The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 22

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

Episode 22
The Rector proposed two additional trials in total.
First: the remediation of failing students.
Second: serving as an examiner for the entrance examination.
“To avoid any misunderstanding, let me reiterate—I truly believe in you, Balick. I would welcome you to Rubiness Academy this very moment if I could. However, I must convince the students and professors who oppose your appointment.”
In other words.
Both trials were designed to improve my reputation.
‘The entrance examination is one of the Academy’s largest events. If I perform admirably as an examiner, the professors will see me in a new light.’
On the surface, these seemed like eminently reasonable trials—difficult to refuse.
At first glance, they didn’t appear all that challenging.
But I detected the trap lurking beneath.
This was closer to an ambush.
‘These trials are designed to make me fail deliberately.’
I studied the Rector’s face.
His eyes wore a servile smile.
Yet beneath it lay something sinister and cold.
Having weathered countless trials myself, I knew well what made a man truly dangerous.
‘Saving Linden won’t be easy at all.’
If.
Linden truly was one of the Ten Demons I knew of, it was impossible.
The Rector likely wasn’t ignorant of Linden’s circumstances either. This was unmistakably a trial designed to make me stumble.
‘The examiner role carries the same malicious intent.’
It would be riddled with dangerous traps.
Entrance examinations were breeding grounds for all manner of troubles and complaints—pinning blame on me would be simple.
And yet.
“I understand. I shall proceed as you suggest.”
“Oh-ho? You have no objections?”
“Of course not. I’m grateful for your consideration, Rector.”
I accepted without voicing any resistance.
‘It won’t be simple, but I shouldn’t view this as purely disadvantageous. These trials offer me significant advantages too.’
Regardless of the Rector’s true intentions, successfully navigating these trials would substantially elevate my standing.
‘That’s not all.’
I paid particular attention to my role as entrance examiner.
‘As an examiner, I can legally fail any applicant I wish to exclude.’
In other words, I could eliminate those among the sixteen protagonists whom I must avoid!
‘I don’t know which of the sixteen will apply to Rubiness Academy, but I’ll ensure the quieter protagonists pass.’
The failed ones could simply apply to other academies as their second or third choice—that wasn’t my concern.
‘The problem is saving Linden of the Ten Demons. But there might be a way to manage that too.’
However, simply nodding in compliance wasn’t wise either.
I needed to extract what I could.
“In exchange, I have a condition. If I execute both tasks flawlessly, please appoint me not as a regular Temporary Professor, but as a Special Temporary Professor.”
!!
I was supposed to become a Temporary Professor.
My grievance was precisely that I couldn’t attain formal professorship immediately, but according to recent Academy hiring trends, without truly exceptional credentials, everyone had to go through the temporary professorship phase before qualifying for permanent appointment.
‘Even that nepotist Balick reportedly went through the temporary professor process.’
The problem was that this temporary phase lasted a full two years.
‘How am I supposed to wait two years!’
There was exactly one.
Method available.
To be appointed as a Special Temporary Professor from the outset.
For temporary professors recognized as exceptionally outstanding, this pathway led to full professorship qualification after just one year.
“I believe I’ve already proven my exceptional abilities through the various unfortunate incidents that have occurred recently. If I further demonstrate perfect leadership and integrity, surely appointing me as a Special Temporary Professor through your authority wouldn’t be unreasonable.”
I placed emphasis on “unfortunate incidents.”
Your Academy wronged me too, didn’t it?
So grant me this much—a half-veiled threat wrapped in negotiation.
“Oh-ho. A Special Professor, you say.”
The Rector’s laughter escaped him.
It was dry as bone.
A dangerous sensation swept past like a razor, but I didn’t retreat.
‘I cannot yield on this.’
And.
If my hunch is right, the Rector won’t refuse this proposal.
Indeed.
“Very well. Complete both tasks, and I shall appoint you as Special Temporary Professor.”
The Rector broke into a smile.
Meaningful.
A smile whose depths I couldn’t fathom.
“However, both tasks must be completed flawlessly. Should there be any shortcomings, your appointment will be revoked.”
* * *
I decided to move immediately on the first task: rescuing the failing graduates.
‘Linden is indeed one of the Ten Demons I know about.’
I swallowed hard.
The Ten Demons.
The ten most powerful and most dangerous villains in the scenario.
Linden was destined to become a top-tier Black Magic practitioner known in the future as the King of Gluttony.
‘Originally, he’s someone I should never get close to.’
But circumstances left me no choice.
‘And long-term, this isn’t a bad move. If I play it right, I might even prevent the Ten Demons from rising in the first place.’
Of course, it’s the protagonists’ role to face the world’s tribulations.
But I never know when disaster might land at my feet.
‘Especially Linden. He’ll harbor a grudge against Rubiness Academy and later stage a terror attack. If I don’t stop him now, I could get caught up in it later through sheer bad luck.’
“Hans, have you investigated Linden?”
“Yes, sir! He’s fairly famous, so it wasn’t difficult.”
“What did you find?”
“They say he’s a hopeless piece of trash beyond saving.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, sir. Following in the footsteps of Ban—wait! Slip of the tongue! In any case, a pathetic wretch following in your footsteps, sir. Of course, you are far greater than anyone, sir! My loyalty, my loyalty, my loyalty!”
…….
I glanced at Hans for a moment.
This bald old man sometimes seemed to be deliberately needling me.
“I’d better visit him myself.”
“Already have his address ready, sir!”
Just then, an unexpected visitor sought me out.
