The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 165

Alpha Zero’s figure disappeared as quickly as he appeared, as I just encountered him by chance.

But something’s wrong.

He definitely looked at me before going.

‘Why? I have no connection with Alpha Zero.’

Or perhaps,

‘Is he observing? Trying to scope out ‘work’ in the surroundings!’

It’s Alpha Zero’s habit to thoroughly check the surroundings before ‘working’.

‘If that’s the case, I can ignore it. As long as I don’t get in the way, he’ll quietly do his job and leave.’

Yet, I remained silent.

I felt anxious!

Somehow, I felt like I would get involved.

‘No. Today is a special and good day. I won’t deal with any unnecessary troubles and will only enjoy myself!’

I resolved firmly and moved on.

Papa? Where are we going? To get meat?

“I’m going to the bookstore.”

What about meatuu?

“Let’s fill up on spiritual nourishment first. This is how I, Van the Legend, elegantly rest.”

Pa! You don’t usually read books!

Indeed, I’m not someone who usually engages with books.

But I still wanted to try it!

Pretending to enjoy leisure at a bookstore! Taking a selfie with the hashtag ‘#MeReading’.

‘I’ll pretend to read the most difficult-looking book near the window. And sip on a coffee, too.’

But I couldn’t enjoy the leisure, as my popularity was serious.

“There’s Professor Van the Legend! Look at him reading! He’s like a painting! Even more elegant than Muse Juliette!”

“Ca-Can we take a photo together, please? For keepsake.”

Hmm.

It felt like being a celebrity.

To be compared to Muse Juliette, the top superstar of the empire.

‘Can’t help it. Now that I’m a celeb, managing my image can’t hurt.’

“Sigh, being drawn to my brilliance is a natural instinct for you moths, understand. It’s because I’m fabulous, can’t help it.”

“Wow! The famous Van Legend’s pretentious cute speech!”

“More! More! Say more!”

“Tsk. Be careful not to be blinded by my brilliance.”

…Everyone seems out of their mind.

Of course, the craziest of all must be the Black Flame Dragon, exuberantly blabbering.

Well, it was still somewhat fun.

‘This kind of attention will only last a few days.’

I decided to move on to the next spot.

Today is a special day.

If I’m to fully enjoy the perks of the card Duke Huam gave me, I have to stay busy.

‘I’ll go to the most expensive dessert place. More expensive than Korea’s hotel shaved ice apple mango!’

The Hotel shaved ice apple mango.

Despite its staggering price, it was a terrifying dessert that people lined up for.

‘It’s just shaved ice, huh.’ 

But let’s be honest.

I wanted to try it too.

Here, there was something similar.

The strawberry cake from the empire’s most historic hotel!

The price was a whopping ten times that of a regular cake, but you know, I am a diamond spoon.

With Duke Huam’s card, I could eat as much as I wanted.

“Oh. Are you Van the Legend? It’s an honor to have you visit here. Did you come alone?”

“…Alone?”

I flinched.

It dawned on me.

The reason I hadn’t eaten the hotel shaved ice apple mango wasn’t just because it was expensive.

It was because I had no one to go with!

‘Places like this are usually visited by couples or families.’

This hotel was even more so.

Looking inside, couples were gathering like cockr… no, cuties, cute people, showing off their friendly appearance.

Not alone! I’m here too!

Yes, I had Mari, but.

‘Going just with a pet would seem even lonelier! No, Mari isn’t a pet, she’s family, so it’s fine. Then, let’s go.’

Yet, I hesitated to take the step.

Just as different insects can never approach a group of cockro… cute people, it’s hard for a solo to go to a place swarming with couples.

But then, I unexpectedly made eye contact with someone.

It was the Massacrist Mage.

‘Is something wrong with my eyes today? Alpha Zero and now her?’

No.

The girl also looked unusually surprised, with wide eyes.

“Master? Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“I-I came here to… hunt down a villain! It’s definitely not because I’m interested in desserts or anything…!”

Incidentally, the fact that the Massacrist Mage, the third lord of the Dragon Stronghold and the Dark Hero guarding the night of the Free City, is a dessert aficionado, her top secret.

I decided to keep her secret.

“Right. Such places are naturally where evil couples gather. Just looking at the couples filled here, one can tell the air is thick with malevolence.”

“…….”

“Given the situation, why not cooperate? Let’s go inside together.”

“The two of us, together?”

“Yes, it would be easier to spot the wicked from inside than out here, wouldn’t it? And we can also try the signature strawberry cake while we’re at it.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

She sent a cold look my way, much like when we first met.

A subtle, sinister aura subtly spread around her.

“Huhu, funny. Do you keep extending a hand of sympathy expecting me to change somehow?”

‘No, I just need someone to eat cake with?’

It seems she’s been holding a grudge since I made pancakes for her at the last festival.

However, I wasn’t as fearful as before, thanks to the ‘confusion’ hidden in the Massacrist Mage’s eyes.

That’s right.

The Massacrist Mage wasn’t angered by my kindness, but rather, she was confused.

Unsure how to react, she resorted to hostility.

Pretending not to notice her ‘confusion’, I spoke up.

“You’re misunderstanding something. This is a bribe.”

“…A bribe?”

“I have a favor to ask. I need your help in the upcoming Academy Battle.”

