Chapter 282: Theory of Relativity (1)

Morning sunlight spilled through the window, washing the dim room in a golden glow.

I sat on the edge of the bed, studying the Holy Language, then looked up to see the Imperial Palace standing in perfect harmony beyond, in this most beautiful and timeless corner of the continent.

The Empire’s heart, where not even a single blade of grass was left to grow wild, filled my eyes with its pristine view. For a moment, I found myself wondering about who I once was—Kim Woo-Jin from Earth, modeling and designing characters for games—now here in this world, brought over by nothing more than a stray bolt of lightning.

I’d long stopped asking whether this story had a purpose or a reason behind it all, wondering what would happen when it ended and what would become of me. Those questions faded long ago, and all that mattered now was living—one moment at a time.

“... Your Majesty,” I called.

However, Sophien didn’t answer, as the Empress lay asleep with her slender fingers wrapped firmly around my left hand.

Because of that, I had to study, take notes, and research with just one hand, never daring to use

Telekinesis

unless absolutely necessary—after all, this was the most sacred chamber in the entire Empire, belonging to the Empress herself.

I watched Sophien in silence.

[Main Quest : God and the Empress]

◆ The body instinctively follows the pull of the soul of its master.

The quest notification overlapped with Sophien’s sleeping face, its simple description stating that the body instinctively follows the pull of the soul of its master, with no clear reward but the catastrophic consequence that failure would mean Quay’s will realized and the continent reduced to ruin.

“Your Majesty,” I called, once more.

Soon, the expedition to the Land of Destruction and the massacre of the Scarletborn would commence, claiming a mass amount of lives while the continent's fate was suspended in the balance.

However, the simplest solution—one requiring no bloodshed or gambling with the continent's future—was right here, but at this moment, Sophien lacked the authority of regression.

Therefore, if Sophien were killed, Quay's manifestation would become impossible, as He couldn’t recreate the continent with a mere puppet body, meaning his plan would naturally end there.

“... Why do you call me?”

At that moment, Sophien opened her eyes. With her hair and robes still tousled from sleep, she blinked up at me in a daze.

“Professor?” Sophien said.

“It appears the hour has come for me to return to my duties, Your Majesty,” I replied.

“... I have just seen Rohakan. It must have been a dream,” Sophien said, smiling as she wriggled like silk sliding over stone, then placed her head in my lap, her eyes rising to meet mine. “Rohakan spoke to me”

From her place, Sophien’s fingers climbed upward to find my tie, which she held loosely.

“Saying... that I would one day fall in love with you.”

Then, Sophien gave a tug, drawing me closer until our eyes met.

“And that very love would bring about your death; that everyone who walks alongside me will die, and not a single one is spared; that I am an Empress born with a fate cursed from the start,” Sophien continued in a whisper, tracing her past memory.

Then Sophien added, “...But strange, isn’t it? I loved my mother dearly, and Rohakan—that old man—he too was precious to me. But now, both are gone. I ended Rohakan myself. But my mother—”

“Has the weight upon you grown any lighter now, Your Majesty?” I asked.

Sophien frowned at my attempt to lighten the mood, then sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“

Mmh

,” Sophien murmured, leaning close, her warm breath brushing against my ear as she whispered, “Tell me, Professor, was it Rohakan who killed my mother?”

Rohakan, forever branded as the Empress’s assassin, bore the weight of that title and the infamous name Black Beast throughout his life.

The truth was that he wasn’t the one who assassinated the former Empress, but the real perpetrator was...

“Yes, it was Rohakan, Your Majesty,” I replied, though the words I spoke bore not the truth.

There was the slightest tremble in Sophien’s eyes.

“And it was not Your Majesty who took Rohakan’s life—it was I.”

Unable to tell whether I was telling the truth, Sophien smiled, let out a breath of relief, and leaned into my arms without a word.

“... Then I am well enough. You may go now,” Sophien said.

“Would you release me, Your Majesty?”

“... There. I’m recharged,” Sophien muttered, then let herself flop onto the bed without another word.

