I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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An hour ago, Charlotte was at her wits’ end.

All her efforts up until now had ended in failure.

She never thought that flowers would sell so poorly.

Clearly, the flowers she developed were fragrant, beautiful in appearance, and could be displayed for years with just the addition of some Mana, yet people showed no interest.

In the first place, her hawking was treated as if she were a beggar.

“P-please buy my flowers…! Th-they smell lovely…”

“No, thanks.”

“…B-but their, their duration is incredible…!”

“I said no!”

“…”

After three days of this, her spirit began to break.

What started as an exhilarating thought that she could accomplish something had ended in this disastrous state.

Instead, spending three days doing such fruitless tasks only made her assignments more urgent.

– Grrr…

In the midst of this, her stomach rumbled.

It had already been two days since she had a proper meal.

Should she just use the reward she received last time?

She thought of it for a moment, but Charlotte shook her head.

That money was meant to pay for her dorm fees.

The Empire Academy, which boasted the world’s most advanced facilities, charged an exorbitant dormitory fee even for just one semester.

“Huu…”

Ultimately, her only option was to sell flowers somehow.

Now that the money she scraped together from a fallen noble family had run out, Charlotte needed to find a way to make money.

“P-please buy my flowers! Th-they smell really good…!”

Thus, even as her heart felt heavy, Charlotte continued to hawk her flowers.

She wandered through the bustling city of the Empire, clinging to anyone she thought might buy a flower, desperately pleading with them.

“How much?”

“T-two thousand Orden! Th-thank you!”

As a result, she managed to sell a few flowers.

The money she received felt like nothing more than pity for a beggar, but at least she sold something.

– Splash…

Then suddenly, it started to rain.

The sky filled with dark clouds made her uneasy, and a downpour began with thunder.

It was time to withdraw from her flower-selling.

“Ah…”

At that moment, despair flashed in Charlotte’s eyes.

As the pouring rain struck the flowers, the Mana infused in them seeped out, taking their fragrance with it.

What she once thought was a fairly decent product had turned into a failed experiment that lost all its merits when met with raindrops.

“I have to… redevelop them…”

I’m sorry.

But at least someone bought these flowers.

Maybe someone could place the flowers she sold in a vase.

Selling such a flawed flower…

“…”

However, this feeling of guilt was short-lived.

While trudging along the path, her own flowers carelessly discarded on the ground caught her eye.

This was proof that someone had merely shown kindness in buying from her.

They bought the flowers more out of pity for her than because they actually needed them.

Or maybe they thought she was insistent enough to be bothersome and paid her off with two thousand Orden.

“Ha… haha…”

Thus, Charlotte returned to her dorm.

Soaked from the rain, she didn’t even think to dry off.

With hollow eyes, she stared into the void.

“I… I’m just a nobody, aren’t I…?”

For a moment, she had fallen into a delusion.

Like the meaning behind the diamond raw stone Edgar gifted her, she thought if she could keep chiseling away at herself, she could become a shining diamond.

But that was merely an illusion meant to drive her into deeper despair.

Just like her flower that had lost its fragrance as soon as it was hit by the rain.

In the face of trials and failures, she was nothing but a dropout revealing her pathetic self.

“…”

As she freed herself from her dreams, the cold reality began to unfold.

If she couldn’t earn money soon, she would be in a position where she couldn’t pay for next semester’s tuition.

If that happened, she would be expelled from the Academy where she had enrolled with great aspirations.

Gathering every last bit of money, she would be betraying her father who had supported her.

It was time to grab onto whatever money was in front of her.

“Right… What do I think… Someone as average and unattractive as me…”

She shouldn’t be dreaming.

Though she had enrolled in the Academy with high hopes, all she felt was the embarrassment of her own pathetic circumstances among the incredible talents.

She had tried to sell flowers hoping to become equal to Edgar, but in the end, it was all for nothing.

Living a stable and comfortable life was the ordinary path meant for someone like her.

– Crash!

Thus, amidst the thunder and raging rain,

Charlotte made her way to Edgar’s laboratory.

Now, she was done trying to stand on equal ground with him and was just hoping to graduate safely while enjoying the financial support he provided.

What could a worthless person like her do between Enya and Isabella anyway?