The battle with Shangri-La Academy involves competitions between each department.

To secure a victory in the sub-department battles, the protagonist Massacrist Mage’s skills were necessary.

“If that’s the case.”

The Massacrist Mage retracted her hostile vibe.

After all, she was probably the one who wanted to eat the signature strawberry cake the most, so she willingly followed me inside.

But it wasn’t a relaxed dessert session.

‘…Feels like being stared through.’

Though she entered, lured by the dessert, the Massacrist Mage remained silent, perhaps because her internal ‘confusion’ hadn’t cleared.

It was okay until she stared me down.

With a complicated look in her eyes, as if not even they knew her own identity.

“The taste is less impressive than I thought.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s expensive.”

“We fell for a marketing trick.”

“It was on my bucket list.”

“Being duped by a marketing trick?”

“No, I am no fool.”

“Master, you are, you know?”

“…….”

“…….”

An awkwardly tense conversation ensued, neither sharp nor entirely blunt.

After we stepped outside, trouble ensued.

We talked in a deserted alley.

“What’s next?”

“Time to kill some people.”

This girl flashed me a bright smile as if to show off.

“Today, I particularly want to kill people brutally. You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear their terror-filled screams. Master, would you like to come and watch?”

“…….”

Since I had imposed a prohibition from the start, the only people the Massacrist Mage could kill were villains who deserved death.

It was essentially part of her role as a Dark Hero safeguarding the city’s safety, so I wasn’t worried, but suddenly I thought,

‘Can the Massacrist Mage ever have a happy ending?’

As I mentioned before, the Massacrist Mage always meets a bad ending.

It was inevitable.

Where could her salvation possibly come from?

I was uncertain myself.

Interfering now seemed like it would only backfire, so I shook my head.

“Do as you wish. See you at the academy. Don’t forget your promise to participate in the battle.”

As I turned to leave,

Boom!

A blood-soaked figure fell from above into the alley.

‘What? What’s happening all of a sudden?’

I was shocked even more when I recognized the person.

‘It’s Alpha Zero!’

The cool, stylish, and icy boy who had been pristine earlier was now unconscious and drenched in blood.

‘He must have encountered a strong enemy while on duty.’

I remembered Alpha Zero’s occupation and clicked my tongue.

It was common for Alpha Zero to get injured like this.

But then, a chilling voice spoke.

“Ah, I’ll take this kid with me.”

“Sylphin?”

“Based on my abilities, it’s clear he’s a tremendous villain, worse than me. It’s horrifying how much more dreadful he is, so it’s okay if I take him and kill him, right?”

Worse than the Massacrist Mage.

That was true.

The number of lives Alpha Zero had taken far exceeded the Massacrist Mage’s.

But,

‘I have to intervene.’

Alpha Zero is different from other villain-type protagonists.

His evil deeds weren’t committed by choice.

‘Above all, I have to consider the possibility of this world being Hell difficulty.’

The clear condition for Hard mode is the successful development of the 4 main protagonists and 4 sub-main protagonists.

So, what about Hell difficulty?

I don’t know. It was a difficulty level whose very existence was uncertain.

However, it would definitely be stricter than Hard mode.

‘From that perspective, Alpha Zero is a protagonist we absolutely cannot give up on. Once reformed, he can play a much bigger role than almost any other protagonist.’

After reforming, he becomes such a powerful ally that people even call him ‘Joker.’

The challenge was convincing the Massacrist Mage.

“Surely you’re not opposing this? If you are, Sylphie will be very angry. Might even turn into a dog that’ll bite you.”

Sylphin wore a dangerous smile.

It seemed she was more inclined to kill Alpha Zero in front of me due to her recent confused feelings towards me.

As if to challenge me.

‘I have no reason to stop her. After all, it’s true that Alpha Zero is a villain, one way or another.’

I pondered.

There was just one thing.

One method to try.

But it was uncertain if it would work.

‘Normally, it would never work, but given Sylphin’s current state, it might be possible.’

This could be an opportunity.

To gauge the distance between Sylphin and me.

“I would like you to let this child go.”

“Haha. As I expected. What’s your reason? Do you want me to be kind? If that’s the case, Sylphie finds that boring.”

“It’s my birthday today.”

“…What did you say?”

“It’s my birthday, and I don’t want to see blood.”

Sylphin clammed up instantly.

That’s right.

The reason today was special.

Why Duke Huam gave me a card in such an uncharacteristic manner.

Today was ‘Van’s birthday.

Coincidentally, it was also ‘my’ birthday on Earth.

Whether by coincidence or not, ‘Van’s and ‘my’ birthdays were on the same day.

‘Will this excuse work?’

Honestly, there was no reason for the Massacrist Mage to consider my birthday.

But, if my feeling that our relationship had somewhat improved wasn’t just my imagination,

If the confusion I suspected in her eyes was for the reason I guessed,

Then she would heed my words.

Indeed.

“…Suddenly it’s your birthday. Are you sure you’re not lying?”

The Massacrist Mage asked, pouting.

“Let’s see.”

I pulled out a magical device for accessing the Philosopher’s Stone, connected to the VanTLLC forum.

   

“…….”

“…….”

Sylphin and I were silent for a moment.

Libel was spamming the VanTLLC forum with birthday congratulations for me.