Sacred Light Orphanage.
It was not where I had been born, but it was the place I had been indebted to for the longest time.
I could not call its facilities good even if you beat me to death, but compared to a military barracks, it might have managed to win by a nose.
That was why the faucets in the restroom or showers occasionally broke down.
I could vividly remember watching water shoot up like a waterfall through a loosened rubber gasket and playing around while shouting, 'Hydro Pump!'
But why had that memory suddenly come to mind?
Well......
"Guhhh....... I knew it! I knew someone like Mr. Schultz would appear someday!"
Because Sophia was endlessly pouring out big, fat tears from both eyes.
"Y-Yes, people used to use steam engines all over the directly governed territories' development sites."
"Go ahead and blow your nose thoroughly once more, then continue."
Steam Alchemy was closer to science than magic.
Of course, it was sufficiently magical that, instead of burning coal yourself to boil water, you could solve the matter with a click of a magic stone.
While magic involved waving a wand around, Steam Alchemy was closer to the technology of processing magic stones.
"Ahem, ahem. Anyway, you can think of Steam Alchemy as a discipline that developed alongside the frontier settlements."
"So when the Empire ended its development projects, it lost the force driving its advancement."
Rubble like rocks and trees from development sites could be moved by hiring laborers.
And if it was too large and heavy for laborers to move, one could call a mage from the Construction Guild.
At the height of the Empire's expansion of its directly governed territories, Steam Alchemy had managed to wedge itself between those two and survive.
"I had heard rumors that the development projects would end, but...... I believed in the future of Steam Alchemy."
Once the expansion was more or less complete and austerity measures began, it was driven out by market forces.
"Becoming a mage is never easy, and you cannot always hire skilled laborers, can you?"
"That is true."
"So I thought that even if the development projects ended, there would not be a complete disappearance of places for steam engines......"
Sophia filled her empty wineglass with a hollow laugh.
Cheap labor and expensive magic had edged out Steam Alchemy, which fell somewhere in the middle in terms of cost.
And that was the very point at which I felt Steam Alchemy's potential strongly.
"Professor Cotiar."
"Yes?"
"Steam engines will not disappear."
"......Pardon?"
Steam Alchemy had developed alongside the development projects in the directly governed territories.
Naturally, steam engines had been forced to compete in cost-effectiveness with laborers at development sites and mages from the Construction Guild.
And as Sophia had explained herself, it was a contest they could not win.
But looking at it the other way around, if they could prove their cost-effectiveness, it meant steam engines still had a place to stand.
If Steam Alchemy and steam engines were to survive in the market, they needed to change their opponents.
"They merely chose the wrong competition."
"What do you mean by that?"
"From now on, steam engines will make carriages move. Their competition changes from laborers and mages to horses."
Hiring an experienced coachman did not keep a packhorse from getting tired.
But a steam engine did not tire.
Hiring a mage did not mean you could transport goods from one city to another.
But a carriage pulled by a steam engine could transport them.
Therefore, over the same distance, a freight carriage pulled by a steam engine could only be faster.
"B-But I heard that magic can enhance a horse's stamina or make breeding them easier."
"That is still only possible if you hire a specialist—a mage, is it not?"
Mages did not readily share their magic.
It was only natural, since magic was their livelihood, but scarce technology inevitably came at a higher price.
"That is true."
"On the other hand, once you purchase a steam engine, you can keep using it until it breaks down."
Of course, the cost of continuously running a steam engine was something to calculate separately later.
"More than anything, time. When distributing goods, time is just as important as cost."
With that perspective, I was confident that I could persuade merchants—and, beyond them, the Emperor.
Merchants would feel far more keenly than I did that time mattered in distribution, and if we built a road network between insular domains, the Emperor's influence would gradually reach the provinces as well.
"Is that not a rather far-fetched idea? You do not seem to be drunk already, but......"
Unfortunately, Sophia did not seem to fully understand my plan.
However, her face was beaming merely because her research funds had grown substantial.
I could write it off as nothing more than a difference in perspective caused by the contrast between a world centered on magic and one centered on science.
More than anything, if I had not possessed the historical knowledge of an 'industrial revolution through steam engines,' I would have been no different.
"In any case, I wish you the best with your future research."
"I am the one who should thank you for sponsoring my research!"
Before we knew it, we lightly clinked our freshly refilled glasses together.
***
"Then I should be getting back now."
Just as Lloyd was about to leave Cotiar Workshop.
