Chapter 1111 – #264_Research Fruits(2) – DeepL
#1105
1.
The symbolism and importance of the ‘gate’ in Gehenna cannot be overstated.
If there were no gates in the first place, it would be impossible to go back and forth between the temporal world and the city in the netherworld.
In the case of Hexenacht alone, the breakdown of the gate led to unwanted and forced overnight stays.
Therefore, there have been many attempts to normalize the gate since Duke Ketter’s death.
There have been studies commissioned by immigration authorities, large-scale projects carried out by academic societies, and even consortiums of different societies.
But no one has succeeded in decades.
Even the Duke of Erelim and the prominent elder witches beneath him have struggled to achieve anything less than a complete normalization.
“That’s because of the special nature of the door, Duke Ketter’s work is governed by its own laws.”
“I see.”
The immigration officer accepted Xiu’s request and submitted the request to the city hall as promised.
In fact, there was no need to submit a request to the city hall, as research services can be done in a variety of ways.
The immigration officer could have signed a contract with Xiu directly and still spent the immigration office’s funds.
But obviously, the task order was posted at City Hall for advertising purposes.
They needed a big public relations push to say to future potential customers, “Oh, the Hesed Society is paying for the questions that no one else has been able to solve?
“But…. Are you sure you can do this?”
The immigration officer was happy to grant Xiu’s request, but was a bit worried about the contract.
This morning, the immigration officer approved Xiu’s proposal in Nalim and selected the Hessian Society as the recipient of the research contract.
Credit is like life in Gehenna, and the Count’s credit was very good, so arranging the advance payment was a breeze.
Now, once the contract was signed, half of the money (estimated expenses + honorarium) would be deposited into the Hesed Foundation’s account as an advance.
That’s a whopping 2.5 million Gehenna pounds, or roughly 2 trillion won.
This means that the study commissioned by the immigration minister is a 4 trillion won project, even though it is only a “repair work”.
Even with post-construction repairs, technology transfer, and a paid maintenance contract for the next 100 years, there are few projects that cost this much money.
“…….”
“Count Xinxiu?”
“Oh, sorry. I got distracted.”
I’ve handled a lot of money in my life, but I’m still dumbfounded by the weird units.
It’s just a number on a piece of paper, but I have the urge to eat it and carry it around.
“Whoa.”
Mind control.
Technically, this is a magical civil engineering project, so a “trillion” is a small number.
It’s not like we’re going to get all this money if we complete it anyway.
The honorarium is less than 1% of the total budget, so much of it will go to research, labor, and materials.
However, the paid maintenance contract is actually very good.
By outsourcing the maintenance of the door, we have a regular source of cash.
“We can also give you a more generous timeframe, six years seems a bit short. If you think that’s too much, we can give you ten years….”
The immigration officer didn’t reply, apparently interpreting this as a lack of confidence.
Xiu wasted no time in signing the contract.
“Ugh…! Is everything okay?”
“We, the Hesed Society, will honor our contracts.”
I know because I’ve heard them say it.
Now that he’s established himself, Xiu has many ears to listen.
“A project to normalize the Gate? There’s no way that’s possible without Kether, is there?”
“But Count Xinxiu, the Hessian Society?
“That’s a different realm. Magical combat and the ability to carry out large-scale projects are two different things.
“Still, wouldn’t he do something about it?
“It’s reckless. He’s taking on a project like this as his first research assignment for the Society… ….
‘Isn’t it kind of exciting that he’s so unconventional? He’s always been that way.’
Even the members’ reactions were split 50/50, so the immigration officer’s concern didn’t seem strange.
“Can you show me to the library?”
“Yes.”
The library was located in the underground vault of the immigration office, surrounded by a strict magical circle.
The vault, about 100 square meters, was piled high with documents organized in books.
“This is the best interpretation of the Gate’s magic circle, and this is the journal I’ve been keeping. Even if it’s an original copy, it’s impossible to take it out of the country.”
All information about the Gate is directly related to Gehenna’s security, so it’s impossible to access without certain qualifications.
In other words, the project could only be undertaken once Xiu became an Earl.
The repeated setbacks of the minor scholarly societies, other than the Qin Lie Qin Ming Society and the Emerald Tablet, must have been greatly affected by this.
Furthermore, I was even allowed to take a copy of the materials on the door back to my lab until the end of the project, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I was accused of favoritism….
What can you do?
You can be a prick or an earl.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“But you’ll have to make sure it doesn’t leave the lab.”
