Chapter 86: The Mad Professor (8)

The Yorta Barony.

A merchant family that had been the eternal second place.

The second daughter, Velia Yorta, was undoubtedly brilliant.

She was also born with an outstanding talent for business.

But business isn’t something that can be done with brains alone.

Even someone who graduated at the top of the Academy could end up bankrupt, surrounded only by flies instead of money.

People call even that “luck,” but well.

Being able to hold out until luck arrives is also a kind of fortune.

That was what Velia thought.

The situation was bad in many ways.

The family’s standing had always been second place, so it was slowly sliding downward.

Yet her older sisters were busy checking each other instead of joining forces to overcome the crisis.

In the middle of that crisis, Velia was forcibly handed a business project.

To establish trade with the Tower of Alchemists, a specific item was needed, and to supply it, one had to head to Demisia.

The journey was naturally perilous.

Velia, who had arranged the deal (though it was half-forced upon her), had to risk her life and set out.

She even had to participate in the transaction herself.

If things went wrong, she was destined to be swallowed by a sandworm.

But at the moment of crisis, Innocence appeared in person and saved her.

– Be grateful to the Alkart family.

– Yes? You know about Young Master Evan?

– You know him too?

…Somehow, while clinging to his trouser leg and talking, the moment the word “Evan” came up, Innocence showed great favor.

It wasn’t just ordinary favor; it was enough to push through a national-level deal.

To think you have connections with Evan. What a splendid merchant house. 

Shall we have a pleasant conversation for a moment?

It didn’t even take that long.

After the minimum formalities, the trade agreement was stamped immediately.

There was a condition that she maintain a good relationship with Evan, but considering the usual difficulty of closing deals, that condition was practically free.

No matter how small the Kingdom of Demisia was, it was still a kingdom.

It had knights, so it was a proper country.

Its economic scale was something ordinary merchant houses couldn’t even dream of touching.

The top-ranked merchant house might be able to compete, but in terms of status alone, the Kingdom of Demisia was higher.

To think she had slammed through a deal with such a place.

From Velia’s perspective, what else could she think?

…Evan, he is a god!

In truth, from Velia’s point of view, Evan wasn’t exactly an “amazingly good friend” or anything like that.

He had promised to keep in touch, then ghosted her, and so on.

She had quite a few grievances piled up without realizing it.

If she hadn’t personally witnessed Evan raise city walls with a single gesture and clean up the worshippers of the evil god, she would have seriously considered cutting ties long ago.

That was the Velia of the past.

Now, well.

Obviously.

From this moment on, I withdraw my support for Evan. 

Starting today, I escape the supporter relationship; Evan and I have become one body, and any attack aimed at Evan will be considered an attack on me…!

The enormous profits even washed away the stigma of being the eternal second place.

At present, the family was judged strong enough to seriously threaten the number one spot, and her father began paying more attention to her.

Of course there was jealousy from her siblings.

But—

“W-what? Evan Alkart?! Y-you mean the Alkart family? Hieek— Don’t come any closer! I-I didn’t know you had someone like that backing you…!”

Even her older sister eliminated herself without needing any help.

Later she found out that her sister had tried to make deals with the underworld.

She had failed miserably and ended up half-tortured after being caught by a man called “Butler.”

Apparently all he did was make her recite books out loud, but it seemed to have become a massive mental trauma.

Evan, Evan… he is a god…!

Everything went smoothly afterward.

She even placed second in the Academy entrance exam, which had been a bit uncertain.

It could only be called luck.

She had simply guessed on the multiple-choice questions while thinking of the benefits Evan had given her, yet she scored over 80% correct.

After that, Velia turned half-mad with fanaticism.

Whenever she briefly lost consciousness, writings like this would sometimes appear beside her bed.

If there are 7 billion Evan fans in the world, I am one of them. 

If there are 100 million Evan fans in the world, I am still one of them. 

If there are 10 million Evan fans in the world, I am still one of them. 

If there are a hundred Evan fans in the world, I am still one of them.

If there is only one Evan fan left in the world, that person is probably me.

If there is not a single Evan fan left in the world, only then will I cease to exist in this world.

Evan, my love.

Evan, my light.

Evan, my darkness.

Evan, my life.

Evan, my joy.

Evan, my sorrow.

Evan, my pain.

Evan, my peace…

“Ugh! This is insane!”

Of course, Velia herself knew she was going too far.

She tried hard to shake off the feeling of being half-brainwashed.

But the moment she saw Evan.

She had no choice but to admit it.

His appearance.

His inner nature.

His potential.

His ability.

There was no reason not to worship a man who was top-class in every aspect.

