The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 60

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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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Episode 60
‘I have to do this right.’
I’d never wanted to be entangled with Yodo in the first place.
But now that it had come to this, I had to make him move according to my design.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
Especially when I thought about Yodo’s true circumstances.
I needed an unconventional approach—not the straightforward method.
“In any case, it’s fortunate. Since you were once trash like me, you’ll understand if I show you some lack of sincerity, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Good—we understand each other well. You truly are my friend. So going forward, don’t interfere with me….”
“What if you quit the Academy altogether?”
“…What did you just say?”
I shook my head as if to dispel any misunderstanding, then continued in a tone that sounded as if I were genuinely concerned for the 3rd Prince’s wellbeing.
“Your Highness needn’t trouble himself by continuing at the Academy, need he? After all, the throne will pass to His Highness the 2nd Prince anyway. Why not abandon the Academy and enjoy your own life?”
“…….”
“I will help you.”
The room fell silent.
The smile on the 3rd Prince’s face deepened.
It seemed pleased, or perhaps cold.
Subtly so.
But only for a moment.
“Haha! You’re quite the jester. You know that the Academy is a mandatory duty for the Imperial Family, don’t you? That’s why I enrolled at my age.”
“What does duty matter? Isn’t Your Highness precisely someone who doesn’t care about such things?”
As I pressed the issue, the smile finally vanished from the 3rd Prince’s face.
“…You should stop. You’re being disrespectful.”
“I beg your pardon, but I am your homeroom instructor. I have an obligation to guide you properly, which means I must know what path truly serves your interests.”
“…….”
Silence descended.
The 3rd Prince fixed me with a piercing gaze.
As if trying to see through what I was truly after.
-…Squeak?
Mari looked intimidated and kept glancing between the 3rd Prince and me, so I stroked her head.
Taking advantage of the slightly eased tension, I spoke.
“Shall we play a game of chess?”
“Chess, all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t it natural for old friends meeting after so long? The loser must grant the winner one request.”
“Haha, you want to bet even though you know I’m hopeless at chess? That’s hardly fair.”
“I’m no master myself. A pathetic match between two equally incompetent old friends might be rather amusing.”
“Fine. But no unreasonable requests.”
Yodo nodded, and the match was decided in an instant.
It was my complete victory.
Not because of the Heavenly Versatility trait, but simply because the 3rd Prince’s skill was abysmal.
“My, my. There’s simply no contest. Though I must say, your abilities seem to have improved considerably?”
“They have. I’m no longer the Half-Trash of the past. I’ve changed.”
“…….”
“What of Your Highness? Have you changed? Or are you still the same as before?”
The 3rd Prince fell silent for a moment.
Then he burst into a hearty laugh.
“Haha. What an odd question. As you can see, I’m still a pathetic fool.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, clearly.”
“I see. Then, as agreed in our bet, I’ll make my request. Will you play chess with me once more?”
“Why, when you’re no match for me?”
“This time, however, I ask that you play with genuine effort. That is my condition.”
“!!”
The 3rd Prince’s face went rigid.
His expression hardened with anger.
“Ban, I know what you’re thinking. You’re trying to provoke me. It won’t work.”
Click!
The 3rd Prince’s fingers moved across the phone screen.
“Fine. I’ll play you earnestly then. But if you lose, you disappear from my sight this instant and never show your face again.”
The match began.
It was a game of an entirely different character than before.
The 3rd Prince pressed forward relentlessly, giving no ground.
A rook devoured my knight, a bishop threatened my queen, pawns wrought miracles.
After an exchange of moves so fierce it stopped my breath, the outcome was decided.
“…….”
Astonishingly, I had lost.
The 3rd Prince’s hidden strength was so formidable it surpassed even my Heavenly Versatility trait.
“Ha! How’s that?! Now that you’ve lost, you’ll never dare show your face to me again…!!”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
“…What?”
I watched the 3rd Prince, a smile lingering on his face, and continued.
“Without worrying about what others think, showing off your true ability—wasn’t that enjoyable?”
“…….”
Yodo.
The cursed blade.
The reason such a name had attached itself to him, a member of the Imperial Family itself, traced back to a single Prophecy.
-This child will drench the entire Imperial Family in blood and rise to become a great Emperor.
A Prophecy made by a Transcendent who had guarded the Imperial Family for centuries.
And that Prophecy was true.
In the scenario, the 3rd Prince Yodo would ultimately slaughter every member of the Imperial Family and seize the throne.
‘That’s why I didn’t want to get entangled with Yodo.’
The path to the imperial throne itself.
Even without imagining it, I could know how harrowing it would be.
And worst of all,
‘The 3rd Prince had to commit Parricide.’
Drenching the Imperial Family in blood meant killing countless bloodkin with his own hands.
It was why the 3rd Prince concealed his true nature and played the fool, and why I couldn’t interfere so carelessly.
‘No matter what they say about it being for the world’s sake, how could you push someone to do such a thing.’
If the 3rd Prince were cold-blooded, it might be different.
