The Magic Tower is chaotic at the start of a new semester. This is because, amidst the still-energetic new students, dark-complexioned, zombie-like researchers wander about. Of course, it might not even take a full month for those energetic newcomers to join the zombie horde.
Liam was among that crowd. He had just finished his first lab meeting of the semester. He was tired.
"Should I start exercising too...?"
Lately, on his floor, an unusual number of physically fit graduate students had been seen wandering around. They were from the School of Ideal Gas Magic, which Isaac had split off... They always looked so full of life, making him a little envious.
As he was heading to the library, Liam spotted some of his peers raising their voices in the hallway.
"No, I'm telling you. Stop looking at the trivial details and see the whole picture."
"... You're the one who should look at the data here. The eccentricities are all different. How are you going to explain that?"
It seemed like they were having a serious argument. Liam cautiously tried to walk past them.
However.
"Oh. Liam! Over here!"
But one of them spotted him. Caught, Liam stood awkwardly between them.
"Liam, what do you think?"
"... About what?"
"The planetary orbits. Is it the celestial mana distorting the light, or is there another reason?"
It appeared a debate had sparked over the movement of the planets.
"Um... I'm not sure. But wasn't that debate settled a few hundred years ago?"
To Liam's words, his peers replied.
"No! What you're talking about is why the planets orbit. This is about why the planetary orbits appear as 'ellipses'!"
"This is trending again these days. It was the question the School of Magical Surveying used for their entrance exam."
Only then did Liam grasp the situation.
"Ah."
The School of Magical Surveying was where Isaac was. For a man who was a walking whirlwind of rumors, it was plausible that a problem he created would become a trend. 'But why would he ask such a question?'
If it was a problem he had his hands on, it surely had to mean more than just a simple trend. Liam began to think seriously. 'Could Her Highness the Princess be using Isaac to keep the theologians in check?'
As Liam was lost in thought, a peer spoke to him.
"Hey, Liam. You even share a room with Sir Upperhills. Haven't you heard anything?"
"Ah... what I've heard..."
He had been getting requests like this every day recently. It was likely a wish to pick up any scraps that fell from Isaac. Liam could fully understand their sentiment.
Lately in the Magic Tower, a premium was being placed on anything with the name 'School of Magical Surveying' or 'Isaac Upperhills' attached to it. First, the [Calculus] craze that had swept through at the end of last semester was still ongoing, and now, the [Ideal Gas - Absolute Temperature] paper was added to the mix.
Liam's lab was in an uproar because of that paper too. To reorganize all existing experimental data with a new temperature standard... They should at least give us a mercury barometer before saying such things.
What were they supposed to do without a budget...! 'Think happy thoughts, Liam. You can do this.'
In any case, Liam had heard many interesting stories while living with Isaac. Most of it was incomprehensible, but occasionally there was some truly useful information. But he couldn't just go blabbing such secrets here.
'I won't make the same mistake twice.'
Liam said.
"Come to think of it, the drink Sir Upperhills gave me the other day was really delicious."
"Not that kind of stuff..."
Not that kind of stuff, they said. 'That spirit, it was so clear and clean, I liked it.' Personally, Liam preferred that distilled spirit over the high-end wine Gwendolyn had brought to the party.
As Liam skillfully changed the subject, his two peers started arguing amongst themselves again. Just then, over their shoulders, he saw a small girl. The child was hurrying across the lobby, heading somewhere. ...
He had run into her with Isaac before. Her name was definitely.
"Anna Upperhills?"
Doloren said she was leaving the lab again to avoid the Dean. I asked her.
"... If you're going to do that, wouldn't it be better to just go on a business trip?"
"I can't yet, there's still backlash from forming the isolated system."
"Ah."
So that isolated system technique had a bigger risk than I thought. But to hear that she had taken my share of the backlash as well, I couldn't help but feel grateful. I bowed my head deeply.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. It's a master's duty to help their disciple in times of need."
A master helping their disciple... I was truly glad she wasn't the kind of professor who thought the other way around. I saw Doloren off and sat down.
"Well then... shall I start my own research?"
It was the time when others were leaving work, but for me, it was just the beginning. My original plan was to try and replicate the absolute zero Doloren had shown me. But that was too much to ask.
The mana wavelength I had memorized at the time couldn't be implemented anywhere but inside the isolated system. So today, I decided to explore this instead.
Thud.
I placed the pouch I received from Doloren on the desk. I had left the desk-breaking amount of gold coins in the safe, but I felt even better now.
"Hehehe."
For the inside and outside to be different sizes. How on earth was this made? Was the interior itself a four-dimensional space?
Space-warping using general relativity? First, I tried using a detection spell. There was nothing better for measuring physical quantities.
However, the information from the pouch was not normal. While the information from the outside came in properly, the information from the inside was filled with noise.
"That's really strange."
Why was it doing this? Just then, the lab door opened and Giuseppe walked in.
"What brings you here at this hour?"
"I left some things behind. What about you, junior, not heading home?"
"I can't because of this."
I showed Giuseppe the pocket-space pouch.
"Ah. A gift from Head of the Doloren school, I see."
"You recognized it right away."
"Of course. Detection spells don't work on ancient artifacts."
"... What?"
That couldn't be right. Didn't it work just fine on the Memorizer pendant?
"Why is that?"
To my question, Giuseppe answered confidently.
"Because ancient artifacts are objects made under a different system of laws, completely disconnected in time from the present."
I asked about something I didn't know, and more things I didn't understand were added. What did it mean to be completely disconnected in time?
Time disconnection? Temporal severance?
I tried to rephrase the question in a way I could somehow understand.
