The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10
‘Of course, it won’t be easy.’
According to the Duke’s explanation, when the Academy hired professors, they scored candidates across seven categories and averaged the results.
As for my scores, they looked like this.
Character: zero points.
Achievement: zero points.
Experience: zero points.
Reputation: zero points.
Academic Record: zero points.
Leadership: zero points.
A perfect zero across every single category.
My character was abysmal, I had no achievements to speak of, no experience whatsoever, my reputation was nonexistent, and my academic record at the Academy had been dead last.
Even with the Duke’s recommendation, I understood why the Academy would reject me.
To pass, I would need to score on the “Ability” category alone what all the other categories combined were worth.
In other words, I’d need to score seven hundred points on a single item.
Impossible.
But.
“My greatness is more than sufficient for this, sir.”
The Duke’s reaction, predictably, was far from encouraging.
“I know you’ve changed, but this is impossible. Beyond the raw scores, there are several reasons why you won’t pass.”
“What reasons, sir?”
“Have you already forgotten what kind of chaos you wreaked during your time at Rubines Academy?”
……
The Duke’s brow darkened.
“Do you have any idea how many times I apologized to the Chancellor to keep you from being expelled? If I collected all the patronage funds I spent covering up your mistakes, I could have bought several mines. Every professor remembers exactly what you were like as a student—they will never support your appointment.”
There was nothing I could say to that.
If I were on the faculty, I’d oppose my own hiring vehemently.
“And there’s an even graver obstacle. This may be the most fatal problem of all.”
The Duke exhaled heavily.
“House Rafalte.”
I tilted my head, puzzled.
‘A merchant house, isn’t it?’
The empire that served as the game’s setting had four Great Houses.
Each specialized in different domains, and House Rafalte—the golden house—controlled the Empire’s entire commercial apparatus.
‘And leveraging that wealth, they wield enormous influence over Academy academia.’
For reference, House Ecclesia was the “Political House.” The remaining two were the “Sword Family” and the “Magic Family.”
“House Rafalte has apparently opposed your appointment.”
“Why would they?”
“…Are you genuinely asking because you don’t remember, or is this willful?”
The Duke’s eyes narrowed as he fixed me with a stare.
“You committed a grave offense against House Rafalte’s betrothed, and our two houses became enemies. Did you forget that?”
……
Now that he mentioned it, I vaguely recalled such details being part of the Antagonist’s background.
“Especially now that Rubines Academy’s finances depend almost entirely on House Rafalte’s patronage, your appointment is virtually impossible.”
The more I heard, the less ordinary the difficulty seemed.
Zero points across all evaluation categories, faculty members who still harbored bitter memories of my student days, and a massive patron who now considered me an enemy.
“Why not try a different academy? Somewhere like Amethyst Academy would hardly reject someone who’s been so generous to them.”
It was a reasonable proposal.
At this point, surrender would have been the sensible choice.
But I shook my head.
‘I’ve never abandoned a deal, no matter how grim the circumstances.’
To seize a life of comfort.
Whatever barriers stood before me, I would never yield.
“There’s no need to worry, sir. Whatever obstacles lie ahead will merely be tools to showcase my greatness.”
Recognizing the steel in my resolve, the Duke sighed.
“Do you have some other plan in mind?”
“If the recommendation path is closed, there’s only one way forward—I’ll take the formal licensing examination through Open Recruitment.”
No matter how much the Academy disliked me, they couldn’t prevent me from applying through Open Recruitment.
“…You’ll just be wasting your time.”
“We’ll see about that.”
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
“Whatever the result may be.”
The Duke fell silent for a moment, then nodded as if he had no choice.
“Very well. Do as you see fit.”
I rose from my seat.
“I shall depart for Rubines Academy at once.”
“Already? There’s still time before the appointment examination, isn’t there?”
The Academy’s professorial appointment examination through Open Recruitment was held before the new academic term began.
