Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 428

Regardless of how Dean Saiolous actually felt about Lenok,

it seemed true that the terms of the deal for the second paper Lenok proposed were quite appealing to him.

In fact, before even a day had passed, a massive amount of research funding had begun pouring into Aris’s lab.

Anyway, it would be best if Lenok could handle this matter on his own.

Even if that wasn’t the case, perhaps he thought it was enough if he had confirmed Evan’s tendency to not want to stand out.

“He’s much more proactive than I thought. It seems certain that he doesn’t want to report this situation to the Technology Management Bureau.”

Lenok stroked his chin as he checked the numbers of the funds accumulated in the lab’s computer ledger.

“Or maybe, he doesn’t want to give the impression that he can’t properly handle what happened within the school?”

[…….]

“……Davi?”

Lenok turned his gaze towards the spirit, who wasn’t responding.

Davi, who had been crouching in a corner of the desk, glanced at Lenok and turned his head away.

[……Boo.]

“……?”

Lenok, watching Davi suddenly refuse to talk, picked up the spirit and placed him on his lap.

[……!]

Lenok stroked the cheeks of the brain spirit, whose ears were perked up, and fell into thought.

“A second paper……”

When he wrote the first paper, he had no idea that it would cause such a ripple effect.

Who would have known that a paper he thought of as an excuse to diligently carry out his duties as an assistant professor would become so famous that it would affect the entire field of magical engineering?

That’s why he felt that he hadn’t properly utilized the value and fame of the paper back then.

This time, Lenok intended to thoroughly assess the value of the paper and adjust its impact to his own advantage.

‘If I’m going to publish a paper under Evan’s name, I need to do it properly. I can’t stay in this ambiguous position as an assistant professor.’

Of course, all of those assumptions were based on the premise that the second paper Lenok would write would cause a similar reaction and impact, but Lenok wasn’t too worried.

He had the talent to see all things from a different perspective than others, and he also had a deep understanding that allowed him to theorize it himself.

If he could convey the inspiration and ideas he had only gained in life-or-death battles, the result would probably not be disappointing.

Lenok thought so and, holding Davi, stood up.

“It’s time. The support personnel the dean promised will be here. I know roughly how this is going, so let’s get it done quickly.”

[Boo.]

“……Was the battery you ate today not very tasty?”

[……?]

Davi tilted his head as if to say that wasn’t it. Lenok put him inside his coat and started walking.

* * *

“So, you’re telling me that out of all people, you’re the one who came to help me?”

“……I have no words……sir. It’s just that this was the first task I was assigned after returning to the university……sir.”

The young man slightly averted his gaze at Lenok’s words.

A light epaulet, indicating that he was a researcher directly under a distinguished professor, was attached to the shoulder of the young man who had swept his hair to one side.

Pablen Archwood.

When Lenok entered the university, he was a noble from a prestigious family in his fourth year, and now, with the passage of time, he was a magician undergoing the process of becoming a full professor.

He had once tried to turn Lenok, who was acquainted with Aris, into a wreck, but after a serious conversation where he wagered half of his magical power, the problem had been completely resolved.

Since then, Archwood had never tried to approach Lenok first, and Lenok had not contacted him either, unless it was related to the internal affairs of the school.

“I heard that you needed someone to accompany you to investigate a dangerous crime scene. It was difficult to refuse the dean’s request……sir.”

“Drop the formalities.”

Archwood flinched at Lenok’s expressionless words.

“It would look suspicious if Pablen Archwood acted like that towards a mere assistant professor.”

“Ahem, don’t worry, I don’t intend to interfere. I haven’t forgotten about your…… well, your skills. I just need to keep my mouth shut, right?”

Archwood cleared his throat and desperately avoided eye contact. He tried to act calm, but he couldn’t stop his voice from trembling.

He didn’t know much about Lenok, but he had a rough idea of how powerful a magician Lenok was.

The fact that he had decided to accompany him on this task, even with the dean’s request, meant that he trusted Lenok’s abilities that much.

And he probably had the calculation that if he did the dean’s favor while making a show of it, it would be helpful someday.

However, instead of answering, Lenok stared at Archwood for a long time before saying abruptly.

“……Your magic power has returned.”

Didn’t he directly break and eliminate half of his magic power in the plains where he had gone with Aris?

But now, when he looked slightly into his inner self, the half of his magic power that had been eliminated had been completely restored.

Lenok himself had no memory of returning the lost magic power, and there was no way to restore the magic power that had been evaporated back then.

Thud!

“Hic……!”

Lenok, looking at Archwood’s eyes as he made a sound as if he was being choked as soon as he touched his shoulder, asked.

“I don’t remember taking any special measures. How did this happen?”

Lenok’s ability to control magic power cannot be judged within the framework of simple ranks or realms.

The essence of magical interference allowed by transcendent talent and intuition.

The skill of directly contacting another magician’s body and cutting off the roots of their magic power was one of the techniques he had freely handled even before completing his rank.

