Walking toward the office building, Ansu pondered the information Freya had just mentioned.
Normally, he wouldn't want to follow the Church's Inquisition of Heresy on an operation, but unfortunately, Professor Duncan was in a bit of trouble.
After the incident with the Squirrel Party, the demihuman resistance organizations were in total chaos. The 【Shadow King - Barcas】 certainly had no time to worry about the professor, and all subsequent funding had been cut off.
This was originally a good thing, but when he went to talk to the professor about it the day before yesterday, he found that while Duncan had already gathered his students, he couldn't get the school to cooperate.
Without an 'archaeological certification', the team was essentially just a civilian expedition. Within the Empire, any such activity involving heretics could easily be shut down by the Church, and the participants taken away for interrogation...
So... if Professor Duncan still couldn't resolve this issue, Ansu could introduce him to the Inquisition of Heresy. That way, they could go on a business trip using an official status...
Ansu frowned slightly; the follow-up would be a bit troublesome...
While lost in these thoughts, the two arrived at Professor Duncan's office.
The door was wide open, and the sound of an argument drifted from within.
Freya looked at the fiery-tempered little old man and blinked at Ansu in surprise.
"Professor Duncan?" Ansu led Freya into the office, looking curiously at the fuming dwarven scholar, who was currently shouting at a middle-aged man sitting in his office chair.
"Dammit, Frank! You're taking this too far! I said I'd move my things out in a few days. Is there any need for such a rush?"
The large office was covered in dust. Four students were quietly moving books and instruments while Professor Duncan stood by, anxiously nagging them.
"Easy! Be gentle with those! Those are my treasures!"
The middle-aged man in the chair looked at Duncan's red, furious face, his smile full of mockery.
"Duncan, why don't you just give me your home address? At this rate, I doubt you'll even get to enjoy a new office for more than a few days before you're unemployed. Sending it straight to your house would save my students the effort."
"Frank!!" Professor Duncan was so angry his head felt like it would explode. He clenched his fists, ready to charge at the man. "Do you think I don't have a temper! I'll have you taste a dwarven iron head today!"
"Professor Duncan!" Ansu quickly stepped forward and held him back. "Don't do this, don't do this..."
"Ansu? What are you doing here?" Duncan looked at Ansu excitedly. "Don't stop me! I'm going to beat him to death today! One headbutt from me will shatter his puny frame!"
"If you actually hit him, your academic career will be completely over..." Ansu comforted him with a smile. "Don't you want to continue the work you love?"
Hearing this, Professor Duncan finally calmed down a bit. He glared coldly at his rival. "My student is here. For his sake, I'll let you off today!"
"Oh? A failure like you can actually recruit new students?" Frank looked Ansu up and down.
Ansu led Professor Duncan to a small stool by the wall. After the professor sat down, Ansu even brought him a cup of water.
"Professor, what happened just now?"
"Don't ask..." Professor Duncan glanced toward the desk, his anger still simmering as he told Ansu what had happened over the past two days.
Professor Duncan was in big trouble. It wasn't just a matter of whether he could get an archaeological certification; he was about to be fired...
Professors at the Benalu Royal Academy had performance standards. Professor Duncan's research progress was slow, and he had received a 'C' grade for two consecutive terms. Combined with offending some petty people, his position had been demoted two levels, from a full professor to a 'lecturer'.
A lecturer naturally had no right to such a large office, so he was ordered to move into a four-person office downstairs. What angered him even more was that his rival had smelled blood and come over under the guise of 'helping' just to mock him...
"Dammit, that Frank! When he heard I was restarting the ancient ruins expedition, he mocked me in front of everyone!" Professor Duncan patted his bald head. "If you hadn't stopped me, I really would have...!"
"Professor Duncan, please calm down," Ansu comforted him with a smile. "As the saying goes, the tables will turn eventually. If you endure today and show them up later, won't that be even more satisfying?"
Professor Duncan froze for a moment, then nodded with a cold smile.
"Right! I'll get back at them sooner or later. I'll make these people regret how they treated me today!"
Ansu nodded at the dwarven scholar, who had finally regained his composure. If Professor Duncan could join the treasure hunt, Ansu was certain the professor would be able to show them up.
In the original plot, the 【Alchemist Doctor】 under Barcas's command did indeed lead the demons back to the ancient ruins.
