A heaven-sent prodigy, Trion reborn, the Treasure of Ermel.
Those were epithets that had followed Jesse since childhood.
He overflowed with talent, and naturally, the Athlon Family placed enormous expectations on him.
-Jesse, watch closely. This is our family’s pride, the Trionic Sword.
To the young Jesse, the sword looked as though it were simply swaying in a dance.
-Dad, is our family’s pride dancing? I want to learn swordsmanship!
At Jesse’s words, his father gave a weak smile.
-Does it look that way to you too?
-Yeah!
-I see. It may look like I am dancing, but you will be different. Jesse, you will be able to complete this Trionic Sword, once called the closest thing to perfect swordsmanship. So learn it well.
-I don’t want to dance…….
Jesse had still been too young to understand the meaning behind the bitter smile on his father’s lips.
Honestly, he had not wanted to learn the family’s secret art when it looked like nothing more than a dance.
To Jesse, strength was synonymous with overwhelming domination.
He had learned it because of his family’s relentless pressure, but that was why he had never truly delved into it.
Even so, Jesse’s talent allowed him to wield the Trionic Sword more perfectly than anyone else in the Athlon Family.
His father could not bring himself to say anything.
His own son had already surpassed his level by an immeasurable distance.
Jesse believed his Trionic Sword was perfect.
Until today, when he saw the true Trionic Sword.
***
Lucas’s sword slowly began to move.
So slowly that it almost felt as though time itself were stretching.
And yet Jesse could not tear his eyes away from the motion.
‘Beautiful…….’
Lucas’s sword moved with effortless grace, creating a flow, and that flow became a massive wave.
This was a dance.
A very familiar dance.
‘Trionic Sword, First Form?’
It was the Athlon Family’s secret art, something he had been forced to learn even though he never wanted to.
It was the very swordsmanship that stood far from the kind of strength he pursued.
But Lucas’s was different.
No, more precisely, it was not different.
Those were the same movements his father had shown him and the same sword path Jesse himself had learned.
Only the person performing it had changed, yet it existed on an entirely different level from the Trionic Sword Jesse knew.
There was sharpness within its softness, and within that sharpness he could feel power so immense it was almost violent.
CRACK—! CRACK!
The air split before the overwhelming flow Lucas created.
It felt as though a colossal sword-tide were swallowing the entire space.
Jesse could do nothing but stare blankly, following Lucas’s sword with his eyes.
“……That is all.”
It had felt like an eternity, yet at the same time like a fleeting instant.
A moment Jesse wished would never end had already come to an end.
“If you have eyes, then you must have felt something. This is as far as my kindness goes.”
Lucas walked past Jesse, who stood frozen and speechless, and disappeared.
The traces of the Trionic Sword he left behind remained deeply etched into this place and into Jesse’s mind.
‘What the hell have I been…….’
The violent strength he had desired so desperately had been right in front of him all along.
It had already been in his hands.
-Jesse, you can complete this Trionic Sword.
His father had been wrong.
Jesse could not complete the Trionic Sword.
Because the Trionic Sword had already been complete.
In the hands of that monster named Lucas.
“…….”
Jesse quietly closed his eyes.
Then he desperately recalled what he had seen.
So that he could fully absorb the one and only lesson Lucas had left him.
So that he could truly grasp the strength that had originally been in his hands.
‘Th-Thank you, P-Professor.’
Watching Jesse, Torres bowed deeply toward Lucas.
Then he began swinging his sword again.
He would become an even greater wall for Jesse, his master, who would now grow even stronger.
***
[‘Torres’s’ Favorability greatly increases. +20]
[‘Jesse Athlon’s’ Favorability greatly increases. +50]
[‘Jesse Athlon’s’ Favorability has exceeded 50. ‘Jesse Athlon’ now reveres you.]
Fortunately, it worked.
It seemed I had been right to raise Torres’s Favorability through Jesse, because the increase was substantial.
On top of that, though I was not particularly thrilled about it, Jesse’s Favorability had also risen greatly, and the Mark - Disciple had appeared on him again.
Having one more skill I could use was a good thing.
‘But Torres, this bastard…… he’s a funny one.’
When I corrected Torres himself, his Favorability had only gone up by 2.
But teaching Jesse had raised it by ten times that amount.
Really, what can I even say?
Impressive.
Still, the fact that Torres’s Favorability had risen sharply was an encouraging result.
If there was one character I should prioritize registering in the pet system, it would be Torres.
He had more overwhelming potential than anyone else, so would the effects of Development not show themselves most spectacularly with him?
‘Still, there’s no denying the bastard is exceptional.’
Torres had grown tremendously in the short time since I last saw him.
I could not see his stats the way I could Ritt’s, but if I could, I would probably have seen numbers climbing at a steep rate.
It was unfair.
I had to bust my ass just to earn points that let me grow, while some people seemed to grow just by breathing.
Now that I think about it, that pisses me off.
“P-Professor. Is something bothering you? You look really upset.”
Seeing Ritt’s face made me feel even more stifled.
Maybe ‘bleak’ was the better word.
