Chapter 169

Chapter 169

From Cosmic Rascal to Professor.

Episode 169: Second Year (4).

The God of ‘Wisdom and Curiosity’ accepts your quest.

Upon success: You must fulfill one requirement of ‘The God of Wisdom and Curiosity.’

Upon failure: Extended until success.

*The success reward must be requested within the scope of no harm to ‘Aidel von Reinhardt.’

The contract was sealed.

“This actually works.”

I was somewhat surprised. Despite Cartesia’s notorious curiosity as an Outer God, I hadn’t expected such enthusiasm for academic pursuits.

“I’ll make sure to mention you in the acknowledgments when I publish my paper later.”

“Not necessary, kid.”

“Can’t even joke with her.”

Having successfully tamed an Outer God – a first in human history – I couldn’t help but reflect on how peculiar my life had become. This would certainly make for an interesting story to tell my future children.

Of course, there were concerns. The reward she might demand upon success was worrisome. However, the contract’s safety clause at least protected me from any physical harm or unwanted pregnancy. Still…

“Aidel?”

Professor Feynman’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“I need an explanation. What’s the purpose of these devices? And where did you acquire them?”

“I needed them for some final crystal research experiments. Since frequent visits to Eruyel Academy aren’t practical, I had them custom-ordered from a reliable supplier.”

“Did you get the school’s approval for this?”

“Yes, I did.”

I rented an entire room. Money really does solve everything.

“That’s… that’s impressive.”

The professor was clearly impressed.

“Aidel, your preparedness is remarkable in many ways. It’s almost frightening…”

I laughed awkwardly.

After Professor Feynman left for his lecture, I surveyed my second-ever lab. Despite being neither a professor nor a graduate student, I now had my own research space at a college. It was incomparable to my temporary setup at Alcatraz. The feeling was fantastic.

My dream remained clear: to become a physics professor. Even after achieving peace by defeating the Outer Gods, I would continue pursuing my path of understanding and applying nature’s laws.

This was my first step toward that goal.

The God of ‘Wisdom and Curiosity’ scoffs.

Now, it was time to recruit an intern.

“Merlin, I have a gift for you.”

I approached Merlin, who was diligently reading despite her worried expression. She jumped up reflexively at the sound of my voice.

“What? What’s happening? Is the investigation over?”

“No, sorry, that’s not it…”

Seeing her smile fade was painful, but unavoidable. We needed to wait until Zelnya became head of the family to catch the real culprit.

“Remember, that news won’t come until next month.”

“Oh, right…”

“Don’t be discouraged. What I brought today is also good news.”

While Merlin looked on curiously, I pulled several freshly printed textbooks from my backpack.

“What are these? Outer God Biology, Constellation Biology, Biophysics… Plasma Constellation Theory?”

“Oh, that last one was meant for someone else. Would you like it, though?”

“…Really?”

Though Merlin wasn’t from a poor family, these were highly regarded textbooks. In the Great Galaxy era, with hundreds of thousands of authors per subject, freshmen often struggled to choose good books.

“Are you really giving me all of these?”

I smiled at her bright-eyed expression. Passionate students, regardless of their wealth, were always eager to accept books.

“If you’d like, I can recommend textbooks for other subjects too.”

“What other textbooks? You’re not even in the biology department.”

“I got to know the biology seniors well through student council work. I’m familiar with most of their textbook and author lists.”

“Wow.”

Merlin exclaimed, her eyes radiant.

She was clearly a natural scholar like myself. Someone with such potential should gain research experience early – it would benefit Federation society.

As Merlin browsed the table of contents, she suddenly squinted.

“Hey, do you like me or something?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why else would you be this nice? You’re too kind for just a friend. Do you treat other girls this way, too?”

Hmm, she was definitely misunderstanding. I don’t consider anyone under 154cm as a woman.

“Are you curious about why I’m nice to you?”

“I don’t like beating around the bush.”

I smiled slightly and opened the break room door.

“Follow me.”

To the room of truth.

I’ll be direct – I like Merlin.

Specifically, as a researcher.

It’s been that way since our academy days. She’s always been brimming with ideas, though she couldn’t fully realize them due to the lack of an experimental lab.

Her talent is undeniable. It’s no coincidence that she appeared as Ire’s primary assistant in “Surviving Outer Gods.”

