Villain Professor of Heroes – Chapter 13

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Time flew by, and the student assignment period arrived.

The faculty members frequently gathered in the faculty room for meetings and to select their students.

Today was the day the teaching assistants collected their students’ advisor preferences and submitted them to the faculty.

If a professor and student mutually selected each other, the assignment was made immediately.

However, if there were discrepancies, or if a particular professor or student received a large number of requests, adjustments were necessary.

They couldn’t simply choose their favorite students, and every student needed an advisor.

As expected, the professors’ main concern was who Yoo Hee-won would choose.

Naturally, Professor Yoo Hyun-joo of Comprehensive Offense was considered the most likely candidate.

Professor Heo, the Information Gathering and Operations specialist, was looking at me with a knowing smile.

He seemed to already know the outcome.

Professor Jin Se-young, sitting next to me, softly whispered,

“Professor Kyo, is Yoo Hee-won your choice as well?”

“No. It seems like the other professors are all hoping for Yoo Hee-won.”

“Of course. The experience of being the advisor to a future S-Rank hero is incredibly valuable.”

“Is that so? I suppose. But that’s too much of a burden for me.”

Just then, the department head entered the faculty room, holding a clipboard.

“Are the student preference lists printed?”

“Ah, yes. Here they are. I received them from the head teaching assistant.”

Professor Heo stood up and started distributing the documents in front of him.

The professors received the lists and flipped through the pages, searching for something.

They were checking to see which students had chosen them and who Yoo Hee-won had chosen.

“Oh…?”

Professor Jin Se-young was the first to speak.

Following her, surprised gasps and glances directed at me filled the room.

“Professor Kyo… Yoo Hee-won… chose you…?”

Professor Jin Se-young looked at me with a bewildered expression.

I simply smiled without saying anything.

I already knew.

What I wanted to know wasn’t whether Yoo Hee-won had chosen me.

It was who Han Min-ha had chosen.

Ignoring the others’ gazes, I continued flipping through the pages, searching for Han Min-ha’s name.

Ah, there she was. Let’s see.

Huh? What was this?

Han Min-ha’s preferred advisor section was blank.

Literally nothing was written there.

According to the regulations, every student had to have an advisor.

It was different from a teaching assistant, and even if she left it blank, an advisor still had to be assigned.

Hmm… blank…

Perhaps this was a good thing.

If Han Min-ha had chosen another professor, the process of becoming her advisor would have been more complicated.

Since no one had chosen her, it meant it didn’t matter who became her advisor.

And…

I flipped through the documents several times, but besides Yoo Hee-won, no one had chosen me as their advisor.

It wasn’t a reflection of my character; it was simply the reality of the treatment Basic Defense Studies received.

If they were going to choose an advisor, they would naturally choose a professor whose subject would be more helpful after graduation.

Basic Defense Studies felt… well…

Unnecessary.

It didn’t matter.

I didn’t care how my subject was perceived.

However, regardless of that, the other professors were still making a fuss about Yoo Hee-won choosing me.

“Professor Kyo, why did Yoo Hee-won really choose you? I’m not looking down on Basic Defense Studies, I’m just genuinely curious.”

When someone asked, I smiled and shook my head.

“I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s her way of expressing confidence.”

“That makes sense. Honestly, she’s… a bit much.”

The other professors nodded in agreement.

Apparently, Yoo Hee-won was displaying exceptional skills not only in my class but in other subjects as well.

Her arrogant and haughty attitude was also the same.

So, while the professors wanted to be her advisor, they didn’t seem to particularly like her.

They were more interested in her abilities and background than in her as a person.

Because Basic Defense Studies was an unpopular subject, and because of Yoo Hee-won’s personality, the professors quickly accepted the situation as it was.

Thankfully, they didn’t press me further about some hidden connection between Yoo Hee-won and me.

They seemed to dismiss it as a strange but ultimately insignificant event.

“Where’s that list of preferred students we compiled earlier? The one matched with this list? I specifically asked you to make it.”

“It’s ready.”

The head teaching assistant and other assistants brought copies of the matched list.

The professors quickly began flipping through the documents.

They were checking whether the students they wanted had also chosen them or if there were any discrepancies.

Professor Yoo Hyun-joo of Comprehensive Offense had so many requests that he had a separate page, and the other professors also had students lined up according to the popularity of their subjects.

Besides Yoo Hee-won choosing me, there were no significant surprises.

