Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

While students who view exams as utterly ruthless are not uncommon, reflecting on the past reveals that exams are not necessarily so.

Long ago. For those wearing crowns or ruling territories, talent was nice to have but was not essential.

In a society that valued connections to the point of using marriage as a tool, appointment to office would have been extremely biased.

Exams opened the door of possibilities for talented individuals.

Geniuses buried due to reasons like social status, hard workers, and others who had sufficient skills but lacked opportunities to shine could get a chance through exams.

However, despite this objective view…

For students, exams were indeed utterly ruthless.

It was none other than Benjamin who told me this story.

Yes. It was when I asked about the federation’s education system.

<…But you always have to deal with exams. It’s not a method I particularly like.>

Having lived as Benjamin’s disciple without any connection to exams, I couldn’t understand why Benjamin’s expression hardened.

When I asked the reason, Benjamin’s answer was this:

Instead, Benjamin emphasized one thing:

At that time, I didn’t know what Benjamin’s advice meant, so I buried it in the back of my memory and didn’t recall it until relatively recently.

Now that the exam is over, I can finally fully understand its meaning.

“Whew……”

My hand aches.

Perhaps because I gripped it too tightly. Even though the pencil slipped from my hand right after the bell signaling the end of the exam rang, my hand was still frozen in the shape of holding the pencil.

My senses slowly return.

The blackboard and platform. The invigilator. The examinees filling the surroundings gradually come into view, and the murmur they create also starts to be heard.

In that confusion, I raised my head.

At this moment, correct answers and wrong answers and whether I passed or failed were outside my concern.

I smiled faintly.

An untrodden snowy field.

The pure white field of the exam paper. The subtle elation of an explorer who conquered its end heated my entire body.

A moment later.

I gathered my things and stepped out of the Grand Hall.

I walked along the path that had become quiet as most examinees had already left early, passed through the square, and entered the familiar street.

I finally arrived in front of the familiar house.

I climbed the stairs, opened the door, and parted my lips.

“I’m back.”

The exam results come out in a month. All that’s left is to wait.

#December 4th. Slightly cloudy.

It’s an early winter morning.

There were differences between the winters of the Empire and the Federation. If the Empire’s winter was essentially a rainy season, the Federation’s winter was a season of biting winds and snow.

In other words, it means it’s much harder to get up in the morning.

“……”

Now, ten minutes after waking up.

I was still lying in bed, blinking my eyes.

I’m someone who would be upset to be called second in diligence. Even during my preparation for the exam, I lived stuck to my desk for almost two months without lying down.

“Ah……”

It’s warm.

With the winter chill flowing into the storage room now, the warmth provided by the blanket and bed was so precious that I couldn’t bring myself to get up at all.

Just as I was about to unconsciously close my eyes again.

Bang—!

As if someone had kicked it, the storage room door opened with a loud noise.

I jumped up, startled, throwing off the bedding.

A chill ran down my spine.

It wasn’t just because of the cold.

Who came in?

Susan is always gentle, and even Lena is generally well-mannered in her actions. What’s certain is that whoever came in, opening the door so roughly means they’re very angry.

Isn’t it a well-known fact that gentle people are the scariest when they get angry?

I carefully turned my head towards the wide-open door.

The next moment, I had to lower my gaze more than expected.

“Hehe……”

Blonde hair tied tightly back and emerald eyes full of mischief.

The one who flung open the door was neither Susan nor Lena but Ellie, grinning playfully.

Ellie shouted in her characteristic loud voice.

“Brother! Are you up?”

“…Yes. Thanks to you.”

“Let’s eat breakfast!”

“Alright.”

“And then let’s go out!”

“Huh?”

The logic jumps.

A declaration difficult to understand with the fully developed brain of a 19-year-old.

As I kept my mouth shut, Ellie, looking somewhat upset, started pulling my hand.

“Come out of the room!”

“Uh, uhh?”

In the end, I was dragged to the dining table in the same state as right after getting out of bed.

At the table was Susan, smiling brightly while serving my portion of breakfast, Sally, who was dozing off; and Lena, who was, as always, perfectly groomed.

