The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 189
Dr. Kaplan.
One of the most renowned names in the Republic’s magical engineering field.
Numerous achievements worthy of the title Meister.
Even a grand background with the Royal Family.
Truly, he could be considered the biggest star of them all.
Especially recently, his prestige soared to the skies thanks to the automobile invention he announced.
Of course, the automobile wasn’t developed by him, but what does it matter?
‘The one who got robbed is the fool.’
Once stolen, the automobile was his.
Just like the countless other technologies he had pilfered.
Some even call him the ‘Great Thief,’ but that’s merely the envy of the incompetent.
‘Even Van the Legend is no different. A fool, indeed.’
He did feel a bit nervous, honestly.
After all, the guy’s reputation was high.
He prepared even more thoroughly, but it ended up being meaningless.
The guy didn’t even fight and just accepted defeat.
However,
Thank you, I have gained great inspiration.
He remembered the clapping of the guy.
The expression he wore as well.
It was completely different from the faces of other fools who had been bested by him.
Utterly arrogant.
Anyone would have thought not he but Kaplan had been robbed of the technology.
Thus, that gaze.
‘It was as if he was looking at prey.’
Chills.
Why is that?
Every time he recalled the guy’s eyes, he felt a shiver.
Kaplan scoffed and shook his head, trying to ignore the ominous feeling.
‘No need to bother with such a guy. I should rather think about what to say when I’m inducted into the Hall of Fame soon.’
Hall of Fame.
It’s the memorial hall of the Mage Tower.
Designed to honor those who have made groundbreaking achievements in the world of magic.
Kaplan has developed countless inventions thus far but has never even been nominated due to plagiarism disputes.
However, this automobile would be different.
It was bound to change the world, and surely the Mage Tower could not ignore it.
‘I will become the true greatest engineer of the Republic.’
It was when he couldn’t hold back a budding laugh that Kaplan wore a puzzled expression.
There was a commotion in one corner of the fair.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, that. A professor from the Empire, that Van who was considered a legend or something, has submitted a work.”
“Hmm?”
Kaplan’s eyebrows twitched.
‘Did they say he was submitting 100 works?’
Could that be true?
It was so absurd that everyone who heard the news scoffed in unison.
‘Let’s see what the work is.’
The title of the work was #No. 1/100.
It was a name lacking in effort.
‘Does it mean it’s the first out of 100 works?’
What was peculiar was that the description of the work contained only this single line.
Thanks for Dr. Halde.
‘Halde? Who was that again?’
Ah, it came back to him.
A nobody.
Someone who pieced together bits of others’ technologies and presented them as their own.
Of course, Kaplan did something similar, but even in theft, there’s a difference in class.
‘Why thank him?’
Just then, Dr. Halde was in sight.
Something was off.
His face was pale as death.
“My, my submission has been stolen?!”
What?
But it was different.
The development of the formula or the implementation method, everything about it was completely different from Dr. Halde’s submission.
However, there was one similarity.
The result.
Though the method was entirely different, it produced the same effect as the magical device developed by Dr. Halde.
No, it was even better.
It was an improved version.
In this case, no one would choose Dr. Halde’s device.
“How? What’s going on?”
“Must’ve been a coincidence.”
“Well, it’s not like it was a remarkable submission anyway. If Dr. Halde hadn’t bribed the judges, he wouldn’t have even passed the preliminaries.”
At that time, the reactions were dismissive.
But then.
“The Van The Legend’s submissions have been announced again! This time there are five pieces!”
“What? Five pieces?”
Everyone rushed to see.
It was true.
Indeed, five works were displayed, all in the same format.
#No. 2/100
#No. 3/100
.
.
#No. 6/100
A series continuing with numbers.
The descriptions were the same as well.
-Thanks for.
Without exception, each contained gratitude towards someone, and the faces of those mentioned turned pale.
“A-A thief?!”
“This is the technology I developed!”
They were all plagiarized works.
Or could they be called plagiarism?
It wasn’t copied.
It was completely reimagined.
Only the effects of the magical devices were the same. Precisely, they were even more excellent and superior.
‘Don’t tell me, does this mean he’s submitting 100 works?’
Only then did everyone catch on to the Van the Legend’s intent, swallowing hard.
The atmosphere turned icy cold.
‘No, these submissions aren’t of high quality. This has to be the limit.’
But then.
“The Van the Legend professor has sent a message. He has more time than expected and will increase the number of submissions.”
“What?”
“He says he will submit 200 works by the end of the fair.”
“!!”
When everyone was doubting their ears, another scream-like shout was heard.
“The Van the Legend professor’s submissions have arrived again. This time there are 10 pieces!”
Chills ran down the spines of everyone at the fair.
They realized.
Why Van is called a legend in the Empire.
The last words left by Van resurfaced in everyone’s minds.
Thank you, I have gained great inspiration.
Just like that.
Van’s indiscriminate bombardment began to devastate the Republic’s magical engineering field.
* * *
‘Easy, so easy.’
I hummed a tune.
Coming up with new formulas wasn’t hard for me at all.
It felt like spreading out an answer sheet and working on assignments.
‘Of course, it was easier because the quality of the submissions I’ve been referencing has been so poor.’
Even for me, creating new magical device formulas from scratch isn’t easy.
It’s possible, but the problem is still cost and efficiency.
