The Magic Academy's Physicist
Chapter 290: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (12)

Chapter 290: Locking The Door After The Horse Is Gone (12)

0% I saw Vermel for the first time in a while.

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t happy, because there was fondness built from the times we were together.

What’s more, this guy was moving for me.

He was a decent friend from a world full of weirdos. It didn’t matter that it was for the sake of stopping the world from ending. Even the intention itself wasn’t impure, right?

I couldn’t be too angry because he was a bit late. I’d be no better than those elf country citizens who were demanding that I be put to death immediately.

That was why.

“Hit me.”

Tap.

“......?”

I hit him because he said to.

I beat him as much as I was angry, just like I said, and he made a dumbfounded face like a virgin who was confessed to by a female friend.

This was also a sign of apology.

The promise that we’d share information with each other and move immediately until we took down the Demon King.

Even for me I had to break that promise temporarily because of a certain reason.

“Ther, what’s wrong? You wanted to get out so badly.”

“Whatever, it’s fine.”

I purposefully acted disillusioned, like I was done with the world. As I lay there waving my hand, Vermel’s face fell rapidly.

I could tell just by that alone.

Now this world was doomed without me.

“I’m sorry, Aether. I should have come sooner.”

“No, it’s not your fault.”

“Then...?”

“I just can’t be bothered. It’s way better to stay here like this.”

I opened the newspaper and pretended to read.

According to the paper, the public’s opinion of me was still poor, as I was a Beast and it was also revealed that I was the developer of the atomic bomb.

The Empire fell because of the bomb I made.

It destroyed Lotte’s country. There was a surge of guilt, but I remained composed on the outside.

I put on this kind of facade like there was something going on.

“......You.”

“I’ll be honest. I don’t want to do anything anymore.”

Then held out the paper I was reading as I said that. Akasha took it and handed it to Vermel.

A thick, dark cloud formed over the transmigrator’s face as he read it.

“Is it because of what the public is saying...?”

“......No.”

What a sharp kid.

“...I heard the news.”

“News? What news?”

“......You know, how the bomb that I made completely destroyed the Empire. I didn’t realize it before, but it’s more disheartening than I thought. Heh.”

Chuckling, I pulled the covers up to my chest.

“I don’t care what crap they say about me, but I don’t want to research anything more than this.” to do research anymore.”

Deliberately pretend to have fallen into a rut, to have lost all motivation.

Above all, present the reason why as something to do with ethics and take the moral high ground.

And what would I get by doing this?

I’d be able to negotiate with the entire population of this country.

“What would happen if I develop Dark Day? Even if we defeat the Demon King, a lot of people would die. I can’t do that again.”

“...No, that’s not it.”

“What do you mean it isn’t.”

I didn’t consider myself someone without moral flaws, but in politics, it was important to show this kind of attitude.

“Even if it’s to take down the Demon King, I won’t make Dark Day. I was rejected by the country when I said I’d make it before. Now that I think about it, I get why they did that.”

Although it was probably because I was a Beast, actually.

There was a saying how a dream was a matter of interpretation, and interpretations were up to the individual. As long as this was how I took it, it was game over.

Now I pulled the covers over my head and mumbled.

“I’m a major criminal.”

“...You aren’t.”

“There’s a responsibility that comes with scientific research. I’m a mass murderer, and everyone will die from the bomb I make. I kind of understand how Nobel felt.”

“I said no.”

“That’s what I  committed so I’m going to stay here. I also understand the people’s feelings, but yeah. So....”

I didn’t say anymore after that.

Vermel made a desperate defense, but I just let it in one ear and out the other.

“Alright, then do what you want. I’ll stay here, too.”

“......What?”

Wait, what the heck did he just say.

“I’m joining the army in a week, and they said to say our goodbyes to those we know before then. So I’ll at least wait here for a week.”

The hell is this busy kid saying.

A guy who should be going around doing things was going to be stuck here for a week? And with me?

“What, is this guy nuts? Who are you to say that you’re going to stay here with Aether? If anyone’s staying with her, it should be me.”

Then Akasha also stuck herself here.

“U-um.... You can’t be here anymore....”

So it just ended up putting the guard in an awkward position.

Once the higher-ups decided something, it was hard to overturn it. Having already decided not to charge me, they even created a legal binding and released me.

So in the end, my protest to stay in prison ended as a minor event.

However.

Bang, bang, bang!

- Hey! Come out! How long are you going to stay like that!

From the moment I was released, I shut myself up in the shanty town, pretending to be a wreck.

“Um, Miss. Perhaps you should go see....”

“It’s fine.”

I went to Leninya as soon as I got out because I didn’t have a place to stay in Kaurelia. And because I was a fellow Golden-Eyed, I was able to get help with food and lodging.

