“The extent of the damage is not insignificant, Dean.”
The finance director of the academy, Eris, shook his head as he looked at Selena with a dark face.
“…Can’t we bill the entirety to the Richter family?”
“Are you serious? There’s no justification for that, is there? Besides, it’s a long-standing rule that damages occurring during the entrance exams are covered by the academy.”
Eris’s retort caused Selena to frown.
His words were undeniably correct, but there was no getting around the sense of frustration.
When she first saw his thesis, all she could do was laugh. Honestly, she hadn’t expected much, dismissing it as pure nonsense.
After all, it was absurd—tackling the drought problem with the ambitious plan to manipulate the climate.
Nevertheless, he actually did it. He artificially controlled the climate and made it rain.
Since I became the dean of the academy, something like this has never happened. In fact, it might be the first time in the academy’s history.
Where did his budget come from? He brought five extremely valuable Ching stones. On top of that, he had Resonance stones for incantations and rare artifacts I’ve never seen before.
Even though he’s from a noble family, it’s not something a student should be able to prepare, especially since he’s a bastard, right?
How did he prepare all of this?
“Apparently, he borrowed it from the family.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense. Would they support a mere bastard to this extent? Did you check with the Richter viscount family?”
“I did… but…”
“What did they say?”
“They refused to respond. They just kept repeating: ‘Do not contact us regarding Luke Richter.'”
“???”
Were the Richter viscounts so terrified of him?
What did he do when he left the estate?
The finance director paused mid-explanation and adjusted his glasses before speaking.
“The entrance exam.”
“…”
“I believe you were present, Dean.”
“I was. I’m not blind.”
He actually made it rain. This is unprecedented.
No matter the means, his artificial climate manipulation marked a continental-level discovery.
“Wasn’t this an area impossible to achieve through magic?”
“Impossible or not. Yes, you can forcibly bring rain by inscribing incantations in the sky. But ultimately, it’s just using magic power to create and drop water, an imitation, nothing more.”
“That’s a big difference.”
“A big difference? It’s like the difference between heaven and earth. This isn’t just mimicking a phenomenon. This is outright climate manipulation—twisting the natural flow.”
At her words, Finance Director Eris tilted his head.
“So, what are we going to do about the entrance exam? If what you said is true, he technically fulfilled the required conditions, right?”
“He did, although he also demolished the exam site in the process.”
“So then this year’s top student is…”
“Tch.”
Selena clicked her tongue irritably as she muttered to herself.
“Isn’t it obvious? That guy.”
Selena irritably closed the documents spread across her desk. These were Luke Richter’s entrance exam thesis documents.
Finance Director Eris tilted his head at her reaction.
“Dean, it’s incomprehensible to you as well, right? You’re the deputy head of the Red Magic Tower.”
“Hey! Even if the old man from the tower were here, he wouldn’t understand it either! It’s not because I’m dumb.”
“…”
“Exactly! Terms like entropy and nuclear fusion are unheard-of nonsense in this world—how is anyone supposed to understand it?”
“Then how does Luke Richter know all of this?”
“Exactly! That’s why it drives me insane!”
Each word in the thesis was groundbreaking and shocking. The overall flow was somewhat comprehensible, but the detailed theories, principles, and strange equations left everywhere were beyond understanding.
To say the terms and vocabulary used in the thesis were simply unknown was an understatement.
“Who is he really? Did he come from another world or something?”
“You’re saying nonsense.”
“Isn’t it ridiculous! What’s more reasonable than believing someone from another world?”
“Enough. What are we going to do about the entrance exam? If what you said is correct, he definitely satisfied the exam’s conditions, didn’t he?”
Finance Director Eris was correct. The entrance exam conditions were already more than met.
The drought was a disaster threatening the entire continent, but ultimately, it was still a climatic phenomenon. Although on a minor scale, Luke Richter genuinely manipulated the climate. He offered the closest answer to the problem.