“There are places I need to visit.”
Sales work was, in a manner of speaking, much like hunting.
The more difficult the hunt, the more thorough the preparation required.
I had to make certain they would choose my merchandise without hesitation.
This appointment examination would be no different.
‘I must prepare flawlessly.’
So thoroughly that no objection could be raised.
So that no one at the Academy could deny my passing.
It was possible.
* * *
In the heart of the Reinhardt Empire, which served as the backdrop for the Hero Academy, there stood a Free City.
Positioned at the center of imperial commerce and under no lord’s dominion, it had drawn merchants from every corner and thrived as a sprawling metropolis rivaling the capital itself.
The Empire’s greatest den of indulgence.
Yet simultaneously infamous for its worst crime rates, this city possessed one notable landmark.
Rubines Academy.
A vast estate situated on the boundary between the slum-ridden danger zones and the quarters where wealthy merchants gathered.
In one of the Academy’s conference rooms, heated voices were being exchanged.
Bang!
The Academy’s professors erupted in fury.
“What is the meaning of this? That trash of House Ecclesia—Ban—is actually coming to take the appointment examination?!”
“No matter how prestigious House Ecclesia is, this is too much! Recommending Ban as a professor?!”
“And in Magic Studies, no less? Wasn’t Ban’s Magic Studies score entirely composed of failing grades? Are they mocking Rubines Academy itself?!”
Just then, the sound of clapping filled the room.
“Now, now, Professors—I understand your frustration, but please, compose yourselves.”
“…Professor Balik.”
He was a young man.
Scarcely in his early twenties.
Yet the elderly professors all fell silent as if taking his measure, their mouths snapping shut in unison.
There was a reason for this.
Professor Balik was blood kin of House Rafalte, which controlled Rubines Academy’s finances.
Though a cadet branch, he wielded greater authority than anyone else in this room.
“If Ban applies, what does it matter? If he lacks the qualifications, he’ll naturally fail.”
“…That is true, isn’t it.”
“In fact, I’m more concerned for Ban’s honor. The appointment examination is a public affair, after all.”
Professor Balik allowed his words to trail off.
“I’d hate to see him make a fool of himself, ignorant of his station, and lose what little reputation he had left.”
It wasn’t concern.
Balik’s eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
The gaze of someone harboring some dark scheme.
“What if we were to apply the Special Examination Format to Ban? What would you think of that?”
Everyone’s face registered shock.
When an applicant had a particularly distinguished background, they would be given a separate, special examination.
It was usually a privilege, but in Ban’s case, it was something else entirely.
‘So you mean to thoroughly humiliate Ban.’
The examination would be filled with content designed to crush him.
The professors exchanged glances with one another.
No matter how much of a wretch Ban was, he carried noble blood.
It would normally be an uncomfortable situation, but when Balik stepped forward with House Rafalte as his backing, the matter took on an entirely different complexion.
“Ahem, understood. We shall leave the matter of Ban’s examination entirely in your hands, Professor Balik.”
After the others had gone, Balik alone let out a cold, derisive chuckle.
He examined Ban’s appointment examination application form.
“Ban, has this fool lost his mind? Has he forgotten everything from his school days?”
An unexpected story came pouring out.
Balik and Ban had actually been classmates at the academy.
He’d kept close company with Ban.
In the worst way possible.
“The most pathetic, contemptible wretch in all the world.”
There were different grades of trash.
The kind that no one dared touch.
The truly vicious ones were like that.
Ban wasn’t.
Ban was trash, but not the frightening kind.
Quite the opposite—pitiful and worthless as he was, the academy’s real powers, Balik among them, exploited and scorned him from the shadows.
“A failure who couldn’t even mount a proper defense against false accusations.”
This was something no one knew.
But during his years at the academy, many of the crimes Ban was accused of were never actually his doing at all.
Balik and the others had pinned them on him.
Everyone distrusted Ban, so it was simple.
