The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 202
‘What is that thing he’s riding?’
Repel didn’t recognize the surfboard.
Well, it wasn’t a familiar object in this world.
The more worldly journalists soon made a realization.
“Could it be that the surfboard is popular in the Ran Republic?”
“It looks like it!”
“They say it’s a craze at the seaside resorts in the Republic!”
The journalists, initially excited, soon wore puzzled expressions.
“But why a surfboard during a lesson?”
“…Oh that’s right?”
“Isn’t that just playing in the sea?”
Everyone seemed baffled.
“No! He’s managing mana while riding the surfboard!”
“Is he combining playing with training?”
“But what effect does that have?”
Other professors who had gathered to peek at Van’s class thought the same.
The journalists critiqued Van’s class even more harshly.
“Disappointing. I had high expectations for Van the Legend, hearing how amazing his class would be.”
“The rumors are true then, he’s nothing special as a professor.”
“The primary duty of a professor is to educate students. Just because his magic is strong doesn’t mean he can neglect his classes like this. He should have taken the job in the mage tower instead.”
These new professors, already envious of Van’s fame, were particularly critical.
Internally, they all made a resolve.
‘I’ll show them the best lecture in contrast to such a pathetic class.’
Meanwhile, the A-fessorlevel professor thought,
‘Something is off. Why would he give that kind of lecture?’
Even though he had met Van personally and ended up disappointed, he didn’t completely dismiss him as a professor.
From what he had heard, Van’s lectures at Ruby, though unconventional, were extremely creative and impressive.
‘What is he thinking?’
It was one of two things.
Either there was something in that lecture that they were failing to see,
‘Or maybe he’s just a worse professor than I expected.’
In any case, there was one thing he needed to do.
To deliver a perfect lecture, a stark contrast to Van’s, making a clear statement.
With a swish, he turned and disappeared.
But it was after the professors had all left.
The students, who had been quietly watching the professors’ reactions, began to speak up.
“…That’s awesome.”
“I want to try that too.”
Van surfing on his board through the sea looked incredibly cool to the seventeen-year-old boys and girls watching.
* * *
‘Keke, that’s right, summer is all about the beach!’
I’ve never played at the beach before.
As a child, there was no adult to take me, and as an adult, I’ve been too busy with work to have the leisure for it.
The beach fun I saw on TV or the internet was like a pie in the sky.
I especially wanted to try surfing.
Isn’t that something?
Maybe it’s just my stereotype, but when you think of the beach, you think of surfboards.
It had been a long-standing fantasy.
“Aaaaah! This is so hard!!”
Splash!
Lindon, that guy, fell into the water again.
On the other hand, Hans surprisingly had a knack for it.
“To think you can’t even manage this. Foolish fellow. Behold, the dignity of Professor Hans, not some mere graduate student!”
Swoosh!
Hans’s surfboard sleekly cut through the sea.
Hans’s bald head glistened magnificently in the sunlight.
…If only his belly wasn’t quite so flabby, he’d look even better.
Then, the students timidly approached.
“Professor, can we just keep playing like this?”
“Playing? What do you mean?”
“Huh?”
“You are in class right now.”
“!!”
“Let me ask you something. What is a class?”
“It’s…”
“Receiving instruction from a professor. But does strict training and study encompass all forms of teaching?”
I crossed my arms while standing on the surfboard.
The summer sun and my bare torso combined with the surfboard emitted an overwhelming charisma from the Black Flame Dragon.
It was a coolness not of this world.
“Of course, training and study are important. But I don’t believe that’s all there is to learning. Sometimes, having fun freely, building these memories, is also important in your lives.”
The students’ eyes wavered as they listened to my words.
Admission to the top four prestigious academies isn’t limited to the nobility.
The empire is a nation of academies.
Even commoners ensure their children attend at least a small academy.
In fact, the passion for education is even greater among commoners.
They see graduation from a prestigious academy as the only path to success. If they have even a slight means, they would go to great lengths, even selling off their household pillars, to provide an exceptional education.
Thus, being admitted to one of the top four academies means that, whether noble or commoner, they have been making grueling efforts at a young age.
And they must strive even harder in the future.
‘But they are just seventeen-year-old kids.’
Shouldn’t they play when it’s time to play?
Especially now, during the holidays.
The competition between the top four academies had distorted this, but originally, the purpose of the summer camp was to have fun and interact with each other.
Having never really played during my school days, I also wanted these kids to have a good experience.
“If you understand, then trust this Van the Legend and have fun.”
“Woooooah!! Long live Professor Van the Legend!!”
“Van is truly legendary!!!”
With enthusiastic cheers, the students began to surf with excitement.
