Villain Professor of Heroes – Chapter 27

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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This was a branch of Secreto, under the Administration.

I was waiting for my team members to arrive for a specific mission.

One of those team members was Han Tae-woo, the man in the purple suit standing before me.

The team leader.

“You’re here, senior.”

I put my phone in my pocket and greeted him.

Han Tae-woo pointed his chin at my pocket and asked,

“You were reading my novel, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then tell me what rank the protagonist achieved in the latest chapter.”

“B-Rank.”

“Really? So you did read it.”

“Haha… yes. Who else would read it?”

Han Tae-woo chuckled and sat down next to me.

“It’s just a hobby. If I got serious about it, it could be a hit.”

“Then get serious about it and retire early.”

Han Tae-woo stared blankly at me, then suddenly put me in a headlock and yelled,

“Are you making fun of your senior?”

“You started it, senior. And it doesn’t hurt at all.”

I had already erected a barrier around my head, so I didn’t feel any pain.

“Ugh. Anyway… just wait a little longer. Something big is coming in the next episode.”

“I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve said that.”

A strange novel about the only daughter of S-Rank hero parents causing mayhem at the academy and continuing to cause trouble even after graduation.

That was Han Tae-woo’s web novel.

He claimed that such themes were popular these days.

I didn’t know anything about web novels, so I had no way to verify it.

But one thing was certain: popular genre or not, his web novel had already failed miserably.

For one thing, the female protagonist had a terrible personality.

Not only did she control the academy by riding on her parents’ coattails, but she also tormented a poor professor she had chosen as her advisor.

The comments were filled with criticism, and Han Tae-woo had been quite distressed at the time.

He claimed it was just a hobby, but he was clearly very invested in it.

The readers, hoping for some development between the protagonist and her advisor, had stuck around, but the advisor disappeared without a trace after the protagonist’s graduation and hadn’t appeared since.

After another wave of readers dropped off, I was the only one still following the novel.

I didn’t enjoy reading it at all, but he was my closest senior, so I felt obligated.

If I didn’t read every chapter and give him feedback, he would probably become depressed again.

I forced myself to read it because I didn’t want to see the team leader moping around.

And… Han Tae-woo was my only close friend.

“Just wait and see. Something big is coming soon. But aren’t you going to give me feedback on this chapter?”

“Yes… I should…”

I wasn’t sure where to begin.

“That villain, Dr. Cube. Did you base him on Dr. Thief?”

“What are you talking about? Just because their names share two syllables? He’s a character I created.”

“Is that so? Anyway, what’s with that villain? What kind of lunatic would use a technique like that?”

Dr. Cube, a villain in Han Tae-woo’s web novel, who he insisted wasn’t based on the famous fictional villain Dr. Thief.

He was a former hero turned villain who used all sorts of strange Aura techniques.

His most notorious technique was compressing people into cubes.

Hence the name Dr. Cube.

“What? What’s wrong with it?”

“I’ve never heard of anyone using Aura like that. And his motivation for turning into a villain is weak. Even if it’s fiction, there needs to be some plausibility. You create characters without thinking things through, so readers drop off in droves every time a new one appears.”

Han Tae-woo scratched his head in frustration at my harsh feedback.

“Damn… that’s strange… I thought it was pretty cool…”

“Then make him the main villain. Why kill him off so anticlimactically after just one chapter?”

“You should have told me sooner, damn it! Should I revise it?”

Han Tae-woo fumbled for his phone as if he was about to revise it right away.

“Is Ji-ah running late?”

“She’s taking Min-ha to school.”

“Taking a grown-up kid to school?”

“They asked parents to come for a consultation about her future studies.”

Min-ha was the only daughter of Han Tae-woo and my classmate Seo Ji-ah.

“Aren’t you sending her to the academy?”

“Of course. I want to send her to Graford, but since Ji-ah and I aren’t A-Rank yet, there’s a lot to prepare.”

“I understand. Graford is better than some mediocre academy. Then you should work harder and reach A-Rank before Min-ha enrolls. Stop writing that web novel and focus on that.”

“Instead of nagging me, why don’t you guys work harder and improve your performance?”

“I have no intention of doing that. I’ll just coast along and become an academy professor.”

