I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

Chapter 52




The next day.

Count Zigmund came to bow his head under the Princess’s guidance.

Claiming he felt an infinite amount of regret and responsibility for the current situation, he went on a lengthy, solemn speech, adorned with all sorts of flowery language.

‘Hurry up and hand over the Black Obsidian!’

However, there was no way such nonsense would reach my ears.

This was nothing but a vain show for those pompous nobles, a stale and pointless ritual.

What mattered to me was the compensation he would offer and the Black Obsidian.

A single word can repay a thousand debts, but thinking in reverse, even if I took a thousand insults, I could forgive him if he handed over enough money.

“Alright, I understand your intent. Edgar Fix, the Count’s family seeks your forgiveness. Will you accept it?”

With that, the Count’s tiresome speech finally came to an end.

The next stage finally arrived.

The stage of seeking forgiveness and acceptance.

The answer was, of course, yes.

“Yes. However, there are conditions.”

But I was not one to just let this opportunity slip away.

Last night, through Elena, I had coordinated with the Princess beforehand, so whatever demands I made, Count Zigmund would have no choice but to accept.

“Alright, state your conditions.”

“…I want to reform the nature of the Black Obsidian so that such a situation cannot occur again.”

Reforming the nature of the Black Obsidian.

In other words, it meant turning the Black Obsidian into a completely different sword.

Count Zigmund’s brows furrowed at the realization of what I meant.

“Hmm. The Princess agrees as well. Wasn’t this disaster caused by the nature of the Black Obsidian, which devours hate and life?”

However, before the Count could utter any rebuttal, the Princess spoke first, silencing him.

With a solid justification, the Count had nothing to argue against it.

“Then, is that all for your conditions?”

“There’s one more. I want the ownership of the Black Obsidian to belong to the Academy for three years, so that it can be displayed. This way, it sends a message that students should not be swayed by underhanded tactics.”

And I demanded that Count Zigmund’s shameful actions be preserved for three years.

The Count’s expression visibly contorted, but in the end, he could not say a word.

Once again, the Princess interrupted him.

“Excellent idea. The Princess wishes for the Academy’s students, who can be said to be the Empire’s finest talents, to grow solely through fair competition and the fruits of their labor. Underhanded means such as ‘Potion of Fury’ are abominations that students must avoid at all costs. Displaying the Black Obsidian will widely convey the Princess’s intent.”

The Count, taken aback by the Princess’s firm will, stammered, repeating himself, ultimately giving up on arguing.

Given how serious Max’s actions were, the Count had no recourse but to endure the humiliation of the three-year preservation.

“Then you may leave. This matter shall be concluded here.”

Thus, the game’s early maximum villain, Max, exited.

And I gained the right to freely handle the Black Obsidian under the protection of the royal family for the next three years.

Now, it was time to take a good look at the Black Obsidian.

***

“Wooni~~”

In the head professor’s personal office.

I was starting to get used to seeing the Princess clinging tightly to Elena.

Ever since their relationship was revealed to me, the Princess had shown her true self, indifferent to my presence.

“Ed, the Iron Hammer Awards ceremony has officially received royal approval.”

Furthermore, it seemed that Elena treated the Princess like a cat.

Petting the fluffy-haired Princess, she shared various news with me.

Primarily mentioning the Dwarves’ culture or traditions, she provided information about things that should absolutely not be made.

“And I hate to burden you with this…”

However, not all the news was pleasant.

There were also demands from the Empire that could potentially upset me.

“The royal family wishes to achieve diplomatic success through this event. They want to re-establish friendly relations with the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom. So they ask that you consider this when crafting the equipment.”

The Empire wanted to forge friendly relationships with the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom.

The reason behind this was somewhat obvious.

While the Empire aims to invade the Demon Realm, they don’t want to be watched by other kingdoms.

‘The Empire is preparing for an all-out rush.’

An all-out rush.

