The Genius Professor Wants An Easy Life - Chapter 83

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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 83
A man whose madness was perfectly rational.
That was my assessment the last time I saw Duke Alfonso.
He wasn’t mad in the conventional sense—he just walked the razor’s edge between what society permitted and what it condemned, never quite crossing over.
‘The King of Defiance Against Heaven is the dual identity he created to step beyond that line.’
Alfonso had tried every unconventional, inhumane method to become an Ascended One, and in the process had forged the mask of the King of Defiance Against Heaven.
“Ha ha! Do you know how shocked I was when fifty million pena vanished from my account?”
“Things went awry, Your Grace.”
“Yes, my wife mentioned it. Said you pulled quite the stunt at the Dark Auction. How amusing. Very amusing indeed.”
I swallowed hard.
Madness flickered in Alfonso’s eyes as he gazed at me.
It was a different kind of madness than what I’d seen in the Slaughter Mage not long ago.
Far murkier.
Like chaos rippling beneath the surface.
‘He’s wondering whether to kill me or not.’
It wasn’t simply because I’d mocked him.
Fifty million pena was nothing to him—a trifle, really.
Envy flashed across Alfonso’s pupils.
I hadn’t misread it.
Remarkably, the king of earthly mages was jealous of me.
“You know what? Since meeting you the other day, I haven’t slept a wink. If I had even half your talent—no, a quarter of it—I could have ascended to heaven long ago.”
……
“Even now, looking at you, the jealousy is hard to bear. If you weren’t from House Ecclesia, I’d have torn you to shreds already.”
The madness deepened.
Alfonso was deliberating whether killing me would cross ‘the line.’
The air grew so taut it felt like violence could erupt at any second.
“Oh my, what a harsh jest, Your Grace. You have more than just House Ecclesia. You are the savior of our Legion.”
!!
It was Lyran.
She stepped forward from where she’d been standing back, moving close to my side.
“If you harm Your Grace, you become the enemy of the Legion. Don’t forget that.”
The Rebel Legion.
They were no trivial force.
It was hardly coincidence that the Imperial Army hadn’t managed to suppress them all this time.
The bar for ‘the line’ had risen, and Alfonso burst into laughter.
“No need to be so tense. Did you really think I’d kill you? Though I was genuinely considering it, I’m not entirely devoid of sense.”
……
“Shall we move on to the goods? You brought the Gray Grimoire, I trust?”
I nodded and pulled the grimoire from my storage pouch.
“Ah, so this is the Gray Grimoire. Truly magnificent….”
Whoosh.
Alfonso’s face hardened as he turned the pages.
“You tampered with this grimoire, didn’t you?”
My fists clenched.
‘He caught it after all.’
The Slaughter Mage had thrown my plans into chaos, and I’d run out of time.
I hadn’t been able to manipulate it with precision.
‘It’s fine. Plan B, then.’
“Why did you do this?”
“It’s a test, Your Grace.”
“…What?”
“Whether Your Grace could detect every trick I’ve played on this grimoire.”
!!
I had to push forward boldly instead.
“I wanted to confirm just how formidable your abilities truly are. If even you failed to catch my tricks, then surely no one else in the world could.”
On the surface, it sounded arrogant.
But beneath my words lay something far more sophisticated—a master’s gambit of flattery, elevating his pride by suggesting I longed to challenge someone so supreme.
Fortunately, it worked.
“Ha ha! You do understand amusement. Very well. Let’s make it a wager. If I lose, I swear I’ll never harm you again. But if I win….”
Alfonso stroked his chin.
“Then you’ll become my son-in-law. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Joanna or Katrine.”
“…Isn’t that already settled?”
“Settled? Rather than let jealousy drive me to kill you, I’d much prefer to make you mine.”
…….
“Well then, I’ll be on my way. My fingers are already itching to see what sort of mischief you’ve gotten into.”
Light rippled around Duke Alfonso.
