The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 141

The festival day is finally here.

Despite being sometimes belittled, Ruby is still one of the four prestigious academies.

The festival was on a grand scale.

The entire academy grounds were splendidly decorated.

Since the festival was open to outsiders, a large crowd had gathered from early on.

“Who do you think will win the popularity vote for their booth?”

“Isn’t it going to be Professor Erich? He has some of the Red Five Dragons, the academy’s top freshmen.”

“The theme for their booth is a play? Are they going to perform ‘The Legend of the Eight Heroes’?”

It seemed like a rather cliché theme.

“But think about it. Not just the Red Five Dragons, but Professor Erich himself will be on stage. How cool is that?”

“True, that does sound promising. Maybe I should go see it.”

“It’s the last show too, so it’ll be the climax of the festival.”

“I wish it was time for the play already.”

“I can’t wait to see Professor Erich in action!”

“Don’t overhype it. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it too.”

Students who saw the teaser for Professor Erich’s event booth were all excited.

Meanwhile, Students watching the others’ reactions tilted their heads in confusion.

“Strange. Is ‘The Legend of the Eight Heroes’ something to be excited about?”

“Right, sis. It’s so outdated that modern theaters won’t even consider performing it.”

“Hmm. As if some big stars were to appear in it.”

“But they’re just students.”

A youthful appearance.

But with sharp, penetrating eyes.

It was Van’s sister, Mariam!

The mayor of this free city.

Accompanying her was Van’s former fiancée, Emily, who had always been close to her.

‘Something about the students’ atmosphere seems unnatural. Erich, was it?’

Mariam narrowed her eyes.

It was a name she recognized.

A man who had suddenly appeared and been elected as a councilor in a provincial city.

The atmosphere during that election and now at the academy felt similar.

‘He was elected without any significant background or promises, overwhelmingly at that. Everyone who voted seemed as if they were under a spell. There was no evidence of foul play, so it all fizzled out. Is this why Van made such a ‘request’ a few days ago?’

The request wasn’t significant.

As the mayor, Mariam was asked not to send a representative for the festival’s closing ceremony but to attend in person.

‘Was the popularity vote during the closing ceremony?’

Mariam had a hunch.

That something was going to happen then.

“What in the world is Van planning? He won’t give me the full details. Always so infuriating.”

“Yet, you still find him endearing, don’t you?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You rushed here at the crack of dawn, obviously to see Van, right?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? I’m just here undercover. The festival of Ruby is a significant event for the city.”

“Yes, yes, of course. But why are we heading towards Van’s booth then?”

“Because Van said he’s up to something strange! You saw the title of Van’s booth, didn’t you? Aren’t you worried?”

Emily remained silent.

It was a concern with merit.

The title of Van’s event booth was as follows:

Buzzing Elegance Cute Dining

The name was bewildering.

It sounded like a restaurant, but what does it mean by ‘Buzzing Elegance Cute’?

“…We’ll see when we get there. Huh? Isn’t that Van’s booth over there? Why are there so many people gathered?”

Professor Van, look here~!

Did you just blush? Truly the Cute Professor Van!

Click! Click!

The loud cheers and sounds of cameras snapping.

They tilted their heads in curiosity and arrived at Van’s booth, only to drop their jaws.

They understood what ‘Elegance Cute’ meant.

An unimaginable sight unfolded before them.

“Welcome.”

Van’s voice was more refined than usual, full of grace.

The problem was his attire.

Van was wearing a butler uniform, typically worn by servants!

If it were just that, it might have been manageable, but there was a more severe issue.

“Crazy.”

He had rabbit ears.

…They thought they saw it wrong, but no.

Rabbit ears were indeed popping out above Van’s head.

And there was a large ribbon on his back.

Yes.

The ‘Elegance Cute’ in ‘Buzzing Elegance Cute’ referred to Van’s rabbit uniform.

And the killing point was Van’s face.

He was full flushed!

“Van, are you actually embarrassed?”

“No. It’s not embarrassing, so go away. Emily, I didn’t invite you.”

“What are you talking about, coming to the festival is my right? Always wearing that unlucky expression, but you look quite fitting in that getup. Is the ribbon on your back supposed to be butterfly wings?”

“……”

“Pick one. It’s double the cuteness. Are you Bunny Van or Butterfly Van? Which one do you prefer, Mariam?”

“…I’m for Bunny Van.”

“We also like Bunny Van, Professor!”

“No, it’s Butterfly Van!!”

With the students’ shouts, Van’s face turned even redder, and everyone intuitively knew.

This event booth was going to be a hit.

 

* * *

 

‘…This is a disaster.’

I sighed.

Posts were exploding on the mirror board in real time.

   

‘I never planned for a cute concept.’

I was going to compete with elegance using the Black Flame Dragon.

The cute concept was added because of the Massacrist Mage.

Cooking? Why me?

For training.

Are you mad, Master?

Your alchemy is too focused on destruction, lacking a solid foundation. How do you expect to ascend without being able to satisfy everyone with a single dish?

It sounded absurd, but it was true.

Cooking and alchemy shared common ground.

The Massacrist Mage grudgingly accepted this, but with one condition.

That was the cute concept.

Facing the Massacrist Mage, I stuck out my tongue in defiance.

By the way, the Massacrist Mage was currently engrossed in cooking, disguised as her identity ‘Susan’ at the academy.

