A Great Man Who Does Not Appear in Magic History - Chapter 6
In other words, operate autonomously rotating gears.
‘All that was needed for that was one last spark’, Ein thought.
But??
No matter how many times he fails, or how much he contemplates about it, he cannot figure it out.
Self-rotating gears.
Gears that move on their own.
(The hell?)
Questions spin around like a gear in his head.
Round and round and round and round.
It just keeps turning without meshing with other gears.
At some point, the gear system that he had been building up over the course of ten years, began to look like a pile of junk to him.
According to Azenia Babylon, one of the Twelve Great Sages??
“Without that last spark, your career would go up in smoke.”
“The wall of hell that separates the mediocre from the genius is Core Magic Research.”
Historically, there are countless Magicians who have advanced their development to the same level as Ein. And yet, they failed to reach that last step.
No matter how perfect a theory you build is, if you cannot come up with just one idea, everything would come crumbling down.
That was the difficulty of Magic Research, even more so when it comes to developing Core Magic.
Ein just single-mindedly repeated building new magic formations and then destroying them.
As he grew wearier by the day, certain words rang in his ears like a taunt.
??A thesis will only be permitted with a degree. Your research is useless.
?Ein: Shit!!?
As if to shake off the auditory verbal hallucination, Ein slammed his fist into the desk as hard as he could.
Blood gradually seeps out; staining the gear in his hand.
(Rotating gears. Windmills, Waterwheels, Wheels; none of it has clicked.)
He leaves the magic workshop.
It was already midnight. As Ein walked down the aisle, he suddenly spotted light leaking from the kitchen.
(Besides, the gears wouldn’t be rotating on their own. Think of the flowing water and the wind as gears. The conception ain’t half bad, but it doesn’t conform to the Magic Law. Or maybe)
He opened the door to he find Shannon plopped on the table, asleep.
(The gear system itself is against the logic of magic?)
Ein walks to Shannon.
?Ein: Hey. Wake up. Why are you even sleeping in here??
When he lightly shook Shannon’s shoulder, she opened her eyes with a snap. As soon as she caught sight of Ein, she jumped up.
?Shannon: Done with researsh??
?Ein: For today.?
Ein put the gear he used for magic research on the table and asked.
?Why didn’t you eat??
?Shannon: Papa, you’re tired from all the daily researsh, right? You don’t even eat.?
Shannon smiled and offered him a plate of pancakes she had cut up.
?Shannon: That’s why Shannon saved some up for you!?
(She must have been hungry, yet held out for my sake.)
While thinking so, Ein ate the pancake.
A moment later: “Eugh…..”, he grunts.
?Ein: Tastes like crap.?
With a puzzled look on her face, Shannon takes another bite of her pancake.
?Shannon: Delish?
?Are you stupid!??
Ein raised his voice in disbelief.
?Ein: I’ll tell you this much. While true that freshly baked pancakes are sweets derived from heaven, ones that have cooled down are leftovers from hell. This is a fact.?
In all seriousness, Ein speaks about the ‘Facts’ of pancakes.
Shannon looked at the cold pancakes with a confused look on her face.
?Shannon: Leftover’s no good??
?Ein: A child who eats leftovers is not my child.?
Standing up, Ein berated her with an all too serious face.
It was at that moment:
?Shannon: Leftover’s trash!!?
With flourish, she slid the plate of pancakes towards Ein.
Ein catches it directly with his fingers.
?Ein: Good girl. Now, time for a more appropriate…?
?Shannon: Freshly bake it with magic!?
Ein planned to cook a new dish, but Shannon asserts.
?Ein: It would be a waste of mana, so no.?
?What’s mana??
Inquiries Shannon.
?It’s the source of magical power. Run out and no magic research.?
Mana is the fuel for using spells, and in addition to being generated within the body, it can also be obtained from minerals such as Magic Stones.
Magicians use magic by converting mana into magical power. Naturally, it is indispensable for magic research, but also finite.
?Shannon: Mater of great importanshe! Shannon won’t waste it!?
After Shannon said that, she raised her hand as though having come up with something.
?Shannon: Then, from now, you’ll eat my meals Papa! Then it won’t go cold!?
?Ein: There will be days when I won’t have the chance to. You’ll be starving.?
In fact, the number of times Ein eats has decreased due to him being so immersed in his research.
If he points that out,
?Shannon: ‘Cause Papa’s so busy, it’s hard to make meals for Shannon, right??
Ein’s eyes widen slightly.
?Shannon: Papa, you’re doing you best with researsh, so Shannon will do her best too!?
What Guiche has crossed his mind.
??Ein. What’s more important to you, your research or your child?
(Once the gear system is completed, my adoption application would probably go trough. But have I thought about Shannon for a moment in the last two weeks? Am I really qualified to be her parent?)
Ein asks himself as he watches Shannon try to fill her stomach with milk.
And, as if in response of that, he drew a magic formation on the pancakes.
?Ein: ?Heat{Paulo}??
The pancakes are being heated, and steam rises gently.
Shannon looked at it with sparkling eyes.
?Shannon: It got warm!?
?Ein: Dig in.?
?Shannon: Hooray.?
Shannon gleefully stuffed her mouth with it.
?Ein: Shannon, I have something to say…?
Ein says with a meek look on his face.
Shannon looked at him as she ate her pancakes.
???I have been dismissed from the Ministry of Magic. I will return you to the orphanage tomorrow.?
Stunned, Shannon stopped eating her pancakes.
?Shannon: We’ll go together??
?… I have research.?
?Shannon: Shannon will help.?
?Ein: That’s impossible.?
?Shannon: Then it’s impossible for Shannon too!?
The unintelligible reply sent Ein into a state of wonder this time around.
?…..? Don’t be selfish. Do you think I can support a child, jobless as I am??
Shannon looks down.
Clutching the forks tightly, she said.
?…..Papa doesn’t want Shannon…??
He pursed his lips together, and stared at the child who was about to burst into tears.
?Ein: Nothing’s wrong with you. It’s on my account. I… am only capable of magic research.?
He said so, lonesome.
§ § §
Midnight.
A small figure sneaks into the kitchen of the old castle.
Said small figure walked slowly, taking a small gear that was placed on the table??