The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 124
I speculated about the reason Johan’s holy power was cut off.
It was highly likely that he had been afflicted by a Heart Demon.
“Are you really doing well these days?”
“Yes, as I mentioned earlier. I’ve been living each day to the fullest, faithfully following the teachings you gave me.”
Johan answered vigorously.
He seemed completely unaffected by a Heart Demon.
‘No, it’s not so simple to judge from the outside.’
Perhaps Johan himself wasn’t even aware of it.
Heart Demons can consume one’s spirit without their awareness.
‘This is the most difficult type to deal with.’
For now, we agreed to meet again later, and I returned to my accommodation.
‘…This episode seems even tougher than I thought.’
Joanna wasn’t the only issue.
The suspiciously behaving Brother Ron.
Duchess Beth.
The unexpected villain protagonist of the Magic Department.
And now Johan’s slump.
Obstacles were piling up.
‘Who knows how much more difficult the episode will become.’
Lost in various thoughts, the time for the special lecture came quickly.
“…And that concludes my lecture.”
Applause erupted!!
Lanian’s special lecture had just ended before my turn.
His lecture was impressive, earning a thunderous round of applause from the students.
“Next, it’s Professor Van’s turn. Please come up to the podium.”
The special lecture competition was arranged in pairs, with two professors competing in lecture evaluation tournaments.
After Lanian, it was my turn to take the baton and give a lecture.
“Let’s see how impressive it will be. What lecture have you prepared?”
The theme for the special lecture was open-ended.
Lanian, true to his War Mage identity, had lectured on <The Use of Combat Magic on the Battlefield>.
As for my prepared lecture,
“Not much?”
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t prepared anything special. Didn’t seem necessary.”
“Ha! What nonsense?”
Lanian was enraged, but it was the truth.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had irresponsibly prepared nothing at all.
Despite being preoccupied with various matters, delivering an excellent lecture was also important.
The reason I hadn’t prepared intensively for my lecture was, just as I had told him, because I really didn’t think it was necessary.
“Don’t worry. Today, you will experience awe you’ll never forget in your lifetime.”
“What?!”
I turned my gaze away.
The auditorium was filled with an immense number of students.
True to the elite nature of Amethyst, the attendance rate for the special lecture was over 90%.
Of course, not everyone was here purely out of scholarly zeal.
The majority were here with dismissive curiosity, wondering what content Van the Trash would deliver.
‘Those gazes need to change.’
Fortunately, I had the perfect opportunity.
“Remember what you just said about the best education being practical experience?”
“Of course. It’s a teaching of our Sapphire Academy.”
“Then, you’ll assist as the practical target for my course <How a Low-Level Mage Can Overcome a High-Level Mage>.”
“!!”
The room buzzed at the announcement of my lecture topic.
Professor Kunt, the special lecture coordinator, asked,
“Professor Van, what do you mean by that?”
“Yes, I will demonstrate directly, using Professor Lanian as an opponent, how to outmaneuver… no, overpower a high-level mage.”
“Ha! You dare! Against me, a War Mage? I’ll show you what real heat is!”
Flash!
Lanian wielded his sword staff, casting a spell.
True to a War Mage, he unleashed a powerful and sharp attack spell, stronger than those of similar levels.
However,
Whoosh! Thump!
“Urgh?!”
Drip.
Blood flowed from Lanian’s nose as he was hit squarely by my magic missile.
“Is this all you’ve got?”
“!!”
“Let’s try a bit more seriously. It won’t make for a good lecture if I just trample over you one-sidedly.”
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Indeed.
The reason I hadn’t prepared separately for my lecture was precisely because of Lanian.
Such an individual didn’t warrant my attention to such an extent.
I too had grown significantly.
The Black Dragon flicked his finger at him.
“What are you waiting for? For our first topic, teaching how to smack the back of a high-level mage’s head, hurry up and charge.”
“You insolent…!”
What followed was a series of impactful moments during the lecture, leaving the audience in a state of perpetual astonishment.
Hmm.
I felt a bit sorry for Lanian, but it was a beneficial lecture for him as well.
It must have helped in treating his hot-headedness.
Meanwhile, on the Street of Truth.
It was as crowded as a marketplace.
“Hey, don’t push!”
“Move your head in front! We can’t see the writing of our Lord V.L.!”
“Ah, are those the questions posed by the Level 8 Grand Mage, V.L.?”
“Wow, a Grand Mage! Lord V.L. must be a mysterious Level 9 Ascendant!”
The questions I posed had the entire city of academia in a frenzy.
The response hadn’t been this intense initially, but everything changed after a particular individual’s review of the questions the previous evening.
‘Eh, whoever it is, those questions were really a piece of work.’
For the denizens of the Street of Truth, this was the highest form of praise.
Especially when that review came from ‘King Genius,’ the incognito chancellor of Amethyst Academy.
“Who could V.L. possibly stand for?”
“Surely L doesn’t stand for Legend, does it?”
“Ah, come on. Would a mage of that caliber use such a childish nickname?”
“But isn’t our chancellor called King Genius?”
“The chancellor has always been eccentric. There’s no high-level mage who would use ‘Legend’ as such a childish pseudonym.”
