Chapter 30. Luke Richter (2)

“The scale of the damage is considerable, Dean.”

Eris, the Academy's treasurer, shook her head with a grim expression, looking at Selena.

“…Can’t we bill the Richter Family for the full amount?”

“Are you serious? There’s no justification for that. It’s an unspoken rule that the Academy covers damages incurred during the entrance exam.”

Selena frowned at Eris's retort.

There was nothing wrong with what she said, but that didn’t make the situation any less frustrating.

'Honestly, I didn't expect anything.'

When she first saw his paper, she just laughed.

She dismissed it as utter nonsense.

For the absurd exam task of solving the drought, the very idea of manipulating the climate was preposterous.

But he actually did it.

He artificially manipulated the climate to make it rain.

This was a first since she became Dean of the Academy.

No, it was probably a first in the Academy’s history.

'Where the hell did he get the budget?'

He brought five precious Guimaseok stones.

Plus, Resonance Stones for Spellcasting, and rare Artifacts she'd never seen before.

Even for a noble, this wasn’t the kind of preparation a student could manage.

Besides, wasn't he a bastard?

How on earth did he prepare all of this…?

“He said he borrowed it from his family.”

“What? That's absurd. They’d give that kind of support to a mere bastard? Did you contact the Richter Family?”

“I did, but…”

“But?”

“They refused to answer. They just kept repeating that I should never contact them regarding Luke Richter.”

“???”

The Richter Family was that furious?

What the hell did he do before leaving the mansion?

The treasurer, continuing her explanation, pushed up her glasses and said,

“It’s about the entrance exam.”

“……”

“You were there, Dean, so I trust you saw it.”

“I saw it. I’m not blind.”

He actually made it rain.

It was unprecedented.

No matter what method he used, artificially manipulating the climate was a discovery worthy of being called continental in scale.

“Wasn’t that a realm impossible even with Magic?”

“Impossible. Of course, you can spread a Spell Formula in the sky and force it to rain. But that's just dropping water made with Mana, right? It’s just a fake imitation.”

“There’s a big difference.”

“A big difference? It’s a world of difference. It's not just mimicking a phenomenon; it’s manipulating the climate itself. Going against the natural order, so to speak.”

Eris, the treasurer, tilted her head at Selena’s answer.

“So, what are we going to do about the entrance exam? As you said, Dean, he fulfilled the required conditions, didn’t he?”

“He did. Although he completely destroyed the testing grounds in the process.”

“So, this year's top student is…”

“Tsk.”

Selena clicked her tongue irritably and muttered,

“It’s obviously him.”

Selena irritably closed the documents spread out on her desk. It was Luke Richter's entrance exam paper. Eris tilted her head at her reaction.

“You can't understand it either, Dean? You’re the Vice-Tower Master of the Red Magic Tower, for goodness sake.”

“Hey! Even the Tower Master’s grandpa wouldn’t understand this! It's not like I can't understand it because I’m stupid, okay?”

“……Is it that bad?”

“Yes! It’s full of things I've never heard of, like Entropy and Nuclear Fusion! How can anyone understand this?!”

“Then how does Luke Richter know about it?”

“Exactly! That's why I'm going crazy!”

The content of the paper was groundbreaking and shocking.

She could roughly grasp the flow, but she couldn’t understand the detailed theories and principles, and the unknown formulas written throughout.

The vocabulary and words used in the paper were undeniably unknown.

“What the hell is this kid? Did he come from another world or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“No! Then does *this* make sense?!”

“Forget it. What are we going to do about the entrance exam? As you said, he fulfilled the required conditions, didn't he?”

The treasurer was right.

The conditions of the entrance exam had been more than met.

The Calamity of drought threatened the entire continent, but it was ultimately just a climatic phenomenon.

Although on a small scale, Luke Richter actually manipulated the climate.

He presented the closest answer to the essence of the problem. Understanding the absurdity of the situation, the two women looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“This year’s top student is decided, then.”

“Yeah. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Then I'll proceed accordingly.”

Eris gave a cursory bow and left the Dean’s office.

