Chapter 20: Look Before You Leap (1)

Chrome Gregory, a freshman who enrolled in the Imperial Academy this year, was not enjoying his time here.

Despite finally reaching the place he'd aimed for since childhood, despite having access to an elite fast-track with the finest education available, his discontent had a simple cause.

Ryan.

That damned new professor was the root of all problems.

'If it weren't for that bastard, I'd be cruising down the road to success in Class A right now...'

On the first day of his long-awaited classes.

The professor had confiscated his magic spear - his primary weapon - and handed him some weird antique gun instead.

When Chrome protested, the professor even had the nerve to tell him he could transfer to Class B if he didn't want to follow his methods.

An incomprehensible abuse of authority.

Better to switch to Professor Scott's class than learn under such a rogue instructor.

Having made that judgment, Chrome immediately packed up his spear and transferred to Class B without looking back...

Turns out that old gun was actually a training device.

A divine artifact designed to help students easily master Magic Enhancement.

It was crafted with such precision that noble families and even dwarves tried to replicate its structure, but all attempts ended in failure.

In the end, only Class A students benefited.

The students who remained there were growing by leaps and bounds through that device and innovative teaching methods.

'Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach.'

To make matters worse, that professor turned out to be a once-in-a-generation genius. He could freely manipulate the notoriously difficult spatial spells and possessed insight that surpassed even the Primordial Dragon.

Add to that the fact that his seemingly arrogant personality was all a misunderstanding, and he was actually the most caring professor who put students first - his stock was skyrocketing.

-I enrolled without much thought, but we got assigned Professor Ryan as our class advisor. Is this a good thing?

Thanks to him, Class A students were overjoyed.

Some were even brazenly showing off about it.

Every time Chrome saw this, it ate away at him.

He had kicked away his chance at a life-changing opportunity with his own feet.

Though this fact made his blood boil, Chrome was the eldest son of a noble family who had never wanted for anything in life.

Always surrounded by people who put him on a pedestal.

Combined with his innate talents, Chrome's ego had grown too bloated to admit he had made a foolish mistake.

'That bastard's the one who put on unnecessary airs. If he'd just explained things properly, I wouldn't have left!'

In the end, his sense of injustice turned to resentment directed at Ryan.

Landing in Class B, being humiliated when Professor Scott pointed out his sword wavered due to distracting thoughts, his continuously falling grades.

It was all that damned new professor's fault.

Everything would have worked out fine if it weren't for him.

With these thoughts, Chrome sharpened his blade of revenge.

The foolish act of picking a fight with someone at the height of their success, when he could have just quietly harbored his dislike.

But Chrome was originally a character from the source material - the 'blonde delinquent who gets his just deserts after messing with the protagonist girl without knowing his place.'

A twisted individual who had to trample whatever displeased him by any means necessary before he could be satisfied.

That obsessiveness combined with his family's influence bore fruit.

After thorough investigation, he finally found it.

The weakness that would destroy all the prestige Ryan had built up.

'I knew he was hiding something fishy.'

Originally, there was supposed to be only one new professor position this year.

The hiring process should have concluded with Elf Professor Sylphie securing the new professor position after fierce competition.

But after the successful candidates had already been announced, they suddenly added one more position, and Ryan was appointed as a new professor without proper procedures.

There was only one conclusion this fact pointed to.

'Using bribes for employment - there's a limit to being brazen.'

Someone had used bribes to create a position out of thin air and planted that bastard Ryan as a professor here.

A fatal weakness.

Now all that remained was to quietly spread this information.

When people learn that someone who gained fame for their clean image actually used bribes to enter the Academy, that professor's reputation would plummet.

'At minimum, disciplinary action is certain, and if I play my cards right...'

They might even aim for dismissal.

Chrome smiled wickedly at the thought.

Today would surely be the worst day of that professor's life.

*****

Today was surely going to be the best day of my life.

Having wrapped up the incident at the Imperial Palace and returned to the Academy, what greeted my exhausted self was truly a dreamlike beautiful scene.

Some students whisper things as they look at me.

They earnestly gossip that I obtained my professor position through improper means, that I should step down from my position immediately.

Tired from the waves of unwarranted criticism, I'm slightly tipsy.

For a moment I doubted whether I was seeing things due to the alcohol, but no matter how much I rubbed my eyes, the scene before me remained unchanged.

Tears naturally rolled down my cheeks.

'...Finally the day has come for my efforts to be rewarded.'

The days I worked hard to be disliked by students.

I can't express how long I've waited for a day like this.

Of course, most students still support me, but even having a few students who view me negatively is a tearfully welcome development.

I want to find whoever led this initiative and bow down in gratitude, such a righteous person they must be.

The corners of my mouth threaten to ascend straight to heaven.

However, this is precisely when I must not let my guard down.

I cannot let this long-awaited southeast wind slip away.

'I need to ride this momentum and worsen public opinion further.'

Though this unnamed righteous person has done quite satisfactory work, there are still many areas that need improvement.

It was time for me to roll up my sleeves and step in personally.

The target demographic should obviously be the discriminators. Appealing to students who already harbor hostility toward me for hating commoners would be most effective.

Fortunately, I had been hiding several characteristics they would hate. Things like being an orphan, or coming from the slums.

When this information comes to light, some noble students full of prejudice and elitism will have no choice but to hate me even more than before. Naturally, public sentiment will rapidly decline.

A quite satisfactory plan.

Though if I had to point out one problem, it would be that I'm still a bit tipsy from drinking too much...

'Well, what could possibly go wrong?'

I may have overindulged a bit due to feeling emotional, but I haven't drunk enough to cloud my judgment.

My mental fortitude isn't so weak as to crumble after just nineteen bottles of alcohol gifted by the Imperial Family, so I immediately got to work while grinning from ear to ear.

...Sweet dismissal awaited me.

*****

Professor Scott was in a very bad mood these days.

The reason was quite simple.

A youth who could be called the Empire's treasure without exaggeration. Someone dared to try and defame such a person.

'Though I'd like to silence them immediately...'

The mastermind behind this incident was quite cunning.

They carefully toed the line without crossing it.

They only spoke about the undeniable fact that there were suspicious aspects to Professor Ryan's hiring, giving us no justification to punish them.

If we tried to take action over something like this, it would backfire and only intensify the criticism against Ryan.

If only they had made up complete lies or committed serious character defamation, we could have immediately launched an investigation and severely punished the culprit.

But as things stood, our hands were tied.

'What a disgrace. I can't face my junior.'

How long has it been since I promised to protect him from all threats, and now this happens. Ryan will surely be greatly discouraged when he returns from the Imperial Palace and hears this news.

I have no defense even if my junior condemns me as a hypocrite who speaks with a forked tongue.

Lost in such thoughts, Scott trudged along dejectedly.

That's when he heard it.

...The sound of people murmuring.

When he turned his head, he saw students gathered in a crowd.

They were all looking at an official notice posted on the wall.

Wondering what kind of document could gather such a crowd, Scott pushed through the students and began reading the text written there,

[New Professor Ryan Actually an Orphan from the Slums!

Can a commoner who never received proper parental education really teach our students properly?]

The earth trembled.

A terrible killing intent coldly dyed the surroundings.

The white-haired elder twisted his face like a demon of vengeance and showed an eerily grotesque smile.

'If it's death you wish for, I shall gladly grant it.'

The Iron-Blood Duke of the Empire.

It was the moment when the man who single-handedly destroyed a nation felt pure killing intent for the first time in 50 years.