I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

---

For the past week, I had always kept my evenings free.

It was to fulfill the promised dinner with the Princess for our marriage.

However, the 1 to 2 hours I spent with the Princess felt like golden time.

As the invasion by demons intensified, countries faced annihilation without ever grasping the Empire’s hand.

Consequently, countless innocent civilians had to make sacrifices, and thus, having dinner with the Princess while witnessing the images of the world I lived in was not entirely comforting.

…But I am not an absolute being.

No matter how much power I wield against the physical laws of this world, or how advanced my technology is as if I were to govern the world, I cannot save everyone.

Ultimately, if the rulers who hold the lives of ordinary citizens do not actively cooperate, many sacrifices will inevitably occur.

Thus, the time spent with the Princess could be seen as time spent at the cost of thousands of lives.

Lives I might have saved if I had worked busily without rest.

Among those lives that were fading away, there might have been many good people with immense potential.

“Bwahahaha! I quite like this footage as well. Life in this world is indeed filled with delightful things.”

Yet, I turned away from all that potential.

I chose to save this girl, who is just now discovering the joys of the world.

Sephilia, being the distant descendant of my comrade, inherited the cursed Ma’an of Orserk and had never seen the world properly.

‘A tragedy that began because of me…’

Thousands of years ago, while I was sealed by the Lord of Hell, my comrade aimed to unite humanity strongly.

The comrade, who used most of their powers to create the Ma’an, was able to rule over all humans by establishing Orserk.

But in exchange for that, he had to replicate himself in his child.

As a result, he no longer loved his descendants throughout generations.

Moreover, the ability to see the true nature of this world, made of rivers, granted him powerful control but simultaneously cast a curse that prevented him from fully enjoying this world.

Nothing—be it any skill, object, or person—felt new or exciting.

‘You alone… may you be saved. I hope you find happiness without bearing the memories of thousands of years.’

Thus, I chose.

Rather than sticking strictly to the purpose of saving humanity… I decided to fulfill my personal duty.

To break the chain of curses that burdened me with pain for thousands of years, which was passed down.

“Bwahahaha! Those wretched beings! In the end, their schemes led to my friend facing doom! The entertainment known as Infinite Challenge is something I truly enjoy! Next, Lord Fix will—”

But then.

As I turned to face her, the startled look on the Princess’s face caught me off guard.

With a flustered voice, she said, “…W-why are you looking at me like that? With such a grotesque face.”

…Grotesque face, huh?

It might appear so.

It was likely a look akin to that of an uncle watching his niece.

But seeing Sephilia, who was just beginning to discover the joys of the world, was utterly charming.

The Ma’an of Orserk, the Princess, her cursed fate.

With all that cast aside, she finally returned as an individual known as ‘Sephilia,’ pure and clear.

“…Since Your Highness the Princess is happy, I suppose I am happy as well.”

“…Uh, hmm?”

“It feels like I’m finally fulfilling a long-overdue duty, and my heart feels at peace. For a moment, I thought I should have prepared this kind of occasion sooner.”

“…O, of course! How could you say such a thing! Ahem! It is only natural for a servant to be delighted by their lord’s happiness!”

I didn’t know why she was flustered, but Sephilia attempted to hide her embarrassment by asserting her authority as a Princess.

However, I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she looked.

“Ugh… Stop making that grotesque face.”

With that, the Princess blushed and turned her head away sharply.

That adorable reaction made me want to tease her more, but considering her status as a Princess, I decided to rein it in for now.

“…It seems you like that delicacy called popcorn. Should I bring more popcorn and cola?”

“Ahem!”

The Princess, still turning her head away, slid the empty popcorn bucket toward me.

I then took the bucket out to the waiting maid outside and asked for more popcorn.

The maid popped the popcorn and filled an icy glass with cola.

As I returned to the room, the Princess was fanning herself.

“Your Highness. This is what they call caramel popcorn.”

I handed her the caramel-coated popcorn instead of the original butter popcorn.

As Sephilia caught the sweet scent of caramel, her interest was piqued almost immediately.

“Oho… This looks quite delicious as well.”

“Please try it. In the realm of Heavenly Beings, it is a popular item, opposing butter popcorn.”

“…”

Sephilia swallowed hard.

Soon, she popped a piece of caramel popcorn into her mouth.

