Chapter 17
Chapter 17
I delivered my closing remark.
“There’s no need to be surprised. Anyone can do it, as long as they can manage a simple bit of back-calculation.”
The audience frowned fiercely.
Well, even I thought that comment sounded obnoxious.
Well done, Black Flame Dragon.
“What happens now?”
“Shouldn’t we have given him zero points for the lecture evaluation?”
“He solved a problem in magical theory. How could we possibly give him zero points?”
I heard them whispering in confusion, their faces bewildered.
That was when it happened.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A deep, weighty round of applause.
It was Professor Bernstein!
“My evaluation of his lecture is 100 points.”
“!!”
His gaze was still as stern and expressionless as ever.
But what he said next was completely different.
“To think you’d been hiding such remarkable talent, Ban. Excellent work. That was a perfect proof. The demonstration you gave today was worthy of being preserved in the Magic Tower’s honorary archive.”
I looked astonished.
It was the highest praise imaginable.
“However, your method of countering the spell seems difficult for other mages to use. Let’s research together later to see how we can make it more widely applicable.”
The room stirred.
He was talking as though I’d already passed the hiring test and become a professor.
“P-Professor Bernstein? That’s… a bit much. Ban hasn’t passed the appointment exam yet.”
Bernstein snapped his head toward Balik, who had stammered out his objection.
“Then, even after seeing what Ban just did, are you going to fail him? Professor Balik, do you have no eyes at all, as a mage?”
“……”
Balik’s face went white.
Bernstein’s menacing gaze was enough to make anyone’s knees buckle.
But Balik didn’t back down so easily.
“…The appointment of Young Master Ban as a professor is my responsibility, as the person delegated that authority by the Board of Directors. No matter how senior you are as a professor, interfering in this matter is an overreach.”
“!!”
With his teeth clenched, Balik ignored Bernstein and turned his gaze toward the audience.
“My evaluation score for Young Master Ban’s lecture is zero points.”
It was an absurd score.
The audience looked bewildered, too, but Balik paid them no mind.
“Everyone else, please evaluate the lecture as well.”
The scores were extreme.
Those who had no connection to the Rapalt Ducal House, like Professor Bernstein, all gave me 100 points.
But there were very few of them.
Most of the people gathered here were lackeys of the Rapalt Ducal House, after all.
Watching Balik’s reaction, one after another began to speak.
“…I also give him zero points.”
“I give him zero, too…”
“Me, too…”
Zero after zero poured in.
Bernstein glared at the professors aligned with the Rapalt Ducal House who had agreed to give me zero points.
“Aren’t any of you ashamed of yourselves?”
None of the professors who had given me zero points answered. They only looked away.
“Ha. And you call yourselves professors, qualified to teach students, when you act like this…?!”
“That’s enough, Professor Bernstein.”
“Ban?”
“I’m all right.”
“What do you mean, you’re all right? This is outrageous…! Balik, you bastard. Get out here right now! We’ll settle this with a Duel!”
“…Please, calm down and come outside first.”
I was aghast and hurriedly led Professor Bernstein out of the room.
Why is this professor suddenly acting like this? No, he was always this short-tempered.
Professor Bernstein seemed prickly and cold on the outside, but deep down, he was surprisingly warmhearted.
Still, if you do this here, you could get fired!
Professor Bernstein was the head professor for the Magic Theory specialty in the General Department, where I was going to work.
In other words, he was supposed to be the umbrella that sheltered me while I enjoyed the easy life. I couldn’t let them kick him out.
“Those bastards.”
Even after we stepped outside, Professor Bernstein couldn’t easily calm his anger.
“I’m all right.”
“How can you keep saying you’re all right? Those rotten bastards will never let you pass.”
“I’m still all right.”
At my repeated answer, Professor Bernstein looked at me as if he couldn’t understand.
“Are you planning to go to another academy? Well, with your talent, you might be better off going somewhere else. I know someone at Peridot Academy, so I’ll write you a letter of recommendation. No, I’ll contact them right now.”
He looked ready to pull out a communication Magic Tool that very instant, so I hastily shook my head.
“No. I’m going to become a professor at Rubiness Academy.”
“What are you talking about? As long as those rotten bastards are there, you won’t be able to pass…”
“Didn’t I tell you I’m all right?”
“!!”
Bernstein flinched.
That’s right.
I wasn’t saying I was “all right” as a way of politely brushing him off.
I really was all right.
No matter what schemes Balik and the other rotten people at the academy tried to pull.
If anything, this is perfect.
The truth was—
No matter how remarkable I’d been, expecting them to accept me on the spot would have been far too naive.
There was no way they’d pass me so easily.
What matters is that I showed everyone something so impressive that no one could deny it.
In other words, Balik had gone too far in trying to fail me, without any justification.
Which meant—
Now the justification is on my side.
Here’s the question.
Even if I became a professor, would I really get to enjoy the easy life I wanted?
As long as the Rapalt faction was in power, that wouldn’t be easy.
They’d pester me with all sorts of excuses.
I need to use this incident as an opportunity to land a blow against the Rapalt faction. I need to make sure they can’t mess with me so easily.
I wasn’t just hoping to be appointed as a professor.
I intended not only to become one, but also to deal a serious blow to the Rapalt faction.
“Help me right through to the very end, Angel Balik!”