After bidding Sophien farewell, I turned and left her chamber.

Creeeeeeak...

Past the open door, my footsteps quickened through the corridor—one step became two, two became three, then four—until I was almost running, like a knight charging into battle.

“It was Quay’s safety mechanism,” I said.

—

A safety mechanism?

At the mention of a safety mechanism, Keiron, from my chest, responded.

“Yes, I’ve only now come to know it for certain.”

—

... Does that mean...

Keiron murmured under his breath, as he’d always been the kind of knight who understood things before they were said.

"Quay placed a safety mechanism into Her Majesty’s body, anticipating, perhaps, that one day she might resist, and to guard against that, it granted her a born instinct to kill those she loves."

As Quay’s soul had already descended on the continent, the more Sophien surrendered to her ennui and lethargy, the more her body would begin to wane—searching, perhaps, for a better master to follow.

Love, friendship—those positive emotions that help a human grow—had made Sophien whole. But Quay knew this from the start, which is why he implanted a safety mechanism within her. Interpreted this way, the tragedy of Sophien killing her own mother made sense.

—

Does that mean Rohakan’s prophecy was...

Sophien found herself again only when she was with me because she loved me.

However, the more Sophien loved me, the further she found herself immersed in that love...

“Yes. Her Majesty will, in time, try to kill me—though not of her own will, but by an instinct buried in her from the start.”

There was no answer from Keiron—not because he lacked a response, but because a knight was approaching from the far end of the corridor.

“Professor Deculein,” said Isaac, deputy knight of the Imperial Knights’ Order, as he stepped into my path and cleared his throat. “Might we speak for a moment?”

Isaac, who once suggested that Yulie stand before the Empress’s hearing, now approached in silence. Though once my opponent, his face bore the kind of gravity that left no room for rivalry—only truth.

“Grand Prince Creáto has been taken by the Altar.”

The news warranted that gravity, and I clenched my teeth.

Isaac shook his head and continued, “First, we must bring this to Her Majesty—”

“This stays from Her Majesty. Isaac—tell me, does anyone else know of it?” I interrupted.

“... For now, it’s just the two of us.”

“Isaac, how did you come to know of this?”

“A letter came from the Altar. The sender called himself Quay. It was delivered to the Imperial Knights’ Order. I alone have read it—no one else knows,” Isaac replied, pulling the letter from inside his robe.

I opened the letter and skimmed its lines, which said that Quay was with Creáto, that he had taken care of him, and that if we had not heard anything from him, it was to be trusted that everything was under control.

“... Take this as well,” Isaac added, offering another envelope. “It’s the evidence we prepared for the Empress’s hearing.”

“... Why would you hand this to me?” I said, my brow tightening.

“... Because it’s already too late,” Isaac explained. “The expedition to the Land of Destruction is underway, and war with the Scarletborn will follow. Whether it proves to be war or massacre, only time will tell.”

That was all he said before walking past me without another word and once Isaac had disappeared from view, Keiron finally broke the silence.

—

Isaac hasn’t changed—not in the slightest.

“Is that so?”

Isaac was one of the Empire’s named characters, but beyond holding the title of deputy knight of the Imperial Knights’ Order, there wasn’t much that made him stand out.

—

Don’t let your heart harden toward him. Everything he’s done, he’s done to keep war from spilling into the world.

If there was one thing that I knew about Isaac, it was that he was a pacifist—a knight who had experienced the fires of war yet was more opposed to it than any man I had ever met.

“... How weak,” I replied, clicking my tongue as I tucked the envelope into my robe.

***

... These days, the Mage Tower of the University was always alive with activity. Day or night, its windows glowed with light, and now and then, muffled explosions echoed through its halls. Students and scholars alike were intensely immersed in research and experiments, all racing to complete their theses before the Academia.

“I’m fine,” Epherene said.

However, Epherene alone remained composed throughout the chaos, as her recent success in the stock market had padded her confidence, and with the direction of her thesis already decided, she had little left to worry about.

“The thesis is already submitted to the Academia. Now I just need to follow up—with proof to support it.”