With Lena glancing sideways at me while slightly turning her head, I asked Susan a question.

This was because Ellie was still continuously punching my back even after I sat down on the chair.

“Why is Ellie suddenly acting like this?”

“…I’m sorry. I told her.”

“Told her what?”

Only after Susan added an explanation did I finally understand the situation.

December 4th. Today, a month after the exam day, is none other than the day the test results come out.

Although they could have sent the results by mail, the Federal University of Magic adopted the peculiar method of requiring examinees residing in Frauzen to come and check the results in person.

Therefore, to see the results, one had to go to the bulletin board within the campus, where the list of successful applicants would be posted.

There wasn’t particularly a time limit, so I was planning to leisurely go out, but…

Just now, Susan had accidentally told Ellie about my plans to go out.

“I want to go to the school too!”

“So this is the situation.”

Susan slowly nodded her head.

“Lena left early for school, and I have some work to do outside today, too. It was supposed to be a day for Ellie and Sally to watch the house alone, so I guess they were bored. Wait a moment. I’ll persuade her soon.”

“Persuade?”

“It’s an important day, isn’t it? It’s not just going for a walk. Shouldn’t you go with a calm mind?”

“I can be quiet! I promise!”

Watching Susan pinch Ellie’s cheek, I briefly fell into thought.

Since the exam ended, I’ve been working as an assistant telegraph operator at the Eastern Telegraph Bureau and have had more opportunities to talk with Lena in various ways.

But conversely, I haven’t spent much time with Ellie and Sally, the twins. As evidence, I still feel somewhat awkward with Sally.

“Hmm.”

It’s called checking results, but it’s not much different from a walk around the Federal University of Magic campus.

After some deliberation, I came to a conclusion.

“Susan.”

“What is it?”

“I think it would be fine to go check with Ellie and Sally. I’m also worried about leaving just the two of them at home.”

“…Are you sure it’s alright?”

A hearty laugh was enough for an answer.

Ellie shouted with a broad smile on her face.

“Yay! Brother! I love you!”

“……”

It was breakfast time when I newly realized that I’m not good at responding to a child’s direct expression of affection.

Shortly after, Lena and Susan left for their outings.

I finished preparing the twins for the outing with my clumsy skills and then gathered my own things.

I wore a winter coat newly bought with my salary from the telegraph bureau and brought a bag in case any documents might be needed, among others.

As I was about to leave the room…

Something caught my eye.

A black scarf was neatly folded in a corner of the room, showing signs of heavy use.

It’s one of the few belongings I brought when leaving the Empire.

A gentle smile spread across my lips.

Yes. It was already winter.

“Um. B-brother Eugene.”

“Yes?”

On the way to the university, I learned a few things about Sally.

First, she seemed very awkward with the term ‘brother,’ and second, she was surprisingly caustic.

“What if you f-failed the entrance exam?”

“Ugh.”

I closed my mouth.

To be honest, I did well. How many of the exam takers could have solved all 21 questions?

So unless a bunch of mistakes are found, there’s no need to worry about passing.

“I’m not sure if I can get the top scholarship, but……”

“W-What if you don’t get first place?”

“Ugh.”

“Sally! Don’t say unlucky things!”

Despite Ellie’s protest, I was at a loss for words.

Not getting the scholarship, she says.

Even if I don’t get first place, second place also receives a partial scholarship, so I could aim for that.

If I miss even second place, I guess I’ll have to hope that the 600 pounds I anonymously invested with Lena will yield encouraging returns.

Although I said this…

I didn’t want to lose the position of first place.

It’s not just for the scholarship but it’s also because I need to put Werner’s brazen arrogance in its place.

Having traveled this road once before, I arrived at the university without worry of getting lost.

Although not as much as on the exam day, there were quite a few students trudging along.

The glances that should usually be cast my way weren’t felt today of all days.

Just looking at my own heart rate, I could guess the reason.

It was natural that checking the results would be more nerve-wracking than the exam day itself.

Past the main gate, a vast landscape of grass and trees unfolds, and in the middle of the path is the Gate of Knowledge. Today, since we weren’t using the campus facilities, there was no need to go all the way to the Gate of Knowledge.

