Chapter 8: I’m Not Above Using Force

After the presentation, Juugi’s position worsened even further.

“You know, the gas from your lab is a real nuisance.”

“Please, I’m begging you—just leave already.”

“Just give me a little more time. The next one will be better—”

Juugi had come to be seen as nothing more than a disgrace to the research institute.

His colleagues made no effort to hide their disgust, pressuring him to leave.

“If you understand my research, someday you’ll come to appreciate it.”

Even so, he didn’t yield.

Because he believed the steam engine had the power to do something amazing.

“To think the university’s top student would end up like that.”

“That low-magic complex of his is downright pathetic.”

No matter how much they spoke behind his back, he never gave up his research.

If anything, he burned with determination to prove them wrong.

“Think. How can steam engines be used to serve a real purpose?”

Day after day, Juugi buried himself in his work, draining his family’s fortune in the process.

Constantly covered in dust from burning rocks—coal—he kept at it, even as his lungs began to fail.

“If I use steam to turn gears, it’ll generate powerful motion. It could be used for construction work, but… they’d just say earth magic is good enough.”

What set steam engines apart was that they could produce a level of power beyond what humans could replicate.

“What about using it as a weapon…? No, too heavy. It’d be hard to transport.”

Still, believing in its untapped potential, he pushed on with obsession.

“One moment, I’m coming in!”

One day, out of the blue, a girl in a lavish dress barged into his lab.

“…Do you need something from me?”

Her appearance alone screamed upper class.

By her side stood a man in a knight’s uniform.

They looked completely out of place in a research lab—clearly some high-ranking nobles, maybe even royalty.

But Juugi, who had holed himself up in his lab, had no idea who they were.

“Sorry, but your name is?”

“You are in the presence of Her Highness Princess Rishali, second princess of the Kingdom of Saripa.”

“I see. So that’s who you are.”

Only then did Juugi realize that the girl who had entered was a princess.

Normally, he should have immediately bowed and shown respect.

Instead, he remained seated—and even let out a quiet click of his tongue.

“So? What brings the illustrious Princess Rishali to such a foul-aired little lab like this?”

Royalty, after all, was the nation.

It was the nation that dismissed low-magic inventions by saying, “We won’t fund that.”

In other words, Rishali represented the very discrimination Juugi sought to overthrow.

It was only natural that his politeness would come laced with venom.

“It’s about the health complaints caused by the gas emissions from this lab.”

Cough, cough.

Princess Rishali said this while suppressing a cough.

“I don’t care what kind of research you do, but you do need to consider its impact on others.”

“Well, thanks to a certain someone, there’s no budget. Can’t exactly afford air filters, you know.”

Juugi replied with thick sarcasm, deliberately needling her.

He was well aware that the coal dust was ruining his lungs.

He was coughing daily—victim to it himself.

But with no research funds, there was no money to fix the problem.

“In that case, you’ll have to relocate your research somewhere else.”

“…Here we go again.”

He did feel bad for the other researchers whose health had suffered.

But Juugi couldn’t afford to be driven out of this lab either.

“No can do. There’s no way I could transport all the results of my research from this room.”

“…”

“Besides, I have a contract. I’m guaranteed use of this lab for ten years, remember?”

When he had been appointed as an associate professor, he signed a contract granting him the use of this lab for ten years.

The contract still had more than five years remaining.

Which meant the university couldn’t legally expel him.

“Why are you so obsessed with staying at the university?”
“I’m using this room according to contract. What’s wrong with that?”

...But Juugi’s goal wasn’t just to develop the steam engine.

He wanted to prove its usefulness, to silence the other researchers who looked down on him.

And ultimately, he wanted to eliminate the discrimination against those with low magic power.

So even if the invention worked, if it wasn’t recognized, it would all be meaningless.

That’s why he couldn’t afford to be cast out of the university.

“There are other research projects causing health problems, aren’t there? Why am I the only one being told to leave?”

Juugi knew perfectly well that he was being resented.

Still, he clung to the hope that results would change everything.

“The scale of damage from your lab is just too severe.”

“So what then, you’ll force me out?”

Juugi had absolute faith that if he invented something truly great, he would be rewarded.

That was what a university was supposed to be.

“Well, if you remain this stubborn, I am prepared to resort to force.”

“…”

“I’d prefer to resolve this peacefully, of course.”

The moment he heard the words resort to force, Juugi caught the sound of a breath—fuu—from the knight standing beside her, as if preparing himself.

In that instant, a chill ran down Juugi’s spine.

That knight was no ordinary guard. He was monstrously strong—exactly the kind of protector one would expect a royal to have. The pressure he gave off was overwhelming.

“…Ah.”

It was finally happening.

Juugi was going to be kicked out of the lab.

If they were serious about using that monster’s power to remove him, there was nothing Juugi could do to resist.

(So this is the day I finally get thrown out…)

He bit his lip in frustration.

Juugi knew that the steam engine was a revolutionary invention—but whether or not anyone recognized it was a different matter entirely.

At the very least, no one in this research institute had seen its value.

“So? This peaceful solution of yours—what exactly does it involve?”

“We’ll take care of moving your materials from this lab. And we’ll also prepare a new research facility for you.”

Princess Rishali said this with a bright, cheerful smile.

There wasn’t a hint of malice in her demeanor.

“You’re free to continue your research. We’re just asking you to change locations, that’s all.”

“…”

“So? What do you think?”

Leaving the university to continue his work somewhere far away.

It was a perfectly reasonable, yet ruthlessly cold proposal.

“Of course, we’ll gladly listen to your preferences regarding the location!”