“I am Kold, a knight of the Ralpalt Ducal House. I’ve come to speak with you, sir.”
Why would the Ralpalt house send someone?
‘Is this about what happened with Balick recently?’
Yet the knight said something I never expected.
“Miss Emily wishes to meet with you, sir.”
I tilted my head.
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it exactly.
“Who is that?”
Hans leaned in and whispered urgently.
“Isn’t she your former fiancée, sir?”
Ah, I thought.
Yes, such a character existed in the setting.
“Weren’t we already broken off?”
“We were, sir, but—wasn’t it revealed that the wrong you were accused of committing against Miss Emily back then was actually a false accusation planted by Balick? Perhaps Miss Emily wishes to clear up the misunderstanding between you and discuss the past?”
The Ralpalt knight nodded in agreement.
“Miss Emily hopes to resolve the misunderstanding between yourself and her.”
I frowned.
‘I don’t want to.’
It came back to me then.
Who Emily was.
She wasn’t a bad person.
Rather, she was someone who harbored a sense of justice even within the corrupt Ralpalt Ducal House and became a supporter of the protagonists.
But what that meant was,
‘Getting entangled with her would only complicate things.’
My goal was, and remained, a quiet life of reaping rewards.
I had no need to create unnecessary ties.
‘And above all, I can’t set flags.’
Feeling a thrill at the sight of a changed person was a common cliché.
The best approach was to nip any seeds of conflict before they took root.
“Tell him there’s no need for this.”
“But I truly wish to meet him in person….”
“Are you not understanding my words? I am refusing this meeting. As the wronged party.”
!!
I spoke in the coldest tone I could muster.
“If you’re sorry for the misunderstanding, then never appear before me again. Disappear from my life forever. That will be your apology to me.”
If we never meet, no flag will ever be raised!
Once the knight vanished with a troubled expression, Hans ventured carefully, “Are you certain you’re all right, my lord?”
“We’ll have no reason to see each other going forward, so naturally there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…If I may say so, given this humble servant’s former days as a rake, what you’ve just said strikes me rather as….”
“??”
“Ah, no, never mind.”
I was curious, but decided to let it pass.
“Let’s go find the problem student.”
* * *
Linden’s quarters were in the 5th District.
‘According to the paperwork, he comes from an ordinary background—so why is he living in the 5th District?’
The Free City was divided into seven districts in total.
The 1st District had the finest conditions, and the quality of life declined as the numbers increased.
The 6th District was a slum, the 7th District was Sarong Fortress, and the 5th District was scarcely better than a half-slum.
“Apparently he was once a fairly diligent student. But as he advanced to upper years, his circumstances deteriorated, and his attitude at school fell apart accordingly.”
I nodded.
‘I don’t know every detail of Ten Demons Linden’s past perfectly.’
Burdened by crushing debt, enslaved to a Black Magic sorcerer, then narrowly avoiding death, he eventually became the most formidable Black Magic practitioner of all.
That was Linden’s backstory.
“Here we are.”
A ramshackle house came into view.
It was as run-down as the shanty I’d lived in during my poor childhood on Earth.
“I’m going in.”
Creak. As I stepped inside, a young man with a dull, muddled expression flinched and hunched his shoulders in alarm.
“W-who are you?! A debt collector? I-I’ll pay you back, I promise! If this stock I invested in just hits big!!”
…Stock?
I turned to Hans. “Is this really Linden?”
“Yes, yes—based on his appearance and description, it matches.”
The young man, Linden, blinked rapidly.
“…Who are you? A senior? What business do you have with me?”
Linden was now a fourth-year senior on the verge of graduation.
I’d seen a senior named Ban back when I was a first-year, and he seemed to recognize me from then.
“I’m Professor Ban now.”
“…What?”
“I’ve become a professor at the Academy. The Rector asked me to help you—a failing student. Why are you holed up here? Tell me. I’ll help you.”
Linden spoke hesitantly. “…You’ll help me, senior?”
“I will.”
“…Then, could you lend me just ten thousand pena?”
“…What?”
“I-I can pay it back right away! I’ve got incredible information this time, and if the big break hits, at minimum a tenfold return!!”
A dull ache bloomed behind my eyes.
As I’d mentioned before, Linden ends up drowning in massive debt and selling himself to a Black Magic sorcerer.
I’d wondered how he’d accumulated such a debt, and now I had my answer.
“You—did you blow all your money on stock trading?”
He flinched.
That was as good as a confession.
“Then why didn’t you sit for your graduation exam?”
Linden mumbled his reply. “…I signed a Body Forfeiture Contract to graduate, so I’d be taken away immediately after. I’ve been putting off graduation….”

I let out a sigh.
So one of the Ten Demons was this pathetic.
‘Wait—this isn’t a bad situation for me, is it?’
I looked Linden over, from head to foot.
Dim-witted as he seemed, he was destined to become a top-tier Black Magic user in the future.
In other words, an unpolished gem.
‘If I play this right, I might be able to make him my puppet.’
He was different from the protagonists I had to avoid at all costs.
If I just knocked some sense into him, Linden would never fall down the path of darkness.
“I’ll settle your debt problem for you.”
There was a way.
“S-sir, are you serious?”
“Of course nothing’s free. There’s a condition.”
I spoke with an intense pressure that left no room for argument.
“I’ll be taking over your Body Forfeiture Contract.”
“What—what are you going to make me do?”
“Once you graduate, you’ll become a graduate student in my laboratory.”
!!
I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile.
It probably looked terrifying to Linden.
“You’ll become a graduate student—no, a slave to me and repay the debt you owe.”
It was an opportunity to acquire a slave of Ten Demons caliber as a graduate student.
I absolutely couldn’t let this slip away.

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