The formulas I come up with are so superior that it’s actually difficult to implement them in real magical devices.
‘But looking at an answer sheet and copying it in a similar way is something I can do any time.’
What I’m doing now isn’t pure ‘creation’.
I’m keeping the essence intact and just changing the wrapping.
It might look like a different formula from the outside, but if you delve deeper, it’s the same content.
However, it’s cunningly changed so it’s hard to outright say it’s copied.
‘I’m just doing what Kaplan did. Just on a more sophisticated level.’
If what he did was sophisticated theft, then what I’m doing could certainly be considered in the realm of art.
After all, plagiarism taken to its extreme is indistinguishable from artistic creation.
“Huhu, thank you, Professor Van the Legend. I am resolving a lifelong grudge.”
“Because of those Republic bastards, my trading company went bankrupt. Finally, I had my revenge.”
The magical engineers from the Empire, brought by Emily, expressed their gratitude to me with tears in their eyes.
For the record, the reason I’ve been able to churn out submissions one after another in such a short period is largely thanks to their help.
They were all eagerly assisting me to complete the plagiarized works.
‘And the Massacre Mage’s help was significant too.’
I had expected her to leave soon, but surprisingly, she reappeared to assist me. Though she didn’t say much, it seemed the defeat in the last academy battle left a debt in her heart.
However, not everything was going smoothly.
“Are the submissions prepared well?”
“I’ll handle it, so could you please not bother me?”
‘Well, if she hates being bothered, she could just leave my workshop.’
As if to prove she was not the aggravating noble she seemed, Joanna stayed in the temporary workshop I had arranged and showed prickly reactions whenever shown any interest.
‘I can’t just leave her be. As things stand now, it’s impossible for Joanna to even place in the competition.’
The Monastery in the Sea of Annihilation
As I said before, it’s a dreadful place.
Joanna won’t last; she’ll break.
‘In the storyline, if Joanna enters the Monastery, she’s almost certain to be ruined and drop out. It’s best to keep her away from there.’
“But you, are you going to keep staying for free?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re using the workshop, aren’t you? And eating here too.”
“Ha! How much do you think that’s worth!”
“I don’t take money from students. Instead, you’ll repay with labor. Take on the role of transcribing the formulas I come up with.”
“…….”
Joanna’s expression changed, seemingly catching onto my intention.
‘She’ll learn something by copying the formulas.’
What she gains and the results she achieves are up to her.
“…How annoying. Who do you think you are?”
I let Joanna’s form of expressing gratitude slide.
After all, the more rude she tends to speak, the more grateful Joanna is.
Then, a boisterous voice was heard.
“Ughhh! What kind of mess are you making now?!”
It wasn’t Hans.
The tone was similar, but it was a much more handsome man, Secretary Chief Eckmann.
“The mafia are messing up the Presidential Office! Do you have any idea how many nights I’ve been working overtime?!”
“So, you don’t like it?”
“Is that something to ask?! Of course…!”
“Remove the hand covering your mouth before you speak.”
Eckmann flinched.
He removed his hand from his mouth as I had told him to, revealing his true expression.
He was actually grinning. Pleased.
‘The Republic’s government must have suffered the most from the mafia.’
“But really, what are you going to do?”
“What do you mean what am I going to do? I plan to make money out of this. With over 100 patents coming up, I’m going to be a tycoon.”
“You know it’s impossible, right?”
I didn’t deny it.
The fact that the Republic folks could brazenly sell plagiarized items from the Empire was because they were part of the underworld mafia.
Even after international lawsuits resulted in verdicts of plagiarism, they couldn’t care less.
Such methods might work for villainous mafias, but not for me.
‘It’s fine. There are other ways to make money.’
Through this operation, I had a way to make a fortune, no, an enormous amount of money.
“There’s something I need cooperation with from the Presidential Office.”
“What is it?”
Eckmann’s eyes widened as he listened to my explanation.
“Are you insane?”
“Isn’t it something the Republic’s government would want?”
“But still!”
Eckmann almost screamed.
“To frame the Royal Family with a charge of treason! The President himself would be risking his head!”
As I’ve said repeatedly, the Royal Family is among the mafia factions that hold significant sway over the Republic.
A puppet president could be blown away with a mere puff.
However,
“How foolish. You’re the Secretary Chief, yet you still can’t guess why I’m engaging in something like plagiarism?”
“Isn’t it to force them to give up the patent rights to the automobile?”
“It’s not just for that reason. Follow me. I’ll show you myself.”
The place I headed to was a dimly lit alley in Steam City.
Following the guidance of heavily armed guards with magic guns, we entered the building.
Contrary to its shabby exterior, the interior was lavish.
The problem was the people waiting for me inside.
There were four men and women.
“Where is this? No, I mean, who… who are these people?”
Eckmann blanched, babbling in confusion.
Understandably so.
“It’s a pleasure, Professor Van the Legend.”
The woman sitting in the highest seat opened with a smile.
Despite the soft greeting, a tingling sense of pressure was felt.
The atmosphere around the rest was similar.
Each one was clearly no ordinary person.
With the help of the Black Dragon, I concealed my nervousness and introduced their identities.
“I am honored to meet the heads of the Four Great Families.”
Yes.
These were the heads of the strongest mafias in the Republic, excluding the Royal Family.
They were the ‘targets’ I would have to swindle from now on.
