I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 831 - Side Story 104: Mirror World (2)

Rene's voice contained a subtle warmth. Her gaze asking Rudger was moist.

It was as if she was suggesting they go on a date alone, to a secret place where no one else's eyes could reach.

Well, it wasn't exactly wrong.

It was a magical device created in a thoroughly secure environment. No matter where in the world you went, there would be no place more concerned with security than that.

Though it seemed excessively barren to be called a date spot, the tribe of mages weren't romantic enough to consider such things.

Actually, the location wasn't that important. Who you're with is more important.

Setting aside idle thoughts,

"Is it okay for me to go in?" 

"Oh come on, what's wrong with you going, oppa? You made the biggest contribution to creating the mirror world in the first place." 

"Unofficially, that is. If the other researchers found out, they'd take issue with it." 

"That's fine. I can persuade them. Even though I may not look it, I have quite a high rank among the researchers, you know?"

Rene was still young, but her talent was by no means insignificant.

Even during her student days, she always ranked at the top in theory-related classes. At Theon, where only geniuses gathered, no less.

Her theoretical talent was one thing, but her greatest talent was her space attribute mana.

A special form of mana that few in the world possessed—or rather, if you were to be precise, only Rene had it.

Now that the spatial suppression imposed by the cage had disappeared, the only people who could transcend space were Rudger and Rene.

Moreover, when it came to space-related matters, Rene was far more skilled than Rudger. While Rudger used shadows as a medium, Rene's ability to do it without conditions was clearly a superior version.

'So, the mirror world created this time is a project that absolutely cannot function without Rene.'

If this were a novel, Rene would be the female protagonist receiving the author's affection.

That's how strong Rene's voice and power were. Getting one outsider to observe would be no trouble at all.

'Rather, given Rene's personality of getting along well with other researchers, they might accept it without much complaint.'

Of course, human hearts don't divide cleanly like drawing lines.

Probably, once they became acquainted later, this side would also need to prove magical knowledge sufficient for the other party to accept.

"Now, now. You must both be hungry. Please eat."

Just then, the proprietress brought the food.

It was roast beef, slowly cooked in the oven to preserve the juices of premium beef, served with potato puree.

Along with steaming mushroom soup and salmon tartare.

The smell alone stimulated the appetite—you could tell the result without even tasting it.

"Go ahead, eat. The food here is really delicious." 

"Let's do that."

The two began their meal.

Indeed, as Rene recommended, and as predicted from the brief visual inspection, the food was delicious.

The old Rudger hadn't particularly enjoyed gourmet food. There was no need for it, and lack of leisure was also one of the reasons.

And after the holy war ended, Rudger had to spend three years in a space with no one.

Though it was fine not to eat or drink there, only Rudger could endure that.

Eating something and tasting it is responsible for one of humanity's five senses.

Not being able to enjoy that at all dried up one's emotions, even if one tried to think it was okay.

It was because Rudger possessed mental strength far surpassing ordinary people that he endured three years; if it had been someone else, they couldn't have lasted even a month.

Whether it should be called a backlash from that, or whether it was because he had peace of mind,

Rudger had recently been developing a hobby of eating delicious food.

In the past, eating was just an act of shoving energy into the body, nothing more, nothing less, but now it was different.

Being able to feel flavors naturally allowed him to express emotions more than before.

"It's delicious." 

"Right?" 

"Yes. You found a good restaurant. I'd like to visit separately if I get the chance."

Rene smiled broadly at the fact that her discernment had been praised.

The two's meal continued, and afterwards, after eating dessert, it came to a light conclusion.

"Phew. I don't know when I last ate like this." 

"So it seems. Being absorbed only in magical research, aren't you skipping too many meals? Health is important too, so make sure to eat on time." 

"Okay." 

"I'm saying this because you look too thin." 

"Oppa, are thin people not your type?"

At the sudden question, Rudger was momentarily flustered.

He had never particularly thought about thin or not as a matter of preference.

"At least, people who don't eat to the point of harming their health aren't my type."

When Rudger said this with a chuckle, Rene pursed her lips as if unsatisfied.

"Hmph. Fine. I'll show you that I can change as much as I want if I put my mind to it." 

"I look forward to it. But if we're done eating, shall we get up soon?"

He would have liked to continue conversing more leisurely, but he couldn't help being more curious about the mirror world.

Rene seemed to understand this, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled.

"Oppa must be looking forward to it too." 

"After saying that much, I'd be disqualified as a mage if I weren't curious. Above all, isn't it a device that was modeled after my Crystal Corridor and improved to a better state? As the person who made the original design, it's unbearable." 

"Ahaha. That's true too. Alright, shall we go right away?"

After paying and leaving the restaurant, the two walked down the street for a while.

Small, cozy houses were lined up, unlike what you'd see in Leathervelk or the capital. The people walking the streets looked peaceful.

The two arrived at a park without people.

Rene held out her hand. This time there were no words.

"Well then."

Faced with this, Rudger had no choice. He took Rene's hand. At the warm temperature, Rene smiled broadly and activated her magic.

The light emanating from mana danced and enveloped the two and the place they arrived at was the Empire's secret research laboratory.

A place whose existence wasn't even known to people, where security was so thorough that even the palace administrators didn't know its location.

The inside was dark. Since research had ended, the researchers had all gone home to rest.

Rene could have done the same, but she couldn't wait and came to find Rudger first.

"You said it has been operated a few times." 

