The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 35

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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 35
‘Watching from the sidelines leaves a bad taste, but it should be fine. I’ll just sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor now anyway.’
All the frantic struggling until now had been for one purpose alone: passing the appointment exam.
There was no need for further hardship.
‘It’s temporary for a year, but I won’t cause any trouble, and naturally I’ll become a full professor after that.’
I exchanged brief courtesies and left Randolph’s office.
Perhaps it was the lightness and brightness of my mood?
The academy campus looked beautiful.
The whole atmosphere around the academy seemed electric with excitement.
‘The acceptance results must have been announced.’
I could see successful students embracing their families, beaming with joy.
‘That looks nice.’
A smile formed on my face.
I’d never experienced anything like that as a child.
My father was an alcoholic and a gambler, and my mother was always in the hospital. No one had ever properly celebrated anything for me.
So seeing scenes like that always filled me with a warm, wistful feeling.
But then a voice shattered my peaceful mood.
“What are you grinning about like that, you third-rate hack?”
It was Joanna, the spoiled young mistress.
She looked as though she wanted to pick a fight, her gaze fiercer than usual as she glared down at me.
‘She must be in a foul mood. After all, she didn’t pass.’
Precisely: she’d placed third.
Katrine was first, Rivel second.
They’d earned significant bonus points for being the ones to charge in and fight the monsters first.
For Joanna—the next head of a prestigious magical house—such a result was unacceptable.
‘So she’s decided to apply to Amethyst Academy instead, is she?’
Fortunately, among the Four Pillars of Academia, entrance exam schedules didn’t overlap, so rejected students could apply elsewhere.
If she took a portal right now, she’d make it in time for the exam.
Joanna let out a snort as she looked around Rubineth Academy.
“It’s actually fortunate. Going to Amethyst—the finest of the Four Pillars—is better than attending Rubineth Academy where someone like you gets appointed as a professor.”
Even as we were about to part ways, Joanna spewed venomous remarks.
But rather than anger, I felt something else stirring in me.
‘If she continues like this, she’ll end up “falling behind.”‘
Joanna would easily secure top honors at Amethyst.
The problem came after that.
Without any special intervention, she would inevitably “fall behind.”
The keyword defining her future was “frustration.”
‘She’ll tumble endlessly from here on out.’
The difficulty setting was likely to be hard.
I had to plant seeds in advance so that Joanna wouldn’t break under the weight of despair.
“Anyway, Katrine placing first? That filthy thing. The grading criteria is ridiculous. The academy’s standards are….”
I watched Joanna in silence for a moment, then spoke.
“You don’t need to be so angry about losing.”
“…What?”
“Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re something special. You’re just a student who’s only just begun to grow. Of course you can lose. Of course you can fail.”
!!
Joanna’s mouth snapped shut.
Probably words she’d never heard before in her life.
She’d been raised with nothing but success demanded of her.
‘…My words certainly won’t sink in right now.’
Given Joanna’s nature, she’d likely just grow more angry.
But Joanna showed a reaction I hadn’t anticipated.
“…What do you know?”
She was angry, that much was true.
But the thing was,
“How hard have I struggled my whole life just to never lose?”
Drop.
Clear liquid filled her sharp eyes, then fell.
‘Wait, why is she crying?’
Only a single tear fell from her eyes.
But considering that Joanna never typically showed weakness in front of others, this was an extraordinary turn of events.
She bit her lip hard, as though trying to hold back tears.
“I’ll never lose to you.”
Then she spun around and disappeared.
I stood there, watching her receding figure in a daze.
‘I should check how she’s doing next time we meet. There’ll be plenty of chances to run into each other at different academies.’
The Hero Academy had no fewer than sixteen protagonists spread across four academies.
Naturally, there was considerable exchange between them.
Joint classes, workshops, festivals, competitive tournaments—the works.
Through countless such exchanges, all sixteen protagonists would cross paths.
‘And as for professors, there’s the dispatch system too.’
That was a problem for later.
I decided to set my worries aside and simply enjoy the present moment.
Today was a joyful day for me as well.
‘I finally passed the hiring exam! Even if it’s temporary, I’m a professor now!’
Just then, raucous voices reached my ears.
“Hahahaha! Sir, congratulations on passing! At last, a new star named Ban shall shine in the firmament of magic! Oh, this Hans shall follow only in your footsteps from this moment forward!”
“C-congratulations, sir. S-surely I didn’t actually expect you to pass the exam. N-not that I was praying for your failure so I could skip graduate school!”
I ignored Linden’s nonsense and turned my gaze toward Hans.
“Hans, aren’t you going back to the Ecclesia Ducal House?”
For context, Hans had come along as an attendant.
Now that I’d passed the hiring exam, he should have returned to his original position at the Ecclesia Ducal House.
“I’ve already submitted my resignation from the ducal house, sir. I’ve found new employment.”
“What? New employment?”
“I’ll be joining your laboratory as a graduate student, sir! I look forward to working with you—loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!!”
I made a dumbfounded expression.
A 5-Star Rank Supreme Mage entering as a graduate student?
For reference, the typical achievement level of junior professors—the lowest tier of faculty at the academy—was around 5-Star Rank.
