The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 83
A rationally insane man.
That was how I had previously assessed Duke Alfonso.
He wasn’t exactly sane, but he never crossed the line.
‘The King of the Contrary Heaven was a dual identity he crafted to cross that line.’
Duke Alfonso had attempted all manner of unorthodox methods in his quest to ascend, creating the mask of the King of the Contrary Heaven in the process.
“Ha, do you know how shocked I was when 50 million Penas disappeared from my account?”
“Things got complicated.”
“Yes, I’ve heard from the lady. You caused quite the stir at the dark auction. Fascinating. Truly.”
I swallowed hard.
Madness flowed in Duke Alfonso’s eyes as he looked at me, a different kind of madness from the Massacrist Mage I had encountered before.
It was much murkier.
Like chaos rippling.
‘He’s contemplating whether to kill me or not.’
Not simply because I had mocked him.
The 50 million Penas, to him, was nothing significant.
A flicker of ‘jealousy’ passed through Duke Alfonso’s eyes.
I hadn’t seen it wrong.
Astonishingly, Duke Alfonso, dubbed the king of terrestrial mages, was jealous of me.
“Do you know? Since meeting you last time, I haven’t been able to sleep. If I had even half, no, a quarter of your talent, I could have ascended to the heavens long ago.”
“……”
“Even now, looking at you, it’s hard to suppress my jealousy. If you weren’t an Ecclesia, I would have torn you to pieces long ago.”
The madness in his eyes deepened.
Duke Alfonso was contemplating whether killing me would be ‘crossing that line.’
The air tensed as if a conflict was imminent.
“Hahaha, you’re quite the jester. There’s more to him than just the Ecclesia family, Young Master Van. He is a benefactor of our Legion.”
“!!”
It was Lyran.
She had stepped forward, now standing close beside me.
“Do not forget that harming Young Master Van would mean making an enemy of our Legion.”
The rebel Legion.
Not a force to be taken lightly.
It wasn’t for nothing that the imperial forces had been unable to subdue them so far.
Another ‘line’ had been raised, and Duke Alfonso burst into laughter.
“No need to be so tense. Did you really think I would kill him? True, I did seriously contemplate it, but I’m not without reason.”
“……”
“Shall we receive the item then? You did bring the Gray Ritual Tome, didn’t you?”
I nodded and pulled the grimoire from my storage pouch.
“Ah, this is the gray ritual tome indeed. Truly magnificent….”
As he flipped through the pages, Duke Alfonso’s face stiffened.
“Have you tampered with this grimoire?”
I clenched my fist tight.
‘He noticed, as expected.’
The plan had gone awry due to the Massacrist Mage, leaving me with insufficient time.
I couldn’t manipulate it as precisely as needed.
‘It’s okay. Time for Plan B.’
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“It’s a test.”
“…What?”
“I wanted to see if Your Excellency could detect all the tricks I played on the grimoire.”
“!!”
The best defense was a bold offense.
“I wanted to verify how remarkable my abilities were through Your Excellency. If even you couldn’t notice my tampering, then surely no one in the world could.”
Although it might sound presumptuous at first, it wasn’t.
My words were actually flattering, suggesting that I wanted to measure myself against the best, thereby boosting his ego with a master stroke of salesmanship.
Fortunately, it worked.
“Ha! You do know how to make things interesting, don’t you? Very well, let’s do this. If I lose, I will never harm you again. But if I win…”
Duke Alfonso stroked his chin.
“Let’s say you become my son-in-law. Whether it’s Joanna or Catherine doesn’t matter.”
“…Wasn’t that discussion concluded already?”
“Concluded, yes. But rather than succumbing to jealousy and killing you, I think it’s better to make you one of my own.”
“…….”
“I’ll be off then. I’m itching to see what kind of tricks you’ve played.”
Light swirled around Duke Alfonso.
Just as teleportation magic was about to unfold, an unexpected message reached my ears.
I reckon Joanna would be a better match for you than Catherine. Catherine is the forsaken child. I’m contemplating disowning her from the family, so it might be wise for you to maintain a proper distance from her. Misplaced sympathy will only serve as poison.
I frowned.
The casually delivered message was indeed vile.
To refer to one’s own child as forsaken.
‘…That reminds me, ‘that incident’ involving Catherine is due to happen soon.’
My expression turned grave.
The first major trial of Catherine’s character scenario <The Path of the Hero> was about to begin.
‘First, let’s deal with the pressing matter and then think about the rest.’
The pressing matter.
Finding a place to live.
‘It’s time to fulfill my dream of owning a home!’
The thought of achieving on this world what I couldn’t on Earth made my heart race.
But there was a problem.
‘Why are the housing prices in the Free City like this?’
They were higher than expected!
“Haha, the housing prices have gone up quite a bit recently. Here are some properties within the price range you mentioned.”
I could afford a house with the down payment.
The issue was they were all in communal villas.
The two-story house I had dreamt of was out of reach.
‘Even a villa would be more than enough. It’s not like I’m renting; it’s my own place.’
However, there was a concern.
“Mari, will this be alright?”
Mari would have to worry about noise from neighbors in the future.
It might not be as bad as the last studio apartment, but susceptibility to noise pollution is a common issue everywhere.
Mari fluttered her wings excitedly.
In the meantime, Mari had rapidly improved her language skills during our time apart, now capable of forming simple sentences.
Pa! Pa! If I have… pa… yeah!
She seemed genuinely alright with the situation.
After watching Mari for a moment, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“No, not here. Let’s go for that two-story house we saw on the way.”
