The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 40

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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 40
‘Where could Heukjo have gone?’
I tilted my head in confusion.
Everyone assumed Heukjo had abandoned his post without permission and thought nothing more of it.
‘But is it really unauthorized absence? He didn’t seem like the irresponsible type. Something feels off.’
Since I knew almost nothing about Heukjo to begin with, my ability to speculate was limited.
‘Yet it’s strange. I really haven’t seen Heukjo in the scenario at all?’
In my judgment, of the four newly appointed instructors, the ones worth watching were not the heirs to the famous magical and swordcraft families.
The other two.
The one who came to Heavenly Sky Island, and Heukjo.
‘Both of them barely had a presence during this training session, but they don’t seem like people to take lightly.
They must have had roles in the scenario.’
Now that Heukjo had suddenly vanished, a nagging doubt settled deeper into my mind.
Was there something I was missing?
‘Especially the fact that this is Lancell Plateau bothers me. Wait—could it possibly be connected to ‘that incident’?’
At the sudden thought, goosebumps prickled down my spine.
‘…No. Heukjo isn’t a demon. That’s absolutely impossible.’
Demons.
They were different from the devils of Hell.
They were a non-human race of the Demonic Realm, born cradling darkness.
The thing I was worried about could only happen if demons from the Demonic Realm were involved—specifically, if a ‘Key’ was in play.
‘I’ve made preparations just in case, ready for the worst.’
But I had no time to dwell on it further.
‘I need to focus on the training. The second day has high scoring weight too—I have to do this perfectly.’
The real schedule began in earnest.
“The newly appointed instructors will perform volunteer work for the residents of the surrounding settlement throughout today.”
The instructors turned dark gazes toward me.
“Your volunteer service will all be reflected in your evaluations, so please do your utmost.”
They were looking down on me, assuming I wouldn’t manage the volunteer work properly, but there was nothing to worry about.
‘I’ve already decided what kind of help I’ll provide.’
It was after arriving at the settlement village with an easy mind.
My face stiffened instantly.
An unexpected obstacle was waiting.
‘What? Why is he here?’
A gentle-faced beautiful youth.
It was Yohen, the Demon Saint!
‘Was this really the Rebel Army’s settlement? Damn it.’
Even I didn’t know everywhere the Rebel Army’s settlements were spread across.
Then Yohen looked at me and smiled gently.
True to his name, the Deer Saint.
That perfect hundred-point smile that made countless female hearts flutter—but my chest only sank.
“Are you Professor Ban? I’ve heard about you. Thank you so much for coming to help our settlement.”
His voice was calm and measured.
I worked to steady my startled mind.
‘Calm down. It’s just a coincidence. Yohen doesn’t know I’m his benefactor. And he hasn’t corrupted yet.’
The Deer Saint.
The Corrupted Saint.
Both were nicknames for Yohen.
As the scenario progressed, Yohen would gradually fall into corruption, stained by evil—but that was still a matter of the future.
‘Either way, Yohen is one of the four main protagonists. He’ll grow well on his own whether I help or not. I’ll just treat him coldly and keep my distance.’
But then the Black Flame Dragon did something unexpected.
-The Black Flame Dragon responds to the other’s pure kindness!
-‘Black Flame Dragon’s Kindness’ manifests!
“Not at all. Rather, we apologize for being such a bother. We look forward to a good day with you.”
It was a greeting that would naturally endear me to anyone listening!
Here was the Black Flame Dragon, causing chaos whenever courtesy was actually needed, but shamelessly stepping forward at times like this.
Yohen’s eyes widened slightly, then broke into a gentle smile.
“Professor Ban, you seem quite different from the great figures I’ve met before. I’m grateful. We also look forward to a good day with you.”
I felt a cold sweat forming—I seemed to have made an unexpectedly good impression.
‘This much should be fine. Now I just need to do well.’
But as is always the case in this world, things didn’t unfold as planned.
“You there, where’s the village chief? Stop wasting my time with a child—bring me the chief himself.”
It was Kansir, of the famous swordsmanship house.
“…The chief is away from the village at the moment.”
“Then where’s another elder of standing?”
“He’s also absent on urgent business.”
Yohen’s face grew troubled.
I caught on immediately.
‘The Rebel Army’s Guardians must be hiding. A knight-class master in a remote settlement like this would raise too many questions.’
But Kansir only scowled.
“Deliberately avoiding us out of disrespect, are they? How dare they. Never mind—stop wasting my breath on a brat and fetch me an adult!”
“I… I apologize.”
“What’s this? The child’s getting cocky?”
‘Is this lunatic out of his mind?’
I felt genuine alarm spike through me.
The man had been humiliated by me throughout the training period, and that sour mood was making him step on every possible landmine.
‘If he provokes Yohen wrong, he could get all of us—the entire settlement—wiped out.’
Yohen was a saint of the Rebel Army and a crucial figure, which meant he had invisible protectors watching over him.
‘If this goes south, they’ll kill us and relocate the whole village without blinking.’
I stepped in without hesitation.
“That’s enough. What do you think volunteering means? It means bowing your back to serve others. If you’re here chasing glory and flattery, then get yourself back to the Melborne Duchy.”
“!!”
Kansir’s teeth ground audibly as he glared at me.
But I didn’t back down either.
He was someone I’d beaten once before—against a weaker opponent, I could be as strong as I needed to be.
