The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 137
Abyss.
The Dark Tower.
The Order.
These three villainous groups are collectively referred to as the Three Evils.
Though grouped together, their identities, inclinations, and objectives all differ.
They aren’t even on the same side on the paper.
Still, they share one clear commonality: they are all terrible villain organizations.
‘I have to drive them all out.’
But I quickly realized the problem.
I had no grounds to expel them.
‘Their identities as spies are flawless.’
The identities they presented were not fake.
They were originally moles planted in key positions, serving as spies.
Digging into their past would reveal nothing but ‘cleaned’ records, free of any misdeeds.
‘There must be something suspicious. I need to catch them out.’
However, the deeper I dug, the more I realized this task wouldn’t be easy.
“The new professors? Everyone says they’re great. Very diligent, skilled, and even their character is top-notch, making them very popular among students.”
It was Lindon, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
Lindon was, well,
He seemed to have recovered from the shock, but he’d become somewhat aimless.
“Have the new professors made any special offers to you?”
Lindon, in the original storyline, would rise to the position of one of the Ten Devils.
The future villain seed might have been recognized and approached.
Even if not for that, they might try to exploit his less admirable traits.
“Nothing. I heard they’ve been scouting other graduate students to join their labs, but who would scout someone like me?”
He chuckled and returned his gaze to his dissertation.
His shoulders then slumped.
The new professors were one thing, but it seemed I needed to first boost Lindon’s spirits.
“Should I reactivate your stock account?”
“No, thanks. Even if I do stocks, a small fry like me would just get devoured by the big players. I better stick to my research. I aim to graduate from grad school as soon as I hit Lv. 5 and get a good job.”
To finally hear such words from Lindon?
His situation must be serious!
Even Hans and Mari were at a loss for words, sending concerned glances his way.
‘Has he come to his senses? No, Lindon isn’t one to easily straighten up.’
Deciding to observe him a bit longer, I went to see someone else.
It was Professor Burnstein.
“It’s been a while. I’ve heard about your efforts in Amethyst. Well done.”
“Thank you. I came to talk about the new professors.”
“I had something to say on that matter too, good timing.”
As expected.
If anyone, Professor Burnstein would have seen through the true nature of these individuals.
“The new professors are all quite remarkable. Haha. There’s even one applying to the Magic Department, so we’re planning to increase the TO. It’s joyous to have more talented professors.”
Nonsense.
Professor Burnstein was rarely seen this happy.
He seemed completely oblivious to their dubious nature.
I shook my head and changed the subject.
“Have you received any contact from Lady Sienna?”
She was an investigator from the Mage Tower I had met before.
It was presumed she had some sort of history with Burnstein.
“Nothing. Even if there was something, she likely wouldn’t contact me.”
Burnstein responded with a bittersweet expression, hinting at a story.
“Maybe you should try contacting her soon.”
“Why’s that?”
“Didn’t you say she was your junior before? It might be good to rekindle your friendship at this opportunity.”
‘The event leading to Lady Sienna’s death isn’t far off.’
Lady Sienna, the investigator from the Mage Tower, was Burnstein’s first love (presumed).
I didn’t want to see Burnstein heartbroken, so it warranted attention.
After meeting with several individuals,
Everyone had nothing but praise for the new professors.
I came to realize one thing.
‘They have no intention of causing trouble. Their goal is to win everyone’s favor.’
The reason was simple.
‘They’re trying to fully root themselves in Ruby.’
That was the goal of the Three Evils!
‘The Three Evils are different from Ouroboros. While Ouroboros aims to collapse the Four Great Academies for their true ‘goal’, the Three Evils solely pursue their own greed. They want to subjugate Ruby under their influence to fulfill their desires.’
I needed to stop them.
The problem, as always, was how.
The villains were craftily moving in plain sight.
There was no fault to find with their actions.
‘Set a trap for them to reveal their true colors? No, that won’t work. Spies who have operated for a long time won’t fall for it easily.’
Lost in thought, I wandered the campus.
Regardless of my worries, the academy was abuzz with festival preparations.
Then, an irksome scene caught my eye.
In a secluded spot behind the bustling campus, I saw familiar faces.
“You all… that is, Your Highness, can clean up here. We can’t have you getting in the way of the festival preparations, so please be discreet.”
It was a senior student council member.
The issue was with those holding cleaning tools.
Catherine, Libel, Demon Blade Mikhail.
The three main characters were hunched over, receiving cleaning instructions.
Incidentally, the Third Prince Mikhail had insisted on being treated as an ordinary student.
‘Even so, to make a prince clean up for the festival. Well, that’s not the point right now.’
“What’s going on here?”
“Oh, Professor.”
“Why are these kids cleaning?”
“Well, it’s academy regulation for students who don’t participate in event booths to handle cleaning and tidying up.”
I frowned.
Not that cleaning was the issue. It wasn’t a bad thing.
But it seemed unfair to have only the students who were left out of the festival activities doing the cleaning.
‘Sure, if they disliked the festival, it’d be one thing, but they clearly want to participate and are being excluded.’
