Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 523

After the dean left, only Lenox and Cassia remained in the booth.

At Lenox’s feet, where he was assembling the engine, the spirit and Davi, left behind by the dean, were bickering.

Perhaps because of the two spirits buzzing around, even though they weren’t airplanes, people slowly began to gather.

“There are so many amazing things at the expo.”

“It’s my first time seeing a spirit in person. Are they all this cute?”

“If there’s a presentation on spirit-related research, I want to see it soon. When does it start?”

As a huge crowd had gathered to view the expo, quite a few citizens were also moving in and out of the city hall.

When more than a dozen people had gathered to watch the spirits playing, Cassia turned her head sharply, looking nervous.

“Evan, are you sure this is okay?”

“Won’t it work out somehow?”

Lenox said, taking out the assembled engine and placing it on the display stand in the booth.

“I don’t have anything to show right now, but if I just get the engine running, no one will say anything. We can get by until the judging starts.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

Cassia leaned slightly towards Lenox and whispered.

“We have to explain the thesis to the judges as it is now. But with just one engine as preparation…….”

“I’ll go look around the other booths for a bit, so can you hold down the fort?”

“……What did you say?”

“Since the dean’s spirit is here, it shouldn’t be too hard to greet people.”

“No, how can I take care of this child when I’m not even a spirit mage……!!”

Before Cassia could finish speaking, Lenox snatched Davi and walked straight out of the booth.

Holding the researcher name tag that the dean had given him, he put on a stern face as if he had something to do, and the citizens naturally made way for him.

He grabbed a hot dog sold outside the lobby and began to look around the booths inside the city hall.

“Hmm…….”

He felt the unhealthy taste seeping into him in real-time as he examined the booths that were preparing.

Some places had already finished preparing and were allowing visitors, while many booths had drawn curtains and were working intently.

Lenox began to check the research details and themes that those booths had revealed at this expo with a sharp eye.

‘It’s a gathering of adjacent magic towers and research institutions. There’s no better opportunity to peek at recent research trends and directions.’

It wasn’t just about demonstrations and exhibitions; these people had to be judged by the expo judges and wait for awards.

It was inevitable that they would have to reveal the core of their research achievements or the core principles of their technology during the judging process.

Lenox planned to use his insight and Davi’s abilities to record and store the technologies revealed by the magic towers and research institutions at this event on the spot.

‘Even though the second thesis presentation is important, it’s a waste to miss this opportunity.’

Since various research institutions from all over the continent had come, the themes and fields were also diverse.

Just by lightly looking around the booths that had been separately invited inside the city hall, Lenox was constantly seeing topics and research achievements that inspired him.

“The existence of a new formula system discovered at the 62nd Magic Tower Conference, clinical trials to adjust the beastliness of demi-humans, new architectural styles using space compression…….”

He recorded the research topics and themes that came to mind while holding Davi in his arms.

“Wait a minute, researcher there. What are you doing?”

“Can I take a look at what you were holding just now?”

Of course, with Lenox’s infiltration skills, it was impossible for him to sneak between booths and steal the presentation content hidden for judging.

Magic tower mages and researchers who noticed his suspicious movements and pointed him out like ghosts.

But every time that happened, Lenox would lift the electronic spirit in his arms high with both hands, as if he had been waiting for it.

“I’m sorry. Our spirit wanted to go out for a walk after a long time.”

[…….]

Davi narrowed his eyes and looked down at Lenox, who had started playing the spirit card.

However, most people’s suspicions melted away like snow as soon as they saw the chubby baby fox, and their faces turned gentle.

“You’re a spirit mage. Then it’s okay.”

“Oh my, it’s a very young spirit.”

Mages and researchers who had been looking at Davi with a pouty face instantly broke into smiles.

“There’s a saying that young spirits should be allowed to see and hear as much as possible.”

“What’s its name? Can I pet it?”

Some researchers even naturally guided Lenox into their booths while talking about spirits.

“I’m not sure if I’m bothering the busy researchers.”

“No, we happen to have some good catalysts left over here. If it’s okay, I’d like to give them to your child as food.”

“Davi, you have to say hello.”

[…….]

The electronic spirit seemed very displeased with the current situation, but he kept his mouth shut as if he didn’t want to speak in front of other people.

Lenox held Davi’s front paw and clapped his hands together.

“Davi, boo~”

[Boo.]

He only threw out one word with a sulky look, but that alone melted the faces of the mages and researchers with a pleased expression.

“Oh my, oh my.”

“I’d like to introduce it to my colleagues, would you have some time?”

“Of course.”

[Boo boo!!]

Spirit mages were very rare in the first place, and their research themes rarely overlapped with the fields of general academic societies.

