Reina had recently been suffering headaches of a different kind.
‘Is one only fit to be a noble if one is this shameless?’
After Aizen had won an overwhelming victory against Gilford.
A tremendous number of letters had been arriving at the academy.
From nobles who had joined Gilford’s side in his defeat this time, or high-ranking officials of the royal palace who had supported Gilford.
Simply put, those who had joined the faction that could be called the “Overthrow Aizen” faction were sending unreasonable and rude requests, asking the academy to arrange opportunities for them to maintain good relations with Aizen.
‘It’s not as if I don’t understand why.’
With that duel, the Overthrow Aizen faction had lost a great deal of its power.
What they had been wary of was not so much Aizen himself as the ripple effect the golem he had created might bring, so proving that it was nothing special had been an urgent issue above all else, but…
The excellent mobility and precise control Aizen’s golem had displayed were enough to astonish even the academy professors, and Gilford’s side, who had prepared countermeasures as best they could, had instead been utterly crushed.
‘Honestly, I thought he might lose.’
All the effort she had put in, despite the immense pressure at the time, to make the conditions as fair as possible had become meaningless.
Even so, Reina had felt guilty for making him go through such a dangerous duel, so she had been separately sorting out the proposals worth considering.
But one thing bothered her.
‘House Avatus, is it.’
Reina stared intently at the envelope sent from there.
“What should I do?”
“Don’t make him answer right away. It’s better to give it to him slowly. For that child, it’ll probably be the most dangerous place.”
Professor Iserina spoke as she entered Reina’s office, and Reina raised her head.
“Good work, Iserina. What did the Headmaster say?”
“He approved it. He said it was worth all the trouble of bringing you in as a professor.”
At Iserina’s words, Reina let out a deep sigh.
Then, with a bitter expression, she opened her mouth.
“So emptying my savings was worth it.”
“The Headmaster said he’d make it up to you from the budget.”
“You shouldn’t use public funds carelessly. I’m thinking I’ll investigate as much as I can first, make guidelines, and once they’re approved, submit the paperwork then.”
As Reina spoke, she looked at the documents placed on her desk.
Documents bearing Reina’s signature and Saintess Mina’s signature.
“You’re probably the first person in the Vespia Kingdom to purchase a Cyclops.”
“Immediately after, House Count Phoenix bought three.”
Recalling Erika Phoenix, who had come running at an incredible speed at the time, Reina gave a small laugh.
“Unintentional though it was, I’ve managed to be first in something like this.”
“You act fast. By the way, are you all right? As a knight, I thought it might feel a bit unpleasant.”
“A knight who cannot adapt to change is unqualified.”
Reina said that and rose from her seat.
“There is an enormous amount that can be done with a Cyclops. Even a single unit can protect a territory from most large monsters, and seeing those precise hands, it should be able to contribute to civil engineering and construction as well.”
“It’ll easily do the work of ten people.”
According to what Mina had mentioned in passing, as long as mana water was supplied on time and proper attention was paid to maintenance, it could be used indefinitely.
That was probably an exaggeration to some extent, but it meant its durability was sufficient as well.
“This may change the world. The academy cannot teach people to sit back and watch.”
“You’re saying you’ll research and teach things like piloting techniques and tactics, aren’t you?”
Reina nodded.
She would personally ride Aizen’s golem, devise tactics, and teach them to the students.
“It is my own way of adapting to change.”
Iserina nodded and grinned.
“There’s also a bit of apology in it too, isn’t there? In any case, you did force him into an unfavorable duel.”
“I won’t say that isn’t true.”
At Reina’s answer, Iserina smiled even more brightly.
“Then why not go and encourage him? As the first buyer and as a professor, there must be all sorts of things on your mind.”
“I’ve punished him so much that I feel he’ll be burdened.”
“That child doesn’t seem to care much about being punished and all that.”
At Iserina’s words, Reina nodded.
Well, perhaps this was a good opportunity to encourage him a little and create a chance to slowly bring him back to normal common sense.
“Then shall we go?”
There was also the matter of the letter anyway.
She had more than enough excuse to visit—
-Thududududu!!
“Professor Reina! Big trouble! Aizen is riding the golem and rapidly firing some strange cannon toward the Gate of Mainis! You have to hurry and stop him…!”
“That damned crow brat Aizen, honestly!!”
At the urgent breaking news, the warm atmosphere vanished at once.
Watching Reina’s back as she ran while naturally chewing headache medicine, Iserina smiled with a troubled expression.
****
The pride of the Vespia Kingdom and the academy, the Gate of Mainis, was as sturdy as ever today.
“I know it’s a prototype, but I thought it would at least leave a scratch.”
“There’s no way the strongest protective barrier on the continent would break that easily.”
“Still, the power and speed are both satisfactory, aren’t they? Can’t we just produce it as is?!”
“It was a splendid level of completion, worthy of staying up three nights. Alchemy truly is amazing.”
“Raise your hands properly, Aizen. Before I change it to head-on-floor.”
At Professor Reina’s cold eyes, I quickly raised my hands.
While Mina, Erika, and Professor Rodellini were all trying hard to avert their gazes, Noel stood beside Reina with her head lowered.
“I’m sorry, Professor. I should have stopped them more actively…”
“…Noel, what could you have done? They’re people like that.”
Professor Reina let out a deep sigh as she looked this way, then narrowed her eyes and looked at Mina, Erika, and Professor Rodellini.
