Ch.81From Now On, This Is My Laboratory (4)

“Then I received an email like that.

[You son of a bitch]

That… kind of… email… came…

[Youfuckingpieceofshitjustyoudarecomehomedshowupandillbeatyoutoadeathyoureallyhuman?afterspendingallthemoneyandpullingthisshityoufuckingworthlesspiece]

“What’s wrong? Is it from the professor?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s nothing.”

I reflexively pressed Alt+Tab to hide my sister’s indecent message.

She must still be disoriented after just waking up.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t send such a long string of profanities to her dear brother. Yes, that must be it.

[— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ stares at you with narrowed eyes.]

It’s fortunate that Seti has awakened, but it’s too early to tell Rustila about this.

– Director, is it okay if I keep these friends at the workplace?

– As long as you do your work diligently, I don’t mind.

Whiteboard… no, Whitewood? Anyway. Thanks to the prison director turning a blind eye, today was another peacefully uneventful day for Rustila and me.

Managing, monitoring, researching. And occasionally Rustila helping with necessary tasks.

When the day ends, we head to dreamland sharing a long blanket.

Last night, I dreamed that Sonia made me cross-dress as some kind of punishment.

“Ugh.”

Just thinking about it makes me feel sick.

“This is more interesting than I expected.”

Meanwhile, Rustila seemed to be developing an interest in academic pursuits.

She appeared interested in methods to express through the five senses the Aether and stellar energy she had intuitively felt.

“When handling Aether, if you move this part forcefully, the opposite side bounces up and down. Using that sensation, you can extend the length of the Aether.”

= The band itself possesses a phase structure capable of beat phenomena.

I suppose a scientist’s role is to perfectly understand even when explanations are this terrible.

When I translated Rustila’s intuition into mathematical language, amazing things happened one after another.

The code needed for simulations was reduced, or the model system could be built more simply.

With such an idea bank right beside me, should I announce Seti’s revival?

That would be financial suicide for the Jinsoo brothers.

Rustila, I’m sorry, but you can’t leave my side until I finish this paper.

“Hehehe.”

“?”

Growl.

Even in the midst of hard work, my stomach clock faithfully announced noon.

With the sound of bells, inmates shuffled like zombies toward the cafeteria.

I carefully observed their movements while biting into the ham and egg sandwich Sonia had made.

The crisp texture as it cracked.

The savory acidity of the meat juices and the fresh herbal aroma danced gently between the nicely toasted wheat bread.

The nutty flavor tumbling around my mouth like a card shuffle nearly brought tears to my eyes.

“Sonia.”

“What?”

“Stay by my side forever.”

“Stop talking nonsense and finish eating.”

While the two humans were having their nom-nom situation, the two mining rigs sat in the newly acquired massage chairs (with power supply function).

[Starting charging.]

“Ahhhhh.”

“Haaaaaa.”

“This lab has great welfare benefits.”

“I concur.”

At this point, even the two robots are enjoying themselves.

The simulation results produced by Sonia and Berdia were quite satisfactory.

They made great contributions to implementing the FR model that Professor Feynman and I built on the computer.

Such simulations are very important in modern science.

They allow us to prevent massive financial losses by using computers before conducting actual experiments.

Except for GPU costs, there were no expenses.

And the calculation results were almost perfect.

“I should write a draft soon.”

“Already?”

“What can’t you do when you have money?”

Berdia was biting her lip and showing signs of anxiety, but it was already too late.

Your master is awesome, right?

Next time, I’ll be the one to get Rustila again.

Whether Rustila knew this or not, she was smiling brightly while munching on her toast.

[Rustila Kersil: 10 / 1500]

[Psychological state: Happy to be with you. Worried about Seti.]

Her Pron level has decreased significantly.

At this rate, she should be fine without special care by the time she enters her sophomore year.

Above all, I’ll be much busier by then.

From college classes onward, I’ll have to hustle with various things.

Or I could just finish early this semester, skip college altogether, and go straight to graduate school.

Graduate school next year?

That would be totally cool!

If I do well, I might become a professor at twenty-two instead of just getting a doctorate?

[“You’re truly insane. How did I end up caught by someone like you… Kyaaaah!”]

[— The foreign god ‘Orchestra of Mud and Flesh’ has paid you a regular tribute of 500 Pron.]

By the way, I became curious about something.

I called Berdia at a volume Rustila couldn’t hear.

“What about Rustila’s parents?”

“I contacted them. Told them we’re here.”

“And?”

“They’ve been busy with work, but…”

Don’t tell me.

“They said they’re coming today.”

Oh foreign gods.

Knock knock knock.

“Coming in.”

It was the voice of Director Whitewood.

He appeared before us with a somewhat annoyed face and quickly scanned our surroundings.

The state-of-the-art computer running simulations. Bundles of graphics cards rivaling a coin mining operation.

Two androids rapid-charging in massage chairs, and a beautiful girl munching on toast.

And me, enjoying brunch after completing all administrative work early.

“What shameless creatures.”

“Pardon?”

“I give you some conveniences for doing good work, and you turn the monitoring room into a hostess bar? Huh? Try to explain yourself!”

He seems quite angry.

Well, I did pull out the embedded stone a bit too forcefully.

“Director, you misunderstand.”

“What did you say?”

“No, this is…”

…converted into a research lab.

