I Ended up Doing Too Well as a Professor of the Enemy Nation - Chapter 181

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 181. Fire Butterfly’s Scheme (1)

Ruin, holding the business card, let out a deep sigh.

Currently, he had three choices available to him.

‘First, killing the Hero according to the Emperor’s will.’

Then Pride would be pleased, and he could retrieve his severance pay without any worries, obtain a peaceful retirement destination, and live the life of an old demon he had dreamed of.

However.

‘…So can I trust the Emperor?’

That doubt gripped his throat.

Right, suppose he killed the Hero. Then what comes next?

First of all, the Emperor would have no reason to keep him alive.

Of course, he had promised considerable compensation in exchange for curing the curse, but he shouldn’t be satisfied with just that.

‘I’d naturally be eliminated to silence me.’

That man was cold-blooded enough to casually say ‘kill humanity’s hero.’

‘Which means he’s a vicious human who can eliminate anyone when they’re no longer needed.’

Having assassins follow him would be basic, and it wouldn’t be strange if he framed him with the accusation of ‘murdering the Hero using his disciples’ blood.’

‘…How would I even prove that the blood I received was really the Emperor’s blood?’

The Emperor had smiled and said ‘it’s my blood,’ but unfortunately, even magic couldn’t determine that much. In other words, if things went wrong, he might even be charged with manufacturing poison.

In short, a scenario of using a vulnerable professor like a tool and discarding him like waste under the pretext of ‘eliminating political enemies.’

‘The design is annoyingly too perfect.’

Which means-

‘I shouldn’t be swayed by the massive fortune before my eyes.’

「Right? As expected, the only one I can trust is myself?」

‘You just go earn some money.’

「Waah!」

Like Ginseng Superior, Ruin had never trusted those in power to begin with. Their ‘safe and easy proposals’ were usually traps or snares.

‘And above all, if I kill the Hero now…’

The Pope would create a new Hero.

The problem was that no one knew what kind of monster this newly born Hero would be. The current Hero was already troublesome enough, but what if it was someone even more troublesome?

“…I’d rather create the Hero myself.”

Did they think he’d be swayed by the schemes of those in power like this?

His innate rebellious nature stirred.

So at that moment, Ruin realized. What he could trust wasn’t others, but only structures he could control himself.

Therefore, the second choice was…

‘Kill the Emperor.’

This wasn’t bad either.

To be precise, it was a very realistic means. Because the Emperor was currently alive not because the curse had disappeared, but thanks to Ruin’s magic.

Which means-

‘If I delete the condition I set with Dispel Magic again…?’

The Emperor, unaware that the condition had disappeared, would simply die while walking. After that, he could just put whoever he wanted on the throne. In fact, in the past, Ruin had ‘installed monarchs’ that way.

‘…The problem is.’

The person who recently treated the Emperor was himself.

The moment the Emperor died, the first person to be suspected would be the Demon Hunting Professor who cast ‘conditional survival magic’ on the Emperor, Ruins Wayne.

…Anyway, if he got thoroughly investigated and even the Revolutionary Army story came up, he’d be completely screwed. So it was on hold until retirement.

In that sense, the third choice.

‘Kill both the Hero bastard and the Emperor.’

This was actually the cleanest option. It was even very much like Ruin.

Ruin’s true identity was a demon spy pretending to be ‘Ruins Wayne.’ Ironically, this spy held the critical weaknesses of two supreme rulers: ‘the Emperor’s survival condition’ and ‘how to kill the Hero.’

“Making it look like they killed each other is… well, my specialty.”

There was also a scenario of linking them together and disguising it as a coup.

‘I recently incited the Hero to become Emperor, and he seemed genuinely moved by it.’

There was no way Ruin could have missed the Hero’s wavering pupils at that time. In other words, he could easily frame it as ‘the Hero who coveted the throne committed a coup using the Revolutionary Army.’

The Hero could be dealt with afterward through an unidentified poisoning… well, there were many methods of manipulation. That was Ruin’s specialty.

But there was a problem.

‘If both the Hero and Emperor die…’

Instant absence of leadership.

Sudden chaos induction.

The Union would collapse. Those sent by the Demon Emperor would take advantage of that gap to invade, and eventually things would flow according to the scenario Pride wanted.

“Then… the Wish Stone would activate.”

Right, that was the problem.

The Wish Stone.

If the Demon Emperor got his hands on it, there was no telling what results awaited.

‘He might want my taxidermy. Or maybe he’d make me an eternal slave of love.’

In fact, the reason he could move this freely now was, ironically, because the Union existed.

