The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 136

How could I, even with all my capabilities, instantly create a Lv. 9 spell that interferes with life and death?

However, if it’s the Demon King, she would already have a near-complete spell in mind.

It was just lacking that final 2% to be complete.

Filling in that missing 2% with my abilities should be feasible.

The Demon King showed the spell with an incredulous expression.

Fwuosh

A spell of 9 stars.

This spell intertwined with the knowledge in my mind.

The extensive reading in the library just now proved beneficial.

My understanding of magic deepened significantly.

A new spell emerged, condensing the Demon King’s 9 stars into 2.

It wasn’t merely a reduction.

I introduced subtle differences.

Though minuscule, these differences transformed an imperfect spell into perfection.

“Ha. You truly are mad. The next era will not be mine, but yours.”

Hearing that, my feelings were mixed.

Normally, ‘The One’ Libel would be the one to hear such words.

The problem was the storyline in which the Demon King utters these words.

She said them as she was dying.

Meaning,

The Demon King was meant to die during the ‘The Resurgence of the Dreamfall’ storyline in the third year anyway.

Even if she were to come back to life, she would end up dying all the same. It wasn’t something that could be avoided in the story progression.

Especially now, in perhaps a hard mode world, or maybe even hell difficulty.

In essence, I was leading the Demon King to her death twice.

“What’s with that look? How presumptuous.”

“!!”

The Demon King emitted a chilling aura.

“Do you want to be torn to shreds? I can forgive the lectures, the concern, but not pity. Get rid of that look and hurry up, kill me.”

I swallowed a sigh.

My unnecessary musings had spilled out.

“Iris would be nice.”

“What?”

“If you’re reborn, that will be your name.”

“!!”

The Demon King’s eyes wavered.

A name of her own.

Something the most supreme and magnificent being had never possessed.

Incidentally, in the empire, Iris symbolizes ‘hope’ as a flower’s meaning.

It was a name wishing for the reborn Demon King to face a different fate than the scenarios dictated.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, far from the scholarly city, in the empire’s most bustling Free City.

At a café within the grounds of the Ruby Academy, Van’s original haven, a gloomy boy sat sulking.

‘When will Professor Van return? I miss him.’

It was Libel.

‘I was the top of my class this exam period in the magic department. I want to brag to the professor.’

Libel looked disheartened.

The first semester had already more than halfway passed.

Yet, Libel still had no friends.

Even Catherine, who used to hang around with him, became hard to see after choosing to double major in the swordsmanship department.

Ha-ha, ho-ho.

The academy grounds, just out of exam period, were brimming with jolliness.

Preparations for the academy’s festive highlight were underway, but it had nothing to do with Libel.

‘I should leave a post on the VanTLLC board.’

A new board recently created on the Four Great Academies’ shared Philosopher’s Stone Network from Amethyst!

How surprised he was.

‘Something like this, our Ruby, no, I should have created first. Unforgivable.’

Jealousy flared towards those from Amethyst who had beaten him to it.

Libel was more active on the board than anyone.

 

 

It was when Libel was contemplating whether to specifically draw and post a curse spell against Amethyst.

Catherine approached him with a nonchalant attitude.

“Hey, gloomy Black Flame Dragon. What are you doing? Still playing the board villain?”

“It’s not, not villainy. It’s implementing justice to protect Professor Van. How dare they take Professor Van.”

“Tsk tsk, what about the festival?”

“…I’m in charge of cleaning. You?”

“You too? So am I.”

There were two ways for students to participate in the festival.

Either create an ‘event booth’ as a group or become a supporter helping out with the proceedings.

Being a supporter, in reality, was a gathering for those left out.

‘The festival. It was on my bucket list. Sorry, friends. It’s my fault for not being good enough.’

Living to the fullest includes enjoying festivals!

It was one of the promises made among ‘friends’ who had been through life-and-death situations together.

Of course, unlike Libel, Catherine didn’t mind not participating in the festival at all.

With life already so challenging, she had no interest in sparing thought for a leisurely festival.

‘If you set up an event booth, the academy sends an invitation to your guardian. Absolutely not.’

Catherine’s guardian was the Duke Alfonso, a prestigious figure in the magical community.

Though it was unlikely someone of his stature would attend a mere student festival, Catherine disliked any news about her reaching him.

However, she had a thought.

“You seem interested in the festival. Why not ask Professor Van for help?”

‘Not that I’m interested in the festival, but wouldn’t it be funny to see Professor Van striking a pose at an event booth?’

Imagine.

Van running an event booth with a stern and solemn expression.

It would be hilarious!

“If it’s Professor Van, he might help you out. Why not ask him?”

“No. I refuse.”

“Why? It would be nice for you to be at the festival with Professor Van.”

Catherine, hiding her ulterior motives, seemed to be looking out for Libel.

But then, Libel gave an unexpected response.

“…The professor would hate something like a festival. I don’t want to bother him just because of my selfish desires.”

Catherine made a face that clearly showed her disappointment.

“But when is Professor Van coming back, anyway? He’s not going to stay away, right? I saw on the VanTLLC board that he got some professorship in Amethyst.”

“D-Don’t say such things. He’ll come back. Definitely. Absolutely. He must. I-I’ll curse those Amethyst jerks.”

“Hey, don’t glare at me with just the whites of your eyes showing, okay? Anyway, he should come back soon.”

Libel strongly agreed.

It wasn’t just because he missed Van.

Of course, he did miss him, but there was a more serious reason.

During Van’s absence in Amethyst, Ruby had undergone significant changes.

