Runepolis Magic Academy, Runepolis, Holy Mirishial Empire
"I thought it was a good idea," complained the man he was meeting for the first time.
Sasajima, who had been invited as a lecturer to teach Japanese at the Magic Academy, found himself suddenly thrown into a room filled with many unfamiliar faces after a sudden summons.
. . .
Although Sasajima held a Ph.D. in science, he was what is known as an "over-doctor," making a living as a part-time instructor at a prep school. The declining birthrate in Japan made it increasingly difficult to find a position as a university faculty member. Moreover, many universities practiced nepotism in hiring. Unless one achieves remarkable achievements, it is difficult to get a job on your own merit.
As Japan started forming diplomatic relations with the new foreign countries after the transference, Japanese universities struggling with declining birthrates began accepting international students. Thanks to this, Sasajima initially found a job at his alma mater, but due to interpersonal issues, it did not last. However, there were opportunities for reemployment beyond Japanese universities due to the transmigration. This included foreign universities, also known as foreign employees. Sasajima considered this option, but most job listings were in engineering, and the Ph.D. in science that Sasajima held didn't quite match. Additionally, Sasajima himself felt uneasy about living in a foreign country, especially one considered a developing country from a Japanese perspective.
It was at such a time that Sasajima came across a job opening at the Runepolis Magic Academy. However, the job listing was quite unconventional. The qualifications required a Ph.D. in science or engineering, but the subject to be taught was the Japanese language. Moreover, the position offered was that of a lecturer, not a professor or visiting professor. When Sasajima inquired about this unusual job listing (through the recently established Mirishial Embassy), the response he received was, "We are not recruiting individuals with Ph.D.s in literature or linguistics, so the position of professor is not granted." While the answer seemed somewhat reasonable on the surface, it was strange for them to present such mismatched conditions in the first place. Many who saw the job listing suspected that what they really wanted was a translator, not an educator. If that were the case, they could have hired a professional translator or agency, but the reason for not doing so seemed to involve handling suspicious documents discreetly or trying to keep costs down. Because of these suspicions, the job opening remained vacant for a long time.
Sasajima's decision to respond to this seemingly dubious job offer was primarily due to economic reasons. The fact that the relocation destination was the most advanced country in the new world also helped lower the psychological hurdles.
Upon arriving, Sasajima found that being a Japanese language instructor was not a lie. While the number of students he taught was not large, he was frequently consulted. The literature students brought in overwhelmingly consisted of Japanese-language documents in science and engineering, and he often found himself explaining their content. It was as if half of his job was translation. Overall, the situation with that job opening was somewhat grey but not entirely black.
Also, by coming to the Magic Academy, Sasajima began to understand their circumstances that led to such an unnatural job opening. At the Magic Academy, science was defined as a study of magic, and scholars who did not know magic were not recognized as doctorate holders in science. Therefore, a Ph.D. in science from Japan was not acknowledged as a doctorate at the Magic Academy.
After spending half a year at the Magic Academy, Sasajima started to regret coming to Runepolis. He had chosen to work in Runepolis for financial reasons, but the lecturer's compensation was not high, and the cost of living in Runepolis was higher than in Japan. Savings were not accumulating as planned, and even working until the end of the term seemed unlikely to reach the desired amount. While dissatisfaction with finances might be manageable if there were satisfaction as a scholar, motivation was lacking when dealing only with unrelated work such as Japanese language teaching and translation. Sasajima began considering quitting, but lacking knowledge of Mirishial's laws, he didn't know the potential risks, and he didn't know whom to consult, leaving him in a difficult situation.
In such a predicament, when Sasajima received an unexpected summons, he wondered if there was an issue with his work attitude. However, the fear of dismissal wasn't particularly daunting. He couldn't recall doing anything that would lead to arrest or claims for damages. The designated room for the summons was in a building he entered for the first time. Sasajima had allowed plenty of time but arrived at the specified room just in time.
When Sasajima entered the room, it seemed that a dozen people were in the midst of a discussion, but the debate halted as everyone focused on Sasajima, who had entered midway. Sasajima felt an intense discomfort. The person at the highest seat addressed him.
"Are you Sasajima?"
Although it was their first meeting, Sasajima recognized the person as the one depicted in the portrait at the entrance of this building.
"Yes, Rector Oswald. It's me."