"Yes. At least the stability is guaranteed." 

"Just not used on people."

At the words hitting the core issue, Rene awkwardly averted her gaze.

Starting with experimental mice and gradually increasing the size of animals, when used on people, it acts differently.

Even if you assume ten thousand possibilities, there's always one more exception. When that happens, casualties occur.

The saying that safety regulations are written in blood didn't come about for no reason.

But it couldn't be helped. If you fear the danger that might pop up unpredictably each time, there would be no progress.

"Oppa. Don't tell me..."

Rene also seemed to sense something, her eyes widening.

"If it's the two of us together, I think it would be okay to use it." 

"This is different from a simple tool. It's not something you properly understand just by reading the instruction manual." 

"Right. But we two are special. We can use space-related magic that other people can't."

It was sound logic. Rene couldn't deny that such uniqueness was one of the reasons she called Rudger separately.

"Are you really going to do it?" 

"First, let's look at the basic framework."

The mirror world was placed in the center of the laboratory.

It was a giant disc. At the center was embedded a bluish magic stone. Seeing its high purity, it was hard to fathom how expensive it must be.

Looking closely at the disc, it was the result of rings stacked layer upon layer.

"Hmm. Indeed, it's not very different from the original design I saw then. These discs rotate to unfold multifaceted magical effects without blind spots?" 

"Because it has to respond to all coordinates at every moment. Most of the time was spent devising and creating this device. I really worked hard, you know." 

"So it seems."

Rene smiled as she watched Rudger, who couldn't take his eyes off the mirror world.

The older man she usually had to look up to was now shining his eyes like a child who had discovered a toy.

Did Rudger himself know he was making such an expression?

Rene deliberately didn't bring up this topic.

By not mentioning it, she could admire that expression longer.

And this was something only she could see.

"Would you step back for a moment?"

When Rudger stepped back as Rene said, Rene immediately channeled mana to activate the mirror world.

-Whirrr.

The magic stone embedded in the center of the disc rose.

Then the disc also rose, immediately separating into countless rings and rotating in different directions.

At a glance it looked irregular, but Rudger immediately recognized that it was moving through highly sophisticated calculations.

Mana circuits were engraved on the surface of each distance. Creating just one of those would have required considerable time, effort, and funds.

The mirror world, now fully operational, looked like a massive astronomical observation instrument.

"Ooh."

Rudger couldn't help but honestly admire such a beautiful and magnificent appearance.

He hadn't felt this way even when viewing ancient ruins.

"Hehe. It's magnificent, right? And I made this!" 

"Though I'm the one who provided the idea and help." 

"That's why I brought you here first, before anyone else, to show you." 

"Right. I'm so grateful I could cry." 

"But what do you think? Your impression?" 

"I don't quite know yet. However, it's certainly very complex and variable. Really, as you said, it seems sufficient to interfere with another dimension."

Seeing Rudger happy like a child, Rene unconsciously asked suddenly,

"Then, shall we try using this once?" 

"Is that okay?"

When Rudger asked, Rene belatedly realized what she had said and panicked.

"Ah, aah. It is a bit much, isn't it? No matter what, this might be a bit dangerous..." 

"Hmm. I don't think it's bad. If I'm with you, we can respond even in an emergency."

Rene swallowed.

In fact, the desire to use it directly was, if anything, stronger in her, certainly not lacking.

"Th-then...shall we try it just a little?"

He didn't know if it was possible to use a magical device of this magnitude 'just a little,' but Rudger deliberately didn't point that out.

He didn't want to extinguish the longing for the unknown dwelling in Rene's eyes.

'Actually, I'm curious too.'

Without either taking the lead, the two stood at the center of the mirror world.

The slowly rotating metal rings surrounding them encircled the two.

"How do you activate it?" 

"You channel biological information into this core here. Since we're mages, channeling mana will do."

Rudger channeled mana into the core as Rene said. When Rene did the same process, the core began to shine brighter.

The rotation speed of the metal rings began to gradually increase. Soon it reached a speed that left afterimages.

It was a brutal scene where reaching out a hand would result in the wrist being cut clean off.

"It'll be okay, right?"

Rene asked, gripping Rudger's clothing tightly.

Rudger answered, dumbfounded.

"What good does it do for you to ask that?" 

"Ahaha. That's true too."

The mana circuits engraved on the fiercely rotating metal rings glowed. Soon countless lights enveloped the two, and Rudger and Rene's bodies instantly disappeared as if covered by a sphere of light.

And after a moment nothing remained in the place where the rotation speed of the rings slowed and the light faded.

Rene opened her eyes.

When she sat up, what she saw was a dormitory room.

"Ugh. Come to think of it, I barely fell asleep after doing homework until late last night."

At least it was fortunate there were no classes in the morning. Otherwise, she would have had to move her exhausted body.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Rene felt a sense of wrongness.

Why was she in a dormitory room?

No, of course. Since she's a student at Theon, she should be staying in the dormitory.

No. Hadn't she already graduated from Theon? Now her position was as an Imperial-affiliated magical researcher.

Her? Who was she talking about right now?

Two conflicting pieces of information clashed and tangled in Rene's mind.

Belatedly, Rene realized her body was different from usual.

Her body was heavy, her field of vision was high, and her voice was much huskier and deeper than usual.

"Huh?"

Looking at the mirror placed in the room, Rene's eyes widened.

In the mirror, a beautiful young man with ashen hair was looking shocked.