I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“Number 1, please come in.”

Soon, the evaluation began.

The judges were myself, Elena, and the Princess.

Elena’s teaching assistant was in charge of support staff.

The staff brought in the cadets one by one for evaluation.

“Please introduce yourself.”

Elena took the lead in the proceedings.

I remained mostly silent, focusing on scoring.

Finally, the first cadet began their self-introduction, explaining their motivation for applying and why they should be selected.

I marked an X next to their name, lacking any particular interest.

“Number 2, please come in.”

Next, number 2 entered.

To my disbelief, it was one of those who disliked me.

I remembered their face from sitting in the front row during the last presentation, muttering under their breath.

“Disqualified.”

Thus, I disqualified them immediately.

The cadet, who had just gotten into position to sit, stared at me with a dumbstruck face.

“W-what did you just say…?”

“I said disqualified.”

I waved my hand, expressionless, confirming once more.

You are disqualified.

The cadet glared at me, looking angry.

“Number 2, what’s the matter? Didn’t you hear me say disqualified?”

The Princess shot a cold glare at number 2, delivering a dismissal.

The cadet quickly bowed their head in apology and hurriedly retreated.

As soon as they disappeared, the Princess chuckled softly and said,

“I can tell just by looking at him. You really dislike that guy, huh?”

“Yes. He’s someone who often slandered me.”

Just because I was a commoner, he had ignored and mocked me.

It was not just once or twice; every time he stuck to Max, he badmouthed me.

I had no idea why such a guy had the audacity to hover around here, but frankly, it didn’t matter.

I just needed to respond to kindness with greater kindness, and to hostility with stronger hostility.

“Number 3, please come in.”

Regardless, the evaluations continued.

However, from number 3 to number 21, there was no one particularly impressive.

Just a bunch of average cadets.

“Number 22, please come in.”

Amidst that, a familiar face appeared.

Number 22 was Charlotte.

“Y-Your Highness… It’s an honor to meet you.”

Charlotte, notable for her round glasses and green curly hair, was there.

Her habit of stuttering due to serious shyness was also something I remembered from knowing her.

Finally seated, Charlotte began her self-introduction.

“I-I am the only daughter of the Verdian family… C-Charlotte Verdian…”

“…”

The Princess and Elena stared at Charlotte with blank faces.

Apparently, they weren’t impressed by her timid demeanor.

Regardless, Charlotte continued her introduction.

“I-I’ve been taking care of my family’s garden for a long time… although right now, since my father has passed away… I-I haven’t been getting any orders for gardening work… The situation is difficult…”

In summary, despite her family declining, she had diligently honed her skills to enter the Academy on her own.

Furthermore, she added that she could handle the ‘creation’ spells related to plants.

This was a hereditary spell from the Verdian family.

Upon hearing this, Elena showed immediate interest.

“The Verdian family… I just remembered. The spell for creating nature. I didn’t recognize a talented person.”

“Hehe… Thank you.”

For Elena, a spell aficionado, Charlotte, who could create plants, must have seemed quite special.

Her spell was indeed a unique specialty spell.

“Um. So, what is your motivation for applying?”

Having gathered a rough understanding of Charlotte’s background, Elena asked the next question.

Charlotte’s motivation.

Once again, Charlotte struggled to explain her motivation, stuttering.

“I-I wish to… explore the nature of the Dwarves… the snowy mountains and… the forests of rock…”

In summary, she wanted to research the Dwarves’ nature.

She wished to diversify the themes of her gardening to revive her family.

“Hmmm. We’re going to perform public services, but that’s a rather personal reason.”

However, Elena pointed out that Charlotte’s motivation was too personal.

Then, Charlotte lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected.

“But that makes it even more appealing. There’s sincerity to it, isn’t there?”

Saying this, Elena smiled gently.

Charlotte scratched the back of her head, blushing.

Finally, Elena asked her to explain ‘why she must be selected.’

Then Charlotte pulled a pot from her backpack and said,

“We have a dish that my family cooks deliciously!”

“…?”

As Charlotte said this, she took out a water bottle.

Then she drew a spell that generates heat on the floor and placed the pot on top.

Pouring water into the pot, she pulled out a seasoning bottle.

It looked just like soy sauce.

-Drip, drip…

As Charlotte poured the soy sauce-like seasoning into the water.

Once the water began to boil, Charlotte used a spell to summon plants.

Cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms. Those kinds of things.

‘Wait, is she making shabu-shabu?’

It turned out Charlotte was trying to make shabu-shabu.

As she added the frozen beef she had packed, she said,

“If you take me… you can enjoy my family’s signature dish… infinitely…!”

“…”

Then, Charlotte began adding the vegetables into the pot.

And then summoned more vegetables while saying,

“Infinite refills…!”