Hahaha, I was listening to the laughter spreading over the sea with pleasure when…
“Professor, but are you really sure this is okay? What if you fail the professorship evaluation because of this?”
A drenched Lindon, looking like a soaked mouse, spoke with concern.
“Fail? I’m actually worried about scoring too high.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ever heard of the contrast effect?”
“??”
I smirked slyly.
“Just enjoy today. Starting tomorrow, we might not have the luxury to do so.”
The meaning of my words soon became clear.
That night, the camp office was overrun with a flood of people.
Every student at the camp had submitted a request to join my class.
* * *
Mirror Board.
It’s an internet-like thing that uses the Philosopher’s Stone as a server.
Each of the top four academies has its own bulletin board, and there’s also a shared network board.
Among these, the anonymous board was a candid arena for lecture evaluations.
Real-time summer camp lecture evaluations were being posted.
Professor Van the Legend’s lecture today was legendary.
When told to relax and have fun, I almost cried.
I never understood why Ruby students chant ‘Van the Legend, Van the Legend,’ but today I got it.
From today, I’m a Van fan.
The other professors’ classes were the worst. Thought I was in hell training, not summer camp.
Especially Professor Repel’s class, thought I was going to die.
Professor Repel already had a bad reputation. I thought the class was an attempt to kill us.
Boom!
Repel, filled with anger, slammed his hand down on the desk.
‘Such underhanded tricks!’
As usual with academic events, the summer camp also had several mechanisms to encourage competition, one of which was “class mobility.”
Students at the summer camp could freely sign up for and attend classes. The problem was that a student could only enroll in up to five classes at a time. Thus, to attend a different class than originally planned, they had to cancel one of their existing classes.
A tremendous number of students had moved from Repel’s class to Van’s.
‘Such an obvious trick.’
Van’s intentions were clear. The number of students in a class significantly influenced the lecture scores, and he was using sweet-talk to lure them.
‘I’ve completely misjudged him. Van is utterly worthless as a professor!’
If the content of his lectures had been merely inadequate, Repel might have just considered him a deficient professor.
But this? Wasn’t this exploiting students for his own greed?
“I can’t just stand by! For the sake of the students, I must stop his nefarious tricks!”
Fuming, Repel headed towards Van’s tent.
Several professors had already gathered there to protest.
“What’s going on here?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?! Stop that ridiculous class immediately!”
“Go play in the water at your home! Do you think this summer camp is a playground for children?!”
At that moment, Van twitched an eyebrow.
As Van exuded a strong sense of authority, an overpowering presence filled the room.
‘Is this some dignity of Van the Legend?’
The professors hesitated.
However, not everyone was daunted.
“If you are truly a professor, then provide proper education to the students.”
It was Repel!
Van looked straight at him.
“Proper education? What do you mean by that?”
“Well, obviously…”
“By throwing students into deep waters and pushing them to extremes, you consider that right and excellent teaching?”
“!!”
Repel’s face turned red.
That had been the content of his class today.
“Traditionally, sweat and pain are necessary for achievement. It’s a professor’s duty to push students to give their all.”
“That’s an outdated way of thinking. I understand. Such methods are the limit for you ordinary professors.”
“…What did you say?”
“Is sweat and pain really necessary to achieve something? Can’t achievement be reached through enjoyment?”
The room fell silent.
How could that be possible?
It sounded absurd.
But
“I’ll show you.”
Flick
Van turned and entered the tent as if further discussion was beneath him.
Leaving behind a declaration.
“Mark this as a moment of glory. You are about to witness a new standard in education.”
* * *
The next day.
A large crowd gathered at the beach.
Most of the camp’s students were present, and so were the professors.
They had come to observe the session Van had announced yesterday.
For your information, professors whose class times overlapped with Van’s had to reschedule due to student departures, grudgingly moving their classes to different times.
Thanks to this, virtually everyone at the camp was present for Van’s class.
Even among those seated, there was someone no one had expected.
“Chancellor, why are you here?”
“I represent the camp, after all. I came to watch.”
Chancellor Schneizer smiled brightly.
“I’m interested in Professor Van’s teaching methods as an educator.”
At the sight of Schneizer, all the professors looked at him with respect.
A living legend in academia and an Ex-fessor, he was an object of admiration that all the young professors looked up to.
Repel was one of those who respected Schneizer.
‘I won’t forgive any foolishness in front of Chancellor Schneizer, Van.’
Thus, a strange tension settled over the hot summer beach.
Van appeared.
Riding a surfboard, shirtless as he had been yesterday.
“It’s Van the Legend. Are all of you ready to have fun, kids?”
Van lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Look forward to it. Today will be even more exciting than yesterday.”