“Of course.”
Xiu packed up the materials and headed for the research building.
2.
“Eh, still, two weeks is a bit pretentious.”
“Ahaha…. Our president is a little young and doesn’t know what he’s doing. If we can do it in two weeks, why did we go through all that trouble?”
“Wait, so we’re working on the door repair project at the same time as we’re working on the curriculum for our foundations department?”
“What a hell of a start…. But hey, at least the latter will be easy, I gave him six years to do it….”
“It’s not six years, it’s two weeks.”
“No, I don’t know if I believe that.”
The research building of the Department of Fundamentals was like a stock office right after a historic big short.
The rational mind understood what was about to happen, but the emotions refused to accept it.
The door bursts open and Xiu walks in.
Behind him, materials floated in boxes.
“Let’s get to work, everyone.”
Denial is unproductive escapism.
Xiu grinned and gave the researchers a reality check.
-Tuck, tuck, tuck, tuck
The amount of data Yin Dong had accumulated had doubled from what the immigration office had kept.
On their way out, they stopped by the secretary’s office and received all the research materials on the door.
Librarian Gremory said that she was conducting research for the public good, and she readily agreed to compile the data.
“This can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real.”
“Daphne, wake up, Mr. President, Daphne’s research assistant has passed out, I’m going to take her to the hospital!”
“You’re still good with the jokes, that was fun.”
“Fun, you say…?”
Well, at least they’re all in good spirits.
Xiu smiled nonchalantly and gathered the researchers together.
They’re all excellent witches, even if they’re usually a bit rambunctious and noisy.
Therefore, she had no intention of treating them like slaves.
I’m just giving them a reasonable workload, albeit a little tightly controlled.
We give talented people the preferential treatment they deserve, with additional incentives based on performance.
Make sure they know what they’re doing and what it means.
If you do a vigil, we don’t just throw you a job, we stand by your side and provide you with room, board, and late-night snacks….
It’s a bit self-congratulatory, but what kind of president is this?
This is the quality of Count Xinxiu, president of the Hessian Society.
“With these steps, our team of researchers in the Department of Fundamentals will rewrite history, completely restoring a door that has been neglected for decades.”
The twenty-five researchers all had the same look on their faces when he finished his brief explanation.
Mouths hanging open, eyes dulled to nothing.
“Do you have any questions? If not, we’re going to get right to work.”
“I do. Are you sure you want to give me a two-week deadline? Two weeks… I don’t think I can even get through all this material.”
Daphne, who had collapsed earlier, regained her composure and asked.
“At worst, it could be delayed, but I believe in you, just as you believe in me.”
“The Dean is counting on us…. We have to live up to it….”
“No, get a grip, you still have to say something!”
Daphne shook the researcher, who was about to nod her head as if hypnotized by Xiu’s crisp smile, to bring her to her senses.
Hadn’t she fallen into this pattern before?
Only this time, she has to say what needs to be said.
“I understand that you’re working on a project, but don’t you think it’s a bit much to combine that with designing a curriculum for a pilot semester?”
The last march from hell gave us a rough outline of the curriculum.
But tinkering with the curriculum while the pilot is underway is something we’ll have to do in the interim.
Juggling such a large project and a curriculum at the same time is a workload and a schedule that borders on exploitation.
“It can be done.”
Xiu asserts to the skeptical researchers.
He sounds so confident that it’s almost convincing without any explanation.
Who is the man in front of us?
A pioneer in the history of making countless impossible things chewable, he might actually be able to do it.
“That’s right…. Witches don’t have to sleep, do they?”
“…….”
“They don’t need rest because their spirit bodies are strong.”
“…….”
“I remember when I was in school, and I was trying to prove the millennial problem, and I went to the emergency room because I threw up blood after sleeping for two hours for two months straight.” “…. I wish I had been a spirit body back then.”
“…The professor in charge of the president was also that…. Was he like the president? He was kind of a pushy….”
“No one made me do it, I was just having fun at the time, and I failed to control my pace. It’s always fun to explore the unknown.”
“Well, then why do you want to shorten the schedule by two weeks?”
“? Don’t you think it sucks to take a break when you’ve got a lot of work to do? I was doing you a favor.”
“…….”
Looking at Xiu’s transparent madness as he reminisced, the researchers were convinced.
The president doesn’t know the human heart.
“We’re running out of time. If there are no more questions, let’s get to work. Have fun researching until we both collapse.”
He’s a monster himself.