In the end, it was he who turned tail.
“…All talk and no substance. We’ll see about that today. In this volunteer work, I won’t lose. You’re a useless cripple with Mana Dullness Syndrome anyway—there’s probably nothing you can even do.”
Whoosh!
Kansir spun and vanished.
His mindless drivel didn’t bother me in the slightest, but there was a problem lurking elsewhere.
“Thank you for helping me. I was in real trouble—I’m glad you were there, Professor.”
Those bright, sparkling eyes of Yohen’s!
Cold sweat beaded on my skin unbidden.
“…Don’t get the wrong idea. I just didn’t like the way he was acting. It wasn’t specially for your sake.”
I tried to cover hastily, but—damn it.
Instead, I’d made it sound like I was saying, ‘I did it 100% for your sake!’
“Hehe, you seem like a good person, Professor.”
“…You’re mistaken.”
“Yes, yes. I understand.”
I frowned.
I resolved to ignore him and just get to work.
‘The truth is, because of Mana Dullness Syndrome, what I can do in volunteer work is pretty limited.’
But there was one thing.
There was something I could do.
“You’re going to install a Barrier Magical Formation around the village?”
“Right. It should be enough to stop simple monster incursions.”
Of course, an elaborate Magical Formation was out of the question.
My mana reserves were insufficient, and besides, there’d be no way to maintain it properly.
But a simple Barrier Magical Formation was manageable.
‘Anyway, the strongest monsters that come down to a settlement like this are only around Level 1.’
Anywhere with higher-tier monsters would be uninhabitable for ordinary people.
‘Won’t take long.’
Alone, it would’ve been tedious work, but I had two excellent… no, two capable graduate students to aid me.
Linden and Hans followed my instructions dutifully, sweating through the labor as we installed the Magical Formation.
“Come on, you old fool! Stop slacking!”
“You brat! How dare you! I was deliberating on how best to execute Professor Ban’s orders with absolute perfection!!”
“I know slacking when I see it, even when you’re pretending to think!”
But then Yohen made another startling observation.
“You really are different from the others, Professor. They’d thoughtlessly rush into monster hunts, risking the village itself—but you’re being careful to prevent damage instead, aren’t you?”
“…….”
It wasn’t so much that I’d given up; rather, my Mana Dullness Syndrome meant that hunting demons barely made any impression, so there was little point in continuing.
Unless an entire army or order of knights swept the region clean, the effort yielded hardly any real benefit.
“But if you install a Magical Formation, wouldn’t it be impossible to find Mana Stones to maintain it?”
“I can design it to sustain itself using the mana dwelling in the demon corpses.”
“…Is such a thing even possible?”
“It is. I’m half Ecclesia, after all.”
Yohen’s expression grew strange upon hearing my name.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your name seems oddly familiar to me, Professor.”
I felt a pang of guilt.
Now that I thought about it, I had once recited my name aloud when the Black Flame Dragon was treating Yohen.
“…You must have heard it in rumors. My name carries some renown.”
“No, that’s not quite it…”
Yohen tilted his head, searching his memory, and that was the moment cold sweat began to roll down my face.
Then I suddenly went rigid.
I felt something eerie in the air.
‘…What is this?’
It was a familiar sensation.
I’d felt it several times recently.
‘Puppet… no, it’s similar to that feeling when the Lord of Reverie awakened during the entrance exam. Why would it happen now?’
I hadn’t sensed it wrong.
Rumble!!
A deafening roar tore through the air and the ground lurched beneath us!
It was an earthquake!
“?!”
“Aahhh!!”
“Take cover!”
The settlement erupted into chaos!
The Rebel Army’s Guardians who had been lying in wait emerged from hiding.
Faced with the urgent situation, they had no time to conceal their identities and spoke out frantically.
“Saint Yohen! We must evacuate!”
“What’s happening?”
“Malevolent Energy is beginning to leak from the center of the Plateau!”
My face went pale.
I recognized this phenomenon.
It was the omen that appeared when the evil dragon Ashtat awakened.
‘Why?’
Without warning, the Hidden Episode “Savior of the Great Dragon” had begun.
* * *
I felt like weeping.
‘Why is this happening again?’
I went to save one troubled student and encountered Puppet, worked as an entrance exam proctor and the Lord of Reverie awakened.
And now, a Hidden Episode?
‘This is too much! Where does this happen?! I’m done! I won’t do it!!’
…I wanted to sprawl out on the ground and give up entirely, but the Black Flame Dragon wouldn’t let me abandon my dignity even in a situation like this.
“May I join in as well?”
“Ah, Professor Ban, sir? I’ve heard of your reputation.”
The leader of the Guardians who had just appeared turned his gaze toward me.
It was someone I knew.
A high-ranking member of the Rebel Army—the Butcher, Akto.
A knight of Graduated-class standing at Level 6, no less.
It seemed Lyran had told him about me, because despite his notorious epithet, his manner was perfectly respectful.
“It appears the seal on the Plateau has been compromised.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Malevolent Energy is leaking forth as if a demon were descending.”
“Hmm.”
“We must evacuate at once. If the legendary evil dragon truly descends, no one will survive.”
He was right.
In this world, the dragon race was not inherently invincible.
They typically possessed strength in the range of Level 6 to 7.
But the evil dragon Ashtat of the Lancell Plateau was different.
An Ascension Dragon.
A being that had reached all the way to Level 9.

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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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