The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 6.1
“Apologize to Master Van immediately.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Hurry! Come on!”
Hans glanced at me with exaggerated loyalty, silently pleading for my praise.
His eyes were saying, ‘Please compliment me,’ and it gave me a headache.
“Th-This…!!”
Cal gave me a threatening glare, as if harboring lethal intentions.
“…I will never forget today’s events. Just wait and see, big brother.”
With a chilling warning, he swiftly turned away and disappeared, leaving me with an awkward expression.
‘…He’s kind of cute, but it would be tiring to deal with him. I should avoid him in the future.’
I cleared my throat.
“We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s go.”
It was time to capture the Lord of Darkness.
* * *
The Duke’s mansion boasted a history of several hundred years.
The mausoleum was vast and majestic.
Maxim Ecclesia
I gazed at the crown placed right in the center of the mausoleum.
Beneath it lay the sealed Lord of Darkness.
Suddenly, worry crept in.
‘…Can I really do this?’
I know the strategy.
The problem lies in the difficulty.
‘For the strategy to work, three protagonists from the Mage class need to gather. And only in their third year.’
Naturally, among the 16 protagonists, all are geniuses.
I have to handle the workload of three geniuses on my own.
‘I’ve come this far; there’s no turning back. Instead, I need safety measures in case of failure.’
Just because it’s me doesn’t mean every business venture succeeds right away.
The important thing is to have a plan for when things don’t go as intended.
Lost in thought, I heard an unexpected voice.
“…Brother, apologize for what you said earlier.”
It was Cal.
He must have been upset about what happened earlier, so he followed me!
He seemed to be trying to intimidate me, drawing upon his mana.
It was a menacing sight, but at that moment, a good idea struck me.
‘…What if I use Cal?’
I glanced at the seal.
Its form was somewhat dimmed, with traces of wear after centuries of being sealed.
The seal was so weakened that it could crumble from even minor impacts.
Even in games, a slight mistake could break the seal.
‘I won’t directly touch the seal myself, but provoke Cal to break it. Shift the blame to him if things go wrong!’
In other words, if I succeed in capturing the Lord of Darkness, it’s my accomplishment, but if I fail, the responsibility falls on Cal.
Don’t call it heartless.
This is just how society works.
“I said apologize.”
As Cal’s aggression increased, the seal began to crack faintly.
It wasn’t enough yet.
“Alright. I apologize.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, it’s a bigger blow to insult someone who’s already feeling inadequate. I didn’t consider your inferiority complex. I’ll try to say nicer things considering your feelings of inferiority from now on.”
Hmm.
Even to myself, those were unpleasant words.
‘If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have spoken so harshly. The Dark Flame Dragon… Could it actually be subtly helpful?’
As expected, it had the desired effect.
Cal burst out angrily.
“Brother!!!”
His intensity was incomparable to before.
It still wasn’t enough.
I’m sorry, just a bit more.
“If you don’t like being spoken to nicely, I wonder what you expect. Cal, isn’t it true that you’re lacking?”
“Argh!!”
“It’s a pity. Seeing you not acknowledging your own shortcomings makes it difficult for you to improve in the future. Well, if your capacity is that limited, there’s nothing much to be done.”
“Shut your mouth!!”
Cal seemed about to charge at me right then.
Rumble!!!
The tomb vibrated.
The seal was broken!
‘Got it!!’
I raised my voice.
“You foolish fool! Because of your recklessness, the seal of the Lord of Darkness has been shattered!”
“W-Whaat?”
Cal’s face turned pale.
He realized his mistake.
“W-We need to call father immediately!!”
“What about this mausoleum? Are you saying it’s okay to let the resting place of our ancestors crumble?”
“But with my power, I can’t handle the Lord of Darkness…”
“You always talk about responsibility, but when it actually comes to taking responsibility, you become a coward.”
‘Where the hell are you going?! We should fight this together!!’
Naturally, two heads are better than one.
Even though I ignored it, being a third star ranked student in the second year was a remarkable achievement.
As I expected, this message popped up:
<Judgment of the Gambler has been Activated Before a Dangerous Challenge!>
If Cal is used as a shield, probability of repelling the Lord of Darkness: 90.3%
The success rate was soaring at over 90%!
“But, it’s just too much…”
“I’ll do it.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I’ll be the one to annihilate the Lord of Darkness. Just follow my lead.”
I confidently spoke after seeing that 90.3% success rate.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Haven’t you failed to reach even first star, brother?!”
Then, a chilling sound echoed.
-Graaaaaagh!!!!!
A soul-piercing scream.
The Lord of Darkness was being released.
‘…Is the 90.3% accurate?’
My cowardly heart trembled.
“…Trust me.”
My voice seemed faintly shaky, but I pretended not to notice.
Cal clenched his teeth.
“Damn it, damn it all!! Alright, I understand! But, brother, please run away!!”
“Hmm?”
“The responsibility for its release falls on me, so I’ll do my best to stop it! brother, you won’t be of any help here; please call father as quickly as possible!!”
I shook my head.
“You told me to trust you, didn’t you? Give me three… no, five minutes to hold him off.”
The strategy I had in mind gained more power with every second given.
The longer Cal could hold out, the better the chances.
But expecting Cal to last for five minutes was impossible.
“Don’t worry. I can do it. I’ll guide you through.”
“!!”
Did my ‘Dark Flame Dragon’s Charisma’ take effect?
Cal’s pupils flickered faintly.
A smirk crossed my lips.
“As your elder brother, I’ll show you my greatness. You’ll come to admire me.”
