Chapter 1101 – #262_The King of Graduate Students – DeepL

#1095

1.
The opening of the Hessian Society’s trial semester was basically a way to overcome its poor financial condition.

The partnership with the Society of Arms was a good start, but the cost of hiring a witch as a professor was astronomical: a huge salary, an initial investment in expensive laboratory equipment, and other operating expenses.

However, the number of witches who signed up to take the Hessian Society’s test fell short of expectations.
That meant they were running out of money.

Xiu set up a trial semester in such haste that he collapsed from overwork.
As the dean of the foundation faculty, she taught the class herself and waited for word of mouth to spread.

In Gehenna, where the inter-witch community is much tighter than an apartment cafe, there’s no better publicity than a “wow, she’s good at that” kind of word of mouth.

So there was no point in forcing a trial semester for financial reasons now that Lydia had gobbled up about $100 billion worth of visa money in Gehenna’s coffers.

Even though running a conference sucks up astronomical amounts of money, $80 million is no small amount of money.
It’s enough to give them six months to sit back, relax, and prepare for the regular semester.

“This is the time to paddle.”

But Xiu wasn’t taking it easy.

Instead, he’s been pushing to expand the organization in a way that seems almost violent from the outside.

Recently, Xiu’s influence and prestige culminated in the awarding of an earldom, a title that was being renewed on a daily basis.

The strong momentum of the Hexenacht Gate blockade, crushing the Lehar Group, hunting down Lydia Magnus, and receiving an earldom ensures that Xiu’s ratings will continue to rise, but there are no guarantees that this will last forever.

Gaining momentum was the only time that the Hessian Society, as a latecomer, could reach the scale of other large societies in a short period of time.

This is evidenced by the number of offers that have come our way.

One of them was Solar Akelare, the owner of the Wine Pub, who hadn’t even batted an eye at Xiu’s countless attempts to form a partnership.

With Amelia unable to fulfill her duties as Dean of the Department of Magical Mechanics for personal reasons, she is the perfect person to fill the void.

-Smart

“Let me in.”

The door opened with a knock, revealing Baroness Solar Akelare, a petite Latina witch with hair as red as a geranium, scarlet eyes, and a healthy coppery complexion.

“Thank you for coming all this way, please make yourself at home. Would you prefer tea or coffee?”
“…Ah.”

For your information, the culture of the high witches of Gehenna is more of an aristocratic society.
What that means is that the soft power of Xiu’s story and honor in a face-to-face negotiation like this is enormous.

Like this.

2.
Solar Akelare, Witch of the Sun, 22nd rank.

The leader of a small to medium-sized society with the oddly lighthearted name of “The Wine Pub,” she is the society’s recognized expert in magickal mechanics.

The society has only about 10 members, but its research, which is updated year after year, rivals that of the Magic Mechanics Department of the Qin Lie Academy.

The number of witches who came to her for advice was in the double digits, and she herself had a certain pride in her skills, which led to a certain qualified arrogance.

[I’ve known of Chef Solar’s reputation for a very long time, and our Hessian Buffet has just opened in Xinjiang, and it would be a family honor if you could come and cook up some of your delicious telekinetic stews]

“I don’t want to.

[♚♚Baron Xinxiu’s Hessian Magic☆Society ♚♚Get a $$starting salary when you join☜☜5% guaranteed raise every year* └Get a private plane for your time☆Get a VVIP membership to the Periwinkle Hotel￥Free rental of labs §§Sign partnerships3§§★Collaborate on research★Remodeled academic wing of Tiferet Manor★Diverse academic community★Rewarding research￥Gain opportunities@@@]

“What’s wrong, I’m Sola Akelare.

It was this kind of arrogance that had caused him to reject the Hesed Society’s urgent written request that had once made Gehenna abuzz.

‘We’ve done just fine without it.
I can do well without it.
The attitude of stooping low to receive bean soup is also not fresh.

Solar had tucked Xiu’s letter in the corner of her desk drawer and never looked at it again, but lately she’d had a change of heart.

Or, in this case, more like a change of circumstance.

‘Baron, Cincio is not sure.
“President, did you hear that?
‘Sister Solar, what are you going to do about that letter from the Hessian Society?
“You seem to be on good terms with Castle now, so why keep him away?

As a small society, the wine pub was very social.
In fact, we spend more time drinking wine than doing research.

‘Stop! I get it! Okay, I’ll be back, okay?
“Sign some autographs when you get back!

The members who knew the president of the society as a close older sister were bombarded with requests, so I went out with the mindset that I would like to meet her.

