreetly.

“For law, we are selecting diligent and qualified individuals from among circuit judges who have been traveling around the region conducting circuit trials for many years. For mechanical engineering, as you suggested, we plan to select professors by dividing them into theoretical fields for mathematicians and practical fields for craftsmen.”

This seems fine.

There’s nothing to criticize about selecting circuit judges familiar with customary law, statutory law, unwritten law, and case law as professors. As for mechanical engineering, it seems closer to a vocational school than a university, but since I’m the first in the world to establish a department focused on mechanical engineering, it can’t be helped.

As time passes, it will develop more toward theory rather than practice, and eventually, it will grow into a discipline that can stand shoulder to shoulder with other academic fields.

So what remains is… medicine.

“Finally, for medicine… as Your Majesty instructed, we plan to gather all individuals claiming to be doctors from various places and have them take an examination.”

“…I see.”

Medicine.

To be honest, this might be the most important of all the subjects we’ve discussed.

While the other disciplines ultimately aim to pursue truth or improve quality of life, this one directly concerns human lives.

There are countless individuals who do shocking things—draining blood to balance bodily fluids, entering delivery rooms with dirty hands that just touched infected areas to deliver babies, prescribing mercury as a tonic claiming it makes skin firm, or continuously feeding patients silver-infused water until their skin turns bluish like a Smurf. It’s truly astounding.

Of course, it’s not that they’re stupid but rather limited by the era… still, I can’t help but be dumbfounded.

I’ll need to select promising individuals from among the doctors who pass the examination and cram all the medical knowledge I possess into their heads.