He easily took advantage of the mages’ efforts to see Davi, using Davi as a lure, completely forgetting their wariness.

As soon as he entered the booth, he quickly scanned the entire research achievement using Lenox’s magic power and Davi’s electronic manipulation ability.

After spending about half a day going around all the booths, using Davi as an all-purpose key to open the firm wariness of the mages, Lenox walked out of the lobby, lost in thought.

Apart from having stolen various technologies and research achievements, he had felt something suspicious in the process.

‘I have a feeling that the directions of some magic towers and research institutions are strangely overlapping.’

Lenox’s eyes turned cold as he couldn’t help but buy a commercially available roll of charging tissue and fidget with it.

‘Research institutes and magic towers with almost no common ground have chosen the same theme at the same time…… There must be a reason.’

Most of the overlapping themes were related to the atmospheric environment of Vulcan, such as atmospheric flow manipulation and magnetic storm resistance experiments.

How likely was it that these topics were presented one after another at this expo as if they had made a promise?

Just as Lenox was about to quickly continue his thoughts, a voice came from behind him.

“Evan?”

He stopped walking at the voice he heard from behind.

A sharp-looking woman with her blue hair roughly tied up was looking at him with ice cream smeared all over her mouth.

“Wow, it’s really Evan! It’s been a while?”

The other person approached him, patting Lenox roughly on the shoulder as if she was happy to see him.

Lenox instantly changed his expression and smiled as if he couldn’t help it.

“Camilla, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Mila, do you know this person?”

From behind Mila, a huge bird-headed giant walked out.

He was wearing a cone hat that didn’t match his solemn expression and holding a gear-shaped balloon in one hand.

Mila turned her head sharply and said, holding onto Lenox.

“Felix, this is my younger sibling’s homeroom teacher I told you about before!!”

Felix and Mila, members of the Antares Mercenary Office.

As the scale of the Magic Engineering Expo was large, they had also come to this place to enjoy the expo.

“Oh, so you’re Assistant Professor Evan Bailon…….”

Felix also seemed to have heard about Evan, as he wiggled his thick eyebrows and offered a handshake.

“Felix Magath. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Evan Bailon.”

Felix and Mila didn’t know that Ban and Evan were the same person.

However, since Mila’s younger sister, Priscilla, was working at Lavatenon University, they only knew that the assistant professor in charge of her was Evan.

But even considering that, Felix seemed quite interested in Evan.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I heard you played a part in catching a religious missionary.”

“It wasn’t a big deal…….”

“Mila praised you, saying that you’re a research mage but also talented in combat.”

“He’s the one who saved Sheila. My judgment is spot on.”

“As you can see, he’s not a friend who’s smart enough to make empty words.”

“…….”

Felix said, taking out a business card from his pocket and giving it to Lenox.

“The Antares Mercenary Office always welcomes talented newcomers. If we ever have a connection.”

“……Yes. I’ll take it with gratitude.”

“Are you presenting at this expo? I’ll go with the others to take a look!!”

“I don’t know where Dylan is or what he’s doing. Did Stella already go to drink?”

Lenox chuckled as he watched the mercenaries from the Antares office walk away noisily and turned around.

Since more time had passed than he had thought, Cassia must be under a lot of pressure.

It was time to take over the booth and start preparing.

As Lenox thought this and returned to his booth, he saw Cassia staring at something with her arms crossed.

Just as Lenox was about to carefully call out to Cassia, who seemed to be on edge, a stiff voice suddenly rang out from next to the booth.

“Evan Bailon?”

A man with a strict impression, as if a needle wouldn’t even go in, was standing there looking at Lenox.

He looked around the booth as if he was the owner of the booth assigned to Lenox and walked inside without a care.

“Assistant Professor Evan Bailon from Lavatenon University. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I am…….”

“Seeing that you have the dean’s spirit, it must be you.”

The man cut off Lenox’s words and said, looking at the engine.

“I heard there was a scoundrel who was showing off Professor Richelren’s achievements as his own, so I wanted to see him in person.”

“…….”

“I was surprised that you look more normal than I thought. Leeches who stick to other people and suck their blood usually have a certain look.”

The man glanced at him and said.

“Well, I guess that’s why you were able to charm the second researcher at the Carlisle Research Institute and put on a plausible show.”

When someone shows such blatant hostility, you don’t get that angry.

“You should be careful about wagging your tongue. Or maybe you don’t need to?”

Cassia, with a cold expression, stood in front of the man who was picking a fight with insults that were almost curses.

“I’ll make sure you pay for the petty insults you just spewed.”

“Is that so?”

“The emblem on your gown. You’re from the Pegratze Research Institute, right?”