Of course, there was also a little bit of curiosity to see who Xin Xiu, the talk of the town in Chang’an, was.

He’d only seen him from a distance at the last knighthood ceremony.

“The academy building is bustling.”

At first glance, the building is aesthetic and artistic.
An old-fashioned interior that honors the traditions of Gehenna, with novelties that could have been poured on like a dressing.

The bustle of witches in the hallways seemed to be more active than at other conferences.

When have you ever seen so many different societies gathered in one place to conduct research?

It must have been a bit exhilarating to be able to collaborate in such a free atmosphere, even if it was only for a limited time and in a limited field.

“Let’s go in.”

She was escorted to the president’s office and entered with the attitude of, “Okay, let’s see what kind of crazy proposal I can come up with.

The door swings open and she’s greeted by a very sophisticated room.

The windows overlook a lush garden. Deep red velvet curtains that curve beautifully like the fabric that covers a masterpiece.

The striking walnut bookcases and shelves are crammed with thick volumes.

It’s a room of authority and organization that any witch would dream of, but as soon as a figure comes into focus, it becomes a mere backdrop.

That figure is, of course, Cynthia.

“Thank you for coming all the way, please make yourself comfortable, would you prefer tea or coffee?”
“Ah….”

A pleasantly resonant gravelly voice and an easy smile.
A dapper, slightly loose Italian suit and lightly swept back hair.
The bulk of his muscles is evident, especially from a distance.

“Coffee, please.”
“Just a moment.”

He grinds the beans by hand, then pours hot water into a funnel and begins to brew drip coffee.

Solar’s eyes never left his side for a moment.

There it was.

The second son of a famous duke.

The kind of character who always laughed inwardly, but fearlessly challenged anyone to a duel who had tarnished his honor, and had killed more than a few people in those duels without a smile on his face.

It’s a vague but charismatic image that comes to mind.

No, it’s not vague.
He actually turned half the world against his lover, and made them pay for it in blood.

The man who nonchalantly brews coffee has indeed laid the fearsome Lydia Magnus to rest.

“…….”

Until now, the witches had treated Xiu’s feats as unproven dimes and dimes.
This is why Xiu has been trying to make up for his lack of experience with his charisma project.

But this is not a matter of intelligence.

It’s about the unconscious, the mantalité, shared across time and groups.
As the word “unconscious” suggests, the flow of the mandalité is both secretive and powerful.

Even witches are not immune to it, as they are essentially human.

Just as medieval Europeans couldn’t imagine a world without God, witches couldn’t imagine a witch who wasn’t a woman.

She is definitely a witch, and she has done witchy things, and she has proven it time and time again, but it’s hard to evaluate her soberly when you’re stuck in this unconscious frame.

Solar was also unconsciously thinking like that until she stepped into this office.

However, that frame of mind is broken.
Xiu’s feats, which she tries to take for granted, have already penetrated deep into her subconscious.

Xiu’s feat, the story he’s created, is what gives him his natural soft power.

“Here you go.”
“Go, thank you.”

Beyond mere physical attraction, the Xin Xiu that Solar saw now had none of the inexperience of a young witch.

Her spine stiffens as naturally as it would if she were facing President Erelim or Dean Calliostro.
In contrast to the cold tension, his heart pounded hotly in his chest.

I despised him for being a Casanova, but flirts are despised because they make connections they can’t be responsible for.

But he certainly did.

Such a handsome man with such a badass personality.
Isn’t that cheating?

Even Solar, who has a strong sense of pride, self-respect, and independence, exudes an aura that makes you want to lean on him.

“I was discouraged when I didn’t hear back from you last time, so I’m glad you came over here.”
“…….”

Xiu brought the papers he had organized to the salt dong.

It was filled with clauses about establishing a partnership between the Hessian Society and the wine pub.

“Alright, then, please check the documents….”
“…I will.”
“Yes?”

Solar didn’t even look at the documents.
But I couldn’t help but click my tongue in response.

“I want to partner with the Count, Sipoyo….”

3.
Back at the wine pub’s academy.
Still half-dazed, the members of the academy crowded around her.

“What do you think, what do you think?”
“Wow…. I can’t believe I got to talk to someone so famous…. He’s really talented and something to see.”
“I heard he’s super flirty, is he trying to hit on you?”
“…I’m tired. We have a partnership.”

Sola shuffled like a zombie through the crowds of Society members into the room.

“What is it?”
“What happened?”

Curious, the witches peeked through the keyhole into Sola’s room.

“Haa…. Ahem, ahem…. Mr. President…. If you do this….”

It was a sight to behold.