"Mr. Schultz, wait a moment!"
Sophia ran out and held out a pouch containing a fair number of steam orbs.
"All you have to do is pull the string attached to it and throw it. The steam vibrates the orb and produces a high-pitched sound."
"I see. But why are you suddenly giving me these orbs......?"
"It feels like I should give you something, and it has gotten quite dark, has it not? At this time of year, there are quite a lot of highwaymen who target Academy freshmen."
"They are after the enrollment fees of freshmen who have just arrived in the capital."
Sophia nodded in affirmation.
Lloyd took out the steam orb at the top of the pouch, held it in his hand, and asked.
"Have you ever used one of these orbs yourself?"
"Of course. I threw a few as tests, and the Capital Guard came rushing over in a panic and gave me countless warnings!"
"Uh...... I see."
"Still, the best thing is not to run into any highwaymen, so get back early."
"You will have to go into the Academy soon as well, Professor Cotiar, so please be careful too."
"Ah."
After a light handshake, Lloyd set off.
The sunset that had barely clung to the horizon finally lost its grip, and the capital's streets sank into gentle darkness.
And one person's evening was another person's morning.
"He is finally moving......"
The quick footsteps following Lloyd sprang out from between the shadows.
***
"I am sure of it. This one is a big fish."
A man with a long scar near his eye wore a vile grin.
"Are you really sure, Kelvin?"
"Last time you said you were sure too, and when we did the job, the bastard was broke."
Even so, his companions could not hide their snickers.
"I told you, I am sure this time!"
SLAM!
At that, the scarred man called Kelvin slammed his hand hard on the tavern table.
Because it was still broad daylight and there were not many patrons in the tavern, the sound rang out all the more loudly.
"Ahem, you all know that I always pray near the bank before I do a job, right?"
"Pray, my ass. You are a madman who sniffs out the smell of money before stripping brats clean."
"Fuck! Anyway, a few days ago I was praying near the bank with a pious heart, and then this guy came out."
"You are calling him a big fish just because he had business at a bank? Give me a break......"
Just as his companions were about to dismiss Kelvin's boast.
"Have you ever seen a bank clerk bow at the waist ninety degrees?"
"What?"
"I am telling you, it looked like his forehead was about to touch the ground!"
Kelvin beamed broadly enough for his yellow molars to show.
After that, Kelvin continued to spray his skeptical companions with spittle as he raised his voice.
The fact that the Academy uniform was crisp and not worn at all meant he was certainly a freshman, and since a bank clerk had bowed ninety degrees to such a freshman, his pockets had to be bulging with money.
And when he had climbed into an expensive carriage the moment he left the bank, that was the professional assessment that he was surely drowning in money.
"I am telling you, this is a divine revelation from heaven! A revelation that says we are going to make a killing!"
By this point, even the companions who had regarded it as Kelvin's bluster or another wild-goose chase were beginning to be tempted.
More than anything, the Academy enrollment fee, which came close to fifty gold, was more than enough to make their mouths water.
"If he has that much money, he must be from some lofty noble family......"
"These days, the Capital Guard is working us hard with its special patrol week and all that."
Of course, someone did raise a rational objection.
"So you are scared? If you are scared, feel free to sit this one out."
"The fewer mouths there are, the fatter our pockets get."
"You idiot. If he were really from such a high family, would he have handled bank business himself?"
Unfortunately, that was not a virtue befitting highwaymen who sat around a tavern in broad daylight.
And Kelvin drove the final nail into that atmosphere.
"I already spent good money to find out. This bastard is an orphan. Forget a noble family—he does not even have a family!"
"Really?"
"I am telling you, it is true. A guy like that is walking around with gold jingling in his pockets. Are we not going to take it? What if some other bastard gets it instead!"
"Right, we cannot have that!"
"It will be much safer in our pockets!"
Before long, the highwaymen clinked their glasses roughly together and burst into loud laughter.
The tavern owner watched them as though they were pathetic, but their excitement showed no sign of cooling.
"Things like this have to be handled all at once! Let us do the job this evening!"
The Kelvin gang, having quenched both their thirst and their pride, immediately got to work.
Their target, Lloyd Schultz, had an exceedingly simple routine, so following him was not particularly difficult.
"......Did that bastard smear honey all over that Steam Alchemy workshop?"
"Are those two in that sort of relationship?"
Once Lloyd entered the place called Cotiar Workshop, he did not come out until the sun had completely set.