A large number of new professors were recruited, and there was a problem.

Duke Volman was sharpening his knives.

To the extent that even the freshmen could guess what was about to happen.

The moment Van returns, a war would start.

Contrary to the lively festival atmosphere, a storm was brewing behind the scenes at the academy.

 

* * *

 

I sighed deeply as I looked at the Dark Heaven’s Destruction Sword lying in a corner of my room.

I had planned to leave it in the Amethyst warehouse, but after the Demon King died, it wailed so mournfully that I impulsively took it with me.

No, that’s a national treasure, you can’t just take it?

I am from Ecclesia.

Take it, then.

…Even resorting to using my family name.

Pwooo-pwooo.

You’re so cute! But Pa’s mine, got it?!

Looking at the Demon King’s sword wailing as if it was happy and Mari being jealous made me sigh.

‘Let’s just rest for a bit.’

I could have gone back yesterday, but I deliberately delayed it by a day.

‘With Duke Volman grinding his teeth, going back now would just mean trouble. Why rush?’

Still, there were some silver linings.

‘The new head of the magic department I’ll be dealing with is a villain I know.’

Count Stefan Grossman.

A Lv. 7 Master and a notorious figure in the magic community.

Duke Volman planned to use this notorious individual as the spearhead to oppress me.

‘But the guy’s a scam. I can actually use that to my advantage.’

The second piece of good news was that the festival period was just around the corner.

‘Time to relax.’

Of course, as befits an academy story, various events would unfold.

However, no terrible disasters would happen.

‘Since I’m in the magical department, I probably won’t have much to do during the festival. Duke Volman will likely keep a low profile during the festivities. A perfect chance to lounge around. I’ll hole up in my lab and take naps!’

With my mind set, I headed towards the portal the next day.

“Pfft! The fool who rejects his own fortune! I’ll bring in precious tea from the east next time, come and drink or not!”

I heard Chancellor Karl Gritton grumbling,

and my brother, Cal, came to see me off.

“Brother. Did I do well this time?”

“You’re a disappointment. Study harder.”

“Oh, come on!”

Johan, who came out to see me off, launched a ‘will you come back?’ attack with his deer-like gaze.

And then there was,

Well, is this considered a send-off?

“……”

Barely visible in the distance, as if she was an assassin using stealth magic, Joanna was glaring at me.

When I waved at her, she scowled and turned her head away with a huff.

‘…Why did she even come out?’

Lastly,

“Woaaaah!! Long live Professor Van the Legend!!”

“Screw Ruby!! Screw them!”

“What is this Libel scum even doing?”

That’s how my assignment in Amethyst wrapped up.

Whoosh!

Crossing through the portal, the familiar scenery of the Free City came into view.

“You’ve arrived. The Chairman wishes to see you.”

The Chairman was no longer Viscount Werner.

Entering the director’s office, I was met with a presence far more imposing than Viscount Werner could ever hope to be.

The head of the Rapalt family, Duke Volman himself, was sitting in the Chairman’s seat.

‘For a duke to personally become the Chairman, even if he yearns for the academy… Considering his real ‘schemes,’ it’s not too far-fetched.’

Duke Volman’s interest in Ruby went beyond merely enhancing his family’s honor.

If it were just for such a reason, he wouldn’t have risked so much.

‘The Shangri-La Academy Project.’

I kept my gaze steady.

Despite its childish name, the project’s contents were far from laughable.

“You’ve arrived. Well done. I’ve heard you’ve elevated our Ruby’ reputation in Amethyst.”

An unexpectedly normal greeting.

Of course, the real business was yet to come.

“Professor Van, there are people I want to introduce you to. They’re the new professors, so go ahead and greet them.”

In the last conflict, I exposed corruption within the Rapalt’s businesses, leading to many professors being dismissed.

However, the hiring authority remained with the Rapalt faction, so they filled the vacancies with their own people.

‘They intend to pressure me with the grandeur of the new professors.’

I remained calm.

Knowing the reality behind the key figure among the new professors, the head of the magic department, was reassuring.

Once I get the department head on my side, dealing with the rest shouldn’t be too hard.

But,

‘…What’s this? These professors?’

“Are you Van? I’ve heard a lot about you. I look forward to working together.”

Stefan Grossman was just as I knew him.

You couldn’t imagine him as a swindler given his serious demeanor.

The problem was with the other professors.

“I’m Elin, from the Mage Tower.”

“From the Imperial Knights, Reiner.”

“I’m Mayton from the Ran Republic.”

Unlike the previous lackluster bunch, each of these new professors had a vibrant look and a formidable presence. It was clear they had been meticulously selected.

But that wasn’t the point.

‘These are all villains.’

To be precise,

‘They are spies scattered by the Three Evils.’

I felt a sense of darkness looming over me.

 

* * *

 

‘Did Duke Volman knowingly hire these spies from the Three Evils?’

Probably not!

Given how proudly he was announcing this, it seemed he was oblivious.

“Since they lack teaching experience, according to the Department of Education’s regulations, they will go through a probationary period. They’ll be competing with you, so be aware.”

The tone suggested he planned to crush me with this talented new roster of professors.

‘It must have been overlooked because it was a large-scale recruitment.’

The recruitment period was short.

And if the skill set matched, they hired without much scrutiny, allowing spies from the Three Evils to seize the opportunity.

“Haha, I’m looking forward to seeing how impressive you’ll be this time, Van.”

Unaware that he had turned the academy into a den for the Three Evils, Duke Volman burst out a laugh towards me.

It was infuriating.

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t/n – okay, that will be the last time I use the window thingys