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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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A thick silence hung over the auditorium.
But it was just the calm before the storm.
A reporter’s question ignited an explosion of interest directed at him.
-Mr. Edgar Fix! Can I ask you a question about the test you just took?!
-What was that weapon?
-Do you wield Trait-type formulas?
Reporters from the empire’s three major newspapers shoved microphones in his face.
Difficult questions, questions he didn’t want to answer, questions he didn’t mind answering – they all came at him at once, creating a chaotic atmosphere.
He felt like a corrupt politician caught in a scandal.
“What’s all this commotion?”
Fortunately, Elena intervened and blocked the reporters.
She stated that the tests were still ongoing and that no one was allowed to approach the students, and Any questions should be directed to her, his official sponsor reprensentitive (Academy Talent Development Foundation).
Elena was definitely helpful in these situations.
“Hey, Sir Fix! What was that thing? That new weapon that made that *keee-ing* sound!”
But even Elena couldn’t stop the students.
He was surrounded, the center of attention.
“It just ripped Max apart! Amazing.”
“The strategy was brilliant! Honestly, the teammates Sir Fix had were nothing special.”
“Hey, Ed. Do you study military strategy?”
“Can you give me one of those weapons? I’ll pay any price!”
“What’s the principle behind it? There was a mana stone in the bracelet, how many formulas do you need to combine to achieve that kind of transformation?”
“Hey! Sir Fix! Look over here!”
He was bombarded with questions, and it was just as overwhelming.
As a typical engineer who enjoyed tinkering with machinery, he wasn’t used to this much attention.
“Ugh, this is so noisy.”
Suddenly, a woman’s voice cut through the din.
And it wasn’t just him who heard it; it was amplified by mana.
“Can you be quiet? The tests aren’t over yet.”
It was Isabella.
Her violet eyes glared at the crowd.
The students, sensing the danger, quickly retreated to their seats.
-Um… r-right, the tests are still going on.
-Haha. We shouldn’t be causing a disturbance.
-Where was my seat again…?
The crowd dispersed under Isabella’s gaze, leaving him alone with his teammates.
Isabella, seeing this, softened her expression and smiled faintly at him, then turned and returned to her seat.
Had she intervened to help him out of an awkward situation?
“Um, Edgar Fix.”
Fio, the fallen noble, called out to him.
“Before the match… I’m sorry for looking down on you. My family’s situation isn’t great… I think I was taking it out on you. I’m so insignificant, and you, a commoner, are doing so well. I think I was jealous.”
Fio apologized, scratching the back of his head.
He was the one who, along with Red Hair, had disregarded him.
But now, his attitude has completely changed.
“…It’s alright since we won. We were able to win thanks to your cooperation, Fio.”
“Haha. I just did what you told me to. Just call me Fio. We were teammates, comrades in arms, even if only for a short time.”
“…Okay. Let’s do that.”
It was unheard of for a commoner to address a noble informally, but it was fine if the other party allowed it.
It was more comfortable for him as well.
“L-let’s all drop the formalities, shall we? W-we’re all connected now…”
Charlotte blushed, her round glasses glinting.
It must have taken a lot of courage for the timid Charlotte to suggest they become friends.
Everyone seemed to agree.
“Alright. Let’s keep in touch.”
“It was an honor fighting alongside you. You’ll succeed no matter what you do.”
“I-I also e-enjoyed fighting with you, Ed.”
They said their goodbyes.
The next test was an individual competition, so there was no reason to stay together.
They dispersed, returning to their seats.
Six more matches took place, and the winners and losers of the first round were finally determined.
“The first round is now complete. I will now announce the details of the second round.”
A supervisor stepped onto the podium and began the announcement.
The second round would take place tomorrow at the same time and would be a tournament format.
“That’s all. You are dismissed.”
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After being dismissed, he went to meet Enya, as they had agreed.
As he was leaving Basic Tactics Building 7…
“Ed.”
Enya called out to him.
She was already waiting for him near the entrance.
“Ah, Lady Cruel. I was just about to look for you.”
“Huhu. And how would you know where to find me?”
