The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 138
“That is….”
“Why? Did you not have confidence?”
“Haha. How could I not have confidence? But, isn’t the condition too excessive?”
To leave the academy over a mere festival popularity vote.
Although it was I who suggested it, the condition was indeed too much.
However,
“Stop being pretentious and speak honestly. You want me out of the academy, don’t you? I feel the same. Let’s cleanly settle this at the festival.”
He curled the corners of his lips up.
“If you say so. I have no reason to object. Don’t regret it.”
After he disappeared, the kids rushed to me.
“What are you thinking?! You damn Van Fight Dragon! Of all people to pick a fight with, that one! And with a popularity vote? The professor is bound to lose!”
“Is his popularity that great?”
“It’s no joke. Recently, a fan club board was created on the Ruby Philosopher’s Stone server, and in no time, the membership numbers were ten times that of the VanTLLC.”
“I-I’ve been diligently posting hate comments. Saying Professor Van is the best.”
Considering he hasn’t been here long, it’s an incredible feat.
It’s all thanks to his ‘incitement’ ability.
The Third Imperial Prince Mikhail also looked serious.
“That Professor Erich. Though not in the capital, he was elected as a municipal councilor in a provincial city. His demeanor might not be pleasant, but his savvy is certainly remarkable. How about calling off the bet?”
“It’s fine. Rather, it’s good.”
“What do you mean?”
“If we use him as a sacrifice, we can enjoy the festival glamorously.”
“So, you mean to fight again?”
“No, I plan to settle it with the festival.”
I looked at each of the three one by one.
“Libel, did you say you lack confidence earlier? Are you afraid that others will dislike you?”
“…Yes. I am an unpleasant existence.”
“Catherine, you’re worried that Duke Alfonso will mock your appearance at the festival?”
“…….”
“As for Your Highness… Yes, I understand your situation.”
I spoke with a strong tone.
“Your Highness as well, trust in me and don’t worry, everyone. My brilliance will lead you all to the path of light, and all three of you will enjoy the best festival ever.”
Yes.
It wasn’t just to kick him out that I accepted the proposal.
I wanted to let these three with their downcast faces enjoy the festival.
While weeding out the spies of the Three Evils.
* * *
The festival face-off between Van and Erich quickly spread as a rumor.
“Did you see the Mirror Board? It’s some breaking news. Professor Van and Professor Erich are going to have a showdown at the festival! Typical Van the Fight Dragon! Wonder who will win?”
“Come on, don’t just talk, place your bets. It’s the annual festival popularity vote betting. I’m putting 10 penas on Professor Erich!”
“Professor Erich does seem cooler. How should I put it? If Professor Van is all about show and pomp, Professor Erich has that real cool adult vibe?”
“Me too, for Professor Erich!!”
“I’ll bet on Professor Van the Legend. Professor Van’s showiness is kinda cute. He might get a surprising number of popularity votes.”
The academy is a hub of gossip.
A showdown on various topics is nothing special.
Given that Van has always been the center of attention and Erich is the most noticeable among the new professors, everyone was interested.
“But, thinking about it, isn’t this going to be a landslide victory for Professor Erich?”
“Don’t underestimate Professor Van Cutie’s splashiness. Want to get terrorized by that gloomy Van-Club member?”
“Sure, Professor Van is now recognized. But that’s not the problem, the festival is supposed to be for the students. But, on Professor Van’s side, the students….”
The chatterers fell silent.
Catherine, Libel, Mikhail.
They were the strongest outsiders recognized by Ruby.
“Catherine scares me. Feels like I’d get punched just by making eye contact.”
“Libel is scarier. Feels like he’d curse you behind your back, creepily.”
Libel is known as the top troll on the Mirror Board.
“His Highness Mikhail appears fine on the outside, but, well…”
Mikhail is a protagonist along with his prophecy that he would drench the entire imperial family in blood, the Demon Blade.
He was the number one person to avoid.
“On the other hand, the students helping Professor Erich are known as the Five Dragons of Ruby, the Red Five Dragons.”
This refers to the top five freshmen.
For reference, other academies also have their own Five Dragons, named after the color of the academy. Ruby has the Red Five Dragons, Sapphire has the Blue Five Dragons, and so forth.
It’s not just about skill; origin, personality, and interpersonal relationships are also considered in this self-elected group, so Libel and Catherine didn’t even make the list.
“It doesn’t seem like a fair match.”
“But I still want to go see Professor Van. Just his weird vibe seems like it would be fun.”
“Do you think he’ll let us take a selfie with him if we ask?”
“If you wish, I shall grace your photo with my radiant greatness, or something like that, right?”
Compared to before, it’s apparent from these conversations that the students’ fondness for Van has increased significantly.
Still, everyone thought that Erich’s side would win this festival face-off.
“Haha! The loser of the festival face-off has to leave the academy? Well done, Professor Erich.”
Duke Volman laughed excitedly.
“If you really kick that Van out, I’ll immediately appoint you as a full professor, no, a tenured professor.”
“Thank you. I look forward to good news. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I will have dinner with the new professors.”
“Don’t worry about the expense for the dinner, spend generously!”
Though it was said to be a dinner with the new professors, it was actually a meeting of the spies from the Three Evils.
Spies sent from the Dark Tower and the Order were already waiting in a room at the tavern.
