Chapter 9
Chapter 9
It was then, as I looked bewildered.
A sound that made me doubt my own ears reached me.
“I’m sorry.”
“!!”
I looked at the duke, wondering if I’d heard him wrong.
I hadn’t.
The duke wore a broad smile.
Even though the top of his head had been burned bare, he looked happier than ever.
“As your father, I failed to trust you. All this time, you’ve been working hard and moving forward like this.”
“……”
“Once again, I’m sorry. Can you forgive me for not trusting you until now?”
His words made me realize one thing all over again.
No matter what else, the duke truly loves his son.
He’d gotten angry because he loved his son.
Perhaps because I’d never really received a parent’s love when I was young, my heart gave an inexplicable, ticklish flutter.
Just then, another voice cut in.
“Father!! It was my older brother who defeated the Evil Spirit Lord in the family tomb, too!!”
It was Cal!
He’d woken up after running out of mana and appeared at just the right moment.
“The Evil Spirit Lord awakened because of my mistake, but my brother defeated it!”
“!!”
Everyone looked at me as if they couldn’t believe it.
The Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma naturally took hold, and an obnoxious voice spilled from my lips.
“It was nothing. I merely did what I had to do as a member of the Ecclesia family.”
Everyone present fell silent, caught between confusion and astonishment.
Their faces said they had no idea what to say, now that everything they’d believed to be common sense had crumbled away.
“You ignorant knights, what are you standing around for? Can’t you all show Young Master Ban your reverence?!”
“Huh? Wha—?”
“Quickly!!”
At Hans’s shout, the knights cried out in dazed voices, “L-Long live Young Master Ban?”
-You have won the “Sparring Match with Duke Huam”!
-Your defeat of the “Evil Spirit Lord” has been recognized!
-The duke’s opinion of you has changed!!
-The retainers of the Ducal House think differently of you!!
-Your reputation has increased slightly!!
-You may claim a “Wish Token” from the duke!
My attention caught on the words “Wish Token.”
Just then, the duke spoke.
“I can’t believe you really defeated the Evil Spirit Lord. I want to apologize for misunderstanding you all this time. I know this may not be enough to put your mind at ease, but is there anything you want?”
I swallowed hard.
This was the moment I’d been waiting for.
“Please use your professor recommendation privilege for Rubiness Academy on my behalf, Father.”
“!!”
The duke’s eyes flew open.
Rubiness Academy was one of the Four Great Academies.
The Ecclesia Ducal House was one of the Academy world’s greatest patrons.
In particular, it provided enormous support to the Four Great Academies and held a “recommendation privilege.”
They call it a recommendation, but you can pretty much place a professor wherever you want.
In other words, I was asking to be parachuted into a position at the Academy!
I grinned to myself.
Becoming a professor at the Academy through the official route would take an absurd amount of effort. Getting in by parachute is the best way.
The duke looked troubled.
“A recommendation privilege? That’s…”
Even if he had the privilege, he couldn’t use it carelessly.
If he recommended someone unqualified as a professor, it would bring shame upon the Ducal House.
If he recommended me—a notorious piece of trash throughout the Empire—to be a professor, it would be far worse than mere disgrace.
Everyone would point at the duke and call him crazy.
Well, that’s the duke’s problem to put up with.
“Is it that you don’t trust me?”
“Ugh.”
The duke let out a strained groan.
He’d just said he trusted me, so it would be difficult for him to refuse.
Just then, a voice came to my aid.
“Please don’t worry, Your Grace! Young Master Ban is destined to become a star who will shine upon the Ducal House… no, the Empire… no, this entire world! Isn’t your bare crown proof of that?”
“…Do be quiet.”
Hans wasn’t the only one to speak up.
“…I’m in favor of it.”
“Cal?”
Cal quickly looked away, his face turning red.
He seemed flustered that he was saying something like this.
“My older brother might have an innate talent for teaching. The guidance he gave me while we were fighting the Evil Spirit Lord was beyond comparison with anything I’ve received from any professor at the Academy.”
“…Is that really so?”
The duke looked troubled.
He’d acknowledged me, but now that it came to parachuting me into a position, he seemed overwhelmed by the backlash it would bring.
Then Ron, the eldest son, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward.
“How about this? We recommend Ban as a Temporary Professor.”
“Temporary?”
“Yes. Rather than appointing him officially, we could hire him temporarily and make the appointment after seeing his results. It would cause less of a stir, too.”
The duke nodded as if he thought it was a good idea.
Hmm. It’s not quite what I wanted, but does it really matter?
With my Grandmaster Ability, there was no chance my results would be lacking.
An official appointment was all but guaranteed.
I can lounge around for a while, then use my Grandmaster Ability to achieve something in magical studies.
Besides, I had the Ducal House’s blood in my veins. Who would dare criticize me for not being diligent?
I’ll enjoy a professor’s life, lazing around and living off the fat of the land!
There was only one thing that bothered me.
The fact that I’d have to work as a professor at the Academy at the same time as the protagonists.
It was currently the vacation period before the new school year began.
So when I went to the Academy as a professor, the protagonists would be enrolling for the first time, too.
…I’ll keep to myself anyway. I’ll just have to avoid them even if I catch so much as a glimpse of their hair.
I’d said it time and time again, but it was a thousand, ten thousand times better than joining the military or taking up a government post.
Just then, the duke asked me a question.
“Why are you so set on Rubiness Academy? If you’re aiming for one of the Four Great Academies, wouldn’t somewhere else be better?”