"... So you mean there was a time when the symmetry of time translation in Noether's theorem was... structured a little differently?"
"What does that mean?"
Damn it.
This was a lost cause. At that very moment.
Knock. Knock knock. Knock knock.
A rhythmic knocking sound was heard. It was Anna.
Bang—!
The door flew open, and Anna rushed into the lab. Even while panting, Anna managed to get the words out.
"Pant... pant. I, I solved it! The ellipse problem! So, pant... please accept me as a graduate student now!"
Wanting to become a graduate student without even fully enjoying college life. What a terrifying thing to say... I approached the panting Anna and offered her a glass of water.
"Sister. I don't know what's going on, but first, have a drink and calm down."
"Pant... thank you."
Anna downed the glass of water in an instant. Afterward, I heard the full story from Anna. ... For some reason, it seemed the ellipse problem had reached her as well.
I checked the answer sheet Anna handed me. Of course, her lack of a solid understanding of force and acceleration presented some limitations. But for a pre-modern university student to reach such a conclusion was in itself a remarkable feat.
I patted Anna's head.
"Wow... my sister is amazing. That's insane."
"I completely annihilated the problem. How was it?"
"Yes, yes, you did a really great job."
"Hmph. Thank you."
Anna continued.
"So you'll accept me now, right?"
"... About that."
I belatedly explained the situation. That the problem was only meant to filter out 'prospective graduate students,' and that Anna wasn't yet qualified. But Anna didn't seem to be listening to me.
Her wide, clear eyes held a persistent madness.
Anna said.
"Then I'll be a prospective graduate student. Please pick me."
I was at a loss for words. Giuseppe, who had been eavesdropping on our conversation from a distance, covered his mouth. ... If it were up to me, I'd want to accept Anna too.
But my conscience refused to let a child, barely in her early teens, into graduate school. I bent my knees and met Anna's eyes.
"Anna... there are many important things in the world besides research. Let's try to find those while you're in college."
"... What other important things are there?"
"Try to find friends you get along with there."
"How many do I have to make?"
If I said a hundred, she looked like she would find a way to make that many.
Anna continued.
"Just please accept me!"
Now there was no logic. She was usually so mature, but at times like this, she acted like a child. Of course, it's good for a child to act like a child.
I knew I shouldn't smile at a time like this, but a grin crept onto my face.
"... Why are you smiling?"
"Oh, just because."
I handed Anna the first draft of the [Principia].
"I can't accept you this time, but your achievement will remain as a co-author of this book."
"And your intellectual property rights for the theory will be recognized, so a lot of money will be deposited into your account from now on."
"... Haaah."
Anna let out a deep sigh and continued.
"I won't ask you to accept me anymore... It seems graduating from university is a must."
Anna had switched back to adult mode.
"But please do me one favor instead."
"What is it, sister?"
"Just... go out and have fun with me for a day on the weekend."
"Where to?"
"To our foundation. I wanted to see it being built with you, brother."
And so, on a weekend morning. I headed to the 'Barren Basin' to keep my promise to Anna.
"Wow..."
Anna let out a gasp of admiration, looking at the construction site visible through the carriage window. I was just as surprised. Not long ago, this place had been nothing but a barren plain, but not anymore.
The foundation work for the boarding school building was already underway. Perhaps because this was a world with magic, the speed of civil engineering and construction was incredibly fast. When we arrived at the site, the site supervisor I'd met before ran over and greeted me.
"Welcome, Sir Upperhills. What brings you here today..."
"I just came to look around today."
The supervisor looked at Anna and smiled warmly.
"Your daughter is quite adorable."
It seemed he misunderstood because Anna was a bit short for her age.
"... She's not my daughter, she's my sister."
"What? Oh. I apologize."
We toured the construction site, guided by the supervisor. From the highest point, we could see the entire basin at a glance. Leaning against the railing, Anna watched in a daze as mages moved huge blocks of stone and workers hammered away on top of them.
It was at that very moment.
Kaboom—!
An explosion roared from one side of the construction site. The workers were thrown into chaos.
"Argh!"
"What! What's happening!"
Immediately after, someone shouted.
"The movements of the stars are within the providence of God!"
A terrorist attack? Perhaps due to the explosion, a stone block weighing several tons began to fall toward the workers laboring below.
"Look out! Everyone, get back!"
The supervisor shouted, but it was already too late.
"Wha, what?!"
"Run!"
There wouldn't be enough time to escape. I immediately drew up my mana. v=√(2gh) 2ad = v_f² - v_i² σ = F/A First, I calculated the velocity of the falling stone right before impact and a suitable acceleration that wouldn't shatter it. F=ma Then, I applied the corresponding force.
Magic implementation. Execution. Rumble—!
The falling stone, pressed down by its own weight, stopped in mid-air.
"... Am I alive?"
"My goodness... what am I seeing?"
I calculated the compressive strength correctly, so it wouldn't shatter and cause more damage. Afterward, I used magic to lower the stone blocks, avoiding the workers. The site supervisor next to me wiped away his cold sweat.
"Phew... I don't know what happened, but thank you so much, Sir Upperhills."
I shook my head. It was still too early to receive thanks.
"For now, let's catch the culprit."
"... The culprit?"
The mysterious words heard right after the explosion. 'The movements of the stars are within the providence of God.' That was undoubtedly the doctrine of the theological faction on planetary motion, which had disappeared hundreds of years ago.
I didn't know why they would target this place at this time, but they had picked the wrong person to mess with. I immediately activated a detection spell. I could feel the body heat of a worker hiding among the distant carriages.
That's him.
I immediately took an iron ball out of the pocket-space pouch.