The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 21
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 21
If this were any other day, my heart would have seized at the murderous intent radiating from him.
But I wasn’t intimidated.
All of it was exactly as I’d planned.
‘I’d deliberately sent Hans back to the dormitory first, then walked through this desolate place. Now Balic would show up and cause a scene, just as I’d arranged.’
It was time to fan the flames.
“Defend me? Fine. I’ll let you try.”
“…You mean it?”
“Only if you first kneel before everyone and cry out, ‘I am a mongrel,’ and apologize for all your wrongs until now.”
!!
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
With the Black Flame Dragon’s help, even I had to admit—it was a hateful sort of grin.
“Actually, comparing you to a mongrel would be an insult to mongrels themselves. At least a mongrel shows some shame after misbehaving, but you? You’re worse than any beast.”
!!
Balic’s face flushed crimson with rage.
“Ban, it seems you really do have a death wish.”
Whoosh.
Mana blossomed from Balic’s hands.
“I tried to keep this civil, but apparently that won’t work. So don’t blame me for what’s about to happen—you brought this on yourself.”
Offensive Manipulation Magic.
For context, Balic was a 4-Star Mage.
Though his appointment had come through political patronage and hardly reflected his true abilities for a professor, he was still far beyond someone like me—not even a proper 1-Star Mage yet.
A dire predicament.
And yet.
My expression remained smugly confident.
“Now’s the moment.”
Click! Click! Click!!
The sound of cameras firing.
!!
Reporters I’d hired in advance came pouring out from where they’d been hiding beneath the underpass.
“Professor Balic! Were you just trying to murder Lord Ban?!”
“An assassination attempt caught red-handed—what are your thoughts on this development?!”
The color drained from Balic’s face.
“N-No, I….”
“So you were trying to kill Lord Ban to cover this up?!”
“You’ll be facing attempted murder charges—care to comment?!”
‘It’s over.’
Balic would never recover from this.
But then he did something completely unexpected.
“Kukuku, very well. If it’s come to this, I’ll just have to kill you all.”
‘…What?’
I couldn’t believe my ears.
Splash!
Blood erupted into the air.
From the shoulder of a reporter who’d been needling him for a statement.
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
“Professor Balic has gone mad!! Run!!”
The reporters scrambled to flee, but one stumbled as his legs were sliced clean through.
“You lot can die slowly. Ban, prepare yourself.”
I swallowed hard.
‘Is this madman for real? This isn’t the kind of character to just snap like this normally.’
Something was wrong.
His eyes—they were flickering with an unsettling gleam.
My expression shifted to one of disbelief.
‘Why does Balic have Demonic Aura in his eyes?’
A demonic presence was writhing within them.
‘Come to think of it, the power he used on those reporters just now—it wasn’t simple magic. It was Demonic Aura.’
The implication was unmistakable.
‘Balic is a Demon Contract User?’
Those were individuals who’d made pacts with demons to gain their power.
‘This can’t be right! Balic was nothing but an early-game extra villain—he never had a setting this dangerous!’
Incomprehensible.
But there was no time to puzzle over the reasons.
‘Damn. What do I do? There’s no way I can handle this.’
And yet.
– Win Rate: 63.28%
‘…That’s higher than I expected.’
More than half the odds in my favor.
But I shook my head immediately.
‘This is different from before. Losing means death.’
Until now, even defeat hadn’t put my life in jeopardy.
‘I have to find some way to push my odds higher. I barely made it to Diamond Spoon status—I absolutely cannot die now!’
I racked my brain desperately.
Perhaps it was the urgency of the moment.
Suddenly, one approach came to mind.
‘If I try this, maybe…?’
I swallowed hard.
It was risky.
But the situation was already beyond salvaging—all or nothing.
I decided to gamble.
“How foolish. Letting that Demonic Aura cloud your mind. There’s still time—come to your senses. If you repent sincerely, I’ll forgive you.”
