The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 114

“Please wear this bracelet before entering.”

It was a mana-sealing and detection-blocking magical device.

“Why do I need to do this?”

“It’s a casino operating rule. If you disagree, you cannot enter.”

It was a standard procedure.

Similarly, any casino in the empire enforced such restrictions.

‘Otherwise, mages and knights would completely take advantage.’

This world intermingled magic with everyday life.

Many casino games incorporated magic.

‘If mages or knights could detect the casino’s magic operations, it would be the same as cheating.’

The security guard reassured me as if to ease any concerns.

“If you’re worried about the safety due to mana sealing, don’t be. In an emergency, you can easily unseal it yourself. However, discreetly removing it triggers an immediate alarm and expulsion.”

I nodded and put on the bracelet.

A dizzying sensation followed.

‘Hmm. Being sealed from sensing mana feels strange.’

While my own mana was barely noticeable, being sealed felt different because my sense of magic was unparalleled, thanks to my Master of Magic abilities.

It was like being deprived of one of the senses, almost as if my vision was obscured.

‘Can I really investigate properly like this?’

Frowning, an unexpected voice reached my ears.

“Who do we have here? Isn’t this Professor Van? What an esteemed visitor we have.”

A smooth voice.

Sleazy but as handsome as Theren.

It was Senin.

‘Why is he here? The general manager dispatched by the Rapalt family is Senin?’

Seeing Senin’s face confirmed one thing even more.

‘There must be foul play involved with this casino.’

The reason for my certainty was simple.

Because Senin was here.

‘Senin has always been willing to use any means for success.’

Worse than a villain, the initial public opinion of Senin was akin to that of a despicable protagonist.

‘It’s due to the teachings of his father, Duke Volman. To succeed, one must not be selective about the methods used.’

Of course, Senin hadn’t participated in the dreadful wrongdoings committed by Duke Volman.

He was still too young to have stepped into the ‘deep darkness’ of the Rapalt Ducal family.

‘Even without that, at this point, he’s quite the villain. He does reform after enduring many hardships once the Rapalt family falls.’

Senin offered me a card with a cunning smile.

“It’s an honor to have the best professor from Ruby visit us. Please accept this VIP card.”

“What is this card for?”

“It grants preferential exchange rates from cash to game coins and allows for instant credit loans. Just show it to the dealer for immediate loan approval. Feel free to use it.”

I thought to myself with a smirk.

‘Looks like he’s hoping I’ll go bankrupt.’

Still so naive?

Despite his friendly demeanor, the hostility in his eyes was unmistakable.

‘It’s hard to believe such a person will become a great merchant supporting humanity’s vault in the future.’

Nonetheless, I accepted the card Senin handed to me.

“Thank you. I’ll make good use of the VIP card.”

I looked directly into Senin’s eyes and continued,

“The kindness you’ve shown today will be reciprocated soon enough.”

Reciprocation.

A proper lesson from a professor to a misbehaving student should suffice.

 

* * *

 

However, my thoughts hit a wall the moment I stepped into the casino.

“This is the casino.”

“Woah, woah, woah, amazing.”

Catherine and Libel looked around like country mice who’d just arrived in the city for the first time.

I didn’t show it, but I was slightly surprised too.

‘Such extravagance? It makes Kangwon Land look like nothing. This isn’t a casino; it’s more like a ballroom. And incredibly loud at that.’

Everything was sparkling.

It made sense why this was a craze at the academy.

The crowd seemed less like they were here to gamble and more like they were visiting an amusement park.

The problem was,

‘I can’t guess what kind of trickery they’re employing.’

Despite closely observing the gambling activities for any deceit, none was apparent.

‘Even with my mana senses sealed, they shouldn’t be able to fool my eyes.’

Then, Mari unexpectedly poked her head out of my magical pouch.

For context, me carrying around a baby dragon was somewhat an open secret, so I’ve been more relaxed about hiding her lately.

Yay… good… !

“Good?”

Yup! Want to live here… feels nice!

I made an odd face.

Mari was of a great dragon lineage, supposed to inherently dislike such gambling environments.

Cozy… nice! Feels soft!!

‘That reminds me.’

I too had felt something similar.

A kind of pleasant feeling?

‘Not like they’ve drugged the place, right?’

It wasn’t that type of euphoria.

It felt more akin to the refreshing sensation under a clear, bright sun.

‘Ah. It’s because of blessing magic.’

I faintly sensed blessings amidst the noisy surroundings.

Not entirely unexpected.

‘Offering blessings to make guests feel moderately good is a tactic used in high-end restaurants and department stores.’

But why did it feel off?

Just as I was pondering the unease,

“Why don’t you try a game, Professor?”

“I’m focused on investigating to see if there’s any issue.”

“You’ll know more accurately if you try it yourself. Or are you afraid of losing money?”

I flinched.

This is a secret, but I’ve always been notoriously unlucky with money, even back on Earth.

‘I was the master of buying high and selling low in stocks.’

“Stop standing around and try it! It’s fun. I won a lot of money!”

“I, I also… won money. Professor… may I… buy you something delicious today? Should I make a reservation first? Catherine, you’re not invited.”

Both seemed to be riding on the beginner’s luck.

Since I wasn’t getting anywhere with just observing, I decided to participate in a game directly.

But then.

‘What?’

   

The Judgment of the Gambler shone through in the casino battles!

‘If I play my cards right, could I become rich? Just bet big when the odds are high!’

Dreams of quick riches distracted me from my original purpose as I continued on a winning streak.

