Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

Misfortune struck like a bolt from the blue.

“You’re fired.”

“Pardon?”

Someone must have slandered me. I was suddenly fired one day without having done anything wrong.

At the Eastern Telegraph Bureau…

As usual, I went to work at the telegraph office on my way home from school and was typing telegrams. 

The circumstances of how I came to balance studies and work are roughly as follows:

Due to overlapping lecture times, regular attendance became impossible, but Lena proposed that I work flexibly, making the most of the advantages of being an assistant telegraphist.

So today, too, I was in the middle of making some decent money.

Suddenly, I heard I was being summoned to the director’s office. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

The result of obediently heading to the director’s office was this.

“Didn’t you hear? I said you’re fired. Fired.”

Director Lovelace, striking a rather seductive pose, took a puff from her pipe.

Normally, I might have blushed at the sight, but the situation was so sudden that I didn’t feel like it at all.

I stood up from my chair abruptly and retorted.

“Suddenly fired?”

“It’s already been decided. You don’t need to come to work tomorrow. No, don’t come to work.”

“Won’t you at least tell me the reason?”

The director closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. Perhaps the smoke hadn’t cleared yet, as it looked like her breath was visible even though the weather was showing signs of the end of spring.

The director met my gaze.

“You. How long has it been since you looked in a mirror?”

“I don’t usually look in mirrors.”

“…Anyway. Here.”

The director said this and handed me her hand mirror.

Perhaps it was a cherished possession, as the hand mirror was deeply infused with the scent of burned tobacco leaves. I awkwardly held it up to my face.

Even after checking several times, it was certain.

It was my usual bare face, no different from normal.

“Is there a problem with my face?”

“There is. Your face seemed to relax a bit this past winter, but as soon as the semester started, it immediately became haggard with fatigue.”

I see.

It was a change difficult for me to notice.

“Judging by your nature, I assume you’re throwing yourself into your studies at university, but if you make a mistake in that state, it’ll tarnish the reputation of our Eastern Telegraph Bureau. That’s the kind of job a telegraphist is.”

“…”

“So you’re fired.”

When Director Lovelace finished speaking, I was struck dumb.

Because everything she said was true.

In reality, I had been throwing myself into my studies lately.

Direction.

I was earnestly searching for my own direction that Louise had mentioned. And that method was, as always, finding answers in books.

But at the same time, due to my business acumen, or more precisely, my almost inertial obsession with money, I had no intention of quitting my job.

It seemed that the effects of balancing studies and work were gradually showing on the outside.

Just as a strange sense of powerlessness was coursing through my entire body…

“―That’s what Lena told me to say. Good grief.”

“…?”

“She told me not to tell you, but it’s not my business.”

Director Lovelace laughed nonchalantly.

The next moment, I, too, understood the situation and let out a small chuckle.

No wonder I seemed to run into her every time I went to the telegraph office lately.

“Was she worried about me?”

“Probably. Lena is an old soul who realized at that age how hard it is to work while damaging your body. Is there any torture in the world where she’s too embarrassed to say a word about taking care of your health, so she makes the director do this?”

The director grumbled, muttering something like ‘I’m not some kind of mediator for you siblings’.

“Anyway, this is how it is. It’s been decided, and you’re formally fired.”

“How much severance pay are you going to give me?”

“You rascal. I didn’t expect it, but you’re quite money-hungry.”

“I won’t take it if you promise to keep my position open.” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

“…Alright, alright. You’re always welcome to come back, and I’ll give you a hefty severance pay, so go now! I’m the fool for giving a gift to such a troublesome employee.”

Despite her harsh words, Director Lovelace’s expression showed a faint smile.

It was almost a month since the summer semester had started.

And so, I became unemployed.

#May 15th. Clear.

Frauvian Federal University of Magic.

Looking at the name alone, one might think it’s full of lectures of magic, by magic, for magic, but the reality is a bit different.

This was especially true for first-year undergraduates.

As Benjamin had emphasized to me years ago, to build a higher tower of knowledge, one must have a solid foundation. So, even if I took lectures that seemed unrelated to magic studies, I didn’t feel like it was a waste of time.

But one thing was certain.

There’s nothing as boring and difficult as preparing the ground for building a tower.

[ Calculus I ]

“Let’s look at the next formula. The integral of sec³x. I’ll derive it for you. Now then―”

The devil has returned.

In an even more vicious form.

