The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 209
“You…”
Kalvel bit his lip, trying to say something.
A commotion erupted from the deck.
“Hey, guys? How about we trust and wait for our professor? As you all know, Professor Van is the greatest in the world, right?”
It was Lindon.
He had been hiding quietly in a corner of the ship, but Catherine and Yulia had found him and dragged him up.
“You coward, Lindon! When a professor goes into danger, it is the duty of graduate students to rush in with the resolve to die with them! Can’t you quickly go and be Professor Van’s shield?”
“But you’re also a graduate student!”
“Hah! I’m about to become a full professor! Ugh, as much as I want to run to Professor Van right now, the responsibilities I’ll take on as a full professor soon are too heavy. I’ll cheer with all my heart!”
“Hans… I mean, shouldn’t Assistant Hans go with you?”
Clang!
Catherine pointed her sword at Hans’ neck.
“…Hic?”
This time, Yulia smiled villainously.
“Hehe, Assistant Hans is the most important part of our plan.”
“…Plan?”
“Yeah, Professor Van taught me. If you’re going to cause trouble, make it big.”
Right.
No matter how talented they were, they were still just students.
Realizing that continuing like this would be suicidal, they made a ‘plan’.
It was a plan learned from observing the troubles Van had caused until now.
Yulia dangled a poisoned dagger in front of Hans and Lindon, asking for their cooperation.
“You’re both excellent assistants, so you’ll cooperate, right? Oh, by the way, the poison on this dagger is very painful. It’s worse than most torture methods. Just so you know.”
Hans and Lindon swallowed hard.
A moment later.
Several surfboards began cutting through the sea.
The students were launching their operation.
* * *
“……”
Meanwhile, Van, who had successfully infiltrated Mermaid Island and was heading towards the sacred site, fell silent for a moment.
He felt an unsettling sensation.
‘…The kids are behaving, right? This makes me uneasy.’
Although he had asked Professor Repel for help, he couldn’t shake his anxiety.
But there was no time to think deeper.
“Wait, who are you?”
“!!”
Despite his best efforts to avoid them, he had encountered the merfolk!
And it was someone famous.
‘Of all people, it had to be a named character. A Level 6 master-class merfolk mage.’
“Greetings, Kamil. Due to the recent chaos, we couldn’t meet our pearl harvesting quota, so we’re returning late after finishing the work.”
Fwoosh!
I discreetly cast a spell to distort the ‘wavelength’ of Johan and myself.
The merfolk living on the island take human form on land.
Instead, they recognize each other through unique mana wavelengths.
With my ability, deceiving the eyes of a ‘mere’ Level 6 master-class mage was no problem.
Sure enough, he didn’t notice my disguise spell.
But something started to feel off.
“Hmm, you’ve worked a lot.”
“Thank you.”
“Where did you work?”
“…The western coast.”
“You worked in a dangerous place. There have been many sea monsters appearing lately. Many of our kind have gone missing too.”
“…Thank you for your concern.”
“Did anyone else see you come ashore besides me?”
“No, no one.”
“Is that so?”
He suddenly looked at us with a chilling gaze.
“Then, it wouldn’t be much of an issue if you two disappeared from here.”
“!!”
‘Damn it. This villain.’
As I mentioned before, he’s a named character.
What’s strange is that his level is only master-class Level 6.
It’s not a low achievement, but it pales compared to other powerful villains causing trouble in the second year.
He’s named not for his power, but for the heinous acts he commits.
‘He’s the one who colludes with The Order to kidnap humans for all sorts of horrifying experiments.’
Yes.
The trouble with the merfolk during the second year is due to their collaboration with The Order.
Specifically, they become allies in the Order’s uprising known as the ‘Great Peace Rebellion.’
Judging by his reaction, it seems he’s been committing atrocities against his own kind even before joining forces with The Order.
‘What should I do? I could fight him, but causing a commotion would make it impossible to infiltrate the sanctuary.’
I was in a dilemma.
Then, something completely unexpected happened.
“Follow me. I will grant you the honor of contributing to the advancement of our merfolk magic.”
He declared his intent to conduct human experiments without hesitation.
Fwoosh!
Something flashed in the darkness, and his body stiffened.
And then.
Slice.
His neck was smoothly severed and fell to the ground. Blood spurted out like a fountain.
“Yawn. What’s all this commotion?”
It was Alpha Zero!
True to his reputation as a top-tier assassin, he took him down with a single stroke.
“How are you here? Did you follow me?”
Alpha Zero frowned at my question.
“Follow you? The professor left me here.”
“……”
“Do you know how shocked I was when I woke up late and found everyone gone?”
Come to think of it, I didn’t see Alpha Zero when we were exiled.
‘He’s always sleeping, so I thought he was napping somewhere in the corner of the ship.’
“Anyway, I’ve dealt with this guy, so I’ve repaid the lesson I received from you, right? I’m off now. Haaah, when will I swim to the shore?”
Alpha Zero waved his hand and started walking towards the seaside, dragging his feet.
He really seemed intent on swimming across the sea.
‘Wait. If I use Alpha Zero…’
An idea flashed in my mind.
