The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 20

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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 20
Whoooosh!!
Yohen’s eyes snapped open.
The Evil Artifact that had been tormenting him was being driven away.
It was not happening of its own accord.
‘The owner of that voice—they did this!’
Indeed, a faint cry reached him.
—Danger…!!
—Taking the Evil Artifact into your own body?! Reckless!!
Yohen’s heart sank.
No one could absorb an Evil Artifact and live.
‘Who would take such a risk?’
Then the voice came again.
—Did I not tell you? I will never allow this child to die.
‘Ah.’
Yohen’s heart stirred once more.
Who were they?
Who possessed such nobility as to sacrifice themselves for another?
There was no comparing them to someone as loathsome as himself.
‘I want to see who they are.’
Yohen yearned desperately.
‘If I survive, I will find them—I swear it.’
Yohen’s consciousness began to fade.
The man’s voice burned into his mind.
A vow etched in stone: never to forget.
* * *
—Successfully treated the Obsessed Saint!
‘Whew. I thought I was done for.’
I wiped my chest as I read the message.
‘Fortunately, I managed to purify the Evil Artifact.’
What I’d attempted was to draw the demonic essence into my own body, then separate and expel it.
‘In the end, an Evil Artifact is just mana tainted with demonic energy. I gambled on the belief that I could separate them with my Grand Master Ability—and it worked.’
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
It had placed considerable strain on my Mana Road.
‘Ugh. I feel like I’m about to retch. Did I sustain an internal injury?’
“Cough!”
Something surged up from within and spilled onto the floor.
Black blood.
I was startled, but then a message appeared.
—Your Blood Vessels have been tempered in the process of extracting the Evil Artifact! Your Mana Road is strengthened!
‘Wait—this is actually a great effect?’
I blinked.
Mana Road enhancement.
It was a Fortunate Chance that occurred extraordinarily rarely in the game.
The stronger one’s Mana Road, the more powerful the force one could exert with the same amount of mana.
‘This is exactly the kind of Fortunate Chance someone with my Mana Insensitivity desperately needs!’
But that wasn’t all.
—The purified mana is being absorbed into your body! Your mana increases!
I’d absorbed nearly as much mana as a high-grade elixir would provide.
Of course, with my Mana Insensitivity, the actual increase amounted to only one-hundredth of that—but still.
‘Even so, I’ve accumulated quite a bit of mana now.’
In other words,
I’d reached nearly half the mana of an ordinary 1-Star Rank apprentice mage.
…It was still meager, but for me, it was substantial.
Moreover, the benefits I’d gained weren’t limited to mana.
—By succeeding in the treatment, you become a Benefactor of the Legion!
The Legion was the name of the rebel army.
Sure enough, a voice rang out.
“Are you all right, Young Master?! You exerted yourself so much to save the Saint! Ah, thank you! You are our Legion’s greatest Benefactor!”
It was Lairain.
Especially when I coughed up blood, it seemed to leave a deep impression on him.
‘This is my chance.’
In moments like this, I had to pile on the emotional debt as much as possible.
But if I overplayed my effort here, I’d look like an amateur.
As a former sales master, I knew the most effective method.
To move beyond debt into genuine admiration.
‘Act like it’s nothing on the surface, but let the effort show through just slightly. That kind of casual-but-calculated vibe.’
The Black Flame Dragon backed me up.
“Don’t make a fuss about it. I merely did what was necessary. Such trivial matters mean nothing to me.”
Delivered with a hint of reluctance.
Yet outwardly, appearing perfectly cool.
Naturally, the effect was flawless.
“Oh my. To perform such a miracle and remain humble besides. How much further do you mean to astound me, sir?”
But the effect seemed almost too good.
Lairain’s tone shifted beyond admiration into genuine emotion.
“Miraculous power, flawless character—I find myself wondering if perhaps you are the very hero Heaven has sent to stand against the coming darkness that will befall this world.”
‘…No, wait. Isn’t that a bit much? Please don’t overdo it.’
Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
The heroes Heaven had prepared were the protagonists. I wanted nothing to do with that role, not even as idle talk.
Yet Lairain’s eyes burned with genuine conviction as she spoke.
“…Let’s talk about the work instead.”
I was eager to leave the Slum District.
“There are things I need you to do for my appointment as a professor at Rubines Academy.”
* * *
After that, I departed from Salong Fortress.
“Remarkable. So you were indeed such a distinguished person.”
Gallak the healer let out a murmur of admiration as he watched me recede into the distance.
Compared to how he’d dismissed me when we first met, his attitude had transformed entirely.
Lairain went even further.
“That’s nowhere near the full measure of it. You are a Hidden Dragon—a hero concealing his true power.”
It was not simply about healing a young saint.
She recalled the various sides of me she had witnessed.
‘That dignity and nobility.’
Who had ever called me incompetent?
My dignity was genuine.
Especially when I occasionally revealed my true presence, the pressure was enough to send shivers down her spine.
‘The incompetent act until now—it must have been performance. A way to make enemies underestimate me.’
Her skin prickled.
It was a chilling realization.
‘And that noble heart devoted to others.’
—I merely did what was necessary.
Those were not empty words.
That dignified tone proved he genuinely regarded his own good deeds as insignificant.
‘He even conceals his own merit out of concern for Saint Yohen.’
He had impressed upon me that Yohen should be made to believe he’d expelled the Evil Artifact on his own.
It would help with Yohen’s growth, he said.
There was no end to her admiration.
‘His preventing Saint Yohen from coming to Rubines Academy—that must have been out of concern for him as well.’
No one else knew it.
But Rubines Academy harbored a great darkness.
‘All four of the other great academies contain darkness too, but for some reason, the deepest shadow has settled upon Rubines Academy.’