The tension between the two, that is, the competitive relationship between the Demon Emperor and the Hero, between Pride and the Union.

Thanks to this taut tug-of-war, he could enjoy brief freedom under the pretext of ‘a spy’s mission sent from Pride.’

“This is quite ironic…”

In the end, only when both sides kept each other in check could he prepare for retirement in between.

But if both disappeared? From that moment, Fire Butterfly would become Pride’s ‘property.’ No more plans or choices. Just the fate of a captured beast.

‘…I didn’t come this far to live that kind of life.’

Being used by the Emperor was already infuriating to begin with. Even if he gave a lot of money.

‘I’ll return this anger to the Emperor in full.’

So there was only one answer Ruin would choose.

“The fourth option. A way to earn points even with the Pope.”

At those words, Echo hurriedly blinked.

“Wait, is that possible? Didn’t they tell you to kill the Hero? You don’t have to kill him?”

Then Ruin crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Well? If you grasp the essence, the Emperor’s demand is ultimately this, right? Kill that Hero bastard who’s trying to eliminate that land.”

“So?”

“Then just make it so the Hero can’t eliminate the land.”

“…!”

C-can it work that way!

As expected of Fire Butterfly!

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

“The Hero was serious. He was planning to completely eliminate even the living creatures on that land, you know? The meeting minutes I saw said ‘annihilation down to the fungal level.’ It was a complete ecosystem deletion plan.”

Ruin smiled coldly.

“That’s exactly why it’s easy.”

“What is?!”

“Someone like the Hero always needs a ’cause.’ An absolute cause that ‘that land must be eliminated.’ Change that. Give him a more important cause, and that guy will stop moving.”

Echo looked at Ruin as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Could there be something more important for the Hero than dealing with the Demon Emperor?”

Then Ruin sneered.

“How many years do you think my spy career has been?”

* * *

The Hero’s eyes widened at the military officer’s report.

“What? People are… gathering on that land?!”

“Yes. That land you ordered us to eliminate, Commander. Miners and pioneers from various places are flocking there one after another. They say rare resources have been discovered in large quantities.”

Of all things, rare resources?

‘Why would such things be found there!’

Both the timing and location were too coincidental. That’s why he shook his head.

“Contact the Papal Court and… tell them to block entry-“

But soon he closed his mouth.

‘No. That Pope actually wants people to live there.’

The place where the Demon King’s Castle once stood. That human would be hoping for a new settlement to be built on that land, which had been taboo in itself.

But what that meant was clear.

‘Where there’s money, people gather.’

When resources are discovered, villages form, villages become cities, and administration follows cities. From that moment, that land can no longer be erased from the map.

‘That’s land where magic power veins flow. The center of power that can strengthen the Demon Emperor. It must be eliminated.’

The Hero soon made his decision.

“…Assemble the military. Evacuate the people and cleanly erase that land.”

Head Professor Ruin also moved with the military. Princess Zera, who had followed along, reddened her eyes whenever they were alone.

“Sob…! To see Fire Butterfly-nim’s strategy… unfolding before my eyes…”

Ruin on horseback was silent, while Zera behind him couldn’t hide her excitement.

“Releasing rare resources to form villages was also Ruin-nim’s scheme, wasn’t it? As expected, as expected Fire Butterfly…! It was a move to prevent the Hero from touching it!”

Ruin spoke briefly.

“Well. Rare resources aren’t everything.”

“Huh? You mean that’s not all?”

“We need a decisive move to completely prevent the Hero from touching this land.”

“Is there such a thing?”

Instead of answering, Ruin quietly dismounted from his horse.

“It’s about time for the Hero to arrive. Shall I go take a look?”

“Eh…? You’re going? Where?!”

Fire Butterfly raised his index finger with a “shh,” smiled, and quietly disappeared.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the military surrounded the village outskirts, the residents panicked in surprise.

The Hero, who appeared like a messenger of death, gazed at the village.

“These resources… something’s strange. Too sudden.”

He stepped on the ground once and concentrated his senses.

“…It’s artificial. Someone scattered them.”

“Just give the command and we can clean up this entire village immediately.”

The adjutant whispered quietly.

“The evacuation is complete. Right now we could-“

“Right. Artillery command…”

That was the moment.

Tap!

Someone tapped his shoulder and passed by. The Hero instinctively turned his head, but that person walked past indifferently as if nothing had happened.

Soon he casually looked down at the ground. There lay an item that person had dropped.

“Ah. Excuse me!”

The moment the Hero turned his head to call out to that person, his face crumbled completely.

Right. Because there was someone who should never have been there.

“…M-Master?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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