Continuously, familiar faces visited, amplifying my embarrassment.

“Ah, Professor Van. That weird look looks good on you.”

“…Thank you, Professor Burnstein.”

“The chancellor came along too.”

“Ha! Our Professor Van!! How can you be perfect even in this? Hmm! Karl Gritton will never see you like this!”

“Please take him away; it’s too noisy.”

“I came too. Wondering what booth you’d set up without me. Hmm. Well, it’s cute, I suppose.”

“…Go away, Theren.”

“Hoho, your embarrassed face is priceless. I should take a photo and keep it in a frame~”

“Yulia, you too, leave.”

“Oh! Professor Van! If you try to send me to jail again, I’ll post the photos I just took on the VanTLLC board! Let all four prestigious academies know!”

“Take Wilhelm with you too. Libel is already spamming photos on the VanTLLC board.”

The embarrassment was unbearable.

Even the shameless Black Flame Dragon found it hard to endure, unable to hide its blushing face.

And there was more torment to come.

“Professor! As per your command, Hans has served the coffee!”

Hans, acting very much the postgraduate student, was helping with the serving, donned in the same rabbit ears and butterfly wing ribbon as me.

Seeing his burly figure and bald head adorned with fluttering butterfly wings and rabbit ears was a sight painful to the eyes.

‘Hans, why isn’t he embarrassed?’

Lindon was serving with his mouth jutting out twice its usual size, grumbling all the while, which was somewhat reassuring as it was closer to his normal look.

“Thank you.”

“Mikhail Your Highness?”

“It’s a pleasure to be able to enjoy the festival like this. If it weren’t for you, Van, I couldn’t have even imagined it.”

Mikhail was also serving.

Unlike my awkward appearance, the rabbit ears and butterfly wings suited him remarkably well, making him look quite stylish.

“These rabbit ears, butterfly wings. You chose to wear these for us, didn’t you?”

“…No, this was the Masa… I mean, Susan’s idea.”

“You could have refused, right? Wasn’t it chosen so that I, or rather we, could approach the other students more easily?”

I kept my mouth shut.

There was indeed such an intention.

‘Demon Blade’ should be universally avoided.

Catherine and Libel were also outsiders.

So, while considering how to make other students feel more approachable, the Massacrist Mage suggested this idea.

“Catherine and Libel seem to be enjoying themselves. It’s the first time I’ve seen them mingling with other students.”

Both Catherine and Libel, being main characters, were exceptionally attractive.

However, Catherine’s prickly demeanor made her hard to approach, and Libel’s gloomy aura killed his looks, but wearing rabbit ears and butterfly wings, they suddenly seemed more approachable.

“Libel, smile for the photo!”

“Huh? Uh?”

“Why cry when asked to smile?”

“Ta-Taking a photo with people was on my bucket list.”

“Huh? What’s with this guy? He’s funny.”

It was a heartwarming scene.

‘Well, it might be just a moment of attention. But for Libel, even taking the first step has its significance.’

“The response is good, and it’s a huge success. At this rate, our booth winning first place won’t be difficult, right?”

Our embarrassing looks attracted attention, and people came to taste the food, were amazed, word of mouth spread, and more attention was drawn.

Our booth was swamped with customers unlike any other event booth.

However,

“It’s not enough.”

“Hmm? No matter if Professor Erich teams up with the Red Five Dragons, isn’t the play’s content too tiring? ‘The Legend of the Eight Heroes’? Who would be interested in that?”

‘The content of the play doesn’t matter. No matter how crappy the play, people will cast their votes for Professor Erich.’

This was incomprehensible.

But it was true.

That was the power of Erich, the demagogue from the Abyss.

So, I needed to create an even more overwhelming success, not just on this level.

‘I have something prepared.’

Just then, Mikhail inquired about a related topic.

“Why is our booth called ‘Buzzing Elegance Cute’? I get the rest, but why ‘Buzzing’?”

“‘Buzzing’ signifies chaos.”

“…Chaos?”

“Yes, chaos is about to ensue.”

“…What are you scheming now?”

As Mikhail looked wary, suddenly there was commotion outside the booth.

‘Here they come!’

I had sent invitations to a few individuals.

After all, a party needs celebrities to truly flourish.

The problem was the identity of the ‘celebs’ I invited.

“Wait, what? Why are they here?”

“No way!! Professor Van is here, and those people are coming here?”

There were four titans.

They all shared a common characteristic: despite their age, they all looked to be in their thirties, indicating they were powerful beings capable of slowly aging, meaning they were at least Lv. 7 Masters or stronger.

However, the surprise was not just because these four were powerful.

“Welcome.”

I greeted the first two who arrived.

Both were familiar faces.

“My father, and Duke Alfonso.”

Yes.

I had sent invitations to my father, Duke Huam, and the magical Duke Alfonso, to illuminate my event booth.

But there was a problem.

The other two guests were not invited by me.

‘I had no idea they would come.’

Seeing the man and woman standing behind, I swallowed hard.

It was even more nerve-wracking than meeting Duke Alfonso.

It couldn’t be helped.

“It’s an honor to welcome Duchess Louis, the Sword King, and Duke Byron, the Dark Lord.”

Heads of the swordsmanship and dark arts families, respectively.

Buzzing, in other words, the chaos I had intended unfolded on a much grander scale than I had ever anticipated.