The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 191
Bang!
Gunfire echoed throughout Steam City.
While the sound of gunshots in Steam City was so common it hardly merited mention even during a smoke break, this time it was different.
“Kill them!”
“They’re running! Catch them!”
“These scums? How dare they?!”
“Eradicate all the Royal Family scum!”
Bang! Bang!
Dudududu. Boom!!
Not just the weak firepower of magical handguns, but large-caliber magic rifles were mobilized, and eventually, even machine guns used as strategic weapons by the Republic’s military forces were deployed.
‘Impressive. Machine guns consume a tremendous amount of magic stones; they’re not something you can easily use.’
I clicked my tongue.
For reference, guns here do not use gunpowder but magic stones, making the cost per shot significantly more expensive.
Being mafias that make a tremendous amount of money in the shadows allows them to arm themselves with so many guns.
‘I guess touring Steam City is off the table for a while. There’s still so much I haven’t seen.’
That’s what I was leisurely thinking when—
Boom!
“What in the world is going on here?! Who allowed this chaos?!”
A handsome elf.
President Arlmen was furious.
Could it be this is just his imagination?
It seemed like his pattern of hair loss had progressed a bit more in just a few days.
“This is almost like a civil war! Absolutely unacceptable…!”
“Why don’t Your Excellency lower your hand before speaking?”
“…….”
Just like how the secretary was acting, as he removed his hand covering his mouth, a twitching smile that seemed to be holding back laughter became visible.
“Honestly, Your Excellency must be pleased, no?”
“…Well, yes, but the problem is the harm to the citizens.”
“That’s for you to control the mafias. So that the citizens suffer as little damage as possible.”
“They won’t follow my orders, will they?”
“We must make them follow. Hasn’t the situation changed now?”
“!!”
The President’s gaze sharpened.
He understood what I meant.
“With things having come to this, Your Excellency is no longer just an ‘Topdog.’ You’ve become a ‘Super Topdog,’ one even the mafia must be wary of.”
Just because the mafia fights among themselves doesn’t mean the Republic’s government can overpower them.
But if there’s a stalemate, and the Republic’s government supports one side? The balance will definitely tip.
“Especially if the Royal Family falls, the power positions they held will nominally fall under Your Excellency’s control.”
“So, you’re suggesting I use that as leverage to control them.”
I nodded.
This won’t completely prevent harm, but it could reduce it to some extent.
‘Compared to the usual numbers they kill off, the casualties now might actually be fewer.’
The mafia isn’t a romantic entity like in the movies.
They are a blight on society, nothing more, nothing less.
Something that must be eradicated.
“There’s something more important than just preventing harm to the citizens.”
“What is it?”
“We must use this opportunity to weaken the mafia’s power as much as possible.”
“!!”
I continued.
“Covertly steer the fight so that they annihilate each other as much as possible. If, after this conflict, they unite under one banner, it would spell the end for the Republic.”
The President swallowed hard.
“Especially Maria, the Godmother of the Angels and Baron Alvin, the traitor of the Royal Family, must be eliminated.”
This is what happens in the actual storyline after the conflict ends.
Recently, at the gathering, I saw Maria, who ascended to the position of the mafia’s leader, and Baron Alvin, who ludicrously rose to the position of President.
‘These two joining forces could cause a terrible calamity, enough to shake the empire.’
Preventing this future could slightly ease the 2nd-year story ‘The Approaching Calamity.’
In essence, this plea was a mix of concern for the citizens and greed for my own future benefit.
However, President Arlmen showed an unexpected reaction.
With a look of astonishment, he asked me,
“You… which son of the Ecclesia family did you say you were?”
“The third.”
“You’re not the heir to your family? Because of the principle of primogeniture?”
“Ecclesia doesn’t strictly adhere to primogeniture. But with a brother and sister superior to me, I’m unlikely to inherit.”
“Your brother and sister are superior to you?”
“Of course. Among my siblings, I’m the least accomplished. My only talent only lies in magic.”
Arlmen shook his head, as if that made no sense.
“I can’t believe your siblings are more outstanding than you. Your insight is terrifying. I see now why Ecclesia is considered the leading political family in the empire.”
“…….”
“If things unfold as you’ve described, you’ll be a benefactor to our Republic. Of course, I need to do my part as well.”
I sent him a look that said, Why are you acting like this?
Then we moved on to another matter.
There was another important issue at hand.
“Thanks to you, we can proceed with the River of Holy Light project as planned. The mafia won’t have the capacity to interfere.”
“No, please scrap that project.”
“Why is that?”
“Isn’t it going to cost too much? It would drain the Republic’s budget.”
“We still need to do it. We’ve already finished preparing to issue special bonds for the construction costs of the purification plant. We should be able to raise about 100 million Penas.”
100 million penas.
The amount was dizzying just to hear.
“There’s no need for a purification plant. I’ll solve it with my abilities.”
“!!”
Arlmen frowned.
A reaction that said it was impossible.
Understandably so.
“Do you not know why the river is polluted?”
“I do.”
“And you still say such things? Unless one is an Ascendant, it’s impossible for anyone to resolve ‘Erosion Fixation’!”
This world is dimensionally unstable.
Occasionally, it overlaps with satellite dimensions like the Spirit Realm, Gehenna, or the Dream Realm, an event referred to as erosion.
‘The appearance of monsters near the mana distortion at the Amethyst Academy can also be considered a type of this erosion.’
