Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

T/N: The latter part of this chapter was cut off, and I only noticed it late. Apologies for the inconvenience. Edited 9/5/24.

Sometimes, it feels as if even coincidences have self-awareness.

It rains on the day you forgot your umbrella, you fail a test because of one mistake, and you only spill food when wearing bright colors.

In such situations, there’s only one thing to believe in. 

Yourself.

And Gustav Mach was too much of a hollow person to believe in himself.

“Damn it…”

Nothing.

Flip, flip. No matter how many times he turned the pages of the exam paper, the result was the same.

Not a single question matched the previous year’s paper.

Blood vessels popped on his forehead. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Whether aware of Gustav’s feelings or not, the professor at the podium began to encourage the students in a kind tone.

“Ho ho. I knew you all weren’t listening to my lectures. So, I made the questions a bit easier. For those who studied to get them right.”

Indeed, it was so.

While the questions on the previous year’s paper were long and complex, requiring excessively specific knowledge for answers…

The exam paper before him was structured to allow for relatively concise answers.

The number of questions increased, but that was a minor issue. This was why the model students and some competitors were easily writing down their answers.

“So everyone, don’t just put your heads down, try to solve at least one problem.”

The professor said this and sat back down in his chair.

Meanwhile, Gustav Mach exhaled roughly.

His face turned red with the rush of shame.

Until now, there had been no failures in his life. Minor hardships at a student level could usually be resolved with a bit of effort and money.

Even the Federal University of Magic Entrance Exam, which was the biggest hurdle, he somehow passed, and he believed without a doubt that his path to success would continue.

That belief was ridiculously shattered by just one liberal arts course exam.

Given Gustav’s usual nature, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to be inwardly furious, but.

He silently put down his pen.

A thought suddenly occurred to him.

Perhaps the reason his father recommended entering the magic university wasn’t just for connections.

It might have been to make his incompetent son experience the hardships of life.

“…”

Soon, Gustav changed his mind.

One who didn’t make an effort. It’s only right to accept the results.

Still, thinking he should at least try to solve it, he picked up his pencil again when a curiosity arose.

The probability of him being selected as the wheelchair assistant had now become infinitesimally low.

So.

Who on earth would win this competition?

The exam was over.

The university students who finished the short yet long week of exams seemed to be spending time in their own ways. Generally, resting, playing, or resting while playing seemed to be the norm.

Werner chose the third method, immediately buying a bottle of alcohol and heading straight to the Nocturne Club.

On the other hand, I didn’t have the energy for that.

“Ughh…”

The storage room.

A small room that was slowly starting to smell like me. A bed just big enough for one person to barely lie down, matching its size. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

I was focused on savoring leisure while lying on the bed.

I didn’t want to think about the exam results.

The main reason I devoted myself to studying was for learning itself.

Getting high grades was secondary, and many of the university exams were ambiguous, making it difficult to determine if one did well.

In university exams, you could score 80 out of 100 and still be in the lower ranks or score 60 and be at the top.

So, I set aside my concerns about the scores.

However, there were a few points to consider.

Like how the [Understanding Literary Genres] exam, which I had studied moderately for, heavily featured literary works I had practically memorized years ago while learning Frauvian.

Or how Louise’s [Type II Magic Practice] exam boasted the highest difficulty, surpassing even [Calculus I]’s exam, which I thought would be the hardest.

“…”

Recalling the [Type II Magic Practice] exam made the back of my neck tense.

Who knew she would set such an exam, regardless of her good lecturing skills?

As I was deeply sighing, it became time for dinner.

“Brother! Come here, quickly!”

Unlike usual, the dining table was bustling.

Not only were Susan, Lena, Ellie, and Sally all gathered, but…

“Oh, Eugene. It’s been a while. Did your exams go well?”

Louise was there too. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Since the semester started, Louise had faithfully followed Susan’s rule of “drop by at least once a week,” and accordingly, she had come to stay the night today as well.

Thus, this was already the fourth time I had met Louise at home.

Each time, I learned something new about her, and the most shocking was that Louise basically disliked wearing clothes indoors.

Today she was properly dressed, but it was quite distracting how her clothes kept slipping down, seemingly unfastened.

I wonder if I’ll become indifferent to this after experiencing it several times.