When I nervously explained the truth, the director’s expression turned dumbfounded.

I signaled to Sonia and Berdia. They made a “tch” sound and returned to the external graphics.

Rustila also slurped her juice and showed her own research ideas.

“Look at this.”

“We’re writing a paper.”

“Why are you writing papers in prison, you fools.”

Ah, the director is about to break down.

He’s such a magnanimous person who even overlooked the installation of billion-won research equipment, so surely he’ll be convinced if we just talk a bit more?

That’s what I thought, but…

“I’ve never seen such shameless creatures.”

“M-Mom? Dad?”

Rustila’s parents had barged in, just as I feared.

“…Eidel.”

And my father too.

Why is my father here?

“So this is what you do in prison?”

The greatest crisis since the Celestine incident was about to befall me.

***

And so began the multi-party confrontation.

In the tense atmosphere, the first to speak was naturally my father.

“Sonia.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

“Explain what’s going on here.”

While even Berdia was tense, only Sonia calmly moved her lips.

She concisely explained everything that had happened, and submitted my paper as evidence.

In conclusion, it was a flawless speech.

Arnold clicked his tongue and looked at me.

“So, you were determined to turn the prison into a research lab, is that it?”

“Yes.”

“And you used the family fortune for this research or whatever.”

“Yes.”

“…I see for now.”

My father wasn’t a man with much time. Instead of asking detailed questions, he would probably just accept it moderately.

That’s enough for now.

“Eidel, let’s have a long talk when you get out of here.”

Actually, it wasn’t enough.

There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere.

The Kersil couple, sipping cinnamon tea, looked alternately at me, Rustila, and Berdia before speaking.

“Berdia, why don’t you report to us too?”

“Yes. Well…”

Her subsequent explanation was also logical.

The only problem was that Berdia had disobeyed the Kersil couple’s order to keep Rustila from going far.

The two seemed displeased about this.

“Berdia, if you keep doing this, we’ll have no choice but to recall you.”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

If Berdia ends up on the used market, I should buy her.

While I was thinking that, Sonia poked my side.

Is she telling me to manage my expression?

Strange. I don’t feel like I’m smirking at all.

“Rustila, let’s go home.”

“But I just told you about Eidel’s paper. This is the safest place right now…”

“Even Alcatraz can’t be called completely safe. There are foreign gods and crazy people.”

“That’s right. There might even be criminals among us.”

“But Mom!”

“Besides, I can never accept you living with a boy who’s not your fiancé. Consider yourself lucky that we’re letting it go at this. Understand?”

“…”

At that moment.

My father, who had been about to leave silently, stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and said:

“Eidel.”

“Yes, Father.”

“What do you want to become when you grow up?”

“My goal is to create a scientific theory that will drive foreign gods out of this universe.”

“That’s clear. Profession?”

“If I had to say… a physics professor.”

“A professor.”

My father laughed with a “hah.”

He fiddled with a mint and raised the corners of his eyes.

“You like academics so much that you’d set up a lab even here? Then do well, as long as you don’t cause harm.”

But!

My father continued.

“Our family traditionally produces doctors or businessmen. Even if you marry and have children, they will be considered a branch family from that child onward. You understand what your father is saying, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you still want to pursue natural science?”

“I can become the family head through natural science, can’t I?”

“…This kid.”

Arnold’s expression became subtle.

As he said, the direct line of the Rheinland family has always worn medical gowns. The title of medical dynasty has become a brand.

But what if I achieve something great enough to break that title?

“Father, it won’t be long.”

I answered while inserting the paper draft into the file folder.

“Please tell Brother Brian that I’ll visit him soon to see his face.”

The knowledge of ‘god-slaying,’ and the abilities given by Cartesia.

The capital of the Rheinland family, and my determination to succeed no matter what.

I’ll mobilize everything to complete the paper, restore the Aether Belt, and then enjoy a happy graduate school life.

The plan is perfect.

“The position of family head. Eidel, let me ask you one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Your eldest brother is renowned as a skilled doctor, and your half-brother excels in business. When they become family head, they can bring wealth and honor to the Rheinland family.”

“I suppose so.”

“But you, as a physicist, what benefit can you bring to the family?”

“Hmm.”

“If you can’t answer, I’ll just leave.”

My father’s expression was complex. As he was about to say goodbye to the Kersil couple and leave, I opened my mouth.

“Academic achievement, perhaps?”

“…”

My father stopped again.

I continued.

“Once I become a professor, I’ll take on many graduate students. I’ll guide them sincerely. Then they will become excellent scholars and make significant marks in human history, not just the Federation.”

“And you?”

“The same goes for me.”

“You’re being verbose.”

“If Rutherford hadn’t had his graduate students conduct the alpha particle scattering experiment, we wouldn’t have the medical radiation accelerators we use today.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“To put it simply, I want to be the person who creates the polio vaccine, not the one who administers it.”

My father scratched his head.

Seems like the hair loss treatment isn’t working yet.

The advancement of science and technology is even more urgent.

“…With that mindset, no woman will ever like you.”

[— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ chuckles.]

With those final words, my father left.

But somehow his steps seemed lighter than when he arrived.

The Kersil couple stood there blankly for a moment before coming to their senses and calling Rustila.

“Now let’s go too.”

“No!”

Rustila shouted and clung to me.

“I need to write the paper with Eidel!”

Oh my goodness.