Usually, it’s temporary, and things quickly revert back to normal, but very rarely, erosion becomes ‘fixed.’
That happened upstream of the Steam City river.
Of all the satellite dimensions, the worst, Gehenna, overlapped.
“Do you think we’re building a purification plant because we have money to spare? We’ve tried everything to solve the Erosion Fixation. Even Lv. 8 Archmages and the Great Saints of the Holy Nations have failed.”
“Have you not asked an Ascendant?”
“Do you think an Ascendant would intervene? For something like this, one would have to bear the full brunt of causal backlash.”
“Regardless, I can do it. Because I am Van the Legend.”
The President closed his mouth, looking utterly bewildered,
but unexpectedly, he nodded.
“Alright. Let’s leave it to you.”
His easy consent made me tilt my head in confusion.
President Arlmen chuckled bitterly.
“I don’t understand myself. When you first called yourself a legend, I thought, ‘What a strange fellow,’ but now, I find myself having this baseless faith in you.”
“You must have been charmed.”
“…What does that even mean?”
Stop, Black Flame Dragon.
“It means you’ve been influenced by me. It’s natural to be inspired by my light. Being charmed is akin to a natural phenomenon.”
“……”
Why is it that the Black Flame Dragon spouts nonsense, and I’m the one feeling this cringeyness?
This isn’t the first or second time something like this has happened, so I continued as if it were nothing.
“However, if I resolve the Erosion Fixation, you must pay me a corresponding fee.”
“What kind of fee do you want?”
“Money.”
“Money? That’s unexpected. How much do you want?”
“As much as possible.”
“What?”
“How much can the Republic’s government pay me?”
“!!”
‘I need as much money as possible.’
After calculating roughly how much money I would get from negotiating patent disputes with the mafia, it came out to millions of penas.
It should actually be more, but it’s clear I won’t receive the full amount without some negotiation, so I’ve lowered my expectations.
Even then, it’s a tremendous amount of money.
But, it wasn’t enough.
‘I need at least ten million penas to reach Lv. 3.’
Need money to level up?
Sounds ridiculous.
But it’s true.
Ordinarily, it would be impossible for someone with mana insensitivity like me to reach Lv. 3.
But sometimes, the power of money can turn the impossible into the possible.
Only, it required a vast amount of money.
Mana insensitivity was such a cursed fate.
“…I’ll squeeze out as much as possible. But an unreasonable amount will be difficult. The parliament won’t approve it.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“What about that thief?”
He’s talking about Senin.
For now, as a criminal, he’s locked up in the Republic’s prison.
“I’ll meet with him personally to decide.”
I pondered as I walked.
‘What to do?’
Senin is a protagonist who absolutely must not be given up on.
If Senin does not awaken as the Merchant of Salvation, countless lives will be lost during the 4th year’s ‘Apocalypse.’
‘I know how.’
In the scenario, awakening Senin was easy.
Just make him suffer endlessly.
Rolling in the dirt, his rough edges smoothed away, reborn as a new person.
But
I will never forgive you. Never.
The image of Senin, tears brimming, glaring at me, came to mind.
He’s still a young boy.
‘The idea of making him go through that, it doesn’t sit well with me.’
There’s a bit of my own selfishness in this too.
Honestly, I liked Senin personally.
Senin, as the Merchant of Salvation, was truly admirable.
‘Is there a way to awaken him without hardship?’
With that thought, I went to the prison.
“Get lost, you son of a b***h! You and that damned brat should drop dead!”
Crash!!
Senin was causing a ruckus with Emily.
“…….”
I remained silent for a moment.
‘They say the child you love the most is the one you discipline the hardest.’
So much for a gentle approach.
It seemed a loving hand was needed.
And a spicy one at that.
* * *
Whoosh!
With the President’s permission, I used a portal to travel elsewhere.
A splendid view greeted my eyes.
“Look, Mari. It’s beautiful.”
Whoa…! Beauty!
Mari, still lacking energy, weakly responded.
‘I’m worried. She needs to get better soon.’
We had consulted the Republic’s veterinarians for magical beasts, but they all said there was nothing wrong.
By the way, Joanna was still in Steam City.
Due to the sudden outbreak of conflict among the mafia, the exhibition was postponed, so she decided to further refine her submission.
Hans also decided to submit his work and stayed behind.
“This isn’t a place we can easily visit again, so let’s enjoy it to the fullest.”
Whoa…! I like it…!
As I just told Mari, this place was a famous tourist destination in the Republic.
A regular retreat for the Empire’s nobility.
In truth, I wasn’t here for a vacation but on an errand.
‘I need to seek help from someone to resolve the erosion.’
I crossed my arms.
‘But can I persuade that person well? This person isn’t exactly compatible with me.’
The individual I needed help from typically meshed well with sociable extroverts.
‘If I were an extrovert like Theren, we’d probably get along famously.’
However,
“I don’t want to hear any stories about my mother!”
A voice that sounded familiar.
I thought I might have heard wrong, but I hadn’t.
…It was Theren.
The problem was.
“Son, you!”
“Do not interfere with me! And stop calling me your son!!”
Model student and extrovert Theren was raising his voice at his mother, the Sword King..
And then.
Slap!
The Sword King slapped Theren across the face.
‘Ah….’
I wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen anything.
t/n: primogeniture – the right of succession belonging to the firstborn child, especially the feudal rule by which the whole real estate of an intestate passed to the eldest son.