“Could it possibly be Van the Legend?”
Suddenly, the Street of Truth fell silent.
But only for a moment.
“Ha, what a joke!”
“Van the Legend? Isn’t that the nickname the journalists concocted to mock Van?”
“If Van is the one who posed these questions, I’d resign my professorship right now.”
A predictable reaction.
However, the person who first raised the suspicion about Van the Legend, Professor Rappel, couldn’t shake his hunch.
‘No, Professor Van isn’t someone to be dismissed so lightly.’
Rappel was a junior professor.
Reluctantly assigned to manage the special lecture, he had witnessed Van’s lecture today and was endlessly astonished.
Above all.
‘It’s strange. Why do the spells Van showed during his lecture today seem to overlap with the solutions to these questions?’
It wasn’t exact.
The spells Van demonstrated today were excessively advanced for their supposed level 1 or 2 category, making them difficult to decipher.
Yet, applying Van’s methodology seemed to vaguely reveal the answers to these questions.
‘As if he had provided hints for solving them.’
Above all, the nickname V.L.
It was blatantly obvious.
So overt that it made matching it difficult due to its directness.
‘Is Professor Van’s next lecture a showdown with Duchess Beth? Perhaps the answers will reveal themselves during that lecture. I must attend.’
Elsewhere, someone else harbored similar thoughts.
On the rooftop of a building near the Street of Truth, a lonely-looking old man stood.
King Genius.
Or rather, Karl Gritten.
The chancellor of Amethyst Academy.
He was reminiscing about what an old friend… or rather, foe had said not long ago.
Hmph, we’ve got a monstrous professor joining Ruby. You’d better polish your neck and wait. Our Professor Van the Legend will soon make all those well frogs at Amethyst Academy kneel!
“…Van the Legend?”
Karl Gritten frowned.
As if unwilling to acknowledge it.
“I’ll have to attend tomorrow’s special lecture myself.”
* * *
Late at night.
I slipped out of my accommodation.
‘I need to meet Joanna and check exactly what her situation is.’
She was living in the dormitory, so I hadn’t had a chance to meet her, but I heard she’d been wandering outside at night recently.
This info was courtesy of Theren. True to his social butterfly nature, he’d made many friends within just a few days of his arrival.
‘Where is she going at night? Hasn’t she fallen for some strange temptation?’
Joanna typically ends up ‘falling behind’ if left alone, but depending on the route taken, she sometimes ‘corrupts’ and becomes a villain.
The worst-case scenario involves her selling her own soul to a demon.
A corrupted Joanna becomes an incredibly powerful villain.
‘It shouldn’t have reached that point yet.’
Lying in wait, I saw Joanna sneak out.
‘Why does she look like that?’
Though her hat was pulled down low, obscuring her face, it appeared half of it was disfigured.
She looked around nervously before hurrying off with quick steps.
‘Suspicious. I should follow.’
But when I saw Joanna’s destination, I stopped dead in my tracks.
A mansion.
It was labeled as the noble house of the Klein Duchy.
“My dear daughter. You’ve worked hard coming here today.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Mother.”
Duchess Beth embraced Joanna tightly.
It was a seemingly tender scene.
If not for Joanna’s fingertips trembling as she was held by her mother.
“Shall we go inside? I specially got the pie that our beloved daughter loves.”
“Th-Thank you, Mother.”
Joanna disappeared into the mansion with Duchess Beth.
I stood still for a moment, looking at the spot where the two had been.
‘What to do?’
It was difficult to just barge in.
After all, they were mother and daughter.
‘Getting inside the mansion won’t be easy either.’
The security was extremely tight.
It was wise not to push further here.
But,
‘The expression that flashed when her hat was briefly removed.’
Joanna was trembling in her mother’s embrace.
Terrified.
* * *
Thud! Crash!
The dish with the pie flew towards Joanna’s forehead and shattered into pieces.
This was after Duchess Beth had ‘reviewed’ the assignment.
“Can’t you properly solve even such a simple problem? Do you know how much I love you?”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I didn’t have enough time after academy classes. No, it’s all my fault. Please forgive me.”
Blood trickled from Joanna’s forehead, but she didn’t even think to wipe it away, instead prostrating and begging on the floor.
She had been accustomed to her mother’s punishments since childhood.
However, lately, it had been unbearable. It had far surpassed the level of mere punishment.
“I’ll do better next time, I promise.”
“When is next time? How many times has it been now?”
Clang!
This time it was a glass ashtray.
Fortunately, it was thrown to miss her head, but it was no reassurance.
If her mother became even angrier, more dreadful punishments would not hesitate to come her way.
‘I mustn’t cry. I have to endure.’
Joanna felt tears welling up but desperately held them back.
Tears would only make her mother angrier.
‘I should have done better.’
Her mother had become this way because she had lost her top-ranking position.
Currently, Joanna had fallen to below tenth place.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do better for sure. I’ll regain the top spot. Trust me. Please.”
“Ha. Joanna, my beloved daughter. You know all this is for your sake, right?”
Joanna’s eyes were filled with fear.
Her mother wasn’t appeased.
Whenever she spoke like that, something even more dreadful would follow.