Just before the Teleportation Magic unfolded, an unexpected message reached my ear.
-I think Joanna would suit you better than Katrine as a match. Katrine is a discarded child—the family is considering casting her out. Best you keep your distance from her as well. Misplaced sympathy will only poison the well.
I frowned.
The content of his casually delivered words was truly vicious.
A discarded child—how could he say such a thing?
‘…Now that I think about it, “that incident” is about to befall Katrine soon.’
My expression grew grave.
The first trial in Katrine’s character scenario, “The Hero’s Path,” was about to commence.
‘First, handle urgent matters, then think.’
Urgent matters.
Namely, finding a house.
‘At last—the dream of owning my own home is finally coming true!’
The thought of achieving a dream I’d never managed on Earth made my heart race with excitement.
But there was a problem.
‘Why are house prices in the Free City like this?’
They were more expensive than I’d expected!
“Ha ha, prices have risen quite a bit recently. The properties matching your price range are here.”
I could afford a house with my settlement money.
The problem was that they were all shared villas.
A two-story house, the dream I’d long harbored, was out of reach.
‘Even one villa unit is more than I should ask for. It’s not rent, it’s my own home, after all.’
But there was one thing that gave me pause.
“Mari, will you be all right?”
Mari would still have to worry about noise from upper and lower floors.
It wouldn’t be quite as bad as that previous single room, but noise sensitivity was a universal problem in shared buildings.
Mari fluttered her wings rapidly.
Incidentally, Mari’s language skills had grown considerably in the time I hadn’t seen her—she could now construct simple sentences.
-Papa! Papa! I’m… I’m fine as long as… you’re here!
She seemed genuinely unconcerned.
I watched her for a moment, then made an impulse decision.
“Actually, never mind this place. Let’s go with that two-story house we saw on the way here.”
“The price is more than double, sir. Are you certain?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
-Papa? Papa! I’m fine…!
Mari shook her head vigorously as if to object.
“Mari, it’s not because of you. A villa like that simply won’t do justice to my standing. In other words, I’m buying it for myself.”
-That’s… a fib!
“And besides, when you buy a house, you should buy a good one the first time. That way it has investment value.”
For reference, property values in the Free City would skyrocket in the coming years.
Once the Calamity began, people would flock to the relatively safe Free City.
So when thinking of the future, a two-story house was far more valuable as an investment than a single villa unit.
-Papa… papa…!
But Mari refused to believe me, her eyes glistening with tears.
-I… I’ll definitely… repay this debt!
I chuckled and patted her head, then headed toward the bank.
My capital was fifty thousand Pena. The house cost one hundred thirty thousand Pena. I’d have to take out a loan for the difference.
“Please sign the collateral loan documents here, sir.”
“…Even looking as I do, I’m a professor. Wouldn’t a low-interest professional credit line be possible?”
“You’re a Temporary Professor, sir. If I may be frank, the financial sector hasn’t yet assessed your prospects for Full Professor appointment as highly as they might.”
It was an unexpected answer.
Despite all the remarkable things I’d accomplished, they still doubted my chances of earning Full Professor status?
“Of course, we’re aware you’re no longer a half-beast but a dragon now. But Full Professor appointment isn’t something that can happen on your merit alone, is it?”
I understood what he meant.
‘My students have to excel. Student mentorship carries the heaviest weight in Full Professor evaluations.’
What troubled me most was Susan.
The butcher I’d locked away in the Pocket Dimension.
Unless she had a change of heart, my appointment as Full Professor would be absolutely impossible.
‘I need to find an answer before the butcher escapes from the Pocket Dimension. One everyone can accept.’
I proceeded with a secured loan.
The house I wanted to purchase wasn’t enough collateral, so I even pledged the expensive Magical Artifact that former Chancellor Randolph had given me as a gift.
‘It’s not like I’m selling it—just using it as collateral should be fine.’
