A Genius Mage Hides His Origins

44 – The Edge of Spring

Dignity and formality are concepts too distant from my life.

I’ve been a loner since birth, learning the art of begging before mastering the polite way of greeting.

Even now, having somewhat become a decent person after learning universal etiquette from the Oslo family, the fundamental premise hasn’t changed much.

Even if I were to participate in some social gathering that dares to expose its face, the Nokturn Club, where formality is thrown away, would be the entirety of it. There were never opportunities to experience interactions between prestigious families or the formalities of the upper class.

Therefore, the notion of dignity from the upper class that I’ve picked up is entirely based on the scenes I witnessed at the magical university.

According to my limited experience, those of the upper class were somewhat like nobles.

“Now. Let’s take a look at the last piece before the midterms. Analyzing the 16th-century play, ‘Youthful Magus.'”

Once again, the tedious lecture on [Understanding Literary Genres] began.

Normally, it would be time for them to chat among themselves.

But not today.

I pretended to listen attentively to the lecture while reading the atmosphere.

Gaze.

The gaze that had been withered for a while now stealthily reaches me again.

There’s only one reason I can guess.

“Oh, you’re a little late, aren’t you?”

“……Huh?”

“Good morning, Eugene.”

That brief conversation became a catalyst, causing a significant shift in the classroom.

The conversation itself was nothing special. If anything, it felt a bit stiff, considering we were friends.

But the fact that “Yulia Muller started the conversation” was the problem.

Since enrollment, Yulia hadn’t spoken to anyone more than ten times. She never approached the students first. She would eventually come to them anyway.

Yet, Yulia greeted me so warmly for the first time.

“……”

It’s awkward.

The gaze of the male students looking at me was unusual.

The memories of the first day of enrollment come flooding back. Until then, most of them didn’t think much of my gray hair.

But as I kept repeating the cycle of home-school-library-home, immersing myself in my studies, they gradually started to ignore me, and that was the best thing that could happen to me.

Thanks to that, I was living comfortably.

Isn’t this like a resurrection of the first day of enrollment?

It was absurd to think that such a small greeting would reveal so much resentment, but considering Yulia’s attitude so far, it also made sense.

Closing my eyes, I recalled Yulia Muller’s smiling face.

No matter how many times I recall it, it remains certain. A facial expression I have never seen before.

Could yesterday’s incident be the trigger?

“Hmm.”

Reading the atmosphere is not my area of expertise.

What is the intention behind it? Although I couldn’t come to any conclusion, I firmly resolved myself in an instant.

Turn off the nerves.

I raised my head and focused on the writing.

Coincidentally, the lecture was about a play. My favorite genre of literature.

*

Ding-dong—

The bell rings.

“Um, next week is already the start of mid-term exam week. I hope all of you do your best on the exams.”

With a kind remark, the professor left the classroom. Unfortunately, it seemed like his warm encouragement didn’t reach the students.

Suddenly, around twenty male students rushed towards Yulia.

The self-proclaimed elite students surrounded Yulia’s wheelchair and assumed an enthusiastic posture.

What kind of ridiculous farce is this?

As I raised my chin to watch, the most dignified-looking blond young man among the male students spoke up.

“Miss Yulia. Have you decided who will be in charge of the wheelchair among us?”

“Oh my. I plan to hire a maid soon.”

“Isn’t more than half of the correctional facility restricted to students and faculty only?”

“Hmm… I don’t want to burden any of you with difficult tasks. As you can see, I am quite capable of handling my wheelchair on my own.”

“Enough. We will never hesitate to help those in need. It is our family motto.”

“…So?”

The young man seemed slightly taken aback by Yulia’s calm response.

But he quickly regained his composure and replied confidently.

“At first, we tried to assign someone among us to handle the wheelchair, but we couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer. So, Yulia, please choose one of us.”

The young man concluded his words gracefully.

Forgetting about leaving the classroom, I eagerly observed the scene.

It was quite an interesting drama. Especially since Yulia had never once agreed to let them handle the wheelchair.

I anticipated the next scene.

She will refuse.

The important thing is how she will refuse. Based on my limited knowledge, a direct refusal in social circles was no different from a personal insult.

Now, how will Yulia respond?

Just as I pondered that, Yulia parted her lips.

“I think it would be best for me to spend time with someone cultured.”

Hmm?

“So, I’ve made up my mind.”

She’s not refusing.

Covering her mouth, Yulia smiled gently and made her declaration.

“I will spend time with the person who achieved the highest score on the [Understanding Literary Genres] midterm exam.”

While doing so, he glanced around the audience.

As the wheels of the wheelchair turned in different directions, a slow rotation began.

In this manner, Yulia quickly scanned the male students surrounding me, and finally, she looked at me through the gap between them.

At the same time, she brought the hand covering her mouth back up to her knee.

