༺ Lecture (3) ༻
“Sigh….”
Eon let out a deep sigh, reflecting on how things had ended up this way.
The situation was clear, of course. It was Dr. Brown’s desperate plea during our first reunion in a long time that had driven me into this predicament.
‘I refuse.’
‘Please, just once! It’s not like it’s between strangers, it’s between you and me!’
‘I refuse. And it’s not like we’re in any kind of relationship.’
‘How can a person be so cruel! Even if you prick with a needle, not a single drop of blood would come out!’
‘……’
In fact, if I was pricked with a needle, no blood would come out because the needle couldn’t penetrate my skin.
Anyway, the reason I had to accept Dr. Brown’s request wasn’t because he persistently followed me around for about an hour to the point of a headache, but because of ‘that’ he promised he would give me if I would demonstrate the test.
Refusing the demonstration on personal grounds wasn’t an option, considering the considerable reward Dr. Brown had promised.
And when I actually saw the prototype with my own eyes, its appearance seemed quite plausible, which also played a part.
Although I had a strange feeling…
I grabbed the handle of the two-wheeled magic-powered automatic carriage, or magic bike for short, developed by Dr. Brown.
I couldn’t understand how a two-wheeled magic-powered automatic carriage came to be abbreviated as a bike, but since the person who first named it was Emperor Philion, I just accepted it as it was.
“Hmm….”
What Dr. Brown asked of me was just one thing.
To bring out the performance of this machine to its limit.
To test the limits of the machine, I had to perform a variety of aggressive actions, such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, and driving at maximum speed. In such cases, it was difficult to ensure the safety of the demonstrator, but Dr. Brown seemed to believe that I could safely escape in any eventuality.
Rather, it was fortunate. I rode because I did not know when the secret might blow, but it meant that it was okay to handle this bike recklessly from the beginning, thinking it would blow up.
The place where I was now was the plain area outside of Shangria.
Being a flat land with nothing around, it was a perfect place to run with ease.
You said that if you let go of the brake and pull the throttle, it moves forward…
As I pulled the throttle hard, a loud noise burst from the engine of the magic bike.
-Vroom!
With the sudden acceleration, I felt like my body was being pulled back, and in an instant, I shot forward.
***
The people gathered in the classroom couldn’t take their eyes off the video on the screen.
The giant machine, made up of two wheels and reminiscent of a horse, seemed to be running forward quickly, and suddenly it lifted its front wheel and drove on one wheel.
When decelerating rapidly, the rear wheel lifted and stood completely horizontally, precarious as if it might fall over, but Eon seemed to balance in that state and rushed forward at an even faster speed.
It raced through the plains at a speed several times faster than a horse, and soon Eon was racing towards a forest with dense trees.
“Uh-oh!”
“Dangerous!”
Despite the dangerous situation that seemed to collide with a tree with a slight mistake, Eon did not slow down but stuck his body tightly to the machine and turned the handle. Each time, people couldn’t help but admire the sight of him barely skimming past the trees and running through the forest.
“Oh…”
“How could he do that?”
It was astonishing to see a new machine running at such speed, but the rider’s amazing control skills and courage also evoked admiration.
No matter how excellent the performance of the machine was, it seemed unlikely that anyone else would be able to display the level of control that the rider in front of them was demonstrating.
Even now, the speed at which Eon was running through the forest was so fast that the filming ziggler chasing him missed the screen intermittently.
Dr. Brown was also admiring the same.
Like a child, he focused on the screen with an excited voice and clenched his fist.
“Heehee! I knew I was right! Ho, those actions from there? Even such aggressive actions and the drive system can handle it? Then we can skip the stability test! Good! Show me more, huh- ahem!”
He almost made a slip of the tongue due to his excitement over the successful collection of valid experimental data, but fortunately, no one noticed his mistake.
Everyone was engrossed in the scenes on the video.
The ride was heading towards the end. Eon seemed to have shown most of what was worth showing, stopped his acrobatics in the forest, increased his speed, and exited the forest.
But those who watched the video were startled and surprised. On the screen captured by the camera, a cliff was waiting in the direction Eon was heading.
Eventually, Eon and the bike could not slow down and fell from the cliff.
“Kyaaa!”
“No! It’s dangerous!!”
Everyone was appalled and focused their gaze on the screen. The only people who did not startle much even after seeing that scene were a few people, including Marian, who knew that the identity of the rider was the Malevolent Star.
