I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy – Chapter 53

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Number one, please come in.”

The auditions began.

The judges were Elena, the Princess, and myself.

Elena’s teaching assistant served as our support staff, bringing in one student at a time for us to evaluate.

“Please introduce yourself.”

Elena led the proceedings.

I mostly remained silent and focused on the evaluations.

The first student introduced himself, explained his reasons for applying, and why he should be chosen.

I wasn’t particularly impressed and marked an X next to his name.

“Number two, please come in.”

Number two entered.

To my annoyance, it was one of the students who disliked me.

I remembered his face from the previous presentation, where he had been grumbling in the front row.

“You’re disqualified.”

I dismissed him immediately.

As he was about to sit down, he stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“W-What…?”

“You’re disqualified.”

I repeated my judgment and waved my hand dismissively, while my face remained impassive.

“You’re out.”

He glared at me angrily.

“Number two, are you still here? Didn’t you hear you’re disqualified?”

The Princess gave him a cold stare and dismissed him.

He quickly bowed his head in apology and retreated backward.

Once he was gone, the Princess chuckled and said,

“I can tell just by looking at you. You don’t like him, do you?”

“Yes. He often badmouthed me.”

He had looked down on and mocked me simply for being a commoner.

Not just once or twice, but over and over again, always clinging to Max and whispering insults.

I didn’t understand why he had the audacity to apply, but it didn’t matter.

Kindness should be met with greater kindness, and hostility with greater hostility.

“Number three, please come in.”

The auditions continued.

However, from number three to twenty-one, no one particularly stood out.

They were just average students.

“Number twenty-two, please come in.”

Then, a familiar face entered.

Number twenty-two was Charlotte.

“I-It is an h-honor… to meet… Her Highness.”

Charlotte, with her characteristic round glasses and green curly hair.

Her severe shyness, causing her to stutter, was just as I remembered.

Charlotte sat down and began her self-introduction.

“I-I am… the o-only daughter… of House Verdian… Ch-Charlotte Verdian…”

“……”

The Princess and Elena stared at Charlotte with unimpressed expressions.

They seemed to dislike her timid demeanor.

Charlotte continued her self-introduction.

“I-I have… for a long time… taken care of… my family’s garden… A-Although now… my father’s business has… d-declined… and we don’t receive… g-garden commissions… so our situation is… d-difficult…”

In short, despite her family’s declining fortunes, she had diligently honed her skills and worked hard enough to gain admission to the academy on her own merit.

She added that she could use ‘Creation’ spells related to plants, a hereditary trait passed down through generations of House Verdian.

Elena immediately showed interest.

“House Verdian… I remember now. The hereditary Creation spell for nature. I apologize for not recognizing you sooner.”

“H-Hehe… Th-Thank you.”

For Elena, a spell enthusiast, Charlotte, with her ability to create plants, was bound to be special.

After all her spell was a unique hereditary trait.

“Alright. Then, what are your reasons for applying?”

Elena, having grasped Charlotte’s background, asked the next question.

Charlotte, once again stuttering, explained her motivation.

“The… the Dwarven… M-Mountains… and the… r-rock forests…”

In short, she wanted to study the Dwarven natural environment.

She wanted to expand her landscaping repertoire for the revival of her family.

“Hmm. We’re going on official business, but your reasons are entirely personal.”

Elena pointed out that Charlotte’s reasons were too personal.

Charlotte lowered her head, looking dejected.

“But that’s why I like it even more. It’s genuine.”

Elena said with a gentle smile.

Charlotte blushed and scratched the back of her head.

Elena then asked her to explain why she should be chosen.

Charlotte pulled out a pot from her backpack and said,

“Th-There’s a… d-delicious dish… that my family… m-makes!”

“……?”

Charlotte pulled out a water bottle and drew a heat-generating spell on the floor, placing the pot on top.

She poured water into the pot and took out a container of seasoning that looked like soy sauce.

*Glug…*

She poured the soy sauce-like seasoning into the water.

Once the water started boiling, she used a spell to summon plants – cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, and the like.

‘Is she making hot pot?’

It turned out Charlotte was preparing a hot pot dish.

She added pre-packed frozen beef to the broth and said,

“If… if you take me… you can… e-eat… our family’s… s-secret recipe… as much as you want…!”

“……”

Charlotte added the vegetables to the pot and summoned more as she declared,

“Unlimited refills…!”