I frantically moved my pencil, taking notes from the board.

“―If you calculate, it comes out like this. (secx tanx + ln|secx + tanx|)/2 + C. *1 Don’t forget the constant of integration. The integrals of secant and secant cubed often appear on tests, so memorize them. Why am I telling you to memorize? Because you won’t be able to calculate this during the exam time.”

Terrifying words flowed effortlessly from the mouth of the portly, gruff-looking old professor.

At the same time, I turned yet another page of my notebook.

I clearly remember that notebooks for taking notes were precious, and I used to use them sparingly when studying alone in the Empire.

Somehow, even though it’s been only a month since I entered, two notebooks have already been filled with black ink.

“Phew…”

I exhaled a hot breath.

It’s not easy.

The strength I consider myself to have is intuition for magic and the ability to sit still persistently, not comprehend. Therefore, [Calculus I] was a lecture class that didn’t suit me very well.

The one fortunate thing was that by quitting my job, I had more free time.

If I didn’t understand something, I could just shut myself in the library.

Ding dong―

Only after such an insanely long time did the bell ring, signaling the end of the lecture.

“Ahhhh…”

“No way, how many formulas are there? Did you memorize them all?”

The students each spat out a word as they rushed out of the lecture hall.

There was one notable thing about this.

“…”

I noticed students strangely paired up in twos.

If there were only a couple of pairs in one lecture hall, I would have thought nothing of it, but when the number increased to five or six pairs, it felt odd no matter how you looked at it.

Given the diverse sample, the degrees varied greatly.

While some just awkwardly conversed with each other…

There were even a few who held hands and grinned.

“Is this the aftermath of spring?” [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

With that self-muttering, I quietly stepped out of the lecture hall.

The green field sprawled right in front of the lecture building.

As if to prove it was spring, various trees and bushes were colored in vibrant hues, and against this backdrop, students were actively engaging in exchanges.

Of course, it was obvious that these exchanges were not so innocent.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with me.

Normally, I would have ignored it and headed straight to the library, but there was one reason I couldn’t do that.

After waiting for a moment, leaning against the outer wall of the lecture building, a person of interest came out.

I quietly eavesdropped on the conversation between a man and a woman who had just come out of the adjacent lecture room.

“Hey, would you like to have a meal together?”

“Sorry. It’s bothersome.”

“Th-then maybe next time!”

“I’m sorry.”

A man firmly rejecting a woman’s plea.

The female student, perhaps hurt that she was rejected for such a trivial reason as being ‘bothersome’, quickly walked past me.

And I spoke to the male student who was left alone.

“Werner.”

“Oh. Eugene.”

Werner Ross Diemann, who had his hands deeply thrust into his pockets, waved his hand upon seeing me.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Werner approached me with a brazen smile.

That appearance suddenly felt awkward.

The reason is simple. This arrogant Werner was the very person at the center of various rumors spreading across the green spring campus.

I asked with an awkward smile.

“Is it okay to answer so casually like that?”

To be honest, I’ve witnessed such scenes with my own eyes five times already.

If I were to count all the rumors I’ve heard, it would be difficult to count on both hands.

Although its nature is notoriety, Werner’s name is so widely known, and judging by his appearance, he’s quite handsome, so many students approach him, taking advantage of the spring atmosphere. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

It was hard for me to understand.

Just mastering the lectures alone was overwhelming enough.

To my question, Werner answered nonchalantly.

“It’s fine.”

“But don’t you think it’s disrespectful?”

“It’s okay. This is a fact proven inductively. My reputation has already hit rock bottom, so it can’t get any lower.”

“Well…”

I was dumbfounded.

Well, I wasn’t particularly worried. Considering Werner’s proactivity, he would probably approach first if he met his destined partner.

More than that, I had my own problems to worry about.

The end of spring is approaching.

This meant that midterms were approaching.

Rumors aren’t limited to just men.

If Werner is the person of interest among male students, there was a similar figure among female students.

I know her.

Julia Müller.

A chestnut-haired female student who takes [Understanding Literary Genres] with me.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because right now, a female student presumed to be her has collapsed in front of my eyes.

T/N

The solution here involves breaking down sec^3 x into sec x and sec^2 x and applying integration by parts. It’s easier to choose u = sec x and dv = sec^2 x dx, since du = sec x tan x dx and v = tan x as a result of knowing common trigonometric integrals and derivatives.