“Ah, senior. Please tell this ridiculous old man to stop.”
“Shut your mouth, you lazy fool! This Hans shall personally ensure you don’t slack off!”
“Seriously, sir. You’re the lazier one. You just talk loudly all day and don’t actually do anything.”
Linden’s complaint had merit.
Honestly, even I could see that Hans was lazier than Linden.
‘Still, he’ll do well as the disciplinary monitor. Hans is the typical stubborn middle-aged type, after all.’
I nodded in consent.
“Hahahaha! Since it’s such a joyful day, how about we have a celebration dinner?! Shall we go for a drink?”
“…Are you paying?”
“Ah, while I certainly have more money than you, sir, how could I possibly be so presumptuous? This Hans knows propriety—I’m a middle-aged man refined enough to know better than to open his wallet in front of his superior!”
“……”
“Linden, what are you doing? Aren’t you singing the praises of your debt to Ban?”
“…I really don’t want to go to the dinner, but—ah, no! Thank you! Long live the great Professor Ban!!”
I was beginning to wonder if these two were deliberately trying to get under my skin.
Then an unwelcome sight caught my eye.
It was Katrine and Rivel.
“……”
They stood motionless, staring at the passing list.
Alone.
Unlike all the other students who were sharing their joy with family, there was no one standing beside them.
‘Don’t think about it. I’ve already drawn enough attention to them. Getting closer would be a mistake.’
I steeled my resolve and moved to walk past them.
But then I stopped abruptly beside the two of them.
A single ‘vulgar’ thought had occurred to me.
“I think we should have our celebration dinner at La Renée.”
“Sir? Weren’t we supposed to go to a cheap tavern?”
“Why would we go there? Isn’t that where families go to celebrate passing their exams? And besides, it’s expensive.”
La Renée was an upscale restaurant catering to family clientele.
If this were Earth, it would be like a family restaurant.
As Linden said, it was a hot spot where academy graduates visited with their families to celebrate their passing.
‘I’ve wanted to go there at least once. It’s a famous place that appears several times in the scenario.’
The problem was that my meager finances made it an ambitious destination.
But there was a way.
“You two, if you’ve nothing to do, why not grab a bite together?”
“…Professor?”
Katrine and Rivel stared at me with eyes as wide as saucers.
I spoke in the flattest tone I could manage.
“Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m not taking any particular interest in you. It’s purely that having you two around lets me stack the ‘honor graduate discount’ twice over, so I’m simply using you both.”
That was right.
I was a commoner born and bred, the sort who never missed a discount.
That old memory of being alone as a child had absolutely nothing to do with this sudden meddling.
The problem was that neither of them seemed to believe a word of it.
“…What are you even saying?”
“Th—thank you so much.”
“I said don’t misunderstand. I’m clearly—”
“Sniff! Master, such a warm heart! Hans is truly moved!”
“Ah… the senior I knew was nothing like this. Why are you acting this way? You’re the devil to me.”
…Shut it, both of you.
In any case, today was a good day.
We’d had a gathering after a long time, and the drink had flowed freely.
And the next day.
I jolted awake in the cramped single room of a slum I’d been given as lodging, startled beyond measure.
An official notice had arrived from an unexpected source.
[Education Ministry Notice]
– Notification to prospective temporary professors of Rubineth Academy.
For reference, the Education Ministry was the administrative body overseeing education across all academies throughout The Empire.
True to an Empire that regarded education as its most vital task, it wielded tremendous authority.
The problem was,
“What in blazes is this nonsense?”
A curse escaped my lips.
It had to.
Preposterous.
Absolutely unacceptable words were written there.
– Rubineth Academy has hired an excessive number of temporary professors.
– Temporary Professor TO will henceforth be limited to one per department.
– Already-hired temporary professors will be evaluated on their performance over the first semester, with only the top performer retained.
For reference, the new temporary professors in the Magic Department at Rubineth Academy this term numbered five. The original TO was four, but with my addition, it became five.
In other words, I had to compete through the entire first semester and achieve top performance among five candidates just to survive.
‘Damn it, why? There was no such thing in the original scenario!’
In that instant, a single hypothesis struck me.
‘Could it be that what I pulled off in the Dream Illusory World recently provoked those Ouroboros bastards?’
I swallowed hard.
‘Ouroboros.’
Especially considering the identity of Maestro, who would have orchestrated this entire Dream Dungeon incident—it was plausible.
‘If my hunch is right, this isn’t something to take lightly. This is clearly a trap aimed at me. They mean to eliminate me by any means necessary.’
And there was reason to think so.
* * *
At that moment, in a garden somewhere far from Rubineth Academy.
A beautiful man gazed upon the flowers.
It was Maestro, an apostle of Ouroboros.
But his expression was different from before.
All composure had vanished, leaving his face rigid and tense.
“…Maestro, the death of Viscount Vermont has been confirmed. It is believed to be the work of a newly emerged Transcendent.”
Yet Maestro offered an unexpected reply.
“Are you certain it was a Transcendent’s doing?”
“…What do you mean by that, sir?”
“The Unknown Star mentioned in the Prophecy of Celestial Mechanism.”
“!!”
“I find that star… keeps troubling me.”

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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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