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Chapter 39.
I’m a Professor, but I’ll Be Cancelling My Own Classes (4)
‘She’s insane.’
Ruin, who had climbed up onto Haven’s roof, let out a sigh.
She certainly looked crazy—but she was a dangerous hero nonetheless.
‘That hero’s ability is a cutting power that slices anything her eyes land on.’
In fact, that had almost happened earlier too.
‘That woman went straight for someone’s neck without any warning.’
It was a good thing he’d dodged subtly without her noticing.
「Just by looking at you, you’re clearly from one of the underworld families, right?」
Yes. As expected, Special-Class Heroes really are different.
「Hey, at your level, you could quietly bury two Special-Class Heroes without anyone noticing.」
You’re overestimating me.
「You think the Demon Lord favors you for no reason?」
So that’s why you want to preserve me as a specimen, huh?
「Honestly, you’re already in the top ten of Pride purely by skill. A guy like you wouldn’t suddenly be afraid of a Special-Class Hero.」
No matter who I am, people obsessed like moths to a flame are scary.
「Moth obsession…? Ah, come to think of it, didn’t you steal a secret art from an underworld family? They were grinding their teeth over it, since their secret art got cut off.」
That’s not it.
「What? You weren’t the one who stole it?!」
It’s just that I didn’t steal only from the underworld types.
「………」
What is it?
「………You deserve to get beaten to death on a dark street.」
That’s unpleasant. It was the Demon Lord’s order, you know?
Since they promised overtime pay and field-work allowances, he’d cleaned out the secret arts of the Union’s major families. It was all for the sake of his precious retirement.
「……The fact that you pulled that off makes you a monster too. That’s why everyone in the upper echelons wants you.」
Ruin brushed it off lightly and moved swiftly across the rooftops, searching for the Hero Statue located in Haven’s southern direction. Then he placed his hand on the statue—
‘Spell disruption.’
He twisted one of the magical formulas ever so slightly. To put it metaphorically, it was like slipping out a single spring to stop a mechanism from working.
Crack!
In any case, that stopped the communication-jamming spell.
At the same time, as if he didn’t even want to touch the Hero Statue, Ruin wiped his hand off lightly and hurried back to the clock tower’s secret space.
Then he pulled out the old-fashioned communicator he’d hidden there. He had to finish his business and restore the magic before Kalon came around for the regular inspection.
‘Well, it’s been 50 years. No idea if this thing will even work.’
As soon as Ruin infused it with mana, the communicator flashed and came to life.
Fortunately, it still seemed usable.
Ruin activated it and whistled. After a moment, the communicator crackled in response to the melody—someone had connected.
The other party didn’t show it outwardly, but asked in a slightly flustered tone.
[Where is the sun positioned?]
“Twenty-five minutes past twelve.”
[Water or tobacco?]
“Water, please. Three drops in a cocktail glass.”
At that, the other voice trembled even more. You could even feel a strange excitement.
[Final question. What’s your codename?]
“The spark of destruction that entered on a silent night.”
The moment the exact words were spoken, multiple voices erupted madly from within the artifact.
[Firefly? You’re alive?]
[So it’s true you came back? My heart nearly dropped when I heard that whistle.]
[My goodness, Firefly himself! I’ve only ever seen the Firefly whistle in textbooks—this is my first time hearing it in real life!]
Incidentally, the fact that they responded immediately meant they had the power to provide support right away. At the same time, it meant they were people of considerable standing.
“I’m requesting assistance.”
[As much as you want! To think we’d be helping Firefly—any kind of help at all…!]
“I’ll be going into Haven underwater shortly, so draw the heroes’ attention away for a bit.”
…Excuse me?
According to the codebook, “going underwater” meant infiltration.
But what? Infiltrate where?
Silence followed.
[…Wait, I think I misheard. Th-… where, exactly?]
“Haven.”
Silence again.
Then came the shouting.
[Are you crazy?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!]
[Why there?!]
Why else?! To get my retirement money back and retire!
But if allies found out, they’d obviously start saying things like “Why is Firefly retiring already?!” or “Please don’t go!” and so on.
“It’s a mission.”
[…Pardon? But we’ve never heard of such a mission—]
Ruin’s eyes flashed sharply.
“It’s a direct order from the Demon Lord.”
Of course, a blatant lie.
[T-the Demon Lord personally?!]
[…As expected of Firefly!]
[Understood! We’ll provide full support!]
The voices cut off, and Ruin sighed. He could hear the ginseng superior’s mocking laughter.