“The price is more than double, are you sure?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Pa? Pa! Aym okey…!
Mari shook her head, indicating it wasn’t okay.
“Mari, it’s not about you. Such villas simply can’t encompass my stature. In other words, I’m buying it for myself.”
Realii.. sewious!
“And remember, when buying a house, it’s always best to purchase a good one. It holds investment value.”
Notably, the real estate values in the Free City are set to skyrocket.
Once the turmoil starts, people flock to the relatively safe haven of the Free City, driving up demand.
Thus, considering the future, a two-story house holds much more investment value than a single villa.
Pa… sori…!
But Mari didn’t believe it and seemed on the verge of tears.
I… will… repey twish kwindess!
I smiled and patted her head before heading to the bank.
My capital was 50,000 penas. The house I wanted was 130,000 penas. I needed a loan for the shortfall.
“Please sign here on the mortgage loan documents, sir.”
“Even though I am a professor, is a low-interest professional credit loan not possible?”
“You are currently a temporary professor, sir. With all due respect, the financial markets are not yet confident in your chances of a formal appointment.”
It was an unexpected response.
After accomplishing such feats, to think that my chances of becoming a tenured professor were still seen as slim?
“Ah, of course, we’re aware that you’re no longer the former reckless person but have become a dragon. However, securing a tenure position isn’t something that can be achieved by being remarkable alone, is it?”
I understood the implication.
‘The students must excel. The most significant factor in a professor’s tenure is the student mentoring aspect.’
The biggest issue was ‘Susan,’ the Massacrist Mage I had confined to the Other Dimension.
As long as she didn’t change her ways, my appointment as a tenured, a full professor was utterly impossible.
‘I need to find a solution before the Massacrist escapes the Other Dimension, one that everyone can accept.’
The loan process proceeded with a mortgage.
The collateral wasn’t enough with just the house I intended to purchase, so I had to include an expensive magical device I received as a gift from former Chancellor Rudolph.
‘It’s not like I’m selling it, just using it as collateral should be fine.’
With the loan secured, I was overwhelmed with emotion.
I had acquired my own home!
It might not have been very large, but it was a two-story house with its own small garden.
‘Maybe becoming Van was the right choice?’
If I had to choose the happiest day since becoming Van, it would be today.
Of course, the high loan ratio meant I would be strapped with loan interest payments in the future, but I was still overjoyed.
Pa! Pa! Pa is the beest! Kekeke~ Whoosh.
Mari was so happy, flapping her wings without a care for noise between floors.
Pa!!
Mari suddenly let out a sharp cry.
A chilling murderous intent suddenly filled the air.
‘Someone is targeting me.’
But I wasn’t alarmed.
I had a guess as to who it might be.
Sure enough,
“Hehe, master, I’m back. Quicker than you expected, huh?”
It was the Massacrist Mage, Sylphin!
She looked drained from escaping the Other Dimension, but her eyes shone more fiercely than before.
“I’m eager to attend the lecture I missed last time, master. So, what kind of lecture will you give me this time?”
I steeled my gaze.
‘It’s time to give the answer.’
Yes.
All the time I bought before was for this moment.
“Do you have no hesitation in your quest for vengeance?”
“Of course not. It’s too exhilarating~”
“Then, try to kill me.”
Sylphin tilted her head in confusion.
“Whatever trick you’re trying to pull, I won’t decline. Here I go!”
A dark concoction swirled into existence.
Whoosh!
Alchemic Spear.
A spell that launches the concoction like a spear blade.
Even a graze would turn me into a pool of blood.
But,
“…Why?”
The magic didn’t manifest.
The stars scattered midway!
“…What did you do?”
“I did nothing. Try again.”
Sylphin’s expression hardened.
But the result was the same.
At the moment the magic was about to manifest, it was nullified.
No one interfered.
It was as if she herself was retracting the magic.
“Why is that? Didn’t you say you had no hesitation? Give it a proper go. If you truly don’t hesitate, you should be able to kill me anytime.”
“!!”
Sylphin’s eyes widened.
She realized the cause of the phenomenon happening now from my words.
“You’ve altered the master-servant contract imprinted between us?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve placed a prohibition on you.”
The master-servant contract of a slave broadly forces actions, but it has many loopholes and doesn’t easily apply to someone as strong as Sylphin.
But what if I altered the master-servant contract to focus on just one restriction?
Especially since I didn’t impose a grandiose restriction.
“I simply made it so you cannot commit murder when you feel guilt.”
“!!”
Yes.
The excuse of killing villains for convenience was just that, an excuse.
She hesitated to kill even those without sin.
I noticed her hesitation and imposed this restriction.
“What nonsense! Who do you think you are?!”
Sylphin showed anger for the first time since we met.
A genuine expression.
“Just one question. Do you really think you can succeed in your vengeance?”
“What are you saying?”
“I prophesied that you will fail in your vengeance. Absolutely.”
“!!”
It’s true.
The slaughter of 100,000 lives wouldn’t complete her revenge.
“Do you know that you are insignificant? Then why waste your energy like this?”
“…Waste?”
“Isn’t it true that even focusing all your energy on your true enemies who directly harmed your kin would still not be enough? Considering whether to exterminate other humans should be a concern only after dealing with your real enemies.”
Sylphin bit her lip hard.
“Or, have you given up because you’re afraid?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it so? Your real enemies are all formidable and powerful individuals, so you’ve preemptively given up and instead shifted your target to something irrelevant.”
I had an important reason for saying this.
The real enemy responsible for the annihilation of her kin.
It was Ouroboros.
