I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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[Recruitment for Exploration Team of the World’s Three Major Magical Anomalies: ‘Sea Wall’]

This official notice quickly spread throughout the Academy.

Of course, it was also distributed to various administrative agencies of the Empire, and the number of applicants reached into the thousands.

Given that it was a plan spearheaded by both the Princess and the Great Mage, the prospects for success were deemed high.

“We need to seek the cooperation of Clendor Kingdom.”

However, the Empire had one significant headache.

Due to its underdeveloped naval navigation and shipbuilding capabilities, it would have to rely on the help of Clendor Kingdom, an island nation, to navigate the treacherous Magentani Strait.

“It won’t be easy, will it? Even putting aside whether Clendor will heed our request, His Majesty the Emperor is unlikely to grant permission.”

Yet, the Princess opposed Elena’s view by mentioning the relationship between the Empire and Clendor.

For a good reason—Clendor had been a pirate nation plundering the Empire’s coast for decades.

Moreover, Clendor Kingdom was the one that inflicted the greatest damage on the Empire during the Great War seven years ago.

Had they not tormented the Empire numerous times with guerrilla warfare exploiting their geographical advantages?

In response, the Emperor, furious, ordered the conquest of Clendor, but on the day a large fleet set sail, a fierce storm struck, causing the expedition to fail.

Thus, the Empire suffered a significant blow to its prestige, and when the war ended and a ceasefire agreement was reached, they had to settle for somewhat humiliating terms.

“What about leaving it to Fix?”

The Princess then made a new suggestion.

How about ordering Edgar Fix to build a ship to cross the Magentani Strait?

“Absolutely not.”

But Elena opposed this.

Placing such a heavy burden on Edgar, making him responsible for a project that would require substantial funding from the Empire, was not something she was willing to do.

As Edgar’s supporter, she wanted to provide opportunities that would help him grow.

She didn’t want him to take on the Empire’s subcontracting job at such an important time in his development.

“Well. We’re in a pickle.”

The Princess rubbed her forehead.

Elena also sighed, feeling disheartened by the already rocky start of the Sea Wall project.

“What about poaching some talent?”

Afterward, the Princess and Elena explored various options.

Stealing craftsmen from Clendor Kingdom.

Calling in Clendor nationals who had naturalized in the Empire and assigning them work.

Contacting the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom for advice.

They discussed and tried various methods.

But none of them had any success.

Clendor Kingdom was a cohesive island nation, making it difficult to lure talents away, and the Clendor nationals who had naturalized in the Empire lacked notable skills.

Moreover, the Dwarves were expert in underground cities and weapon manufacturing, but had no significant expertise in ships.

To begin with, the Dwarf Alliance Kingdom was a landlocked nation surrounded by mountains and had no reason to venture into the sea.

“…I guess there’s no other option. I’ll give it a shot.”

In the end, only one method remained.

Somehow gain the Emperor’s approval and establish an alliance with Clendor Kingdom.

So, Sephilia took out her pen with a pensive expression.

She began to write a letter inviting the Crown Prince of Clendor to the Empire on parchment sprinkled with gold dust.

***

Three days later.

The nomination ceremony for the Sea Wall selection was held.

The 460 applicants were divided into two groups of 230 each, A and B, with group A nominating group B for the first round.

In the second round, group B would nominate group A.

– Is there anyone who would nominate Fix?

– If there is, that person must be insane.

– Unless you’re a genius like Isabella, there’s no hope.

Thus, in the first round where group A nominated group B, Edgar was placed in group B, and not a single person from group A had pointed at him.

Everyone knew Edgar’s combat power was above what first-year students should possess.

There wouldn’t be any cadet willing to challenge Edgar, who had already crushed Max after he took a berserk potion and smashed a black obsidian as well.

To compete in a selection round that only picked 20 candidates against Edgar would be tantamount to suicide.

“Edgar will nominate Fix.”

But then, a madman showed up.

Lucas Elmar.

As the eldest son of the Elmar Family and the second place in the class evaluation, he had thrown down the gauntlet to Edgar.

“Well, here we are.”

“If it’s Lucas, it makes sense.”

“I wonder who will win.”

This was something everyone expected, especially Isabella, Enya, and Claire, who had known him for a long time.

– Ohhhh!! Edgar vs. Lucas?

– This is a match not to be missed!

– Who do you think will win?

