Academy’s Undercover Professor-Novel - Chapter 130

ACADEMY’S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR

[Translator – Alice]

[Proofreader – ilafy]

 

Chapter 130 – Magic Circle Class (2)

 

I had been teaching numerology and magic squares to the students for two hours already.

When I came to my senses, the end of the class was just around the corner.

The time to wrap up slowly came.

“Five minutes remaining until the end of the class. I will erase all the material on the magic board five minutes afterward, so if there are any students who haven’t finished taking notes, please finish it.”

If nothing else, I had not the slightest intention to finish the class earlier or extend the class.

I would sharply finish it in the given time.

It was my motto.

“Oh! The time is already done!”

“N-no! I haven’t been able to write down everything!”

Perhaps it was because I had always ended class precisely on time.

The students also realized that I wasn’t talking nonsense and hurriedly scribbled down with their pens.

With the strong will of not letting even a single letter be missed, the students who had been pressing their pens knocked out on their desks with exhausted faces after five minutes passed.

“Huwaa. I-I wrote down everything.”

“I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I miss even a single letter…”

The exhausted voices and satisfied expressions contrasted to how suspicious they had been before.

I felt proud just by looking at the smiling students’ faces who desperately wanted to learn.

Yes. That was what learning was all about.

The greed of wanting to do something and know something.

Learning was a noble yearning that shouldn’t be interrupted by anyone.

“I also have an early announcement to make. The second exam that is already approaching will be practically done with today’s lesson as the basis.”

As if they had never been drooping to begin with, the students straightened up their postures while listening courteously once I started talking about the exam.

“The subject is obviously the magic square that I taught you this time. As all of you have learned, magic squares are not completed simply just by drawing one square.”

The various magical processes that were included in it also counted, but it also meant that a simple square wouldn’t complete a magic square.

There was also a magic triangle, a magic hexagon, and a magic star.

As they broke out from circles which were known as standard common sense, they could draw magic circles using almost any shape they could imagine.

In other words, it meant that the possibilities when they were no longer restrained by the past were infinite.

The reason why I chose magic squares as the students’ second test was because of that kind of anticipation.

“Create your own magic circle using the lesson of today’s class. This is the material for the second test and your homework as well.”

The students spoke noisily after my speech.

Because it was very absurd for me to not only announce that it would be the material of the second practical test but also tell them to create new magic circles.

Probably, most of them must’ve thought that the second test would consist of a proper written test.

In fact, Sören’s undergraduate course was basically made up of that kind of form.

However, I didn’t have any intentions of imitating Sören’s undergraduate course.

It was only a two-years contract, but I intended to do my best within that period.

Thus, I would proceed with the test using my own method.

“I expect you to show the best result.”

With that said, I turned my back from the students, who were in despair, and left the classroom.

* * *

After the class ended, Ludger posted the grade report on the classroom’s notice just as he had announced earlier.

The students swarmed together to check their rank after the class.

Starting from the first rank to the eightieth rank. The ranks and scores of every student who’d attended the class were written on the paper with nothing amiss.

“Ah shit. Why is my score like this?”

“What, I was wrong on this question? I should have solved it more calmly!”

“What should I do? I’m not even above the average grade.”

The average grade of the test was 65 out of 100.

The top students scored above 90, but the other students couldn’t even get a score beyond 80, let alone getting near 90.

And the names of the students who couldn’t get into the top five but scored beyond 90 were bound to stand out.

Rank 6 – Iona Obeli. 92.

Rank 7 – Clara Haniss. 91.

…

What naturally attracted their attention among the names were the ranks right after five.

Rank seven was a freshman from the alchemy school, but rank six? Who was she?

As the students were curious about who Iona Obeli was at first, they formed weird expressions as soon as they realized who she was.

Because the brown-skinned Iona with a very tall stature stood out in many ways.

The beast ears that sprung above her dark hair were naturally eye-catching, even though they only flashed across their path.

The reality that a beastperson had taken sixth place was hard for them to accept.

‘What? A beastperson ranked sixth? Is that possible?’

‘I heard that beastpeople are a barbaric tribe who know about nothing but fighting.’

The beastpeople were still depicted as barbarians who solved everything physically.

Unlike some elves and dwarves who showed up in human society, most beastpeople were very hostile to human beings.

They were defeated by human beings in the past colonization war and had suffered an aftereffect of their colonization.

