The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 29

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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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Chapter 29
My proposal was accepted.
Though not without resistance.
“Mark my words well. Should any problem arise from your negligence, you will be held accountable. And your appointment will be rejected.”
Professor Alif spoke in a tone that promised trouble.
Beneath his words lurked a clear intention to seize any excuse whatsoever to make my life difficult.
‘It’s fine. I’m not attempting anything grand anyway.’
For all my posturing about serving the Academy’s interests, what noble cause could I possibly harbor?
I had no intention of overreaching.
‘All I need to do is subtly manipulate the exam so that only Katrine and Rivel fail.’
Still, unforeseen complications were always possible.
Since no problems could be tolerated, I prepared countermeasures.
I visited the Guard Brigade.
“You want the Guard Brigade to provide security support for the Academy’s practical entrance exam? Ha! Ban, since it’s your request, I’ll gladly oblige.”
Commander Gordon, whom I’d met recently, nodded readily.
It wasn’t an unreasonable favor—the Guard Brigade commonly provided security for large-scale events.
‘Other prestigious academies even request military support for their practical exams.’
“But why the sudden request for support? Rubines Academy’s practical entrance exam is held in an artificial dungeon—there shouldn’t be any real danger, should there?”
I offered a vague excuse.
“Considering the recent Puppet Incident, I thought it wise to prioritize safety as much as possible.”
“Precisely! Admirable. My judgment of you was correct. In fact, I’ve been keeping watch myself—there have been reports of suspicious individuals moving through the city lately.”
…Where was this coming from?
“Ha! Don’t trouble yourself too much. Mysterious figures appearing in the Free City isn’t unusual—happens all the time. Probably just some would-be assassin sent to murder someone.”
I frowned.
As Gordon said, the Free City was a place where incidents and accidents occurred constantly.
There was no need to worry about every one.
‘Still, something feels off.’
Perhaps it was the recent Puppet Incident. An inexplicable unease settled over me.
‘It might be excessive caution, but if something goes wrong, I’m ruined.’
In such cases, paranoia was preferable.
I decided to add one more safeguard.
“…Send our personnel as safety staff?”
Emily’s face registered disbelief.
“The main house would never agree to your request.”
“I’m not asking the Rapalte Duchy House—I’m asking you personally. Your merchant company went bankrupt anyway, so all your escort personnel are sitting idle, aren’t they?”
Emily’s mouth snapped shut.
Then she said something I hadn’t anticipated.
“…Are you concerned about me?”
“What?”
“You want me to improve my image through this, right? The practical exam will be watched by countless people, after all.”
…No, that wasn’t my intention at all.
To avoid raising any troublesome flags, I cut her off cleanly.
“That’s not it. I’m simply using you.”
“Yes, Ban. You’re embarrassed, just like always. I understand your heart well.”
“…That’s not what I said.”
“Yes, I understand. I grasp it completely.”
Her tone suggested she understood nothing whatsoever.
Whether I frowned or not, Emily pressed on with evident delight.
“Since you care about me, I’ll commit my full effort and ensure everything runs smoothly. Not even the smallest speck of trouble will occur during the practical exam.”
“…Fine.”
I nodded reluctantly.
And finally.
“Linden, did you finish your graduation exams?”
“Y-yes, sir!”
“Good. Welcome to my graduate program.”
“W-what?! We haven’t even had the graduation ceremony yet—what graduate program?!”
“Early employment before graduation. You have work to do during the entrance exam. If you’d rather not, repay the ten thousand penal.”
I thrust a body-debt contract under his nose while Hans chimed in from beside me.
“That’s right, Linden, you wretch! Consider it an honor to serve Young Master Ban as his slave!”
“Hans, stop talking about others as if they’re someone else. You have work to do as well.”
“Wait, Professor? I’m a non-combat mage, aren’t I?”
“Don’t worry. This assignment will suit you perfectly.”
Linden and Hans had gone pale at my instruction, but I kept my face resolute.
‘Now the preparations are complete.’
Soon enough, the next day arrived.
The long-anticipated entrance examination for the academy had begun.
* * *
Rubines Academy was teeming with people.
It looked like a marketplace in full swing.
‘With 400 admission slots and well over 1,000 applicants.’
Those 400 weren’t just for the magical department.
They were divided among the knight department, the humanities department, and the support department.
With so many departments and applicants, the examinations would stretch across an entire week.
‘Come to think of it, what sort of protagonists applied to the other departments?’
Since I was part of the magic department, I couldn’t involve myself in the entrance examinations of the others.
‘I hope the other departments got some well-behaved protagonists, since there will be plenty of shared classes and we’ll run into each other constantly.’
Knights weren’t just studying swordplay, nor did the humanities students spend all their time with books.
Imperial education sought well-rounded talents who mastered multiple disciplines, not specialists who knew only their own field.
Therefore, there were common classes and projects across all departments, ensuring we’d meet constantly.
‘Please, let me avoid the Demon Sword from the humanities department.’
But the Demon Sword wasn’t the only threat.
Both the knight and support departments had plenty of dangerous protagonists I needed to steer clear of.
‘At least the Demon Saint, the main protagonist of the support department, was kept from coming in the first place—thank goodness for that.’
I shook my head.
This wasn’t the time to worry about other departments.
I had to focus on the two most dangerous nuclear warheads among all these bombs: the twin protagonists Katrine and Rivel.
‘The Written Exam shouldn’t be much of a concern. Joanna should take first place.’
But then something unexpected happened.
The Written Exam results came out the same day through magical device grading, and they showed this:
[Written Exam Results]
First place: Katrine.
Second place: Rivel.
Joanna’s name wasn’t among the top two!
‘What makes no sense?’
I widened my eyes.
‘There’s no way Joanna could fall behind those two in a written exam.’
