The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 144

The hall fell into a hushed silence.

Duchess Louis, the Sword King, presented a completely different image from Duke Alfonso.

If Duke Alfonso was an object of fear, Duchess Louis was one of respect.

Such was the image of the house of swordsmanship.

While the Ecclesia might be considered the empire’s greatest house, the most honorable was the Malvern house of swordsmanship, which pursued only the noblest chivalry.

Duchess Louis herself was a figure of unblemished honor.

Therefore, Duchess Louis’s statement carried a weight incomparable to Duke Alfonso’s morally toxic bitterness.

“If I have overstepped, I apologize. However, as a parent of a student under your tutelage, I couldn’t help but inquire out of concern.”

Though potentially impertinent, the duchess’s respectful tone, even towards a younger professor, mitigated any such impression.

“Indeed. Theren was recently in great danger in Amethyst, wasn’t he?”

“The duel just now was reckless too. It turned out well because Catherine managed it, but what if Duke Alfonso, enraged, had lashed out?”

“Previously, the students and Professor Van even explored inaccessible areas of the underground waterways.”

“And defeated the Puppeteer!”

“Professor Van has a surprisingly wild side.”

“I still like Professor Van. Wild yet cute.”

“Should Professor Van’s next nickname be Van Wildgenius?”

Listening to the murmurs, I fell silent.

Looking back, there seemed to be several dangerous incidents.

‘But really, how is it my fault when trouble keeps finding us?’

“Please ensure the students’ safety is the top priority going forward. They are not gambling chips to be risked on a win or lose basis.”

Though polite, her voice was sharp.

‘Hmm. What to do.’

Truthfully, I felt wronged.

Would I have willingly courted danger?

Circumstances forced my hand.

‘Still, it wouldn’t be wise to confront the Sword King here.’

“I understand and will take care to be more mindful in the future,” 

I responded to the duchess.

Duchess Louis appeared surprised by my response.

Somewhere, I heard a voice saying, “Is Van the Fight Dragon really backing down so easily?” but I ignored it.

However, I felt the need to add a comment.

‘The Sword King’s overprotection is what ultimately turns Theren into a Sword Demon. It’s something to be cautious of.’

“If you could live a student’s life indefinitely, then perhaps your approach would be appropriate.”

“!!”

“Typical Van Fight Dragon!”

Oops.

The Black Flame Dragon had stirred up trouble again!

I hurried to remedy the situation but then hesitated.

My thoughts shifted.

‘Honestly, what the Black Flame Dragon said isn’t wrong, is it? If Theren goes astray, who will clean up the mess? It’s obviously going to be me.’

Instead, I felt emboldened by a daring thought.

‘Using the Sword King could potentially skyrocket our popularity in the vote, maybe?’

A big hit was already guaranteed.

Yet, beating that guy Erich in a vote seemed nearly impossible, given his abilities.

But what if we scored an even bigger hit?

‘The bigger the hit I make, the more “desperate” he’ll have to get. He’ll easily fall into my trap.’

Most importantly, I had something to rely on.

‘The Sword King isn’t like Duke Alfonso. She’s not the kind to harm others when she’s angry. Plus, my father is here.’

Duke Huam, believing it wasn’t his place to intervene, quietly ate his cheese spaghetti. He seemed to enjoy the cooking of the Massacrist Mage so much that he even stole the Dark Lord’s Gorgonzola pizza.

But I knew he would mediate if the worst came to pass.

“Your Excellency is expressing these concerns because you ultimately distrust me as ‘Van the Trash’, don’t you?”

“No, that’s not…”

“Oh really?”

The Sword King fell silent.

She couldn’t completely deny it.

If I were a professor of high repute, she wouldn’t have questioned me so easily.

“Do you know what contradicts your words, Your Excellency?”

“What might that be?”

“It’s him. My father tried to reform the so-called ‘Van the Trash’ by excommunicating me from the family and pushing me to the brink. Without such decisive actions from him, I wouldn’t have changed.”

Pfft.

Duke Huam spit out his spaghetti, but I ignored it.

“Let me prove it to you here. How a proper challenge can be immensely beneficial to a student’s growth. I propose a circus duel with you.”

“!!”

“I will perform a miracle before you.”

Everyone looked dumbfounded.

The Sword King was no exception.

“Do you mean to have a Magic and Sword Battle with me? Even for a professor, that’s…”

“It’s not enough to call that a challenge. Sword and Sword Battle. Specifically, a ‘dueling match’ is what I propose.”

“Is he insane?!”

“Even for Van the Fight Dragon, isn’t this too reckless?”

A natural reaction.

After all, I was challenging the ‘Sword King’ to a duel in swordsmanship.

‘Of course, a ‘dueling match’ isn’t just any swordsmanship duel.’

But my madness didn’t stop there.

“A one-on-one circus battle would be too bland. Let’s add another rule. Wouldn’t you agree to help, Dark Lord?”

