Editor 57

Cleio, pinching his nose with the back of his hand, nodded desperately.

Ssshhh―

As if he had used a grand series of spells, the aether contained in his vessel drained all at once.

Blood, more than he could handle with the back of his hand, soaked through the sleeve of his left hand.

Giving up on stopping the bleeding, Cleio grabbed his pen again.

Through “Appropriateness Judgment,” he looked over the dozens of sheets he had written and discarded up to now.

Each meaningless segment, figure, and character on each sheet glowed partially in different places.

He combined only the glowing parts and copied them onto a new sheet.

Drip.

Even though he had tilted his head back as far as he could, he couldn’t prevent a drop of blood from splattering on the paper.

Cleio hurriedly picked up the new sheet with the magic formula.

The spattered blood drew a thin line on the paper before running off onto the floor.

But Cleio’s gaze was not on the blood pattern, but on the magic formula drawn in ink.

He blew what little aether remained onto the paper.

The lines and shapes, each of unknown meaning, drawn inside the round circle began to glow gold.

That light never went out.

At the same time, “Appropriateness Judgment” also did its job.

[―Based on “Appropriateness Judgment,” this magic formula has been determined to be true.]

‘It… worked….’

.

.

.

Cleio, who had fainted with his head on the desk, barely woke up because of the shimmering gold light.

It was dark all around.

The Tiphlam piece, which had had a transformation magic formula inscribed with alcohol just before he fainted, was still aether-activated even after several hours.

The strongest evidence of all was the subtle golden light leaking from the Tiphlam.

‘It was described just like this in the previous manuscript, and the subjugation tool I saw before also glowed this way.’

Shivering, Cleio recalled being detained at a rural police station during the runaway incident.

His condition was just as terrible now as it was then.

At any rate, a success was a success.

“Nngh…”

He groaned as he rose from the chair.

Whether he had fainted or just slept, his whole body ached from the half-conscious slumber.

His aether was drained, and it was hard to breathe because of the dried nosebleed.

He felt like he might die, but today was already the third day of the field trip.

‘That means we go back to the capital tomorrow.’

If he didn’t give the formula to the Mining Bureau researchers now, he didn’t know when or how he’d be able to contact them again.

Cleio, feeling just a tiny step away from death by overwork, somehow managed to wash up and change clothes.

‘If I leave this laundry as is, they’ll think I killed someone…’

He shoved the bloodstained shirt and pants into the bottom of his suitcase.

He put on a new shirt, pants, and even a jacket.

Then he went down to the small parlor and picked up the receiver. The students who had gone hunting were not due back yet.

Count Hyde-White was a famous figure, so even without knowing his home phone number, it was a relief that the operator could connect him.

From the local base station to the Western Telephone Bureau, from the Western Telephone Bureau to Lundain, from Lundain to the count’s house, and even within the count’s house to the young master himself—it took an interminable amount of time.

‘I guess I should just be grateful I got connected at all…’

In a world without communication magic or crystal balls, the technology of the modern telephone was desperately precious.

The days of carrying a cell phone already felt like a distant memory to “Jeongjin.”

[“Chhhzzk— chzzk— Fran— White speaking.”]

“Fran? It’s me, Cleio.”

[“Aser? Chzzk— What is it— chzzk— calling—.”]

The call quality was terrible.

After looking around again, Cleio took a deep breath and shouted as loudly as possible into the receiver.

“Thanks to you telling me about the catalyst and components, I’ve discovered the permanent aether activation magic formula for Tiphlam! I can’t publish this in my name alone. Your contribution—”

[“……chzzk—.”]

“How do you want to split the credit?! Did you hear?”

[“Finalizing a formula in one day chzzk— is impossible chiiik— chzzk—.”]

“I’m telling you it’s possible! I’ve discovered the Tiphlam permanent aether activation magic formula!”

His voice grew louder as the line quality worsened.

