I Ended up Doing Too Well as a Professor of the Enemy Nation - Chapter 74

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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 74. The Approaching Butterfly

 

Matthias swallowed his breath.

 

“What if that were the case?”

 

Ruin’s eyes showed not a single waver as he said this. Rather than answering the question, it was more like the gaze of a black panther trying to devour its opponent.

 

So Matthias was momentarily speechless.

 

Why was that? Memories of encountering Fire Butterfly in his childhood flashed by. Yes, from those days when the screams of friends trapped in the burning dormitory were vivid.

 

The eyes of Fire Butterfly he had seen then were right before him. Cold but efficient, kind but threatening, eyes that seemed to know everything…

 

‘They’re similar. Too similar.’

 

Was it an illusion that they seemed to overlap with those eyes from back then?

 

His heart began to pound.

 

“…”

 

The thought that the man before him might really be ‘that being’ flashed through his mind. If that were the case, if this person was that very nightmare who had saved him…

 

Then, a cruelly clean voice was heard.

 

“Are your emotions wavering?”

 

“!”

 

“If so, you are disqualified from the Information Department.”

 

Silence flowed.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Ruin smiled brightly.

 

“Information Department Practical Regulations Article 3, Section 8. The moment an information gatherer wavers due to emotions, that information loses credibility. You have just violated that clause.”

 

Matthias flinched.

 

“I don’t know who you thought of when you looked at me, but what’s in front of you is the Head Professor. And the Head Professor has the authority to dismiss problematic professors.”

 

“…?!”

 

“Of course, I won’t fire my mentor or anything. However, the Wayne Family is sensitive about information.”

 

Ruin turned around with a fox-like bright smile.

 

“So please be careful with your records. Deletion is troublesome.”

 

「You should have given him some fan service. He seems to admire you from his childhood.」

 

Shut up.

 

Ruin’s eyes narrowed as he turned away.

 

‘…A survivor from the ‘Next Hero Candidate Elimination’ incident?’

 

It was roughly a mission to eliminate genius children who would become Heroes, targeting a training camp. He had heard it was ordered by the hardline upper hierarchy.

 

It was definitely an incident where the Assassination Division was deployed, but he remembered going to clean up afterward from the 1st Division’s Infiltration Division due to Union pursuit.

 

‘Was it a mission to help escape because the Hero was tracking them?’

 

At the scene where he went to clean up at the time, Ruin knew that Matthias was a survivor of the ‘hunt’ but just let him go.

 

But back then, who would have known that child would become such a splendid hero?

 

「Is it really okay?」

 

‘Well, it’s already a forgotten mission and it was the Assassination Division that failed, not me.’

 

Rather, there’s a separate mission that the upper hierarchy hasn’t forgotten.

 

-Operation Name: ‘Red Feather’

 

-Access Authority: Demon Lord Direct Security Level or Higher

 

-Mission Grade: SS

 

-Mission Executor: Special Grade Wanted Criminal Cobra, Fire Butterfly

 

-Target: Union ‘Hero Candidate A-1’ Elimination

 

-Cover Position: Battlefield Relic Recovery Merchant

 

-Location: Isaac (Former Hella) Plateau, Northern Front

 

-Result: Although Cobra failed to eliminate the target, successfully eliminated 4 out of 5 total candidates. The 1 survivor later grew into a ‘Greatest Luck’ ability user and subsequently became the ‘Hero’. Not a mission failure, but left seeds of great disaster.

 

Cobra suffered severe anguish after mission completion. Fire Butterfly handled all aftermath of the incident. Cobra claimed “mission failed because of Fire Butterfly” but was rejected. 60-year sentence for mission failure.

 

-Special Notes: All related personnel went missing. Operation name later changed to ‘Incomplete Combustion’.

 

* * *

 

Silence lingered for a while in the classroom after Ruin left. No one could speak first. The teaching assistants cleaning up the corpse also read the mood, and students left while looking at the professors’ rarely serious faces.

 

In the end, it was the Principal who spoke first.