“!!!!!!”

But then, she witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The strong and beautiful Edgar.

The shining ideal she imagined as Edgar.

The far-off star she thought was unreachable, merely a fleeting dream of her youth.

“Guh… Ugh…!”

He was curled up on the floor, crying!

Not just a few tears; he was completely breaking down!

– Whoosh!

Charlotte quickly hid herself.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart began to race.

That perfect Edgar was sobbing like this.

“Dang it, this hurts like hell.”

At that moment, Edgar muttered to himself before coughing, “_Cough_ cough.”

Then he pressed an air inhaling device to suck in the CS gas that clung to his skin and bronchial tubes.

– Whoosh!

While Edgar was busy using the air inhaling device on the floor,

Charlotte peeked her head out to check the laboratory again.

She wanted to find out why Edgar was crying.

“!!”

Then, Edgar’s research journal caught her eye.

A research journal filled to the brim with failures.

Charlotte felt a surge in her heart.

If she was having such a hard time with just a few previous failures, how mentally exhausting must it have been for Edgar with so many failures?

“Hu…”

At that moment, Edgar let out a deep breath and got back on his feet.

He shook off all the CS gas that had stuck to his face.

As soon as Edgar stood up, Charlotte turned and leaned against the wall while he went to wash his face.

Once Edgar’s presence faded, Charlotte peeked out again into the laboratory.

– Splash…

Edgar had entered the attached restroom to wash his face.

At that moment, Charlotte began to ponder.

Should she greet Edgar when he came out, or should she continue hiding?

‘…He probably wouldn’t want to be discovered.’

Her dilemma didn’t last long.

At that moment of despair, who would want someone to witness them?

Everyone wants to hide their weak moments.

Charlotte decided not to pry into Edgar’s vulnerable moment.

‘…But even Edgar has such moments, huh…’

However, she continued to look around the lab.

The image of Edgar weeping remained vivid, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

What could possibly be troubling Edgar so much?

How many failures had he endured?

‘Just a moment to check…!’

And so Charlotte quickly entered the lab and opened Edgar’s research journal.

But what she discovered was a research project conducted by Fix, a macro-edited study by Edgar.

He had instructed Fix to run repeated experiments until they returned the desired results.

“…W-What is this…?”

However, to Charlotte who didn’t know this fact, it was a shocking revelation.

Failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure.

Even after flipping through several pages, all she could see was failure.

Had Edgar not crumbled after so many failures?

‘I’m just…’

She felt ashamed.

How ridiculous it was to wallow in self-pity after just one failure while considering clinging to Edgar.

Her weak self felt so pathetic.

– Thud.

At that moment, Edgar came out wiping his face with a towel.

Startled, Charlotte rushed out of his way and pressed herself against the wall.

“Hu…”

While Charlotte was hiding, Edgar walked to the table and took a deep breath.

He looked at the chemical formula he had just successfully combined with a satisfied smile.

This was the formula for the CS gas he would present to the devilish creatures.

“I thought I was going to die, but I did it.”

Edgar murmured to himself, recalling the terrible pain of the CS gas.

Thinking that this pain would be transferred to the devils made him smile unconsciously.

‘Even Edgar has endured hardships…’

However, Charlotte was misinterpreting Edgar’s words once more.

“Almost died but succeeded,” connected to his earlier breaking down.

“Whew~!”

But at that moment,

Fix cautiously approached Edgar.

And pointed to the half-open lab door with his hand.

He was letting Edgar know that Charlotte was outside.

“…Good job, Fix.”

But Edgar misunderstood Fix’s meaning.

He was praising Fix for opening the door quickly when CS gas spread.

Thanks to Fix’s quick thinking to open the door, they were able to ventilate the CS gas faster.

“Alright, let’s finish this up.”

At last, Edgar started researching other chemical weapons based on the new CS gas he had developed.

He had also brought back some rare toxins from the ‘Forest of Death,’ so he might find another chemical formula from them.

“Whew~!”

But Fix continued to hover around annoyingly.

Even though he had just received praise, he circled around, making himself a nuisance.

“Fix, I’m busy. Just a moment—”

But when Edgar turned to Fix, he noticed Fix’s display.

It read ‘Charlotte is outside.’