The loan was completed, and I wore a deeply moved expression.
I’d acquired my own home!
The Two-Story House wasn’t particularly spacious, but it did come with a small garden.
‘Did I… do the right thing by becoming a half?’
If I counted the happiest day since becoming a half, it would be today.
Of course, the high loan burden meant a future burdened by interest payments loomed ahead, but I was simply overjoyed.
-Papa! Papa! Papa’s the best! Kyahahaha~ flutter-flutter.
Mari was so delighted that she was fluttering her wings excitedly without worry about disturbing neighbors below when—
-Papa!!
Mari let out a sharp cry, unlike her joyful tone just moments before.
A sinister killing intent suddenly descended.
‘Someone’s targeting me.’
But I wasn’t flustered.
I had someone in mind.
Sure enough,
“Hehehehe, Master, I’ve returned. Faster than expected, wasn’t it?”
It was Sylphine, the butcher!
She looked gaunt from exerting so much power to escape the Pocket Dimension, yet her eyes shone brighter than before.
“I was so eager to hear the lecture from you that I missed last time. So, what lecture will you give me?”
I suppressed the light in my eyes.
‘It’s time to provide the answer.’
Yes.
All the time I’d bought before was for this moment.
“Do you have no hesitation about your revenge?”
“Of course not. It’s far too thrilling and exhilarating~?”
“Then try to kill me.”
Sylphine tilted her head in confusion.
“I’m not sure what you’re scheming, but I won’t refuse. Here!”
Black liquid bloomed into the air.
Swoosh!
The Alchemic Sphere.
Magic that shoots liquid like a spear blade.
Even a graze would turn me to blood.
But then—
“…Why?”
Crackle.
The spell didn’t unfold.
The stars scattered midway!
“…What did you do?”
“I did nothing. Try again.”
Sylphine’s complexion hardened.
But it was the same.
The moment the stars tried to manifest, the spell was nullified.
No one had interfered.
It was as if she herself were withdrawing the spell.
“Why are you hesitating? Didn’t you say you had no doubts? Do it properly. If you have no hesitation, you should be able to kill me easily.”
“!!”
Sylphine’s eyes widened.
She grasped the cause of what was happening from my words.
“Could you have transformed the Master-Servant Contract inscribed between us?”
“That’s right. I’ve placed a Restriction on you.”
The Master-Servant Contract of a slave enforces actions broadly, leaving many loopholes that wouldn’t work easily against someone as formidable as Sylphine.
But if I transformed the contract to concentrate on a single constraint?
Especially—I hadn’t imposed any grandiose restriction on her.
“I simply made it so she couldn’t commit murder when seized by guilt.”
“!!”
That’s right.
Killing villains for convenience was merely an excuse.
She too had been hesitating to kill even the innocent.
I’d noticed that hesitation of hers and imposed this Restriction precisely because of it.
“What nonsense are you spouting! Who do you even think you are?!”
Sylphine’s eyes flashed with genuine anger.
The first authentic emotion she’d shown since we met.
“Answer me one question. Do you truly believe you’ll succeed in your revenge?”
“What did you just say?”
“I’ll prophesy it for you. You’ll fail. Absolutely.”
“!!”
It was the truth.
Slaughtering a hundred thousand people wouldn’t complete her revenge anyway.
“You know as well as I do that you’re insignificant. So why waste your strength like this?”
“…Waste, you say?”
“You lack the resources to focus even on the true enemies who actually harmed your kind. Whether you annihilate other humans or spare them—that’s a question to contemplate only after you’ve dealt with your real enemies.”
Sylphine’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“Or is it that you’ve grown afraid and given up?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Your true enemies are all formidable and mighty, so you’ve abandoned them in advance and redirected your aim elsewhere, haven’t you?”
I had an important reason for speaking this way.
Her true enemy—the one who’d orchestrated the slaughter of her entire race.
Ouroboros.

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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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