Focusing only on maintaining eye contact, I smiled wryly.

“How can you ask that after setting such an exam?”

“Hahaha, sorry.”

“Eugene. Sit down quickly. The soup will get cold.”

I sat down in the empty seat as Susan suggested.

Fortunately, this time, I was able to avoid being Louise’s armrest. The trade-off was that I had to sit next to Lena.

“……”

Lena was silently scooping up soup and bringing it to her mouth.

It was a great improvement. Until a few months ago, she would glare at me with sharp eyes like a cat if I tried to approach within three steps.

I suppose it means we’ve gotten much closer as a family.

Judging by the shadow falling on her complexion, it seems a new worry is rearing its head, but I hope she would feel comfortable consulting about it without hesitation.

Today’s dinner menu included Scotch eggs and salad, among other things.

Susan had prepared them diligently because Louise was coming.

I picked up my knife, carefully cut the fried coating, and took a bite of the meat and hard-boiled egg together.

“…!”

The meat’s juice bursts out.

An exquisite combination of seasoning and spices, along with the softly boiled egg.

It was a taste that elicited an internal exclamation.

Somehow, even after more than ten months since coming to the Federation, Frauvian food was always a succession of amazement.

Some people complain about the taste of traditional Frauvian food, but that’s something only those who have never been hungry can say. Just being able to eat meat dishes is a blessing in itself.

When I picked up my glass of water after mindlessly devouring the food…

Amidst the harmonious laughter, Louise’s voice cut in sharply.

“Eugene.”

“Yes?”

A pleased look appeared on Louise’s face.

I suppose it’s human nature to feel uneasy when suddenly faced with such an expression.

As I tilted the cup, Louise opened her mouth again.

“Spring is coming to an end. Don’t you have any news on that front?”

“?”

I didn’t understand.

As I tilted my head with water in my mouth, Louise then rested her chin on both hands and smiled even more contentedly.

“I mean romance. Romance.”

She stopped beating around the bush.

“Pfft―”

“Ew. Why are you spitting water?”

“Cough. Cough. No, it’s because you suddenly said such a thing.”

Fortunately, water didn’t splash on Lena. The floor did get dirty, though.

As I was wiping the floor with a rag, partly to avoid the situation, I saw Louise scratching her head as if finding it all very uninteresting. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“Hmm. I thought so since you’ve become quite handsome, Eugene. It’s a bit disappointing.”

“What do you mean by disappointing?”

“What could be more interesting than this? I gave up on Dorothy because she’s too stiff, and the rest are all too young, so you’re the only one I can have this kind of fun with.”

“Ah, come to think of it.”

Louise suddenly brightened up and turned her head.

Lena, who suddenly found herself face to face with her eldest sister, opened her eyes wide.

Perhaps it’s an animal-like sense of detecting danger.

“Lena. You’re 19 now, right?”

“W-Why do you ask?”

“How about you?”

Once again, Louise’s expression changed to one of contentment. When she stands at the podium, she has the appearance of a resolute intellectual, but how can a person be so different inside and out?

Lena curled up like a herbivore in front of a carnivore and hugged herself.

It was pitiful to see her pupils trembling.

“I’m not interested in romantic relationships.”

“It’s okay. You can be honest with your big sister!”

“It’s really true…”

Lena’s eyebrows curved, and soon a deep sigh escaped from her small lips.

“I have more than one or two businesses to run, and with graduation not far off, I’m busy just taking care of myself. And unlike Dorothy, I’m not very attractive, so hardly anyone approaches me.”

“Huh? What do you mean you’re not attractive?”

“Anyway, that’s how it is. More than that, I’m more curious about you, sister.”

“!”

Louise’s face, which had been grinning, froze.

She had predicted that the problematic word would pop out of Lena’s mouth.

“It’s about time for marria―”

“Lena. I’m sorry.”

The absurd topic ended with Louise bowing her head deeply.

As I watched Louise secretly wiping away tears, I fell into thought.

Graduation.

The reason for Lena’s dark expression probably stemmed from that.

In my case, it was fine because I lived a life of ignorantly charging straight ahead with just magic in mind, but for a typical nineteen-year-old in the Federation, it’s a time to seriously contemplate their future and career path.

