I Became a Demon Professor at the Academy – Chapter 20

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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The time for the lecture to begin had arrived.

Through the window, a moderately warm light poured in, and not a single cloud filled the sky.

As a certain poet had said, the world was shining in a myriad of colors.

However, despite this, the atmosphere in the failing class was not bright.

“The professor isn’t coming today either.”

“Still receiving treatment, it seems.”

“Maybe we should visit and pay our respects…”

“The treatment facility restricts entry above the 9th floor to only those with healing abilities.”

“Right, right… Who doesn’t know that…”

Letting out a deep sigh, each student took out and unfolded their materials on their desks.

There was not a single student who had not memorized the materials, which spanned over thirty pages.

Everyone had perfectly memorized this material.

Of course, they may not have fully comprehended it, but their memorization was perfect.

So…

“What are we supposed to do next?” Isabel muttered loudly.

What were they supposed to do? There was only one person who could provide the answer to that question.

Upon hearing Isabel’s mutter, one name came to the minds of the students.

‘Adrian.’

Honestly, the time they had spent with Adrian was not particularly long.

So it would certainly be a lie to say that they missed him to the point of aching.

However, despite that.

Adrian’s absence meant that the failing class’s life would revert to how it was before.

And that previous life was one without any dreams or visions, merely repeating self-study, wasn’t it?

The students understood at least that much.

That’s why they felt so hopeless.

“Something’s strange,” Michelle spoke up.

Isabel immediately questioned her, “What is?”

“They immediately released the information about the low-ranking professor who recently passed away. The news came out in full detail.”

“That’s right?”

“But Rahel Academy hasn’t released any information about Adrian. That means…”

Even the usually eloquent Michelle seemed to struggle to continue, briefly tapping her fingers on her chin.

“…it could mean they can’t provide the information the reporters want. All the reporters are currently hoping Adrian is still alive.”

A subtle expression spread across the faces of the other students who had been listening intently to Michelle and Isabel’s conversation.

As the conversation progressed to this point, it inevitably led to the topic they had tacitly agreed not to mention.

“So does that rumor hold any truth?”

Michelle remained silent in response to Isabel’s question.

Isabel asked again.

“The rumor that Professor Adrian has died… Is it true?”

The students’ faces instantly turned ashen.

Did this mean that the learning they had just begun would end here?

Of course, there were some students who had mentally rebelled, as Adrian had demanded an unreasonable amount of learning, and they had been living with the word ‘disliked.’

However, after studying the thirty-page material, those students had completely disappeared.

Through their studies, they undoubtedly realized something.

Once they memorized it, they could do it.

They naturally wanted to move on to the next level.

They wanted to apply it in practice and adapt it.

It was an academic passion they had not felt in so long… No, it was the first time they had ever felt such a passion.

It was the first time they had experienced such a sense of achievement and the first time they had harbored such hope.

Whether Adrian himself was good or his teaching methods were good, the students’ thoughts all converged on the same conclusion:

‘Please, let him be alright.’

Murmurs began to emerge from the silent lecture hall, never subsiding and eventually becoming outright noisy.

It was a natural occurrence, as they were students of the failing class and Adrian’s students.

“Come to think of it, the principal said she would visit the failing class today.”

“Then something serious must have happened.”

“What if she says they’re going to abolish the failing class?”

Someone’s words elicited a collective gasp from everyone.

It was a highly plausible scenario.

For the low, intermediate, and high-ranking classes, if a professor dies, a new professor would be assigned.

They would likely say, “Don’t be too disheartened. A new professor will be assigned.”

But this was the failing class.

Could it be that they had decided to take this opportunity to abolish the failing class altogether?

As of today, the students here would be forcibly expelled.

In an instant, they would go from being ‘mages who graduated from Rahel Academy’ to ‘unemployed, good-for-nothing mages.’

But at that moment, the front door of the lecture hall opened.

The murmurs ceased instantly.

All eyes turned toward the front door.

Reporters were not allowed to enter the academy’s lecture halls.

In other words, it had to be the principal who had opened the door.

And sure enough.

“Hello, everyone~”

The principal appeared, greeting them warmly with her violet hair and pointed hat.

Just because she had entered warmly did not mean they could let their guard down.

She was always welcoming everything, after all.

Everyone envisioned the worst-case scenario in their minds.

And they fervently prayed that the principal’s words would not confirm that worst-case scenario.

But then, Violet suddenly placed a black card on the podium.

“Please, may the failing class students have a good environment.”

She muttered those words.

The students blinked their eyes, utterly confused by what she was talking about.

That’s Violet’s master card, isn’t it?

“Adrian said to leave this here. So I’ll leave it here.”

Rahel Academy had many high-end facilities, but with Violet’s master card, any facility could be freely used.

Of course, there were exceptions, like female students entering male-only facilities, and vice versa.

‘It’s over.’

‘It seems he really is gone.’

They could only think that way.

Since a professor had died, she was probably telling them to at least use this card for a day.

The students’ faces turned paler than pale, almost ghastly.

Someone even started to sob uncontrollably.

Naturally, it was Charlotte.

“Ahem. Listen closely, everyone.”