33.7%

Pass.

63.2%

Go.

82.1%

Strong go!!

“Isn’t that Professor Van? He’s doing quite well, isn’t he?”

“But who did he come with? Who would accompany Professor Van here?”

“Seems like he came with a student? Even if he has no friends to come with, bringing a student… Isn’t that a bit of an abuse of power by the professor?”

‘It wasn’t my idea to come together; the kids suggested it first!’

I bristled internally but ignored the whispers.

An unbelievable message appeared before my eyes.

97.3%

‘Really?’

Whispers from beside me floated over.

“Looking at the dealer’s open cards, the dragon has been defeated by the knight.”

“And Professor Van’s open cards are incredibly strong. Isn’t this going to cause a scene?”

Even to the naked eye, the situation seemed extremely favorable for me.

But why bother analyzing?

The Judgement of the Gambler was screaming 97.3%.

‘At this rate, it’s practically 100%.’

“I’m going all in.”

I pushed forward all the money I’d brought and won so far.

It felt like priorities had shifted, but missing an opportunity to earn money seemed foolish.

‘Heh, how much will I win with this? Maybe I should even use the VIP card’s loan?’

Pappa! Go!

Mari excitedly cheered as well.

With this VIP card, I could borrow far more than I did for the recent house purchase.

Just as I was about to apply for the loan, entranced,

‘Something’s wrong. How could I, with my history of financial losses, suddenly start winning so easily?’

I hesitated.

The instinct I felt now was similar to when I bought stocks at their peak in my previous life.

‘Every time I bet with conviction, I ended up losing big.’

That wasn’t all.

Senin’s mocking laughter echoed in my mind, intensifying my unease.

‘Something’s wrong. Since when am I, a cautious person, bold enough to bet such a large sum?’

The memory of Mari’s excited cheering felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over me.

This wasn’t a normal situation.

“…I’m canceling the bet. Back to half of what I originally bet. No, make that half of the half.”

“Why would he give up such an opportunity?”

Despite the murmurs from the crowd, I ignored them.

I even disregarded the win probability predictor.

Then, the results came in, and my eyes widened in disbelief.

“!!”

“Wow, Professor Van lost.”

“How could that hand come up in such a situation? Such bad luck.”

“No, this is good luck if you think about it. If he had stuck with the original large bet, the reversed score would have meant losing almost all his money.”

I stiffened my face, not simply because of the loss.

It was because of why I lost.

Precisely, it was because of the message that had just popped up.

‘What’s this?’

   

The win probability suddenly changed from 97.3% to 0.37%.

‘What in the world?’

Others might have dismissed the scene as just another day at the casino, where dramatic turnarounds are commonplace.

If it weren’t for the win predictor, I would have just chalked it up to bad luck and moved on.

‘An unexpected variable? What kind of variable?’

I initially thought it might be magical trickery, but that wasn’t it.

Even with my senses sealed, I wouldn’t have missed such blatant deceit.

‘A sudden change in win probability as if by miracle?’

That’s when it hit me.

I swallowed hard.

There was one way, without using deceit, to cause what just happened.

‘It’s the power of blessings.’

 

* * *

 

Magic branches off into several categories.

A primary example is the ‘Elementary Magic’ that manipulates elements like fire, water, and wind.

Other categories include ‘Manipulation Magic’ and ‘Summoning & Incarnation Magic.’

These three are considered the major fields of magic.

Then there are the minor fields, notably ‘Dark Magic,’ which deals with the power of curse, and ‘Holy Magic,’ which handles the power of blessings.

The sudden dive into such details was due to the trickery employed by Senin.

‘He spread holy magic of blessings across the casino to boost winning probabilities at critical moments.’

Blessings can be incredibly diverse.

From objectively enhancing abilities with buffs to vaguely improving ‘luck.’

‘For significant bets, they placed blessings to improve the casino’s luck. Thus, without any deceit, the winning probabilities were manipulated.’

But that wasn’t all.

‘For smaller stakes, they placed blessings to enhance the guests’ winning probabilities, along with courage blessings to make them more daring in their bets.’

Normally, these types of blessings aren’t visible to the naked eye, making them difficult to detect.

‘Plus, with the mana-sealing bracelets, especially stronger seals for high-level mages, it further disrupted sensory perception.’

The key smokescreen was the casino-wide blessing that made everyone feel good.

With such a blessing overlaid, and senses sealed, it was impossible to notice any other faint blessings.

The noisy bands and events akin to a theme park further numbed the senses.

“Oh, enjoying yourself? I thought you’d be bankrupt by now, but it seems you’re quite lucky.”

That’s when Senin appeared, smirking.

“I’ve caught on to your scheme. Do you think this will be tolerated?”

“Hmm.”

Senin seemed slightly surprised.

But then,

“Typical Professor Van. But do you have evidence?”

“What?”

“You won’t have a way to prove it, will you?”

There’s a saying that blessings are like the wind.

Unlike elemental magic like water or fire, which are visible, blessings show vague effects and vanish like smoke, making them difficult to prove.

Especially when multiple blessings are deployed simultaneously, a tactic known as ‘jamming,’ it becomes even harder to prove the specific effects of blessings on someone.

The only way is to secure an artifact imbued with blessings or catch the act of casting holy magic, but they wouldn’t allow that to happen.

“Baselessly slandering someone without evidence can lead to a defamation charge with significant damages, you know?.”

It was a threat.

Truly cunning.

I realized one thing.

‘…A proper lesson is needed more than I thought.’