On the 67th floor below the Head Professor’s office on the 77th, tucked into a modest corner of the 10th floor, sat what everyone had come to call Epherene’s Office. It was a small research lab granted by the Mage Tower, and here, she was laying the groundwork for her thesis.

“You already sent in your thesis?” Ria asked.

Epherene had taken on an assistant, Ria—an adventurer not well suited to academic work—but who had asked to be part of the thesis project, and Epherene had agreed.

“Yes.”

"Then does that mean Professor Deculein will review it for you?”

"No,” Epherene replied, shaking her head. “It’d be nice if the Professor gave it a proper review, sure. But if I showed it to him, he’d reject it on the spot—tell me not to even think about writing on a topic like this.”

“

Oh...

I suppose that makes sense. Most mages don’t seem to like science. They always look at it as if it doesn’t belong.”

“Right? But that’s what I’m preparing for. I’ll push through and prove them wrong. Once they see the results of my research for themselves, they’ll have no choice but to believe.”

Epherene’s thesis challenged the very foundation of the Magical Realm’s paradigm, and the resistance from the old paradigm’s opposition would be intense, which worried Ria as well—after all, Epherene was just a mage with no connections or protection.

“Then will you give lectures on your theory one day?”

“I’m not sure. I might offer a class on it someday. Actually, I probably will.”

If Epherene’s thesis was accepted, she would at last be free—no longer tethered to Deculein’s name—and would earn her place as a full-time professor in her own right.

“Besides, my review for full-time professorship is just around the corner,” Epherene added.

“

Wow

, really?” Ria replied.

“

Mm-hmm.

Once the Professor becomes Chairman.”

With the semester drawing to a close, Deculein was set to become Chairman and Epherene’s review for full-time professorship would begin—after all, a Chairman had no use for an assistant professor—and strangely, she felt bittersweet about it all, though as a mage, she knew this was the natural order of things.

“Okay, break time’s over! Let’s get started,” Epherene said.

Epherene primed her mana, and the ashen mana swirled around her before pressing toward her body like armor, an imperfect replica of the nano suit Ria had once hinted at.

“You know.”

“

Hmm?

” Epherene replied, unbuckling her armor.

"... Professor Deculein asked if I would maybe want to learn from him,” Ria said, fidgeting with her fingers.

“Really? I guess he thinks you’ve got potential,” Epherene replied, her eyes widening.

“Potential?”

“

Mm-hmm.

Professor Deculein only ever shows interest in people with talent. If you think you can handle it, I think you should go for it. It won’t be easy—but you’ll grow a lot because of it.”

Ria nodded in agreement, but something Deculein had said hovered like a whisper she couldn’t shake.

I am not sure whether I am misusing my mana and talent or if it’s just his jealousy, and to be honest... I’m scared—scared that maybe Deculein might come to love me and that this feeling has been programmed to want that,

Ria thought.

Knock, knock—

“Delivery for Assistant Professor Epherene?” said the delivery person, knocking on the door at just the right moment.

“Yes~ this is Epherene!”

“Here’s the new release you ordered.”

As soon as Epherene opened the door, a bundle of books slipped past her feet and into the room.

“

Oh!

It’s the new release,” Epherene said, her face lighting up as she looked at it.

“New release?”

“Yes! Caasi, the author, has been putting out a bunch of new science releases these days,” Epherene replied. “I signed up for a subscription, so each new release is delivered straight to me.”

“... Let me see too!” Ria said, unwrapping the bundle and scanning the cover of the book.

In the very next moment, Ria’s eyes widened, and this time the shock hit even harder.

Who... is this person?

Ria thought.

Embossed at the center of the book’s fine hardcover, the title was stamped in bold—

Theory of Relativity

—Einstein’s revolutionary theory reimagined the flow of time, reaching outward from the curve of the Earth to feel for the rhythms of the cosmos.

“The Theory of Relativity... sounds interesting, and apparently this author has been getting pretty famous lately—even the scientists at our university have been talking about him,” Epherene said, smiling brightly and unaware of how serious Ria had become.