「A Demon Lord’s order? How are you going to deal with the aftermath of lying like that?」
Lying?
Didn’t he really tell me to spy on Haven? I’m just asking for support for that.
「You’re really inflating it.」
At that, Ruin’s eyes flared.
If you’ve got complaints, then give me my retirement pay one more time! Who do you think covered up your weaknesses? Should I just expose them all?
* * *
Haven Military District.
The atmosphere within the military, which was preparing for war while engaging in localized skirmishes with Pride, was grim.
“It seems like a lot of moles have been sneaking in lately, but we haven’t caught a single one.”
“Yes. We can’t catch anything if they don’t act—and they’re all staying submerged instead.”
“They’ve become more cautious since Firefly disappeared.”
Dry laughter broke out around the room.
What? Cautious? Are they kidding?
“Our barriers aren’t that easy to breach. Honestly, that Firefly bastard was just exceptional. Ninety percent of the Union’s information was looted by him.”
“There’s never been another like him.”
That was true. Wasn’t he the one-of-a-kind existence who’d clean them out like a ghost no matter what traps or armies they prepared?
“Anyway, it’s troublesome. We’ve received intel that one of the ‘Special Wanted’ is trying to push through the line…”
At that, the general narrowed his brows tensely.
‘A Special Wanted.’
That referred to the named figures within Pride—terrifying individuals that no one would even dare fight unless they were Union ‘Special-Class Heroes.’
Of course, ‘Firefly’ was one of those Special Wanted. That’s why they sighed.
“Still, with the Demon-Hunting Studies professor having arrived, we should start producing talent. The battlefield’s in good hands.”
“Was it Ruins Wayne? The newly appointed professor seems different. Feels like he could produce high-ranking heroes. But what about the Head?”
“They said he’d be arriving shortly—”
Bang!
At the same time, the military doors burst open.
“He’s here.”
A man wearing a military uniform jacket over his shirt like a cloak. The Hero. But his appearance looked like someone who’d just worked overtime all night.
“You don’t look to be in a good mood.”
“I got stood up.”
The general was bewildered.
Stood up? Who?
‘The head of the Union, of all people?’
No—more importantly, did a human exist who could dare stand up the Union’s head?
The Hero furrowed his brow as if troubled. He’d had no choice but to sit through Charlie’s chaotic lecture—whether it was a class or rambling was hard to tell—so he couldn’t help but mutter.
“Does he hate me enough to put a colleague on the podium instead? If it were Wayne, that’d be possible… but if neither power nor gifts work, what on earth does he like?”
“Um… Head?”
At the general’s voice, the Hero finally acknowledged him with an “Ah.”
“So, another mole showed up? Firefly?”
“Ah, no, that is—”
“Firefly?”
“N-no. They appear to be high-ranking demons, but it’s not Firefly…”
At that, the Hero replied.
* * *
“Small fry.”
Ruin grabbed the back of his neck as he replayed the Hero’s words.
After planting a bug on a rookie in the military and eavesdropping, Ruin was dumbfounded. He never imagined the Hero would just say that and leave.
‘My allies even went to the trouble of playing decoys, and he just ignores it?’
And what was that?
‘Small fry? Small fry?!’
He was saying the professors on duty were more than enough, so they should just handle it themselves?
At Ruin’s murderous gaze, the ginseng superior clicked his tongue.
「Weren’t the ones you summoned all high-rankers too? Shouldn’t the Hero be a match for them? Are you being treated like trash just because it’s not you? Our seedling’s impressive, huh?」
That’s not the problem!
Still, the gains were huge.
‘I thought I’d be treated like a ghost after fifty years.’
This was an enormous profit.
Honestly, he’d expected to be treated as obsolete, so being regarded as a hero instead was a relief.
After all, a spy’s first priority is their own mission, second their own life, and third their comrades’ missions. This wasn’t even their mission—and getting tangled with the Hero would make it a top-tier danger mission—so they could’ve refused to help.
‘I can ask for more later.’
So the real problem was that Hero bastard.
‘I never thought he’d treat even high-ranking demons as small fry.’
Sure, thanks for rating Firefly highly—but it’s useless right now!
And that wasn’t all.
「Since you keep refusing to meet him, he says he’ll wait indefinitely in the Healing Studies lecture hall until you show up. You’re loved. Truly loved.」
Ruin rubbed his brow.
‘As expected of someone with maxed-out luck—completely incompatible with misfortune.’
He and I really don’t get along.
At that sight, the Shadow God chuckled.
「The Hero’s luck activates exactly as he wishes, right?」
Yes. That’s roughly how I understand it.