If he had restored the magic power that had been eliminated, not just sealed it, he must have borrowed the hands of a sorcerer or healer of tremendous skill.

And if Archwood could connect him with a healer of that skill, right now-

“I, I didn’t recover it……!!”

Archwood squeezed out the words with difficulty, trembling.

“I’ve just been continuously increasing the amount of magic power itself with the support of my family…… Please……! It hasn’t been long since it returned to its original state……!!”

“……”

He wasn’t saying that he had regained the half of his magic power that Lenok had eliminated, but that he had increased the vessel of his magic power and increased the magic power contained within it.

Lenok, who knew how rare elixirs or artifacts that increase the maximum magic power that humans are born with, was not expecting this.

Even Lenok himself had only been able to touch the amount of magic power itself recently due to the serendipity of receiving the residual magic power of the Hanghasa Labyrinth.

If it was a prestigious noble family like Archwood’s, they might be able to spend precious elixirs like water for their children.

Lenok, looking at Archwood, who was trembling with his eyes almost closed, nodded quietly.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“You believe me……?”

“There’s no time to verify the truth. If it’s a lie, I can deal with it later…… The dean made a pretty good choice of personnel.”

“Oh, really?”

If Archwood, who had tried to turn Lenok into a wreck in the past, was his companion, he wouldn’t feel any guilt.

If the situation wasn’t favorable, he could use him as a meat shield and throw him away at an appropriate level.

In that sense, someone like Archwood was a comfortable opponent for Lenok.

Archwood, who didn’t know that, was making a strange expression as if he had been recognized by Lenok’s words.

“Let’s leave before sunset. According to the address the dean gave me, it’s in the 38th district.”

“Hmm, I haven’t been to the 40s district much…… I might not be of much help.”

“…….”

“……Ah, I understand. I won’t say anything.”

Lenok headed towards the outer district with Archwood, who was sweating profusely with his mouth tightly shut.

The dean had received a report about the misuse of the paper about a week ago.

It wasn’t just because the results of the paper were used without royalties, but because a complaint had been filed by a business that was affiliated with the university in advance.

There was testimony that a business that was imitating products similar to theirs was operating in an old workshop near the 38th district.

The dean, who had heard the rumors, tried to find out the facts through university staff, and after that, no one survived.

Of course, there was a large-scale police investigation, and nothing was found during the search.

Now, a week later, only yellow police tape was attached to the crime scene, and no one was entering.

This was probably the result of the university’s faculty department trying to preserve the scene.

Click!

He passed through the tape and found the small workshop at the address the dean had given him.

The bloodstains that had once spread widely inside were now just thick and stuck everywhere.

Only the shapes that marked the traces of the corpses that had died and stuck to the floor, as marked by the police, were visible.

“Ugh…… the smell of blood……”

Archwood, who had come in from behind, clutching his nose, frowned.

Lenok turned to Archwood and smiled.

“Your stomach is strong. I thought you would throw up right away.”

“It’s not that I don’t have experience due to family tradition. It’s just that I’m not used to it……”

Well, otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought of killing Lenok just because he didn’t like him.

“So, what are you going to do here now?”

Archwood, who had gotten used to the smell of rotten blood and flesh faster than expected, asked.

“It’s been over a week since the police investigation ended. The main evidence, as well as the related incident records and witnesses, will all be stored at the local police station.”

“I’ve already checked the incident records, and I’ve also confirmed the witnesses’ alibis.”

Lenok said, looking around the blood-stained factory’s production facilities.

“The main evidence stored at the police station is also on its way here.”

“……What?”

He had no intention of spending a long time trying to find the culprit unnecessarily.

He had already come to a conclusion to some extent before coming here, and he just needed to put the last piece of the puzzle together and confirm it.

No sooner had Lenok finished speaking than the factory door burst open and someone quickly walked in.

“Evan, I brought the things you asked for.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Cassia.”

“……Cassia? Cassia Rubenil?”

Cassia, who handed Lenok the items wrapped in a small lab, smiled slightly awkwardly at Archwood.

“Ah, yes…… I came to help Evan for a while at his request. There aren’t many people involved who know about this matter.”

“It’s an honor to meet the Deputy Researcher of the Carlyle Research Institute in person. I’ve heard that the project you’re currently working on has been receiving a lot of attention in the world, and it’s truly a great achievement. Congratulations.”

“Yes……?”

The project being carried out at that very research institute was based on Lenok’s paper, yet Archwood was praising her while leaving Lenok aside.

It was only natural that Cassia’s expression changed slightly awkwardly.

Lenok also turned his gaze towards Archwood with a slightly intrigued face.

‘He still doesn’t know that I submitted the paper under Evan’s name.’

Even without knowing that, he joined this task, thinking about the dean’s request and Lenok’s identity?

Whether to call this stupid or naive, it didn’t matter now.

Lenok thought so and unwrapped the items Cassia had brought and held up the contents.

The small item wrapped in a small lab, which could fit inside a finger, was a small necklace.

The necklace, dotted with unknown decorations, shone brightly as it received the sunset coming through the factory windows.