Magic Tools Are Selling Too Well

The academy’s classes run from 9 AM to 5 PM, totaling 8 periods of elective lectures – a course registration system, followed by additional lectures through night classes.
Unless it’s the 3rd or 4th year, which focuses mainly on practical training, the schedules of lower-grade students were surprisingly flexible.

I took 6 subjects this semester and made Monday a free day.
Since I had to work at the alchemy shop on weekdays anyway, making Friday a free day wouldn’t have made much difference.

I thought I had made a wise schedule, but on this sweet Monday morning, I was called to the professor’s office.

“Professor. No matter how I think about it, this doesn’t seem like my job.”

I sighed, looking at the mountain of documents piled up in front of me.

In the middle of the room sat a woman with black hair reaching down to her waist and black eyes.
A straight nose contrasting with her somewhat cold impression, and glasses giving off an intellectual image.
She was young and beautiful to the point where the title of professor didn’t seem to fit her.
Even someone not interested in women might turn their head for such a beauty.

It was Lafurie Melaine, my supervising professor for whom I work as a student assistant.

“It is your job.”

Professor Melaine spoke in a rather stiff tone.
But having seen Professor Melaine for over a month now, I knew that this was actually a relatively gentle tone for her.

Professor Melaine liked elites.
Not just smart people, but those who work well and achieve over 120% efficiency in their tasks.
And her way of expressing this was by assigning work.
I guess I’m being evaluated as an elite by her.
Since she found out I could make potions, the amount of work Professor Melaine assigns to me has been noticeably increasing.

“Please reconsider. It doesn’t seem like it is.”
“It is.”
“Come on, aren’t you hiring a research assistant? Anyone can see this is work for researchers.”

I really feel wronged.
In the modest dream I drew, there was no scenario of becoming a researcher and dying from overwork.

Professor Melaine looked at me with a slight smile.

“Haven’t you heard the news? We’re going without a researcher this semester.”
“What?! Why?”

What a bolt from the blue.

I threw down the documents I was looking at and stood up.
This was news that poured cold water on my peaceful academy life.

Professor Melaine answered slowly, not moving an inch from her seat.

“The work you handle is sufficient, so I didn’t apply for one separately. I still don’t understand why your nickname is the lazy genius. You’re so thorough and diligent.”
“Ah…”

That’s not me being diligent, Professor.
It’s the student assistant working like a dog, succumbing to your words, who is diligent.

My hand unconsciously reached for a cigarette.
But realizing this was the professor’s office, I was frustrated again.

“I’m not lazy, I just sleep a lot…”

In the end, this level of rebellion was all that came out of my mouth.

I faced reality and sat down again.
And I processed the documents while smiling wryly.

Actually, even without a research assistant, the work she gives me isn’t that hard.
Professor Melaine, who likes elites, was an elite herself.
She handles most of the work herself and only passes on tasks that I can manage.
Although she shows somewhat of a dictatorial side, from my perspective of having observed Professor Melaine for quite a long time, she was a person with a warm side.

“Professor. I’ve been curious about something for a while. Can I ask?”
“I permit it.”

When I first heard Professor Melaine’s name from the department head, I felt unfamiliar with it.

Although I’m not very interested in noble society, I had never seen the surname Melaine even in newspapers.

“You’re a noble from the Kingdom of Denver, right?”
“Mm.”

The reason was simple.
It was because she was a noble from the neighboring Kingdom of Denver.

The Kingdom of Denver is a country located in the northwest of the continent, with only the Empire facing it, so it has a very high level of friendliness with the Empire.
They trade a lot, and there are frequent exchanges in academics and arts.
Because of this, the proportion of students coming to study abroad at the Apelice Imperial Academy from other countries was highest from the Kingdom of Denver.

“But you can also be considered affiliated with the academy, right? You graduated from the department here and came out of the research institute here.”
“Mm.”

This was a fact that Professor Melaine had told me directly.
Her tone was stiff, but she often shared interesting stories when we were together.

Professor Melaine and I continued our conversation without taking our eyes off the documents.

Do teachers and students become alike?
Although it was ambiguous to consider her my teacher, anyway, we had reached a point where we could converse while processing work.