A group of beastpeople robbers still showed up in the southwestern frontier, and it was a recent reality that they were stealing belongings.

Thus, the world’s perception toward beastpeople was way worse compared to other demi-humans.

As students, there was no way that they would like the beastperson girl, who stared at her own rank with no expression.

They were already in a rage because of commoners who were above them, yet there was a beastperson there as well?

The aristocratic students glared at Iona Obeli as if they were about to kill her.

They couldn’t approve of the fact that not only a commoner but a barbaric beastperson took up such a high grade.

“To be frank, didn’t she cheat somehow?”

“That’s what I’m telling you. How come a barbarian ranked sixth? She obviously did some kind of shady business.”

“Come to think of it, Professor Ludger criticized all the other people in the elemental property class back then, but he didn’t say much to her.”

Iona Obeli’s beast ears on her head wriggled at the whispering talks behind her.

As she had sensitive senses, she was aware that those students were talking about her.

Iona Obeli stared at the crowds of students who were backbiting her without any expression and soon left.

Iona’s attitude added fuel to the students’ behavior, who envied her instead.

“Hah. What? Did you see her eyes just now?”

“She just went after looking at our eyes?”

They stared at Iona’s back that was getting farther away before silently exchanging glances.

Their eyes shone creepily as they nodded their heads.

* * *

‘Hmm. Is this that framework?’

Leo recalled the event that’d happened in the professor’s room a moment ago when he’d received the framework from Ludger soon after the class ended.

-Leo, huh. You came fast. You’re the first one.

The professor said that he was the very first one to come.

Ludger really taught him the framework according to his promise.

‘It’s just one part of the whole four, but it’s certainly an awesome spell.’

The framework was only a part of the Source Code, but its structure was packed in a very complicated and detailed manner.

So it was the spell to cast another spell…

Even Leo, who was confident enough in his brain, gave up on analyzing the framework.

‘It’s not enough with just this because the whole technique will only be completed after all four are gathered, it’s practically useless to analyze it right away.’

It was only then that he realized why Ludger had decided to just teach it to the students.

The framework was a technique that was okay to be leaked.

No one, no matter who they were, would be able to cast the entire spell with just that.

Even so, it was impossible to reconstruct the complete Source Code technique just with one framework.

After all, you couldn’t know what kind of appearance someone had and what kind of life they’d lived just by seeing that person’s hand and doing a handshake with them.

It was similar to that.

‘Nevertheless, to think that he’d just give this spell that he invented to the students. Professor Ludger Chelysie… What kind of person is he, really?’

Leo had thought that he was only an ordinary fallen aristocrat at first.

There were many people in the past who’d wanted to rebuild their fallen family after becoming Sören professors by trying to recover their past reputation or make their name known.

However, Ludger Chelysie was different.

His reputation had skyrocketed, but his method for that was so different from common people.

Common professors raised the value of their own name by saying that they had become Sören professors, but Ludger was on the contrary.

He displayed his remarkableness instead while seemingly not caring about his title as Sören professor.

‘There were already rumors about his remarkable achievements before this.’

After witnessing his ability in reality, he had a feeling that Ludger’s past evaluation was severely underestimated instead.

If he had that much skill, it looked like he didn’t even need to enter Sören. The title of being a Sören professor even looked like a shackle to him instead.

Leo was very certain…

‘It’s funny to think that such a person is a fallen aristocrat. If he has that much skill, it would still overflow even after he rebuilds his fallen family.’

Leo was certain.

Professor Ludger Chelysie was obviously someone who was hiding something.

Just like the werewolves incident back then and the Coordinate Designation spell that he showed in the class, there weren’t only one or two suspicious parts about him.

After secretly investigating his past, they’d said that Ludger also played a huge part in the banquet’s terror incident that happened back then.

‘Even if this is Sören, he’s exceedingly competent as a new professor. I’m certain that he’s a person on my watchlist that I need to pay close attention to.’

As he inwardly thought so while heading to the place where he’d promised to meet Aidan, Leo discovered a riot happening in a corner.

‘What’s that? What are they doing over there?’

Leo stopped his footsteps and squinted his eyes.

It was because two male students and two female students were surrounding one female student.

Looking at their overflowing elegance, they were the aristocratic students that Leo hated the most.

‘And the one surrounded by those aristocrats… isn’t she Iona Obeli?’

