Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 36 Inquiry

Swish.

Time flies, and another six days have passed.

Today is Tuesday of the ninth week of school. It's sunny and the sky is clear.

Link was in a good mood.

Just yesterday evening, the first two experiments in the experimental protocol were finally completed.

The data for Group D (problem seed, unadded, naturally germinating) that we had been waiting for so long has also been collected.

Link immediately entered the data into the already written "paper" and checked it several times to make sure there were no problems.

As for the third experiment, there were simply no conditions to continue it.

Given the limited space of the greenhouse simulation equipment, it is already quite remarkable that it can support six groups of germination experiments.

I bought this secondhand item for two standard level one magic stones, what more could I want?

If Linke wanted to continue with the third experiment, the most suitable place would be the Third Botanical Garden.

Unfortunately, he was only working there part-time, not conducting research.

However, Link included his speculation that the new germination method might have a positive impact on the yield of high-quality silver star flowers in the analysis and discussion section of the "paper".

Of course, it was only mentioned briefly, without going into too much detail.

This morning, as soon as the college's "paper" review office began accepting submissions, Link used his personal smart device to navigate through several hidden links to the "paper publication" page and publish his "paper".

Link quickly received a reply:

"Link Grand, your paper has been received. Please wait patiently for the review. You will be notified of the review results in a timely manner."

Link stopped worrying about it and focused on his class.

However, an accident occurred right after the first long lecture.

Link received a notification from the "dissertation" review office that he needed to be questioned about certain issues concerning the "dissertation".

This struck Link as odd.

According to the normal process, a "paper" usually has three review results: revision, approval, and rejection.

Unless it involves academic ethics, the authors of the "paper" will be called in for questioning.

Link was certain that he had neither plagiarized nor copied anything, so he remained calm and not flustered at all.

After finishing his second lecture with peace of mind, Link told Jasmine about the general situation and then rushed to the administration building where the "thesis" review office was located.

After enrolling, Link only passed by this building a few times and never went inside.

Fifth floor, the "Dissertation" review office.

The door was open.

Link knocked on the door, and only entered the office after hearing a "Come in" from inside.

Looking up, Link realized that the person sitting behind the desk was someone he knew. No wonder the voice sounded familiar.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "The Wizard of Paro?"

Before the wizard aptitude test, Link spied on the wizard Paro, but couldn't see his face at all.

Through testing and becoming a new blood member, Link finally saw the appearance of the wizard Paro.

It has been more than two months since the "White Sail" ship left port.

The wizarding world is so vast that Link thought they would never meet again.

I never expected to meet you again today, what a coincidence!

"Um."

The wizard Paro, still unwilling to elaborate unless absolutely necessary, gave a curt reply and then cut to the chase, "Link Grand, was your 'thesis' completed independently, without any plagiarism or copying?"

After a slight pause, perhaps remembering that Link was a new blood he had brought to the main continent, the wizard Paro reminded him, "Making mistakes is not terrible; honesty is very important."

"Thank you for the reminder, Wizard Paro."

Link, being observant and not ungrateful, immediately thanked him and then explained.

"The new method for promoting the germination of silver star flowers was developed independently by me, and the 'paper' was also written independently after I conducted further experiments and obtained data. I have sufficient evidence to support my claims and can stand by them."

"In the introduction to your 'paper,' you mentioned that while working part-time at the Third Botanical Garden, you were responsible for germinating a batch of silver star flower seeds, and because there was no specific germination method, you developed one yourself. Is that true?"

The wizard Paro asked again, seemingly confirming something.

"It's the truth. I didn't exaggerate or smear anyone."

Link couldn't quite grasp the deeper meaning, but after thinking for a moment, he replied in this way.

"it is good."

The wizard Paro gestured towards the door with his eyes, "Wait outside for a moment. If necessary, you will need to provide relevant evidence."

"Yes, Wizard Paro."

Link readily agreed, took a step or two back, and then turned and went out.

Outside the office door.

Link encountered a familiar stranger, Sophie Lucia.

"really!"

With a sigh, Link's first reaction upon receiving the notification was that Sophie Lucia had caused some trouble.

Link has now been proven right, but he is not happy at all.

What was originally going very smoothly has now been complicated by a lot of trouble.

It is no coincidence.

Sophie Lucia was also very surprised to see Link.

What are you doing here?

Sophie and Link exchanged a glance and suddenly asked.

"Accepting inquiries regarding questions related to 'papers'."

There's nothing that can't be said to others, so Link didn't hide anything and simply spoke his mind.

This was an unexpected answer from Sophie, far beyond her expectations.

Because she was also called in to be questioned.

Just last night, Sophie's latest experiment yielded results.

So this morning, she published her carefully prepared "paper".

But Sophie always believed that the problem lay elsewhere.

For example, she may have triggered certain mechanisms of the Tatarling intelligent management center of the Third Botanical Garden.

Tarling will document all of Link Grand's work during his part-time job at the Third Botanical Garden, including the new method for germinating silver star flowers.

She once used her authority as acting headmaster to access Link Grand's work log through Tarling.

If the "paper" review office requests Sophie's "paper" and related records and data from Tarling, Tarling may also send Link Grand's work records in the same package.

Sophie never expected that she would be summoned for questioning not because of the Tower Spirit, but because of Link Grand, that country bumpkin.

When did a country bumpkin who has been enrolled for less than three months become able to independently figure out the relevant rules before even taking a full course on research, experiments, "papers," and "patents"?

This is absolutely outrageous!

In Link, Sophie seemed to see the shadow of several top geniuses in the North District who were dazzling and far ahead of their peers in every aspect.

With a mix of emotions she couldn't quite define, Sophie Lucia walked into the review office with a cold expression.

Faced with a series of questions from the wizard Paro, Sophie dared not hide anything or lie, and truthfully recounted the whole story.

"Link Grand, come in."

After listening to the two men's accounts and comparing them with the records from the Third Botanical Garden, the wizard Paro made his own judgment.

He was prepared to cut the Gordian knot and put an end to the matter.

(End of this chapter)