A week after the lab tour began.

I had a hard time fending off countless love calls from professors.

There were interesting labs and not-so-interesting ones, but none that were worth joining.

The problem was that my current interests lay elsewhere.

How to create a gravity resonator—

"So our lab focuses more on theory and coding rather than experiments... Eidel? Are you listening?"

"Yes, what?"

I hunched my shoulders after being caught spacing out.

I had been thinking too deeply.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I imagine it must be boring for you since you already know all this."

Professor Feynman smiled. Right now, I'm touring his lab along with other prospective slaves.

Why waste time on this mandatory tour?

The lab didn't have any remarkable research equipment.

At best, there were just a few supercomputers with graphics cards more expensive than a postdoc's annual salary. A typical feature of theoretical physics labs.

"Shall we go get something to eat?"

Professor Feynman knocked on the door of the adjacent room.

Three haggard-looking men tumbled out.

"Food! Food!"

"Huff, huff!"

"Here's the company card, Professor!"

The expressions of the prospective graduate students hardened.

"Let me introduce them. From the left, these are Ian, Mercury, and Frans. Friends from our lab."

Hmm, what a mess.

Even while moving to the restaurant and ordering food, I continued my train of thought.

"Eidel. Eidel?"

"Yes, what?"

"Please choose your menu."

"Ah, yes. I'll have this."

I randomly pointed at something and passed the menu.

Meanwhile, in my head, Cartesia was wailing loudly.

I needed to appease her somehow.

"..."

When I closed my eyes, the world was dyed in silence.

I felt water soaking my feet, then opened my eyes in a fluctuating mental landscape. And there she was—the outer god skillfully manipulating her still-glowing tentacles like limbs.

"Hey, youngster."

Cartesia.

She approaches.

"You're wandering through my domain like it's your own living room."

Step, step.

"I don't like it."

Her fingertip aimed at my chin.

Whoosh!

Cartesia, who had bound my limbs with her tentacles, brought her face close to mine.

"If your integrity and mental strength were like that of a normal human, I would have killed you instantly."

I couldn't see her face, but I felt like she was grinning.

"Well, that's what makes you interesting."

"..."

"Now, youngster. If I wanted to, I could trap you here forever. I could stop you before you even start planning to trap outer gods like me in your gravity resonator."

That's probably not an empty threat.

Cartesia is powerful.

I looked at the other outer gods beneath her feet.

"Master, please give me coins. Coins."

"Heck, hack."

"Aah, good. Aah."

Those once lofty and arrogant outer gods.

In human form, wearing maid uniforms, they were writhing like slaves at Cartesia's feet.

A miserable life, surviving day by day by squeezing out prons.

It was disgustingly pitiful.

"No need for sympathy. They tried to kill you."

Ting!

Cartesia flicked something like a coin. The spinning object landed on an outer god's tongue.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you!"

"Give it here, it's mine."

"Do you both want to die? She bestowed it upon me!"

What a mess.

By the way, what Cartesia just threw was...

"A coin?"

"Yes, a coin, youngster."

"Where did it come from?"

"Want to know?"

Squeeze.

I felt pressure on my bound limbs.

"I'll tell you if you swear not to create that technology."

"Really? Then don't tell me."

Cartesia's expression loosened. Not in a good way. I still couldn't see her face, but I could feel her anger.

"So, this is as far as we go."

"Leaving?"

"There's a saying: if you don't like the monk, leave the temple."

"That's backwards."

"Here, I am the temple, human."

"Then I'm a renegade monk."

Cartesia frowned.

"Fine, let's do this."

I couldn't just let my calculator... I mean, my small and precious outer god leave like this.

I hastily added:

"This research is only meant to keep Saphaul and other outer gods in check. The gravity bomb research will take a long time. We need a preventive measure in the meantime, right? Do you agree so far?"

"...Well, yes."

"So I'll swear. Even if I make the resonator, I won't use it to trap the Alpha Centauri black hole."

"How can you guarantee that?"

I answered with a smile.

"<Binding>."

"Right. That exists."

Cartesia smiled back and flicked her hand.

As the tentacles released me, my consciousness returned to where it belonged.

And then.

"Your mint pineapple omelet, sir."

"What."

An abomination that could barely be called food appeared before me.

"Why did you order that?"

"I wonder."

I mumbled vaguely and shoveled a spoonful into my mouth.

"Hmm."

Better than expected.

***

Skill <Binding>.

A top-tier Descartes-type technique that connects outer gods with other outer gods, outer gods with constellations, or outer gods with humans through contracts.

Once activated, it remains in effect until both parties agree to terminate it.