Violet cleared her throat and opened her mouth with an unusually serious tone.

The students held their breath to listen attentively to her words.

“I’m sure you’re all very curious about the condition of your professor, Adrian. I fully understand that feeling~ But there’s one thing I’d like you to promise me.”

All the students remained completely still, their undivided attention serving as an unspoken affirmation that they would promise whatever she asked.

“You must not discuss this with the reporters. For me It’s fine~ But the chairman dislikes news articles related to Rahel Academy.”

Now, they felt like their necks might snap.

The students nodded vigorously.

Violet’s usually gentle and leisurely voice seemed unbearably difficult to endure today.

“First of all, Professor Adrian is alive. His life has been saved.”

The students’ mouths fell open.

In the utterly silent lecture hall, with the students frozen in place, Violet tilted her head in confusion.

“Oh, should I just assign you a different instructor?”

She had wanted to reassign Adrian to the higher-ranking students anyway.

However, the atmosphere seemed rather strange.

Suddenly, the students slammed their desks.

“Professor Adrian is alive?!!!!”

“Thank goodness!!!!”

“Thank goodness!!!!!!”

Cries erupted from all corners of the room, but not a single one lacked an undertone of joy.

Until now, it was hard to believe how quiet it had been, as the lecture hall became utterly chaotic.

“Calm down, calm down~”

Violet placed her index finger over her lips.

These rascals were not supposed to let the reporters hear!

Then, she projected something onto the front blackboard using her mana.

“This is a short message from Adrian to the failing class~ His condition is quite critical, so this is all he could manage for now. I’ll leave it displayed here when I go~”

Violet exited the lecture hall.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the words written on the blackboard.

The failing class students, who were usually showered with verbal abuse, did not mind receiving such abuse this time.

It was a relief that the professor was alive, to begin with.

It was also a relief that the failing class would be maintained.

But…

“A hundred pages…? Can we really do this…?”

Isabel tilted her head in confusion.

The other students shared her concern about that part.

“It may take some time for him to fully recover. He’s probably telling us to memorize it by then.”

“I see. When I think about it that way, it makes sense.”

The students murmured among themselves.

However.

There was a student who limped forward and stepped up to the podium.

The hint of green peeking through her white hair was incredibly captivating.

Michelle Meinens.

She stood at the podium.

As it was such an unexpected and spontaneous action, all the students’ gazes immediately turned toward her.

“Listen up.”

The girl’s expression was more serious than ever before.

“Throughout my life, I’ve only met people who thought highly of me.”

The students slightly tilted their heads, wondering what she was trying to say.

“Every single one of them was kind. But those people wanted something from me in return for their kindness. That’s how it is, right? There’s no such thing as kindness without wanting something in return.”

That would be true.

Who would be unkind to the girl who might become the next head of the Meinens family? Just appearing favorable could become a valuable asset in the future.

“But what about Professor Adrian? He keeps telling us… no, telling, that he dislikes us, every single day.”

Michelle still found it difficult to include herself in the ‘us,’ causing her words to falter slightly.

“That professor doesn’t want anything from us. Therefore, he’s not kind. However.”

Even Michelle herself didn’t know why she was doing this.

All she had planned to give the failing class was a farewell.

Yet, she found herself resolutely continuing her speech, which surprised her.

“Kindness and usefulness are different things. That professor is more useful than anyone. He’s wholeheartedly dedicated to helping the students in this lecture hall, even sacrificing his own body.”

None of the students thought Michelle was wrong.

However, a hundred pages was still a bit…

They had almost died trying to memorize the thirty-page material.

Phew, the girl let out a sigh.

“Do you know what the demon said to me?”

The students’ eyes sparkled.

Come to think of it, that’s right.

Michelle’s group was the one that had actually encountered the demon they had only heard about in stories and survived.

“When they kill humans, humans beg pathetically. They beg so pitifully, ‘Please spare me, I’ll do anything.'”

Michelle raised her voice further, addressing the students with dazed expressions.

“You just have to make a choice. Either study the additional hundred pages and survive, or beg pathetically and die.”

The students’ faces seemed to have experienced a profound realization.

“You know, even though I dislike saying the same things as that professor, I dislike you all, too.”

Gazing at those faces, Michelle slightly curled the corners of her mouth upward.

“So let’s part ways as soon as possible. But even as we part ways, don’t die like an idiot in front of the demons. Don’t cower shamefully in front of others.”

Using telekinesis, she lifted the master card and wedged it into a crevice in the ceiling, ensuring no one could retrieve it.

“Who needs that stupid card? Our student IDs will suffice.”

Bang!

Bang!

Michelle snapped her fingers, forcefully opening the front and back doors of the lecture hall, as well as the windows.

“If you dislike it, then leave. I won’t stop you. We’re supposed to dislike each other, after all.”

However, not a single student rose from their seat.

Not one.

The students’ faces seemed to be filled with a sense of awe and inspiration, as if overwhelmed by something.

Their eyes sparkled with an untimely twinkle.

“But since we’re doing this, we should properly show our side, too.”

At that moment, with the pleasant breeze seeping in through the open doors and windows, their eyes ignited with passion.

“Show just how much we dislike that professor.”

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