"We are doing the job in the evening anyway, so just wait a little longer."
How long had Kelvin waited while unconsciously biting his nails?
"Hey, hey. Everyone, get ready."
Lloyd had finally crawled out of Cotiar Workshop.
With a pouch whose contents they did not know, Lloyd started walking toward the Academy.
"Heh heh, this street is sparsely populated."
"Heaven really is helping us."
The Kelvin gang exchanged broad smiles as they moved.
And not long after.
"You there. Stop."
Once Kelvin confirmed that Lloyd was surrounded from front and back, he drew a dagger.
***
Highwaymen preyed on freshmen at this time of year.
The moment I heard that from Sophia, instead of returning home, I headed straight for the Academy from Cotiar Workshop.
'It would be a problem if something happened to Sophia when she was moving around at night.'
Since highwaymen would not distinguish between freshmen and assistant professors when choosing their prey, it was a kind of advance inspection.
And as expected.
"We do not need to tell you what kind of people we are, do we?"
The moment I entered a somewhat deserted street, I came face-to-face with a gang of four.
"Let us keep this clean so neither of us gets tired."
"Oh?"
"Put down everything you have and disappear quietly. Then you will not have to meet us again."
Under the intermittent light of magic-stone streetlamps, made possible by the capital's location.
A rusted dagger with what looked like dried bloodstains on it glinted rather menacingly.
Thanks to that, I could feel a considerable tension constricting every muscle in my body.
'Two in front, two behind. I am completely surrounded......'
When I slightly turned my head to check the area around me, an irritated voice flew at me.
"Do not even dream of trying anything funny. We know kids like you all think the same way."
"What do you think I was thinking?"
"There are sometimes people who think they can break through the encirclement and run away. Or who think they have the guts to take us down."
"Wow...... You guys have not done this just once or twice, have you?"
"We are professionals in this line of work."
When I gave a light clap, small chuckles passed through the gang.
The man holding the dagger already looked filthy because of the scar, and his fishy smile layered over it made him quite an ugly sight.
'A four-on-one fight is absolutely impossible anyway.'
If this had been Sacred Light, where backing down or being underestimated meant the end, that might have been different.
But fighting a group when there was no opening to escape was no different from asking them to kill me.
'If only that TEM○-made status window bastard had taught me something like Fireball......'
Even in such a crisis, my TEM○-made status window did not grant me any transmigrator perks or fortuitous encounters.
I did not have many choices left.
"This young master at least looks smart. Are you going to hand over what you have now?"
"This young master? You did not just target anyone—you have been following me?"
"What, do you think we are some neighborhood mutts who shove our faces in without warning? Naturally, we had our eyes on you from the start. Lloyd Schultz!"
"Oh, you even know my name?"
As I pulled the strings attached to the steam orbs in the pouch one by one, I asked.
Partly because I was trying to buy time, but I was also intrigued by the unexpectedly well-informed highwaymen.
"Name: Lloyd Schultz. Your parents died ages ago, you recently pulled out a big sum from the bank, and you looked downright delicious."
"Let me ask you one more thing. How did you find all that out?"
"In the back alleys that young masters like you do not know, there is nothing money cannot do."
"And you know how to make use of those back alleys, then?"
"Huh? Well, yeah? But you have been talking in circles for a while now. Hand over everything you have, you bastard!"
The dagger-wielding man's expression loosened a little before turning murderous again.
And rather than provoke him any further.
"All right. As you wish......"
I faithfully met his demand.
"......Huh?"
"What the hell is all that?"
When I threw the pouch high into the air.
The strings connected to the Cotiar-made steam orbs pulled taut, scattering them across the dim street.
SCREEEEEEEECH!!!
"Aaaagh! My ears!"
"W-What the hell is that noise?!"
Before long, a noise like a boiling kettle battered the whole area with force.
It was so powerful that even I, who had been somewhat prepared for it, had to unconsciously cover my ears.
If this were a novel or a film, the matter would have been resolved the moment the orbs exploded, but.
"Y-You bastard, you have lost your mind!"
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Instead, the man clutching his dagger came striding toward me with one hand over his ear.
And not long after.
WHEEEEE!
Thud thud thud thud!
Almost identical to the noise the steam orbs had made just then.
But much quieter: the duet of a whistle and the sound of military boots.
"D-Do not tell me......"
"It is the Capital Guard!"
"Hey, Kelvin! Run, damn it!"
The highwaymen whose professionalism I had acknowledged did not miss that small sound either.