Leo also remembered the beastperson girl.

There was no way he didn’t know about someone who stood out the most in the classroom.

‘Come to think of it, when I roughly scanned the ranks, she was sixth, right?’

He remembered that Iona’s rank was right under his own, which was the fifth.

It was pretty impressive for her as a beastperson to score beyond 90, she had seemingly studied pretty hard.

Leo understood right away why Iona was surrounded by the aristocrats.

‘Did they mess with an easy target because they can’t acknowledge the fact that they couldn’t do well on the exam? It’s really an aristocratic method of thinking to act all great.’

It wasn’t only one or two days that the aristocrats showed that kind of behavior.

Leo contemplated for a moment.

Perhaps he could just pass as if he hadn’t seen anything, but he couldn’t just pass by after spotting such a situation.

‘I will be the one who feels uncomfortable if I just pass by while pretending not to know anything and something happens afterward.’

If it was him in the past, he would’ve just passed by while pretending not to know anything, but now it was different.

‘Tsk. Did my personality change because of that stupid Aidan? I have no choice, then.’

Leo thought that it would be best for him to moderately interfere and make peace between them for now.

As he saw the scene with that thought, Leo’s face hardened when he sensed something.

His footsteps became faster.

* * *

“Hey. You don’t even listen to us, right?”

“How come a smelly jerk beastperson like you is taking the same class as us? Disgusting.”

Looking at the students chattering in front of her, Iona Obelli still maintained a mysterious expression.

When they saw that her face hadn’t changed, the aristocratic students felt a bit flustered and annoyed.

It felt exactly like the haughty beastperson was ignoring them.

“You know what? A barbarian like you won’t complain, even if you’re harassed anywhere.”

As if proving that it wasn’t just a bluff, the male student who led the bullying invoked mana on his hand.

The electricity flowed through his palm and blazed up.

Iona silently stared at that scene.

“Got it? So don’t act all high and mighty. Bow down, you smell like an animal.”

Iona, who had been silent until then, opened her mouth for the first time.

“If I don’t want to?”

“What?”

“What are you going to do?”

Iona was still expressionless. However, the aristocratic students who’d threatened her felt some kind of anxiousness when they saw that appearance.

“Th-this dirty barbarian!”

“Stop.”

At that moment, Leo showed up.

All gazes headed to Leo.

“Who are you?”

“I’m telling you to stop there. Or what? You want to go all the way to the end?”

“What?”

“Then it will be fun. Because the four of you are going after her as one group and even threatening her with magic. I saw everything.”

“You, now…”

“You know that the professor is paying sharp attention to the arrogant behavior of aristocratic students recently, right? You don’t remember Jevan Felio? He dropped out not so long ago. You want to end up like that?”

Leo kept speaking without taking a rest and cornered the aristocratic students.

“Well, if you don’t mind that, you can do what you did just now. I shall warn you instead. I’m on my way to learn the framework from Professor Ludger Chelysie.”

“…!”

The aristocratic students’ eyes widened when the name Ludger Chelysie came up.

No matter how fearless they were, their fear toward Ludger was deep.

Ludger had been showing merciless action even when the other person was an aristocrat since the first of semester. Ludger had unknowingly become a public figure among the aristocratic students.

Even the Flora Lumos had been mercilessly criticized, what would happen to them?

Leo grinned.

“Why? You don’t wanna continue? Weren’t you about to do more?”

“You… a mere commoner like you shouldn’t mess with us just because you study well. Nothing will change even when you do so.”

“Then stop acting all high.”

“…Tsk. Let’s go.”

The frowning aristocratic students left.

Leo loudly spoke while looking at their backs that got farther away as if for them to hear.

“Phew. They can’t even do anything alone, yet their pride is so damn strong.”

“…Why did you help me?”

Iona Obeli couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked Leo.

She didn’t think that she would be helped by her classmate who was shorter than her.

Leo clicked his tongue as he seemingly thought that it was a foolish question.

“Help? You? Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t step up because I was worried about you.”

Leo gave an annoyed sigh while looking at the beastperson girl who was staring at him with a naive stare as if she still didn’t know what he meant by that.

Yeah. She was playing innocent.

Leo folded his arms while glaring at Iona with a tilted posture.

“You. You intended to kill all of them if I didn’t interfere a moment ago.”

“…”