However, that place had been almost entirely emptied by Celia. Barcas was so furious that he put out bounties everywhere to hunt down the 'tomb raiders' who had desecrated his ancestral land and ruined his great cause. Later, when he found out it was the work of the Echoes of Truth, he nearly fell out with his ally, Celia.
But there was nothing he could do. Celia was a demon too. Barcas presented himself well, but he was actually just the descendant of some minor demon warlord from ages ago. If one checked their lineages, his might not even be as noble as Celia's...
"Eh?" Professor Duncan, whose mood had finally settled, was about to ask Ansu why he was here when he noticed the beautiful pink-haired girl following him. His expression turned puzzled.
"You brat, it's only been a week. Did you get a new girlfriend?"
"Girl... girlfriend!?" Freya had been acting like a ghost since entering, but when Professor Duncan said that, she instinctively looked at Ansu, her fair face turning bright red.
Because she was so shy, her voice was barely a whisper as she tried to explain.
"I... I'm actually not..."
Professor Duncan observed Ansu with a look of confusion. "Listen, Ansu. I know young people like to play around these days, but you can't be switching them out this fast."
"Let me tell you..." the dwarven scholar advised earnestly. "As a student, you should focus your energy on study and research. If you're playing around this much at your age, how will you ever commit to research later? Love and such are just distractions. Scientific research is the only life creed we should consistently adhere to..."
"Stop, stop..." Ansu looked at Professor Duncan, speechless. Why was the old dwarf giving him life advice?
"Student Freya and I are just friends..."
"Oh?" Professor Duncan glanced at the blushing Freya, his face full of disbelief.
The girl is reacting like that, and you're still standing there making excuses?
Seeing that the dwarven scholar's misunderstanding was only deepening, Ansu decided to stop explaining. He glanced at Professor Frank, who was still sitting in his office chair, and whispered, "Once he leaves, I need to talk to you about our expedition..."
Professor Duncan nodded, his gaze shifting toward his rival.
"You're that Ansu Morris from the Alchemy and Chemistry department, aren't you?" Professor Frank seemed to recognize the student. He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Are you sure you want to be this little dwarf's student?"
"What's wrong with that?" Duncan glared at him gloomily. "What, are you trying to steal my students now too?"
"Hehehe..." Frank gave a dry laugh. "Not at all."
He recognized this student named Ansu. He was quite famous in the Alchemy and Chemistry department and had excellent grades. It was obvious that such a talented student would become a pillar of the Empire after graduating from the Benalu Royal Academy.
He just hadn't expected this dead dwarf to get lucky enough to recruit such a student...
So, Frank feigned concern for the student and smiled provocatively.
"Duncan, you're a useless professor whose performance reviews are the worst of the worst. Don't go misleading the youth. Are you trying to recruit him as an assistant? Aren't you afraid of ruining this student's future?"
Ansu scanned the office, which had been stripped bare, and looked directly toward the door.
"Professor Frank, being Professor Duncan's student is my own choice. I don't think you need to worry about it."
"I have an important topic to discuss with Professor Duncan. To avoid leaking secrets, it would be best if you left."
Professor Frank frowned, his mouth instinctively curling into a sneer. "What kind of topic could he possibly have..."
"Perhaps a topic that could put Professor Frank to shame?" Ansu gave a polite, dismissive smile. "Professor, please see yourself out."
"What a joke... he could put me to shame?" Professor Frank sneered and walked straight out the door.
But after the door closed, he reacted with a start.
"Wait a minute, isn't this my office now?"
However, even though the door wasn't locked, Professor Frank couldn't pull it open no matter what he tried.
After struggling for a long time, he finally turned and left in a huff.
Inside the office, hearing the sound of the man's retreating footsteps, Ansu smiled and retracted his 【Mage's Hand】.
"Ansu, that was amazing!"
Freya also disliked the aggressive Professor Frank, so she thought Ansu's act of standing up for Professor Duncan was incredibly cool!
Student Ansu really is a kind person. I knew I wasn't wrong about him!
"It was just a 0th Circle magic spell," Ansu said with a faint smile, feeling like he managed to show off to the little Holy Maiden once again.
Professor Duncan's eyes darted between the two close young people before he finally cleared his throat.
"By the way, Ansu, what about your previous girlfriend? Can she still fund me..."
Rate on N.U.
