Audit Points

"A lady?"

Rainer found it a little strange. Claire had used neither "Your Excellency" nor "mage," but simply "lady." It seemed the visitor had not come with the review comments on his paper.

"Let's go to the reception room first."

He made his decision, then looked at the envelope in his hand.

The front of the snow-white envelope read, "To Mr. Rainer Ian Gray," while the back bore the crest of the High Council.

An eye representing knowledge stood within a doorway representing Truth. The crest gave off a faint magical aura. Rainer extended a finger and quickly confirmed its authenticity.

"Nervous?"

Claire swallowed beside him, staring intently at the envelope in Rainer's hand.

"Nervous? Why would I be nervous?"

Rainer smiled and opened the envelope.

"If you firmly believe what you have stated is the truth, then all you need to do is wait for an objective evaluation."

He unfolded the letter, where the comments on the paper had been written in elegant cursive.

Skipping the summary section, Rainer looked directly at the final review:

Dear Mr. Rainer Ian Gray, regarding your paper, <A Discussion of the Special Gas Produced in Limestone Heating Experiments and Several Questions Regarding Traditional Combustion Theory>, after careful review, the Review Committee has reached the following evaluation: The paper is meticulously formatted, its experimental design is distinctive and considerably innovative, its methods of quantitative analysis are worthy of promotion, and its measurements of the new substance's special properties are highly rigorous. At the same time, several questions raised by the paper regarding traditional combustion theory are worth exploring. However, due to the author's lack of familiarity with cutting-edge theories, the paper's conclusions contain certain deviations, though it still holds reference value.

The paper has passed review. A reward of fifty academic points is hereby granted.

"Fifty, huh?"

Rainer murmured.

For a newcomer, fifty academic points was already quite generous. Even a pioneering paper by an academic authority in a particular field generally earned only around a hundred points.

Still, it was a little less than Rainer had expected.

"A lack of cutting-edge theory?"

He noticed that line and found it strange. What theory could possibly shake chemistry? Or was this world fundamentally somewhat different after all?

But Claire quickly interrupted Rainer's thoughts.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Fifty points! Am I seeing this right?!"

Claire had dutifully started reading from the beginning and had only just finished the entire review, so she was a beat behind.

Yet she was still incredibly excited, waving her arms about and nearly throwing herself into Rainer's embrace. Realizing her lapse in composure, Claire immediately took two steps back and put on an appearance of keeping her distance.

"It seems the experiment still lacked sufficient persuasive power."

Rainer remained calm. In truth, he had not expected to shatter an Alchemy system that had endured for three hundred years with just one paper. He only hoped to earn more points and see how receptive this world's academic circles were to new ideas.

"With an evaluation of fifty points, submitting to Alchemy seems a little difficult. Looks like I can only accept the commissioned piece from Monthly Alchemist Griffin."

Rainer thought about it. Articles published in Alchemy required a review score of at least seventy points. The paper in his hands had barely reached the threshold, and the comments about cutting-edge theory bothered him greatly. It was better not to submit rashly.

"You actually seriously considered submitting to Alchemy?"

Claire had originally thought Rainer was merely joking, but he had apparently meant it.

"Either way, at least we have fifty points in hand. We're still fifty points short of the minimum needed to prevent the school from being shut down. All we can do is hope to write another paper during this period."

Shrugging, Rainer put away the review comments and headed toward the reception room. For now, he could only focus on selling Cola. Earning enough money would allow him to conduct research more effectively.

"Ah, wait for me."

Claire was still immersed in shock. Only after Rainer had gone some distance did she snap back to her senses, lift the skirt of her maid outfit slightly, and scamper after him with a patter.

The reception room was inside the administrative tower. When Rainer arrived, the visitor seemed to have been waiting for quite some time. She was standing by the window, one hand resting on the sill as she looked outside.

The lady wore a shirt and trousers, with short light-golden hair. At first glance, she looked like a handsome young man. Hearing the movement, she turned around and looked somewhat surprised when she saw Rainer.

"I had heard that the third son of the Ian Gray Family was handsome and dashing, but seeing you in person, you seem to possess an even steadier air."

She spoke and extended her hand to Rainer. Her movements were crisp and efficient, making her seem highly capable.

"I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Oriana Russell, editor-in-chief of Daily Priest. My daughter, Ivanna, is currently studying at Crescent Academy."

"Hello. Please, have a seat first."

Rainer could tell at once that she was the sort of formidable career woman who would be difficult to handle.

But she had mentioned her daughter. Could she be a parent here to complain to the school?

Rainer knew that some people believed an aristocratic girls' school ought to remain pure, and that allowing a man among the students would have a considerable impact on them. Deep down, they felt Rainer should get out of Crescent Academy. In fact, after moving in, he had already received several tactfully worded letters from parents. Was she another one?

"May I ask what brings Ms. Oriana to Crescent Academy?"

As he asked, Rainer looked directly into her eyes with an innocent expression.

"Actually, I'm not here because of Ivanna."

But Oriana's next sentence dismissed Rainer's guess. She took a bottle from the bag she carried, placed it on the table, and then asked,

"Headmaster Ian Gray, I came because of this."

Claire looked at the bottle and found it familiar. After thinking for a moment, she realized it was a Cola bottle produced by the Antoine Alchemy Workshop.

Was there something wrong with the taste of the Cola? Had it caused an adverse reaction? Or had it violated some obscure regulation?

As she nervously made wild guesses, Oriana smiled and said to the two of them,

"I visited many places before finally finding the source of this miraculous drink. Headmaster Ian Gray, I would like to do an exclusive interview with you. The title will be Rainer Ian Gray—Founder of a New Era of Taste. What do you think?"

"Huh?"

Before Rainer could answer, Claire let out a puzzled sound and sought confirmation.

"Um, Ms. Oriana, you mean...?"

"This is the most delicious drink I have ever had. You two, I believe this beverage will become popular across the entire continent in the future."

Oriana spoke with an expression of lingering delight, her eyes shining as though an explorer had finally discovered a treasure.