Episode 171

“You mentioned it was uncomfortable having only male classmates in the physics department, right?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well, now you can meet a female classmate.”

Before Ire could process what was happening, she found herself standing in front of the laboratory.

“Um, what is this place…?”

“Ta-da! Welcome to Aidel’s secret lab.”

Aidel playfully announced as he unlocked the door.

Inside stood a girl - petite with dark green hair, giggling softly.

“Heeheehee. This is fun.”

“……”

Ire’s thoughts came to a screeching halt. What was going on?

“You remember her from last time, right? This is Merlin Whiritia. She’s our multipurpose biophysics lab’s first intern.”

Somehow, Ire could already predict Aidel’s next words.

“And you, Ire, are our second intern.”

“Wait just a minute……”

Aidel gently nudged Ire into the lab - or perhaps her feet moved on their own accord. Either way, she found herself inside before she could protest, just like a sheep being guided by its shepherd.

“Who are you? Oh, you’re the one from before! Your name is… I, I…”

“Ire Hazlen.”

“That’s right! Ire Hazlen! I’m Merlin.”

Merlin blinked with half-closed eyes.

“Don’t ask about my surname.”

“……”

Ire stood speechless. When she glanced back, she saw Aidel closing the door with a benevolent smile.

Ire stood speechless as Aidel closed the door with a benevolent smile. Her heart sank with the sound of the lock clicking into place.

“Should we air out the room?” Aidel suggested.

“Is there a strong smell?”

“Not really…”

Gripped by sudden fear, Ire grabbed the doorknob. It wouldn’t move.

Clank, clank.

“Why won’t this open?”

“It’s designed to lock from both sides.”

“I’ve been through countless doors, but I’ve never seen one where you can’t exit without knowing the password. Which company would make something like this?”

“That’s how graduate schools are.”

Ire’s face went blank.

She turned to look at Merlin, who had returned to her workstation after their introductions. Like a machine, Merlin clicked away at her equipment, her fern-like hands moving with the grace of a pianist. However, her face remained eerily vacant, as if her soul had departed.

Flick!

Ire fired an invisible Holy Spirit Bullet into Merlin’s head. As it passed through, it bloomed into starflowers.

“…Not driven by research?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing…”

To anyone else, Merlin would appear to be just another graduate student.

“Everything’s normal here. All this research equipment was bought cheaply. If there’s ever an issue, someone from A/S… I mean, ahem! Someone’s available to repair it.”

Ire’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Flick!

She fired another Holy Spirit Bullet, this time observing the equipment.

Impossible.

The information made her frown.

‘Transcendent being’ typically refers to either Outer Gods or Constellations. But when the name was filtered like this, it could only mean an Outer God. High-ranking Outer Gods were so powerful that merely seeing or hearing their names could drive one mad - hence the Constellation’s filtering of such information.

This couldn’t be happening.

Ire quickly motioned to Aidel, signaling they should leave Merlin and talk outside. Aidel clicked his tongue and began entering the password, his back turned to Ire.

Once outside the lab with the door closed, Ire hissed in a low voice.

“Is that research equipment from an Outer God?!”

“Yes.”

“You must be insane…!”

“Is there something wrong with keeping it there?”

“How can you even ask that?!”

Ire took a deep breath, wondering where to begin.

“Let’s discuss this calmly. What you have in there is closer to a Black Spear than a crystal. You know what a Black Spear is, right?”

“It’s a black metallic orb used by the Outer God of the Maxwell Legion to create monsters, similar to lead, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Unlike crystals, Black Spears emit Prons into the atmosphere. The density is so high that skin contact drives people insane almost instantly. They must be handled with specially treated holy tools or with a Constellation’s assistance.”

“Then what’s the problem? I heard Merlin has a Constellation, too.”

“Well… it depends on the severity,”

Ire frowned and continued.

“Artifacts created by high-ranking Outer Gods release massive amounts of Prons. The emissions are so intense they penetrate the air, driving people insane just by being nearby. You must know this.”

“I do.”

“Then why would you leave it there?”

“Hmm, because it’s useful?”

Ire grabbed her neck again as a second wave of hypertension hit.

“Merlin doesn’t look well. The Pron levels must be high.”

