Chapter 40: Einstein’s Master

Those reporters wandering around outside had trapped me right inside my dorm room, so scared to show my face I didn’t even dare step outside.

"Sister, come out, I want to talk to you!" I spoke into the bracelet.

At my words, Athena materialized. However, Venus, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, tagged along as well. Pouting her little lips, she looked at me with an annoyed glare: "Smelly little bro, why do you never remember to call me out to play?"

I let out a forced laugh: "Even if I didn’t call you, didn’t you still come out?"

Venus glared at me, on the verge of starting an argument, but Athena cut in just in time: "Can’t you two give each other a break?"

"I wouldn’t lower myself to argue with this kid anyway! I’m saying, Fuitsu-kun, there’s no need to be scared of a few reporters, hiding inside like a timid turtle!" Venus puffed out her chest and put on a magnanimous front.

I was completely defeated by her. What does she mean, ’like a timid turtle’?!

I grumbled crossly, "I’m just trying to avoid trouble. You have no idea how annoying they are! After the entrance exams, a ton of reporters camped out right at my front door. Just because we refused interviews, they sat outside waiting day and night—they even broke the doorbell! We couldn’t even go out to buy groceries, so I had to stuff myself with biscuits that whole day. It was terrifying!"

"Then why did you call me out? To go chase those reporters away for you?" Venus asked.

I didn’t even call you in the first place! Though I certainly didn’t dare say that out loud. "I just wanted to chat with you two!"

"We aren’t comedians, we don’t do comedy skits!" Venus was still playing up her little attitude.

"Whoa, Miss Venus, you’re seriously incredible! You even know about small-time celebrities like that?! You really know everything under the sun and sky—you’re a living genius!" I flattered her almost shamelessly.

Though the flatteries were completely absurd, Venus thoroughly enjoyed them. She straightened her posture, a blooming smile on her face, and adopted a look that said ’you’re only realizing this now?’: "You don’t even look at who I am—I’m Venus, the Goddess of Love! Who doesn’t know my name?! Only a dummy little brother like you ignores my presence!"

With a look that said she couldn’t take it anymore, Athena interrupted: "Are you two done yet? Venus, if you keep being naughty, I won’t let you come out next time."

Athena was truly the only one who could handle her. Sticking out her tongue, Venus pulled on her own ears, pretending to look aggrieved: "Good sister, I won’t dare do it again!" She looked so utterly hilarious that even Athena was amused, shaking her head at her helplessly.

"Sister, my brain is too dumb. Is there any way to make me smarter?" I asked expectantly.

"That’s right, Fuitsu-kun is just way too dumb, Sister, help him out!" Venus never missed a chance to take a jab at me.

"Hehe, everyone is actually the same; there’s no real difference between being smart or dumb. Fuitsu-kun, your grades never improved simply because your heart wasn’t set on studying. Coupled with a lack of confidence and poor learning methods, you just couldn’t absorb the material," Athena explained.

"Then where do your magical spells and those golden or colorful lights come from?"

"Those are cultivation techniques and methods for utilizing natural forces that I learned, passed down from an ancient era. Back in our time, many people knew these basic techniques; we were simply more proficient and possessed greater power!" Athena said.

"Then why do you all have different identities, like Goddess of Wisdom or Goddess of Love?"

"I don’t know either. When we were first born, those brands were already imprinted inside our bodies, almost like an ancient inheritance. Once our powers awakened, all those memories appeared along with them, making the use of these incredible divine skills as natural as breathing!"

"Then can I learn those spells and golden lights too?" Hearing that those magical powers could be learned, I couldn’t wait to start.

"Back then, each god had many believers, and we gods imparted these techniques to them through the power of faith. But it won’t work now. We are currently merely in a soul state and cannot complete such a ritual at all, so I can’t teach you," Athena said apologetically.

Hearing Athena’s words, a surge of disappointment washed over me.

"Although I can’t teach you how to control natural forces, helping you boost your academic performance is no problem at all!" Seeing my disappointed face, Athena quickly added.

"Really?! That’s awesome! As long as I can get smarter, that’s enough for me!"

"Call you dumb and you really act silly enough. Didn’t she just say we can’t alter your inherent conditions? We can only give you methods and shortcuts—how much effect it has still depends on your own effort! Though in this modern era, it should be more than enough. No matter how dumb you are, you can’t be dumber than Albert Einstein was as a kid, right? Sister just saw him getting bullied back then, took pity on him, and casually taught him a little something, which led to his legendary achievements later on!" Venus bobbed her head and chimed in.

"That incredible?! Quick, teach me! I really want to learn!" I said excitedly. I certainly knew who Einstein was—I didn’t expect to reach his heights, but having even half his capability would serve me for a lifetime.

Athena gave a gentle smile, waved her hand at me, and said, "Come over here. I’ll tell you secretly—someone over there has been eyeing this for a long time!" As she spoke, she glanced toward Venus, teasing her.

Venus puffed her lips in a pout and said huffily, "I don’t care about it at all! That’s stuff only dummies need. How could a genius like me need something like that? Hmph, I’m ignoring you two!" With that, she sat on the edge of the bed and began sulking.

Walking over to Athena’s side, she said with a smile: "It’s actually very simple: all you need to do is achieve a photographic memory, and then learn to think independently. Among these, a photographic memory is the hardest to master. But as long as you can quiet your mind when doing anything, cultivate an interest in reading and studying, self-hypnotize yourself into believing you have a great memory, learn to understand the meaning while reading, promptly review what you’ve learned, and finally combine it with my self-created Instant Memory Incantation, it’ll be OK! However, if you fail to cast aside all distracting thoughts during this process, it won’t have any effect!"

"Is there no method where I don’t have to read books and can just instantly understand everything?" Hearing such a long series of steps made my head spin.

"Fuitsu-kun, thinking like that is a huge mistake! How could anything in this world be achieved overnight? Even gods like us, who inherited ancient powers, had to go through tens of thousands of years of trials before truly becoming immortal. When you feel things come too easily, you won’t treasure them. Only by going through the process will you truly grow up!" Athena scolded gently.

"Oh, I understand! How about we give it a try right now?" I quickly nodded and admitted my mistake.

"Sounds good. I can teach you the incantation along the way!"

Hearing Athena say this, I quickly grabbed a cap to wear on my head. Athena pulled Venus up from the bed, and pushing the door open, the three of us hurried off toward the library.