Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Silence descends upon the classroom.

The old professor, who had been slowly calling out student names, put down the exam papers and adjusted his glasses. With that, the classroom fell into complete silence.

In that soundless confusion, I raised my head.

I saw Julia with her eyes wide open.

“Ah.”

I came to my senses.

For a moment, I imagined my appearance from a third-person perspective.

As if I were a knight pledging loyalty to a king on the throne, I was kneeling on one knee in front of the wheelchair.

I even held Julia’s delicate hand with both of my hands.

Cold sweat trickled down. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

What on earth am I doing?

It seems that due to the proposal of an amount with a different number of digits, the ‘businessman’ inside me momentarily hijacked me.

Even Julia, who had extended her hand first, apparently hadn’t predicted my sudden action. While trying to maintain a seductive smile, her eyes were rolling slightly as if flustered.

…But is this what makes the upper class the upper class?

After blinking once, her expression regained the light of thorough rationality.

Julia quickly withdrew her hand from between my hands.

“Take this.”

She took out a note from her pocket and handed it to me.

I received the note. The scene was quite peculiar as I was still kneeling on one knee, but it couldn’t be helped.

As if this concluded the business, Julia relaxed her facial muscles and drew a soft smile.

“See you next time.”

With those words as her last, Julia swiftly wheeled towards the front of the podium.

It was just about time for her name to be called.

I was still kneeling on one knee.

I shouldn’t remain frozen like this.

With that thought, I sat back at my desk with as natural a movement as possible.

The view from the back row of the classroom is unnecessarily wide. Thus, even without intending to, I could clearly see students whispering something among themselves while covering their mouths or students glaring at me with disapproval.

As I was ignoring all of that, suddenly, Louise’s words from before came to mind.

News, huh?

I wonder if this counts as news.

I became curious about the contents of the note.

If what’s written here is a love letter filled with various words of affection, it might meet the conditions of the news Louise mentioned.

Ding dong―!

The bell sound, particularly loud today, rang out.

I calmly left the classroom and opened the note in a secluded place.

“…?”

[ This Saturday ]

[ Getreide St. 9, 5020 Frauzen ]

[ ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ ]

Come to the above address this Saturday. A picture of a person running excitedly…

I folded the note back and awkwardly smoothed my hair.

I’m not sure, but it certainly doesn’t seem to be a love letter.

#June 8th. Rain.

Saturday arrived.

Swoosh―

I was entering Getreide Street, which was written on the note.

There were a few minor issues in getting here.

Leaving the house was the first problem.

After mentioning that I’d attend a weekend outing, which I had hardly done since enrollment, and to go out on a day when heavy rain was pouring, I received some suspicion.

Worried that I might catch a cold, Susan tried to dissuade me from going out with concerned eyes. Only after using the excuse I often used when going to the Nocturne Club, “I’m going to meet a friend,” was I able to set out.

“Eugene finally has a university friend…!”

It doesn’t feel quite right that Susan saw me off with a moved expression, though.

After that, it took some time to find Getreide Street. I’ll admit it. I mean, I got lost.

Anyway, isn’t it good that I arrived?

So I wandered around looking for 9 Getreide Street, and following the signs, I was able to arrive at the address on the note.

Yes. I just arrived.

“Where is 5020?”

There are houses everywhere in the area.

On the left, a wall blocking what seems to be a government building site stretches endlessly, and on the right, there’s a long row of residential houses.

How long would it take to check all of that?

I didn’t hesitate to change my method. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Fortunately, I was wearing an umbrella and a hat, so I approached a passing pedestrian without hesitation and spoke.

“Excuse me.”

“Hm? What do you need, young man?”

“Could you tell me where building 5020 of number 9 is?”

When I asked this, a question mark appeared on the middle-aged gentleman’s expression.

“Why are you asking about such a thing?”

“It’s my first time visiting Getreide Street.”

“Ah, then you might not know. It’s the building right on the left.”

“On the left?”

I turned my head to look left.

There was only a large building and a solid wall encircling its grounds, standing tall.

I knocked on the wall and asked again.

“There’s only a wall here, though?”

“Yes. That wall is 5020. The Müller family mansion. The main gate of the mansion is behind there. You must have passed it.”