Staring at the empty office, Selena gazed blankly into space, then let out a hollow laugh.

“…Ugh, this is a real headache.”

Selena rubbed her throbbing forehead.

She could manage the immediate aftermath.

Even though the testing grounds and surrounding buildings were completely destroyed, the Academy’s budget would cover it.

But the real problem started now.

“…Will it be alright?”

Selena desperately tried to calm her pounding heart, repeating the self-suggestion that surely he wouldn't do anything that crazy again.

****

And so, on the day of enrollment.

As planned, Luke Richter triumphantly succeeded in enrolling as the top freshman.

Of course, Selena, who was left to clean up the mess, felt like dying, but such circumstances were of no concern to Luke.

He had jack shit for Mana, and the only abilities he possessed were the modern knowledge he'd gained from being a lab rat in his previous life.

His goal was to become an official.

And to become an official, he had to graduate from the Academy.

For him, lacking Mana, there was no other way but to earn credits like this, even if it was a bit excessive, and endure until graduation.

Honestly, he was enjoying it too.

The chemical reaction caused by the collision of this world’s Supernatural Power and modern knowledge was greater than he’d anticipated.

“Headmaster! Luke Richter caused another incident!”

“What? Again? What kind of incident!”

“You know he joined the Student Council recently, right? He suddenly declared the document processing methods barbaric and started implementing something called… double-entry bookkeeping? Cost Accounting? Anyway, he’s been creating all sorts of strange things, saying he'll bring about some unheard-of accounting revolution.”

“He created them, and?”

“Well, a few days later, he claimed he’d uncovered embezzlement and misappropriation in the Student Council’s accounts and reported it to the Imperial Internal Affairs Bureau!”

“…What?”

“The targets of the accusations are… let's see. Ayane Telorian of the Telorian Dukedom and Rigon Winifried of the Winifried Dukedom…”

Selena was beyond shocked.

Causing all sorts of mayhem after joining the Student Council was… well, understandable.

It was *him*, after all.

But what? Embezzlement? Misappropriation?

And he even reported it to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the identities of those accused…

“What are we going to do? He didn't even file the report under his own name, Luke Richter, but as a member of the Academy Student Council.”

“….”

“The families of the accused students are flooding us with complaints! Work is practically paralyzed!”

“Ah… Ahhh… Oh, my head…”

It *was* standard procedure to report corruption within the Student Council to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However… however… there were such things as customs.

Matters arising within the Academy should be resolved internally first. Reporting it directly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

And the evidence was so solid that it couldn’t be ignored.

In the end, it was Selena, the Headmaster of the Academy, who was caught in the middle and suffering.

However, Luke Richter’s antics were only just beginning.

“Headmaster! It's chaos!”

“Wait. Hold on. Let me prepare myself mentally first.”

Now, a year after he enrolled.

Just when everyone was moving up to a new year.

Selena instinctively knew Luke Richter would cause trouble.

Every year, a new top student was selected, and from the second year onwards, being chosen as the top student granted significant academic advantages.

Enough to ensure progression to the next year, even if their practical exam scores were low.

Of course, the top student would naturally have high practical exam scores, so such an exceptional advantage had been granted.

But she was now deeply regretting that decision.

Because some insane lunatic was causing all sorts of mayhem every year to secure the top spot.

“Haa. Alright. Tell me. It's Luke Richter, isn't it? What is it this time?”

“You know the paper you published in the academic journal last year, Headmaster? The title was… what was it again? Multiple Magic Circles…”

“The Influence of Interactions Between Multiple Magic Circles on Resonance Amplification.”

“Ah! That’s right! That one.”

“What about it?”

The vice-principal blinked.

Then, he said,

“He says it's wrong.”

“Huh?”

“We get extra credit for publishing papers, right? And additional bonus points depending on the paper’s impact. Because of that, Luke Richter published a paper in the academic journal, and the contents of that paper… well, they refute everything in your paper…”

“What?!”

“The academic community has summoned you, Headmaster. They’ve asked you to come with Luke Richter…”

“Crazy…”

Selena collapsed with a groan.