The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 73

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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 73
Joanna clenched her teeth and deployed the magic again.
It was the same as before.
“Again.”
“What you just manifested still doesn’t capture even ten percent of what my star means. Try again.”
No matter how many times she repeated it, Joanna’s magic remained equally terrible.
But this time, she couldn’t belittle my star the way she had before.
Repeating it over and over, she’d begun to sense it instinctively.
The insufficiency was in herself, not in my star.
‘Cruel, perhaps, but there’s no helping it. She needs to truly recognize her own shortcomings.’
If she wallowed in confusion,
there was only one way to help her out of it, regrettable as that was.
She had to acknowledge her own limitations—the sooner, the better, and with complete conviction.
Since I’d decided to help her, I resolved to do it thoroughly.
“This won’t do. I’ll have another student demonstrate my star.”
I surveyed the lecture hall.
The farthest corner.
A small boy sitting there with his hood drawn up, as if to hide his face.
“You, the student in that corner.”
“M-me, sir?”
“Yes, you. Come up and try to manifest my star.”
It was Libel, the audit student who’d been eavesdropping on my classes for some time now.
* * *
“Weren’t you that failure from the entrance exam?”
Joanna’s brow twitched.
Libel looked at her with a cowed expression and stammered out his words.
“Y-you’re one to talk, you d-dropout. Be quiet.”
“!!”
“S-someone as wretched as you doesn’t deserve to attend Half-Professor’s lectures.”
“You dare—!”
“Enough. Don’t make a scene.”
I stopped both of them and turned to Libel.
“Libel, did you grasp my star properly?”
“N-no, I didn’t.”
“Hmm?”
“The meaning contained in your star was far too profound. I couldn’t possibly comprehend it. I apologize.”
At Libel’s response, Joanna let out a derisive snort.
“Ha? What nonsense is this? Don’t you have eyes? Profound? What are you talking about?”
“That’s exactly why you’re a dropout.”
“!!”
Libel made an unexpected proposal.
“Rather than just a demonstration, wouldn’t it be better to have a duel? I’d like to teach this wretched dropout some respect for the professor.”
I made a slightly troubled expression.
No matter how talented Libel was, he was still only 1st Tier. Without drawing on the Forbidden Power he kept hidden, he could never match Joanna.
However,
“Though I’ve only grasped it imperfectly, I’m more than capable of showing this arrogant dropout what it means that your star is truly great, Professor.”
After a moment’s deliberation, I nodded.
I thought they’d each gain something from it.
‘Libel won’t win, but he should give Joanna quite a shock.’
But I was somewhat mistaken about one thing.
About Libel’s talent.
“…You owe the professor an apology for your disrespect.”
“Ha! Don’t make me laugh. What’s Half-Professor compared to me?”
“…And yet you don’t even realize the professor has taken an interest in you.”
Libel drew out his star.
It was somewhat different from the star I had drawn.
Unlike Joanna, he hadn’t traced it perfectly.
And yet,
“You’re… jealous. I won’t forgive that.”
My eyes widened.
Crack!
The surge of lightning was far from ordinary.
Much stronger than Joanna’s.
Stronger than I’d anticipated.
Then, unexpectedly, a line from the scenario echoed in my mind—something the Demon King had said to Libel.
—The next era will not be mine, but this child’s.
The One.
Libel’s talent—that which would come to be called the singular being across heaven and earth—had awakened.
And in that same moment.
Lightning tore through the air.
Joanna, her face drained of color, unfurled a textbook Lightning Star.
She must have sensed the threat—it was a 2nd Tier Lightning Star, no less.
But still.
“Behold,” Libel’s voice carried an otherworldly resonance. “And stand in awe. This—this is the true magnificence of my professor’s star.”
Libel’s lightning tore through Joanna’s lightning as if it were paper.
* * *
The malicious rumors that Senin had spread were utterly extinguished.
It was entirely thanks to Joanna’s acknowledgment.
—My professor’s Magic is not apostasy.
Yet the shock had clearly shaken her deeply; she chose not to appear in person but instead released her statement in writing.
After that, Joanna used a portal to return directly to Amethyst Academy.
‘I can only hope she recovers well from this.’
But before she left, Joanna left behind an unexpected bombshell—a parting remark that landed like a grenade.
—Senin, you’re staying behind?
—…My duties here are not yet complete, are they? For the sake of my fellow students, I must eliminate malpractice and—
—Right, do your best. I hear you’ve been busy spreading lies all night, making the rounds. Must be exhausting.
—…E-excuse me?
—Oh, was that supposed to be a secret? I only mentioned it because what you’re doing disgusts me. So go ahead—work hard.
After that, Senin faced the full brunt of the backlash.
Particularly because Yulia orchestrated the counterattack from behind, turning Senin into the most despised person in the institution.
She didn’t just pin his actual wrongdoings on him—she fabricated accusations for things he’d never done and buried them all together.
‘…As with everything, Yulia takes it a step further. At her rate, the rumors will have already spread throughout Amethyst by the time he returns. He’s got a rough road ahead.’
Truth be told, I bore Senin no great malice.
I knew what was coming for him soon enough.
‘Like all Sub-Main Protagonists, he’ll face profound despair.’
So far, I’d encountered three Sub-Main Protagonists in total.
Joanna, Senin, and Tern—the swordmaster’s heir.
‘If the keyword for Main Protagonists is “Hero’s Path,” then for Sub-Main Protagonists it’s “Despair and Adversity.”‘
Every last one of them was destined to crash to the bottom.