The Hero’s luck always works in a way that is unconditionally beneficial to him.
Simply put, even if an item is sold out, when the Hero goes, it gets restocked. Even if he’s late, he coincidentally meets a benefactor and ends up not being late at all—an absurd level of luck. Compared to the ‘Murphy’s Law’ others commonly experience, he’s about as far removed as possible.
Even accidents and chance encounters all connected to the Hero’s desires. That was why Ruin’s affairs kept getting tangled.
‘Judging from his letters, the Hero still wants to catch Firefly.’
The more he wanted to catch Firefly, the more his luck would activate in ways that led to Firefly being caught. Of course, Ruin alone could slip through that thanks to his misfortune.
In short, it was a battle between ‘misfortune’ and ‘luck.’
‘Let’s see which wins—misfortune or luck.’
I’ll make him move that precious ass.
Firefly’s eyes burned as he pulled out the attendance book.
* * *
The classroom door was thrown open roughly.
Bang!
The moment he entered, Ruin snapped his fingers.
‘Move.’
The papers that flew up into the air fluttered down in front of the students. Without even waiting for greetings, he spoke.
“We’ll be studying the Five Evils.”
Huh? The Five Evils?
The flustered students hurriedly checked their handouts.
“What? Did I mix up classes?”
“Was this a Demon-Hunting Studies class?”
After checking the contents, they grew even more confused. No matter how they looked at it, it wasn’t Healing Studies at all—it was a chart of demon ranks.
The bewildered students raised their hands.
“Professor, this is a Healing Studies class.”
Ruin replied coldly.
“Didn’t I say this lecture would be linked with Demon-Hunting Studies?”
…Sure, but why the Five Evils of all things?
“I’ll give points to whoever answers properly. Who are the Five Evils?”
Hands immediately shot up.
“They’re Pride’s leaders.”
“Wrong. Did you sleep during Demon-Hunting Studies?”
“We never learned this.”
“Is that something to brag about?”
“Ugh.”
At the same time, another student raised his hand proudly.
“They’re Pride’s named figures.”
“Frankly, the one who never learned is better.”
“Ghk…!”
Ruin picked up the chalk.
– Demon Lord.
– Five Evils.
– Special Wanted.
– Demon Army.
Tap!
Pressing the chalk down as if to snap it, Ruin narrowed his eyes.
“First, Pride’s leader is the Demon Lord. As you know, aside from the Hero who serves as the chairman, there’s currently no human who can face the Demon Lord. Because the Hero is a calamity incarnate.”
Huh?
“-I mean, a transcendent being on the level of a natural disaster.”
He immediately corrected himself and went on to speak about the other transcendent beings.
“And the Five Evils are five great demons who’ve lived far longer than the Demon Lord. Simply put, they’re great demons even the Hero can’t deal with easily. Above all, they’re extremely important existences to the Union.”
At that, the Princess raised her hand in objection.
Ruin tilted his head.
“What is it, Winberg?”
The Princess’ eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“I understand that the Five Evils are essentially abstract beings, so humanity never actually fights them. Rather, wouldn’t Pride’s named ‘Special Wanted’ be more important?”
The students all nodded at her words. Karin continued confidently.
“Exactly. Special Wanted like Firefly. Those are the ones the Union actually clashes with on the line.”
The Shadow God laughed.
「Well said. Someone like you is far more important than those Five Evils.」
But Ruin looked at her as if she were a monkey.
“You’re half right, so Gold Moon gets a full deduction.”
W-what?!
“Showing off knowledge is fine, but that kind of complacency is very disappointing.”
C-complacency? Disappointing?
Karin’s pupils shook. She’d been trying to appeal to him in hopes of becoming his assistant—had she failed?
While Karin wavered, Ruin’s gaze sharpened.
“Certainly, as Winberg said, what you encounter on the line are Special Wanted. Yes, the one you all know well—‘Firefly’—also falls into that category.”
At the mention of Firefly, everyone focused, swallowing hard. He was that kind of enemy of interest.
“As you know, Special Wanted are extremely powerful irregulars. Each one has the strength of a commander. Some are so strong they’ve destroyed entire nations on their own.”
「Not as much as you, who destroyed an empire with scandals.」
“Their bounties are extremely high. A single territory would be laughable.”
「A whole country is laughable to you.」
“No, Professor! Firefly’s value has gone up so much that they say he could build an empire now!”
“…….”
「Wouldn’t it be faster to just turn yourself in? Instead of digging tunnels like a pauper.」
…Please be quiet.
