Chapter 55
Chapter 55
Soon, a girl of such extraordinary beauty that she looked as though a fairy had descended into the world revealed herself, and the alley where people caught sight of her stirred with commotion.
“Who is she?”
“Some noble girl? What’s she doing here in District Six? And alone, at that? Is this some new kind of way to commit suicide?”
Even a strapping young man wouldn’t set foot in District Six alone.
Kidnapping, Slave Trafficking, and murder happened there every day, even in broad daylight.
“Gulp.”
“Don’t touch her. A top-quality specimen like that needs to be sold without a scratch. Now, pretty girl? Why don’t you come over here? You came to District Six ready to go to hell, didn’t you?”
The illegal slave traffickers threatened the girl, holding their knives out toward her.
But what was even harder to understand was the girl’s reaction.
She gave them a sweet smile, then obediently followed them. Without putting up any resistance at all.
At the sight of her, the traffickers tilted their heads in confusion.
‘What is this? Is she retarded?’
A little while later.
They came to understand what the smile on the girl’s face meant.
After they entered an alley where no one else was around—
“Gyaaaaaaaah!!!!!”
A dreadful scream rang out.
It was the traffickers screaming.
Trickle.
A stream of blood flowed to the girl’s feet.
There were no corpses.
They had quite literally “melted away.” Not a bone or scrap of flesh remained.
The girl tilted her head and shook a small vial. Inside it was the poison that had melted the men into a mere puddle of blood.
“Hmm. Is the poison still not potent enough? I need to improve it. So I can kill more people, and make them die in even greater agony.”
Susan.
No—that was only a disguise.
The Villain-type Protagonist from the Support Faculty, and the “Mad Alchemist Silphinne,” who would later be called the “Massacre Maniac” for killing more people than any other character in the scenario, smiled as nonchalantly as ever.
And so.
The two leading protagonists, Katrinne and Libel;
the worst Main Protagonist, the Demon Blade;
and the most horrifying Villain-type Protagonist, Silphinne.
All four of them had ended up in Ban’s Class.
The four protagonists weren’t the only troublemakers.
“Go! Race!!”
Deep in the Pleasure District of the Free City,
there was a gambling den where the most depraved good-for-nothings gathered.
“Oh, Young Master Ban the Trash? You’re on a roll today, aren’t you?”
“Now, now! Calling our sucker young master Ban the Trash? You should call him Van the Wretch the Second!”
The people around him snickered, and the fat boy gave them an awkward smile.
He was Wilhelm, the only son of the North Sea Border Marquis.
And now, he was a student in Ban’s Class.
“Q-Quiet! I’m paying for everything today! Bring me drinks or whatever else you want!”
“Hurrah! Long live Van the Wretch the Second!!”
“But, young master? Why’d you have to join Professor Ban the Trash’s class, of all classes? Were you missing your dad?”
Laughter burst out once more.
Wilhelm’s nickname was Van the Wretch the Second.
It meant that he was like the son of Ban the Trash.
“Sh-Shut up! I only signed up because that bastard gets on my nerves!”
Wilhelm rolled his eyes around, checking the faces of those around him, then suddenly shouted in anger.
“But I heard Professor Ban’s changed lately?”
“Th-That’s exactly what I don’t like! He’s just as much trash as I am, but lately he’s been acting all high and mighty. I’ll rip his mask off!”
The people around him clapped noisily.
“Come on, let’s raise our glasses and find out which of the two Bans is the real trash!!”
And that wasn’t all.
A place directly opposite from where Wilhelm was.
The First District, where the highest-ranking nobles lived.
It was the First District of the Free City, where land was the most expensive in the Empire, and the mansion there even came with a training ground.
A girl stood holding a sword.
Her gaze was ice-cold.
Colder still was the blade in her hand.
Flash.
The sword traced a single line, and the large log in front of her split cleanly in two.
She had accomplished the feat with swordsmanship alone, without using Mana.
It was a sight that showed just how profound the girl’s swordsmanship had become.
“My lady, your swordsmanship has deepened yet again. Even the direct heirs of Prestigious Swordsmanship Families would fall short of your skill.”
“I am still lacking.”
Her voice was as graceful as her swordsmanship.
It was no false modesty.
Rather, it was an arrogant reply.
She did not deny the claim that the direct heirs of Prestigious Swordsmanship Families were inferior to her.
Because she believed it to be true.
And yet, even so, she considered herself lacking by her own standards.
The girl, Julia, had earned the right to say such things.
The Mad Dragon’s one and only disciple.
“But why did you apply to Professor Ban’s class? There are so many more capable professors…”
“Do you think there’s any professor who could be of use to me?”
“……”
“It’s bad enough that I’m wasting my time at the Academy. I have no intention of letting some professor meddle with me just because he holds the title.”
That was right.
The only reason the girl, Julia, had chosen Ban was so she could ignore him completely.
“He may not be so easy to dismiss. There are rumors everywhere that he’s changed.”
“Even so, he’s only a Temporary Professor. One who’ll be kicked out of the Academy soon enough.”
Julia was not merely outstanding at swordsmanship.
There was a reason she was Rubiness Academy’s Main Student Villain.
She also had an exceptional mind for reading the situation.
She gave a scornful little laugh and said,
“Whatever a Temporary Professor with a life as short as a fly has to say— I only need to ignore him completely.”
“……”
A headache surged through me, and I pressed a hand to my head.