In Lena’s case, given her abundant potential, there must be many issues to consider.

How can I help?

Mental support is a given, and if I could provide material help as well, that would be perfect.

It was on a night when I regretted becoming unemployed even more.

#June 5th. Clear.

The weekend had ended, and it was about time for the professors and teaching assistants to finish grading the midterm exams.

I received generally decent scores, but this was only in relative terms.

Looking at the absolute scores, I didn’t receive very high marks.

Of course, the examiners probably didn’t set the questions expecting perfect scores. But for someone who had studied with all their might, even skimping on sleep time, it was a somewhat disappointing result. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Still, I had now roughly grasped how things work at the Federal University of Magic.

Resolving to not only achieve academic success but also raise my grades for the final exam, I waited for the last grade to be announced.

It was for the [Understanding Literary Genres] exam.

Just before the lecture ended…

The old professor, who had taken out the grade list, opened his mouth.

“I’ll now be announcing the grades for this exam. Those whose names I call, please come forward to check your grades and then return to your seats.”

At the same time, the atmosphere in the classroom changed completely.

What’s going on?

As I was feeling perplexed, I saw the eyes of several male students glinting fiercely and recalled the memory from the past.

The wheelchair assistant!

To me, it’s just a simple exam result, but to them, the classroom is an arena where Julia’s exclusive assistant will be decided.

Without much thought, I turned my gaze to Julia.

A relaxed expression.

It seems my assumption that she found the whole wheelchair assistant thing unpleasant was indeed my misunderstanding.

It’s not really my concern.

I only received a morning greeting from her once that day. Moreover, if she gets a wheelchair assistant student, I’ll have even fewer occasions to be involved with her.

I waited for the roll call to begin with a blank expression.

“But everyone. This is a bit too much.”

Instead of calling names, the old professor started to say something else.

“I made the exam so easy, yet the scores are this terrible. There’s only one person who got a perfect score. As a professor, I’m a bit sad.”

Perfect score.

The moment that word came out, the male students’ eyes became even more intense.

One of the students raised their hand and asked a question.

“Excuse me, professor.”

“What is it?”

“Who got the perfect score?”

A question was thrown out of the blue.

The old professor, unaware of the students’ circumstances, scratched his cheek as if troubled.

“Well… Originally, I shouldn’t openly talk about grades. But since it’s a perfect score, I suppose it’s okay.”

Soon, the old professor smiled gently and answered the student who had raised their hand.

“It’s student Eugene Oslo. Does that answer your question? Then, I’ll start calling names now.”

Oh. A perfect score.

I smiled lightly at the unexpected good news.

At the same time, the fierce gazes of about seven male students and the glances of many students who knew the situation somewhat all turned to me in the very back seat at once.

“…?”

What’s going on?

As I tried to find a reason somehow, I suddenly remembered the expression Julia had used.

“Oh?”

The person with the highest score. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Julia Müller hadn’t limited the target to those male students.

The next moment… In the middle of the roll call…

Julia Müller started approaching my seat at the back of the classroom, pushing her wheelchair herself.

As I mentioned before, Julia was good at handling the wheelchair on her own, and in the blink of an eye, she was close enough that we could clearly distinguish the color of each other’s eyes.

Her chestnut hair flutters.

Julia Müller flashed a seductive smile and extended her hand to me.

“Eugene. Would you become my assistant?”

A delicate figure, as if proposing.

And I answered flatly.

“No. I don’t want to.”

“Weekly salary of 200 pounds.”

“…?”

“Advance payment of a thousand pounds. How about it?”

The words that followed were almost whispered, so they probably weren’t heard by the surrounding students, except for me who roughly understood by reading her lips.

In other words…

The rest of the students, unaware of the context, witnessed a shocking scene.

“I will do my best to serve.”

As if putting a ring on her ring finger, or like a knighting ceremony.

The sight of me kneeling on one knee and carefully grasping Julia’s extended hand with both of mine.

The kind of deal that transpired between us will remain an eternal secret.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Apologies for the previous iteration! I remember checking for discontinuity as soon as I translated Chapter 46, but I only realized there was more to this chapter only recently.

Thanks for reading this set of chapters. See you tomorrow for the next five!