‘In any case, thanks to the spectacle Senin and Joanna created, the students’ trust in me has deepened considerably.’
I surveyed the glints in the eyes of the students seated in the classroom, allowing myself a satisfied smile.
It was entirely different from before.
‘Word’s gone around that I’m the star who defeated the Magic House heiress.’
I felt it was time to move to the next phase.
I had a plan to make my lectures shine brilliantly.
“You’re all aware that there’s a Combined Competition between Class 1 and Class 2 next week, yes?”
“Yes, sir!”
A far more spirited reply than before.
“Good. And you understand that the Combined Competition carries the same weight as the exam in determining your grades?”
The moment grades were mentioned, the atmosphere soured noticeably.
‘The Combined Competition is just as formidable a hurdle as an exam. Especially for this Fundamentals of Magic Understanding course.’
The Empire’s Academy education system rejected dead knowledge in favor of practical, applicable learning.
That’s why there were constant practicum sessions and special events.
Most subjects incorporated practical assessment into their grades, but the problem lay in the unique nature of this Fundamentals of Magic Understanding course.
‘How do you administer a practical assessment when most of these students can’t even cast Magic?’
To comply with the Education Ministry’s directive to emphasize practical evaluation, the “competition” had been hastily constructed.
It was a presentation format where students demonstrated what they’d learned in the course.
‘Typically, students divide into groups. Magic Faculty students demonstrate spellcasting, Knight Faculty and Support Faculty students present countermeasures against Magic, and Liberal Arts Faculty students give academic presentations on Magic and social phenomena.’
“Has everyone decided what your group will present?”
“Well… we’ve only learned Linear Theory, so…”
“What’s the problem? Can’t you just prepare a presentation using Linear Theory?”
“With all respect, Professor — the Magic Faculty might manage it, but the other faculties cannot use Magic at all. If they could, they would naturally have prepared a magical demonstration.”
The students wore aggrieved expressions.
For reference, magical demonstrations earned the highest scores at the Competition.
Every year students from the other faculties lodged complaints, but since this same unfairness appeared in shared courses like Fundamentals of Swordsmanship across all departments, nothing ever changed.
“It’s possible.”
“…Pardon?”
“Whether you’re in the Magic Faculty or not — everyone here can use Magic.”
“!!”
Everyone’s faces went slack with disbelief.
As it should have been.
To use Magic, you needed not only to understand the Stars, but also talent as a mage.
But still—
“Do you remember what I said on the first day? That I’d make you understand Magic. That didn’t just mean understanding lines and points and Stars.”
I looked them all directly in the eye.
“I will make every one of you experience Magic and understand what it truly is. Trust me and follow, and it’s possible.”
* * *
The universal reaction was disbelief.
For someone without talent as a mage to use Magic was impossible without nothing short of a miracle.
But.
-I am half Ecclesia. In the course of my legend, performing such miracles is the merest trifle.
The Black Flame Dragon’s declaration quelled the students’ skepticism.
I’d grown shameless enough by now that the Dragon’s interjections had begun to feel almost natural.
‘I need to enlarge the stage for the Combined Competition.’
There was no point in performing a “miracle” if no one would bear witness.
‘It’s such an absurd miracle that plenty of people will refuse to acknowledge it.’
So I prepared a method.
“Professor Ban, hello! I’m a reporter with the Gasipil Daily! Thank you so much for the invitation!”
“Good — did you hear my proposal?”
“Of course! I’ll document every detail of the miracle you’ll perform on the day of the Combined Competition and report it without missing a single thing!”
But that wasn’t all.
I sent invitations to the Academy’s key figures as well.
Not mere formalities.
I was drumming up attention.
-That day, everyone at the Academy will know who the truly great professor is.
A pointed declaration aimed at Aiden, my predecessor.
For the highest teaching evaluation, I would make Aiden my sacrifice that day.
‘The “catastrophe” that happened in the scenario won’t occur this time, and my preparations are perfect.’
* * *
And so the spark Ban had kindled set the Academy ablaze.
What would normally be an unremarkable mandatory basic course Competition suddenly became the focus of Academy-wide conversation.
“What exactly is Professor Ban planning to do?”
“No idea. Even the kids in his second class don’t know what they’re preparing. They’re just doing these incomprehensible drills.”
“He said he’d make students from other faculties able to use Magic, didn’t he?”
“Come on. That’s absurd. There’s no way something like that could work.”
The atmosphere had shifted somewhat from before.
There were still those who dismissed and belittled without thought, but many more were showing genuine curiosity. Really? Could it be done?
Meanwhile, there were those who reacted with particular sensitivity to Ban’s movements.
“The Duke is deeply disappointed, Lord Aiden.”
“Haha. What are you saying? In the end, he’s just Ban — a nobody. To me, a professor of the Knight Faculty….”
“My lord.”
The steward’s voice hardened.
His previous courtesy vanished entirely.
“House Rapelt did not invest in you to see you perform like this.”
“!!”
“If you don’t wish to repay all the various subsidies, privileges, and research funds the House has granted you, then at the Combined Competition, you must utterly eclipse Professor Ban.”
Lord Aiden’s face went pale.
If that happened, he was ruined.
“Th-that is… No, please, I assure you. I will make that wretch kneel.”
“How do you mean?”
Aiden bit down on his lip hard.
“I’ll resort to any means necessary.”
His answer carried an edge of something unsettling.

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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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