“Hold on. I have a task for you.”
“An assignment? Professor, do you know who I am?”
“Of course, I know. Codename 070 Alpha Zero. The contact password is Gamma Omega.”
For reference, codenames are like nicknames for assassins, and contact passwords are used when assigning tasks.
“Hmmm. As expected of Ecclesia. I’ve taken several assignments from the Ecclesia family before. So, what do you want to hire me for?”
Alpha Zero spoke in a low, warning tone.
“For your information, I’m very expensive. You can’t afford me with your professor’s salary.”
“I’ll lend you a surfboard so you can leave the island comfortably.”
“…Deal.”
I easily secured Alpha Zero for the task.
“So, what do I have to do? Do you need the head of the merfolk who started the rebellion?”
“Can you do that?”
“If you give me about a month?”
An astonishing statement.
However, I shook my head.
‘That’s too late.’
My goal is to achieve the hidden piece of the sacred site.
But it’s not an easy task.
Not only is it difficult, but the interference from the merfolk is also a problem.
It’s a Sanctuary, after all.
Even if I sneak in, they’ll surely notice at some point.
Before finishing the task, there was bound to be interference.
There was only one way.
We needed to create such chaos that they couldn’t interfere with us.
“Do you know about The Order?”
“Yawn. Of course, I do. I don’t really like them.”
Despite being an assassin, Alpha Zero walks a path of righteousness, even choosing his targets carefully.
In contrast, The Order is a depraved group, the worst of the Three Evils.
It’s not just because they pursue salvation through necromancy.
“Do you know what the merfolk mage you just killed has in common with The Order? They conduct human experiments.”
“!!”
A glint of realization passed through Alpha Zero’s eyes.
He understood my intention.
“Professor, you don’t mean…?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Expose this guy’s human experimentation lab to the merfolk. Then incite them to believe that the rebels were instigated by The Order.”
* * *
The rebellion that happened this time wasn’t actually instigated by The Order.
The alliance between The Order and the Sea Serpent king will come later.
It doesn’t matter.
‘The truth doesn’t really matter anyway.’
Why is propaganda called propaganda?
Because it’s a lie, it’s propaganda.
I heard that the current queen is highly esteemed among the common merfolk.
That’s why the Sea Serpent king can’t kill her immediately and plans to publicly execute her after framing her for various crimes.
In other words, many common merfolk are dissatisfied with this rebellion.
In such a situation, if ‘evidence’ were to surface that the rebels colluded with The Order?
‘It would cause an uproar.’
The merfolk are a minority race.
Therefore, even small voices of dissent can’t be easily ignored.
The Sea Serpent king would be in great trouble and wouldn’t be able to focus on the matters of the sacred site.
‘Of course, this alone won’t be enough to overthrow the Sea Serpent king.’
Unless the imprisoned queen escapes and unites the opposing forces, it’s unlikely.
‘Let the merfolk handle their own affairs. For now, I should focus on the hidden piece.’
Finally, I arrived at the Sanctuary.
There weren’t many guards visible.
Due to the rebellion, they probably had to organize the interior and mobilize even the troops guarding the sacred site.
“Is this the sacred site?”
“Yes.”
“But why does it feel…?”
…It feels really bad.
Johan had an uneasy expression. Mari had a similar reaction.
Mermaid Island was a volcanic island, like Jeju Island or Hawaii.
There was a tall mountain in the center, and the Sanctuary was located within that mountain.
It was a giant waterfall pond.
A beautiful view that would have been a tourist attraction on Earth.
However, there was a faint feeling of unease.
Only those with great magical abilities like me, the saint Johan, and the great dragon Mari could feel it.
“Of course. Didn’t I tell you? This place is cursed.”
“!!”
“This place isn’t a Sanctuary. It’s the source of the curse on the merfolk.”
A secret that no one knows now.
A secret that only I know.
In truth, the merfolk weren’t cursed by the great beings of another world.
They were cursed by the Eight Heroes.
‘I don’t know exactly why the Eight Heroes cursed the merfolk.’
The Eight Heroes not only transformed the merfolk into half-human, half-demon beings but also imposed an additional, terrible curse.
This very ‘sacred site.’
“This Sanctuary amplifies the merfolk’s hostility towards humans.”
Exactly.
The reason the merfolk despise humans so much isn’t just because of their half-human, half-demon nature.
It’s due to the curse embedded in this sacred site.
“Johan, you need to dispel the curse in this sacred site. Then the merfolk will be freed from the curse they’ve suffered for so long.”
Although it’s a curse left by the Eight Heroes and beyond the capability of the young saint Johan, I knew the strategy to tackle it.
‘No matter how great the Eight Heroes were, over time, the curse has developed several cracks. We can exploit those.’
“Yes, I will. Absolutely. With the determination to follow your example, Professor.”
I, I will too!
I nodded.
But then.
‘…What is that?’
I fell silent.
A blurry figure was looking down at us.
Just like at the ruins of the Swift Sword, one of the Eight Heroes.
A transparent form.
A ghost.
I recognized the appearance.
A woman with blood-red eyes.
The Red Mage.
One of the Eight Heroes.