“……”

Whether she genuinely believed in her family’s secret recipe or not, Charlotte diligently prepared the dish, unfazed by Elena and the Princess’s indifferent reactions.

Finally, she served us each a bowl of hot pot with beef and vegetables.

The Princess, Elena, and I tasted the hot pot.

It was the familiar taste I knew.

“Mmm, it’s good.”

Elena, who had been looking indifferent, offered unexpected praise.

The vegetables were crisp, and the broth was flavorful.

‘It would be perfect with some sauce.’

It was only missing one thing.

Dipping sauce.

It would be perfect with rice paper, vegetables, meat, and dipping sauce.

Still, it was a delicious and unique dish.

“Hmm, it’s not bad.”

The Princess also praised Charlotte’s hot pot.

For the Princess, accustomed to fine dining, to offer such praise was a testament to the dish’s quality.

“However.”

The Princess put down her chopsticks and her expression changed.

Charlotte gulped nervously and stared at her.

“We’re not looking for a chef. And we’re not going sightseeing in the Dwarven Allied Kingdom.”

Charlotte lowered her head at the Princess’s words.

The Princess looked at Elena, who also put down her chopsticks and nodded.

They seemed to have decided on Charlotte’s disqualification.

I put down my chopsticks and said,

“You pass.”

“……?”

Pass.

The three women stared at me wide-eyed.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin and explained my reasoning.

“First, the food was delicious. The mild, savory, and clean taste is excellent. However, a special dipping sauce would be a nice addition. And I think it would be even better as porridge, with rice and egg added to the broth.”

The Princess and Elena looked at me, bewildered by my lengthy review.

Elena whispered,

“Y-You’re choosing her… because of the food…?”

Because of the food?

This wasn’t just food; it was a taste of home.

How could she use the word “just”?

Besides, I wasn’t choosing Charlotte just to be our personal chef.

I had another reason.

“I have other reasons.”

I said that and looked at Charlotte.

Meeting her gaze through her sparkling glasses, I asked,

“Applicant number twenty-two, you said you could use nature-based Creation spells, correct?”

“Yes? Yes!”

“Then, can you replicate and summon specific rocks?”

Elena and the Princess exchanged knowing glances.

They seemed to understand my intentions.

“Um… I-I-It’s… p-possible… but… to do that…”

In short, the more complex and rare the rock, the higher the chance of failure.

“It doesn’t matter. The ability to even attempt it is what’s important.”

I valued the potential.

With the dwindling supply and skyrocketing price of emerald mana stones, the dwarves would be ecstatic if Charlotte could even offer a glimmer of hope for increasing their production.

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After interviewing candidates from number one to seventy, I had only one successful applicant: Charlotte.

The key figures I was interested in, including Enya and Isabella, all had later numbers.

“Still, it was a good harvest.”

I was satisfied.

An unexpected idea had sprung to mind, allowing me to recruit Charlotte.

‘Why didn’t I think of this before…?’

In hindsight, Charlotte was my top recruitment target.

She possessed the ability to summon rocks, the most important resource for dwarves.

They would undoubtedly covet her power.

However, as an engineer who believed in the law of conservation of energy, I didn’t think Charlotte’s hereditary spell alone could magically produce emerald mana stones, a super-rare mineral in this world.

‘But if we work together…’

Perhaps, with the combined knowledge of my engineering, Elena’s spell analysis, and the dwarves’ wisdom, we could find a way to artificially create emerald mana stones.

Just as Charlotte’s story had sparked an idea for utilizing her spell, perhaps a gathering of experts from different fields could generate further inspiration and innovation.

Just like how the equations derived from the Riemann Hypothesis perfectly matched those from quantum mechanics.

“Now, shall I move on to other research?”

In any case, I had my own work to do.

Which was analyzing Black Obsidian.

By studying this demonic sword, which amplified its destructive power through rage, hatred, and life force, I might gain insights into the ‘conversion of emotional energy.’

The very power that Isabella wielded.

“Fix, we have one month. Let’s get to work.”

“Weeooong~!”

However, I couldn’t analyze and utilize this power alone.

I needed Fix’s assistance.

So, while I was conducting the auditions, I had entrusted most of the Black Obsidian research to Fix.

I had given him detailed instructions on the research direction and methodology, tasking him with understanding the underlying principles.

“Weeooong~?”

But at the time, I didn’t realize that this instruction would have a tremendous butterfly effect.

That Fix, through this research, would perfectly learn to understand human emotions.

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[T/N: Wow, the author just casually spoiled us.]

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