[“Chzzk— I can hear you without shouting— If it’s a magic formula, not an equation, then that’s your achievement—.”]

“The other day—”

[“Shut up. I’m not getting involved with that anymore.”]

“Why….”

For the first time in the call, Fran’s words came through clearly after several seconds of silence.

[“Even if the Tiphlam problem is solved, it’ll only benefit the royal family, won’t it? Leave me out of it.”]

Clunk—

Click.

It ended with a one-sided declaration.

[“Your call to the Hyde-White estate has been disconnected. Would you like to reconnect?”]

Only the kind voice of the telephone operator echoed emptily beyond the receiver.

“No. That’s fine.”

[“Thank you. Please use us again.”]

Cleio, leaning his back against the wall, slid down and slumped to the floor.

“Haahhh, what am I supposed to do with this?”

Bang!

“What else? We have to verify it first!”

The person who barged into the small parlor was the researcher Frida.

“…How long have you been here?”

“I was waiting to use the phone. They won’t install one in our lab for security reasons.”

“Right, well, go ahead. I’ll be off then.”

As Cleio tried to slip away, Frida blocked him. She was like a wolf with prey.

“You’re trying to sneak off in the middle of something important? The words ‘Tiphlam-Aether-Permanent Activation Magic Formula’ were loud enough to hear from the hallway, you know? Explain it in detail. It doesn’t matter if it’s unverified or just a hypothesis. Quickly.”

Cleio didn’t know whether to blame his own carelessness or the call quality of this era; his mind was in turmoil.

Frida, though small in stature, stood so firmly with her hands on her hips that it was clear she wouldn’t let Cleio go easily.

‘Since Fran backed out, I was just going to submit it anonymously…’

The establishment of this formula was fundamentally a scam.

‘It’s neither science nor magic, it’s cross-communication. Words received from the other world.’

How could he claim to have discovered a magic formula whose process and route he couldn’t explain?

‘Should I use editor privileges to turn this back?’

But he couldn’t afford to use up one of his only two remaining privileges when he didn’t know when this chapter would end.

‘Besides, in this case… I don’t think the author would allow it… The plot would get derailed if the formula isn’t confirmed soon.’

Letting out a long, anguished sigh, Cleio gave up on escaping.

“Let’s go to the lab and test if it works. I’m not sure if it will.”

“That’s perfect. Today’s a special holiday, so no one else is in the lab. We can experiment as long as we want.”

.

.

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Tick, tick—

Click—

On the messy lab desk, the desk clock struck midnight.

Cleio had been detained in Frida’s private lab for six hours.

‘I won’t even know if Leticia caught a fox or not.’

After Cleio explained the formula, catalyst, and usage, Frida did everything herself.

While Cleio dozed in his seat, Frida tirelessly conducted verification, and at last, she put down the thirtieth Tiphlam plate.

It, like the other twenty-nine, was giving off a gentle heat.

[Heating].

As a graduate of the Science Academy, Frida could skillfully recite only one magic formula to the point of activation, and it was engraved on the Tiphlam.

These thirty Tiphlam plates, thanks to the engraving, did not revert to their original state over time.

“I’m not a wizard, but like most scientists, I do have aether sensitivity. It’s not even level 1, but with just that much sensitivity, I can engrave functions into Tiphlam. This ‘formula’ works properly.”

Frida lifted the Tiphlam that was still maintaining its metal plate form.

On the back of the metal plate engraved with the [Heating] magic formula was the [Aether Activation] magic formula Cleio had just put together.

The Tiphlam’s glow was clear among the open industrial ethanol can, pen nib, and the paper the formula was copied onto.

“We’ll need to observe how long [Aether Activation] lasts… but as things stand, this is more successful than any previous attempt. So it had to be a magic formula, not an equation.”

Frida looked like she wanted to run out and wake up all the other researchers to tell them the news.

Her cheeks flushed, her voice was higher than usual.

“How is something like this possible?”

‘When the author pushes it….’