Kelvin, who had been approaching me, had no choice but to turn his gaze toward it.
And for me, the defending champion of Sacred Light Orphanage's boiler room and a veteran of the Yeouido National Assembly Building siege.
That was more than enough of an opening.
"Urk?"
Following a picture-perfect liver shot, Kelvin's jaw snapped violently to the side.
"If this were Sacred Light, you would have died three more times."
I kicked the dagger that had fallen to the ground far away and smiled.
While Kelvin sprawled pathetically and vomited up his half-digested dinner onto the cold stone ground.
"Everybody freeze! Capital Guard!"
I saw the Capital Guard, carrying menacing batons and ropes, chase after the fleeing gang.
Some of them spotted me, so I smiled and waved back.
"These steam orbs really do work."
***
A master does not fight in order to win.
He merely fights to confirm that he has already won.
"The test will begin with the bell."
On the day of the Imperial Solarian Academy placement test.
'These are all questions I know.'
Lloyd Schultz declares victory!
"Are you Lloyd Schultz?"
The reason I used the past tense when I called it an offer I could not refuse was because I had not been able to refuse it.
"Yes, that is correct."
"I am Professor Garahevi of the Academy's Magic School."
"Ah, yes. It is nice to meet you."
The man who introduced himself as Professor Garahevi added with an inexplicably meaningful smile.
"I would like to speak with you briefly about the results of your placement test."
An offer I could not refuse, in other words.
***
About forty minutes earlier.
"The written placement test has concluded!"
With an assistant professor's shout, the answer sheets completed by the freshmen came flying into the Academy's administrative office.
The sight of answer sheets—the first resumes the freshmen submitted to the Academy—streaming in was quite spectacular, but.
'He did not make a mistake, did he......?'
Professor Garahevi of the Academy's Magic School barely noticed any of it.
'Come on, surely not. I practically handed him the test paper and answer key......'
His eyes were not fiercely searching through the countless stacks of answer sheets, but for a single answer sheet.
Because he was frantically looking for the answer sheet bearing the name of the freshman he had been paid to give special treatment to.
'Even if he is a noble's bastard, he is still half noble, so he should have the basics down.'
The nobleman had irresponsibly had his fun, kept the boy more or less confined as he pleased, and unilaterally sent him to the Academy in the capital.
Yet he still wanted the child, who had at least a little of his family's blood in him, to achieve the finest grades at the Academy.
That twisted vanity was none of Professor Garahevi's concern.
"Um, assistant professors, please activate the grading spell formulas prepared in advance......"
"Then we will begin grading the written placement test."
What mattered to him was the compensation that nobleman with the twisted vanity had promised.
'It is not as if I can live as an Academy professor forever, either.'
The fact that the nobleman could send his illegitimate child to the Academy instead of abandoning him to a church, along with the weight of the pouch Garahevi had received in advance, was enough to prove the man's wealth.
That was why he had handed the test paper and answer key to the nobleman's illegitimate child without hesitation.
An examination taken with both the questions and answers known in advance.
At this rate, even an orc or troll half-blood would be a shoo-in for first place.
To Professor Garahevi, the soft glow of the grading spell formulas seemed only to be blessing his future.
DING!
Before long, the spell formulas made a sound announcing a high scorer.
"Wow, this student's accuracy is no joke."
"Oho, that is such a high score we could practically call it perfect."
"Let us see, the name is...... Graysong Silva."
"All right!"
"P-Professor Garahevi?"
"No, I was merely so delighted that an outstanding freshman has arrived. Ahem."
Professor Garahevi could scarcely keep his cheekbones from rising.
'Yes, this is it! This is exactly it!'
It was a slight shame that the score was not perfect, but that was none of his concern.
What the nobleman had asked for was for Graysong Silva to come in first, not to get a perfect score.
And as Professor Garahevi recalled, no one had achieved a perfect score on the freshmen's placement test in nearly ten years.
Then, as only the sounds of the grading spell formulas running and the faculty's conversation passed through the administrative office.
Ding-ding-ding!
With a cheerful alarm, the spell formulas emitted a brilliant rainbow light.
"Does that sound mean......?"
"A perfect scorer? The placement test produced a perfect score?"
"What?! Who is it? Which insolent bastard......!"
"Lloyd Schultz?"
Professor Garahevi's death cry and a staff member calling Lloyd's name overlapped perfectly.
Professor Garahevi's plans for the future came crashing down the moment they began.