The academy taught a far broader range of subjects than it appeared to.
There were truly all sorts of courses, to the point that even necromancy was among them, and as common classes, they would teach most things under the label of general education.
Among those, there were also subjects that existed both as common classes and as departmental courses, and in those cases, the departmental class was usually an advanced course that delved deeper.
In other words, Noel and I might take the same common magic class together, but the magic department’s classes were advanced courses, so only Noel, who had chosen that department, would attend them… That was how you could think of it.
Put simply, departmental classes were only taken by the real ones who intended to dig deeper into that subject.
Which meant they were gatherings of elites confident in that field.
“…That’s what I heard, but why does everyone in the Department of Alchemy look so destitute?”
“Are you really saying something that rude from your very first class?!”
Rodelini, who had entered the classroom looking as though she had lost the world, immediately flared up at me.
But honestly, I couldn’t help saying it. They all had that particular air about them, like they weren’t eating properly.
There were some people dressed well, but for some reason, they all gave off a strong Rodelini Mark II or junior sort of vibe.
And every single face was unfamiliar.
“I guess none of you eat well.”
“That’s how busy everyone is with research. Most of them aren’t in a position to do personal research, so they’re helping with mine instead.”
And since Professor Rodelini had little income, naturally the students in her department probably weren’t doing too well financially either.
There might be some with well-lined wallets, but I doubted people like that would go out of their way to join the Department of Alchemy.
In short, this was a poverty classroom itself.
“It’s a little late to say this now, but there’s magic studies, and there’s also knight studies. Iserina seemed certain you’d come to her side, so shouldn’t you live up to her expectations? Reina seemed to like you quite a lot too, in her own subtle way, so why don’t you go back and change it?”
“When I said I thought I could make an incredible alloy if I went to the Department of Alchemy, they backed off right away.”
Professor Reina, the person I had said that to, withdrew with a look that said she had made a mistake, and Professor Iserina, who came looking for me a few hours after I submitted my department application, backed off when I used that public justification, saying she should make Professor Rodelini buy her a drink.
Both of them had said they would advise me if I paid them, and had only asked whether I could help them in return when they needed it, so I had simply said I would if I had time.
“But there’s nothing for you to gain from the Department of Alchemy. You don’t need things like coatings that reduce friction between metals!”
“There was technology like that?! My goodness!”
Something I could gain had already come up, hadn’t it?
Professor Rodelini flinched for a moment, then shouted again.
“Compressing and cooling mana water to make it solid! Metals that efficiently transfer heat! Designs that pour in insane costs just to make mana water a little cheaper! You don’t need any of that!”
“There’s even more for me to gain?!”
If the number of piloted golems like Cyclops increased, the demand for mana water would skyrocket, and there was related technology?
And even technology that could be used for close-combat weapons, which I had judged would be difficult to mass-produce with Heat Metal alone?
“Is the Department of Alchemy heaven?!”
I was already starting to think I had made the right choice coming here.
The things she had just mentioned were no doubt new technologies they had shoved somewhere, calling them useless for the time being.
For all I knew, they might have already developed the technologies I was looking for, even if she hadn’t mentioned them.
Meanwhile, Rodelini, who had been desperately trying to appeal to me so she could drive me away, ultimately cried out in sorrow.
“If I teach you all the technology and you use it yourself, then later, when you need technical consultation, I won’t be able to sweetly collect consulting fees from you…!”
As expected of a professor impoverished by research expenses, she had apparently been plotting to subtly turn me into a source of money.
If she had known exactly what kind of technology I wanted, she probably would have sold me the related technology right away, but since she didn’t know what I was thinking, she seemed to have decided on steadily collecting consulting fees first.
“My regular side income!!”
“That’s just how life is. It doesn’t always go your way.”
I informed Professor Rodelini, who seemed to have been dreaming of a slightly sweet future, of reality.
Still, since she was a professor whose skills were the real deal, I probably shouldn’t bully her too much.
After all, the machine gun for Cyclops, which should have taken several months to complete, had been able to have its foundation prepared immediately thanks to Professor Rodelini’s advice and assistance.
She was a professor I would continue needing help from, so I felt I should gently appease her for now.
“Professor. This is just an example, but what do you think would happen if we could easily and cheaply mass-produce a sturdy alloy that’s also easy to process?”
