The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 159
Saint Patricia’s Day.
It’s a commemorative day to honor the great saint of the empire, Patricia.
She was a Level 9 Ascendant Saint who dedicated her life to healing the sick.
“Really, will the ‘Heavenly Fountain’ open this time?”
“Eh, I doubt it. Hasn’t it been broken for a while?”
“No. Wasn’t it a ‘miraculous treasure’ made by the saint herself with her last strength? They say the saint’s energy still remains in it.”
“What’s the use then? No one has been able to activate it.”
Before her life ended, Saint Patricia left a gift to the empire.
That’s the ‘Heavenly Fountain’ they’re talking about.
Even at that time, as it is now, wicked dark mages were rampant, and the biggest headache was the plagues they unleashed.
The ‘Heavenly Fountain’ contains miraculous magic to drive out the wicked plagues brought upon the empire’s capital by dark mages.
“What exactly are the activation conditions that no one has succeeded so far?”
“Only the royal family knows the activation conditions, but they must be incredibly difficult. Even the Medicine Sage failed recently.”
“If even the empire’s best healer, the Medicine Sage, failed, shouldn’t we consider it impossible?”
“It’s a shame, especially since a dreadful plague is spreading through the capital recently. If only we could unleash the Heavenly Fountain’s miracle, we could heal everyone.”
People shook their heads in disappointment.
“The Heavenly Fountain, my foot. There are rumors of ominous events happening this feast day; everyone better watch out.”
“Ominous events?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors about the Demon Blade?”
People went, “Ah.”
There was no one in the empire who didn’t know about the Demon Blade.
“The investigation results seem to confirm that the Three Evils were indeed following the Demon Blade creature.”
“It was ominous from the start. Why was such a dreadful being born into our empire’s royal family?”
“It would be great if he were to be burned at the stake at the end of the event.”
A being that brings calamity.
Even ordinary citizens despised Demon Blade Mikhail.
No, the whole world hated him.
And Mikhail, whom the whole world wished dead, was now.
“……”
Quietly closing his eyes.
With a face turned white as ash.
‘Van, why on earth?’
The image of Van being arrested and dragged away kept coming back to me.
He knows.
Just because of this incident, Van, being of the Ecclesia bloodline, won’t face any problems.
Still, dreadful imaginations kept surfacing.
Everyone around him had met a terrible end.
Mom, please, don’t kill mom.
It’s still vivid in his memory.
The scene of his mother being falsely accused and killed because of him.
He even had to witness his mother’s execution firsthand.
Since then, he started to build walls around himself, and nobody tried to approach him.
Except for Van, that is.
Van might not know, but he was the only person who sincerely approached him.
But now, Mikhail was filled with regret.
He shouldn’t have let Van get close.
‘If you too die because of me….’
Just the thought made it feel like his heart was crumbling.
‘I shouldn’t have been born at all.’
Then, he heard someone calling him.
“Your Highness, we are ready.”
“…Alright.”
He was to oversee the proceedings of Saint Patricia’s feast day.
The intent was clear.
It was to be his final appearance.
The royal knight who came to meet him had an attitude as if he wasa escorting a criminal.
But as he was leaving the palace, he encountered an unexpected person.
“……”
It was his brother, Prince Renius the Second.
Renius looked at him with intense hatred.
‘Brother wasn’t always like this.’
Mikhail made a bitter face.
‘It’s inevitable that brother changed. He believes he’s losing the throne that should have been his because of me.’
Facing the hostility of the second prince, he felt somewhat relieved.
‘Enough. I’m sick of it all. Today it all ends.’
Mikhail looked up at the clear sky.
It’s a beautiful day.
To be freed from all the pain.
* * *
Flash.
I opened my eyes.
‘Is today finally D-Day?’
It seems so.
Hearing the noisy festival sounds from afar.
Sssss. Sssss.
Even the cuties seemed more lively today, parading around more actively than usual.
‘Looking at them now, they seem a bit cute… just kidding hell no. Ugh. Today is goodbye to these cuties!’
All preparations were finished.
The problem now was getting out of prison.
I approached the guard.
“Since it’s the feast day, isn’t there a special release?”
“There will be special surveillance for escapes. Don’t even dream about getting out, Professor.”
I checked outside and made a grim face.
Father anticipated my escape and laid down a tremendous surveillance force.
‘Isn’t it too much to bring a captain-level knight from the royal guard?’
He was a Level 7 Master knight.
There were many of Level 6, Level 5 too.
An enormous force that made escape unimaginable.
“You’re scheduled to be released after the feast day, so please stay calm today.”
“Then, can I borrow some insect-killing magic tools?”
“Sorry, but that’s not possible due to orders from above.”
The guard had changed, so I asked just in case, but as expected, father was meticulously stingy.
‘But even a father like that wouldn’t have foreseen what I’ve prepared.’
I leisurely waited for the right time.
Sssss. Sssss.
Time swiftly passed along with the lively parade of the cuties.
It was past noon, and the joyous cheers from outside reached their peak.
The festival was at its climax.
