The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 204
A suffocating silence descended upon the tent.
The three villains… no, students were staring daggers at me.
“Hehe, what tricks are you trying to play?”
Bern, no, it was Beril from the start. He exuded a chilling aura.
The other two were similar.
Alpha Zero was sprawled out in a corner of the tent, but his gaze was icy.
Kalvel, from ‘the House,’ also had a fierce look.
“Haaaah, I really don’t care. Just don’t bother me. I get irritable when I’m sleepy. If you’re not careful, I might end up hurting you, Professor?”
Alpha Zero’s chilling warning.
Kalvel couldn’t stand it anymore and abruptly stood up.
“This is annoying. I don’t want your teachings, so please find someone else.”
“Alright. If you wish, I can change your group.”
“Really?”
An unexpected response.
“Yes, turning down fortune that has come rolling in is also your choice.”
“!!”
They scowled.
“Hehe, do you think we don’t know you’re provoking us to do as you wish? You’re just using us to score the highest in the leadership evaluation.”
“Yes, that’s right. Otherwise, I would have had no reason to choose troublemakers like you.”
“!!”
I honestly admitted it.
“Don’t be mistaken. I’m neither a good person nor a professor overflowing with a sense of mission for the students. I chose you because you were useful in your own way.”
“……”
I deliberately spoke coldly.
“I fully intend to use you. On the other hand, what about you? A chance has come before you, and you think of nothing but kicking it away out of sheer defiance. Your limits are painfully obvious.”
The expressions of the three changed.
Although each had different backgrounds and temperaments, they shared one thing in common.
Deep down, they harbored feelings of inferiority and defeat.
“Haaaah, interesting. Professor Van, do you really have the right to say such things?”
It was Alpha Zero.
He still appeared sleepy, but that was not the case. His eyes were sharply gleaming.
The other two felt the same.
“Do I have the right, you ask. Well, that’s actually the question I’d like to ask you. Are you worthy of receiving my teachings?”
“!!”
“Let’s find out.”
With a flick of his fingers, three students entered from outside.
It was Catherine, Libel, and Yulia!
“As a professor, my credentials can be verified through these children. We’ll compete in ‘Battle Football,’ which is the group competition’s event. Through the game, I will also assess your worth.”
* * *
Sports in this world were different from those on Earth.
Knights and mages roamed—combining swordplay and magic.
Such ‘duels’ were widespread among academy students, and the summer camp’s group competitions were also based on sports duels.
Battle Football was exactly as it sounded: competing with swords and magic while trying to throw the ball into the opponent’s goal.
A goal was already set up, and a scrimmage was played immediately.
The result was:
“All that boasting, and this is all you’ve got?”
The sound of Beril grinding his teeth could be heard.
The score was 5:0.
It was a massive difference.
‘Of course. Battle Football is all about teamwork. How could these disjointed villains possibly do well?’
The lack of teamwork among them was so bad that no one wanted to play goalkeeper, leaving the goal entirely unguarded.
The skills of Catherine, Libel, and Yulia had significantly improved as well.
If that hadn’t been the case, despite the teamwork disparity, such a crushing victory would not have been possible.
“Libel, you…”
Kalvel glared at Libel chillingly.
“A man without conscience. To commit such acts and still walk around so brazenly with your head held high.”
Libel’s face turned pale.
But soon, our eyes met, and he seemed to make a resolution, biting his lip tightly.
Then,
“T-That incident wasn’t my fault. I-I’m just a victim too.”
“!!”
In fact, those were the words I had instructed him to say.
Recently, I had a private consultation with Libel.
Originally, I intended to let Libel overcome and grow on his own as much as possible, but he was not in a state to do so.
Meeting Kalvel had left Libel unable to think straight.
‘Number one.’
In ‘the House’, it signifies a rank.
It’s about who has killed the most ‘friends.’
That is, Libel had killed the most friends in ‘the House.’
The five children who survived from ‘the House’ were all monsters, but Libel was the most horrific among them.
His self-loathing was not without cause.
So I commanded him.
Follow my words. Say ‘It’s not my fault.’
What? Me?
Do it now!
It’s, it’s not my…
I can’t hear you. Say ‘It’s not my fault. I am a victim.’
…It’s not my fault. I am a victim.
I pressed him harder on purpose.
Your voice is too soft. Repeat it loudly a hundred times, loud enough to be heard across that distant island.
Libel’s voice, initially as faint as if he were hiding in a mouse hole, began to grow louder under my insistence.
I know.
This won’t rid Libel of his guilt.
But still, words spoken aloud can influence the subconscious.
Little by little, cracks began to form in Libel’s heart.
I-I am a victim.
Tears began to mix into Libel’s cries.
It happened that the place where I had counseled Libel was the cliff where I had spoken with Johan.