“Uh, me? You mean me to team up with you against the Duchess?”

Everyone thought, ‘Well, that’s just typical Van the Fight Dragon,’ at my proposal.

However,

“No, rather the opposite. During the dueling match, please cast a curse on me.”

“!!”

“Only then can it be considered a real challenge, right?”

Everyone went from shock to utter confusion.

The Sword King dismissed the notion as unworthy.

Her tone became condescending.

“Ha. I thought you had changed after hearing recent rumors. But you’re still a fool. To think I took you seriously with such a disrespectful prank.”

Then, unexpectedly, someone else chimed in.

Duke Huam, who had just wiped his mouth and picked up another piece of pizza, spoke up.

“Why not just give it a try?”

“Duke Huam?”

“It’s not because he’s my son that I’m siding with him, look at him. Does he seem like he’s joking?”

“!!”

The Sword King’s expression hardened as she saw my calm gaze.

Yes, I thought it was worth a try and thus proposed this duel.

There was a reason for it.

   

However,

   

An incomprehensible win rate.

To have a 3.7% chance of winning against the Sword King with a sword?

‘It means my Versatility of a Thousand Transformations is that overpowered. Even with the constraints placed on participants in a circus, it’s worth trying against the Sword King with a sword.’

Moreover,

   

I blinked.

The win rate increases when facing both at once?

And it was an absolute win rate!

It wasn’t a mistake.

‘…This isn’t broken, is it?’

But that couldn’t be the case.

The Gambler had never been wrong before.

I had a vague idea of why such a win rate appeared.

‘Using the Dark Lord’s curse inversely to create an opening in the Sword King must be the strategy.’

I devised a ‘plan’.

“The nature of dueling matches poses a high risk of accidents, especially for beginners like you.”

“Still, if your grace would be lenient, I wouldn’t die.”

“…”

“Didn’t I mention? I’ll show you how appropriate crises and challenges can aid in growth. You’ll see what kind of potential and miracles humans can unleash in a moment of life and death.”

Well, in truth, all these were excuses, and my real plan was to use the Sword King to draw attention and significantly increase my votes in the popularity contest.

Buzzing

I swung around Catherine’s sword, preparing for the duel.

Hmm. Honestly, it felt heavy just holding it.

Not to mention how terrible my stance was.

“Professor Van, what on earth is he thinking? Or is he actually trying to do comedy?”

“Seeing that he’s still wearing rabbit ears and butterfly wings, maybe that’s the case.”

“Is he even for real? Why is he swinging the sword so awkwardly with rabbit ears on, yet looking so serious?”

“Why? It’s funny, right? Professor Van the Cutie is unexpectedly clumsy and charming.”

…How many nicknames do I actually have among the students?

Anyway, the duel finally started.

“You know the rules of the bullfighting match, right?”

“I do.”

It was similar yet different from bullfighting on Earth.

A knight takes on the role of the bull.

The attacker charges in an attack, and the defender evades and counterattacks.

“I’ll target your right leg with a Charging attack. I’ll match the conditions with you and won’t use mana. I’ll only use basic diagonal slashes with the sword. If you avoid it even once, it’s your victory.”

Despite the rules being drastically in my favor with all sorts of restrictions placed on the Sword King, nobody would think I had the advantage.

Even a high-level knight of Lv. 5 wouldn’t be able to withstand the Sword King’s basic sword technique without mana.

Lv. 8 Transcendent beings were at such an exalted state.

They had transcended humanity and reached just below the heavens.

“Can I… really join? Is that okay, Brother Huam?”

“Go ahead. It’s not my duel anyway.”

“Then, I’ll just slightly lend a hand.”

But I saw it.

A black flame flickered in Baron Byron’s eyes.

A chill ran down my spine.

He was clearly ready to seriously intervene.

‘…Is this really okay?’

I checked the predictor again. It still showed 100%.

‘I’m trusting you, okay? Ehh? It’s not broken, is it?’

And then,

“Here I go.”

“I’m attacking too, Sister!”

Swish!

The Sword King, Louis, rolled her foot and began to accelerate with an amazing speed.

Despite not using her inner power, the overwhelming pressure made me gasp instinctively.

It wasn’t just that.

“Descend, oh darkness of the abyss! Devour the souls of the impure!”

‘Are you kidding me?’

It was a 6th-level curse.

A curse that stains the soul with darkness and corrodes it.

Though the imbued mana was at the level of a 2nd level spell, a 6th-level curse was still a 6th-level curse.

Just being exposed to it would leave one crippled.

‘He didn’t hold back at all!’

I had to abandon my plan to use the curse in reverse with my Master of Magic abilities.

Even with all my might, resisting the curse was difficult.

And the Sword King was charging right at me.

There was no way to fend off either threat.

But then, something completely unexpected happened.

   

‘…Mark?’

This was the first time I was hearing about it.

   

My eyes widened as I read the explanation that followed.

And then.

A super overpowered ability was awakened.