The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 63
“I don’t usually move in my original form, but you’ve caught my fancy. That’s why I came in person to work on you. To make a fine product, after all, one must use their hands directly. Here goes!”
Clatter!
The sight of the ‘tools’ the Puppeteer had spread out whitened Yulia’s complexion.
They were torture devices, horrific beyond compare.
“Do you think my master will leave you be?!”
“Ah! You, the disciple of the Bright Dragon. Frightening, the Bright Dragon. But, you see, I’m not one to forsake the pleasures right before me for the sake of the future. What do I care about some Bright Dragon, hehe. Hehehehehehehe!!!”
Mad laughter.
Yulia’s face turned ashen.
‘No! I must escape.’
In that moment, Yulia’s hand clasped an object.
It was the emergency signal device Van had given her.
But, as she was about to press the caller, she hesitated.
‘Me, asking Professor Van for help?’
It wasn’t a matter of pride.
‘Would Professor Van even come?’
This was the Puppeteer, after all.
Not as formidable as her master, the Bright Dragon, but a nightmare of the Abyss known throughout the empire for his notoriety.
Besides, hadn’t she intended to harm Van?
It was unthinkable.
“Hehe, why the hesitation? Press it quickly. If you can’t, I’ll do it for you.”
The Puppeteer snatched the caller and pressed the button firmly.
“Even if we call him, Van won’t come, hehe!”
“…….”
“By the way, you tried to slander Van, yet you seek him out when you really need him. How despicable. I like you even more for it.”
The Puppeteer twisted his lips grotesquely.
“Shall we play a fun game? I’ll give you a chance.”
Click.
With a flick of his hand, the Puppeteer released Yulia’s restraints.
He threw her a knife and pointed at Wilhelm, who was tied up next to her.
“Kill that pig. Then, I’ll let you live.”
“!!”
“After all, you never treated him like a human being anyway. Just close your eyes and stab.”
It was a vile trick by the Puppeteer.
Forcing his ‘toys’ into distressing situations before physically breaking them was a chronic bad hobby of his.
Gulp.
Yulia swallowed hard.
The Puppeteer watched her, his face throbbing with excitement.
“What’s the big deal about killing one person? If you’re worried about rumors, I’ll keep it a secret. I can see your twisted soul. You’re destined to become a horrendous villain anyway.”
Yulia’s hands trembled violently.
Her face set in determination, and Wilhelm, gagged, turned pale.
Then.
“You wouldn’t spare my life anyway, no matter what I do. Do you think I’m a fool? Die!”
Flash!
Yulia’s sword sliced through the Puppeteer’s neck.
‘Done!’
The Puppeteer’s head floated in the air.
But,
“Hehe, twisted, but not utterly despicable. I like you even more.”
The Puppeteer’s head reattached as if mending a doll, and Yulia’s face was stained with despair.
Snap!
With a flick of his finger, Yulia’s body stiffened as if caught in a web.
“Now, it’s the Puppeteer’s happy time! It’s boring to just torture, so how about we do this? Confess all the wrongs you’ve done up till now, like a confession.”
“What?”
“If you confess your wrongs, I’ll punish each and every one of them. I become the judge of justice. Ah, I am truly merciful. To offer you a chance to repent for your sins before you die. Hehe, doesn’t that sound fun?”
But, at that moment,
“Shut up.”
“!!”
A heavy,
overwhelming voice that even pressed down the Puppeteer’s presence.
And at the same time.
Whoosh!
The Puppeteer’s head was severed once again.
“If my student has committed any wrongs, it is my duty as a professor to administer punishment, not someone like you.”
It was Van.
* * *
“The Puppeteer, you say?”
The air in the tent turned stiff upon hearing the news brought by Hans and Lindon.
‘Why all of a sudden? Could it be under the orders of Ouroboros?’
I clenched my fists tightly.
“It’s dangerous. We must return immediately.”
Whoosh!
It was Sir Giselle, the knight escort of the Third Prince, who had secretly followed and revealed himself upon the emergency.
“The Puppeteer is a formidable opponent that requires a knightly order to confront. It’s unfortunate for the captured students, but we must first escape this place and then form a proper punitive force.”
For reference, Sir Giselle’s level was Lv. 5.
Though a high level in its own right, considering he was a royal escort knight, it was somewhat disappointing.
This was due to Mikhail receiving checks from the royal family, making him significantly insufficient to confront the Puppeteer.
“It seems best that I do the same. It’s an unavoidable situation.”
“…Your Highness should return. Catherine and Libel, you both go back with His Highness as well.”
“You, surely not?”
“Yes, I will go and save them.”
“Reckless!”
Mikhail raised his voice in anger.
Catherine and Libel also reacted with disapproval.
They were right.
The Puppeteer wasn’t an opponent one could confront merely out of a sense of duty.
A true disaster.
If I backed down now, no one could blame me.
‘This is different from the duel with Duchess Vess.’
Back then, it was a magic gunner duel where we directly competed with magic, and the power of chaos was easily effective, but real combat has its limits.
It was reckless, but the reason I resolved to save them was,
<Probability of Winning a Direct Confrontation with the Flawed Puppeteer>
8.7%
Flawed.
It meant there was currently a problem with the Puppeteer!
‘The odds are as high as 8.7%. Normally, it should be 0%.’
Normally, the only opponents I could potentially defeat in a direct confrontation were those around the level of 2nd or 3rd Star.