“We heard the news. Van is the biggest obstacle in our plan. We’ll offer our support as well.”
“Don’t bother.”
“What?”
“Handling Van is something I can do on my own. Don’t even think about butting in.”
“!!”
The Three Evils were never on good terms to begin with.
Even though they pretend to cooperate due to their shared goal of dominating Ruby, they were actually just competitors to each other.
“Especially, don’t even think about pulling any tricks using dark magic or the Order’s powers. It will be immediately noticed. I alone am sufficient to deal with that Van.”
The rest of the spy professors bristled but couldn’t retort.
Erich’s claim was not an empty boast.
His ‘incitement’ ability was recognized even by the Abyss, specialized for such a contest.
Especially in a popularity vote contest.
Van had essentially issued a challenge he could never win.
He was doomed to a crushing defeat.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that time, I was.
‘Erich. He must be smug, thinking his victory is assured.’
Leisurely sipping coffee, I was guessing the thoughts of my opponent.
“Why are you so calm? You’re about to be fired after the festival.”
A gruff voice.
It was Yulia, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
Originally a villain position student in Ruby.
“There’s no chance for you to win as it stands, you know?”
Her voice sounded almost threatening.
“Are you upset because I didn’t offer you to join the festival?”
“Yes, I am upset! Why didn’t you even bring it up to me? Look, it’s not too late, ask me now.”
Yulia was also one of Ruby’s Five Dragons.
By the way, Wilhelm, the offspring of the Margrave of the North Sea known as Trash Van the Second, was also considered one of the Five Dragons.
Was it because of his reformed behavior, thanks to me that he scored high?
Both of them had agreed to participate in the festival with Professor Erich.
‘It’s not just the two of them. Ruby’s top socialite, Theren, joined Erich too.’
Ah, Theren had returned to his model student mode as before.
‘No, maybe he hasn’t completely returned.’
I recalled the conversation we had after returning to Ruby.
Did you say you’re doing an event booth with Catherine, Libel, and His Highness the Third Prince?
Yes.
…I see.
??
Why didn’t you offer it to me? Even though we were together in Amethyst that time.
At that moment, for a split second.
I saw a glint of darkened eyes.
Though it disappeared as if it were an illusion.
Haha. Just kidding. After all, we’re not particularly close.
That’s true.
……
Since we really weren’t close, I simply nodded.
So, the glimpse of darkened eyes I saw again was an illusion, right?
‘Theren has no particular reason to show interest in me, right?’
Though he did suffer a bit from falling for my trick this time, that was all.
‘Theren’s interest is always in dangerous entities, so it couldn’t be, right?’
Anyway, after that conversation, Theren turned away and decided to participate in the festival with Erich.
“What are you doing? It’s not too late, you know? Ah, this Yulia’s pride must be really hurt. But since you’re special, I’ll give you one more chance. Now, slowly repeat after me, ‘Yulia, radiant as the moon, won’t you join me for the festival?'”
“I refuse.”
“Ah, why? I said I would listen if you just ask.”
“Yulia, it’s not me but Professor Erich with whom you should be helping with the festival.”
“What are you plotting?”
Classic villain Yulia.
She immediately sensed that I was up to something.
“How likely do you think my chances of winning are?”
“Normally, 100%. You’re not the kind of professor to lose to a scammer. But now, I’m not sure.”
Yulia crossed her arms.
“I have a bad feeling about this. I think you’re going to lose.”
She was right.
As things stood, I would lose.
No matter what I tried, it would be the same.
There was no way to beat the Abyss’s agitator in a ‘popularity vote’.
“You were the one who suggested settling this through a popularity vote, why? Digging your own grave… could it be?”
As I’ve mentioned before, Yulia’s original position was that of a villain.
A master of slander and behind-the-scenes manipulation.
She had guessed my true intentions once again.
“This is a trap you’ve set, isn’t it? To kick out Professor Erich?”
I nodded quietly.
“There’s something you need to do for me.”
“A favor?”
“Yes, a favor. Yulia, radiant as the moon, will you grant my request?”
“…It’s a joke, but what if I really took it for real!”
Yulia blushed with embarrassment, not knowing what to do.
“I can do more. Yulia, the diamond of Ruby Academy. The foremost among the burning five dragons, Yulia, what else suits your taste?”
“Ah, stop! I give up. So, what’s the favor?”
I glanced around before speaking.
And then.
“…Are you serious?”
“Why? Isn’t it something you can do?”
“It is, but…”
Yulia exclaimed with a pale face.
“This is a crime!”
A job well within villain Yulia’s skillset.
Naturally, it was villainous work.
‘The reason it’s difficult to deal with the Three Evils now is because they aren’t doing any villainous deeds and are fairly performing their professor roles.’
Then, my solution was simple.
This time, I would use villainous deeds to eliminate the Three Evils.
* * *
I needed to prepare more.
Additional help was necessary.
But I had to be cautious.
What I was planning to do this time was somewhat different from my previous strategies.
It was real villainous work, so I couldn’t ask just anyone.
I had to seek the help of a villain, like Yulia.
Just then, there was someone.
“You said you wanted to see me?”
A stern face.
A powerful aura.
It was Stefan Grossman, the new head of the magic department.
A swindler.
A real deal villain, unlike novice villain Yulia, on a completely different level.
I had to make him my slave… no, a cooperative pawn.