“I can tell you’re planning to use it on Cyclops right away, you bastard.”
She caught me.
But wasn’t that obvious?
If such an alloy existed, I would have put it to use immediately.
They say cost is important for mass production, and although Cyclops definitely had advantages brought by its performance, even its production cost alone was quite high.
If I could reduce that further, it would be profitable, I could produce more units, and with that money, keep making the next machine…
‘Ah. My thoughts are wandering somewhere strange.’
In any case, the point was that if I could reduce costs, it would bring nothing but advantages.
“Aizen. Almost every professor, myself included, acknowledges that the Cyclops you made is an incredible creation. Because of its performance and the fact that it can be mass-produced, even Reina emptied the savings she’d gathered for when she got married to buy one. She’s convinced that the future of the sword she’s walked with will now be inherited by that golem.”
“There was some unnecessary information mixed in there, but I understand it was praise.”
No wonder she had bought a Cyclops right away. So she had money saved up.
If it was being used at the academy, I thought she might be reimbursed that amount later, but even so, it must have been an enormous expense for Professor Reina.
‘I should have made it sooner. Now I feel a little bad.’
Mina had told me after the duel ended that she had been the first to purchase one, but since the Phoenix Count family bought three units and helped with the mass-production research, theirs had taken priority, and hers had been pushed back by several months.
Under the pretext that the craftsmen couldn’t be left idle, Mina had arranged for it to be assembled in my workshop, and the materials had been prepared quickly too, so it probably wouldn’t take long, but a delay was still a delay, so I was a little worried.
While I thought that, Professor Rodelini crossed her arms and quietly said,
“Reina has even been assigned a laboratory she’d never bothered to secure before, saying she’ll make a textbook out of it, and thanks to what happened in the Phoenix County this time, the academy is even in the middle of trying to build facilities where training will be possible. The golem you created is genuinely changing everything.”
I had simply done it because I liked it, but hearing it described like that from someone else’s mouth was a little embarrassing.
My golem was changing the world? Wasn’t that too grandiose?
‘…But it is true, isn’t it?’
Even in Phoenix County, the thing I had heard the most was that Cyclops alone would change many military operations.
I could be proud, then.
“I’ll keep changing things from now on.”
“That’s a good ambition. I’ll support you and look forward to it too. But why should I invest even more than this into your work?”
Professor Rodelini’s expression sharpened.
She had always seemed a little servile because of how destitute she was, but every professor at the academy was one of the leading authorities in their field.
Naturally, Professor Rodelini was also a professor of the academy.
“Sometimes there are idiots who think the essence of alchemy is nothing more than turning stones into gold, but at least I consider alchemy a field of study that unravels the laws of the world and nature. I see it as a great discipline that understands there is nothing in this world without meaning, then seeks the meaning of everything, from something as simple as water flowing to why the sky is blue, unearths that significance, and brings it into the realm of mankind. Since there are many fools who occasionally misunderstand, let me ask you this. Do you think the power or authority held by me, the person who has produced the most inventions in the Kingdom of Vespia, is weak?”
Professor Rodelini narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t look down on me. I simply step back because I like alchemy research. It would be troublesome if you thought I didn’t use my power because I’m purely kind and naive.”
The alchemist, Rodelini Atanor, looked at me seriously and said,
“I’m not a tree in an orchard that gives you everything if you want it. Remember that I cannot invest everything I have for the sake of what you want.”
“But don’t you think it would be cool if something like Rodelini Alloy or Atanor Alloy came out?”
Professor Rodelini’s expression froze for a moment.
“If you created armor material light, hard, and productive enough to be used as the standard armor material for Cyclops and the machines that come after it, wouldn’t your name go down in history?”
“No, that’s—”
“Cyclops, armed with the Rodelini Machine Gun and protecting its body with Atanor Alloy. Wow. Every time a Cyclops is made, the name Rodelini Atanor would follow along with it.”
“No, wait—”
After I said that much, Professor Rodelini’s mood was lifting.
It seemed I only had to push one more step.
And in this person’s case, there was something certain for that one step.
“Depending on the situation, Atanor Alloy would be used as the priority wherever metal is needed, so if you claimed the rights, the amount of money would be—”
“From this moment on, the top priority of our Department of Alchemy is to create an alloy for golems.”
The hungry Professor Rodelini declared to the students of the department.