 

“Chairman. Why did you suspect Professor Ruins?”

 

“!”

 

She opened her mouth resolutely.

 

“Didn’t you clearly say so? That the possibility of Professor Ruins being Fire Butterfly was 1%.”

 

The Hero couldn’t continue his words. He too had just received an unidentifiable blow from Ruin’s serious expression and answer of ‘no’.

 

“To waste the last question on a 1% probability.”

 

Though he should have been able to explain why he made such a choice in response to the Principal’s criticism, the Hero’s reaction was unexpected.

 

“…What if he says he won’t be Head Professor?”

 

“…”

 

Silence.

 

The professors’ gazes turned cold.

 

…Someone who knows that asked such a question? Honestly, even they would write their resignation and leave immediately if pointed out like that!

 

“Moreover, it’s the Wayne Family.”

 

“If the hound family that catches spies is suspected of being spies… they’d feel twice as bad as others.”

 

The Hero seemed even more shocked.

 

“Did I, make a mistake?”

 

“….”

 

Are you kidding?

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Clap clap clap.

 

Heavy but refreshing applause could be heard.

 

“That was truly beneficial and interesting lecture.”

 

“!”

 

A familiar figure stood at the entrance. The professors bowed their heads.

 

“Your Highness.”

 

The Hero’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

 

“Your Highness Henry.”

 

Henry Winberg. The First Prince.

 

“I don’t know what you were thinking when you asked those questions, but the Imperial Court is rather grateful.”

 

The Hero hesitated.

 

What? Can I interpret those words as I heard them?

 

“We were also conducting a separate investigation on Professor Ruins Wayne. Since he could be a spy targeting the Princess.”

 

The First Prince smiled.

 

“But you finished the verification for us, didn’t you? Thanks to that, we no longer have reason to hesitate.”

 

No reason to hesitate means…

 

“His Majesty the Emperor says he wants to meet him.”

 

“What?”

 

Everyone was shocked.

 

Not for any other reason, but the Hero has a very bad relationship with the current Emperor. Yet saying he wants to meet means in some sense it’s telling the Hero to fight, and it meant Ruins Wayne might be scouted by the Imperial Court.

 

“Who would want to work with someone who suspected them of being a heinous criminal.”

 

The Hero was speechless. With this, the Hero had essentially given the Emperor leverage. In other words, it meant taking Ruins to the Imperial Court.

 

Then, the First Prince whispered in the Hero’s ear.

 

“You’d better make the Wish Stone quickly. Don’t forget you promised to give it to me.”

 

Having said that, the First Prince turned around with a cheerful laugh.

 

The Hero was dumbfounded. This was completely doing good deeds for others only.

 

* * *

 

-To the future Imperial retainer.

 

Your lecture contained deep insight and solid dignity, and your unwavering attitude even in crisis was truly impressive. I felt there is sufficient value in watching your progress as a member of the Imperial Court.

 

I look forward to it.

 

-Elios Winberg, Emperor of the Empire

 

This is maddening.

 

「Puhehe, puhaha! Retainer, the Union Emperor calling Fire Butterfly a retainer!」

 

…That cackling Superior makes it even more maddening.

 

Ruin, who had returned to the Chief Research Laboratory, fell into thought with his fingers interlaced. Is this all? At the rumor that the First Prince was making moves, the First Princess also hurriedly sent a letter.

 

-To Professor Ruins Wayne.

 

Your lecture gave me much to think about. Your appearance of not wavering until the end even in the chaotic situation was…

 

Rip.

 

「You even tear up the Princess’s letter?」

 

‘Well, I understand she’s so aggressive because of Judith.’

 

But this isn’t right.

 

Actually, the reason the First Prince and Princess are acting like this is all because of Princess Judith.

 

‘It is a dangerous situation.’

 

The First Prince might be curious, but the Princess’s position is honestly slightly behind compared to the Princes. That’s why she chose ‘prophecy’ as a weapon to survive. The ‘King of Mages’, that is.