Anyone overhearing would think me mad. But Balic’s anger flared even hotter.
As expected, his fury deepened.
“Shut your mouth, you wretch! I’ll tear that infuriating tongue of yours to shreds first!!”
And in that moment.
A message appeared.
– 73.338%
‘Just as I thought—my odds jumped!’
I clenched my fist internally.
‘He’s an inexperienced Demon Contract User. The angrier he gets, the harder it becomes for him to control his Demonic Aura!’
I made my decision: I’d provoke him as much as possible.
Gliding backward with elegant grace, I began to tap dance.
I’d always known it, but goading someone and the Black Flame Dragon really did go hand in hand.
“I don’t see why you’re so angry. Kneeling before me and begging is your only remaining chance.”
“You bastard!!”
“Is pride holding you back? You’ve already abandoned your humanity and become a worthless insect—what does pride matter now?”
“Grraaaah! I’ll kill you!!”
With each ounce of reason he lost, my odds climbed steadily higher.
– Win Rate: 82.535%
– Win Rate: 90.428%
But now we’d reached the limit.
He was almost upon me.
“Die!!”
Whoooosh!!
His Demonic Aura erupted skyward, threatening to burst.
Just facing it made my limbs threaten to shake uncontrollably.
‘…But there are so many openings.’
I blinked.
There were so many gaps I couldn’t even decide which to target.
‘He’s forced the Demonic Aura up by sheer brute force.’
If he’d stayed calm and refined his attack properly, responding would have been far more difficult.
Yet those openings didn’t automatically guarantee my victory.
‘I don’t have enough Mana to exploit all those gaps in the Demonic Aura.’
I’d have to succeed in a single strike.
Flare!!
Holy Bless.
A 1-Star holy spell bloomed from my hand.
“Ha! Fool! Do you really think that pathetic blessing magic can stand against my Demonic Aura?!”
It was the moment he let out a scornful laugh.
Suddenly, his eyes went wide as saucers.
He’d caught on too late to what I was about to do.
“I wonder who you think is foolish.”
Whoosh.
My blessing bored into his demonic aura at its weakest point.
The most vulnerable seam.
Like pouring solvent into a corroded link.
The result was catastrophic.
“Screeeeeeeee!!!!”
He let out a horrible shriek.
‘Is it done? No. Not yet.’
I’d dealt a serious blow, but he wasn’t incapacitated.
Sure enough, his power flared even more violently.
“You bastard!!! I’m going to kill you for real!!!”
Whoooosh!!
An intense demonic aura blazing like wildfire.
The journalists who’d been knocked down cried out in shock.
“Danger!!”
“Watch out, Young Master Ban!!”
But.
‘It’s going exactly as planned!’
I felt a surge of triumph welling up inside.
<Win Rate Against a Demon Contract User Who Has Lost Reason in a Life-or-Death Battle>
– 100%
An absolute certainty.
“By my command as Ban Ecclesia,”
Confidence flowed from my voice of its own accord.
“Kneel before my great majesty.”
“…What?”
His pupils trembled.
The look of someone sensing something had gone wrong.
But it was too late.
The invisible blade—the Shadow Sword—manifested.
Slice.
“Screeeeeeeee!!!!”
His Mana Core, left defenseless as he’d forced power beyond his limit, was severed.
It was over.
‘Phew. That was close. He was a Demon Contract User? What kind of mess is this?’
I was catching my breath when it happened.
Click! Click! Click!!
Camera shutters erupted around me.
The journalists who’d been sprawled on the ground had sprung back to life with their professional instincts intact.
“Scoop! Young Master Ban caught a Demon Contract User!!”
“Young Master Ban, how do you feel about capturing a Demon Contract User?!”
But they weren’t alone.
“Wait, what’s going on here?”
“Isn’t that Ban—that useless young master? Why is Professor Balic like that?”
“Demonic aura? Could Professor Balic have been a Demon Contract User?”