However, for the other cadets, who did not know Lucas’s intense focus on his honor and reputation, this was more of an unexpected event.

To think that their match, which had been cancelled last class evaluation due to Edgar’s withdrawal, was finally taking shape!

“…”

A tense atmosphere began to brew.

The look in Lucas Elmar’s eyes as he stared intently at Edgar.

Just by looking at his gaze, it seemed evident what he wanted to say.

He intended to perfectly establish the hierarchy this time around.

– Swish.

So, after Lucas fixed his gaze on Edgar, he turned away.

Leading his usual entourage, he stepped out of the nomination area.

Edgar gazed at his back seriously, pondering what to have for dinner that evening.

It had been a long time since he craved James’s kimchi stew.

***

At the back of the classroom.

Charlotte’s expression was rigid.

It was the face she had been trying hard to avoid; that face she never wanted to see again, yet now she had run into it.

“Charlotte, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

A man, hands stuffed in his pockets, was looking at her.

With deep blonde hair and bronzed skin.

A cocky demeanor.

Her first love, who had left her with the worst nightmare she wished to erase from her memory.

Cardmos Kratz.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle. I just picked you to have a light spar. But more importantly, how have you been? I’ve been curious about you all along.”

Charlotte struggled to compress her pounding heart as she looked at Cardmos.

Why had he, who hadn’t even glanced her way for so long, suddenly chosen her as a match for the selection?

And why did he call her out, pretending to be friendly like this?

“…J-just get to the point… what do you want…?”

So, Charlotte tried her best to maintain a cool demeanor.

But in front of him, who had inflicted her with deep trauma, such efforts fell flat.

She was stuttering more than usual, visibly tense.

“Cough. Aren’t you being a bit stiff? We were once quite close, after all.”

However, Cardmos continued as he brushed Charlotte’s hair aside.

Charlotte felt disgusted by someone touching her as if it were his own, but she couldn’t utter a word.

Seeing him brought back past traumas, causing her mind and body to tense.

“…You look unhappy. Like you’ve seen something you shouldn’t have.”

At that, Cardmos glared at Charlotte, his expression now serious.

Just looking at him made her heart thump and her body shrink back in fear.

Cardmos chuckled and said with a smirk.

“Just kidding. But I’ve always been curious. Why did you suddenly leave me? We were good, right? We talked about this and that…”

– Swift.

“We even held hands.”

Cardmos said, stroking Charlotte’s cheek.

However, knowing Cardmos’s disgusting duplicity, Charlotte quickly shoved him away from her chest and stepped back.

Cardmos, looking as if he couldn’t understand, scoffed.

“What’s with this reaction? Like I’m some…”

But suddenly, in the middle of his sentence, he seemed to realize something and looked into the air, trailing off.

Then he turned to Charlotte and asked.

“Did you see it, by any chance?”

“…”

Cardmos was watching Charlotte’s reaction closely as he posed his cryptic question.

Charlotte, breaking out in a cold sweat and breathing heavily.

Seeing her response, Cardmos became certain that his suspicion was right.

“Wow… so you really did see it? Right? So that’s why you’re reacting like this… When did you see it?”

He remembered bragging about her being a disposable plaything.

At that time, he hadn’t thought Charlotte had heard him, but looking back now, it seemed evident that his true nature had been discovered since her strong rejection.

He finally chuckled, as if finding it absurd, and said.

“That’s just ridiculous. At that very moment… But Charlotte, I’m different now than back then. I was simply foolish and wanted to show off to my friends. Now—”

“D-Don’t come closer!”

However, Charlotte wasn’t foolish enough to fall for Cardmos’s tricks a second time.

Now that she knew his true nature, she could tell just by looking at his face that he was being insincere.

As Cardmos, brushed his hair back, the facade was slowly coming off.

“Ha… so you’re acting all high and mighty now that you’ve become pretty, huh?”

He started to show his true colors.

Then he said.

“By the way, do you need money?”

“…What?”

“Don’t you need money? Your family is tearing apart from poverty, right?”

“…”

“Pfft. Just look at your face. I’m not kidding. I’m proposing a trade. It’s definitely not a loss for you?”

Cardmos said, holding up four fingers.

With a mocking expression, he continued.

“If you sleep with me just four times, I’ll pay for your tuition and dormitory fees next semester.”

“…”

Charlotte’s expression hardened into a cold glare.

That was certainly a proposition that wasn’t worth listening to.

