Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 133

Tingle…!!

Listening to the soft sound, he muttered.

‘Become the answer I seek. From now on, your name is ‘Dabi’.’

Silence followed.

The fox, which had been quietly wagging its tail, finally responded.

[My master enjoys riddles. I understand.]

Dabi, who had folded its front paws and settled on the desk, said,

[From now on, I will study little by little.]

Thud, thud!

His shoulder bumped against the shaking wall, and he frowned slightly.

It had already been almost three hours since he boarded this giant metal vehicle, but his weak body showed no signs of adjusting.

Instead, feeling a slight wave of nausea rising, Lenok crossed his arms and looked out the window.

A cold, winter plateau.

A lone train running on a massive railway in the middle of nowhere.

Lenok was now on that train, heading somewhere other than Balkan.

Aris, who was sitting in front of him, looking at a newspaper, sighed softly and said,

‘Tell me if you’re feeling unwell. We can take a break for a while if needed.’

‘…I’m fine.’

The fact that she could freely stop and start a train with the capacity to carry at least a hundred people indirectly showed her position.

And the reason she could say such things so casually was probably because there were fewer than ten people on this train right now.

She stared blankly at Lenok’s face, then slightly turned her gaze and said,

‘I’m sorry for suddenly asking for your help with this. It’s just that you’re the only one available in my lab right now, Lenok….’

‘Haven’t I been neglecting my work lately? I have to endure this much.’

While dealing with the black magician’s work, he had been spending more and more time away from the university and even the library.

Of course, Aris never blamed him for that, but Lenok felt a sense of obligation towards her because of it.

If the other person was shameless and wicked, he wouldn’t care at all, but she was the one who had considered his abilities and circumstances and directly placed him in the lab, enduring various criticisms.

If circumstances allowed, and if it was a short trip of about one or two days, it was reasonable to accept.

‘I didn’t know that this kind of academic conference was being held outside the mega-city.’

Lenok changed the subject to calm his nausea.

It seemed better to continue the conversation than just staring at the distant scenery.

‘It’s not an official schedule; it’s an informal academic conference.’

Aris replied calmly.

‘It’s not just about presenting theories, but also considering practical verification, which is why we’re traveling so far right now.’

‘I see….’

So, they were going on a business trip because they were heading to a place with a demonstration area for using magic.

He decided to think of it casually.

After all, even at the conference, Lenok’s job would only be to assist her.

Since it wouldn’t take too long, it would be good to think of it as a short trip to clear his head.

‘By the way, aren’t you going to show me soon?’

‘Huh?’

At Lenok’s question, Aris’s blue eyes sparkled as she said,

‘You said you couldn’t come to the university because you had personal achievements. I think I deserve to hear that story, don’t you?’

‘Well… I suppose so.’

He had made various excuses for not being able to come to the university, and it seemed she remembered exactly what Lenok had said.

‘It’s the first time you’ve said such a thing, so to be honest, I’m also looking forward to it. Did you perhaps come up with a new theory that would surprise me?’

‘……’

Lenok hesitated for a moment, then quickly made a decision.

This moment, when they hadn’t seen each other for a while, was an opportunity to open up a little more about the secret Lenok had been hiding.

‘Don’t be surprised.’

‘Don’t be surprised? If Lenok knew how many bizarre experiences I’ve had since I learned magic….’

Aris laughed as if amused, but the moment Lenok raised a pure white sphere in his hand, her mouth dropped open.

The expression on her face when a tiny fox appeared inside the sphere, licking its front paws, was something Lenok had never seen before.

‘……’

Lenok stroked Dabi’s head as it wagged its tail and said,

‘Actually, at the same time as I awakened my magic power, I became able to summon this one.’

Dabi glanced at Aris and then settled on Lenok’s lap, tucking its front paws.

After realizing that she was not just a simple artificial intelligence, she didn’t like to talk as much as he thought.

Was it because her own tendencies were being determined in the process of establishing her ego? Lenok didn’t care much because he had no intention of trying to adjust her rashly.

Lenok looked at Aris, who was gaping and frozen, and casually told a lie.

‘While continuing my research because I had lingering feelings about spirit formulas [formulas used in summoning spirits], a very powerful inspiration came to me. Along with that, I realized that I had awakened my magic power.’

There was no answer.

Aris, who had lost all her composure from before, was staring blankly at Dabi, unable to take her eyes off it.

If it was just awakening magic power, she wouldn’t have been this surprised.

Perhaps Aris was also expecting something when she heard the words ‘personal achievement’.

But the fact that Lenok had awakened and summoned a spirit without her even noticing, and had brought it on this train, seemed to be quite a shock to her.

After a considerable amount of time had passed, Aris finally came to her senses.

‘Uh… congratulations, first of all. I’m so surprised, I don’t know what to say.’

‘Thank you.’

At Lenok’s words, Aris scratched her cheek silently.

Her face was faintly flushed, a rare sight.

‘I’m sorry. It’s my fault.’