Joanna was marked as the next head of a Prestigious Magic Family and had received rigorous elite education.
In ‘practical application’ or ‘real combat’ she might struggle, but in ‘written knowledge’—there was no way she’d lose to anyone.
‘And even Rivel is scoring higher than Joanna. Rivel’s a genius type, so his theoretical knowledge should be pathetic.’
Then, a boy approached, hesitantly.
His face timid, his appearance shabby.
It was Rivel.
“I… I’ve been studying hard these past few days. I wanted to receive guidance from Professor. It’s a shame I didn’t take first place, only second…”
Rivel’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me.
Incompatible with his shabby exterior.
Deep and fierce.
“I will definitely pass and become your student, Professor.”
I was taken aback.
And that wasn’t even the end of it.
“Did you see my score, Professor?”
A sharp-featured girl, Katrine, walked up before me and held her head high.
“I’ll make sure you recognize me from now on. You’ll acknowledge me.”
…No, I have no intention of watching you.
What good would it do you to have my recognition?
But I didn’t have the leisure to correct her.
A shocking sight entered my vision.
Crash.
It was Joanna’s reaction to seeing her score.
Joanna had placed third.
Still an excellent score, of course.
‘It would be unimaginable humiliation for Joanna.’
Joanna was fated by narrative design to enter as the top-ranked student, without exception.
Whichever academy she chose, she would inevitably claim the top position in that academy’s magic department—but the script had broken.
‘Moreover, there’s an unwritten rule that direct-line members of Prestigious Magic Families must enroll at one of the Four Great Academies through Special Admission.’
Special Admission meant ranking first or second at entrance.
Failure to do so would bring enormous scandal upon the family.
‘Given Joanna’s pride, she’d accept nothing less than first place. If she can’t manage that, she’ll abandon her admission and apply to another academy instead.’
This was a crisis.
In the end, I resolved to help Joanna more actively.
I would intervene not just during the practical exam, but also during the performance assessment.
The next day arrived.
The performance assessment was held, and I found myself taking a seat as one of the examiners.
“Examinees number 1, 2, and 3, please enter.”
By chance, they were Rivel, Joanna, and Katrine.
Exam numbers had been assigned according to the preliminary test rankings, and this was how it had fallen out.
‘Perfect. This way, I can give Joanna even greater assistance.’
Don’t call me biased.
As I mentioned before, the scenario only clears smoothly if I make Joanna pass while sending Katrine and Rivel to other academies.
It’s all for the greater good.
Truly. With all my heart.
“Candidates, please demonstrate Star Rank 1 Light Magic.”
The performance assessment task was straightforward.
It was designed to evaluate whether the applicants possessed adequate foundational preparation and what qualities they showed as potential mages.
‘Of course, that doesn’t mean it should be underestimated.’
Star Rank 1 Light Magic was the most fundamental yet challenging of spells.
Anyone could cast it, but doing so perfectly was difficult.
“I’ll go first.”
Joanna stepped forward with a huff of determination.
Before casting, she shot a sharp glare at Rivel and Katrine.
A gaze that looked down on them as if they were beneath her feet.
‘…That’s fine and all, but why is she glaring at me? I’m on your side.’
Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, Joanna muttered to herself.
“How dare a half-blood get cocky. I’ll show you what real power looks like.”
A mutter meant for others to hear.
Joanna flashed a contemptuous smirk at me before casting her spell with a showy flourish.
A burst of brilliant light—!
Light erupted across the examination hall, and gasps of admiration escaped from every corner.
“Incredible!! Star Rank 2 Shine Dust!!”
“Remarkable! Performing an advanced Star Rank 2 spell already!”
The other professors sitting as examiners broke into applause like trained seals, showering her with praise.
‘That’s impressive, I admit. Star Rank 2 even before enrollment—and an advanced technique at that.’
Graduates of the magic department typically reach Star Rank 3.
Star Rank 2 is what most students achieve by second year; slower learners don’t reach it until third year.
“Perfect score.”
“I concur—perfect score.”
A unanimous verdict of full marks came down.
Joanna lifted her chin toward me with obvious pride and satisfaction.
Now it was time for me to step in.
Time to give Joanna that ‘biased help’ I’d planned.
“I’m giving it a 3 out of 10.”
“!!”
The examination hall fell silent in an instant.
All the professors stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Examiner, what do you mean by that?”
“A 3? After witnessing that display?”
“Surely you’re not docking points simply because she cast Star Rank 2 Shine Dust instead of Star Rank 1 Light?”
A natural reaction.
I shook my head.
“No. Shine Dust is Light Magic too. If it’s performed properly, there’s no reason to deduct points—and that’s the key: if it’s performed properly.”
Joanna’s expression crumpled as she grasped my meaning.
“Are you saying my Shine Dust isn’t strong enough?”
“No.”
I looked directly at Joanna, my gaze steady.
The Black Flame Dragon lent its presence to the moment, a surge of crushing weight.
“It wasn’t merely insufficient—it was abysmal. Painful to even look at.”
“!!”
Joanna’s face drained of color.
Pure rage flickered across her features.
It couldn’t be helped.
‘What Joanna needs now isn’t applause—it’s a wake-up call. If nothing changes, there’s no way she’ll earn top marks.’
I glanced back at Rivel and Katrine, seated behind us.
Two brilliant competitors, their eyes blazing with determination.
In the entrance examination, the heaviest weight didn’t fall on the written exam or the practical—it was the final “combat trial.”
Could Joanna truly surpass them in that crucible?
Not as she stood now. Impossible.
She had to be pushed to unleash two hundred percent of her true strength.
Since I was already offering my help, I decided to do it properly.
“I’ll show you why your Light Magic is so pitiful. Katrine—this time, show us your Light Magic.”
“!!”

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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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