The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 72
The academy was abuzz over the quiz results.
“Did you see? I got 48 points in linear theory. That’s the highest I’ve ever scored!”
“I thought it was going to be hard, but it wasn’t?”
“Was professor Van’s lecture actually effective?”
“Weren’t you the one saying just a while ago that Young Van doesn’t deserve to be called a professor?”
“What! Who would dare insult our respected Professor Van like that?!”
Van’s reputation skyrocketed in no time.
However, suddenly, a dampening remark was heard,
“I heard Professor Van’s teachings are considered heretical?”
“…You mean evil dark magic? Surely that can’t be?”
It refers to magic not recognized by the Mage Tower, often misleading and potentially harmful.
While it might rapidly enhance one’s abilities, it ultimately leads to severe side effects.
“It’s true. My friend’s uncle is a high-ranking official in the Mage Tower, and he said to stop attending Van’s lectures immediately after hearing about them. Apparently, there are dark mages who have used similar methods.”
“…Indeed. Something did feel off.”
“The sudden improvement in Young Van’s magical abilities is suspicious too.”
Van’s reputation plummeted from professor to Trash Van once again.
The real problem was not just the drop in reputation.
“…What do we do? Should we continue attending these classes? Shouldn’t we boycott him?”
“But if we skip, we’ll be marked absent, right?”
“What’s the student council doing?! Why haven’t they stopped the class yet?”
“What power does the student council have against a professor?”
“What do we do?”
It was in this moment of student turmoil,
“Haha, don’t worry. We anticipated this situation, which is why our Amethyst audit team was dispatched.”
It was Senin!
‘Fools.’
Senin was behind spreading these rumors.
He had coerced students connected to the Duke Rapalt family within the magic department.
‘Evidence doesn’t matter. Just spread a plausible rumor and it’s over.’
An annoyed voice came from the side.
“We didn’t need to resort to this.”
“Lady Joanna, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but wouldn’t it be better to ensure perfection?”
‘I should be the one to bring Van down. He’s always been the protagonist.’
Senin spoke triumphantly.
“I’ll make sure everything is perfectly prepared, so you just need to finish it off.”
“Hmph.”
Joanna responded coldly.
“I don’t care what you do. I will prove that Professor Van is wrong.”
* * *
Meanwhile, there were those who looked upon the Amethyst audit team with displeasure.
“Hmm. I’m not fond of this. Don’t you agree?”
“…I don’t really care…? No, no, that’s not true! I do care! How dare they challenge our Professor Van!”
It was Yulia and Wilhelm from Van’s class!
“How dare those Amethyst folks. We can’t let them return unscathed.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
“What do you think?”
“Can you, like, not smile like that? It’s scary, you know.”
Yulia was smiling sinisterly.
It was the kind of smile often seen on villains in stories.
Indeed.
Her role was originally that of a villain.
Although it was uncertain what the future held for her as a member of Van’s class, she harbored a wicked nature.
‘An eye for an eye. I’ll bury them using their own tactics.’
Notably, Yulia was also an expert in spreading rumors, second to none.
However, there was a problem,
‘A rumor war is a battle of momentum. Professor Van can’t afford to lose the upper hand in his classes.’
Joanna’s resolute expression came into view.
She was clearly bracing herself for a showdown with Van.
‘…She’s not to be underestimated. Kind of a nutcase.’
Catherine and Joanna.
As different as they were, they still resembled each other in being sisters.
Catherine was rough, and Joanna was tricky.
If Catherine was tenacious, Joanna was a venomous sort.
‘Once she gets fixated, she doesn’t look back and goes all in. What kind of bad blood does she have with Professor Van?’
The reason was unclear, but Joanna was currently fixated on Van.
It was certain she would cause trouble during Van’s classes.
* * *
“I’ll begin the class now. It seems… there are some empty seats.”
I frowned.
The atmosphere in the lecture hall had changed.
Until now, there were hardly any absentees, mostly because of attendance points, but now, the empty seats were noticeably more numerous.
The students’ gazes were different too.
The brief trust shown after the exam results had vanished, and now, their looks were filled with distrust and caution.
The reason was simple.
‘Senin has played his tricks.’
A sub-main character from the humanities department.
His class was ‘Merchant.’
‘He’s at his most infuriating stage right now.’
Senin truly becomes like a main character after he undergoes a significant ‘re-education,’ which isn’t too far off.
‘In the original storyline, Senin spreads rumors to bury a professor from Chancellor Karak’s faction, eventually leading to that ‘disaster.”
I shivered momentarily, recalling the ‘disaster,’ unseen by anyone.
‘It’s okay. That disaster happens because a professor from Chancellor Karak’s faction gets buried. This time will be different.’
Instead,
‘Senin’s schemes will actually help me.’
Anyone else hearing this might wonder what I meant.
‘If I can debunk this rumor, it will, in turn, strengthen the trust towards me. During the joint competition, I can make the students achieve the outcome I desire.’
