The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 19
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 19
“…I understand. I’ll follow your instructions. But is there truly a cure?”
“Yes. See that you gather the medicinal ingredients I mentioned.”
Treating Demonization was a Main Scenario Quest, so I knew the formula for the remedy.
‘It’s a quest where you gather the ingredients, seek out an alchemist, and ask for their help.’
This time, I would have to play the alchemist myself.
‘I have to succeed. If I don’t, the Demon Saint dies. My comfortable life ends with him, so I have no choice but to pull this off.’
“Prepare medical texts as well.”
“…Pardon?”
“Particularly anatomical diagrams related to the Mana Road.”
……
I knew nothing about this field, so I had to study first.
Suspicion filled Liran’s eyes.
“…You really can treat him, can’t you?”
“Of course. Unless there’s someone else capable of treating him? If so, you’re welcome to entrust him to them instead.”
Typical Black Flame Dragon.
Despite needing to cram, I radiated fierce confidence, and Liran was overwhelmed by it and nodded.
“N-no, I wasn’t trying to doubt you. I’ll trust only you, my lord.”
There was no time.
While Liran rushed to gather the medicinal ingredients, I frantically crammed the medical knowledge necessary for the treatment.
The more I studied, the more cold sweat poured down my face.
‘…Is the treatment success rate really 83.5%? This is way too difficult.’
The Mana Road.
It was the path through which mana flowed.
In this world, mana was as vital as blood, so most illnesses and treatments were closely related to mana.
Since I had to understand human anatomy in relation to mana, the difficulty was not trivial.
‘Is this jack-of-all-trades characteristic actually working properly?’
Uneasy, I checked the success rate again, but it remained at 83.5%.
Before I knew it, the time for treatment was approaching.
“My lord, everything is prepared for the treatment.”
The Demon Saint was in a hideout here at Saryong Fortress.
When I arrived, there was someone I hadn’t seen before.
“Watcher, are you really going to entrust the Saint’s treatment to this person?”
White coat, sharp, piercing eyes.
I could roughly guess the identity.
‘The Rebel Army’s healer.’
A face that couldn’t possibly accept entrusting the treatment to me.
‘I understand. I can’t trust myself either.’
Liran spoke to the healer.
“Didn’t you yourself witness the Demonization suppressant that Ban Ecclesia created?”
“Tch—of course, I cannot fathom how this person knows the formula for such a miraculous medicine, but even so, I cannot trust them.”
The healer looked at me as if I were a charlatan and declared it.
“I will assist in the treatment of the Saint!”
Liran glanced at me with an apologetic expression.
But I was inwardly delighted.
‘This works perfectly. If something goes wrong, I can share the blame.’
What, after all, is the foundation of social survival?
Success is my merit; failure is your fault.
“It matters not whether you participate or not. But I warn you beforehand: do your utmost to avoid becoming a burden on me. If your insufficient skill causes problems, it will be troublesome indeed.”
!!
Subtly laying groundwork to shift responsibility if things go wrong!
I lifted the corner of my mouth with a smug expression.
“If you lack confidence, you may withdraw now. You’d only be in the way.”
“How dare you speak to me like that!!”
The moment the healer seethed and fell for the provocation.
Suddenly, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.
Whoosh!
A sinister aura surged from within the Demon Saint’s sickroom.
The aura of a demon—Malevolent Energy!
!!
Everyone fell silent.
“…Surely, this isn’t…?”
I nodded heavily.
“It’s the Blooming phenomenon.”
* * *
Once I stepped inside, I swallowed hard.
‘The Demonization has fully blossomed.’
The Demon Saint Yohen.
This was the official title Yohen would receive in the latter half of the scenario, but the actual nickname people called him by was different.
—The Deer Saint.
A nickname that stuck because of his gentle, docile nature.
His appearance resembled a deer’s as well.
Small frame, soft brown hair, bright, innocent eyes.
I wasn’t particularly fond of him as a protagonist, but I remembered he enjoyed considerable popularity among women.
However, Yohen had another nickname too.
—The Blackened Deer.
As the scenario progressed, Yohen grew increasingly influenced by demonic energy and transformed into something monstrous.
‘…It’s ironic how he became even more popular after the corruption. I don’t understand why people are drawn to obsessive characters.’
In any case, what I saw before my eyes now resembled the ‘Blackened Deer’ more closely.
‘With Yohen’s current Holy Power, he can’t withstand that demonic aura.’
Later, Holy Power and demonic energy would achieve balance, allowing him to survive the Demonization’s bloom, but not now.
He would be consumed by the Malevolent Energy and die.
“Deploy Holy-Demonic Magic to suppress the Malevolent Energy.”
“What, what did you say?”
“Quickly! There’s no time to waste!”
My voice had grown urgent as well.
The Red Flame Dragon’s pressure intensified, and the healer fell silent, following my instructions.
“You’ve been administering the medicine exactly as I directed until now, haven’t you?”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Bring me the treatment materials.”
I drew in a breath.
Everything was prepared.
All that remained was the ‘procedure’ to remove the Demonization.
“Here they are.”
Clang-clang-clang.
The Silver Spikes gleamed as they spread out.
‘It’s impossible to remove the source of the Demonization, the ‘seed.’ Instead, I have to sever the tendrils of Demonization using these Silver Spikes.’
The medicine administered earlier had weakened the tendrils of Demonization.