I answered him in my head.
‘Because the others are way too intense.’
Each of the Four Great Academies had its own distinctive character.
If I had to sum up Rubiness Academy in one sentence, it would be this:
—An academy past its prime, hardly worthy of being called one of the Four Great Academies.
Was it because it was located in the Free City, famous for its pleasures and crime?
Its academic culture was lax, and it was the least accomplished of the Four Great Academies, making it a place people avoided.
‘For me, it’s the perfect environment.’
Sapphire Academy, located in a region of border conflicts.
Peridot Academy, adjacent to the Demon Realm.
Amethyst Academy, situated in the desert amid Mana Distortion.
If I went somewhere as perilous as any of those, even I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a professor’s life of idleness and leisure.
‘Long live a lax academic culture! Long live a city of pleasure!’
Of course, I couldn’t answer that way, so—
“A place with a certain amount of room for improvement would be ideal. That way, I can make my brilliant light shine.”
“…I-I see.”
The duke nodded, looking unconvinced, and my appointment through nepotism was decided.
‘Rest at last!’
I let out a cheer and flopped down on the bed.
The duke had to send in a recommendation, and then the Academy had to approve it.
Since I didn’t have anything particular to do in the meantime, I decided to laze around as much as possible.
‘Now I don’t have to worry about what the other people in the Ducal House think of me, either.’
After the Duel, the way the people of the Ducal House looked at me had changed completely.
Perhaps because I’d made such an impression, even my past had been dressed up.
‘They’ve decided I became twisted because the world failed to recognize my genius.’
Well, I didn’t really care.
As long as I could laze around, that was all that mattered to me.
There was just one problem.
“Ohhh, my lord! Once again, you’re lying on the bed with your eyes closed. Are you working out the principles of magic through mental cultivation? Just how magnificent a vista of magic do you intend to open up? This Hans can hardly contain his excitement!!”
Hans, the middle-aged wizard, kept coming to bother me like a girl in the throes of her first love.
When he asked why I was always lying down, I’d made up an excuse that I was researching through mental contemplation, and now he was acting like this.
Hans wasn’t the only one pestering me.
Cal came by constantly, too.
“What are you doing? You’re not trying to fall back into your old laziness again, are you? Why do I keep coming by? It’s not because I like you, Brother, so don’t get the wrong idea. I still hate you.”
I couldn’t understand why he kept coming if he hated me.
Was this some new kind of harassment?
There was someone else, too.
“Ban, as a senior professor, I’ll teach you the tricks you’ll need to instruct students.”
That was my eldest brother, Ron.
The one who cared about Ban.
‘Ron’s a professor, too. At Amethyst Academy, no less—the best of the Four Great Academies.’
There was a look of concern in Ron’s eyes as he gazed at his immature younger brother.
‘Hmm. This is uncomfortable.’
It wasn’t just because I felt pressured.
The Ecclesia Ducal House was an important family in Hero Academy.
The duke, of course, and all five siblings each played an important role in their own scenarios.
And the role Ron played was…
‘Let’s not think too deeply about it. The future hasn’t been decided yet.’
Ron’s future would change depending on how the scenario unfolded.
There was no need to worry about it right now.
“I wish you’d come to Amethyst, where I am. It’s a shame you won’t. Mana Distortion causes natural disasters there quite often, but it’s actually a rather pleasant place to live.”
“…I’m fine, thank you.”
“Living expenses will be high in Rubiness, too. You’ll get a professor’s salary, of course, but you’ll have a hard time making ends meet.”
Hm?
I looked at him, puzzled.
‘I thought the Ducal House was going to support me?’
“As you know, the family cuts off its support while you’re fulfilling your family obligations for four years, whether in the military or in government service. It’s a tradition of the Ducal House, but it does seem a little excessive.”
‘How can there be a rule like that!!’
The news hit me like a bolt from the blue.
The Free City where Rubiness Academy was located was famous for being bustling.
It was also infamous for its murderously high rent and cost of living.
Even with a professor’s high salary, it was impossible to live in luxury.
According to the setting, many of the professors at Rubiness Academy even took on side jobs.
But the bombshells didn’t end there.
The duke summoned me.
“…Rubiness Academy rejected your appointment.”
My parachute had failed.
I never would have expected this.
‘They rejected the duke’s recommendation? And it was only for a Temporary Professor, not even a formal appointment?’
The duke let out a sharp sigh.
“The reasons for your rejection are as follows: lack of character, lack of achievements, lack of ability, lack of experience, lack of reputation, poor grades, and lack of leadership.”
“……”
“The Academy gave you failing marks in all seven of its required categories. Even my recommendation wasn’t enough to make them accept you.”
In other words, I was so bad that the Academy couldn’t bring itself to accept me, even if it meant offending the duke.
‘What do I do?’
To make my golden dream come true, I absolutely had to get into Rubiness Academy.
But my character, achievements, experience, grades from my time at the Academy, reputation, and everything else were all impossible to improve at this point.
Perhaps it had been an unreasonable dream from the start, expecting trash like Ban to become a professor—the most coveted profession in the Empire.
‘But I can’t give up! I have to find some way to get accepted into Rubiness Academy.’
Just then, an idea suddenly struck me.
‘What if this works?’
I swallowed hard, then opened my mouth.
“There’s only one way.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“I’ll show Rubiness Academy how great I am.”
“…What?”
With my Grandmaster of Magic ability,
I just had to show enough skill to overwhelm every other failing grade.