“Shouldn’t the student council ensure that all students can participate in the festival?”
“That’s been the academy’s regulation for a long time…”
The senior student council member trailed off, looking embarrassed.
I sighed.
What wrong could these extra members of the student council have done?
It wasn’t exactly a grave injustice.
It just didn’t sit well with me that the students I knew looked so disheartened.
Then, an irritating voice reached my ears.
“Hoho. I’ve heard about Professor Van’s deep concern for his students. It seems the rumors are true. However, isn’t it also detrimental for the students if you’re too protective?”
That unmistakably handsome face.
A gentle smile.
A pleasant voice.
It was someone I knew.
‘Mask of the Abyss, Erich!’
The largest force among the Three Evils is the Dark Tower.
The Order also has a formidable force if you count the number of ‘followers.’
On the other hand, Abyss comprises only a handful of members.
Yet, Abyss stood as a pillar of the Three Evils, and people feared Abyss the most.
The reason was simple.
They were strong.
‘This guy is on a different level from the other spies of the Three Evils.’
However, unlike the other villains from Abyss, his strength wasn’t in physical power.
He was only a Lv. 5.
Considering most of Abyss were Lv. 7 Masters, it was an exception.
His forte was elsewhere.
‘He’s an agitator.’
In the future, when the empire faces turmoil, he stirs up significant chaos by inciting people.
A more dangerous individual.
He glanced over me, Catherine, Libel, Mikhail, and then said,
“I don’t think the Ruby Academy policy is bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Forcing students who lack social skills to participate in the festival will only make them feel more isolated and end up drifting on the outskirts. Perhaps it’s better to have them do cleaning instead?”
“!!”
“Social skills are also an essential aspect of a student’s qualifications. If one lacks in this area, it’s their fault. It would be better to use this opportunity to improve.”
I twitched my eyebrows.
This guy.
He was deliberately provoking me.
By targeting the students.
“Your choice of words are…”
That’s when it happened.
“Professor Van, stop! Professor Erich is right. I prefer cleaning over a noisy festival any day!”
It was Catherine.
She whispered to me next,
“Don’t always look to fight. Calm yourself.”
“…I’m a pacifist, though.”
“Like heck you are. There are students who call you ‘Van the Fight Dragon,’ you know? They say you don’t care who it is; you’re always ready to brawl.”
That was an unjust accusation.
“Erich might look like a sleazy conman, hiding his villainous nature, but he’s extremely popular among the students. You’ll only lose out if you fight him, so let it be.”
“I-I also prefer cleaning. I’ll use the festival time to post on the VanTLLC board.”
“Haha, I much prefer cleaning too. Festivals are just chaotic. It’s better not to bother.”
Libel and Mikhail also stepped in to stop the fight.
Erich sent a look of amusement and then made an unexpected suggestion.
“Why don’t you, Professor Van, consider setting up an event booth with these students?”
“!!”
“Isn’t it a professor’s duty to help the marginalized students participate in the festival?”
‘This guy.’
It was a trap.
‘He wants to embarrass me during the festival.’
No, it was more than that.
He clearly intended to ‘incite’ the students and tarnish my reputation.
‘He must think I can’t possibly do well in the event booth with these kids.’
It wasn’t an entirely baseless thought.
I looked at the three of them.
Libel and Catherine, who hardly mingle with others, and Mikhail, who always keeps to himself, didn’t seem the festival type.
Seeing my hesitation, the kids quickly shook their heads, seemingly agreeing.
“Really, I do prefer cleaning over the festival.”
“I… I just need Professor Van. Could you just like my post on the VanTLLC board?”
“I’m just grateful to be attending the academy, all thanks to Professor Van.”
At this, Erich let out a sneer.
“Haha. It’s good to see students who are aware of their own shortcomings. Indeed, students like them are better off quietly cleaning in the alleys, that suits their disposition better.”
“Shut up.”
“!!”
I swallowed a sigh.
I knew.
It was just a childish provocation.
There was no need to get heated and fall into his trap.
But,
‘It’s irritating.’
It wasn’t just him that was bothersome.
The sight of these kids being so downhearted bothered me too.
“Let me ask again. What do you really want? Don’t you actually want to participate in the festival?”
“I truly prefer cleaning to the festival…!”
“I… I want to try the festival.”
Libel interrupted Catherine’s statement.
“Bu-but… I’m scared everyone will dislike me.”
It was Libel’s hidden truth.
The other two’s true feelings were also apparent.
Catherine was wary because of Duke Alfonso, and Mikhail was afraid of drawing unnecessary attention.
Regardless of their reasons, all three were inwardly regretting missing out on the festival.
In that case,
“Fine. I’ll set up an event booth with these kids.”
“Ho, this will be interesting. I wonder what kind of impressive display you’ll put on…”
“But, there’s a condition. Since it has come to this, let’s wager our qualifications as professors.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
I looked at him coldly.
“Let’s have a festival competition. The loser, the one who shows inadequacy during the festival, will admit they lack the qualities of a professor and leave the academy.”
“!!”
“The verdict can be decided by the popularity vote at the festival.”
His face hardened.