But the bloodkin he would have to kill weren’t just the 2nd Prince, an apostle of Ouroboros.
Countless others who had genuinely been close to him were included as well.
In the latter half of the scenario, the sight of the 3rd Prince Mikhail weeping alone on the imperial throne, wracked with sobs—that was something I could never forget.
That was why.
I had begun contemplating a way for both of us to win.
“What exactly are you trying to say? Should I stop this clown act and show my real strength? Do you even understand what you’re babbling about?!”
“You misunderstand, Your Highness. I have no interest in the Imperial Family’s affairs. Whether you display your strength or conceal it is of no concern to me.”
“Then?”
“I simply wish for Your Highness to be happy.”
“…Where did that sappy nonsense suddenly come from?”
A way for both to win.
First, I decided not to push him forward.
Even if he were to follow his fate, that should be a decision he made himself.
More than anything,
“I simply hope Your Highness might do what you truly wish to do.”
“…….”
“Don’t you desire the Academy? If so, I’ll help you abandon it cleanly. But is that truly what Your Highness wants?”
The 3rd Prince fell silent.
“The truth is, doesn’t Your Highness also want to attend the Academy? Like any other ordinary person?”
“…That’s not—”
“If that weren’t the case, you wouldn’t have enrolled in the Academy in the first place. Honestly, to reassure the others in the Imperial Family, it would have been far better not to come at all. The fact that you came deliberately despite this—it’s because you still harbored regret, isn’t it?”
I spoke to the 3rd Prince with unflinching eyes.
“The Imperial Family’s gaze? Prophecies? Pay them no mind. If Your Highness wishes to enjoy the Academy, then do so. I shall be your shield.”
“…You?”
“Yes. As your homeroom professor, I have a responsibility to protect you.”
“!!”
Silence fell again.
The 3rd Prince clenched his lips firmly.
“Ban, what are you saying? Have you developed delusions of grandeur from pulling off a few impressive things lately? You’re still nothing but a Half-Trash after all.”
“Isn’t it all the better that I’m Half-Trash? If someone politically insignificant like me is by your side, won’t the suspicion directed toward Your Highness ease considerably?”
“!!”
The 2nd Prince’s face stiffened as if he’d never considered such a thing.
“That doesn’t mean I’m entirely without merit, Your Highness. I told you I’ve changed, didn’t I? While at the Academy, I’m perfectly capable of protecting you.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I knew precisely what difficulties would befall Yodo.
My true desire was to avoid entangling myself in Yodo’s affairs as much as possible, but if it seemed he couldn’t handle something alone, I could offer assistance.
“However, I have a condition. Your Highness must also follow my instruction. That’s the student’s obligation, after all.”
“…….”
“There’s no need to worry about revealing your abilities. I can credit it all to my teaching. You’ll become the Empire’s finest instructor eventually anyway—even if Your Highness excels, it will be attributed to my excellent guidance, not your own merit. In fact, the rumor will spread this way: ‘The renowned Master Ban Ecclesia, who even improved the grades of that reckless 2nd Prince.'”
Finally, Yodo burst into laughter.
“Ha ha! You’re quite entertaining, I must say. Fine. I’ll attend the Academy properly. Just don’t misunderstand—it’s simply because watching you go about your business seems amusing.”
‘Perfect!’
Things had gone exactly as I’d hoped.
‘So far, I’ve gotten everyone except Susan to follow my instruction. Now I need to make sure they all receive perfect marks.’
It wouldn’t be easy.
Of course, aside from the 2nd Prince Half-Trash, they were all prodigies of considerable talent.
The trouble was that each genius excelled only in their own field.
‘… They’re all hopeless at the common subjects. Libel and Katrine, naturally, but also Julia and even Yodo right here.’
As it happened, Yodo was hopelessly clumsy. He managed fine with intellectual matters, but everything else was a disaster.
‘Ordinary teaching won’t cut it.’
The real problem was whether Julia, Wilhelm, and the 2nd Prince himself would actually follow my guidance willingly.
They weren’t following me with genuine faith yet.
‘I need to make them follow me completely.’
I needed a turning point.
It was then that the 2nd Prince asked this question.
“By the way, is there anything entertaining planned? I heard there’s a class bonding event coming up soon—does our class have something scheduled?”
True to his longing for Academy life, he spoke with barely concealed enthusiasm about the gathering!
“It seems each class visits somewhere famous nearby. Of course, not that I’m particularly interested or anything!”
“We’ll be going on a field trip as well. We have a destination already planned. I’ve already obtained permission from the Free City’s mayor.”
“Oh? Where are we going?”
—Squeak?
Both the 2nd Prince and Mari sent expectant glances.
But the moment they heard what I said next—
“Have you lost your mind?! A bonding event to such a place?! Do you want us dead?!”
—Squeak, squeak?
It was the obvious reaction.
The field trip destination I’d chosen was, in every sense, absurd.
“Our class bonding event will take place in the Deep Underground Waterway.”
The Free City’s most dangerous unreachable dungeon.
I planned to instill respect for their instructor in my classmates through this ordeal.

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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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