‘And I have prepared a contingency plan.’
It wasn’t specifically in anticipation of the Puppeteer.
As always, concerned that something strange might happen, I had prepared a contingency plan.
‘Of course, I can’t be sure this plan will work.’
Despite weighing the pros and cons, the likelihood of failure was much higher.
Failure meant death.
Yet,
“These two are students of I, Van Ecclesia. Even if the opponent were the heavens themselves, I would not allow them to be touched.”
There was an exaggeration typical of the Black Flame Dragon, but it was sincere.
Wilhelm and Yulia might both be nothing without their charming points, being quite annoying at times, but they are still my students. I have a responsibility towards them.
‘…There’s a practical reason too. If I run away now, even if I don’t face direct repercussions, my reputation at the academy would be over. Eventually, I’d be ousted.’
Meanwhile, the Third Prince bit his lip hard at the sight of me.
“…To risk your life for your students. You really have changed. If I had that kind of courage ‘back then’.”
The past.
An event that had significantly influenced the Third Prince being called the Demon Blade.
I pretended not to hear.
“…….”
“…….”
Catherine and Libel watched me with red eyes and clenched fists. They didn’t insist on getting involved, knowing it wasn’t their place, but their eyes spoke of suppressed frustration.
Unexpectedly, it was Hans and Lindon.
I thought they would surely make a fuss and back down, but,
“Indeed, it’s time to show the Puppeteer what Hans is capable of.”
“Are you insane? With that bald head of yours, better you stay back.”
“This guy! My head is my pride! I’ll capture the Puppeteer and make him bald!”
They were offering to join the fight!
“…Are you serious? What are you thinking?”
“Master Van and I are like the needle and thread! If the needle, which is Master Van, goes forward, shouldn’t the thread, which is me, follow?!”
“It’s not that, you bought a bunch of high-quality escape scrolls with the money you won from the last bet. If things don’t go well in trying to add a spoonful to the professor’s glory, we can always use them to escape.”
“This guy! Don’t misinterpret my loyalty like that!”
As expected.
But hearing their exchange sparked an idea.
‘With this strategy, we can significantly increase our chances of success!’
I explained the ‘plan’ to them.
Upon arrival, fortunately, both Yulia and Wilhelm were still safe.
“Hans, Lindon, you two wait on standby. When I give the signal, that’s when we start the operation.”
Hiding with a top-tier invisibility magic device borrowed from Amanda, I watched for an opportunity.
I was anxious that Yulia might actually stab Wilhelm at one point, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.
‘Yulia hasn’t completely turned villainous. There’s still some purity left in her.’
The story could progress further, and after being completely consumed by inferiority, she might commit far uglier deeds without hesitation, but it hasn’t come to that yet.
‘Now’s the time!’
At the moment the creature excitedly reached out to Yulia, I channeled the power of chaos into a 1st-tier Wind Cutter spell and slashed at its neck.
Swoosh!
The neck was cut, but it wasn’t a fatal blow.
the Puppeteer’s head floated in the air, letting out a ghastly laugh.
“Who do we have here? You really came? Ah, what is it? A sense of justice? Responsibility? Those are the things I hate the most. What to do? I really want to kill you right now, Van.”
Ssssh.
The air was thick with murderous intent.
If I weren’t the Black Flame Dragon, I might have wet myself on the spot, but I gritted my teeth and endured.
‘For the operation to succeed, not a single gap can be allowed.’
From one to ten.
Just as everything was under control.
“Shut up. Release the two, and face me.”
Of course, there was no way the Puppeteer would comply.
Predictably, the Puppeteer responded just as I had anticipated.
“Hehe, my nature is twisted. Seeing someone as noble as you, I just have to trample over them to feel satisfied. Hehe, shall we start the fun time?”
With a snap of his fingers, a dreadful thing happened.
Yulia and Wilhelm began to point their swords towards me.
‘Just as expected.’
Forcing them to kill each other is one of the Puppeteer’s infamous hobbies.
“Now, what will it be? Kill your beloved students, or die yourself. Choose. Or, you could simply leave them and run away. It would be a pity to kill you now, so I’ll let you go if you run.”
“I said, let them go.”
“Hehe, do you think I’m making a request that I’ll actually listen to?”
“No, it’s not a request. It’s an order.”
“What?”
That was the moment.
Swoosh!
Yulia’s sword cut through the Puppeteer’s neck.
“?!”
The face of the Puppeteer floating in mid-air registered shock.
I had momentarily interfered with the Puppeteer’s puppetry, seizing control!
Of course, it was just a temporary trick.
The ownership of the two swiftly reverted back to the Puppeteer.
My eyes sparkled.
‘Normally, he would never allow such interference. The Puppeteer isn’t in his full state. This is worth a try.’
But there was a condition.
I silently cast a messaging spell, connecting mentally with Yulia and Wilhelm.
Yulia, Wilhelm, can you hear me? There’s something you must do. Swear to entrust everything to me right now. Your lives and souls included.
!!
Both sent perplexed looks.
Their faces screamed, “What on earth are you talking about?”
I was serious.
I was about to use ‘Moonlight Waltz’.
A first-level puppetry spell that allows control over those who have pledged themselves to me.
In essence, I was attempting to dismantle the techniques of the Puppeteer, the grandmaster and master of puppetry, with the most basic of methods.
