Home, sweet home. After completing all my tasks in the north, I returned to the research lab of the School of Magical Surveying. The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, my eyes met with Senior Giuseppe.
Just seeing his face now makes me smile.
"I'm back from my trip."
Giuseppe also greeted me with a wide smile.
"Welcome back. You've worked hard."
Yes, this is the feeling. It finally feels like I'm truly home. Giuseppe asked me.
"Sir Valerius went with you, so I doubt anything major happened, but... are you well?"
"Of course. I'm full of energy."
Moving around frequently with Sarah’s squad members actually made me feel more invigorated. The Magic Tower has a fitness room, so I should keep exercising regularly. '... Should I ask the people from the School of Ideal Gas Magic to teach me?'
In any case, it was a trip where I gained a lot in many ways. I dealt with some troublesome fellows, helped the soldiers, and brought back a ton of gifts. I placed the spoils I had brought from the north on the desk.
"What's all this?"
"Hehehe."
I took out a few blocks of cheese from my spoils and handed them to Giuseppe.
"These cheeses are perfect for sandwiches. They're northern cheeses, so they'll taste different from what you usually have."
"Ooooh..."
Giuseppe's eyes lit up. That cheese was a gift from the families of the villagers I saved. 'Thank you for finding my brother, Sir Howard!'
'I'll never forget this kindness.' Of course, the people I saved are currently undergoing labor reformation for their involvement in crimes... But from their families' perspective, even that seems to be a relief.
Just then, Doloren got up from a cot in the corner of the lab. Doloren sniffed the air.
"Did you bring salmon?"
She's like a ghost. I held out the package containing smoked salmon.
Gulp.
Doloren approached, swallowing her saliva.
"Northern smoked salmon. This stuff is really delicious."
"Would you like some?"
"Can I?"
"Of course."
She's the one who gave a large sum to the Upperhills Foundation, so I should take good care of her.
"Thanks."
Doloren used magic to slice the salmon and put it in her mouth.
Chew, chew. Gulp.
"Wow, this is really good. Thanks, Isaac."
So when she asked for some, she meant right now. The more I see her, the more peculiar she is. I asked Giuseppe.
"Senior, while I was away, did anyone happen to devise a new spell by applying the Principia?"
"Hmm... I heard someone improved the efficiency of telekinesis, but it seems there's been nothing on the universal gravitation front yet."
That's a shame.
"Rather, everyone seems to be captivated by the discovery of a new planet through mathematics alone."
According to Giuseppe, there's a prediction boom happening in the Magic Tower right now. It makes sense. Until now, they could only explain phenomena they had observed, but now, they can foresee the future through formulas.
"But the calculations are more complex than they thought, so everyone seems to be struggling."
"That... will probably continue to be the case."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Finishing calculations with just a few simple equations is only possible under truly ideal conditions. In reality, there are so many variables that even I have to go through countless minor calculations in addition to the main formula when casting a single spell. 'It's a bit disappointing overall...
I was hoping someone might have found a clue to gravity magic so I could build on it... but no one has gotten that far.' I guess this is a problem Anna and I will have to tackle. I wonder if we can devise gravity magic without general relativity...
Just then.
"What's this!"
Doloren shouted, pointing at a letter on my desk. It was a letter from the princess.
Doloren said.
"You're going to meet His Majesty the Emperor? Really?"
Her eyes sparkled.
"Ah, that... Yes. That's what happened. Hahaha."
"To think that His Majesty himself said he'd grant you a wish... What are you going to ask for? A territory?"
"Hmm..."
The Upperhills Foundation is already as good as my own territory. I didn't feel a particular need for a fief. 'It feels like just yesterday I was thinking about wanting to become a landed noble...'
It makes me realize anew how great my achievements have been. I said to Doloren.
"I still have a month until the audience, so I plan to think it over slowly."
"That's good too."
In truth, I already had a few candidates in mind. I plan to choose one of them. At my carefree answer, Giuseppe, who had been listening quietly, spoke in a serious tone devoid of any humor.
"Junior, this isn't something to be taken so lightly."
"You're right..."
"I recommend you ask Lady Everglow to teach you more about imperial etiquette."
"Oh."
Having grown comfortable with the princess, I think I've been taking the formalities of the imperial family too lightly. This is still the Middle Ages, where the feudal order is solid. Foundation or not, I'm just a semi-noble who's made a bit of a name for himself.
Caution, and more caution. Giuseppe nodded in satisfaction.
"Yes. I'm sure you'll do fine, Junior."
Just then, there was a knock on the lab door. A regular, rhythmical sound. It was Anna.
The door opened, and a little kid darted into the lab like an arrow.
"It's good to see you after so long, little sister."
"It's really you, brother, right?"
"Huh?"
Anna stared at me intently and asked, "This isn't Mr. Callen or Mr. Liam in disguise, is it?"
"Has this kid been living a life of deceit?"
"... Then what did you say when you approved my admission to graduate school?"
"I never approved such a thing."
Anna said with a bright smile, "It really is you, brother!"
Hugs.
Anna threw her arms around me. I patted Anna's head and asked, "Little sis, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" I have Anna's first-semester schedule memorized.
