The Magic Academy's Physicist-Chapter 152: The Noble Assembly (7)

Barely managing to hold back a groan, Renawill pretended like he was calm.

But his already stiff facial muscles didn’t move according to his will. That was how difficult the question Aether had posed was.

At least, it was to Renawill.

Is it that hard...?

Seeing Renawill struggling, it was Aether who quirked her head instead.

Although the triggering part of the Flare scroll was a one-dimensionally straight one-way circuit, the surrounding parts took on a two-dimensional structure. That is, if you understood that the one-dimensional unitary group was isomorphic to the two-dimensional special rotation group, it was easy to solve.

Well, it would be hard, I suppose.

It was a question she asked assuming that Renawill wouldn’t know in the first place.

Even if he does know, it’ll take him forever to find the answer.

The structure of the Flare scroll was very complicated. Having a clear understanding of the mathematical object didn’t mean that it could be directly used in the interpretation of Flare. This was something impossible to do without plenty of practice and training.

It was as Aether expected. Unable to find the conservation relationship between the two structures, Renawill was sitting there in cold sweat.

“The time is nearly up, My Lord.”

“...I pass.”

In the end, Renawill gave in reluctantly.

As even Count Saliere, the referee, didn’t know the answer to Aether’s question, Aether personally uncapped her pen and began kindly explaining.

It wasn’t weird. Rather, this was how swordplays were done.

The original purpose of swordplays was to ‘learn from your opponent something that you didn’t know’. There was no need to feel dejected because your opponent posed a difficult problem. Except, Renawill wasn’t pleased being taught by a girl who was around his daughter’s age.

“...And so, it’s like this..”

“So that’s why. I understand.”

Aether who suddenly became a homeschool teacher.

“.......”

“Sir, it’s your turn to ask.”

...Oh, th-that’s right.”

Renawill’s shoulder flinched. He hadn’t a clue as to what kind of question to ask.

“What is going on.”

A lady who had bet on Renawill’s win chewed on her nails as if anxious.

The score was two-zero. Although Renawill had two more chances, he, too, knew.

That the tables had already turned.

So the reason why she didn’t answer....

There was something off about the way Aether had consistently responded the first three times with ‘I pass’. It wasn’t that Aether couldn’t answer his questions at the time. She ‘didn’t’.

It was too late to realize. Aether was watching Renawill with a confident face, and Renawill heaved a sigh heavy enough to hit the ground.

His mind was a mess. He didn’t know what to do to win.

It’s as if I’m facing a Cataclysm....

A state of uncertainty.

That was how he’d describe this feeling of being lost.

At least....

I cannot besmirch the family name.

It would’ve been one thing if this had only been between the two of them, but right now, everyone around them was watching. He either had to win or at least tie in order not to lose face.

“Calculate the peak momentary output of the Ultimate Fire Magic, ‘Chaser Flow’, when it’s not reinforced with any mana....”

“1016.2 sieverts per second.”

“H-how in the world did you calculate that...?”

“I used a series.”

Aether smiled, spinning the fountain pen.

“It’s my turn again.”

His heart dropped with that single phrase, like he had received a death sentence.

“Let’s say that the output of a red Flare is constant at 2000 sieverts per second. Two Flares with the same phase are fired simultaneously at some distance apart. What is the equation of trace for the first point where the force of the two trigger points offset each other exactly? Please answer using the cgs units.”

It actually was a death sentence.

─Your family honor’s pretty awesome.

“Ugh....”

Now he was hearing things.

Aether.

From her appearance alone, she was nothing more than a beautiful girl.

Like someone who’d pour if a noble asked her to pour wine. Like someone who’d dance if asked to dance. An innocent and soft impression that made it seem like she’d listen to anything. That was what Aether in a maid uniform looked like.

The reality was the complete opposite.

Aether threw out questions like she was trying to hack away at the Hasfeldt family reputation. A commoner was legally making a fool of a noble.

This couldn’t even be called disrespectful, because it was none other than Renawill who had first requested the swordplay.

“It’s almost time, sir.”

Renawill’s head was filled with all sorts of emotions.

Being stunned by the girl’s abilities. Exasperation due to not realizing earlier. Shock at the overwhelming difference in skill.

Fear due to that relaxed smile despite it all. Humiliation due to feeling exposed in front of many nobles....

And awe.

Awe towards an opponent who he could never win against....

“...I pass.”

Renawill dropped his head while chewing on his lips.

It wasn’t that he didn’t attempt it. He wrote it down and came up with a rough solution. In a short amount of time, he went through many ideas about how to approach it, but there was a clear limit to the knowledge he had.

“So how do you solve this?”

“I’ll explain.”

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

After that, it was a repeat of the obvious. When Renawill posed a question with all he had, it would be easily answered, while Aether tormented the Duke by asking one advanced question about Flare after another. And lastly, if he asked for clarification, she explained it so elaborately and kindly that it couldn’t be refuted.

“Th-this....”

It was basically teabagging.

“This can’t be!!”

Watching Duke Hasfeldt being stripped like a fish of its flesh in real time, the people who had bet began stirring.

“Isn’t this rigged? How can Duke Hasfeldt be losing to a mere Golden-Eyed girl!”

“Hah, then you should’ve believed when she was called the first author of Flare.”

“Forget her being a commoner, think reasonably about this! How did a first-year Academy student publish that kind of paper!”

“Huhu, sir, do you get it now?”