However, believing that his proposal was appealing, Cardmos continued with a boastful look.

“Isn’t this a sweet deal? If not for this chance, how could you possibly get such a large sum of money—”

“Get lost.”

However, Charlotte’s reply made Cardmos freeze up.

He gave a hollow laugh and answered.

“Huh, what?”

“Get lost! Your face is disgusting!”

Cardmos, who had been smirking, now glared at her, his expression turning serious.

How dare she, a disposable plaything he could toss away at will, have such an attitude.

Aside from her slightly prettified appearance, she was no different from before.

“…Hey.”

Cardmos came up to Charlotte with an intimidating presence.

As Charlotte took a fighting stance, Cardmos laughed derisively.

“Pfft. What’s with that stance? Is it some new joke? You’ve totally become a comedy character.”

“…”

“What are you? Hmm? The class evaluation. Wasn’t it just a C grade?”

Cardmos casually approached Charlotte, laughing condescendingly.

Charlotte, gasping for breath, broke out in cold sweat.

Then Cardmos casually said.

“Let’s just keep it easy, okay? You need money, and I need your body. I’ll treat you as nicely as before. Now that you’re truly pretty, it won’t be empty words. I always take care of my woman.”

Cardmos said, boasting about how much he could offer her.

However, Charlotte remained on guard, adopting a fighting stance.

“You’re still just as blocked up as before. I guess I’ll have to tame you.”

Cardmos said that and lunged at Charlotte in a heartbeat.

While several wooden tendrils wrapped around his ankles, it was but a joke for Cardmos, ranked sixth among the A-rank.

– Thud!

“Gah!”

“I’m only asking this once. I’ll treat you really well. All the girls I’ve slept with come to me after.”

After that, Cardmos played with Charlotte, toying with her like a doll.

It was close to harassment rather than a fair fight.

“Tch. This is becoming a real hassle.”

However, he couldn’t cross a certain line.

Due to regulations, physical confrontation between cadets was prohibited.

That’s why he only hit areas where it wouldn’t show.

“But Charlotte, you know?”

At that moment, Cardmos grinned as he spoke.

Just the sight of his smile gave a rough prediction of how malicious his intentions were.

“In fact, not long ago, your father borrowed money from me.”

“…What?”

“Kehehe. No matter what you dislike, you’re in no position to refuse my money.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

Three days ago, upon seeing the newly prettified Charlotte, Cardmos had laid groundwork with the Verdian family.

The Verdian family couldn’t refuse Cardmos’s proposition, which suggested that they would support Charlotte.

Moreover, in Cardmos’s view, who believed that Charlotte and he had a good relationship six years ago, he mistook Cardmos’s offer as coming merely from personal affection.

“I didn’t want to resort to such petty methods, but you should be moderately stubborn. If you don’t want to lose your only home.”

Charlotte’s shoulders trembled.

Tears streamed down her face from feeling too indignant.

Cardmos licked his lips and said.

“Round one. Think it over till round one. If you’re going to follow my words, just pretend to fight lightly and forfeit. If not….”

His eyes widened menacingly.

“You’ll be half beaten up by me. And of course, your family, which barely survived, will be finished too.”

With those words, he turned his back on her.

Charlotte clenched her fists, tears streaming down, feeling helpless.

She couldn’t think of a way to escape from him.

***

After a long time, I visited James’s house and had kimchi stew.

Every once in a while, eating home-cooked meals brings a sense of peace to the mind and body.

Walking down a quiet street as the sunset glowed, I couldn’t help but hum happily to myself.

“…?”

Until I saw Charlotte waiting for me.

“Charlotte, what’s wrong?”

There she stood before me in a disheveled state.

Her formerly neat hair was a mess, and the makeup on her face was ruined.

Tear stains marred the area around her eyes.

“…Ed.”

But she called me resolutely.

With a face filled with unquenched determination, she clearly conveyed what she had come for.

“I want to become stronger. There’s someone I absolutely want to take revenge on.”

Charlotte had changed.

She wasn’t stuttering, nor was she shrinking back in front of me.

What had provoked her so deeply?

“Can you… help me?”

Charlotte looked at me with earnest eyes.

She seemed to be holding back her tears that were about to spill over.

“…Of course. You’re my friend, after all.”

Hearing my answer, Charlotte barely managed to suppress the tears that were threatening to flow.

Then she took a long, deep breath and said with a composed expression.

“Teach me. How can I become stronger?”