Its effects include absolute compliance with the contract terms and severe penalties for violations.

True to its name, it forcibly creates a situation where neither party can betray the other.

[─<Binding> has been established.]

[─ 'Eidel von Rheinland' must not use gravity resonator technology on the 'Sgr A*' black hole.]

[─ In return, the 'God of Wisdom and Curiosity' must not leave 'Eidel von Rheinland's' cerebral cortex until his death.]

[─ If 'Eidel von Rheinland' violates this, he will be eternally trapped in the black hole where the 'God of Wisdom and Curiosity' resides and serve her as master.]

[─ If the 'God of Wisdom and Curiosity' violates this, she must surrender all prons acquired from 'Eidel von Rheinland'.]

An incredibly unfair contract.

But think about it.

Has there ever been an outer god who accommodates this much?

By any measure, I got off easy.

["Make sure you keep it."]

With Cartesia's admonition deeply engraved in my heart, I was about to board the orbital ascension ship when—

"Eidel!"

Professor Feynman called out to me.

"Huff, huff. It is you, Eidel. Where are you going now?"

"Ah, well..."

I quickly racked my brain.

"I'm worried about my girlfriend."

"...Girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"You have a girlfriend?"

Actually, I don't.

"May I ask who she is?"

"That's a secret."

"If it's a secret... I can't help it."

"Professor, of course research is my top priority."

I emphasized the word "research."

"Haha."

Feynman winked.

"I remember what I told you when you first contacted me."

"You said I should try dating, right?"

"Seems like you took it seriously."

No?

I was dumped before anything could even begin?

Though I have spent a few hot nights with research papers.

"Professor, did you ever date during your school days...?"

"Almost never."

The deceiver—I mean, the professor's dating stories went like this:

1. Someone confesses to him.

2. He rejects them because of stalled research.

1. Someone confesses again.

2. He rejects them because he's looking for journal publishers.

1. Someone confesses yet again.

2. He rejects them because he has to attend a conference.

"..."

"Like you, research always came first for me."

What kind of person is this?

"Do you regret it?"

"Half and half."

"Was there someone you liked?"

"There was one person, but we never dated."

"Why?"

"That's a secret."

Since he's not telling, it must be a story that would damage the other person's reputation. I decided not to ask further.

"Anyway, Eidel. Please be careful."

"The wind is cold. You be careful going home too, Professor."

That's how we parted.

Sonia sat next to me on the ascension ship.

"Young master, is it really alright to speak to him like that?"

"It's fine. I'm just going to check something quickly and come back."

And so began a half-day space journey. After passing through several warp gates, we arrived at—

"So this is Iryuel Academy."

Someone was waiting for me barefoot at the entrance.

"Rheinland, you came!"

It was Professor Kallis Stranov.

"It's quite cold outside, isn't it? Please come this way quickly."

Sonia and I entered her lab through a high-pass entrance.

Professor Stranov hurriedly brought us cocoa. Usually, they'd call over some overworked master's student to do this. Well, at least her personality passes.

Taking a sip, I tasted sweet and mellow flavors. It also provided warmth against the sudden drop in temperature from space.

"So, how was last week's colloquium?"

"It was really good."

Stranov's face brightened.

"Rheinland, are you close with Professor Feynman?"

"Yes."

"I see. He's known for his good character."

She unpacked compliments about Feynman like opening a bundle while guiding me to her lab.

"I do both theory and experiments. Mostly experiments though."

The lab Professor Stranov showed me was truly magnificent. It was as spacious as an orchestra hall with gleaming research equipment lined up.

She even had many rooms under her control.

"This device measures gravity with extreme precision. That one over there is designed to discover gravitons through Aether fusion reactions, and that's a gravity clamp we used when researching Aether Belt reinforcement."

"Ah, Professor, about that paper..."

"It's fine. Academia is competitive."

She says that, but I can see her eyebrows twitching.

"What do you think of our lab?"

"It's nice. The equipment is impressive, and it seems well-funded."

A smile bloomed on her face.

"Rheinland. We're scientists. Let's skip the roundabout talk since neither of us likes it. I'll ask directly."

She grabbed my shoulders and pressed her body close.

"Would you consider joining me?"

Like an anaconda constricting its prey, she wrapped around me and whispered:

"Here, you can do both theory and experiments as much as you want. The lab atmosphere is friendly. We offer full funding, and our research spectrum is much broader than Professor Feynman's."

She's as smooth as the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, with the added bonus of taking shots at Professor Feynman.

"Even just for your master's would be fine."

Professor Stranov was so close she could almost bite my ear.

"Would you like to do your graduate studies at Iryuel Academy?"