 

But just when Judith, who was another subject of prophecy, got sick and couldn’t use magic, she must have been relieved.

 

But that Judith’s illness started to heal?

 

「Still, there’s no need to openly dislike her.」

 

Ginseng Superior still remembers.

 

One day, something like this happened. Ruins was giving a special practical lecture, so he entered the demonology class, and Ruins tilted his head looking at the Princess.

 

“Why is the Princess taking this class? She wasn’t on the student list.”

 

Then the Monster Studies Professor laughed, telling him not to be so picky.

 

“I accepted her. Please teach her well.”

 

At that reaction, the students sighed with expressions of ‘of course.’ So the Imperial Princess also looked at Ruin expectantly.

 

But Ruin sighed. Then he wrote something on paper and suddenly approached the Imperial Princess. The Imperial Princess unknowingly blushed, but Ruin silently slipped a paper necklace around the Imperial Princess’s neck.

 

-Kkakdugi

 

“…?”

 

The Imperial Princess could only blink and stare blankly down at the necklace nameplate hanging around her neck.

 

Huh? What? Huh?

 

…What is this?

 

Ruin said he had no more business here and went up to the lecture hall.

 

“Now we’ll start the practical lesson. Ah. Your Imperial Highness is kkakdugi, so please don’t do anything there.”

 

「You should have seen the Imperial Princess’s dumbfounded expression then.」

 

‘Be quiet.’

 

Well, political reasons aside, since he had already laid hands on Judith once, he had no intention of just leaving her alone—

 

The problem was someone else who was making even more of a fuss in this situation.

 

“These… were all sent by the Hero?”

 

“Don’t mind them.”

 

Ruin sighed.

 

The Princess was disgusted by the heart-shaped Frix flying around Ruin. They were Grade 5 Frix that looked like birthday cards. Hundreds of heart cards seemed ready to crush Ruin. Ruin’s face wasn’t even visible.

 

It was the Hero’s doing. When Ruin continued to ignore him, he had started sending a barrage of letters.

 

The Princess felt regretful at that sight. Because after being treated by Ruin, she now had to return to the Intelligence Agency.

 

Of course, he had already collected the blood needed to treat Judith in advance.

 

‘Holy Blood.’

 

Ruin smiled as he received the reagent bottle.

 

‘So she came all this way for this. That’s fortunate.’

 

It was truly a precious item that couldn’t be obtained anywhere else. With just a magic circle drawn with this, anyone could survive the power of Five Evils Catalun.

 

But—

 

“Do I really have to go back?”

 

At the Princess’s question, Ruin sighed.

 

He eventually decided to go out to a village three hours away from Haven to send the Princess back. Of course, the Princess was dejected, saying she wanted to help Ruin’s infiltration mission, but he firmly decided to send her back.

 

‘Unfortunately, it’s not an infiltration mission.’

 

He couldn’t bring himself to say it was to collect his severance pay.

 

Of course, the Princess had good abilities and could even serve as a meat shield if necessary, so she was very useful. To that extent, it was certain that having her as an assistant would make things very convenient.

 

But the opponent was none other than Pride’s Royal Family.

 

‘How dare I order her around as I please.’

 

「The fact that you’re even thinking of using such a Royal Family member as a meat shield, your brain structure is…」

 

So he decided to send the Princess back.

 

“It’s regrettable, but I can’t put the Princess in danger.”

 

“But… having even one subordinate would be—”

 

“Please return. My wish is for you to be alive. Just stay that way. If the Princess disappears… it would be very troublesome for me.”

 

Ruin looked into the Princess’s eyes and smiled bitterly. For some reason, the Princess turned red as a beet at those words, but well, she went back, so that was good.

 

‘Good. A successful retrieval.’

 

As if nothing had happened, Ruin turned around with a cold face and clenched his fist. Now he could steadily collect the reward for saving the Princess…

 

But that’s when it happened.

 

Flash!

 

“Huh?”

 

The Princess’s eyes lit up and she suddenly began chanting something.

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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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