From this point forward, I plan to give this young talent the wings she needs to soar.

“Wh-what… what is all this?”

Merlin stammered as she turned around.

“This is your lab?”

Merlin’s expression contorted, clearly wanting to protest, ‘Why does an undergraduate have a lab?!’ I simply nodded while securing the door.

“Why are you locking the door?”

“To ensure you don’t leave.”

“You’re insane! Stop being so unnecessarily bold!”

Merlin frantically grabbed the doorknob.

It wouldn’t move.

“Why won’t this open?!”

“You need to enter a password from the inside to open it.”

“What kind of company makes locks like this?!”

“It’s standard in graduate schools.”

“Aaaargh——!!”

As I watched Merlin wrestling with the doorknob, a thought crossed my mind: How would I have handled this situation if it were Rustila or Zelnya instead?

With Zelnya, we’d probably have shared a bittersweet conversation. And with Rustila… we would have already… Ah. Damn it. The mere thought makes me angry.

Wait for me, Virgo. I’ll heal you soon.

I glanced at Merlin, who lay there in despair.

“Come on, we shouldn’t just stay here. Would you like to look around? This lab houses equipment specifically designed for researching Darwin-type Outer Gods – cutting-edge technology you won’t find anywhere else in the world.”

“Cutting-edge?” Merlin’s interest seemed piqued.

“Indeed. The equipment here is incredibly versatile, capable of helping us understand not just physics, but also the biology of Constellations and Outer Gods.”

“Oh.”

Her show of interest was encouraging.

“Would you like to see this first?”

Thanks to Cartesia’s presence in my mind, operating the equipment felt as natural as breathing. I switched it on, eager to demonstrate.

“This is a 5-dimensional crystal cutter.”

The concept of dimensions was fascinating. We humans exist in 4-dimensional spacetime – three spatial dimensions plus one time dimension. The 5th dimension emerges by adding another spatial or temporal axis.

This particular equipment utilizes an additional time axis, creating an imaginary time zone. When squared, imaginary numbers become negative, and negative time zones represent the past.

In other words.

“If a process fails, you can reverse to before the failure occurs.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Watch this demonstration from your skilled assistant.”

I placed a semiconductor device on the cutter. Adjacent to it was a beam emitting blue light.

Kiiing! After cutting the device with the laser, I exposed it to the blue beam.

“That’s incredible – it’s just as it was before being cut!”

Merlin couldn’t close her mouth.

“How in the galaxy is that possible?”

“Would you like to understand the principle behind it?”

Merlin nodded enthusiastically.

I provided a detailed explanation of the Maxwell Legion Incarnate’s characteristics, particularly their ability to reverse time. The full technical explanation would have required complex mathematical formulas, so Merlin simply nodded, grasping the basic concept.

“So we can keep reusing a single crystal!”

For context, crystals serve as the primary research tools – or, more accurately, food – for Outer God biologists.

“Can I try it too?”

After briefly explaining the basic operation, I handed Merlin a sample crystal. She proved to be a natural, mastering the equipment after just a few attempts.

“This is actually quite fun,”

Merlin turned her attention to another piece of equipment. Nibbling her fingernail, she spoke wistfully.

“Those too…”

“If you come here regularly, I can teach you everything.”

“Really?”

Her eyes lit up like stars.

Got her.

And so, Merlin decided to work as an intern in my laboratory(?) for the time being. I haven’t started paying her yet, but once she officially begins crystal research, I plan to provide full laboratory funding.

The God of ‘Wisdom and Curiosity’ warns you against arrogance.

Now, who should I recruit next?

Welton? Matus?

Either would work well individually. However, the engineering building’s distance poses a challenge. Engineering students typically have fuller schedules than science majors, between assignments and extracurricular activities. Meeting them requires advance planning.

Programming presents another challenge. None of my academy peers are particularly skilled coders, thanks to Android’s advancement. I could always rely on Sonia for programming again, like last time.

Finally, proper lab operation requires a physics graduate student.

“He’s truly insane.”

I need someone who could eventually handle creating a Graviton Bomb with precision and style. They must also be trustworthy.

“Trustworthy? You mean someone who won’t flee?”

You could say that.

As if on cue, someone matching both criteria approached.