The course I’m teaching, <Understanding the Basics of Magic,> includes a joint competition between classes mid-way through.
It’s an event that starkly contrasts the capabilities of the professors.
‘I must receive the highest evaluation in my lectures. Merely defeating Baron Aiden isn’t enough. I will perform a miracle during the joint competition.’
In the original storyline, the joint competition ended horribly with a ‘disaster,’ but this time, there’s no worry about that happening, so I can fully show off the results.
However,
‘…Why is she here?’
I felt uneasy.
In the middle of the lecture hall.
Joanna was sitting cross-legged in a seat directly in front.
‘Joanna being part of the audit team wasn’t in the storyline.’
“Aren’t we going to start the class?”
Joanna’s prickly voice.
I nodded.
“Spread out your practice papers. This time, we’re going to study the Star of Lightning.”
“Isn’t the Star of Lightning a bit too advanced for us to study?”
The students murmured among themselves.
This was a significantly more complex star compared to the basic Mana Star we studied last time.
“We’re not going to draw the conventional star, but a newly improved star I’ve developed. Watch.”
Paaaf!
It was a completely different shape, not the complex star as mentioned.
“I’ve modified it for educational purposes. Through this star, we’ll study the structure of stars.”
Then, a challenge was raised.
“Wouldn’t learning an improperly modified star potentially cause negative effects in the future?”
It was Joanna.
“This star is not incorrect.”
“A star we’ve neither seen nor heard of before is not wrong? That’s laughable.”
Joanna spoke sharply.
“Alright. Let’s do this. After this class, one student who has learned this star will compete with me using the same lightning magic. If, as you say, this star is correct, then there’s no reason I should lose, right?”
It was an absurd challenge.
The problem wasn’t the star.
Joanna was a second-tier advanced mage.
Meanwhile, all the students in this magic department were first-tier, so none could match her.
‘There’s no need to follow through…’
But then, our eyes met.
At first glance, it seemed full of hostility.
But it wasn’t.
There was a different emotion swirling deep within.
Desperation.
‘…So that’s it.’
I finally understood why Joanna had come all this way.
It wasn’t simply to cause me harm.
She wanted confirmation.
To win against me and confirm that her past self wasn’t wrong.
‘…Did I provoke her too much?’
I felt a twinge of regret.
Joanna, who had enrolled in the academy and became aware of her deficiencies, was already in turmoil.
By meddling, even with the intent to help, I might have inadvertently deepened her confusion.
‘I guess I have no choice but to provide some aftercare.’
“I reject your proposal.”
“Ha! Are you avoiding it?”
“Don’t you think it’s inherently unfair? To ask for a duel with a star that you’ve practiced hundreds of times against one that someone has only learned a few hours ago? It’s unreasonable. Instead, let’s use a different approach.”
“…And what would that be?”
“You’ll attend the class and then demonstrate the star I teach yourself.”
“!!”
Joanna was taken aback.
“What kind of suggestion is that?”
“By manifesting the star yourself, you’ll see whether my star is correct or not. Surely, the noble lady of a great magical family wouldn’t lack such discernment, right?”
Provoked by my challenge, Joanna’s face turned angry.
“How dare you… Fine. I’ll evaluate it mercilessly, so be prepared.”
The lecture time flew by quickly.
Unlike the other students, Joanna didn’t attempt to draw the star.
She just listened with an indifferent face.
“That’s it for today’s class. Joanna, please come up to the podium.”
“Hmph.”
Joanna stood opposite me.
“You weren’t paying attention. Did you understand it correctly?”
“I don’t need to concentrate on such a trivial star.”
Paaaf!
The star she manifested was exactly the same as the one I taught in class.
“The convenience has improved, but every detail is fundamentally flawed.”
“Try looking at it before you judge.”
With a scoff, Joanna unleashed her lightning.
Crackle!
As she said, the lightning seemed to lack something.
“Look at this. Do you call this a properly formed star?”
“It’s not a proper manifestation, is it?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Are you suggesting I deliberately performed the magic poorly? What do you take me for?!”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
I looked her straight in the eye.
“Do you believe you’ve fully grasped the meaning behind my star?”
“Of course, such a simple star…”
“Are you really sure?”
Joanna clamped her mouth shut.
“I clearly taught the meaning of this star during class. But it seems you haven’t understood it at all.”
“I understood everything perfectly. The combination of lines and points, the elemental orientation it represents… Want to hear it?”
With that, Joanna meticulously explained the structure of my star.
Her explanation was precisely what I had described during the class.
However,
“So, what do you think the essence of my star is? Or, did you even think about it?”
“!!”
“The superficial details you just mentioned aren’t what’s truly important.”
Quickly calculating formulas.
Accurately memorizing the star and drawing it as if copied.
This talent is often referred to as magical intelligence.
An area where Joanna excels.
Once, she was called a genius and received high expectations for this reason.
However, among the many talents of a mage, it was the least significant.
The real quality of a mage had nothing to do with such trivial talents.
“I’ll give you another chance. This time, unfold it properly.”