However, they too couldn’t hide their astonishment at the next scene.
Jumping off the cliff, Eon sharply turned the handle of the machine, changing the direction of the fall by rotating 180 degrees in the air. That direction was the wall of the cliff.
Pulling the throttle to the end, the engine roared, and the bike’s wheels touched the slope of the cliff. Soon, the bike began to race down the sharp cliff as if sliding.
“Crazy….”
“Is that even possible?”
Eon swiftly descended the cliff, using slightly protruding rocks and stones as footholds. Despite the possibility of falling straight down with the slightest mistake, Eon leaned his body and turned the handle without hesitation, continuing his acrobatics.
Everyone was astounded by his remarkable riding skills. It seemed that even the mountain goats living in the highlands couldn’t perform such feats on the cliff.
Even Dr. Brown, despite having provided the bike, was momentarily under the impression that Eon might have ridden it several times already. Such was the fantastic acrobatic ride that it was hard to imagine it was his first time.
Eventually, when Eon and the bike safely arrived at the bottom of the cliff, everyone started to cheer and applaud.
“Woahhhh!!”
“He’s really crazy! Totally insane!!”
“I thought my heart was going to drop, seriously!!”
That was the moment. The moment Eon took off the goggles he was wearing.
Marian, who had recognized Instructor Eon earlier from his hair and features, wasn’t greatly surprised, but Gwyn next to her opened her mouth as if surprised to recognize Eon.
“Huh? Instructor?”
But Gwyn wasn’t the only one in the classroom who was surprised.
Nearly half of the cheering students stopped cheering and held their breath. They were all female students.
Eon had only shown himself at the official podium during the entrance ceremony. However, the entrance ceremony was a crowded place with over a thousand new students, and only a few students attended the ceremony.
So it was almost the first time that the upperclassmen had seen Eon’s face properly.
“Is, is that Instructor Eon-!? Ugh!”
“Kyaaa!”
“What’s going on!?”
“Senior Rose just collapsed!”
Diamond White’s fourth-year student, Rose von Kruger, suddenly collapsed, complaining of shortness of breath.
Other female students, though their situations differed, showed similar reactions. Some students stared at the screen with dazed eyes, and others just muttered in awe.
While the male students were enthusiastic about Dr. Brown’s new machine and the exciting ride using it, the female students were enthralled with the demonstration for different reasons.
“What on earth….”
Regardless, Marian, who had been watching this, couldn’t help but admit that Dr. Brown’s lecture was very successful.
***
After a short ride.
I had to admit it. I must say that this demonstration was quite interesting.
The maximum speed of the bike was similar to the maximum speed I could achieve when running. However, moving by running and by riding a bike felt significantly different, and I even felt refreshed when driving dangerously through the forest, cutting through the wind.
I even tried to overload the machine to its maximum by jumping off the cliff at the end, but the bike endured even that.
In the end, I had to acknowledge that Dr. Brown’s prototype was a rather impressive piece of equipment.
While thinking that it would be convenient to have one of these, I received a magical communication through the communicator in my pocket.
The caller was, of course, Dr. Brown.
“Hehehe! You’ve worked very hard! Thanks to you, I was able to collect a lot of useful experimental data!”
“How was the lecture?”
“It was a huge success! Absolutely perfect! Not only the students but also the sponsors seem to be satisfied. Based on the data you’ve helped gather, I think I might be able to launch the bike in the general market along with the non-disclosure agreement next year!”
“That’s good to hear. Where should I return this?”
“Hmm? Ah, you mean the prototype? Hmm….”
After a very brief moment of thought, Dr. Brown cheerfully said,
“Just keep it.”
“Is that alright?”
“I had made it, anticipating it would break down from the start. But since it didn’t, it must be some sort of fate. You showed a much cooler ride than I expected, so consider it as my gratitude.”
I nodded slightly and said,
“If you say so, I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Hehe! Once again, it’s proven that my design abilities are the best in the continent. If you need anything else in the future, let me know!”
“……”
I’d rather not have to contact him again.
Anyway, I managed to get a bike along with the things I’d receive for doing him a favor.
Given the time spent, it was a pretty worthwhile task.
I turned the handle towards the dormitory and pulled the throttle with all my might.
Soon, the bike began to race towards the dormitory.