Cassia snapped in a sharp voice.

“There’s a rumor going around that you’re under the protection of a senator. Are you planning to show off that connection at this expo too?”

“I don’t understand. It’s you guys who are under the protection of the city council.”

“What did you say?”

The man rubbed his temples and said with a genuinely confused expression.

“Did you think our research institute wouldn’t know that your dean is going around as a technical advisor to the Central Council and lobbying?”

“There’s a limit to how shameless you can be.”

Cassia sneered in a sharp tone.

“There have been several articles about the Pegratze Research Institute being raided twice by the audit office led by Lower House Member Meyer-”

“We’re just collaborating for research. To try to find fault with Lavatenon, which is actually lobbying, is too shameless, don’t you think?”

The man cut her off in the middle of her words and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I came to see what kind of face you had to show up at the expo, but at this point, I don’t think I need to bother.”

The man smiled and tapped the engine that Lenox had assembled.

“I was wondering what you brought, but it’s just an engine that uses the principle of magic and power conversion?”

“…….”

“It was a groundbreaking theory when the thesis was presented, but this field has already completed commercialization verification and has been in mass production for a long time. There are plenty of things that are just as good as this among the top-tier magic engineering engines that are currently on the market.”

The man’s gaze towards Lenox was filled with both undisguised joy and contempt.

“I expected it, but you’re just a piece of trash who’s just following Professor Richelren’s achievements. Your second thesis is probably just recycling the first one.”

Bang, bang!!

The man’s touch on the engine gradually became rougher.

“You were probably planning to live your whole life sucking someone else’s blood like that, but you chose the wrong stage to crawl out on. This time, I’ll make sure to expose your shameless face and disgrace without leaving anything behind……!!!”

“If you keep hitting that.”

Lenox cut off the man’s words and said.

His gaze was directed at the engine that the man had been roughly hitting since earlier.

“It’ll explode.”

“What?”

Chiiik……!!

At that moment, the upper part of the engine that the man had been hitting so hard turned bright red and then emitted a bluish flame.

Kwaaaah!!!

The man’s arm, which had been holding the ultra-high heat with his bare hands, was engulfed in flames and burned.

The man, with a miserable expression, collapsed and screamed a terrible scream.

“Kkyaaaaaack!?!!!!”

The man, clutching his arm that had caught fire, rolled around on the booth floor like crazy.

Before Lenox and Cassia could take any action, several people jumped out from next to the booth and supported him.

“Sleeman!!”

“What happened!!”

“He’s hurt his arm!! Call the safety personnel quickly!!”

“No, no……!! My arm……!!!”

The arm engulfed in flames seemed to be difficult to move properly. Sleeman himself must have already realized it when the engine exploded.

Cassia frowned slightly at Sleeman’s expression, who was crying tears and snot with a terribly distorted face.

Sleeman pointed at the two of them with a desperate scream.

“Those, those bastards!! Those bastards burned my arm!!”

* * *

“So, according to the CCTV footage, it doesn’t seem like you two had any intention.”

“Those guys burned Sleeman’s arm!! They used a vicious trick to eliminate their competitor!!”

“Didn’t Researcher Sleeman himself approach the booth first and touch the demonstration product?”

“The Carlisle Research Institute did this……!! They’re jealous because the Pegratze Research Institute is doing well!!”

“Oh dear…….”

The public official, who was dealing with the unreasonable demands of the researchers who seemed to be Sleeman’s colleagues, let out a troubled sigh.

Sleeman’s right arm, which was surrounded by safety personnel and being escorted away, seemed to be difficult to move properly.

Ultra-high heat burns, which are said to cause the most terrible pain to humans.

If he didn’t wear an auxiliary device, it would be difficult for him to use his right arm properly in the future.

If he wore a prosthetic arm, there wouldn’t be a big problem in continuing his research career, but he would have considerable difficulty in handling magic power as a mage.

In fact, he had no choice but to be seen as having regressed significantly compared to others as a magic engineering researcher.

“It’s clearly his own fault that he touched the demonstration product that was being adjusted, so I have nothing to say. I don’t know about morally…… but it’s difficult for us to take responsibility for this.”

“You……!! Do you know what we’re about to do and are acting like this!!”

The researchers grabbed the public official by the collar and shook him violently.

It could be felt that even the mages and researchers who were quietly preparing in other booths were glancing this way.

Lenox neatly ignored the gazes pouring in from all directions and focused on repairing the exploded engine without saying a word.

Cassia glanced at Lenox from behind and asked.

“Will it be done soon?”

“There won’t be a problem.”

Lenox replied.

