Chapter 33
“Fei’er, wake up!”
I heard Lian Qi’s voice.
Eh…?
I snapped my eyes open, only to find I was still tied to the cylinder. Lian Qi was standing right in front of me. A faint blue magic array separated us.
Lian Qi was looking at me, shocked. She actually saw me tied up, and in a ‘duck-sitting’ position!1 It’s just too humiliating!
And… I’m so ashamed, so ashamed.
I was already kidnapped once before at the Magic Academy. Luckily, I rescued myself that time… but in the end, was I fated to be seen like this by Lian Qi?
—I’m really not supposed to be playing the role of someone who just waits to be rescued every time!
In this moment, my dignity as a boy was severely crushed…
“Are you okay? The magic array is blocking me. I’ll find a way to get you out right now,” Lian Qi said.
I saw the halo-like magic array, shimmering with a faint blue light, slowly rotating around the cylinder.
The more anxious she was, the more ashamed I felt. I warned Lian Qi, “Be careful, Professor Einstein might be nearby… He has a poison. Just sniffing it will make you pass out.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already returned to Nature’s Home.”
An image of Professor Einstein popped into the air, startling us! Is that Enchantment-type magic?
I saw him sitting at his desk, elbows on the table, fingers interlaced, in a posture of complete control.
“Transmigrator, I knew you would come. You and the Saintess really do care about each other. Whenever the other’s safety is concerned, you’ll be the first to rush over.”
“I didn’t have time to notify the Headmaster this time,” Lian Qi whispered to me. “What did he mean, ‘you care about me’?”
“He… he already knows you’re a transmigrator from another dimension! He threatened me… I had to come alone, or he would tell the Dem…” I said.
“Transmigrator, I admire you very much. You were able to break the magic array I set on the Mana Furnace in just a few minutes. So, this time, I’d like to have another contest with you. Let’s see if you can destroy my Timed Collapse Magic Array within five minutes—”
The moment Professor Einstein finished speaking, faint blue countdown numbers appeared above my head—
—0:05:00, currently frozen.
“What kind of ‘admiration’ is this? And he’s only giving Lian Qi five minutes? Isn’t that too short?” I said.
“What happens if I lose?” Lian Qi asked calmly.
In the image, Professor Einstein revealed a kindly smile and said meaningfully, “I… like explosion magic, just as you do.”
What?
However, I saw Lian Qi’s expression change. The color drained from her face. She said coldly, “The Mana Furnace will explode, right? So you chose to take Fei’er hostage? Just because you were afraid I wouldn’t play this game with you?”
“Once the Mana Furnace explodes… the entire Royal Capital will be reduced to nothing. If you fail, it won’t just be the Saintess who dies… it will be everyone in the city.”
Lian Qi froze for a moment, then “tsked,” staring at him coldly. “Are you insane?”
“You’re depraved—! Is this also the Demon King’s plan!?”
“But the place you’re in right now is so close to the Royal Capital. Aren’t you afraid of being caught in the blast?” Lian Qi asked.
“Silly child, this… is actually my funeral,” Professor Einstein said.
Lian Qi and I said “Ah?” in unison, and immediately felt a deep sense of malice—“You want the entire country to be buried with you?”
“You’ve ruined everything I meticulously planned. Since no one agrees to abolish the Mana Furnace, this is the only way. I created the Mana Furnace with my own hands… so let it be destroyed by my own hands. Don’t you think? I’m destroying something I, myself, created. Is it really necessary to warn everyone to evacuate beforehand?”
His eyes seemed to reflect a sea of fire.
He’s… really… insane.
I’ve heard there’s a fine line between a genius and a madman. For a great magic scholar like him to go mad… it’s simply a catastrophe for humanity.
“If this has nothing to do with protecting the environment, I don’t understand why you have such a deep-seated hatred for the Mana Furnace,” I asked.
“Because the Mana Furnace killed my little sister,” Professor Einstein said, his face grim.
I was stunned. “What did you say?”
He turned the picture frame on his desk to face us. In the picture was a blue-haired girl. She looked even younger than me.
That… is Professor Einstein’s sister?
“Thirty years ago, the first experiment with the Mana Furnace had an accident. I… the creator of the Mana Furnace… ended up making my own sister its first victim.”
This was the first time I had ever seen a look of grief on Professor Einstein’s face.
I had never heard that he once had a sister, not even when the Mana Furnace was at the center of public criticism.
He hid it so deep.
“So, that’s why you’ve been advocating for the abolition of the Mana Furnace for thirty years?” I asked.
No wonder he kept repeating that the Mana Furnace had hidden dangers. After all, it had an accident that killed his sister.
Professor Einstein’s gaze no longer held its usual kindness. It was like a burning torch. His mouth twitched as he said, “For thirty years, the entire country has been enjoying the thing that my sister’s sacrifice paid for. Do you think… I should be happy?”
“So now you’re going to drag the entire country down with you as a funeral offering?” Lian Qi questioned him coldly.
“I’ve already said it. The thing I created with my own hands… let it be destroyed by my own hands. The Mana Furnace is the weapon that murdered my sister. Rather than let it continue to be used by this country… or by the Demon King… it’s better if I set it all free right now,” Professor Einstein said.
“Wait—What does the Demon King want to use the Mana Furnace for?” I asked.
“Saintess… I’m afraid you will never know.”
Lian Qi stared at his image with ice-cold eyes, “tsked” in annoyance, and pointed at him, as if daring him to “bring it on.”
“Don’t be so conceited! If I win… if I break your Timed Collapse Magic Array within five minutes… will you dare to tell us the Demon King’s plan?”
Eh—?
I stared at Lian Qi blankly, an indescribable feeling welling up inside me.
That’s Lian Qi for you. Always so headstrong, always refusing to admit defeat.
Even if her opponent is the Demon King’s confidant, the great magic scholar Professor Einstein.
But… why did Professor Einstein arrange a showdown with Lian Qi?
Is it just because Lian Qi broke his magic array during the first Mana Furnace leak?
So, is this… the hubris of a magic scholar? I really can’t understand it.
“Child, you cannot win against me.”
Professor Einstein said finally.
“It’s been thirty years. Soon, I will see my sister.”
He raised his wine glass, let out a long sigh, and his image abruptly vanished.
Following that—
The faint blue countdown numbers changed to 00:04:59
00:04:58
00:04:57
00:04:56
…
Footnotes
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鸭子坐 (yāzi zuò), “duck sitting,” is the Japanese ‘W’ sit (seiza variation), often seen as cute or feminine. For Fei’er, being seen tied up in this position is a massive blow to his “male dignity.” ↩