‘Though I suppose I felt a twinge of guilt when he got his engagement broken.’
Balik had committed a grave offense against the second daughter of House Rafalte, who had been Ban’s betrothed, and terrified of facing consequences, he’d framed Ban for it instead.
‘It’s all that fool Ban’s fault, really.’
Balik flicked the employment examination application Ban had submitted with his finger.
Just as he’d scorned Ban during their school days.
A dark voice seeped out.
“This time I’ll crush him properly. Bury him so completely that he never shows his face in society again, nowhere at all.”
* * *
I left the Duke’s estate at once.
Had my desperate resolve leaked out visibly?
Hans, who’d been following me, gasped in admiration at the Black Flame Dragon’s charisma.
“Ah! Indeed, Young Lord Ban. You cut the figure of a hero marching to war! To think that your greatness will soon spread throughout the magical world—this old Hans finds his heart racing!”
“Enough of your noise. Don’t be so theatrical. If anything, I’m anxious. Worried that my magnificent light may shine too dazzlingly upon the world.”
…This middle-aged mage seemed to grow louder by the day.
What was more disturbing was that this fool’s drivel perfectly matched the snout of my cursed Black Flame Dragon.
Transcendent Translation, stop.
For the record, what I’d actually been trying to say was ‘Please don’t. I prefer to keep a low profile.’
“Young Lord, but where are you going? This portal doesn’t lead to Rubines Academy, does it?”
“I’m visiting the Wailing Cavern.”
“…Pardon?”
Hans blinked, then cried out belatedly.
“The Wailing Cavern is an ‘Inaccessible Grade’ dungeon, isn’t it?!”
Yes.
My destination was a dungeon.
More precisely, a Hidden Piece.
‘I need to obtain the trump card to pass the employment examination.’
The problem was the difficulty.
Inaccessible Grade, no less.
A dungeon deliberately created to be left untouched.
“It’s fine.”
“It is not! The Wailing Cavern is beyond even my reach!!”
“You couldn’t manage it. I can.”
!!
“Have you already forgotten my greatness? I am Ban Ecclesia.”
…I cringed at my own words, but they seemed effective in persuading Hans.
“Ah, how could I doubt that Young Lord, destined to become the star of the magical world! I apologize profusely. Only, please promise me—solemnly promise—that if it seems beyond your reach, you will absolutely give up.”
I nodded.
It shouldn’t be too dangerous.
But still.
‘…I can’t honestly say I’m confident I’ll succeed this time.’
—Wailing Cavern Clear Probability: 30%
It meant failure was more likely than success.
‘Is it like that even if Hans comes with me?’
An additional message appeared.
—With the middle-aged mage: 30%
Identical.
Meaning he was no help at all.
There was a reason it carried the Inaccessible Grade designation.
‘I’ll have to manage this alone, somehow.’
Yet I couldn’t shake a twinge of regret.
If only there were someone competent enough to exploit—the clear rate would skyrocket.
‘But anyone without iron will can’t accomplish much in the Wailing Cavern, anyway.’
With that thought, I arrived at the dungeon’s entrance.
“Hic… hic…”
A girl in a mage’s robes stood at the cavern mouth, hand pressed to her lips, tears streaming down her face.
She’d been trying hard not to cry, straining against it—but the grief spilled out anyway, unstoppable.
The problem was, I knew that face.
‘…What is she doing here?’
Just then, sensing my presence, she snapped her head toward me.
“Who goes there?!”
The tearful demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, cutting tone.
Those cold eyes seemed to raise their thorns higher, as if desperate to mask the weakness beneath.
A look I knew all too well.
A face I’d seen countless times before.
I stood there, bewildered.
‘Why is the protagonist here?’
One of the sixteen Playable Protagonists.
The girl destined to become the Radiant Saint—humanity’s beacon of hope.
And I’d just run straight into Katrine del El Paso, the true protagonist.

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