Currently, the Empire is squeezing funds from the nobles to establish the largest Academy in history for the Demon Realm invasion.

And to fulfill this ambition, they are gathering various talents and money to strengthen their military.

However, while accumulating such forces, if neighboring kingdoms are keeping watch for an opportunity to raid them, can they really execute an all-out attack?

Absolutely not.

If I were to liken it to Starcraft, it’s like building bunkers and turret defenses, then deploying defensive troops.

Thus, the Empire is pursuing a policy of appeasement for the sake of the Demon Realm invasion.

Better to have a good relationship, right?

The past is the past, and the present is the present.

They are coaxing and appeasing neighboring countries with a semblance of such nuance.

“Sorry for putting such a burden on you.”

After explaining the Empire’s position, Elena apologized.

Then she added that despite their attempts to step in, the five top officials directly under the Emperor all insisted that “achieving diplomatic success is the top priority,” leaving no room for negotiation.

“It’s okay. The Empire can’t afford to miss this opportunity either.”

In truth, I was completely fine.

In preparation for the impending disaster, I needed to pull as many allies as I could to my side; therefore, the Empire’s demand aligned with my goals.

“Thank you for understanding. So, about that…”

After that, Elena presented me with a proposal she drafted with the five top officials.

Taking into consideration the Dwarves’ history and tradition, she introduced items that would earn their favor.

“Hmm… not bad.”

However, the ideas they came up with were just about satisfactory.

Considering I’m a seasoned veteran in this world, it was far from enough.

So I shared my ongoing project ideas with Elena and the Princess.

Upon hearing my suggestions, the two stared at me with wide-eyed expressions, each offering their thoughts.

“Surely… if it’s that…”

“Agreed. You’re quite something.”

With a strange expression aimed at me, Elena showed a mix of admiration, while the Princess maintained a poker face and gave me a thumbs-up.

Thus, as we decided what equipment to make based on my opinion, we began organizing a delegation.

We needed to select the seven people who would accompany me.

“We’ll need a leader. I’ll volunteer.”

First, Elena stepped up as a candidate for the leadership position.

Her reasoning was her various connections within the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom.

Being a genius at spells, she had developed relationships with them by consulting on various spells and incantations even before she became a Great Mage.

So I gladly accepted her offer.

“I want to go too! I want to goooo!”

With Elena confirmed as a participant, the Princess immediately looked up at her and declared her own intention to join.

But Elena firmly declined.

“That won’t do. It’s too obvious that you are participating for diplomatic purposes. Besides, it’s not something the Princess should be involved in.”

“Whaaa~~ I wanna go too~~~~”

“Shush! Listen to your sister.”

The Princess, pleading to go, faced off against the resolute Elena.

Eventually, the Princess pouted, putting on a crying act, but Elena was not swayed.

“Tsk.”

At that, the Princess displayed a semblance of giving up.

With the situation more or less settled, I pulled out the name of the person I had in mind as number one.

“I’m taking James with me. He’s a blacksmith through and through. I want to show him around.”

James, who has long admired the Dwarven techniques.

He’d probably be thrilled to be included in the delegation.

“Fine. Choosing the members is solely your prerogative. Do you have anyone else in mind?”

“Hmm… no. I don’t have anyone else in mind.”

I needed Fix, but I’d bring him into the inventory, so he was an exception.

Isabella and Enya had no connection to the Dwarves either… and they didn’t have particular growth opportunities, so I wouldn’t need to take them.

“How about taking some of the public officials from the Diplomatic Strategy Office, given there’s a diplomatic purpose as well?”

“Ah… that might feel a bit burdensome for me.”

“Oh, that’s understandable. Then… how about bringing along some of your Academy classmates? It’d be nice to have people to converse with occasionally. It’s better to go with friends.”

People to converse with occasionally…

I did have Enya as a friend.