“You always take a carriage home after your schedule is over. I was going to go where the carriages arrive.”
Enya commuted to the academy with her three friends.
“Ah, you knew I take a carriage. But, it’s a bit awkward to meet when I’m with them. They don’t understand my hobbies.”
“They don’t like ‘Quickdraw’?”
“They have no taste.”
“They’re missing out.”
“Puhhu. Indeed.”
Enya fidgeted and smiled shyly.
She glanced around, seemingly conscious of the surrounding gazes, then looked back at him and said,
“S-should we go somewhere else? It’s too noisy here.”
“Yes. I know a good spot. It’s quiet and secluded.”
“Oh, where?”
“My personal workshop. Want to see it?”
“…!! Yes! I’d love to!”
“Haha. Then follow me.”
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Room 207, Building 3, Department of Formula Analysis/Combination.
Ed brought Enya to his personal workshop.
Of course, it was absurd for a commoner to be given an entire room in the academy, especially not a small storage room, but a luxurious workshop equipped with all sorts of devices and equipment.
Normally, such a workshop would be reserved for professors or project leaders.
Elena had pulled some strings.
She registered the room as her sub-laboratory and assigned Ed as a work-study student responsible for equipment maintenance and cleaning.
She told him that if any professors questioned his use of the workshop, he should simply say, “I’m cleaning.”
She had caused a bit of a stir acquiring this workshop, so there might be a few professors who would give him trouble.
However, she assured him that she would handle it, so he didn’t need to worry.
“Um, Ed. What are these shiny things?”
Enya called out to him, her eyes shining as she looked at the sparkling blue light inside a test tube.
“Mana.”
“…M-mana?”
“Yes.”
“Mana is visible…? Amazing.”
“I made it visible. With a lot of help from Chief Professor Elena.”
“Ah… the Chief Professor.”
“Yes. And actually, the blue light you see is a cluster of hundreds of thousands of mana particles. A single mana particle is too small to see with the naked eye.”
“…This small light is tens of thousands of mana particles?”
“Yes.”
“…Amazing. How did you figure that out?”
“I’m researching it. The properties of mana, its characteristics, the formula for mana-to-energy conversion… I’m trying to unravel the secrets of mana.”
Enya nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Ed’s face, illuminated by the blue light of mana.
“You’re even more amazing than I thought, Ed. I’m sure you created that gauntlet you wore today through these efforts as well.”
…*Efforts.*
Ed chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
While his own efforts played a part, he had also relied on the cheat codes of “Engineering Mind” and “Dexterous Hands.”
“I’m curious about your secret. What kind of effort did you put in to create such an amazing thing?”
Enya was curious about Ed’s mindset.
What kind of spirit and attitude did it take to create such an incredible device?
“Well, I just tried to decrease entropy.”
“…Excuse me?”
He had inadvertently muttered the term “entropy.”
It was a term central to the Second Law of Thermodynamics and a core concept in explaining the universe, describing the direction of natural energy flow.
“Ah, that is…”
But Enya, a native of this world and not a science student, wouldn’t understand such a concept.
So, he decided to explain it in simpler terms.
“So, entropy is… um… a term I created.”
He wasn’t the one who created it, but he decided to go with it for the sake of simplicity.
“Um… it refers to the degree of disorder.”
“The degree… of disorder?”
“Yes. Shall I give you an example?”
He pointed at the test tube.
As Enya’s gaze followed his finger, he continued,
“You see how the mana inside the test tube is moving around?”
As he said, the mana particles inside the test tube were colliding and moving randomly.
Enya nodded, and he continued,
“I consider this state of mana to be disordered. It’s moving around haphazardly without forming any shape.”
“Um… is that so?”
“Yes. Then I’ll show you how to make this mana orderly.”
He drew a Strengthening Formula (ꇔ) on the board connected to the test tube.
The same formula appeared on one side of the test tube.
He infused the formula with mana.
“Now, if I do this, the mana that was floating around randomly inside the test tube will take shape according to the Strengthening Formula.”
As he said, the randomly moving mana particles were now confined within the Strengthening Formula-shaped groove, emitting a blue light in the shape of the formula.
