Greetings, Mister Principal

Chapter 194: Gossip

Morale Support: Scherzo

Patreon: /ScherzoTranslations

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After the meeting, Lord Percival was the first to leave the meeting room.

Savros neatly folded her theses in her hands and followed suit, leaving through the door.

“Uh, Reiner, how about we go to the restaurant on the first floor for lunch? They provide lunch for the staff here, so you can enjoy it freely.”

After the burly Bel left, Igor, with a relaxed smile on his face, suggested this to Reiner.

“Sure, I actually have some things I’d like to discuss with Mr. Igor.”

Reiner glanced at Hannah, who was still packing up, and then followed Igor to the somewhat spacious restaurant on the first floor.

Bel, who had already occupied a table alone, had an astonishing amount of food on it. It seemed that he not only had a robust physique but also an appetite to match.

Thinking about who had a bigger appetite between Mister Bear and Claire, Reiner took a plate filled with food and sat down at a table with Igor.

As a gathering place for mid level mages, the manor’s food was naturally quite abundant and placed in a corner of the restaurant for people to help themselves.

Reiner chose a stew that resembled curry chicken, a few slices of white bread, and a small portion of fruit salad. Due to the hot weather, he didn’t have much of an appetite, so he opted for something with a strong flavor.

Igor, on the other hand, went for a combination of grilled beef ribs and chicken broth. It seemed he never deprived himself of a hearty meal.

“Mr. Igor, is the food always like this here?”

Reiner asked, causing Igor, who was about to cut the ribs, to pause.

“Haha, the food here changes every day. At least for the week you’re here, you won’t have to worry about getting tired of it.”

Igor didn’t directly answer Reiner’s question, but Reiner continued to inquire.

“Mr. Igor, I didn’t think you would be like this.”

Reiner’s words gradually wiped the smile off Igor’s face. He put down the knife and fork, looked at Bel, who was enjoying a chicken leg in the distance, sighed, and spoke.

“Reiner, to be honest, do you know the background of this place?”

Before Reiner could answer, Igor continued.

“With the continuous development of magic, especially in recent years, many past magical theories can no longer adapt to current research. It can be said that in the last fifty years, the development of magic has even exceeded that of the past three hundred years, all thanks to the thesis review mechanism.”

However, along with the thesis review mechanism, there were also a series of cognitive collapses. One hundred years ago, people were still amazed by the power of thunder, and lightning spells were always among the most powerful. Who would have thought that today, people could accurately describe lightning with a set of formulas?

Not all mages could easily accept modern magical theories and many revolutionary ideas. This was the background of the times.

Reiner’s appearance, in a sense, became an opportunity, prompting the Magic Association to officially establish a review committee specifically for innovative theses. In fact, this institution had been planned and established in just a few months.

“Everyone here has been transferred here for various reasons. For example, I was just an ordinary fourth level mage in Storm Council. I no longer cared about advancing. In ordinary thesis review committees, there is a busy schedule and hardly any time for personal research. But here, I have a lot of time to do my own thing, and the salary is higher.”

Igor openly shared his thoughts.

In short, he was here for a comfortable life.

“Some people want to read cutting-edge theses to improve their strength, and some just want to change their environment from their original colleagues. But, from what I know, no one came here solely because they really liked reviewing these ‘innovative’ theses.”

Igor spoke with a hint of helplessness in his tone, but it was barely noticeable.

“To be honest, even the theses rated as innovative here won’t earn more than fifty academic points, as the review committee has just been established, and the scoring weight is low. So, everyone naturally feels a bit weary. So, Reiner, what you did today actually, to some extent, disrupted the original balance. I don’t mind, but some people might not be too happy about it.”

“Are you referring to Lord Percival?”

Thinking of the “advice” the Lord had given him, Reiner inquired.

“Hehe, Lord Percival? He probably doesn’t care about these things. As far as I know, his focus is actually on continuously advancing in the Magic Association to gain more resources for promotion. He actively applied to manage this institution, probably wanting to showcase himself in front of those others.”

Igor eloquently explained, and for a moment, Reiner suddenly felt that the person sitting in front of him was not a mage skilled in spells but rather an aunt picking vegetables in the backyard, knowing all the gossip.

At this moment, several people walked into the restaurant. They were dressed in black robes, ranging from first to third level mages, both male and female.

“Who are these people?”

Their arrival made the previously quiet restaurant much noisier, interrupting Reiner and Igor’s conversation. Therefore, Reiner looked at Igor as if asking for an explanation.

“These are students from the Astar Advanced Academy. You know about Astar Advanced Magic Academy, right? Roger is a professor at that academy, and these should be his students.”

Igor forked up a piece of crispy and tender ribs, savored it in his mouth, and continued.

“He utilized the students’ summer internship to have them come here and assist him in his work. It’s a clever way not to affect his main job.”

“That’s smart.”

Reiner commented, unsure to voice it as praise or sarcasm.

Afterward, the two continued to chat about various topics. Although Reiner agreed on the surface, he was actually thinking about other things.

Later, after returning to his own lounge in the manor and having a satisfying nap, when Reiner arrived at the office at two in the afternoon, he found that the atmosphere in the room was a bit off.

“What’s wrong?”

Naturally, he found Mr. Igor first. Igor shook his head, then pointed to the adjacent room.

“A low-level mage who found us through his father’s connections wants us to reevaluate his thesis.”

There’s a backdoor for this kind of thing?

Reiner was speechless. Looking around the room, he noticed that Lord Percival and Roger were not in their seats.

“What thesis is it?”

Sitting down, Reiner casually asked.

Igor shrugged helplessly and then replied, “Perpetual motion machine.”