Like Johan had done, Libel cried his heart out for a long while.
Of course, a single bout of crying won’t shake off past traumas.
Even if he intellectually knows it’s not his fault, shaking off ingrained self-hatred isn’t easy.
But something had changed.
Libel had gained the courage to step over his past wounds.
“D-Don’t take out your anger on me without reason.”
“!!”
“A-And be good to Professor Van. If you disrespect the professor, I’ll kill you.”
“…What?”
Kalvel wore a baffled expression, but Libel disappeared swiftly, as if he didn’t intend to hear a response.
I looked at the three troublemakers.
Having wielded the whip, it was time to offer a carrot.
“Do you now understand how pathetic you are?”
“!!”
“I propose a deal to you. If you follow my instructions obediently during this group competition, I will help solve the issues each of you carries. The choice to seize this opportunity is yours.”
Silence fell again.
It was a silence of a different kind from before.
And then.
The deal was struck.
* * *
Once the ice was broken, it wasn’t difficult anymore.
Beril and Alpha Zero are villain-type protagonists.
Villain-type protagonists start strong, but conversely, their growth rate is slow.
Both were stuck at a significant barrier, and I knew the hints that could help them overcome these walls.
“Hehe, so what kind of teaching are you planning to offer? If it’s nothing special…”
“I’ll tell you why you’re stuck. It’s because of your hopeless character.”
“…What did you say?”
“I know why you split your personality into two. It was to become the evil Beril and enhance your ability for dealing with negativity. It seems to have been effective to some extent, but such extreme methods have reached their limits now.”
He clammed up suddenly.
That meant he was feeling what I had pointed out.
“Since it’s impossible to revert your split personality back to normal now, there’s only one way. It’s to alleviate the imbalance caused by your extremity. Simply put, get some manners.”
“…What, what?”
“I’m not suggesting something grandiose like performing ten good deeds a day. Just improving your behavior modestly will help balance things out. A good start would be showing some respect to your professor. After all, good manners begin with respect. Now, try calling me a respected professor sincerely.”
He looked like he could never comply.
“As I said before, the choice is yours. It’s not my concern if the dark noble house falls into decline in your generation.”
“!!”
One of the reasons I cared about him was due to the original storyline in which the dark noble house faces extinction.
The extinction of the dark noble family would have significant implications for Ecclesia.
It was an unavoidable fixed route in the storyline, but here in reality, I believe that no future is unchangeable.
If Beril-Bern awakens, he could potentially be the key to altering the future.
“P…Professor…”
“That’s not it. I can’t feel the sincerity. Say it like you mean it, ‘respected professor.'”
“……”
“If you can’t do it, then face the wall and repeat it a hundred times. The goal is to correct your warped imbalance, so don’t forget to put your heart into it.”
I turned to another troublemaker.
It was Kalvel.
‘Hmm. I don’t know much about this one.’
Unlike protagonists Beril-Bern and Alpha Zero, I know little about him.
He’s just an extra, a minor villain.
As his designation number five implies, he was the least capable among Libel’s ‘House’ friends.
Yet, there was a reason I had deliberately chosen him for my team.
“I roughly know your situation. Right now, becoming stronger isn’t what’s important for you. I’ll show you a way to solve your problem.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Go to Libel right now and learn how to suppress ‘power.’ Soon, you’ll be consumed by ‘power’.”
Kalvel’s face hardened.
“Are you joking?”
“Why? Aren’t the two of you friends?”
“Ha! Who said that guy and I are friends?!”
“Libel calls you a friend, though.”
“!!”
It’s not a lie.
That’s what Libel said in the storyline.
But not now; he said it when this guy briefly appeared before exiting the scene.
Specifically,
‘He said that when he was dying.’
The reason he’s a minor character is because he dies quickly.
Killed by the others from ‘the House.’
In the process of protecting Libel.
Yes.
Though they were entangled in a relationship filled with hatred and death, they were also friends.
It was only at the end that they were honest.
That was why I chose him as a team member.
“As Libel said earlier, both you and Libel are victims. Don’t harbor unnecessary resentment towards each other. It might be too late to regret it later.”
He quieted down.
He seemed to need time to sort out his thoughts, so I left him alone and turned to the last troublemaker.
“Haaah, what kind of lessons will you give me, Professor? I’m looking forward to it.”
The currently most powerful villain-type protagonist and one of the ten devils, Alpha Zero, asked with a playful tone.
I looked at him with a subdued gaze for a moment before speaking.
“Take up the sword.”
“Hmm?”
I pulled something out of my magic pouch.
It was the Demon King’s sword.
“I will show you the majesty of the Heavenly Sword, which looks down upon both the sun and the moon.”
It was time to demonstrate the grandeur of the Heavenly Restrained Vessel, praised by the Sword King.