Finding where the results were posted was a very easy task.

The place where the crowd was swarming.

“Ellie. Sally. Could you play here on the lawn for a while?”

“Okay! Brother! Sally says okay, too!”

I let go of the twins’ hands and slowly moved towards that place.

Thump. Thump.

I pushed through the crowd towards the bulletin board.

Unlike the exam day, mournful cries could be heard from all directions.

It’s natural. The names written on the bulletin board are only one-tenth at most, or one-twentieth at least, of all examinees.

{Waaah! I passed!}

{Ah.}

{……}

Amidst various reactions bursting out here and there, I found myself right in front of the bulletin board.

[726. Examinee Number 1097: Emil Hertzsprung] *1

I looked up.

Although it’s said that there are a few successful applicants, the number of the lowest-ranking successful applicant is 726. The bulletin board was quite large, and I had to tilt my head quite a bit to see its end.

I started checking from the very bottom.

The list of successful applicants is divided into four columns with about 200 names each.

In the rightmost column, from 601st to 726th place, my name wasn’t there.

[569. Examinee Number 2273: Gustav Mach] *2

Up to 401st place, my name wasn’t there either.

[224. Examinee Number 0424: Joseph-Louis Lamarck] *3

It was the same below 201st place.

This means one of two things. Either my score is in the upper ranks among the successful applicants, or I failed.

Suppressing my heart, which felt like it was about to burst, I slowly raised my gaze from the bottom.

[177. Examinee Number 1820: Julia Müller] *4

Not there.

[86. Examinee Number 0028: Evangelista Rovelli] *5

Not there.

[4. Examinee Number 1217: Eva Torricelli]

Still, not there.

And.

I finally looked at the very top of the bulletin board.

There was a somewhat strange number and additional words there.

[1. Examinee Number 1880: Eugene Oslo (Joint First)]

[1. Examinee Number 2729: Werner Ross Diemann (Joint First)] 

“…Huh?”

“Well, this turned out rather ambiguous, didn’t it?”

Thump!

Someone put their arm around my shoulder and spoke.

It was a familiar voice.

“Werner.”

“Theorist. Joint first place, what an interesting result. What do you think?”

Werner grinned.

“Should we consider this as stealing the first-place position?”

“……”

“Hahaha! Why are you seriously pondering? It’s obviously a joke.”

He laughed heartily and then suddenly looked at me.

“Theorist. I acknowledge you.”

A brazen smile filled his entire expression, but I felt it was an utterly serious face.

He extended his hand.

I did the same.

“I’m Werner Ross Diemann.”

“…Eugene Oslo.”

Grip. 

We clasped hands and squeezed tightly.

We thought simultaneously.

Frauzen Federal University of Magic.

Here I come.

T/N

Even more people are referenced! Did some digging on these surnames, so here we go:

The surname Hertzsprung may reference the Danish chemist and astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung. He seems to be most famous for the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, which is a scatter plot of stars that relates luminosity, color, absolute magnitude, and spectral class.
The surname Mach is most likely referencing the Czech physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach. The ratio of the speed of something to the speed of sound is the Mach number, and speeds exceeding the speed of sound are commonly expressed in terms of Mach speed (e.g. fighter jets reaching Mach 2 or higher and Assassination Classroom’s Koro-sensei being known to travel at a max speed of Mach 20).
The surname Lamarck seems to reference the French naturalist and biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. He is known largely for his views on evolution, but these have been dismissed in favor of Darwinism. Lamarck is renowned for proposing the concept of Lamarckism, which suggests that organisms can transmit to their descendants physical traits that the parent organism developed or lost through use or neglect during its life. This theory posits that acquired characteristics can be inherited by future generations.
Müller may reference Johannes Müller (among many with the last name Müller), a German physiologist and comparative anatomist. He was one of the great natural philosophers of the 19th century.
Rovelli seems to refer to Carlo Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist who founded loop quantum gravity theory and wrote several books on quantum physics. He’s still alive today.

Phew. That took some time, but I had to point these out to recognize the author’s choice of names.

Thanks for reading; see you tomorrow for Chapter 35!