“Professor Hyun Kyo? Professor Kyo?”

Han Tae-woo chuckled and punched my shoulder.

“Do you think the academy would accept you? A hero who isn’t even registered with the Administration? And if that was your plan, you shouldn’t have joined Secreto. Why did you even join?”

“I told you. I hate having my picture taken, being scrutinized, and getting attention from ordinary people.”

“You’re such a gloomy, moldy bastard.”

Han Tae-woo clicked his tongue, then snapped his fingers as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Hey! I have an idea.”

“What?”

“You just endure it for a few more years and then transfer to the academy. Become a professor there before Min-ha enrolls.”

“And?”

“And you can be Min-ha’s advisor.”

I chuckled at his absurd suggestion.

“Do you want Min-ha to become an F-Rank hero and work at a construction site?”

“What? Is that how you plan to be a professor?”

“What good are defense techniques, then?”

“Hmm… that’s true. Then you should start practicing Comprehensive Offense or something.”

“Easier said than done…”

As I grumbled, the door opened, and another hero entered.

It was Seo Ji-ah, wearing a purple suit similar to Han Tae-woo’s.

Seo Ji-ah, with her long, black hair and somewhat melancholic expression, smiled at me.

Min-ha was a carbon copy of her mother, not her father.

I had only seen pictures of Min-ha so far.

The first time I saw a picture of her, I thought it was a childhood photo of Ji-ah.

They looked that much alike.

“You’re early.”

“I’m single, so I have nothing else to do. I heard you were taking Min-ha to school.”

“Yes. I just had a meeting with her homeroom teacher.”

Han Tae-woo chimed in,

“What did they say? Can she go to Graford?”

“They asked about your and my rank.”

Han Tae-woo shut his mouth at her words.

Both he and Seo Ji-ah were B-Rank.

“Well, we’ll just have to work harder.”

Han Tae-woo, having received an unfavorable answer, scratched his chin and tried to play it cool.

“Did you know? Hyun Kyo is going to become an academy professor.”

“What? Why? Suddenly a professor?”

“He promised to be Min-ha’s advisor.”

“Really?”

Seo Ji-ah snapped her head and looked at me

“I just said I wanted to be a professor, not an advisor.”

“That’s great. You can make Min-ha an S-Rank.”

At Seo Ji-ah’s words, I smiled wryly.

“I need to get promoted myself. An S-Rank student? That’s a headache I don’t need.”

“If something happens to Min-ha, can I go to the academy and grab the professor by the collar and slap him?”

Han Tae-woo joked and laughed loudly.

Just then, an announcement came over the intercom, summoning us to the command center.

Now that the three of us who were being dispatched today were all present, they were about to begin the mission briefing.

“Where are we going this time?”

“The central border region. We’re intervening in the recent border dispute.”

Han Tae-woo answered as we walked down the hallway.

“This mission shouldn’t be too difficult. We’re dealing with a conventional army, so it should be easy as long as we don’t leave any traces.”

Seo Ji-ah, walking beside me, nudged my shoulder.

“Hey, Hyun Kyo, how about some spicy braised short ribs after we’re done? There’s a place I went to with Min-ha that’s really good.”

“You know I don’t like spicy food.”

“No, it’s spicy, but it’s a delicious kind of spicy. Really. Trust me.”

“Deliciously spicy? That still means it’s spicy.”

We chatted idly as we entered the command center.

The moment the automatic doors of the command center closed,

The scene flipped instantly, and I was standing on the ground, looking up at the sky.

As always in this recurring dream, a meteor was slowly falling through the clouds.

And as always, I watched it with a sense of despair.

“No…!”

The meteor crashed into a distant mountain, and I fell to my knees, overcome by despair, and prostrated myself on the ground.

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When I opened my eyes, I was lying face down on the cold floor of the archives.

My Mental Barrier, which had been shaking violently, driving me to the brink of unconsciousness, was now calm and solid, protecting my mind.

I slowly sat up and picked up the scattered academic records of Han Tae-woo and Seo Ji-ah.

What… was that I just saw…?

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[T/N: Hey @SilvericAnito, looks like our crackpot theory turned out to be true.]

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