‘Huh?’

‘When we first met, I saw you were interested in this and urged you to give up, but I was wrong. To think you would awaken your magic power and summon a spirit in just one year….’

Aris said with a clearly dejected face.

‘I almost buried Lenok’s talent because of my mistake. In fact, I haven’t been any help at all.’

‘……’

Come to think of it, he remembered that on the second day he met her at the library, Lenok was looking through materials on summoning magic and spirit formulas.

The connection that started when Aris called out to Lenok at that time had continued until now.

Was she thinking that Lenok would have awakened his spirit faster if it hadn’t been for her?

It seemed like he had caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.

If Lenok hadn’t gained knowledge about necromancy and artificial intelligence through this incident, it would have been impossible to create a spirit.

There was no reason for Aris to feel guilty about seeing the spirit.

Lenok, looking at her with a clouded expression and slightly bowed head, opened his mouth.

There was no use in offering a comforting word here.

That’s why Lenok chose a completely different approach.

‘Dabi, get on.’

[……]

The fox shook its body as if it was annoyed, but it didn’t refuse Lenok’s words.

Dabi, who had been sitting on his lap, jumped and climbed onto Aris’s head, and her eyes widened.

Dabi settled comfortably on her bright golden hair and lay down.

‘Uh, uh….’

Aris was stiff and flustered, not knowing what to do.

Lenok, watching her, said,

‘Isn’t it lighter than you thought?’

‘…Huh?’

‘Shouldn’t we just lightly brush off the matter of spirit talent as well?’

Even Lenok thought it was nonsense, but that’s how human emotions are, aren’t they?

Moreover, to ease the mood of a magician who is called the embodiment of reason, ordinary logic doesn’t work.

Listening to Lenok’s words, she, who had been dazed, finally chuckled.

‘…What is that?’

‘What does the process matter?’

‘Is that so?’

Aris finally grabbed Dabi’s body, which had been on her head, and slowly lowered it.

‘But it’s not my taste.’

‘……’

It was a sharp answer. It seemed that her standards for cuteness were higher than he thought.

Dabi shook its body as if it didn’t like it, then snuggled back into Lenok’s arms and curled up.

After clearly recognizing her own intelligence, Dabi spent more time thinking alone.

It was probably a conflict caused by the fact that she had gained intelligence beyond the tools of artificial intelligence, and the way of thinking that was originally based on existing algorithms.

Aris also seemed to sense traces of high intelligence in Dabi’s response, and stared at Dabi with an interested gaze.

‘To be able to designate a subject and have a clear conversation, it’s a very intelligent individual even among spirits.’

‘My kid has a bad personality, but she’s quite smart.’

‘Hmm, that’s definitely something you can say is like her owner.’

‘……’

Aris burst into laughter at Lenok’s displeased expression.

Academic Conference (1)

‘I’m just kidding. But I was really surprised. As far as I remember, you haven’t been to the lab for about two weeks, but to think you’d accomplish something like this in the meantime… you’re really amazing.’

‘Isn’t this just the beginning?’

‘No. Your theoretical knowledge is already so professional and systematic that it’s close to level 6. Looking back at the questions you’ve asked, this is certain. Since you already have a solid theoretical background, if you just properly refine your magic power and forge your formulas, your level will rise quickly. Of course, you’ll have to do spirit formulas in parallel, but….’

‘I see.’

Aris said that, but Lenok had no intention of learning and using spirit formulas.

Dabi had the appearance of a spirit, but it was hard to think that its foundation was actually the same as a spirit.

The possibility of being able to enhance Dabi’s abilities through existing spirit formulas was quite low.

Rather, what Lenok expected from Dabi was closer to the powerful calculation ability using artificial intelligence.

Originally, an artificial intelligence with performance as powerful as a supercomputer. Dabi’s thinking ability, which had acquired that algorithm as it was, would be more accurate and faster than any ordinary calculation device.

‘There are several ideas that come to mind. I can try them out one by one and use them.’

While he was lost in thought, the train stopped.

‘We’ve arrived.’

Old ruins standing on a barren prairie.

The scenery of the collapsed ramparts, as if a huge castle had once been built here, came into view at a glance.

They said they had rented a place for magic demonstrations, and it seemed they had chosen a place that could serve as accommodation and was also somewhat organically connected to the outside.

From the train window, various magic powers flowed out, mixed together, from the dozens of small mansions built inside the ramparts.

It was only natural, as scholars who studied magic like Aris had gathered together.

Lenok pulled his suitcase and got off the train with her.

The faces of other magicians who had come with them were visible.

Lenok shook his head as he spotted a familiar man among them.

‘Professor Richelren.’

A handsome young man with his hair swept to one side.

It was Pablen Archwood.

‘If you needed an attendant, you could have asked me.’

He was smiling softly at Aris, as if he had completely forgotten about the conflict he had with Lenok.

‘Archwood. This isn’t the time for you to be paying attention to me.’

Aris shook her head and said coldly.