Lairain let out a small laugh.
‘I was worried the academy might fall into darkness’s grasp.’
She entertained a thought he would have disapproved of hearing.
‘With you here, such worries are needless.’
Of course, his power was still far too weak compared to the darkness dwelling within the academy.
Yet Lairain harbored no doubt whatsoever that he would falter before that shadow.
It was the instinct that had made her an Observer.
‘And more than that. Your name will resound throughout this entire empire in days to come.’
Lulled by peace, people could not foresee it, but calamity would soon befall the empire.
In that turmoil, he will stand as a great hero.
‘We cannot fall behind Master Ban.’
Lairain’s eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.
“Are you prepared to carry out Master Ban’s instructions?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Then begin at once.”
Lairain commanded coldly.
“Mobilize all the resources and connections of Salong Fortress to spread rumors that will bury Professor Balik.”
* * *
Balik had been enjoying pleasant days of late.
‘That arrogant trash Ban. Let him flail about in ignorance all he likes.’
In truth, Ban’s performance that day in the lecture hall had been impressive.
He’d actually solved a difficult problem in elementary magical theory.
-Professor Balik, are you really certain about giving him a zero?
-Well, a zero does seem….
Several professors had expressed reservations, but what did that matter?
Rubines Academy was already half in the hands of House Rapalte.
A matter like this was entirely manageable.
‘Later, House Ecclastia might lodge a protest, but my main house will smooth it over themselves.’
Perhaps because he was in such good spirits—
the day seemed unusually bright.
He was taking a leisurely stroll through the academy grounds when something peculiar caught his attention.
For some reason, people kept glancing at him.
‘Am I looking particularly handsome today? In any case, being too accomplished is troublesome.’
At first he’d dismissed it with pleasure, but gradually it began to irritate him.
These were not looks of favor.
“There’s Professor Balik.”
“Is the rumor really true? Ugh, he’s looking this way.”
“Wow, I suspected as much, but I never thought he’d actually be such garbage.”
“In all my days, I never thought I’d feel pity for that senior Ban.”
What in the world was this supposed to mean?
He stood bewildered when an urgent voice called out.
“Professor Balik!!”
“Ah, Director.”
Count Werner.
The direct younger brother of the House Rapalte.
Balik, a distant collateral branch, was incomparably inferior in pedigree, yet Werner held the position of director at Rubines Academy.
He was lowering his head respectfully when Werner did something entirely unexpected.
Crack!!
Werner’s hand struck Balik across the cheek.
“D-Director? No, wait—Uncle?”
“Uncle? Shut your mouth!!! I’ve never claimed a nephew like you! What in blazes have you been doing?!”
“Why, why are you—”
“Hah! You’re telling me you don’t know what rumors are circulating through the social circles of the Free City?!”
And then.
As Balik listened to what the director was saying, his face drained of all color.
Every wicked deed he had committed in secret—
all of it was being revealed and spread as rumor.
Especially his wrongs against Ban.
* * *
I whistled to myself.
‘As expected. With Salong Fortress stepping in, it spreads fast.’
The Slum District shouldn’t be underestimated.
In this Free City, light and shadow were tangled together like a spider’s web.
There were countless people connected to the Slum District.
‘Of course, the way the rumors spread so dramatically is all Balik’s karma for his misdeeds.’
Balik was garbage just as much as Ban was.
The only difference was that Balik was clever and subtle.
From his academy days onward, he’d committed countless misdeeds, but backed by House Rapalte, he’d slipped out of responsibility again and again.
‘As a result, there were plenty of people grinding their teeth in secret against him.’
The Observer, Lairain, was the rebels’ eyes.
It was said that she had been collecting evidence of Balik’s misdeeds over time, to be used later to pressure House Rapalte.
With evidence in hand, the rumors could hardly be denied.
“Then all the mistakes the young lord of the rebel faction committed during his school days were false charges that Balik pinned on him?”
“Not entirely. The young lord is garbage himself, after all. But it seems Balik is even worse garbage.”
“Ha, who would have thought that Professor Balik was more garbage than the garbage young lord.”
…Unfortunately, it seemed a complete image rehabilitation would be difficult.
Well, it didn’t matter.
This much was enough to achieve my purpose.
“And they say this time the young lord failed the employment exam because Balik fabricated some ridiculous excuse.”
“Really, is that true?”
“Yes, even though the young lord showed remarkable performance on the exam, they marked him zero.”
“Right, he solved a challenging problem in basic magical theory and yet received zero. Normally that should have earned him one hundred points.”
Such rumors spread like wildfire.
That my rejection was unjust.
‘Once rumors like this spread, Rubines Academy—specifically the board—will feel the pressure.’
Currently, Rubines Academy was divided into two factions.
The board, controlled by House Rapalte.
The rest belonged to the existing Chancellor faction.
It was the board who orchestrated my rejection.
‘The board doesn’t have complete control of the Academy either. If things continue this way, there’s a risk they’ll give the Chancellor faction an opening.’
There was a strong possibility they would seek some compromise with me.
“My lord, what will you do going forward? Will you negotiate with the board?”
“Not yet.”
“My lord?”
I explained the ‘fundamental truth of negotiation’ that I had learned from experience.
“Hans, do you know when it’s best to negotiate? It’s when you’re in a position of complete strength.”
I was not yet in a position of perfect strength.
‘An angel will arrive soon to make me perfectly strong.’
And indeed.
It was while I was walking alone along a deserted stretch of the Riverside after parting with Hans.
An eerie voice reached my ears.
“You bastard….”
Eyes gleaming with menace, as though about to cause trouble at any moment.
“Testify right now that the rumors about me are false. Otherwise, I’ll kill you here.”
The ‘angel’ was Balik.

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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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