The problem was where those tendrils were located.
They ran along the Mana Road.
‘It’s an extremely delicate place.’
I had to sever only the tendrils of Demonization with absolute precision.
If I damaged the Mana Road, it could result in a fatal complication.
‘I must succeed without fail.’
“Healer, what is your name?”
“…Gallak, sir.”
“Gallak, then. When I cut away the tendrils of Demonization, your role will be to heal the damaged Mana Road.”
“!!”
“Understand this clearly. If you fail, your mistakes could bring fatal consequences to this boy.”
This wasn’t merely shifting blame to someone else.
There could be no margin for even the slightest error. One mistake, however small, would mean the end.
Gallak’s throat worked as he swallowed, his tension palpable.
“But, that…!”
“There’s no time for doubt. Be silent and focus!”
I steeled myself and took hold of a Silver Spike.
I traced the Malevolent Energy to understand the path along which the tendrils of Demonization extended.
I had to sever them one by one, starting from the uppermost tendril.
—In the depths of the Mana Road, coiled in the tendrils of Demonization, I had to cut precisely through the center where the Malevolent Energy flowed.
I recalled what I had heard when running through the scenario before.
—Only a Weak Saint could accomplish this in this world.
I moved my hand.
Deep within the Mana Road.
Toward the central passage through a tangled heap of stems, thin as strands of thread.
Only a pharmacist who had healed the Mana Road countless times could do this.
But why?
The moment I drove the spike, the unease in my heart vanished.
Instead, a single phrase surfaced.
-I can do this.
Incomprehensible confidence.
It wasn’t a lie.
My spike pierced through the stem.
-Shriek!
With an eerie cry, one of the petals of Demonization blooming on Yohen’s body vanished.
“Wh-what?! How is this possible?!”
The healer Gallak cried out in shock, but his voice reached me only as a blur.
The world around me receded from consciousness.
In this moment, only Yohen and I existed.
No—only the stem of Demonization was visible.
Like a surgeon seeing only the operating field.
It was hyperfocus.
‘This is what they call Heavenly Transformation’s versatile gift.’
I swallowed hard.
-Regardless of field, you possess ‘record-breaking talent’!
It was true.
My hands moved as if possessed.
Every branch and stem was pierced by the spike.
All the petals that had spread out magnificently crumbled and vanished.
“Th-this is impossible?! Master, wasn’t that one Ban Ecclesia? Could it be that the hidden identity of the pharmacist veiled all along was actually Ban Ecclesia?!”
“…That’s not it, I’d wager.”
“Oh! To think I dismissed someone of such remarkable skill. How foolish I must have seemed.”
…In the unfamiliar healer’s fuss, I caught the familiar scent of a middle-aged wizard.
At last, I reached the final stage.
Now that all the branches were removed, I had to sever the main stem connected to the bud.
The most dangerous phase.
Fear was creeping back in, so I gave Gallak firm instructions.
“This is critical. Use Holy-Demonic Magic to suppress the backlash. The outcome rests in your hands—stay focused.”
If this goes wrong, it’s on you!
I meant to say something like that, but his response was odd.
“To entrust me with such a vital task… I will do my absolute best!!”
“…All right.”
I nodded, then moved the Silver Spike.
Scrape.
The moment the final stem was severed, something went wrong.
Seep.
Malevolent Energy began leaking into the Mana Road!
‘The Miasma is far more concentrated than I anticipated.’
My face tightened.
Now that the stem was cut, some leakage of Miasma was unavoidable.
The problem was, as I’d mentioned more than once, Yohen’s condition.
At his current level of Holy Power, even this much Miasma could be fatal.
“What are you doing standing there? Deploy the Holy-Demonic Magic now!”
“I’m d-deploying it! Urgh!!”
Healer Gallak let out a strangled cry.
He couldn’t contain the Miasma.
‘The Miasma is too thick. Even a high-rank healer can’t suppress it.’
I had to think of another way.
‘Holy-Demonic Magic from me? No. My mana’s barely a chestnut—there’s no way I could suppress it.’
I clenched my lips tight.
But there was one method.
A gamble.
I absolutely didn’t want to do this, but there was no time to haggle over principles.
‘Damn it, the rule of business is give and take. I’ll make sure you fight for the world in my place!’
I took Yohen’s hand.
Was it my imagination?
I felt Yohen’s hand flinch.
“By the name of Ban Ecclesia, I declare: I will never abandon you to death.”
Even in this moment, my gamble began alongside the cringeworthy attachment of the black flame dragon.
Yohen’s malevolent energy flowed into my body.
* * *
-You are a great one who will illuminate us.
In the deep darkness.
Yohen’s consciousness was drifting.
-Great saint.
‘…I’m tired of it.’
Yohen thought blankly.
So many had exalted him, but he knew the truth.
He was not some great saint.
Rather, he was a hideous thing.
‘So this is how I die.’
Yohen accepted death calmly.
For something as repugnant as himself, dying now might have been for the best.
But then.
-In my name, I declare.
A voice reached him from beyond the darkness.
-I will never abandon you to death.
Ah.
Who was it? A voice sublime, unlike any he had ever heard before.
Utterly different from a false saint like himself.
Yohen’s chest trembled violently.
‘…I don’t want to die.’
He wanted to take the hand of the owner of that mysterious voice.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————