“Actually, they’ve decreased since yesterday.”

“What?”

“It was originally in the low 400s, but now it’s in the high 200s. At this rate, she’ll recover her mental health. Amazing how research reduces stress, isn’t it?”

A third wave of hypertension hit Ire. This was beyond a shock - it was a crisis.

“…Tell me your Outer God’s true name.”

While sharing information earlier, Ire had learned that Aidel had contracted with an Outer God rather than a Constellation. However, Aidel had never revealed which one.

This time was no different.

“I apologize, but I cannot answer that.”

“Why not?”

“The Outer God threatened to make me pregnant if I revealed their true name.”

The fourth Pron Shock struck.

For a brief moment, Ire’s mind went blank, but the Constellation’s urgent reminder helped her regain her composure. A sudden hypothesis struck her.

Could Aidel be an Outer God?

Supposing his soul originated from the outer world, unaffected by Pron. In that case, logically, he might be more Outer God than human.

However…

“That doesn’t make sense…”

“What doesn’t?”

“I was considering whether you might be an Outer God.”

“That’s quite a stretch. Quite a logical leap you’re making there.”

Seeing Aidel’s dejected expression, Ire felt compelled to apologize.

“Even with your Outer God contract, that’s still…”

While apologizing, she couldn’t shake her underlying fear.

She still didn’t fully understand Aidel.

She’d only heard fragments of his past. Unless he chose to continue the story he’d begun at the café, she’d never know the complete truth. What happened to his birth mother? Why did his father vanish?

Altair, her Constellation, whispered.

Indeed, it was true.

Both Ire and the boy had known poverty.

Both their families had faced misfortune.

Both had lived desperately as a result.

Though he wore the facade of a privileged conglomerate heir, his core essence mirrored her own. Today’s revelation had brought them a step closer.

Aidel broke the silence.

“Don’t worry about the Pron situation. My Outer God… rather, the Constellation is being properly regulated to prevent any harm. As for Merlin’s mother, that situation will resolve itself soon.”

Ire reluctantly accepted his explanation. After all, when it came to managing Outer Gods, his expertise surpassed her own.

“Ire, junior, I have a request. Please help Merlin and me complete our research. There’s one task we must accomplish before creating the Graviton Bomb.”

“What is it?”

“We’re studying crystal-based traps. We plan to expand our research by capturing Outer Gods from the Darwin Legion.”

Though the proposal came suddenly, Ire had anticipated something like this even before enrolling.

“Alright.”

Despite its absurdity, Aidel was her only ally in this future. She had to trust him. Pushing aside her anxiety, she chose to believe.

“…Yeah, let’s do it.”

Ire formed a fist and bumped it against Aidel’s hand.

“Let’s win.”

“Yeah, let’s win.”

Just like that time in the wedding hall.

Whatever the outcome - success or failure - she was bound to share this fate with the person before her.

And so began Ire’s internship in the lab, where she would work on embedding Holy Spirit Bullets into crystals.

Cartesia abruptly cursed at me and cut off the transmission before I could even respond.

Nevertheless, my strategy of motivating Ire by sharing my past had proven successful. As I’d anticipated, the mindset of ‘things become enjoyable when you work hard at them’ served as powerful motivation.

This principle was backed by neuroscience. The more you practice something, whether it’s playing the piano or learning a foreign language, the more proficient you become. And once you achieve proficiency, you naturally begin to enjoy it.

And in the realm of science, there’s only one path to developing this kind of appreciation: research.

“Keep working hard~”

After confirming that Ire and Merlin had a substantial block of free time that afternoon, I left them in the lab. The password? I’m pretty sure I told them. Probably.

But having just the two of them felt insufficient.

Welton and Matus came to mind - they would make excellent additions to the team in the future. And although he was from the liberal arts department, we’d need James’s help to expedite the paper’s publication.

However, working with them would require more time. Ire would need to adjust to working with men, and the Stellarium Institute of Technology was notorious for its crushing first-year workload. Between their assignments and their natural desire for social activities like drinking and dating, their time was limited.

Taking all these factors into consideration, there was only one person I could bring in immediately.

There was no time to waste. I headed toward the Military Science Department.