“... Find him.”

“

Hmm?

Find what?”

When Ria’s face darkened all of a sudden, Epherene blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

“We

have

to find out who this author is—no matter what!” Ria said, grabbing Epherene’s hand with both of hers and biting back her words.

Fwoooosh—

Ria was burning with so much determination, it wouldn’t have been surprising if a sound effect had played behind her.

Epherene looked a little confused but nodded and replied, “Yeah, why not? I guess you could call me a fan of this person too—”

“I’ve got connections with adventurers! We need to find out who this person is—no matter what!”

I will have to find this person—no, maybe this was a sign. If anyone out there recognizes this knowledge, someone from the modern world, maybe they are asking to be found and calling out. So, let us stand together, mind to mind, and face this world side by side,

Ria thought.

“No matter what—!”

Epherene took a step back from Ria, acting as if she had no idea who this overly determined person was.

***

Epherene was busy with her own research, leaving the Head Professor's office on the 77th floor empty while I remained behind, reading through the evidence Isaac had compiled for the Empress's hearing—testimonies, eyewitness accounts, books filled with corruption—and after reviewing them one after another, I could only shake my head.

“It’s been manipulated,” I muttered.

The more I read, the clearer it became that every piece of evidence had been tweaked with barely noticeable changes that altered the entire story, including pages listing strangers as eyewitnesses who had nothing to do with it. Since it wasn’t Yulie, and there was no way Isaac would hand me evidence he had manipulated himself, that left only one possibility.

“It’s probably—”

“Professor!”

Bang—!

At that moment, someone banged on the door, their voice blaring through the walls as if trying to tear through the room itself.

“Professor! There’s a problem you must see!”

“Who is it?” I said, eyes narrowing as I turned in the direction of the sound.

“It’s Relin, Professor! There’s a big problem!” Relin yelled, bursting in the moment I opened the door with

Telekinesis

and he walked straight to my desk, dropped a thick thesis onto it, and began slapping the pages. “Professor! Please—look at this!”

If this coward is bold enough to barge in like this, then something must be troubling him.

“Professor! This thesis—submitted to the Academia—it’s by your assistant professor! Epherene or Leafrene or whatever her name was! Look at it!”

I looked at the thesis Relin had left on my desk.

Proper Integration of Magic and Science : Cooperative Advancement (Epherene Luna)

"H-How is this even possible?!”

"... You’re spraying the desk,” I said.

“

Oh

—yes, my apologies,” Relin said, wiping his mouth. “But please, look—just look at this title.”

“I am reading it.”

“That’s what I’m saying, Professor! This thesis will not only ruin your reputation, but it will bring shame on the whole Mage Tower! How dare she say cooperation? Magic and science working together? The very thought is crazy...” Relin said, rubbing the back of his neck in stress before collapsing into the nearest chair.

Then, after catching his breath, Relin added, “Anyway, this ridiculous piece of a thesis is now making the rounds through academia, Professor.”

Of course, Epherene had gone and done it, chasing the kind of hardship most would avoid and reaching for her own growth with both hands, genuinely having a talent for making life harder than it had to be.

“Thankfully, I was the first to find it. Soon, the other professors will come, and once you’ve read it, you’ll be even more shocked. I barely made it through ten pages before I got so furious that I rushed straight here.”

However, it had always been the way of real geniuses and revolutionaries to walk headfirst into hardship, bear the weight of the world on their backs, and wrought miracles with bare hands.

“

Oh

—but, Professor, have you...” Relin added, his words spilling out in a rush. Then, something in the air made him pause, as he looked for my reaction.

“I had no part in this thesis. It seems that she submitted it entirely on her own, without so much as a word to me,” I said to reassure him.

“

Oh

, that explains it! I noticed there wasn’t a reviewer listed, Professor.”

There was no reviewer assigned to Epherene’s thesis, and Relin—ever the calculating opportunist—immediately picked up on it, storming in, ready to demand answers and acting as if he had caught Epherene in a trap of her own making...