The midday sun shone brightly, bathing the study in golden light.
By now, both Douglas and Lucian had already departed. Only Fernando sat quietly in his armchair.
Earlier, the two giants had discussed how to handle the submission and publication of Lucian's research findings. They decided to add several more papers to the next issue of Arcane — papers in which several Grand Archanists attempted to explore the underlying principles behind the formula from various angles, only to fail spectacularly. The goal was to ensure that the vast majority of Archanists would not be blindsided when a hypothesis that overturned established reasoning eventually emerged.
This was not about making them accept Lucian's conclusions right now — after all, the premise of "discrete energy" was still merely a hypothesis. Rather, it was about giving them a mental preparation through these articles: that the conventional approach had exhausted itself, and that explaining the phenomenon might require stepping beyond accepted paradigms. At the same time, in the added papers, the Grand Archanists would repeatedly emphasize that solving the problem might require making "assumptions," hammering that word into the mages' minds through sheer repetition.
"Shocking, inconceivable, paradigm-shattering…" Fernando murmured to himself, describing the hypothesis Lucian had put forward, then added with a touch of mischievous amusement, "The first half of the papers sent to the others has already ruled out every alternative explanation. The unsent second half is simply the complete derivation, analysis, and foundational assumptions of the formula. I wonder who'll be the first to deduce the second half from the first, and arrive at the very hypothesis they themselves can barely accept — Heatherly, or Brook?"
Heatherly was the founder of atomic theory, and based on that body of knowledge, she leaned toward Douglas's particle theory, making her the most likely to arrive at a similar hypothesis. The other four Grand Archanists were standard wave theorists, with Brook being the most steadfast among them. Yet of these five Grand Archanists, Brook was the strongest and closest to the truth of the world, so it was not impossible that he might complete the derivation first.
"Heh, let me guess the order in which they'll reach their conclusions and come looking for me: Heatherly, Brook, Oliver, Helen, Vincent?" Fernando carried on in his usual irreverent, humorous manner, a faint smile playing on his lips.
As he talked to himself, his gaze drifted — and suddenly he caught sight of the full-length mirror in the corner of the study. Reflected in it was an old man in a scarlet arcane robe, his head crowned with silver hair like frost, threaded through with strands of black.
The smile froze, then gradually faded. Fernando raised his right hand and touched his white hair, then let out a soft sigh. He drew an old, weathered notebook from the desk, flipped to the last few pages, picked up the Feather Pen, and wrote:
"July 6th. Clear skies, a light breeze. I suddenly feel that I am getting old."
He set down the Feather Pen and turned to look out the window. The brilliant, dazzling sunlight made him squint slightly.
…………
Back home.
The butler, Leo, greeted him at the door and gave Lucian's face a somewhat puzzled look, though he said nothing. Sprint, who had finished his studies and was preparing to enjoy lunch, asked curiously, "Master Evans, why do you look so terrible? Was the Storm Lord's question especially difficult to answer today?"
*So you were subjected to his furious roaring?* That was what Sprint swallowed before it could leave his mouth.
"Terrible?" Lucian echoed with a frown, then turned to look at a crystal figurine displayed in the living room. Though the reflection on its surface was hazy and indistinct, Lucian could clearly see that his complexion looked as if he had just crawled out of a grave.
*The pressure of a Legend-level powerhouse is truly terrifying.* In his focus on "resisting" it, he had overlooked quite a bit — all he remembered was the cold sweat soaking his body, the air growing thick and heavy, lightning flashing before his eyes, and thunder roaring in his ears.
"Yes, it was very difficult to answer. It concerned saving the world and preserving peace," Lucian said with a smile.
Sprint could not stand his teacher's occasional deadpan humor and quietly twitched the corner of his mouth. "Master Evans, stop joking. Did the Storm Lord intend to destroy the world, and you stopped him?"
"Sprint, you've got it backwards. I wanted to destroy the world, but my teacher stopped me." Despite his terrible complexion, Lucian was in excellent spirits — after all, he had successfully floated the hypothesis of discrete energy without blowing his teacher's head off. So he eagerly continued to tease.
Sprint was proud by nature and never the type for jokes or banter. All he could do was glance helplessly at the ceiling. "Master Evans, it's time for lunch. The world-destroying can wait."
Watching the servants file out with trays of food and spotting the same calf steak he had eaten many times before, Lucian couldn't help but rub his forehead. *I really need to have them try something different.*
The thought had barely formed when a servant led Katrina inside. Her sleek golden hair was tied in a bouncing ponytail, and her face was radiant with joy.
"Master Evans, your application for the 'Atomic Research Institute' has been approved!" Katrina held up the document in her hand and announced excitedly.
Lucian was genuinely surprised. "That fast? It's only been a few days."
Weren't arcane research project approvals supposed to take at least two weeks? His application had barely been submitted a week ago.
"With a Grand Archanist's supporting signature, would the gentlemen at the Arcane Research Committee dare to dawdle?" Katrina relayed this inside information firsthand, then added eagerly, "Master Evans, hurry and see what the result is!"
The document was sealed in a pouch that required both Lucian's Archanist and Arcane Magic badges to open.
"It'll be approved, right?" Sprint had been waiting impatiently for the establishment of the "Atomic Research Institute" for a long time. Seeing the document, he was caught between eager anticipation and anxious dread, looking thoroughly unsettled.