Rishali’s words neatly dismantled every excuse Juugi had for wanting to stay at the university.

Moving the lab due to health risks—it was a painfully sound argument.

But if that happened, no one would ever see the fruits of his research.

Even if he made a groundbreaking invention in some remote countryside, it would amount to nothing more than personal satisfaction.

Research had value only when it was acknowledged.

“…Is there really no way I can stay here?”

“No. You’re causing trouble for the other researchers.”

To that death sentence of a reply, Juugi could only bite his lip.

After all, it was true that his research had caused real harm.

There was nothing he could say in his defense.

“…Damn it.”

Juugi had drained his family’s wealth to pursue this research.

Driven by the belief that one day, he’d prove them all wrong—he gave it everything he had.

And now, to think it would all end in failure… was too humiliating to bear.

“…D-Dammit…”

Before he realized it, tears began falling from Juugi’s eyes.

The “end of his research”—something he had refused to face all this time—
was suddenly and unceremoniously thrust before him by a figure of authority: the Second Princess.

“Um, now about the proposed relocation site… It’s a bit far, but there’s a royal territory out east that—wait, what!?”

“…”

“Wh-Why are you crying!?”

Seeing Juugi’s tears, Rishali stared at him, stunned.

She couldn’t understand what he was feeling.

“U-Um… Did I say something offensive?”

She didn’t know why Juugi clung so fiercely to the university.
Why he had sacrificed his health to continue his research.
Why he had suffered so long under the weight of being low-magic.

“Was it the location? You don’t like it? B-But it’s ideal in terms of—”

“…You really don’t get it, do you?”

If he was going to be kicked out anyway—

Then he might as well let it all out and dump his resentment on this clueless little princess.

Juugi made up his mind and snapped at Rishali.

“You expect me to do research in the middle of nowhere—and who’s going to even know about it?!”

“…Huh?”

“You’re telling me, a nuisance, to go off alone and rot in some backwater lab?!”

Juugi shouted directly at the princess.

“Of course you wouldn’t understand—with your magic power! But this invention could change the entire world!”

“W-Wait a minute—”

“A world where magic power doesn’t matter! That’s how revolutionary my invention is!”

The bodyguard, sensing Juugi’s intensity, silently stepped forward.

If he so much as hinted at harming the princess, he would be knocked out in an instant.

“I’m just one step away—one step! That’s all I need, and everything will change. I’m so close…”

“Juugi… -san…”

Juugi, now sobbing like a child throwing a tantrum,
suddenly took one of his notebooks and slammed it against the floor with a burst of resolve.

“Fine, I get it. If I’m not wanted, then I’ll leave this country altogether!”

“Wait, what!?”

“I’ll take all my research and go to a nation that actually respects it—!”

“P-Please wait!”

His outburst seemed to have genuinely shaken her.

Rishali rushed over to Juugi, frantically grabbing and shaking him.

…Her face was so pale, it was almost comical.

“N-No, anything but that! We absolutely can’t let this technology leak out of the country!”

“Then recognize my research for what it is!”

“I’m not undervaluing it, I swear! It’s just—because of the health risks and the need for confidentiality—we have to change the location!”

“Oh? Then why was my funding cut? Why is the new lab all the way out in some rural dump?!”

“I-I’m sorry about the budget! That’s outside of my jurisdiction!”

Watching her flustered reaction, Juugi let out a sigh.

It finally clicked.

This princess had probably just been told by someone else—likely another researcher—to come and kick Juugi out.

Now that he thought about it, there was no way a girl like her actually held real authority in a university research lab.

She, too, had likely just been sent here by his fellow researchers—fed whatever they wanted her to say, and told to persuade him.

“I-I’ll try to renegotiate the funding myself! So please, just—”

“…It’s fine. There’s no point saying anything to you.”

“I truly do recognize the value of your research, you know.”

“Oh really? Then what exactly is my research about—and what part of it do you appreciate so much?”

Juugi suddenly felt the urge to mess with the clueless princess.

He was convinced she was just saying what sounded good, and his words came laced with bitterness.

“What exactly do you think this research is useful for?”

He decided to ask her—about the value of the invention that had been rejected by every researcher in the country.

“────Let’s see…”

Princess Rishali gently placed her hand to her lips.

And for a few seconds, she appeared to be thinking.

“It’s a steam-powered engine, correct? Using gears to produce a powerful source of mechanical energy.”

“!?”

What came out of her mouth was far more accurate than he’d expected.

She had just accurately described the mechanism of the steam engine Juugi had developed on his own—just by looking at it.

“Y-Yes, exactly! This system generates horsepower far beyond human capability, and—”

“But… you haven’t researched what comes after that, have you?”

“After…?”

Her reply caught Juugi off guard.

He had thought she was just another airheaded noble princess, but her answer was sharp—precise.

It was like talking to a seasoned researcher rather than royalty.

“If you link the steam engine to wheels, wouldn’t that make a vehicle?”

“…Huh?”

“If you lay down rails made of iron to fix its path, it could revolutionize transportation.”

“…Ah.”

That one comment from Rishali filled in the final missing piece of Juugi’s puzzle—
the very thing he’d been struggling to figure out: how to make the steam engine practically useful.

The power of steam was immense—powerful enough to move even the heavy steam engine itself.

Which meant that, using wheels, it could move with the engine still onboard────

“Our country still relies entirely on horse-drawn carriages for transport. If we laid down railways, our industry would advance all at once.”

“…”

“That’s why I want you to relocate as soon as possible to a coal-rich area and focus solely on development.”

Confronted with such forward-thinking vision, Juugi was left utterly speechless.