The gambling house.... no, the stage of the swordplay became a mess. Even Baron Jehad who was about to lose ten gold contributed to the mood. The Baron huffed through his nose and tried to calm himself down from being worked up.

It was then.

Plop. A long arm draped around the Baron’s shoulder. Head fixed, the Baron rolled his eyes to the right.

“So, Baron Jehad.”

“Your Highness....”

“Didn’t you learn a good lesson this time?”

“W-what do you mean...?”

Klion smirked and gave a thumbs-up at the Baron who was worrying about being smacked on the back by his wife.

“That a beautiful girl is always right.”

“What is.......”

And that was the sign.

“......I’ve lost.”

With Renawill’s concession, the long, long swordplay came to an end.

Count Saliere declared Aether the winner and the swordplay finished. There were shouts from different directions. Of those, there were some who criticized Aether’s teabagging, but quieted at one glare from the Crown Prince who had betted against.

Aether stood as she dusted her hands. In the meanwhile, Renawill grumbled something with his head dropped.

“What is the matter, My Lord?”

“...Saliere. Now I won’t be able to look at my deceased daughters.”

Renawill had always taught his children to value their family’s honor. From the moment they were babies and even after they became adults. He always beseeched them to maintain the dignity and decorum befitting of the Hasfeldt name.

He had to. Renawill had been taught that way by his own father, and his father, too, had been taught the same by the one before him. Because the prestige of the Duke family  always had to be second only to the Emperor.

“It isn’t embarrassing to lose to someone who could be your daughter.”

“That isn’t the point.”

“Then....”

“The important thing is how the others will see me.”

Renawill recalled the report he had received from a servant months ago.

─ My Lord Renawill, there are rumors that Miss Klais has plagiarized the paper of a Golden-Eyed commoner.

The family honor wasn’t protected by the family itself. Honor was basically largely influenced by the view of others.

Renawill had sent Klais, who couldn’t protect that honor, to the north. So that she could make up for her mistake by accumulating accomplishments.

And like that, he lost another child.

How many did that make?

It was nothing new to a Northern Duke whose permanent home was in a land infested with Beasts. Since old times, many of the Hasfeldt family, whether of lineal or collateral descent, had met honorable deaths on the battlefield.

However.

I lost the swordplay. Now the other nobles will clearly view our family as lesser than a Golden-Eyed.

The thought hurt his head.

He had tried to claim the rights and benefits to Flare and was humiliated in front of people instead.

Is that child better than my daughter, even....

Renawill’s devastated eyes turned to the Golden-Eyed girl.

“What are you doing here? I was quite surprised to see a familiar face all of a sudden.”

“I came to see you, Professor. You weren’t at the lab.”

Aether was having a talk with Professor Cai-Lussac with some wine. The way she laughed ‘haha’ looked off. Rather than a youthful girl who just entered the Academy, it was like seeing a middle manager who’d experienced much of society.

He then looked elsewhere. He could see the ones who bet against taking all the money on the gambling table. Most nobles who had predicted Duke Hasfeldt’s win were watching Renawill with dull eyes.

“What happened, My Lord?”

“...I’m not certain myself.”

“Is the Hasfeldt family not the apex of Fire Magic?”

“That girl must be much better.”

With a bitter smile, Renawill stuck a hand in his jacket pocket.

He had believed that if he won the swordplay, he could express that the initiative of Flare’s development belonged to his daughter. There were many traditional nobles who thought the same way. Flare belonged to Hasfeldt, not to all people.

That was what he had thought.

But apparently not.

“I’ve lost.”

He wouldn’t obsess over it disgracefully.

Didn’t the family honor come first? Admitting that you lost upon losing. That was the only way to keep his dignity.

“Duke.”

“Oh, Marquis Yustilla?”

Yustilla, a noble family who was at the forefront of the traditional nobles along with Hasfeldt. The two had been close and supported one another since their youths due to shared political opinions.

“Personally, I do not understand. Why did you challenge that girl to a swordplay?”

“A good question.”

“You’ve lost much through this swordplay. Those who had trusted in your victory, the family’s nobility....”

“Enough.”

Renawill waved his hand. Marquis Yustilla glanced at his side profile. Renawill’s face was one of dejection.

“Should I disturb the sleeping lion just to take back a spell?”

“But it’s Flare. What the Hasfeldt family had been working on in secret....”

“It’s fine. The more I drag this on, the uglier it’ll be.”

“It isn’t like you to admit this easily.”

“It must be because of the wine, still.”

“Then do you mean there’s something about that girl?”

“That isn’t a mere girl.”

A monster.

“I thought that Klara and Klais were quite the geniuses, but they were drops in a bucket. The true genius was out there.”

“It is too early to judge based on a single swordplay.”

“Yes, it’s possible.”

“Anyway.... Let us talk about this another time.”

“Oh dear, is that the time already?”

The two saw the clock hanging from the ceiling and were surprised. There wasn’t much time left until the meeting started.

The great noble assembly that took place once every four years. The Emperor, the pinnacle of the Empire, also attended this meeting.

As much as they were traditional nobles supporting the Emperor, Renawill and Yustilla had to be especially careful of their conduct. For that meant loyalty to the Empire and the Imperial family.

At one point, they had faltered due to Klais, to whom he had given the position of head, having a lukewarm attitude towards the Imperials, but now he would be with them as the Emperor’s sound pillar once again.

“Now, let us be going.”

“Yes.”

It was as he shook off his thoughts to go and prepare for the meeting.

“What are you doing right now, Siiiis!!”

A sharp yell sounded in the distance.