She chewed with her cute little mouth moving, and then her expression resembled that of a kitten tasting treats for the first time.

It seemed that the ability of Ma’an was suppressed when I was near, allowing her to fully taste the pure flavors.

“What a wonderful delicacy! Try it too!”

Seemingly pleased with the caramel popcorn, the Princess pushed the popcorn bucket toward me.

However, as I declined, saying I had already eaten plenty of popcorn in this world, she shot me a sharp glare.

“W-weren’t you only enjoying this delicious treat until now? I feel quite dissatisfied thinking you enjoyed it all alone. Come closer… take this, you delicious treat!”

The Princess, spinning her cloud-like hair with her finger and glaring at me.

Over the past week, I learned that when she felt shy, she would twirl her cloud-like hair.

Seeing a member of the Orserk Family, who needed to control people, display such innocent emotions was both worrisome and adorable.

Yet, I struggled to suppress my laughter and approached her.

I kept just the right distance for the popcorn bucket.

We began watching the footage together.

However, ever since we started eating popcorn together, she for some reason had not laughed much.

She only munched nervously on the popcorn with a tense expression.

***

Another week had passed.

Now, it felt ordinary to eat with the Princess while watching the world’s footage.

We shared a platter of seasoned chicken, comfortably enjoying our meal together.

It had become a matter of course to dine alongside the Princess.

“…Lord Fix.”

At that moment, the Princess elegantly set down a chicken bone and turned to me.

As I met her gaze, she lowered her eyes slightly and blushed as she spoke.

“…I’ve decided. I will marry you. Nothing more, nothing less… Just stay with me for exactly one hour each day like this. Being with you… feels like I can breathe again.”

…Her words sounded like a confession.

The fact that being with me felt refreshing.

Although I had already indicated my desire to marry her, her eyes rippled like a lake in a storm, as if waiting for a response to her confession.

…I had some inkling, but had the Princess truly given her heart to me?

“…I am deeply grateful for embracing my lowly house, even at the risk of violating the public regulations regarding noble alliances. For the boundless glory of Your Highness the Princess and the Orserk Empire, I am prepared to sacrifice this life of mine.”

However, at this point, I offered a formal response typical of a servant.

This was to remind the Princess that our marriage was merely a transaction born out of mutual interests.

“Ah…”

Upon hearing this, the Princess let out a sigh unconsciously and regarded me with hollow eyes.

She could not hide her bittersweet expression, and her previously colorful visage began to fade to monochrome.

That expression was undeniably one of hurt.

-Thunk!

My heart sank.

Seeing the Princess’s hurt face made my heart race and ache like this.

…According to the original plan, the Princess was supposed to remain in a role akin to an acting head.

Feelings of love and affection had to be completely excluded; only the legal functions a concubine could have would remain.

This was a ledger of my greed to possess four women at once.

‘…No.’

But for some reason, I simply couldn’t bear to see the Princess’s pained expression.

She had to live a life burdened by the Ma’an of Orserk due to me, unable to communicate with anyone.

…In this moment, I realized I was pitying the Princess.

By having dinner with her daily and discovering that she held feelings for me, I had come to view her as a tragic being as well.

…It was love borne from pity.

“And there is something I would like to add.”

Thus, this indeed should not be.

While I was meant to leave only the legal functions a concubine could have without giving my heart to her,

I revealed my honest feelings to the Princess.

I responded to her not-quite-a-confession.

“Spending evenings with you, Your Highness, has been a great joy for me. Choosing what food you might like and what kind of footage would delight you has become one of my rare joyful moments. …I willingly want to continue sharing this brief happiness with you, Your Highness.”

“Ah…”

As I conveyed my heartfelt response, the Princess’s face, which had been losing color, began to regain its hues.

Her watery eyes focused on my face.

Her yearning gaze was directed at my lips.

“If we are to be engaged to be married… it is only natural that we should, um… share a kiss…”

With a face as red as it could be, Sephilia moved closer to me.

However, I didn’t push her away; rather, I waited for her approach.

As I felt her hand wrapping around my neck, I naturally embraced her in return.

Accepting her lips against mine with my eyes closed, we exchanged breaths.

And with that, I received the Princess’s first kiss.

…

It tasted like seasoned chicken.