Ah.

That smile again.

#May 25. Overcast.

The dense cumulus clouds filling the sky announced the commencement of the midterm exams at the Prussian Federal Magic University.

The number of exams varied for each student, but generally, it was around five.

Among them, [Calculus I], a compulsory course for all freshmen, and whether compulsory or not, exams like [Type 1 Magic Practice] and [Type 2 Magic Practice], taken by almost all students, were the main battlegrounds for the students.

Naturally, it was difficult.

Not only memorization but also understanding was required, making last-minute cramming ineffective.

The knowledge learned in these courses formed the foundation of advanced magic, so a considerable number of freshmen were enthusiastic about the midterm exams in [Calculus I] and [Magic Practice].

However, there’s always an exception.

Gustav Mach, a brilliant young man with blond hair, formulated a strategy contrary to others.

“Going all-in on [Understanding Literary Genres].”

Gustav’s entrance exam score was 569th.

Clearly in the lower ranks.

However, it wasn’t a problem for Gustav at all, as he had no intention of becoming a magician in the first place.

“If you want to inherit the family business, go to the Federal Magic University. Go there and make wands.”

The intention of his father, a magic lamp entrepreneur.

He started studying solely to fully inherit the business, so after entering college, he completely abandoned his studies.

His only interest was magic!

Meeting the children of various backgrounds at the Federal Magic University, revealing his face and forming connections. That was Gustav’s sole purpose.

And the target he had marked, Julia Müller, was undoubtedly the best prey.

A member of the Müller family, who is wealthy enough to fit within three fingers in Prussia.

She is even the daughter of Professor Müller, a prominent figure next to the President of the Magic University.

“I absolutely cannot miss her.”

Holding onto her was a matter far more important than grades.

With a half-and-half face, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop a deep friendship as well. For that, he could even go as far as sacrificing sleep.

First day of exams.

[Calculus I]

“Ughhhhh….”

“What is this? Is it in a foreign language?”

The students groaned.

What could possibly be so difficult? Gustav raised the corner of his mouth and looked at the exam paper.

—-

4. (10 pts.)

[Let f(x) = tanh⁻¹(cosx) – sech⁻¹(sinx). Find f(π/50).]

—-

“It was good.”

He gave up easily.

Looking around, everyone except one person was scratching their heads. That one person was a notorious troublemaker from the famous 4th School, so the difficulty of this exam seemed quite serious.

It didn’t matter if it went wrong.

The fourth day of the exam.

[Type 2 Magic Practice]

“……”

“……”

It was quiet.

In cases like this, there are usually two possibilities. Either it’s too easy or too difficult.

Gustav looked at the exam paper.

…It seemed to be the latter.

Everyone except one person put down their pens and agonized. And that one person happened to be the gray-haired brat without manners, so even if he messed up this exam, it would be fine.

And finally, it was the day before the [Understanding Literary Genres] exam.

He headed to the library after a long time and took out a thin piece of paper.

It was none other than the previous year’s summer semester midterm exam questions for [Understanding Literary Genres].

It was commonly known as a ‘cheat sheet’.

“hehehe… I can’t find just anyone. As expected, the world is a web of connections.”

A chuckle naturally escaped.

With just this, he had already secured his midterm exam grades.

Who on earth would pay close attention to Professor No’s lecture!

Even if the competitors studied hard, the outcome was unlikely to change.

Professor No’s exams had a reputation for being as specific and monotonous as the saying, ‘You have to memorize every work to get a high score.’

It was said that he had recycled the same questions for over a decade.

There was no way to surpass the score of those who memorized the family tree, decisively.

It might not be fair, but what could be done? That’s life for us.

Gustaf, guaranteeing victory, began memorizing the family tree.

“Umm….”

It was just a matter of memorization, but after months of abandoning studies, the characters simply wouldn’t sink in.

In the end, it took over three hours just to familiarize himself with the family tree.

“Phew!”

He let out a light sigh and glanced around.

The exam was now approaching its end. The library, which had been crowded earlier, was now almost half-empty.

And then it happened.

“Oh-ho.”

Gustaf spotted a familiar face.

Gray hair.

It was Eugene Oslo, lying on the desk and spreading out, sound asleep.

“He was my only concern… hahahaha.”

Even though Gustaf had worried that even the literary world might fall victim to Junchi’s abilities, seeing him in this state seemed not to warrant any concern.

“hahahahaha!”

A definite victory.

Gustaf Mah put on a smile and stepped out of the library.

May 31st. Cloudy.

Finally, the time for the [Understanding of Literary Genres] exam arrived.

More than half of the students immediately collapsed as soon as the exam started, while only a few model students and competitors diligently wrote down their answers in the relaxed atmosphere.

“…Huh?”

Gustaf Mah blinked his eyes with a serious expression all by himself.

It’s different from the cheat sheet.