‘Every single one of them is a problem student, except for that one girl, Susan, or whatever her name is.’
No, let me correct that.
They were terrifying bombs waiting to go off.
Even the student named Susan, whom I knew nothing about, seemed suspicious somehow.
She had been absent for a long time.
‘…Then again, the other students are absent a lot, too.’
All four new students were habitual truants.
They attended just often enough to barely avoid expulsion, or something like that?
‘…There’s no way my class evaluation can go well like this.’
Let me explain again.
For me to remain at the Academy, I had to come in first in the Temporary Professor Evaluation.
And the class evaluation made up a large portion of that.
Class evaluations were scored in proportion to the number of students in each class. Since my class had only six students, I had to get overwhelmingly high marks in every category just to come out on top.
‘The highest marks, my ass. At this rate, I’m going to fail every single category.’
It wasn’t enough for me to do well for the class evaluation to turn out well.
I had to make the students do well, and not one of them was going to be easy to handle.
“What a bunch of little shits. I’ll drag them here, even if I have to beat every last one of them into submission. Not that I’m doing it for you, Professor. I just can’t stand how lazy they are.”
“...I-I’ll do it. I… actually, I’m good at torture.”
“Oh, I happened to overhear you. Do you need someone kidnapped, imprisoned, or tortured, benefactor? Leave it to me, and I’ll turn anyone into a gentle lamb.”
‘Could everyone please be quiet?’
I sighed.
And, as if the students weren’t enough, there was another problem.
“Oh-ho-ho, I’m glad to see our Temporary Professors are doing well. This time, I intend to give the Temporary Professors their teaching opportunities sooner.”
Temporary Professors were, quite literally, temporary.
They weren’t given courses of their own.
“Temporary Professors will teach part of the courses taught by lower-ranked junior professors. Please ask whichever lower-ranked junior professors you’d like to work with. And naturally, this will also factor into your evaluations.”
Naturally, this arrangement put me at a considerable disadvantage.
Not a single junior professor would want to let me teach part of their course.
‘It might be possible if I used the Ecclesia family’s influence, but that could very well cause trouble for me later.’
The Ministry of Education—or, to be precise, the Second Prince, Apostle of Ouroboros—was keeping an eye on me.
If I used my family’s authority to secure a teaching opportunity, there was a good chance they’d later accuse me of misconduct.
‘I have to get a chance to teach through my own abilities alone.’
And yet, help came from an unexpected quarter.
“You’re saying you’ll give me a chance to teach? And not just any lecture, but your special lecture, Former President?”
“Heh-heh. That’s right. Bernstein used to assist with my special lecture, but this time I’ll entrust the role to you in particular.”
Former President Randolf himself had offered me a hand!
He was even entrusting me with the important position Professor Bernstein, the chair of the General Program of the Magic Department, had held.
‘No. This is a poisoned chalice.’
As if to confirm my suspicion, Former President Randolf gazed at me with an expression of boundless affection.
“I was deeply impressed when I heard that you’d dealt with those problem students a little while ago. Of course, you can’t let trash like that stay in school! If I were still in my prime, I’d have dealt with them long ago!”
“……”
“I knew you had incredible talent as a mage, but I never imagined you’d be this excellent as a professor, too. Don’t worry from now on. I’ll make sure to support you.”
His voice sounded as though I’d already joined his faction.
I was in danger.
‘I have to make the worst possible impression on him. I should say something Ban-the-Trash would say.’
But there was a problem.
“Seems you’ve misunderstood something. I punished them because they offended me. My magnificent pride simply cannot tolerate such repulsiveness.”
The Black Flame Dragon had somehow translated it into something even more plausible!
Former President Randolf’s eyes were starting to turn sentimental, so I hurriedly continued.
Straight to the point.
“I have no need for your help, Former President.”
“You don’t need my help? As things stand, I’d say it’s impossible for you to remain at the Academy.”
“You truly have no eye for talent. You say you’ve reevaluated me, yet you still don’t understand just how magnificent I am.”
“!!”
I spoke haughtily.
“My current circumstances are nothing to me, so don’t infringe upon my pride by offering to help me.”
The Black Flame Dragon had made me sound even more obnoxious, but I wasn’t exaggerating.
‘Back when I was the Sales King, I’d faced plenty of situations more difficult than this.’
Problem students?
Teaching opportunities?
I had ways to deal with all of it without Former President Randolf’s help.
‘First, I need to lay the groundwork.’
I started walking.
Unlike Former President Randolf, the person I needed to get close to was—
Director Karak.
“Oh-ho-ho! And who might this be?! Isn’t this Professor Ban, Rubines’s rising star? What brings you here?”
“I have a proposal for you, President.”
“Hmm?”
“Please use your authority as President to allow me to open a course of my own.”
Director Karak looked puzzled.
His expression said he was wondering why I would make such an unreasonable request.
“In exchange, I’ll reform three special problem students the Academy has been unable to handle.”
The three special problem students were Van the Wretch the Second, Mad Dragon’s disciple, and the Demon Blade Third Prince.
“If I reform those three, it will reflect well on the Academy—and on your reputation, President.”
“Hmm, that may be true, but I’m reluctant to meddle carelessly with those three students.”
His response was ambiguous.
I played my trump card.
“I’m disappointed. Don’t you want to bring Rubiness Academy completely under your thumb, Director?”
“!!”