Chapter : 03
“…No matter how hard research gets, I would never take hallucinogens. Don’t worry.”
Only then did Isabella seem to believe me. Her expression fell.
“But still… after enduring that lab for so long, this is all so sudden…”
“I finally came to my senses.”
“Even though you’ll have nothing left if you quit? Adel, it’s not too late! Go apologize to the professor! Please?”
“…”
“You never know. Maybe he’ll at least put your name on the paper.”
“Yeah. My name might remain.”
I let out a sigh as I packed my bag.
Looking over all the data and experiment records I’d gathered over the years, I couldn’t deny that I felt a little reluctant to leave.
“…But they’re not worth sacrificing my pride or my future.”
“Tch. You always have an answer for everything. Anyway, once you’re gone, Professor’s going to go crazy for a while. Honestly, he’s already making a huge fuss.”
Hearing that made me feel a little guilty toward the colleagues I was leaving behind.
“Really? Did the professor say anything to you guys?”
“Nothing special. Just the usual talking behind your back. He kept muttering your name over and over. Honestly… I think he’s seriously planning to get revenge.”
So he had finally managed to memorize the name he’d never bothered learning before.
“Let him.”
I zipped my bag shut with all my strength before asking Isabella,
“More importantly, what about you? Are you going to keep working here?”
“I haven’t been here nearly as long as you… I can still endure it for now.”
“I see. Then I guess all I can do is wish you good luck.”
For the first time in a long while, I smiled sincerely.
“If you ever want to escape later, give me a call. As your senior who ran away first, I’ll give you some advice.”
…Though I made it sound impressive, the reality was that I was basically unemployed.
Forget the end of the world—I needed to find a new way to make a living first.
Luckily, I did come up with a few business ideas while being worked to the bone under that professor.
For the time being, I’d stay at home and figure out how to make use of them.
When I arrived home by train, my parents greeted me with surprised expressions.
“What’s the occasion?”
They looked completely caught off guard by my unannounced visit.
“…Is that man home?”
Instead of greeting them, the first thing I asked about was someone else’s whereabouts.
A complicated emotion flashed across my parents’ faces.
“Oh… Adrian? He’s probably out drinking with his friends. He didn’t say he was coming home.”
Mom awkwardly forced a smile as she answered.
Meanwhile, Dad’s eyes had already fallen on the luggage in my hand. The trunk must have looked pretty heavy.
“But what’s all this? Adel, did the Magic Tower give you a reward vacation or something? Have you finished your research?”
There was unmistakable hope in his voice.
Considering the kind of person I’d always been, the idea that I’d voluntarily quit my research was probably unimaginable to him.
Mom quietly jabbed Dad in the side before turning to me.
“You must be tired from the trip. Come inside, Adel. Let’s have dinner first.”
The family home I’d returned to after such a long time looked just as cozy as ever.
But now… that warmth felt strangely uncomfortable.
Ever since recovering the memories of my previous life, I’d realized how I’d actually been treated in this house.
Even so…
This was still my home.
And these were still my parents.
“…I’m home, Mom. Dad.”
* * *
“…Actually, it’s not a vacation. I decided to quit my research.”
While we were having dinner, I finally said the words aloud.
Mom’s face instantly stiffened.
Dad dropped his fork with a clatter.
“Quit? What are you talking about, sweetheart?”
I answered calmly.
“It was too hard. I got so exhausted that… one day I suddenly wanted to give everything up.”
My parents’ expressions visibly darkened.
Shock.
Confusion.
And beneath it all… anxiety.
They had both assumed I was only visiting for a short break.
Realizing that wasn’t the case seemed to hit them much harder than I’d expected.
“So… I’ll be staying home for a while. I just want to rest and organize my thoughts.”
“Wait. Does that mean you’ve completely left the Magic Tower? For real?”
“Yes. I left yesterday.”
The moment they heard that, their expressions became even more rigid.