The final stage of the plan had begun.
“Y-Your Grace? Where are we going?”
Hans looked around in alarm.
“Isn’t this the Slum?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“Of course there is! Do you have any idea how dangerous the Free City’s Slum is?”
The Four Great Academies where Hero Academy was set were all located in dangerous environments.
The Demon Realm, border conflicts, harsh terrain.
Only Rubiness Academy stood beside the glittering Free City, and there was a reason for that.
The Free City’s Slum is just as dangerous as the Demon Realm.
This Free City was the most bustling place on the continent.
Where there is light, there is darkness.
And its Slum was the largest of them all.
Criminals from across the continent flocked here, making it incomparably dangerous.
The outskirts are relatively safe, but the deeper parts are practically one enormous dungeon. With criminals appearing in place of monsters.
It even had another name.
The Four Dragon Fortress.
…Of course, I’m not planning to go all the way there.
I did have to go somewhere nearby to take care of some business.
“Are we going too far in?! If we go even a little farther, we’ll reach the Four Dragon Fortress!”
“Why are you so frightened? You’re a Fifth Star Rank mage, aren’t you?”
“…I’m not a combat specialist, though.”
“…Weren’t you an Elemental Mage? The type most suited for combat.”
“…Even among Elemental Mages, my specialty is research and development of practical-use artifacts. I’m hopeless in a fight.”
“……”
“……”
…You should’ve told me that beforehand!
The only reason I’d entered the Slum without a shred of fear was that I trusted Hans.
…Still, we should be fine, right? We’re not going into the Four Dragon Fortress.
But then, at that very moment—
A voice that made my heart sink rang out.
“What business does a noble young master of blue blood have in a place as shabby as this?”
“!!”
I turned toward the voice and saw a beautiful woman with a radiant appearance looking at us with a gentle smile.
Oh, no.
I knew her.
She was one of the most notorious villains in this Slum.
Damn it. Why is she here?
Just then, Hans, completely oblivious to the mood, shouted with great confidence from beside me.
“You! How dare you speak so rudely to His Grace?! Can’t you feel his magnificent presence at a glance?! If you understand, then hurry up and escort us inside!”
Hans had a similar nature to mine: he was all bark with the weak and all meek with the strong.
Since he couldn’t sense anything from the woman, he’d mistaken her for an easy target and was acting accordingly.
Knowing the woman’s true identity, I felt my heart shrivel up.
“Be quiet, Hans.”
“Your Grace?”
“Can’t you sense what’s happening around us?”
“!!”
Only then did Hans’s face stiffen.
“Why is it so quiet around us?”
The entire street lay under a deathly silence.
The air was as sharp as a blade.
Looking closely, I could make out countless gazes fixed on us from alley corners and inside buildings.
They were all waiting for the woman’s orders.
The moment she made a single gesture, not a soul in this alley would survive.
Damn it. I only came here to take care of some business. Why did I have to run into a notorious villain like her?
The one silver lining was that the woman didn’t seem intent on spilling blood just yet.
“This is no place for someone as noble as you, Your Grace. Light and darkness cannot mingle, so please turn back.”
A command to leave.
But I was in a difficult position.
…For my ‘plan’ to work, I absolutely have to take care of my business in the Slum.
I couldn’t back down.
Wouldn’t it be all right if I explained things properly? That villain probably doesn’t want to pick a fight with the Ecclesia Ducal House, either.
Right.
I wasn’t without powerful backing myself.
I’d try to talk it out.
First, I can’t let her think I’m an easy target.
The first step in any negotiation was to size up the other person.
If I bowed and scraped, the woman wouldn’t even bother listening to me.
So, the opposite.
I had to come on strong.
“Impudent. What are you that you think you can order me around? I decide where I go.”
“!!”
Because of the Black Flame Dragon, the words that came out were even harsher than I’d intended.
My heart pounded with anxiety, but just as I’d expected, the woman didn’t get angry.
“Ahaha! How amusing! So the rumors that you’ve changed weren’t false after all.”
Her voice sounded intrigued.
But that was as far as her friendly reaction went.
The smile vanished from her face.
“You came here because you want to use our Slum in your conflict with the Rapalt Ducal faction, didn’t you?”
“!!”
Amazingly, she’d guessed what I was here for.
Her voice continued, cold and hard.
“I don’t see why we should get involved in some filthy nobles’ childish squabble.”
I fell silent for a moment.
There was a way I could persuade her.
There was just one reason I hesitated.
It was dangerous.
There’s no choice. It’s not as if she’ll kill me.
Taking a gamble, I opened my mouth.
“You’re going to help me.”
“Hmm? And why is that?”
“Because I know who you are.”
The woman gave a scornful laugh.
“So what? Is it news to anyone that I’m one of the lords of the Four Dragon Fortress?”
That was right.
Amazingly, the woman was one of the Four Dragon Fortress’s four lords.
But that wasn’t all.
“Watcher.”
The moment that single word left my mouth—
The alley was engulfed in a deathly silence for an instant.
Then—
Shing!!
Countless swords were pointed at my neck.
It happened before I could even react.
It had all happened so quickly that I didn’t even have time to be surprised.
“How do you know that name, you bastard?”
The woman, Lairan, glared at me with murderous eyes, unlike before.
Her gaze was filled with genuine killing intent.