It should be her Celestial Natural Studies lecture right now.
"That lecture was canceled."
"Hmm? Why?"
"The professor disappeared after the publication of the Principia."
"Ah."
For him, his life's work had been rendered useless... It's an unfortunate thing. Anna asked me.
"How was your trip to the north? It wasn't too hard, was it?"
Anna's words made me reflect on my recent trip. The power of gold solved the cold, and I felt a sense of satisfaction from wiping out those cultist bastards.
"Yeah. It wasn't as bad as I thought."
At my answer, Anna gave a somewhat wistful smile.
"I see. Then that's all that matters." ...
It seems she went through some hardship while I was away. Anna passed by me and went to Giuseppe. Anna said to Giuseppe, "Our efforts paid off, mister."
"Hehe. You've worked hard, my dear."
The two faced each other and high-fived with a 'smack'. Somehow I felt left out... I asked what was going on, but neither of them gave me a straight answer.
"You don't need to know, brother."
"That's right. Our junior doesn't need to know everything."
Anna continued with a bright smile, "Did you know?
'Our foundation' is on the verge of completion."
"Already?"
I headed to the Barren Basin in a carriage with Laura and Anna. No, it seemed better to call it the Upperhills Foundation now. A massive dormitory building that could house over a thousand children.
A spacious athletic field spread out beside it. A large main school building connected to a library.
"Wow...."
I gasped in awe at the sight of the completed Upperhills Foundation. Even with mages mobilized, it was hard to believe the construction was already finished.
Ah.
Of course, the domed stadium isn't done yet. They said that would take about another half a year. From the seat next to me, Laura began her report.
"All preparations to operate the boarding school are complete. The facilities and supplies are also ready. We are currently in the process of selecting the first thousand children, based on the number of teachers and staff. We are already providing room and board to about 300 children."
Immediately after, Anna added, "I'm living here now, too."
Laura nodded.
"We formally acquired the orphanage where Lady Anna was staying, through the princess, and moved everyone here. We judged that there was meaning in protecting the children, even if the school facilities weren't perfectly ready."
I didn't even order it, but I love it. Laura really is good at her job. Laura continued with her usual expressionless face, "I was merely being faithful to the foundation's founding purpose."
"If you had only done what I asked, it wouldn't have turned out this well. Thank you."
"... Thank you."
Laura maintained her businesslike demeanor to the end. Far off on the athletic field, children were playing, kicking a ball around. Look at those rascals having fun.
Seeing that, a dry laugh escaped me.
Really...
I'm glad I lived so diligently. I asked Laura.
"Is it okay if I go see for myself?"
"Of course, Chairman Upperhills."
My body stiffened at the word 'Chairman.' I'm really a chairman now. Of course, there's no board of directors yet, but I'm the chairman.
As I slowly approached the children on the field, the nearby faculty and staff recognized me and were startled.
"My goodness... It's really Sir Isaac."
"I'm seeing him in person for the first time..."
It was a little embarrassing.
"How did this happen? How do the staff members..."
Laura continued her report.
"The majority of the faculty and staff are people who applied after seeing Sir Upperhills's name and the foundation's vision. It's impossible for them not to know the chairman."
Anna added.
"The competition was incredibly high. Hundreds of applicants for each position."
They would have recruited from the citizens of the capital, not the entire Empire, yet it was hundreds to one.
That's amazing.
'But... that doesn't mean they'd know what my face looks like...' How did they recognize me at a glance? Just then, a child running toward the athletic field turned their gaze to me.
Stops.
The child stopped in front of me and said, "...
Wow!
You're the mister who looks just like that statue over there!"
"Statue?"
"Yes. That one."
I looked where the child was pointing, and there really was a statue. A giant statue of me, sitting in a chair and reading a book, stood between the dormitory and the school building.
Anna said.
"It's cool, but... its flaw is that it doesn't fully capture my brother's true handsomeness."
"Isn't it the other way around...?"
I think it was made to look a bit more handsome than the original. I asked Laura.
"Wasn't this something we didn't plan to build?"
"This is a gift from Her Highness the Princess. It was bestowed directly by the imperial family... so you'd be better off not thinking about removing it."
I'm checkmated.
Looking around, I could see staff members bowing their heads as they passed in front of the statue. Is it really okay to go this far? 'This is practically worship...'
My mind reeled for a moment, but I calmly counted prime numbers to maintain my composure. 569, 571, 577...
There.
I've calmed down. I said to Laura.
"Now that it's on track like this, we should get the school running properly soon."
I took out the draft of the 'Science' textbook I had written myself from my coat and handed it to Laura. Not natural studies.
Science.
"I plan to give one copy to every child and hold classes a few times a week. Is mass production possible?"
Laura took the textbook and wore a troubled expression.
She said.
"... You plan to give this parchment book, one copy each, to a thousand children?"
"Yes."
"It will be difficult to procure that much parchment... I... I'm truly sorry."
"... Ah."
Come to think of it, that was true. Parchment isn't paper.
It's sheepskin.
Suddenly trying to procure enough to make a thousand books is impossible, no matter how much money I have. 'Everything is ready, but paper is the problem?'
Damn it...
I guess I'll have to start by making paper.