“Saintess Mina. I understand that you want to play around, but isn’t it only natural that you shouldn’t cause something like this?”
“Hehe, it looked fun.”
“Erika, even if you wanted to see the Cyclops’s performance, there is such a thing as time and place.”
“But isn’t it good because it’s fast?”
“Senior Rodellini, don’t tell me you were tempted by money.”
“…They said they’d share a little mana metal too, so I got excited…”
Reina sighed and pressed a hand to her head.
I heard her mutter softly, “Is Aizen’s way of thinking contagious…?” and soon she looked at me.
“Now. Let’s set those three aside. You. You must have known that if you caused this sort of thing for no reason, I would scold you. Let’s hear your excuse.”
“Then I’ll explain it in a way you can accept.”
I quietly lowered my arms and stood up.
Then I pointed at the weapon the Cyclops was holding.
“The Cyclops is powerful, but the current Cyclops is in a state where it has only the base frame itself. Even with its size and weight alone, it is powerful…”
“The point.”
“We succeeded in test-producing the Rodellini Machine Gun, a general-purpose ranged armament the Cyclops can use, so in order not to destroy any buildings within the academy, we test-fired it toward the Gate of Mainis.”
“Good. Head to the ground.”
Professor Reina spoke coldly and looked at the Cyclops again.
Then, belatedly noticing something strange, she looked back this way.
“Wait, what did you say the weapon was called?”
“Rodellini Machine Gun.”
“…Senior?”
“No! I’m not the culprit!”
Professor Rodellini hurriedly denied it, but it was no use.
Because Mina quietly took a contract out from her bosom.
“According to the contract made three days ago, along with the consulting fee, the condition was that when a weapon was produced, the professor’s name would be included in the weapon’s name…”
“Were you blinded by money and fame again, Senior?”
At Professor Reina’s words, Professor Rodellini lowered her head deeply.
And then.
“What’s wrong with being blinded by money and fame!”
Professor Rodellini exploded.
Given the mood, I felt there was no need to keep being punished any longer, so while I quietly straightened my posture, the ugly quarrel continued.
“…With just a professor’s salary! It’s hard to cover research expenses! Do you think alchemy can be done without materials?!”
“For someone of your level, Senior, you participate in other research as side work, so you must have a large income! Besides, you have more years of service than I do, so you earn more!”
“You only have to invest in your body and save for a dowry, but I’m not like that! Since I’m a noble, I have to pay to maintain appearances! Have you ever starved for three whole days before payday?!”
“That’s because you indulged in luxury!”
“What luxury! If I want to ask for research funds, I have to dress up! Are you going to support research funds for someone wearing rags?! Should I just go around wearing rags?!”
It seemed Professor Rodellini had a lot built up.
Watching two professors bicker over their salaries was honestly less amusing than it made me want to run away.
I’m not particularly curious about the professors’ private affairs.
“The Cyclops has a locking device, so they won’t be able to take it as they please. Should I run off and come retrieve it later?”
“That would be best. It’ll take a while.”
At some point, Professor Iserina had approached.
“Don’t worry too much. Professor Rodellini and Professor Reina are close. They’re relatives too.”
“Relatives?”
“Professor Reina was born a commoner, but because she achieved great feats as a knight, she was adopted into a noble house as a daughter. Legally, the two are cousins, so they’re close. I often join them for drinks as well.”
Iserina added that even if they bickered like that, after a bit of time passed, they would have dinner together and make up.
Then she looked up at the Cyclops and said,
“I heard earlier that you caused a commotion while testing a weapon. I can’t praise you for choosing the Gate of Mainis as your target, but since you at least held back from using another building as your target, I won’t say anything. So, is it complete?”
“Honestly, it’s troublesome. Since it’s a ranged weapon, I want to test-fire it from some distance away, but I can’t.”
The academy was extremely spacious, but when it came to finding out its maximum range and accuracy, it was still too narrow.
It would be fine by human standards, but the Cyclops was huge, so it was difficult.
“And there are all sorts of things, like what problems arise if it keeps firing, and how it should be aimed to be handled comfortably…”
“I don’t really understand, but that means all you can research here is whether it can fire at all, Aizen.”
At Professor Iserina’s words, I nodded.
The Cyclops had absolutely not been made overnight.
Broadly speaking, I had begun researching it when I was young, accumulated various data through the Caterpillar Golem, and as a result, this golem had been born.
The same went for armaments; they did not simply pop out fully formed.
If Professor Rodellini had not helped, it might have taken several more months.
Thinking of it that way, just having Professor Rodellini advise me saved an absurd amount of time, so I should make frequent use of her.
“In that case, you need a place that has grounds suitable for testing, is easy to manage the Cyclops in, and is spacious.”
“Would there be a place like that near the academy?”
I asked while glancing at Professor Rodellini and Professor Reina, who had begun grabbing at each other, and Professor Iserina shook her head.
“Instead, I can think of one place that would be suitable as a candidate.”
“Where…”
Professor Iserina looked at Erika.
“The academy supports various activities outside the academy. Even if you don’t attend class every day, as long as a professor permits and acknowledges it, it can be counted as attendance.”
Something like what you would call field training.
“This is a proposal the Headmaster of the Vespia Royal Academy asked me to convey to you, Aizen.”
Professor Iserina quietly looked at me.
“Take the Cyclops and go to the Phoenix County.”