Although I was pretty much mooching off her, it was fine since I was taking care of chores like cooking, doing the dishes, and cleaning.

Bang, bang, bang!

- Miss, can you open the door!

They’ve been at it for hours already.

“Miss, is it really okay to stay like this? Everyone will die to the Demon Army at this rate!”

“I was once part of the Demon Army, too, so what is there to be afraid of?”

“You’re you, Miss. We all know that you did it for the Golden-Eyed.”

Huu–Leninya let out a sigh and held out a star candy. When I popped it in and rolled it around in my mouth, I could taste the fragrant cherry.

“So please help them if you don’t want to, Miss. You’re only going to be hated even more if you stay like this.”

She really did have a big heart; a true Golden-Eyed indeed.

“First you need to get the support of the people. I heard that you need their understanding in order for a revolution to succeed later.”

“......What?”

What the heck was she saying.

“Everyone will look at you differently when you defeat the Demon King, and then the citizens of Kaurelia will also understand. You’ll become a hero, and when the Golden-Eyed become more established, a revolution will be possible. Let us create a world without High Elves.......”

“Wait, stop right there.”

I take back what I just said.

Leninya could become Demon King 2.0 if things go wrong.

I decided to tell her the reality with a bit of exaggeration.

“Leninya, reality is different.”

“In what way?”

Her head tilted.

“Even if I defeat the Demon King, the people won’t make me a hero. Rather, they’ll try to discard me like a used up hunting dog. Think about it. Do you think the authorities of Kaurelia will like someone who will wield a more powerful magic than the bomb that destroyed the Empire?”

“No, but by then you’ll be the most powerful person on the continent.”

“That doesn’t guarantee that I’ll survive.”

Alliances and mergers. The weak always joined forces in order to defeat the strong.

Even just now the authorities released me in order to defeat the Demon King. They also allied with the Empire, and began ostensibly cracking down on the discrimination against Golden-Eyeds.

But if the threat that was the Demon King was removed–

Kaurelia’s next target would be the Golden-Eyed, including me.

They’d punish all the Golden-Eyed with the Demon Army. Even those with no ties like Leninya wouldn’t be able to escape it. History would repeat itself.

“The Golden-Eyed being treated as slaves will become a thing of the past. We’re in the modern age now, right?”

“And who says that there can’t be a holocaust in modern times?”

“Th-that’s.”

“The gods? The Elementals? No, Leninya. If you don’t want to be taken advantage of, you have to be smart here.”

For you, Akasha, Rosemary, and everyone else to survive after I die.

Bang, bang, baaang!

- Aether, it’s me, Lotte! Please open the door. Please.......

“Miss.”

“......Don’t open it.”

Damn it, of all people.

The sound of sobbing kept coming from outside, a desperate and sorrowful tone. The delicate tone affected me emotionally.

I was fine with everything else, but hearing that crying was breaking my heart.

Still, I had to be patient.

It was not yet time.

[Beasts are gathering in the western part of the Kirel Sea. Although it is impossible to gauge numbers, we expect that it will be in the hundreds of thousands at least.]

[The authorities have declared a state of national emergency. As of this time, civilian movements will be controlled. The state has decided to temporarily bring back conscription after fifty years.]

[The Demon Army has launched an invasion in the northwest. At 4:20 a.m. this morning, the Demon Army took advantage of the thick fog and attacked Derentico Province. About 30 000 in size, they are not expected to be very large compared to the entire army. Academics have analyzed that this is a demonstration of force to encourage surrender.]

How long has it been since then?

Keeping up with the news and writing things became my daily routine. The coast where Leninya lived was still peaceful.

Of course. Even the Demon Army wouldn’t touch this place on purpose since it was where their kind were living together.

As such, there wasn’t any sense of urgency even though war already broke out.

“What are you doing, Miss?”

“Just scribbling some things.”

Today, too, I was jotting down symbols on paper.

Leninya wouldn’t understand this, because it wasn’t written in this world’s script.

“What are these scribbles?”

“Where I’m from, we draw things like this to calm ourselves down. Things have been rather uneasy lately, and there’s a war, too.”

Then I pointed in the direction of the radio scroll.

[Here is an update of the initial situation. There are now over 101 200 casualties.]

[Experts believe that we have already lost control over the northwest region. This is causing increasing anxiety among the people.]

A hundred thousand. A hundred thousand, they say.

A hundred thousand soldiers disappeared in only a week.

This was because Kaurelia’s defenses were so strong that the Demon Army dropped an atomic bomb first.

“...That many died because of me.”

I admit that I felt guilty seeing the numbers. If I said I was fine, I’d be a psychopath.

“Miss.”

“I’d like to rest a bit today.”