Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

T/N: Edited 10/27/24.

I started learning everything from the beginning: everything but magic.

Benjamin’s explanation was as follows:

Magic is divided into two types.

The first is Type I Magic, which encompasses the formation and manipulation of matter, as well as classical magic such as [Move] *1, [Levitation], and [Rotation].

Type II Magic deals with fundamental forces, such as attraction and repulsion.

Whether it’s Type 1 or Type 2, he mentioned that it’s still too early for me to learn magic.

The storage room has now been remodeled into my room.

The door opened, and Benjamin came in with an armful of all kinds of books.

“These are the things you’ll learn from now on.”

Thud.

A thick book is placed on the desk.

[Euclidean Geometry] *2

A geometry book.

“The origin of Type I Magic lies in geometry. It’s safe to say that classical magic studies go hand in hand with the development and flow of geometry.”

Thud.

[Elements of Algebra]

An algebra book.

“You need to know how to add and subtract.”

Thud.

[Basic Alphabet]

And a children’s vocabulary book. Both in the Imperial and Frauvian languages.

“You have to learn the language first to read books. Right?”

In addition, literature such as plays and novels, as well as books on natural philosophy, were also piled up. Literally, there were no books related to magic.

I looked at the tower of books stacked on the desk and said:

“What about grimoires…?”

“Grimoires?”

Benjamin, who was focused on unpacking the pile of books, peeked his head out from behind the stack.

Then, he snorted.

“Someday, when the time comes for you to present your research results, you’ll have to write an entire paper in Frauvian… There’ll be a lot of academic jargon mixed in.”

In his hand that was rummaging through the hem of his coat was a fountain pen.

He put a paper and fountain pen in my hand and said:

“Write your name in Frauvian on this paper.”

“……”

“You can’t, right?”

He laughed boisterously.

“When writing a paper, you should at least know how to write your name. Just learn the alphabet obediently. There’s no royal road to learning.”

The Empire’s scholarship has long been lagging behind the Federation.

While the Empire is intoxicated with its past glory, the Federation has probably made remarkable strides in various fields of study. The quality of information obtained through Imperial and Frauvian books must be fundamentally different.

As long as one walks the path of a scholar, acquiring the language of the academe is essential.

Benjamin was indirectly saying that fact.

“Once you’ve mastered all the languages, then I’ll personally teach you mathematics and magic.”

An irrefutable argument.

But it’s human nature to feel a surge of resistance when ignored like this.

Suddenly, this thought came to mind.

Benjamin Oslo.

I want to shock that playful old man at least once.

“Benjamin. I’ll make a promise.”

“Hmm?”

“One month.”

I raised my index finger.

“In one month, I’ll recite the books written in Frauvian fluently.”

Benjamin’s eyes widened.

It was worth a try. Self-study is my area of expertise next to business.

#January 1st. Snow.

I woke up on the bed.

“……”

It’s warm.

The old, dilapidated duplex house awakes early in the morning.

They say the elderly don’t sleep much. It resulted from Benjamin’s early wake-up time coinciding with Federal Army officer Dorothy’s departure for the military camp.  

Even now, with the addition of a vagrant, that pattern continued without much change.

Click.

When I opened the door and stepped outside, the house was already bustling with the liveliness of breakfast time.

As expected.

Coming down the stairs to the first floor, I saw Benjamin in comfortable attire.

“Eugene. Sit down.”

Benjamin had already claimed a seat at the table. He put down his coffee and tapped the seat next to him.

I’m still not used to people eating three meals a day.

I timidly sat down next to Benjamin.

Around that time, I spotted Dorothy while she worked in the kitchen. She seemed to be in charge of today’s cooking.

The fragrant smell of baking bread flows from the kitchen to the dining table.

Perhaps it was thanks to the warmth indoors. In contrast to the rye bread in the middle of winter, which had no smell at all, baking bread stimulated my stomach with a smell comparable to the grilled fish I had eaten before.

Soon after, Dorothy returned from the kitchen.

Three plates with toast and orange marmalade.

It was a warm breakfast, no less.

“Please eat.”

Dorothy placed the plates on the table one by one, then sat down at the table herself.

She sat at the seat farthest from Benjamin.