Realizing the absurdity of this situation, the two could not help but let out a chuckle.
“This year’s top student is decided then.”
“Yes. There’s nothing we can do.”
“Then I’ll move forward with that understanding.”
With a casual nod, Eris left the dean’s office. Selena, staring at the empty office, gazed blankly into the air for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh.
“…Damn, this is giving me a headache.”
Selena massaged her throbbing forehead.
The immediate issue could be resolved. Although he wrecked not only the examination hall but also the surrounding buildings, the academy’s budget would suffice to handle the damage.
However, the real problem was just beginning.
“Will everything be alright?”
Selena tried to calm her pounding heart, repeating to herself that it was unlikely he would pull off another crazy stunt.
…
On entrance day…
Luke Richter successfully enrolled as this year’s top student, as planned.
While Selena, dealing with the fallout, was on the verge of collapse, none of that mattered to Luke.
He possessed no magical power, and the only abilities he had were the bits of modern knowledge he gathered while being treated like a lab rat in his past life.
His goal was to become a researcher.
To achieve that, he had to graduate from the academy, and despite his lack of magical power, this method of securing academic credits, although extreme, was his only way forward.
He actually enjoyed it.
The synergy between the otherworldly abilities and modern knowledge was more enormous than he anticipated.
“Dean! Luke Richter caused another incident!”
“What? Another what? What kind of incident?”
“You remember how he joined the student council recently and then complained about inefficient methods of document processing? He started some unheard-of innovation in accounting like double-entry bookkeeping or cost accounting?”
“And?”
“Then, a few days later, he uncovered embezzlement and fraudulent expenditures in the student council ledger and reported them to the royal internal affairs office!”
“…What?”
“The individuals he reported were… let me see. Ayane Telorian from the Telorian Duke family and Rigon Winfred from the Winfred Duke family.”
Selena could only be astonished.
It wasn’t strange for him to cause trouble in the student council. After all, it was ‘that’ guy.
But what? Embezzlement? Fraudulent expenditures?
And he reported them to the royal internal affairs bureau, and worst of all, the people he reported were…
“This is a catastrophe. He didn’t even report as Luke Richter personally but under the name of the academy’s student council!”
“Oh… oh dear… oh dear…”
It’s a principle to report student council fraud to the royal internal affairs office, and the royal family encourages it, especially since the current nobility faction doesn’t have good relations with the royal family.
However… however…
The custom has been to first resolve or cover up issues occurring within the academy. This couldn’t just be swept under the rug because the evidence was undeniable.
And because the report was issued under the academy’s name, the responsibility was neatly sidestepped, leaving Selena, the dean of the academy, caught in the middle.
But Luke Richter’s antics were only just beginning.
“Dean! There’s a commotion!”
“Hold on. Let me prepare mentally first.”
One year since his enrollment, it was time for the students to advance to the next grade.
Selena instinctively anticipated that Luke Richter would cause trouble.
Every year, the top student is chosen anew. Starting from the second year, being the top student grants significant academic advantages, enough to secure progression even if practical scores were low.
Naturally, the practical scores of top students were expected to be high, so these advantages were awarded to them.
Now she regretted that decision.
Because one insane guy tried to obtain the top position every year by causing all sorts of chaos.
“Hmm. Okay. Proceed. Is it Luke Richter again? What did he do now?”
“You remember the paper the Dean published last year, don’t you? The one called… something about multiple magic circles…”
“Interaction Between Multiple Magic Circles and their Resonance Amplification Effects.”
“That’s it!”
“And?”
The deputy head blinked both eyes before continuing.
“It’s incorrect.”
“Huh?”
“Second-year students earn extra credits for publishing papers, and extra points based on the paper’s outcomes. Luke Richter submitted a paper to the academic community that refutes every claim in the paper Dean published.”
“What?!”
“The academic community has summoned you, Dean. They want both you and Luke Richter to attend…”
“M-Monster…”
Selena let out a groan and collapsed.
—