I’d expected them to be surprised—or maybe disappointed—that I’d quit the Magic Tower.
But this reaction…
Something about it felt off.
Is my family… having financial problems?
I’ve been sending them plenty of money every month.
“I’ll head to my room first. I’m already exhausted.”
But my thoughts were too tangled to start questioning them right now.
Dinner had just ended anyway, so I stood up from the table.
What I needed first was time to think.
“All right.”
Leaving my troubled-looking parents behind, I went to my room.
“…Hmm. It’s exactly the same.”
Even though it had been empty for over five years, nothing had changed.
The neatly made bed.
The bookshelf covered in dust.
The countless notes and research materials stuffed inside.
Still…
It was far cozier than the tiny cage they called a dormitory at the Magic Tower.
I set my luggage aside and collapsed onto the bed.
Then I began carefully organizing my plans for the future.
Hmm… First of all, I’ve eliminated the biggest source of danger.
Now that I’d stepped away from the research, its progress would slow down dramatically.
I tapped my finger against the bed while thinking.
The real issue is Heon, the protagonist of the original story.
One day, he was suddenly swallowed by the world’s destruction.
Then, miraculously, he opened his eyes once more…
With the memories of his previous life intact.
Using those memories, he investigated the cause of the apocalypse and eventually confronted me—the final boss behind it all.
But right now…
The story had only just begun.
Whether before or after his regression, there was no way he knew that I was the true cause of the world’s destruction.
So for the time being…
I could relax.
Before the protagonist stabs me with a sword, I’d better redesign my own life from scratch.
“From now on, I’m going to live differently!”
Humming happily to myself, I began scribbling in one of my research notebooks.
To Do
- Succeed as quickly as possible.
- Become rich.
- Enjoy everything life has to offer.
- Never, ever live like a slave again.
In both my previous life and this one, I’d wasted my entire life locked inside a laboratory like a slave.
I was exploited while cleaning up after my professor, only to end up without even a single line of credit on the papers I’d worked on.
Living like that was exactly what drove me to do something as insane as causing the end of the world.
If I wanted to prevent the bad ending at its source, I could never become someone else’s slave again.
My life belonged to me.
One by one, I took the notebooks out of my trunk.
Just because I’d resigned on impulse didn’t mean I’d left without a plan.
There were plenty of research projects I’d worked on that could become successful businesses.
After all, whenever someone gets transported into a fantasy world, don’t they all start some kind of business?
I remembered a paper I’d practically written in a trance during my second year as a researcher at the Magic Tower after pulling countless all-nighters.
No one had paid it any attention.
But I’d always believed the idea would become incredibly valuable someday.
“…Found it.”
A moment later, I pulled out a faded notebook.
Seeing the pages filled with formulas and design sketches brought a smile to my face.
With this… success is practically guaranteed.
Everyone had dismissed it as unrealistic, so I’d shelved the idea for the time being.
But if I refined it just a little more using everything I’d learned through my research…
Just imagining it painted a rosy future before my eyes.
Still…
“Yaaawn…”
Before any of that…
I needed to catch up on all the sleep I’d missed.
* * *
An emergency had erupted inside Professor Great Everrun’s laboratory.
“Damn it… Why did it have to happen now?”
Grinding his teeth, Great paced restlessly around the room.
The research project titled “The Flow of Mana and the Distortion of Space-Time” was one of the most highly anticipated studies within the Magic Tower.
The Master of the Magic Tower believed that if its underlying principles could be uncovered, it would open an entirely new frontier in the development of magical artifacts.
As a result, enormous expectations had been placed on the project.
That was precisely why Adel had been recruited as one of its researchers.
Ever since her days at the Academy, she had consistently studied this field with exceptional dedication.
Thanks to her efforts, what had once been nothing more than an abstract theory had gradually developed into a solid foundation over the course of five years.
And recently, they had finally succeeded in observing minute distortions in space-time through the use of mana.