Grasco had only been a side story in ‘The Academy's Genius Scoundrel.’
Because of that, variables I had never written kept popping up.
Every single one of them was another variable that could get me killed.
“……It’s nothing.”
Who could possibly understand how I felt?
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So the readers did understand me!
***
-We have done nothing but lose one valuable Higher Demon. We should have taken at least one student’s life, or at the very least put a scratch on that bastard Lucas.
-I apologize.
-As long as that bastard Lucas remains in Grasco, the invasion plan is bound to run into trouble. Is that not so?
At his criticism, a deathly silence descended.
-Are all of you planning to keep your fucking mouths shut?
-I have a good idea.
-What is it?
His gaze was far from friendly.
The one who had spoken was the person responsible for this latest plan.
-Traditionally, Grasco has used ‘academic achievements’ as the most important standard for evaluating professors. A professor who produces no results will find it difficult to remain at Grasco. That is no different even in the Faculty of Combat Studies.
-And?
-At present, thanks to Levi’s rampage, public opinion toward Lucas is not favorable.
-Ridiculous. If anything, his reputation should have become even more solid.
As the footage from spread, it had instead only added more gold to the name ‘Hero of the Eastern Front.’
-But not among the parents. They believe the danger happened because of Professor Lucas.
-…….
There was logic to that.
Until now, Grasco had been a sanctuary where Demons could not exercise their power.
But after Professor Lucas’s appointment, cracks had appeared in that reputation as a sanctuary.
He had resolved the incident himself, but to people, why such a thing had happened mattered more than that fact.
One media outlet had even published an article asking whether the Demon’s appearance might have been an attempt to eliminate Professor Lucas, hailed as the ‘Hero of the Eastern Front.’
The article was drawing a modest amount of attention.
Lucas’s performance might have left a powerful impression on ordinary people, but it was different for parents who had entrusted their children to Grasco.
Quite a few of them instead viewed him as the source of the danger.
-In this situation, could we not pressure Professor Lucas by finding fault with his ‘academic achievements’? As you know, Professor Lucas only became a professor because the king intervened. It was not because he had any academic achievements.
In other words, they intended to stir public opinion and narrow Professor Lucas’s position.
It was a plausible plan.
-The Regular Academic Conference is not far away. That means Professor Lucas does not have much time left. Moreover, Lucas has only one assistant under him. And that assistant is the spy we planted.
It was feasible.
On top of that, Lucas’s class was highly exclusive, with a limited number of students.
That meant public support strong enough to stop his expulsion would be difficult to rally.
-Very well. I will give you one more chance.
-Thank you, Lord Orpega.
***
Knock, knock—
“Who is it?”
Ritt should have gone home already.
-Professor Lucas, it is Ronald. May I come in?
What brought the Vice Chancellor all the way here?
……A visit from one’s superior was never welcome.
But I could not leave him standing outside forever.
“Come in.”
I opened the door and let Ronald inside.
“Sorry to visit so late. I happened to be passing by and saw the light was on.”
“……My office does not have any windows.”
“Ahem! Let us overlook such trivial details. How have you been lately? Everything all right?”
What is with this man?
We are not exactly close enough to chat about how we have been.
“N-No. It is just that you seem to have had a lot on your plate lately, what with the hearing and everything…… Ahem. Then again, you are not exactly the type to be shaken by such things.”
“If there is something you wish to say, please feel free.”
“W-Well……. The reason I came to see you is…….”
The way he strangely dragged out his words made it seem like he had something up his sleeve.
“Hmm. The truth is, public opinion has not been favorable because of what happened during your practical training. Are you aware of that?”
Of course I was.
The media had been plastered with stories related to it lately.
‘Ah. I think I know where this is going.’
Among ordinary people, the incident at had only deepened their misunderstanding(?) of me.
But the parents were a different matter.
Was it Aerok News?
Because of the sensational article written by that bastard called Kibitan or BB Pellet or whatever, my image was not particularly good right now.
So Ronald had come to talk about that.
“Yes, it seems you already know. Then I will get straight to the point. There are people who are not pleased that you are at Grasco.”
They want to kick me out?
Not a chance.
Until the day I chose to discard it, Grasco had to remain my shield.
“……However, I do not want that.”
Huh?
I thought this man would be the first to suggest throwing me out.
At the unexpected answer, I stared silently at Ronald.
“The incident made me certain of it. You are someone Grasco absolutely needs. Driving you out would be the stupidest thing I could do in my life. I want to protect you. But I cannot protect you by myself. The Board of Directors will probably demand your ‘academic achievements.’”
Ah.
Come to think of it, ‘academic achievements’ were important at Grasco.
Had Ritt not brought me a pile of research-paper topics the moment I was assigned this office?
That had been why.
“I can help you. I will assign you several more assistants. I will also give you a paper that can be recognized as an ‘academic achievement.’ All you need to do is present it under your name at the conference coming up soon. I can even find someone else to give the presentation.”
In other words, he was telling me to place my spoon on a table that had already been fully set.
“Vice Chancellor.”
“Oh, yes.”
But there was no need for that.
“I refuse.”
My paper is better anyway.
Why bother?