Except for one.

“Huh? What’s this? Professor Kyo, is this for real?”

“What is it?”

Professor Jin Se-young pointed at a specific page and asked,

“Han Min-ha. Did you really choose her?”

The other professors around us flipped to the same page and reacted similarly.

“Han Min-ha… isn’t she the one with glasses and black hair?”

“Right. That slowpoke.”

It seemed like Han Min-ha, just like Yoo Hee-won, had consistently performed at a similar level in other subjects as well as mine.

But a slowpoke? Just how bad was she…?

“Professor Jin, how is Han Min-ha doing in your class?”

“She hasn’t even left the ground yet.”

Almost a month into the semester, and she couldn’t even manage to levitate, the most basic skill in flight.

That was quite serious.

“Professor Kyo, I was wondering what was going on since you’ve never taken on a student before, but why her, of all people?”

“Seriously, out of all the new students… why bother putting yourself through this?”

As the other professors questioned me with puzzled expressions, I smiled and replied,

“Wouldn’t it be rewarding? To guide a student like that and see her graduate?”

If I didn’t become her advisor, Han Min-ha, labeled a slowpoke in the lower-level class, would likely struggle to graduate.

“How can you think like that… you’re amazing…”

Professor Jin Se-young, seemingly touched by my words, clasped her hands together, her eyes shining.

About half of the other professors seemed to accept my explanation, while the other half looked like they were thinking, “What nonsense.”

After that, the first round of matching took place under the department head’s supervision.

Groups were formed, and professors and students met to confirm their mutual preferences.

Based on the results of these meetings, the final advisor assignments were made.

While a student could only have one advisor, an advisor could have multiple students.

As far as I knew, Comprehensive Offense and Flight had over twenty students each last year.

Since I only intended to take Han Min-ha, I didn’t even glance at the other students.

And none of them wanted me anyway.

How convenient.

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Students were constantly coming and going from the research building for their meetings.

Most professors and students conducted their meetings in a friendly atmosphere, taking walks and drinking tea, but my situation was a little different.

Advisor preference meetings were mandatory.

The content of the meetings had to be recorded and entered into the system for documentation.

So, I had to meet with Yoo Hee-won, and her arrogant smile wasn’t a pleasant sight.

“You chose me as your advisor.”

“I told you, didn’t I? I want you to be my advisor, Professor Kyo.”

“You did. And the other professors are quite disappointed. Many of them wanted to mentor you.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It has everything to do with you.”

I looked calmly at Yoo Hee-won and said,

“I’m a Basic Defense Studies professor. I specialize in an unpopular subject that’s practically useless to heroes, and I’m not in good health either. In this situation, it’s quite a burden for me to mentor an excellent student like you.”

“So?”

“There are many other excellent professors at the academy. Professor Yoo of Comprehensive Offense, for example. It’s difficult to change advisors once they’re assigned, so please reconsider. Graduation isn’t the end. It’s actually the beginning. After graduation, you’ll have to fight all sorts of villains, and you’d be better off under the guidance of other professors than me.”

Yoo Hee-won sneered.

“I want to be your student, Professor Kyo. Learning defense techniques seems quite useful.”

“But you were the one who called the Mental Barrier, the ultimate defense technique, ‘mental fortitude.'”

“You’re not still holding onto that, are you?”

“It’s not that I’m holding onto it, but I do remember it. My point is this: I’m lacking in many ways to be a suitable advisor for you, student Yoo Hee-won.”

Yoo Hee-won narrowed her eyes and stared at me.

“Have you chosen your preferred student, Professor?”

“No. As you know, I haven’t taken on a student in years.”

I lied without batting an eye, and Yoo Hee-won scrutinized my expression.

However, it would probably be impossible for her to detect any deception from me while I was using the Mental Barrier.

“I understand what you’re saying, Professor. But…”

Yoo Hee-won stood up and looked down at me condescendingly.

“I think it will happen anyway.”

Such arrogant confidence…

After Yoo Hee-won left, I called Bae Ye-bin, Han Min-ha’s teaching assistant.

“Teaching Assistant Bae, please send Han Min-ha to my lab for a meeting regarding student assignments.”

[Ah… Han Min-ha…?]

Teaching Assistant Bae sounded flustered and trailed off.

“Is there a problem?”

[A problem… well… Professor Kyo, I’m sorry, but Han Min-ha… withdrew this morning…]

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