Chapter 13 – Secure a Faculty Office (2)
The teaching assistants flinched at that answer. After all, 'Demon Hunting Studies' was a course even seasoned professors actively avoided.
The aides squirmed anxiously while Calon gave a hollow laugh.
“So, you think you can catch the Firefly?”
A few chuckles followed, but Ruin didn’t pay them any mind. Of course not—he didn’t have the time to.
‘Pay back the principal plus interest in 70 years. If not, I'll have become my stuffed Firefly.’
That was what the Demon Emperor had said.
And the term of the debt? 70 years.
Yeah. 70 years sounded long enough.
Problem was, he’d spent 20 of those years working as a spy, then gone missing for 50 more—that was the entire 70! Now he had less than a year left!
「Come on, wouldn’t they at least cut you some slack for the time you were missing?」
'He’s not that generous.'
If anything, the Demon Emperor had been itching to turn him into a docile, obedient trophy.
「Well… You 'are' a bit of a rebel.」
Still, to be ordered to teach demon hunting 'to demons'?
That was like telling a fish to try swimming once.
And yet, for whatever reason, seaweed-head Calon sneered and turned away.
“Haven is a place admired by countless professors. I’ll be looking forward to your first and final class, fast-track professor.”
Once the man left to “teach,” Ruin asked the aides,
“Do I start teaching next class?”
Normally, Ruin would’ve used formal speech upon first meeting someone, but since Ruins Wayne was a high noble with an overbearing personality, he stuck to character. Fortunately, the act seemed to be working.
“Uh, yes… We’re the TAs assigned to that course, actually…!”
“Demon Hunting Studies covers students from Year 1 through 6, but since upperclassmen are currently out on internship, you’ll essentially only be teaching the third-years.”
Third-years?
“You just said it covers all years.”
“Well, that’s…”
The aides hesitated, then bowed their heads.
“We’ll send you the class materials via Phrix!”
“Please… don’t underestimate the students just because they’re young!”
Sniffling, they ran off.
Ruin rested his chin on one hand.
'“Don’t underestimate the students,” huh? Sounds like I’m supposed to raise the difficulty. Because their level is so high?'
Well, of course. No professor from a prestigious academy would be driven out for no reason.
'Alright then. Let’s raise the bar.'
Soon after, the headmaster approached Ruin with a farewell.
“Just a heads-up… The students are pretty strong.”
Ruin became even more serious.
'Raise the bar to professional level? Then they’ll die, won’t they?'
Seeing his puzzled expression, the headmaster guided him to the TA office to receive the school handbook.
Once Ruin was gone, the head of administration approached the headmaster, stunned.
He hadn’t been able to speak up in front of Calon earlier, but now he couldn’t help it.
“Headmaster, you 'do' know what the other professors are planning, don’t you? Why did you accept Professor Calon’s proposal?”
He was clearly shocked that the headmaster had handed Demon Hunting Studies over to Ruin.
Understandably so.
“Besides, Demon Hunting Studies is usually assigned to the head professor. You can’t just give it to anyone.”
Faculty positions at Haven weren’t just academic—they carried weight similar to imperial titles. A teaching assistant was akin to a knight, even contract professors could hold administrative posts, associate professors led organizations, and tenured professors had powers and ranks equivalent to division commanders.
And head professors received privileges on par with the Hero’s personal aides. It wasn’t a post to hand out lightly—every professor wanted that seat.
Lately, students had begun abusing their influence to haze professors out of those very positions, but still—
'The students won’t sit still.'
He was referring to the 'Transcendents.'
They were the top hero candidates—so exceptional that they’d even created new, indecipherable types of magic. And now, even underclassmen who learned from them were skilled enough to outwit professors. 'Demon Hunting Studies,' being Haven’s signature course, saw this trend most aggressively.
No one at Haven could control them anymore. Most had resigned themselves to waiting it out until the ringleaders graduated.
“…Will he be alright?”
“I hope he’ll take control of them, but I’m not holding my breath.”
…Excuse me?
“Do you think anyone could beat those students?”
……Then why?
“There’s simply no one else willing to take the course.”
They all silently bowed their heads in mourning.
- - -
“What? A new professor for Demon Hunting Studies?”
A stir spread through Haven.
Well, of course. Union had countless academies. It made sense, given how many countries and empires were part of the alliance.
Among them, five stood at the top—the 'Five Great Schools'—each with its own motto.
For example, Haven, whose slogan was “Undefeated and Impregnable.” Their symbol? Demon Hunting Studies.
It was a course reserved for the 'head professor'—so naturally, every professor competed for it.
“Who is it?”
“Ruins Wayne.”
The moment the name dropped, a wave of murmurs spread.
“Wayne?”
“No way—'that' Wayne?”
Even outside the Five Greats, the Eight Noble Houses of Union had their members featured in gossip columns all the time.
“Wow, seeing someone like that in the flesh. If he’s the heir to the Wayne family, maybe he’s actually strong.”
Someone scoffed.
“Strong? 'Ruins Wayne'?”
“The year leader?”
“I heard it from the upperclassmen. The Wayne heir’s a shut-in, cowardly, and the definition of a weakling.”
The Wayne heir was well known among the students—probably because his younger sister was just 'that' impressive.
“How useless do you have to be to lose the inheritance to your little sister?”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. The sister’s a genius. Right now, she’s chasing the Firefly, so the second son is acting as the stand-in heir.”
It was clear. Snickers escaped from students all around.
“A parachute hire.”
Yeah. That had to be it.
Noah, the third-year class rep, pushed his glasses up.
And the professors? All talk. No skill. All claiming they’d catch the Firefly, and none delivering. That’s why 'he' personally taught the first- and second-years himself.
'But now there’s a new professor?'
As if a professor could outclass them.
Just as Noah was about to start roll call for the lowerclassmen—
BANG!
“!”
Students nearly jumped out of their skin. The classroom door slammed open like it was going to break.
But more than the noise—it was the face of the man who walked in that left them stunned.
'A… mummy?'
He looked like he’d become a serial killer if he just added a knife in his mouth.
He was even holding a cute flowerpot, like it might somehow soften his threatening appearance.
But it didn’t. The man had the presence of a seasoned soldier—no, a commanding officer. His eyes gleamed with sharp discipline.
Every other professor had always tiptoed around the students. But this man?
He walked up, set the flowerpot on the podium, and said:
“Looks like some of you are in the wrong classroom. If this isn’t your course, get out.”
Even his voice was absurdly deep—and colder than the Grim Reaper’s.
At his words, the first- and second-years began packing up their things.
But the third-years? They scoffed and blocked the exit.
“You’re the one who should leave, Professor.”
“…What?”
“You didn’t hear? We don’t need a professor for Demon Hunting Studies.”
Ruin tilted his head.
“The pig’s talking. You can go too.”
P—'pig?!'
The student who spoke turned bright red. Noah, the class rep, adjusted his glasses.
“Excuse me, Professor, but I heard your specialty is Healing Magic. Are you even qualified to teach this course?”
“What? Healing?”
The bait worked perfectly. Laughter broke out across the room.
“You’ve gotta be kidding.”
“A Healing Mage? Teaching Demon Hunting Studies?”
“Pfft, he’ll get crushed before he even finds the Firefly.”
Third-years laughed, while the lowerclassmen shifted nervously. Ruins’ expression was hidden by his bandages, but somehow… he looked more like an executioner on a scaffold.
If anything, having only his eyes visible made them 'more' intense. And those eyes? Downright terrifying.
'Even I’d lose it if they talked to me like that.'
'Still, he’s probably had enough and will storm ou—'
But just then—
Someone chuckled. It was Ruin.
And the students flinched at the sound.
'He… laughed?'
'He’s not angry?'
No—he 'smirked', dark and dangerous.
The truth was, Ruin had been battling a headache since morning.
Why? Because of the personality traits he’d inherited from the real Ruins Wayne. And the problem with that was—
【Innate Laziness】
Unbelievably slothful. Full of indolence and waste. But because of it, he always finds the most efficient solution with the least effort. Maximum results for minimum input. Fast comprehension. Perfect conclusions.
In short… Ruins Wayne was a 'lazy genius.'
And the result?
That 'damned' trait had made Ruin experience something for the 'first time' in his life.
'I opened my eyes and saw I had five minutes left until class started.'
As a perfect spy, he’d never known such terror—'the terror of being late for work.'
And when he’d tried to get up immediately—
【Incomprehensible Genius】
Geniuses under extreme stress may exhibit unpredictable behavior.
Apparently stressed by the alarm, he slammed his head into the wall and passed out.
It wasn’t something he could control.
Desperate not to get fired, he ran what was normally a one-hour route in five minutes… but still ended up late.
And to top it all off, this is the kind of garbage the TAs told him.
“Professor Wayne, please don’t actually teach. Just play along, okay?”
“More than ten professors have been humiliated and driven out already.”
“You’ve got ties to the royal family, right? Please don’t make waves. Just smile and nod. Schools are a service industry, after all. Keep the students happy!”
'Keep these brats happy…?'
Now he understood.
What they meant by '“strong students”…'
“Just a bunch of little brats with no manners.”
That grim smile made the students shudder.