"Come over here."
Sasajima took a seat indicated by the rector. Everyone around him was unfamiliar. Elves' ages were indiscernible to Japanese people, but there didn't seem to be any students present.
"We were actually in the middle of a discussion, but we couldn't reach a conclusion. I'd like to hear your opinion."
It was then that Sasajima first learned about the magic bulge.
. . .
"Why do you think it would work? It's like a panjandrum, isn't it?"
(A panjandrum is a large wheel-like explosive-carrying weapon invented by the British to destroy the concrete barriers at the French coasts.)
Sasajima blurted out when he learned about the magic bulge. One of the men who heard this and glared at him was the person who made the statement, "I thought it was a good idea." When Sasajima thought that he might have said something clumsy, the rector addressed the man.
"Let's hear his opinion first, Vince."
Sasajima hurriedly searched his memory. The name Vince sounded familiar. And then he remembered. Vince was the name of the Chief Magical Engineer at the Runepolis Magic Academy. While hoping that the person in front of him was a different Vince with the same name, Sasajima began to explain.
"There are various prerequisites, so I can't assert without experimentation, but there are two reasons why I think it won't work. First, even if you can cool seawater, it's not easy to freeze it. Seawater contains a large quantity of impurities, so it has a low melting point. Also, the movement of seawater due to ocean currents makes it difficult for seawater to freeze easily. Cooling the surface seawater of the armor causes convection, and cooled seawater sinks, which will be replaced by warmer seawater rising from below."
While Sasajima spoke, the rector took notes. Some others followed suit, taking notes. However, the man called Vince remained expressionless and made no move to take notes.
"Moreover, even if you freeze seawater, the resulting ice becomes quite brittle. To solidify the ice crystals, you need to create a regular crystal structure. For that, impurities must be filtered out, and air must be removed. Additionally, freezing takes time. However, even after doing all that, the ice remains far more brittle than metal in reality."
With successive criticisms, Vince snapped. "That was the best we could do at the time! I was told to come up with a short-term method to counter torpedoes. We didn't have time to add bulges with metal, and we could have done it with only slight modifications to the armor reinforcement mechanism!"
Sasajima was intimidated by Vince's intensity, but the rector gently intervened.
"Sasajima doesn't know about those circumstances. The same goes for the laws of nature."
Sasajima realized that the possibility of this Vince being a different person with the same name had completely disappeared.
"By the way, didn't you mention something about a panjandrum earlier? What does that mean?"
At the rector's request, Sasajima ended up explaining about the panjandrum.
"To think it would be lumped in with something like that," Vince spat with frustration. Sasajima refrained from mentioning the theory that the Panjandrum might have been part of Operation Fortitude, a large-scale deception operation aimed at convincing German forces that the Allied invasion would occur at Pas-de-Calais.
"Sasajima, if you were in Vince's position, what would you do?"
Asked by the rector, Sasajima momentarily didn't understand the meaning.
"Does that mean, if I were told to come up with a short-term method to prevent torpedoes, what would I do?"
"That's right."
"I don't know anything about magic."
"But you know more about torpedoes than anyone here."
After hearing that, Sasajima quickly responded. "I would say there's no such method. If a torpedo is fired at you, run away, and if possible, sink the enemy before being hit. That would be my answer."
Most of the people who heard this expression looked dejected. It seemed they had expected Sasajima to provide a brilliant idea. However, the rector was the only exception.
"I see. That might be the correct answer," the rector said to himself, as if convincing himself, and commended Sasajima. "I look forward to your continued contributions."
Sasajima had not intended to say such a thing, but he blurted it out impulsively.
"Actually, I'm thinking of quitting the Magic Academy."
Afterward, the rector, like a soliloquy, asked Sasajima in detail why he wanted to quit, and Sasajima ended up revealing everything. After hearing it all, the rector muttered to himself.
"So that's why we couldn't attract people with the job listing." When he murmured this, the rector looked stern, but his expression quickly turned gentle. "We seem to have treated you unfairly. I apologize."
. . .
The next day, Sasajima was promoted from a lecturer to a visiting professor, and his salary increased. He was occasionally called by the rector to seek his opinions.
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TL Notes: The translation has caught up to the latest release, so until a next chapter is posted by the author, there's no more chapters of this fic for me to translate.