Research Life of a New Professor at Magic University

Arien’s potion brewing was much better than when she made the stamina recovery potion.
At the very least, she tried to follow all the instructions and didn’t handle things by guesswork.

Even the spirits seemed much more diligent than they were the day before.
Seeing the elf with drooping ears and diminished vitality surrounded by working spirits was quite the sight.

Well, it’s about time those spirits did something right.

Thanks to Arien’s experiments being an excuse, many basic ingredients could be obtained.
While I couldn’t procure rare ingredients or catalysts, I secured enough primary and secondary ingredients to conduct another round of experiments.

No matter how tight-fisted the department folks might be, they won’t likely make a fuss over this.

“Shall we pick only the good ingredients and stockpile them?”

It felt promising for a moment, but it didn’t seem like a good idea.

“No. We have to compare it to the inferior ones anyway. We can’t conduct comparison experiments only with superior ones.”

“Are we going to conduct the same experiment with the antidote as well?”

“We’ll see and decide later. For now, the next experiment will be the same stamina recovery potion.”

“The same as last time?”

“This time, we need to control the variables more firmly. So we’ll get rid of all the troublesome ingredients. There were four main plant-based ingredients, right? Weren’t they crimson herbs, reddish-brown mushrooms, absorbent grass, and swamp fern?”

“Were those their names? Sounds about right.”

“They usually have longer names, but we usually call them that. We’ll test them one by one. We need to know which ingredient contributes the most to potion’s stability.”

“…Testing them one by one?”

Arien grumbled, but I casually brushed it off and continued speaking.

“Most likely, all four have contributed. However, we can’t just call it a day with that. We need to clearly identify each one’s influence. Personally, I think the crimson herb or the swamp fern has the greatest effect.”

“Then, should we start with those two?”

“Anyway, we’ll have to try all four in any case. Choose whichever you like to start with.”

“Do we have to do all of that? Each one once?”

“Three times each.”

Were you trying to escape?
Even three repetitions won’t be enough to obtain data for later use in the paper.

“That’s already twelve times, isn’t it?”

“We’re making 15. We need to make an untreated control group for comparison.”

Arien lets out a sigh.
She’s been quite dramatic lately. I couldn’t have imagined she was also like this as an undergraduate.

“Let’s just finish with the antidote. Thankfully, it’s all over in one go.”

“But three times…….”

“That’s the number of repetitions.”

“No, earlier you said… Are you not going to run the antidote through the magical circuit like you did with the stamina potion last time?”

“We did that analysis last time because it was the simplest among the possible analyses. Fortunately, there’s a better method for testing multiple things at once. We’ll present it in two days, so there’s no need to verify stability separately.”

“That’s convenient.”

It’s not just about skipping an experiment.
It’s a hassle injecting magic into the circuit, keeping track of time while infusing magic, preparing the alchemical apparatus, testing the circuits, pre-operating, delicately pouring the potion…

It’s only natural that cleaning up after the experiment is the simple part.

“So, is that the only evaluation criteria?”

“For now. But there will be deductions in the details.”

“What kind?”

“Why are you asking? Are you going to be the one grading it?”

“You said I would be grading the report anyway.”

“…Right. I’ll let you know.”

“Okay, got it.”

Grad students are useless even when they try their best.
As I grumble momentarily, the meeting with the department head comes to mind.

“Do you happen to know about other plants besides herbs?”

“I’m an elf, you know? I know better than humans.”

“Not forest plants. I mean things like wheat or barley.”

“Why is that? Are you planning to become a farmer?”

“I’m not joking.”

Arien chuckled. She seemed puzzled as to why I suddenly showed interest in farming.

“You’d better ask humans about that. It’s one of the few areas where elves fall behind humans in botany. Elves don’t tend to grow plants in such confined spaces.”

“It’s really cruel to the plants. That’s why we have to eat meat. It’s heartbreaking that they’re born and raised in such an inhumane growing environment just to be eaten!”

“Wait, why is the conversation suddenly going that way?”

It was a joke.

Since explaining the assignment to the inquisitor, I’ve been nervous about anything related to farming.

“When should we finish the stamina potion experiment you mentioned earlier?”

“We can give the report with the Wednesday class materials.”

“But isn’t that on Monday?”

“You can give it in the afternoon.”

“Professor!”

I was about to scold her for shouting again, but I swallowed my words when I heard how desperate Arien’s voice sounded.

“Fifteen potion brews, preparing class materials, and two reports! On top of that, I have to grade the experiments too?”

“Fifteen potions may seem like a lot, but if you make three each day for five days, it’s manageable. Preparing class materials is a weekly task, and grading doesn’t take as long as you think. Can’t you manage all that in five days? I even considered giving you another paper.”

“It’s not five days, it’s three!”

“Oh, come on, can’t you be a bit more flexible?”

“Is this what you call flexibility?”

“Alright, let’s skip the report this time and just give a brief summary. I wanted you to practice writing reports anyway, but if you’re so reluctant to learn, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Instead, let me know as soon as you get the results. Since there’s no report to write, it shouldn’t take much time.”