“…”

Whether she truly believed her family’s signature dish was delicious or not, Charlotte, undeterred by the blank expressions on Elena and the Princess, busily continued cooking.

Eventually, Charlotte filled our plates with broth, a few pieces of beef, and a mountain of vegetables, serving each of us.

I, the Princess, and Elena each tasted Charlotte’s shabu-shabu.

It was the taste I remembered.

“Hmm, delicious?”

At that moment.

Elena, who had been looking indifferent, suddenly looked pleasantly surprised.

The crunchy texture was very much alive, and the flavors were just right.

‘It would be perfect with just a sauce.’

But I felt a little disappointed.

It would have been the best if dipped in a sauce.

If you wrapped veggies and meat in rice paper and dipped them in sauce, that would have been it.

Still, this dish was worthy of being called a delicacy.

“Hmmm, it’s not bad at all.”

At that point, the Princess also praised Charlotte’s shabu-shabu.

If even the Princess, who typically only sampled rare dishes, publicly commended it, that indicated it was indeed exceptional cuisine.

“But…”

However, the moment the Princess put her chopsticks down, her gaze shifted.

Charlotte swallowed hard, staring at her.

“We don’t hire cooks. Also, we’re not going to sightsee the nature of the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom.”

As the Princess continued, Charlotte lowered her head deeply.

When the Princess looked at Elena, she also put her chopsticks down, nodding her head.

It seemed they were confirming Charlotte’s disqualification.

At that, I too put down my chopsticks and spoke.

“Congratulations.”

“…?”

Congratulations.

The three women stared at me with wide, astonished eyes.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin on the table and then explained the reason for the acceptance.

“First of all, the dish was delicious. It wasn’t overwhelming, and the clean and refined flavor was a delight. However, it would be nice to have a special sauce to dip into. And boiling the broth with some rice and egg would make it even tastier.”

With my lengthy tasting review, the Princess and Elena looked at me with astonished expressions.

Elena murmured in a whispering tone.

“Are we really selecting her just for the cooking…?”

Just cooking?

It was a dish that reminded me of home, so there’s no way it could be ‘just’ that.

Moreover, I didn’t choose Charlotte just to use her as a shabu-shabu shuttle.

There was another reason.

“There’s another reason.”

Thus I replied, looking at Charlotte.

To her, gazing at me with sparkling lenses, I asked the next question.

“Candidate number 22, you mentioned you can handle creation spells, right?”

“Yes? Yes!”

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

At my following question, Elena and the Princess exchanged meaningful glances.

It seemed they were perceptive enough to grasp my intentions.

“Hmm… I-it’s possible, but… to do so…”

In summary, if the structure was complex and the ore was rare, the likelihood of failure would be high.

“That’s perfectly fine. The ability to attempt that is what’s important.”

I cared more about the fact that she could indeed attempt it.

Considering the ongoing depletion of emerald mana stones, which the Dwarves exclusively mined, simply having hope that Charlotte could increase their mining output would make the Dwarves ecstatic.

***

After evaluating from candidates number 1 to 70 today.

Ed had only managed to secure Charlotte.

The notable individuals, including Enya and Isabella, were all assigned to later numbers.

“Still, it was a good harvest.”

Nonetheless, Ed was satisfied.

He had unexpectedly come up with an idea and was able to recruit Charlotte.

‘Why didn’t I think of that earlier…?’

Looking back, Charlotte was the number one candidate for recruitment.

With the ability to summon ores, which was the most crucial resource for the Dwarves, they would inevitably covet her abilities.

However, Ed was an engineer who believed in the law of energy conservation.

He didn’t think that merely one specialty spell from Charlotte could create the world’s ultra-rare emerald mana stones.

‘But if several people work together…’

However, if he combined his engineering knowledge, Elena’s interpretation of spells, and the Dwarves’ wisdom, they might be able to artificially manufacture the depleting emerald mana stones.

Just as ideas sparked while listening to Charlotte’s story, experts gathering from various fields could also generate inspiration and ideas.

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

“Well then, shall I pursue another study?”

Anyway, that was that.

Ed had his own work ahead.

Specifically, analyzing the obsidian.

By studying this cursed sword that amplifies destructive power through anger, hatred, and vitality, he might gain insights into the ‘energy conversion of emotions.’

Which was exactly the power that Isabella used.

“Fix! There’s a month left. Let’s get to work.”

“Woof woof~!”

However, to analyze the principle of this power, he would need assistance.

Fix’s support was essential.

That’s why while he was going through evaluations, Ed had largely assigned the research of obsidian to Fix.

He had detailed the research direction and methodology, instructing him to grasp the principles.

“Woof woof~?”

But by this time, Ed still didn’t know.

That these instructions would eventually cause an enormous butterfly effect.

That Fix would perfectly learn human emotions through this research.