“Then when a gate opens and a demon war breaks out, which side do you stand on? The Kingdom of Denver? Or the Empire?”

At that question, Professor Melaine’s hand, which had been flipping through documents, paused for a moment.

I also stopped what I was doing and looked at her.

Wow.
I feel it every time I see her, but she was really beautiful.
To the extent that I would immediately understand if there were students attending lectures because of her appearance.

She organized her thoughts for a moment and then said firmly.

“Nationality has nothing to do with the demon war. It’s literally a war between humans and demons. However, since my position is as a professor at the academy, I would support the academy for the student soldiers who participate.”
“Aren’t there any diplomatic issues?”
“None. Anyway, when the anti-demon allied forces are formed, the command/control headquarters is usually the Empire. All kingdoms on the continent, including the Empire, receive orders from the headquarters. Individuals may participate in different regions, but since the goal is the same, no special problems arise.”

The demon war is a transnational situation where all of humanity wages war against the demon race.
Usually, invasion gates open about once every 10 years, and through these, demons and monsters cross dimensions.

The occupations of heroes are diverse in peacetime.
From knights affiliated with the state, to magicians or alchemists who mainly work individually, adventurers who seek out dungeons or special monsters, and researchers and professors working at academies.
However, when wartime occurs, all heroes active in various places gather as one.
After all, the reason for the existence of heroes is to exterminate demons and monsters.

The most recent demon war was 4 years ago.
It was a war that struck fear into the continent when Beelzebub, the Demon King of Gluttony among the 7 Demon Kings, descended.

The fierce and desperate demon war at that time ended in human victory.
Many people died and were injured, but despite this, humans recorded the feat of minimal damage among all historical demon wars.
Thanks to the allied forces firmly holding the defense line, the Empire was also able to end the war with almost no damage.

In particular, the hero ‘Rudgeil Liquid’, who made the greatest contribution to directly exterminating the Demon King Beelzebub, was still called the strongest hero on the current continent even after quite some time had passed.

“In the first place, heroes taking on the alchemist position don’t stand on the front lines. They mainly create supply magic tools in the rear. So they’re not particularly bound by factions.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”

Because creating magic tools alone is a great help in war, alchemists are provided with materials during wartime to make supply magic tools.

Of course, this applied to general cases, and there were exceptions, naturally.

Special alchemists who create golems or chimeras, and combat alchemists who have honed alchemy magic for a long time to fight directly, stand on the front lines.
These are people who follow a truly special path even among alchemists, and it’s not something you can do just because you want to, as it’s classified as a special talent.
They are more destructive than ordinary alchemists and create more variables.
That’s why their numbers were very few, and they were valuable personnel from the perspective of the allied forces.

“Professor Bluecliff sent an official document. About the proposal to transfer you to the Magic Department.”

Finally finishing today’s work, Professor Melaine said as she took off her glasses.

“Again? Can a professor send official documents so carelessly?”
“I refused. Our department can’t easily give up a genius that has appeared after several years.”
“That professor is really something.”

This was already the third official document.
His persistence was truly remarkable.

In the first place, the Alchemy Department wouldn’t give me up, but even if permission were granted, transferring departments isn’t such an easy matter.
Since the academy conducts all talent tests from the entrance ceremony, transferring to another department is generally not allowed unless one has multiple talents or it’s a really special case.

“Ugh, one left!”
“Good work.”

As I chatted with Professor Melaine about various things, I suddenly realized that there was only one document left to process.

Once I finish this, I can escape from the professor’s office today!

“Professor. Can I ask one more thing?”
“Mm, I permit it.”
“By any chance, how old are you?”

……

For a moment, it felt like the temperature in the room dropped below zero.

My face, which had been grinning, also froze as if it had turned to ice.

‘I’m screwed…!’

Why did a question I never usually ask suddenly pop out?

In my excited state, I threw out any question that came to mind.
There was no need to continue the conversation!
I resented this last piece of paper that made me pull an irreversible trigger.

Professor Melaine’s cold voice came from beyond the document.

“Sacher.”
“Y-yes!”
“Work.”
“Yes, ma’am!”

I started working with a posture more proper than any research assistant.