In other words, in front of me.

“Thank you for the food…”

From that moment on, breathing became difficult.

Unlike me, who still had bedhead, Dorothy was in her officer’s uniform and fully groomed, making it hard to look at her.

It’s not only that. I still wasn’t used to dining with an adult woman, let alone having a meal with a Federal Army officer.

To put it simply, it was awkward.

While I was in a daze, the two of them started eating.

They picked up the toast, scooped a spoonful of orange marmalade, and spread it on the toast.

Thanks to the warmth, the sweet citrus scent becomes even stronger. Then, with a crisp sound, they take a bite.

They acted like it was second nature.

It proved they’d been having this kind of meal for a long time.

“……”

I wasn’t like that.

Hard rye bread…

A very unfamiliar meal for me, who occasionally ate grilled fish.

So, when I picked up the toast, it was based on the dining method I had “learned” over the past week. In a way, it was as important as learning Frauvian.

Let’s see.

Hold the toast in your left hand. Now, don’t grasp it or hold the side, but rather with the feeling of gently placing it in the hand.

Then, hold the spoon in your right hand, carefully scoop the marmalade—it doesn’t spread well—and place it on the toast.

At this point, use the spoon again. Use the back of the spoon to evenly spread the sweet and sticky oranges.

This completes a toast full of orange aroma.

“Whew.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Ironically, I felt like a clown who had finished juggling without any mistakes.

Anyway, I opened my mouth, anticipating the crispy texture and sweet harmony of the toast with marmalade, and…

“……?”

I froze in that state.

A gaze.

Beyond the toast, the eyes of a woman resembling a winter birch tree were staring at me intently.

It was Dorothy.

Stare—

“Hey. Eugene. That’s your nose, not your mouth.”

Tap.

“That’s your chin.”

Thanks to Benjamin’s help, I finally managed to put the toast in my mouth and chewed.

Crunch.

As expected, I felt the crispy texture but couldn’t taste anything.

Around that time, Dorothy took her eyes off me with a somehow satisfied expression.

“……??”

The confusing breakfast time ended with Dorothy leaving for work.

The Frauvian Federal Army.

For the imperial refugees, that name is a perfect synonym for terror.

The army legally wields all sorts of powers, such as police authority, judicial authority, and everything else with the word “authority” attached to it, and enjoys unrestrained power.

Usually, they live relatively on the low, but if it’s for the purpose of maintaining public order, they are a group that is allowed to do anything.

I knew it well because I had also been pursued by the military…

…but I never thought I’d end up living with the leader of those terrors.

Right after breakfast.

I had to try hard to calm my pounding heart.

What just happened?

The deep ink-colored eyes still remain like an afterimage.

I was about to become numb after nearly two weeks of no problems, and then this very suspicious thing happened.

Is there a reason to stare at me like that?

Is she trying to get 200 pounds from me even now? Or is she in a hurry to get results because of an impending promotion to 1st Lieutenant?

I was wandering near the stairs with those thoughts.

Benjamin, who had finished all his coffee, uttered a word that was hard to ignore.

“Eugene. Finish your studies early today and come down. Dorothy, who went out, will be back around dinner time, too.”

Went out.

“Didn’t she go to work?”

Didn’t she leave in her officer’s uniform?

When I asked back, Benjamin laughed and answered.

“Who goes to work on New Year’s Day?”

“……”

The uneasiness that had subsided returned. Doubled, in fact.

T/N

You might wonder why [Move] is the term used instead of the more appropriate [Telekinesis]. Although the latter is more accurate, the author sometimes adds an English equivalent of the spells in Korean. The first instance of this spell being mentioned came with “[…(move)]” appended to the end of the Korean characters, so I respect the author’s original work by retaining this translation.
Euclidean Geometry is essentially elementary-level geometry. Some topics covered that you may be familiar with are the areas of 2D shapes/figures, triangle congruence postulates (ex. SSS) and triangle similarity postulates (ex. AA), the term CPCTC, axiomatically (hehe) proving congruency or similarity, the Pythagorean theorem, and so many more. Euclidean geometry also extends to three-dimensional figures as well, but I believe an introductory definition suffices for those who aren’t familiar with the term.

Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!