While the words sounded appreciative, the last part was almost said as if chewing cud.
It’s almost enviable to encounter such a lenient professor who understands the student’s suffering.

***

The next day, Arien came to report the results in the evening.
After writing a proposal for a project to submit to the university and advancing my research, I didn’t realize how quickly time had passed.

“You’re later than I expected. It shouldn’t take so long to make three.”

“…I made six.”

You’ve grown, Arien! Who has mentored her to improve her skills in such a short time? Surely she must be my student!

“So you’ve done two sets then. How did it go?”

“One was the control group, and the other was with the crimson herbs.”

“And how did the control group turn out?”

“They all lasted between 10 minutes and 11 minutes.”

“Within which intervals?”

“10 minutes and 10 seconds, 10 minutes and 30 seconds, and 10 minutes and 50 seconds.”

Arien counted the time in her notebook.
The time was in 10-second increments, measured not by a stopwatch but by a sandglass with only markings.
It’s within an acceptable range.

“Alright. That’s good. How about the herbs?”

“It’s similar. Slightly longer durations.”

“How much longer?”

“10 minutes and 40 seconds, 11 minutes, and 11 minutes and 30 seconds.”

“That’s not much of a difference then. I thought it would be the most likely one.”

“But if you average it out, it lasts more than 30 seconds longer, though?”

“Let me see the data values you’ve provided. With such significant variations, arguing superiority based on that slight difference is questionable. It could just be coming out like that with no actual difference.”

“Still, surely there must be some advantage?”

“If the deviation and the average remain similar even after about ten repetitions, it’s worth considering.”

“…I’ll start testing the other groups first.”

“Alright. Good luck.”

The crimson herb had the largest quantity in the recipe.
I had high expectations because this was also the first ingredient Arien used during the previous experiment.

It’s disheartening to find the answer right from the first step when there’s a mountain of experiments to be done.
I hope one of the remaining three ingredients holds the answer.

It will be challenging to figure out the cause if we gather nothing from the remaining tests.
It could be due to multiple ingredients creating the effect or insufficient trials.

I just hope it’s not both.

***

Prudence’s current location was the Inquisition Office in the Rainplain region, which was also her substantive affiliation.

Since it wasn’t a place of worship, there were no giant statues of the Goddess.
However, it was unmistakably a religious institution, evident from the hexagonal tiles meticulously arranged on the floor and walls.

Prudence felt her faith in the Goddess deepen as she walked to the office of the Chief Inquisitor.

Even the shape of the room was hexagonal.
With a dignified and stern demeanor, the Chief Inquisitor sat with an unexpectedly anxious expression.

“Hello. I’m Prudence from the Trapeion outpost.”

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Prudence had already completed the report on Professor Atwell’s assignment within the outpost of Trapeion University.
Now, before submitting the report to the Holy See, she had come to get the approval of the Chief Inquisitor.

Since matters within the Inquisition were highly sensitive, writing detailed contents in letters was rare.

As a result, the Chief Inquisitor could only receive a formal report stating, ‘There is something urgent to report to the Holy See.’ Prudence had to convey the details orally.

Reporting to the Holy See.
It could only be a matter of grave importance. And if it was urgent, it couldn’t possibly be good news.

“You mentioned you needed to send a report to the Holy See, Prudence?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

‘What in the world could it be?’

Being from the Trapeion outpost only added to the unease, but Prudence’s expression wasn’t bleak.
Perhaps it wasn’t as serious as it seemed.

‘Well, just because it’s an outpost within the campus doesn’t necessarily mean it’s related to the university.’

Out of caution, the Chief Inquisitor started with relatively milder and less serious possibilities.

“Has there been any activity from dragons near the territory?”

“No. It’s unrelated to other races. It’s a matter concerning Magic University.”

The Chief Inquisitor became increasingly uneasy.

“Then have remnants of heretics been found? Are they plotting some conspiracy?”

“No. Nothing strange is happening on the campus. It’s a research topic I wanted to report.”

Eventually, the Chief Inquisitor decided to confront reality.

It would be foolish to exclude the most desperate scenario one could imagine.
Although the worst-case scenario is usually unlikely to happen, in this case, it was more probable.

“It’s Professor Atwell, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Has Roger Atwell finally developed a death spell?”

Prudence anticipated this situation.
If she hadn’t seen Professor Atwell’s true nature back then, or if she were in the Chief Inquisitor’s position now, she would have thought the same.
However, the Chief Inquisitor’s reaction was more intense than she expected.

“No, no, it’s not that.”

“Then has he dabbled in summoning demons… I mean, spirits for some ritual?”

“It’s not like that. He’s researching crops–”

“An epidemic?”

“No, not that. Please, listen to what I have to say.”

“Surely it’s something even more dreadful than that? Goddess help us…”

The Chief Inquisitor interpreted Prudence’s calm demeanor as resignation to despair.
As a result, he was almost stirring up hysteria.

Prudence couldn’t help but ponder where to start unraveling this misunderstanding.