“It’s just that the heat vent filter was overloaded, so if I just readjust the output limit, it’ll be fine.”

“Hmm, out of all the filters, the part that he touched just happened to be overloaded…….”

“It’s a coincidence.”

Cassia smiled.

“Yes, a terrible coincidence.”

What Lenox had to deal with now was not the Pegratze Research Institute, but the judges who were trying to verify the contents of his thesis.

This commotion was nothing compared to what he had to do in the future.

The reason why he had only ruined one of Sleeman’s arms instead of killing him was also for that reason.

Even if he could disguise it as a plausible explosion accident, there was a possibility that the expo schedule would be delayed if someone died.

Lenox didn’t want this to be disrupted because of just one useless nuisance.

“The adjustment is complete. It will now operate normally.”

As he straightened his stiff back and stood up from his seat, Cassia, who had been cleaning up and organizing the booth from behind, asked.

“But is the content of your second thesis really related to the engine?”

“Are you curious now?”

“I’ve been curious for a long time.”

Cassia said with a smirk.

“What that idiot said earlier might not be true, but it seems certain that the results of your second thesis are related to the engine.”

Otherwise, there was no way he would be holding onto the engine and repairing it at this time before the expo presentation.

He had made an excuse that it was for external display, but he had brought nothing else, which was too much to be seen that way.

What was he planning to do that the strict dean had readily used his connections and acquaintances to push this so recklessly?

“It must be a groundbreaking improvement in fuel efficiency or output.”

Before Lenox could answer, a quiet voice rang out from outside the booth.

A woman with a cold impression wearing glasses. She was wearing a completely different outfit from the Pegratze researcher who seemed to be Sleeman’s colleague.

If anything, she was wearing a uniform that looked more like a military uniform. She smiled at Lenox without entering the booth.

“Fedora. Fedora Avon. I’m from the Defense Force Technology Bureau.”

She didn’t want to suffer the same fate as Sleeman, so she didn’t enter the booth and just looked at Lenox.

“I’m sorry about what that idiot tried to do earlier.”

“No, it’s okay…….”

“I just found out that he was rejected when he tried to enter Professor Richelren’s lab. He must have held a grudge against you and gone crazy.”

“…….”

In that short time, she had collected information about the two of them, figured out the situation, and started a conversation with Lenox.

Defense Force Technology Bureau. It seemed that it was still maintaining its existence even after Lieutenant General Trepen’s rebellion.

“I’m not such a stupid idiot. But it’s also true that what he said wasn’t wrong.”

Fedora glanced at the engine and said.

“You’re planning to submit a result that improves the performance or efficiency of the engine with your second thesis, right? You have to bring something like that to show off.”

“Is that so?”

Lenox could communicate much better with Fedora than with Sleeman, who had said that he was trying to commit fraud at this expo.

However, Fedora also seemed somewhat skeptical about the thesis results that Lenox was trying to submit.

“But you won’t be able to catch the eyes of the council members with just that kind of result.”

“…….”

“The theme they want at this expo has been decided from the beginning, and we’ve been preparing for it for a long time knowing that fact. The other research institutes are the same. Your dean may be related to high-ranking officials in the city government, but what can Lavatenon University do without any special collaboration or support?”

Fedora’s gaze at Lenox’s engine didn’t feel any emotion.

“The city government always wants new achievements and groundbreaking technological advancements. They won’t be impressed by just following past achievements. The dean has misjudged people.”

“Groundbreaking advancement…….”

“I heard that the dean went to great lengths to put you on the expo stage this time. If you fail, the dean’s connections and authority will also be greatly undermined.”

Fedora said as she passed by the front of the booth with a smile.

“Let’s do our best together. It seems like the result is already decided.”

Cassia, who had been staring at Fedora’s disappearing back with a dumbfounded expression, turned her head sharply.

It seemed like there was a slight vein popping out on Cassia’s forehead as she smiled.

“Shouldn’t we show that woman the engine for a bit too?”

“……It’s better to calm down first.”

Lenox said with a smirk.

“The demonstration will start soon anyway.”

As he said that, the movements inside the city hall booth suddenly became much busier.

[I will call out the list, so those who are named, please come forward.]

A mechanical announcement echoed softly in the city hall lobby.

[We will now begin the judging.]

At the same time, the booths located outside the building lobby were called out one by one to the wide open stage inside the lobby.

As the lights slowly turned on, the figures of those who were neatly lined up on the second floor of the city hall gradually came into view.

A place where the upper body was submerged in darkness where the face could not be seen, and only wrinkled hands holding canes could be seen.

The senators of the city government’s Central Council had arrived at the expo.

The demonstration to confirm the achievements and technologies of this expo had begun.