Of course, to Evan—who was unaware of all this—it would seem utterly absurd.

No.

Wasn’t she originally not this kind of personality?

So why on earth was she acting like this here?

“…Please get up first.”

Evan helped her to her feet.

When he brushed off the dirt that had clung to her clothes, her eyes grew even more deeply moved.

In stark contrast, the aura and gazes coming from behind him grew even more intense…

Ah, please…

The sin was flaring up again.

Swallowing tears inwardly, Evan spoke.

“Let’s move for now.”

***

Velia was extremely easy to talk to.

“As expected of Young Master Evan, you are a god…! I want to call you the God of Money, mmph—!”

…If only she could stop having those occasional brain glitches.

Evan had heard the reason why Velia was acting like this.

And the only thought that came to mind was:

Wasn’t it just good luck?

…It feels like I didn’t actually do anything?

It’s true that the Kingdom of Demisia was normalized.

But didn’t Velia herself say it?

That she had clung to his trouser leg.

If she had shown that much desperation, given Innocence’s personality, he would have given her something or maintained a good relationship anyway.

Even if the kingdom was going mad, it was still beneficial for the country…

Most of the rest seemed like strokes of good luck too, but they were crises she would have overcome on her own even if left alone.

Yet the person in question didn’t seem to think so at all.

“As expected of Evan. Amazing, right?”

“What a huge shot he was…! He’s worth far more than his face value!”

…And that’s what they were whispering behind him.

As a last hope, Evan looked at Dolph.

Dolph grinned exactly as always.

“As expected of the Young Master!”

Let’s just not talk.

Yet there was also a gaze that could see cold reality even in this situation.

“Isn’t it just dumb luck?”

Acela.

She was the only one wearing a dumbfounded expression while facing reality head-on.

This is exactly why quick-witted girls are annoying.

No.

Maybe it’s actually good?

If this girl keeps pointing out reality, maybe she can snap these rose-tinted people out of it…

“Evan. Can I kill that woman?”

“No, you can’t.”

That didn’t seem likely.

Rather than the rose-colored glasses coming off, it felt like heads and skins would start peeling first.

Lapis was huffing and glaring at Acela.

While Evan pressed down on her head to calm her, Professor Moriarty glanced at his wristwatch and spoke.

“We’ve wasted a bit of time. Let’s continue looking around.”

“I think we’ve seen most of what there is to see.”

Evan indirectly expressed that he wanted to stop walking around.

In truth, the stares were so intense that just walking made him feel like he was being crushed.

It would be better to hurry and rest or focus on one task.

“Instead, I’d like to hear what one actually learns at the Academy.”

“Are you interested in the Academy?”

“That’s not it.”

Evan declared firmly.

Even now the stares were overwhelming; if he attended school full-time?

The stares might decrease once he got used to them.

The problem was that even if they dropped to one-tenth of the current level, Evan would still want to run away.

“I’ve recently become interested in magic. Borrowing related books would be enough for me.”

“Is it connected to alchemy?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure how many professors could teach at a level suitable for Young Master Evan.”

I’m telling you, just giving me books is fine…

Evan’s goal was to create golems engraved with magic circles.

He already had plenty of means to protect his body.

The only weakness was that his offensive power was severely lacking.

He needed combat-capable forces that could fight in his place.

Or at the very least, something that could assist with research would be fine too.

“How about our professor?”

At that moment, Acela spoke up.

She looked at Evan with eyes overflowing with strange pride and said,

“He is a former Tower Master and has taught many students. He should be able to adjust to Young Master Evan’s level quite well.”

“Something about the way you said that sounds off…”

Lapis added.

Evan ignored her.

“If it’s him, it should be fine. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Evan followed without much thought.

Let’s just finish this quickly.

I’m so tired.

“You’re not just going to find it too easy and finish in no time, right?”

Aegis joked while looking at Evan.

No way.

He already knew he had no talent for magic.

He could handle a bit of mana, but still.

The method of distinguishing talent—whether it lies in the soul or the body—has never been revealed…

But with this body.

He probably didn’t have any, right?

“…Huh? Charlotte?”

At that moment, Aegis looked to the side and let out a puzzled voice.

Charlotte had vanished without anyone noticing.

Did she go to the bathroom or something?

Evan brushed it off as nothing important.

***

Hmm.

It’s easy?

That was Evan’s first impression the moment he started learning magic.

Why is this easy?

Actually, that wasn’t the only problem.

The former Tower Master.

Adium, currently working as a professor, sent him a sincerely shining gaze.

“Please teach me instead, Young Master.”

…Sir, I am not that kind of genius.