Enya nodded in understanding.
“I call this a decrease in entropy. The mana, which was floating around disordered, now has order in the form of the Strengthening Formula.”
“…So, you’re saying that since the mana now has order in the shape of the Strengthening Formula, you consider the disorder of the mana to have decreased? That… ent…?”
“Entropy.”
“Yes. Entropy. You’re saying this is a decrease in entropy. Correct?”
“Precisely. You’re a quick learner.”
Enya smiled faintly at his praise.
She took a breath and looked at him.
“So, you’ve been working on making mana take on a specific form. Since you said you decreased entropy.”
“Yes, that’s right. Because mana naturally moves towards increasing entropy.”
He pressed a button.
The Strengthening Formula on the board disappeared, and so did the formula on the test tube.
The mana particles, no longer confined, scattered randomly.
“See? When I remove the order of the Strengthening Formula, the mana scatters randomly again. In other words, entropy has increased.”
“…I see.”
Enya nodded, seemingly understanding.
Ed, excited, opened the test tube.
“Mana always moves towards increasing entropy. If I remove the container, the mana will spread throughout the workshop.”
Enya watched as the sparkling blue light escaped the test tube and spread throughout the workshop.
Ed opened the window and continued,
“And without the workshop as a container, it will spread throughout Building 3, and then throughout the entire academy. That’s how the entropy of mana continuously increases.”
The concept of entropy was still somewhat confusing.
Ed spilled a glass of water.
“It’s not just mana that experiences increasing entropy. Water neatly contained in a cup will spread when it loses its container. If you spill a perfume bottle, the scent will spread everywhere and gradually fade. Heated metal will cool down over time as the heat disperses.”
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
“Yes. The laws of this universe are designed to increase entropy. Disorder is constantly increasing.”
“Hmm… a universe where disorder is constantly increasing… That’s difficult.”
Enya chuckled wryly, scratching the back of her head.
Ed thought her reaction was natural.
She wouldn’t know that the universe was constantly expanding, that it was approaching a state of heat death.
So, he decided to just state his conclusion.
“Haha. Did I explain it too complicatedly? What I mean is, I’ve been striving to find order in this world filled with disorder. Technology advances when we discover that order.”
Enya nodded, listening to his explanation.
‘A single order found within chaos.’
She felt like she understood.
“Then swordsmanship is similar. We give a defined form to thousands, tens of thousands of thrusts and cuts, and call it ‘swordsmanship.’”
“That’s right. And you have an incredible talent for finding that order. You can easily learn any sword technique.”
“…But quickdraw is different. That’s not so easy.”
“Haha. That’s because it’s a sword technique that only exists in manga.”
“…Right.”
“Well, that’s what makes it so appealing. Even someone as talented as you has to go through trial and error to master quickdraw, right? Perhaps you enjoy the process itself, the process of finding the order of ‘quickdraw.’”
Enya recalled the days when, from the moment she held a sword, her talent was so overwhelming that all sword techniques felt dull.
The only thing that excited her was the unknown sword technique of “quickdraw.” And pursuing it was her ideal, her romance.
“Perhaps we… are the same kind of people. People who seek order within chaos.”
“Haha. Is that so? Well, when you think about it, I suppose we are. I seek the order of mechanics, and you seek the order of swordsmanship.”
‘Ed, a seeker of order in mechanics. Herself, a seeker of order in swordsmanship.’
Enya liked his phrasing. She wanted to use his words to get closer to him.
“Ed.”
She composed herself and called his name, her cheeks flushed as she looked at his handsome face.
He tilted his head questioningly.
“Th-then… w-wouldn’t it be nice… to find… the order between us…?”
“…Excuse me?”
“As you said, the e-entropy between us is still high, right? B-because we don’t have any relationship yet…? Because we’re in a state of c-chaos…?”
“…?”
“So, I want to lower the entropy between us. First… by putting our unpredictable relationship… into the framework of f-friendship!”
“…?”
“And… and then…”
Enya trailed off, her face burning crimson.
Realizing what she was about to say, she waved her hands frantically.
“N-no! There’s no ‘then’!”
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adorable
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa