Chapter 18 – A Full Professor?
Haven Academy’s 'Self-Defense' classroom.
Students in combat uniforms were murmuring with excitement.
“You heard?”
“They finally assigned a full-time professor for Demon Hunting.”
“No way—'that’s' the Head Professor’s seat, right?!”
It might as well have been the day Haven rewrote its history books.
“And the Princess’s dorm didn’t say anything?”
The Demon Hunting scandal had been caused by the Princess herself and her fellow Gold Moon dorm members.
“After kicking out all the professors, they better let us take the class.”
Sure, they had complaints, but with royalty involved, no one dared protest. They had no choice but to take other courses instead.
And considering the whole “no professor can stand over a student’s grave” rhetoric, the rest of the dorms had been quietly putting up with the disruption too.
Still, Gold Moon’s black-and-white logic—saying anyone who wanted to learn was just taking the professors’ side—had everyone rolling their eyes.
“The Princess isn’t back yet, is she?”
“Nope. The upperclassmen are still out on external missions.”
“You think this is really okay?”
“Why not? That ridiculous spell got broken. It’s over now.”
“I heard even Gold Moon’s been scouring the library for Demon Hunting textbooks. Whatever happened on that rooftop must’ve worked.”
The unexpected news made the students murmur in awe.
“'Them'? That professor must be the real deal.”
“Right? No way just anyone could take on Demon Hunting—Whoa!”
In the middle of their sparring, students suddenly yelped. A shadow darted in and swept their legs out from under them.
“Gah!”
“Eek!”
It was the 'Self-Defense' professor, making a dramatic entrance.
Students were tossed to the floor mercilessly, clutching their bruised bodies in pain.
The one-eyed, bespectacled professor’s glare gleamed.
“Where do you think you’re gossiping?! You think Self-Defense is for fun?!”
“N-no, sir! We’re sorry!”
“Next!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
A student charged at him, only to have their arm twisted viciously.
“Aaaagh!”
Another body went flying.
Slam!
At this point, it was less a lesson and more a beating. Naturally, the students grumbled.
“Ugh, why’s Charlie being a psycho 'again'?”
“Why do you think? He wanted the Demon Hunting seat and got it snatched away.”
A few students snorted with laughter.
“Him? Demon Hunting? Please. I heard he got wrecked by Professor Wayne.”
“Wait—'what'? Seriously?”
“I dunno, that’s what the TAs were whispering.”
As students left the classroom muttering, Professor Charlie ground his teeth.
'Damn you, Ruins Wayne.'
Charlie had never liked Wayne to begin with.
'That shut-in freak.'
He’d tried to humiliate him in front of the Headmaster, even planned to get him expelled—but instead, the rumor mill spun out of control, and he lost his shot at the Demon Hunting post.
'And now that loser took my spot?'
Charlie was seething.
'When the hell did that nerd learn self-defense?'
It made no sense. Charlie was 'Haven’s' personal combat instructor. And yet, Wayne hadn’t even flinched that day…
'No. I know that guy’s limits better than anyone.'
Ruins Wayne was physically weak, socially awkward, and magically useless. Completely incapable.
'There’s no way that kind of loser deserves the Demon Hunting seat—let alone the Head Professor role.'
What made it worse was what the Headmaster had said:
“If he’s truly that skilled, he might produce a 'Special-Class Hero'.”
…Excuse me?
Did she just say 'Special-Class'?
In the Union’s Hero ranks, Special-Class was the highest tier—enough to 'actually' stand against a Demon King.
And the Union hadn’t produced a single one in over a decade.
'You think Wayne of all people can do that?'
Charlie vowed to prove otherwise.
As someone who had graduated alongside Ruins Wayne, he 'knew' the truth.
'That guy couldn’t even cast a high-tier barrier spell to pass the main gate.'
It must’ve been an artifact. Probably used that to scare the kids on the rooftop, too.
Sure, the Headmaster tried to draw a line—“he’s just a professor, not the Head Professor yet”—but still. This couldn’t stand. Just in case.
'That seat represents the elite among Special-Class Heroes—the right hand of a Supreme Commander.'
Charlie smirked.
'I’ll force him to show his real skills—and humiliate him in front of everyone.'
---
Ruin grumbled to himself.
'Damn it. Why are suits so expensive?'
Thanks to the students, he had no choice but to get his outfit remade.
'Freakin’ shut-in…'
Normally, he made it a point to return borrowed identities in good condition. But apparently, House Wayne’s heir only had 'one suit'.
And of course, he couldn’t wear something cheap—not while pretending to be a high noble.
> '“Still, when else would you ever get a tailored outfit? All you ever wore was rags. Plus, you got a free upgrade since you’re a Haven professor now!”'
Well… magical clothes enchanted with cleanliness spells were rare and valuable.
Someone else, however, seemed surprised for a different reason.
“Oh my gosh! Professor!”
TA Lili rushed over, clearly alarmed. She was one of the teaching assistants from the Combat Department—oddly attentive, despite Ruin not even being her assigned professor.
“Casualwear?! Why are you in 'casualwear'?!”
“I told them I’d charge them a hundred times the cost of my ruined outfit.”
Lili’s jaw dropped. Apparently, for nobles, appearing in casual clothes was the equivalent of showing up to work in pajamas.
“Willing to sacrifice dignity just to give students a meaningful lesson… You’re a true educator.”
…No, I’m just broke.
“Then I should start coming to work in casualwear, too—”
“Enough of that. What about my 'professor’s office'?”
For a brief moment, Ruin almost got emotional.
'They say even a rat hole gets sunlight someday.'
He had finally received something crucial.
—Ruins Wayne, Full Professor, Haven Academy
—Field of Expertise: Demon Hunting
A 'professor’s ID card'. Not Associate Professor, but Full Professor.
Normally, it would’ve taken a few days to be issued, but his had been prepared the moment class ended.
Just how badly they’d needed a Demon Hunting professor was now abundantly clear.
Most would’ve seen this as an incredible promotion—landing a full professor post the moment they joined Haven.
But Ruin wasn’t most people. He was a legendary spy.
'Finally, my retirement fund!'
Once he had access to his professor’s office, nothing else mattered.
> 'Your salary just jumped through the roof, though.'
Well, that 'was' true.
> 'And you treated yourself to expensive coffee on the way here.'
Ruin cleared his throat awkwardly.
Yes, a pay raise was nice—but that was Ruins Wayne’s salary. Not 'his'.
His true objective was still the vault.
> '“And yet here you are, changing your coffee beans like some noble.”'
'Ahem. Ahem.'
> '“You shameless bastard.”'
Whatever. That salary was pocket change compared to the 'retirement fund'.
So Ruin got straight to the point.
“As a full professor, I should be assigned an office, right?”
Lili looked a bit troubled.
“Ah—sorry! Of course, someone like you can’t just stay in the TA’s lounge! It’s just… your office is still being cleaned.”
'Cleaned? It’s been days. What are they scrubbing—graffiti from the last war?'
“…But, uh…”
“What now.”
“Are you 'really' sure you don’t have a marker?”
Marker? Ah—she must mean the spell mark that should’ve been left after breaking the Princess’s barrier.
“I already said I don’t.”
“B-but still…”
“Not satisfied even after stripping me down, huh.”
“Oh…”
Lili blushed like a startled squirrel. She’d been one of the assistants who’d undressed him searching for any magical sigils.
“It’s just… the other professors are convinced you 'have' to be marked by the Princess. They’re all waiting for the evidence.”
Ah. That explained those weird looks. Some pitied him. Others looked smug.
“So basically, they don’t acknowledge me as the Demon Hunting professor.”
“Y-yes…”
No wonder the office was delayed. Everyone was tiptoeing around the issue.
“Normally, they wouldn’t go this far. But your appointment was so… unique. They insist on verifying everything.”
Lili added with a grumble.
“To be honest, the Combat Department’s chair is the most upset. The rest of them are just piling on.”
Ah.
That would be 'Calon Gloucester'.
The seaweed-head who tossed him into Demon Hunting in the first place.
“He’s incredibly strong and obsessed with becoming Head Professor. He tried to get you expelled, so really—he’s reaping what he sowed.”
…Isn’t she 'from' the Combat Department? Can she say that?
Still, the professors’ reaction made sense. No experience, no credentials—and yet someone might get the top seat.
'I’d object too, probably.'
Even by special treatment standards, this was insane.
“So they’re staging a sit-in?”
“Yes. Right outside the Demon Hunting office.”
“So I 'can’t' get my office?”
“Well… The Headmaster did say, ‘Oh? If it’s too noisy for him there, I suppose we’ll just give him the 'other' spare room.’”
“…Other room?”
“She meant the 'Head Professor’s office!' The best one in Haven!”
Ruin couldn’t help but laugh under his breath.
'You professors dug your own grave.'
The Headmaster was terrifying, but he appreciated her support from a distance. And to think she gave him the best spot?
“In return, she did ask for a well-written syllabus. She’s really looking forward to seeing your curriculum.”
'Damn it. A syllabus, really?'
Time to run.
“She said she thinks you might finally fix Haven’s infamous 'attendance' issues! Since you came to hunt the Butterfly, the curriculum 'has' to be centered around that, right?”
'Seriously. I need to run.'
“So when will my office be ready? I’d like to settle in.”
Right then—
“You won’t be settling in even 'after' it’s clean.”
“!”
Professor Calon stormed into the lounge.
He clearly wasn’t happy that the Headmaster had given Ruin the Head Professor’s office.
“There are still a few things we need to 'confirm' about you.”
Ruin looked at him, utterly unbothered.
'The guy trying to get me fired.'
Well, guess I need to go through him to get to the vault.
So Ruin leaned back and crossed his legs.
“And what would you like to confirm?”
As a former spy, Ruin had passed more “screenings” than he could count. Whatever test Calon had in mind—
“I want to see the barrier spell you used to pass the main gate.”
Of course it’s 'that' one.
Ruin clicked his tongue.
The truth was, he hadn’t used a barrier spell. He just crushed the gatekeeper with demon magic. The whole “barrier spell” story was a cover.
Which meant he couldn’t 'show' it.
But Calon misread his reaction, and smirked.
“What’s wrong? That gate can’t be passed by 'any' Haven faculty. You’re not saying you’d hide your method from a fellow professor, are you? Surely it wasn’t just demon magic brute force.”
“I’m afraid I can’t share that.”
“…What?”
Did he just say 'no'?
Calon’s eyebrow twitched menacingly.
Ruin answered nonchalantly.
“Wayne family secret. I’m not authorized to disclose it.”
Calon’s eyes practically sparked.
“Then how about explaining how you broke the students’ spell? That should be fair game.”
Clearly hoping to trap him—but Ruin just replied coolly.
“Do 'you' go around spilling your life’s research to others?”
Calon sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Fine. If he insists it’s 'proprietary'...
“Then at least explain how you made those Gold Moon third-years submit.”
“That’s a family trade secret too. Sorry.”
“……”
Calon stared at him like he wanted to commit murder.
'Is this bastard messing with me?!'