“Divine revelation… maybe?”

“The goddess gave us a magic formula, huh. That’s exactly what a wizard would say, but you should know that most scientists are atheists.”

While Cleio hesitated for a plausible answer, Frida’s excitement grew even more intense.

“Whether you answer or not, the result is crystal clear. If this really is a magic formula that permanently activates aether, Student Cleio deserves the title of ‘Master’ regardless of aether level.”

“No, uh, it was just a coincidence.”

“Coincidence? You might as well call it a miracle. Why are you even attending school? There’s nothing more for you to learn about magic.”

Cleio pressed his forehead, desperately trying to think of a way to stop Frida.

That’s right.

This formula itself was something that could change the world’s paradigm.

The problem was the suspicious process by which it came about.

‘That’s why I wanted to ride on Fran’s coattails or send it anonymously…!’

“I’ll write a petition right away. I’ll keep requesting until you’re allowed to graduate early and are assigned to the academy or the Mining Bureau.”

“Ms. Frida, please withdraw that. I’m Professor Zebedee Physis’s research apprentice. I can’t leave school.”

He had no intention of accepting Zebedee’s offer to become his research apprentice, but there was nothing he couldn’t bluff about.

Frida, who had been bulldozing ahead, stopped with her eyes wide as lanterns.

The silence lasted exactly three seconds.

“What did you say!!!”

“My head hurts, so please calm down and keep your voice down. It’s late—”

“How can I calm down now?! So you’re… the youngest knight Master Physis boasts about!? No! You look nothing like the dashing young man in the newspaper illustration!”

Cleio felt guilty about many things, but the newspaper illustration wasn’t his fault.

“The newspaper illustrators must all be blind. Or maybe they just wanted to protect my privacy.”

“Is this the time for jokes!?”

Frida slammed the desk, making everything on it shake.

Tap, tap.

As the shaking subsided, footsteps sounded clearly.

“To be conducting such heated research even at night, Dr. Sennet’s passion is always impressive.”

“Your Highness!”

It was Melchior who entered Frida’s lab.

Seemingly used to the crown prince’s unannounced visits, Frida was not surprised at all. Rather, she was delighted and hurried over to Melchior.

“Your Highness, I have something to report. It’s astonishing news.”

There was no time to stop her.

Frida reported everything about the experiment just conducted. She was so sharp she even summarized it in a way that was easy to follow.

Even Melchior, who rarely showed agitation, changed his expression at the report.

“Organize the experiment report and share the formula with the research team. Of course, keep experimenting and observing to determine the duration of [Aether Activation]. Report to me daily as well.”

“Understood.”

“And…”

Standing awkwardly, listening to the crown prince and Frida’s conversation, Cleio flinched as “Promise” stirred in his left hand.

Having used it excessively all day, Cleio wondered if “Promise” would even work, but it gave off a faint light.

In Cleio’s eyes, exhausted by fatigue, gold letters appeared.

[Unique Skill: ‘Enchantment of □□□’]

[―Grants the user powerful charm. Causes love and admiration.

―Imbues the user’s voice with strong persuasiveness.

User: Melchior Liognan]

Frida had already forgotten about Cleio and was gazing at Melchior with passionate eyes.

If a gaze had temperature, hers would burn up with devotion.

“Until I give permission, keep the discoverer of the [Aether Activation] magic formula confidential. I’ll handle the patent separately. I’m counting on you, Dr. Sennet.”

“As you command.”

Cleio had to cover his mouth to hide his look of shock.

‘The brainwashing works well…’

Now, even if Frida were tortured, she would never reveal the discoverer of the magic formula.

It was a relief to have cleared a major hurdle.

But when Melchior, withdrawing his skill, turned his attention to Cleio, Cleio wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Sir Cleio. I believe I have quite a bit to discuss with you. Could you spare me some time?”

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

Melchior’s words were couched as an invitation, but it was not a suggestion he could refuse.