But the sword master told me to keep some distance; plus, things had felt awkward since Enya had spent the night in my dorm.

It made it difficult for me to break the ice first.

“Or, how about holding an audition?”

“…Pardon?”

At that moment, Elena proposed an unexpected idea.

An audition? Could she mean auditioning for the delegation?

“Let’s hold a poll for who will join us. If you can’t decide, those who want to go can convince you.”

…Hmm, not a bad idea.

I couldn’t think of anyone in particular, but this seemed like a pretty good method.

“Sounds like a good idea. Let’s go with that.”

“Hehe. Alright then, I’ll talk to the dormitory supervisor. Once they relay the message, the students will all be informed. I’ll put up some posters too.”

That definitely sounds like a better method.

Rather than randomly sticking posters in classrooms or hallways, getting the word out through the supervisor is much more effective and tidy.

Nodding, Elena began to explain her detailed plan.

“Then, we’ll accept applicants for just one day, and we’ll determine the audition period based on the number of applicants. Either way, let’s finish everything by the end of this week.”

“Got it. That sounds good.”

“Great. Then I’ll go ahead with making the posters while communicating with the supervisor.”

“I’ll go with you~~~”

As Elena stood up, the Princess immediately clung to her.

While gently petting her fluffy hair, Elena seemed to remember something and added.

“…Ah! Before we do that, we need to establish some basic evaluation criteria. The students should know what to prepare for.”

…Evaluation criteria?

Well, nothing immediately came to mind.

However… introduction, motivation to apply, and the reason why they must be chosen.

Those three common points from self-introductions should suffice.

When I mentioned these fundamental elements, Elena nodded, stating they were good criteria.

“Well then, I’m off to start making the posters. You should go in and rest.”

With those words, Elena and the Princess vanished like blue smoke.

Left alone, I speculated on how many applicants might sign up for the delegation.

Well… since I was the only blacksmith, I didn’t think there’d be many applicants.

Maybe around forty at most?

I should be able to wrap it up in half a day.

***

The following afternoon,

The ‘Edgar Fix Delegation Selection’ event commenced.

However, contrary to Ed’s expectations, an overwhelming crowd resembling Super Student K was lining up in front of the judging room.

Among them, several students were preparing with a desperate determination to secure their spot, and Enya was one of those representatives.

“Azril Baz Karas, Pijak Reed Uldarin…”

Enya was fervently practicing the Dwarven language she could barely manage.

With nothing else to showcase besides her swordsmanship, Enya was currently striving to grasp some simple Dwarven knowledge.

“I’ll obviously get picked.”

On the other hand, Isabella didn’t prepare at all.

She believed her value surpassed any student present here.

“I am definitely going to join Ed this time…!”

Also, the previously overlooked Charlotte had her round glasses shining brightly, resolved to secure her spot next to Ed, having been overshadowed by Enya and Isabella until now.

“No…”

And Ed, who hadn’t expected such a large number of applicants, looked around with an utterly bewildered expression.

Why were there so many students applying for a blacksmiths’ league event like the Iron Hammer Exhibition?

“197 applicants.”

At that moment, Elena approached Ed and informed him of the number of applicants.

It was an enormous number, nearly equivalent to the entire student body of the Academy.

“We misjudged. We should have assumed there would be quite a few applicants…”

Then Elena mumbled something with significant meaning.

There would obviously be many applicants?

As Ed made a face that demanded an explanation, Elena continued.

“…If you get selected for the delegation, you can skip classes. For legitimate reasons.”

“Ah.”

That made sense and clarified the reason for the excitement.

If you’re selected for the delegation, you could skip class.

For an entire week!

“The audition period… should be set to three days. One day isn’t enough.”

“Indeed.”

“Then let’s go in. We’re about to start the auditions.”

“…Sure.”

Thus, I became responsible for evaluating most of the Academy students.

I unexpectedly turned into an adjudicator with a competition ratio of 39.4:1.


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