I barely managed to stop my mouth from hanging open.

I thought it was some kind of government office or park.

“It was a mansion.”

Although I was less surprised, having seen similar style mansions in passing before, it was still a fresh shock that this enormous structure was merely a house.

After expressing my gratitude to the middle-aged gentleman who showed me the way, I walked along the wall for a while and reached the main gate of the mansion.

Tightly closed bars.

There was no sign of people around.

“Phew.”

The rain is gradually intensifying.

Standing here indefinitely in this weather is not a particularly pleasant thing.

Not wanting to wait endlessly in front of a gate without even a doorbell, I wandered around, poking my nose here and there.

As I was killing time by shaking the bars for a while.

“Please remain still.”

“!”

A large man who appeared to be a gatekeeper suddenly emerged from a place I thought had no one.

“Are you Mr. Eugene Oslo?”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“The head maid is coming. Please wait a little longer.”

He was right.

After a few more minutes passed, I could see a group of people with umbrellas approaching the main gate through the rain.

Creak―

The bars opened.

The elderly woman at the front of the group, the head maid, opened her mouth.

“Mr. Eugene Oslo. The young miss is waiting for you.”

From the main gate to reaching the interior of the mansion, we had to pass through four doors.

“This is the young miss’s room.”

Now, I stood in front of the fifth and final door.

Knock, knock, knock.

As the head maid knocked with a careful touch, a soft, beautiful voice sounded from inside.

“Who is it?”

“Young miss. The guest has arrived.”

“Ah, please let them in.”

At the same time, the head maid looked at me.

With a posture reminiscent of an old tree, the head maid exchanged glances with me briefly before opening the large room door.

“Please enter.”

I did as told.

I stepped into the interior, which was slightly brighter than the corridor.

The first thing I noticed was the scent. Only after the rose fragrance permeating the entire room tickled my nose did I realize that this single room was much larger than the living room of the Oslo house. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

And.

“Hello?”

Julia, perched on a spacious desk, greeted me with a friendly smile.

[T/N: See an illustration of Julia in the Google Drive folder, linked at the global announcement at the top of every chapter.]

She was in attire no different from her appearance at the university.

The wheelchair was not visible nearby. It seemed she either walked around with just a cane in her room or didn’t move much to begin with.

Boom. The door closed.

As if finally at ease, Julia parted her lips with a more relaxed appearance.

“I didn’t expect it to rain. How was your journey here?”

“…I was thinking of coming excitedly like the picture drawn in the letter. But the atmosphere was more solemn than I expected.”

“Hehe. You can speak comfortably. I’m a year younger, after all.”

Come to think of it, Julia was an early admission student, wasn’t she?

I didn’t particularly refuse.

I sat down on a sofa in the corner of the room with a seemingly dignified air and spoke.

Perhaps it’s better to start the conversation with light chatter?

“Do you always dress like that at home?”

“My. Are you already curious about such information? It’s fine later on, but it’s a bit difficult now.”

Cancel the chatter.

Judging by her expression, she was full of intentions to tease me.

So, I immediately got to the point.

“I’d like an explanation. I welcome being employed, but if you’re trying to use me, I won’t be happy about it.”

“Hmm…”

Perhaps she’s choosing her words? Julia thought for a moment and then answered simply.

“It’s a contract.”

“A contract?”

“Yes. A fair contract. As you know, I’m quite popular, aren’t I?”

I wonder if she should say that herself, but it was true.

“Unfortunately, I don’t really enjoy that kind of popularity.”

“So you want to use me as a shield.”

“Oh, you guessed it?”

Julia chuckled.

“Eugene Oslo. Currently residing in Frauzen but actually doesn’t have many connections in Frauzen. Joint top scorer in the entrance exam. Tall with a trained physique. No connection points to upper-class children. In short, an outsider.”

Julia, who had recited my identity that I hadn’t even told her, nodded and continued.

“If I go around with someone like you who seems to have fallen from the sky, I should be able to shake off most of the leeches.”

“…Well. I don’t think those people will give up on you easily, though.”

“That’s why it’s a contract. We have to make them give up.”

The smile disappeared from Julia’s face.

Only then could I see her true face.