Passersby who’d heard the commotion came running over!
“Young Master Ban, please give us a comment!!”
…How had this happened?
Everyone was staring at me like I’d just won the MVP of some championship.
‘Just say something simple.’
“Don’t make such a fuss. Before the great majesty that is Ban Ecclesia, a Demon Contract User is nothing at all. I was merely doing what needed to be done.”
…Of course, thanks to the adorable Black Flame Dragon, even humility was impossible for me.
“What’s with that insane arrogance?! Is this really that useless young master Ban?”
“But somehow… he’s kind of cool!!”
“Wow, he’s so handsome!!”
Click!! Click!!
The commotion faded along with the uproar.
The next day.
Rubiness Academy was in complete upheaval.
* * *
-Prince Ban Ecclesia repels Demon Contract User!
-The identity of the Demon Contract User: Professor Balic of the Ralphart Duchy?!
-Prince Ban: “Such trifles mean nothing to me!” His future actions are eagerly anticipated!
Yesterday’s incident dominated every newspaper as a headline.
“Curse it all! I should have protected His Highness from that very spot!! I am consumed with regret!”
“…even though you’d have just tap-danced backward the whole time?”
“How can you judge me so! My heart holds nothing but unwavering loyalty to His Highness! Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
The display inspired absolutely no confidence whatsoever.
‘Still, things worked out well enough—but there’s a problem.’
First.
‘Why did Balic become a Demon Contract User?’
It didn’t sit right.
What’s more, Balic died after his arrest.
As though someone had silenced him.
‘The Demonic Aura already blooming in Yohen, and the scenario unfolding differently than I remember it—none of this adds up.’
I swallowed hard against a theory taking shape in my mind.
‘…wait. Is this not Normal Mode?’
The Hero Academy allowed difficulty selection.
‘Could this actually be Hard Mode?’
Cold sweat drenched my palms.
In Hard Mode, while the broad strokes of the scenario remained similar, the intricate difficulty of events skyrocketed.
There could be incidents I know nothing about.
‘Hard Mode supposedly contains many Hidden Episodes that the developers buried.’
But I quickly shook my head.
‘No. I don’t know for certain yet. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Even if it were Hard Mode, the protagonists would be the ones scrambling—it has nothing to do with me.’
That’s right.
All my frantic scrambling until now had been only to secure the professorship.
From here on, I could simply settle into a comfortable professor’s life, quietly reaping the benefits.
Except that, too, had a problem.
‘The board is being dissolved.’
All because of Balic’s affair.
They had appointed a Demon Contract User as a professor, after all.
‘It’s mere theater—they’ll simply reconstitute the board under Ralphart Duchy influence soon enough.’
I frowned.
‘But my provisional professorship confirmation has been handed to the Chancellor.’
As I mentioned before, the Chancellor was no mere man of simple greed.
He was the final mastermind of the first-year arc.
‘Would he really let my appointment pass without issue?’
My foreboding proved accurate.
The Chancellor summoned me, and I heard something wholly unexpected.
“You’re saying I must take an additional examination?”
“Ah, please, don’t misunderstand! I have complete faith in Prince Ban. However, there are still students and faculty members who find you objectionable. I need justification to convince them.”
It wasn’t entirely false.
Despite recent events, Ban’s reputation among the majority remained abysmal.
‘The question is what this additional examination entails.’
I narrowed my eyes.
Something felt deeply wrong.
This would be no simple test.
And indeed.
“Please help one failed graduate to graduation.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“There is a student who met all graduation requirements but refused to take the graduation examination and thus could not graduate. If Prince Ban, as a professor, successfully exercises leadership to persuade this student, I believe the students will see you in a new light.”
The moment I saw the name of the failing student, I swallowed.
‘Why does she appear here?’
-Linden.
One day, later.
It was the name of the worst, most powerful super-named villain: a 10-Star Black Mage.
In other words, I had to save the worst villain imaginable through this supplementary exam.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