“……”
It was about time the knights on surveillance duty started to find my calm demeanor suspicious.
Finally, the ‘moment’ arrived.
“There’s trouble! A villain has invaded this prison tower!”
“A villain, suddenly? How many?”
“Just one.”
“What? Is he insane?”
The surveillance knights chuckled dismissively.
But then.
Urgh!
Block the villain!!
Who on earth has such swordsmanship?
The noise from below was unusual.
The head surveillance knight, a Level 7 Master, turned pale and confronted me.
“What are you planning?”
“I don’t know anything about it. Perhaps a champion of righteousness who couldn’t stand injustice has stepped in.”
“What nonsense are you even saying?!”
That moment.
Creak. Boom!
The iron door of the top floor where I was located crumbled.
The face of the Level 7 Master knight turned pale.
The iron door, thicker than the width of a palm, was sliced as if it were paper.
Amidst the swirling dust, a figure appeared.
“I-I am the ‘Villain of Justice.’ Hand over Van.”
A tackily bought mask from the market.
Acting as awkward just like reading from a textbook.
An enormous aura that didn’t match her slender figure.
It was the appearance of the Sword King, Duchess Louis, the head of the famous swordsmanship family.
* * *
The situation was quickly resolved.
‘T-The Sword King?’
‘Ha! I-I am the Villain of Justice! Take the sword of justice!’
Despite the comical acting, the Sword King’s sword was merciless.
The knights, including the Level 7 Master, were downed in an instant.
‘What bravery did I have last time to challenge such a monster?’
Moreover, this wasn’t even her full strength. Far from using her full power, she didn’t even use aura or the basic mana sword.
Truly, she was at the threshold of Level 8, a Grand master almost touching the heavens.
Creak.
The special iron bars, said to be impervious to sword qi, were cleanly sliced through.
Finally freed from the cuties, I breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Thank you for your help, Your Excellency.”
“I’m not Your Excellency. I’m the Villain of Justice…”
“Everyone’s unconscious, so there’s no one to listen to your act.”
“……”
A moment of awkward silence passed.
Should I have just let her continue acting? As I contemplated, the Sword King took off her mask and glared at me with a face much younger than her age.
“It’s the first time someone has made use of this duchess in such a manner, Professor Van. Even though it was a bet.”
During a duel at a previous festival, the Sword King agreed to grant me a favor.
“It’s an honor. But are you sure about this?”
“Are you starting to worry now? It doesn’t matter. I decided to help Professor Van. Contributing to a just cause doesn’t concern me with the consequences.”
A just cause.
If what I intended to do did not align with the Sword King’s sense of justice, she wouldn’t have intervened, even if we had made a bet.
“While I respect Duke Huam as an elder brother, I don’t agree with his intentions. No matter the justification of serving the empire, I can’t support killing an innocent child.”
It might sound like an unrealistic ideal, but this is precisely the chivalry of a great swordsmanship house.
The sword exists to protect the weak.
“Thank you. I’m short on time, so I’ll be on my way.”
The Sword King had arrived a bit late, making the schedule tight.
“Are you heading to the Heavenly Fountain? I will transport you there.”
“Really? Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”
“Of course, even if my acting is undeniably perfect, it would be problematic to show myself in front of everyone. Instead, I’ll only transport you, Professor.”
Before I could fully grasp what she meant,
The Sword King swung her sword upwards.
Boom! Crash! Rumble.
Like the vinyl of a greenhouse being torn away, the prison tower’s rooftop was spectacularly blown off.
“Why suddenly the rooftop? Don’t tell me?”
My eyes widened.
The Sword King grinned, a mischievous look on her face.
It seems my guess was right!
“It’s okay. I’ll go on foot.”
“Weren’t you saying you were late?”
“No, it is fine to be late. The main character is supposed to arrive late anyway…”
“I owe you for all this time, Professor, so please don’t refuse.”
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, my surroundings changed.
Suddenly, I found myself in the Sword King’s arms.
More precisely, the Sword King had scooped me up in a princess carry.
It was the most embarrassing moment since becoming Van, but there was no time to feel ashamed.
“Tsk, what’s this? This delicate body of yours. Is this ‘the man who makes you want to protect him’ style that’s trending among the young people of the capital’s social circles these days?”
“Ah, no?”
And then.
Whoosh!
A cool breeze hit my ears.
We had ascended to the top of the open tower!
This monster, she really intended to do ‘that’!
“Wait. Please wait. There must be a better way to move.”
“Don’t worry. This will be faster and safer than any other method.”
“I prefer the beauty of slowness and a bit of danger.”
“There’s no need to feel too burdened. You’re the professor teaching my son, so I ought to at least do this much.”
And then.
Whoosh!
The Sword King threw me. Like firing a cannon.
‘Ahh! I can’t even ride roller coasters! I won’t forgive you!’
Whoosh! I’m flying! I’m flying! This is exciting!
Sssss.
Excited, Mari, and a cutie that had apparently clung to me at some point, flew with me towards the Heavenly Fountain.
