Chapter 66: The Old Fogey, the Request for a Change of Destination, and the Worst Trip Part 1

“Let me go! Right now!”

The demon shouts at me, filled with murderous intent.

I can feel my teeth clenching in pure vengeance.

My fists shake, tight with anger.

Threats and all sorts of menacing words spill from its mouth.

It’s a situation where anyone would be scared and fall.

But I casually ignore the demon’s words.

It’s not that I’m strong-hearted.

It’s because that demon was trapped inside a vodka bottle.

***

When I finally returned to the staff dormitory, I found the little demon in my pocket for some reason.

It was so small, it could easily fit inside a toy capsule, or maybe even a stationery capsule.

“Where do you think you’re going with this!?”

‘How could I be scared of that?’

‘In fact, I almost felt sorry for it.’

After all, when I was drunk, I must have done something that ended up with my homemade pancakes in that bottle, dirtying the demon’s body.

‘Did I overeat while sealing it?’

Even though I must have been feeling nauseous, the sealing had been surprisingly flawless.

The liquid that accidentally slipped in turned out to be harder to remove than I’d expected.

It would take at least a few weeks to undo the temporary seal and create a proper binding.

That demon would probably be stuck there for a while.

Thinking about it made me feel a little sorry for it, but…

“An even worse scoundrel than a demon! Don’t you have any pride? Even the most wicked among my people would be left speechless by your vileness!”

That feeling of pity quickly disappeared.

There’s a limit to slander.

‘Who would believe such nonsense?’

‘A fraud without laws?’

‘Me? Trying to cheat that demon?’

Even going to confront it and act bold?

‘You’re really hopeless.’

Maybe the demon had been stalked by its own guards, or perhaps some internal conflict had caused it to nearly die.

I had stumbled upon it while it was dying and had tried to capture it, thinking it might be useful later.

Of course, my unfortunate discovery of it led to a misunderstanding, and I ended up with an absurd accusation.

That’s probably the real story behind this incident.

Yet here I am, being shamelessly criticized by that Eligos bastard.

‘Forget about using it as a soldier after modification.’

I had planned to use the extra budget to replace its limbs with more fitting ones and summon it as a familiar.

But if it’s willing to throw away its own dignity, I guess there’s no stopping it.

Forget about its personality.

I’d make full use of it, after all.

Having made up my mind, I tossed the demon into the pile of dirty dishes.

It flew through the air in a perfect arc and landed with a splash.

I left the demon there and set about preparing for a reflection session.

This was, in fact, a more serious issue than how the demon was being treated.

Dealing with the beasts of the beastfolk had already been enough of a hassle, and now I had to deal with the demon too.

My success in subduing a demon had definitely raised the difficulty of getting fired.

‘What had gone wrong?’

‘What had happened for things to spiral out of control like this?’

‘While the answer to that might be that the world just hates me for no reason, I do share some responsibility.’

‘My mindset was completely wrong from the start.’

‘Excess is no better than deficiency.’

‘Too much of something won’t be better than not enough.’

‘I’ve definitely been overacting.’

If you look at the incident with the cotton-picker, you can see what I mean.

If I’d just frowned or subtly showed disdain, things would have gone smoother.

I’d become blinded by the desire to get fired quickly.

The need to get fired in one go led to my exaggerated actions, and in the end, that ruined everything.

Anyone could tell my behavior was awkward.

Of course, they would suspect there was some hidden agenda behind it.

‘So this time, I’ll just play the ordinary villain.’

‘This time, I’ll go for something more moderate.’

Not acting like a madman or a criminal.

I’ll be the everyday villain people face in their lives.

Those annoying humans that exist everywhere.

By playing that role, I’ll naturally build up disdain.

Luckily, a perfect opportunity came.

Moreover, I didn’t even need to create a new character.

• “I’ll give you one piece of advice. Don’t use that Axle Pansion or whatever it’s called. Don’t just leave everything to the computer, because if it makes a mistake, who will be responsible?”

The superior said this to me with a serious face.

The target for my acting had already been decided.

I tie a red tie around my neck.

I walk confidently toward the workplace.

Today, I will become the most disliked villain.

***

The A-class of the Huangli Academy was noisier than usual today.

But this wasn’t anything strange.

All classes were in chaos today.

After all, today was the day for the school trip!

And the destination? Phantasma Island.

A paradise on earth.

The undisputed best resort of the empire.

From the white sandy beaches to the shimmering sea of stars.

Recently, they’d even found cute cats flying around, emitting rainbows.

The festival tomorrow was the biggest ever held.

“If you don’t go, you’d be missing half of your life.”

‘How could anyone resist?’

Everyone was full of excitement, eagerly anticipating the trip.

Just as the mood reached its peak…

Someone suddenly swung open the front door with a forceful shove.

The professor with white hair stood in front of the class and declared:

“We’re not going to a resort, we’re going to visit a cultural heritage site!”

The class had been preparing to go to the festival destination, but someone had barged in, requesting a change of plans.

Naturally, everyone’s face turned to shock.

However, the professor didn’t care about the reactions at all.

“We specifically asked Si-jo-ryong to change our class’s travel destination. There’s no need to thank me.”

Professor Riyan continued in his usual manner, completely unfazed.

Of course, everyone respected him.

They respected him, but no one could understand what he was doing.

We were supposed to go to Prisma Island, where we could ride cats that shoot rainbows and fly across the night sky.

‘Who would ever pass up on that?’

“If we missed this opportunity, we’d regret it for the rest of our lives.”

“But now, out of the blue, he was saying we were going to visit some old, boring ruins?”

And when they saw the map Riyan handed out, the students’ faces turned even more confused than before.

Sure, it was a famous tourist destination.

It was a historically rich and meaningful site.

But it was right next to the academy.

We could walk there in about ten minutes.

We had all seen this ruin dozens of times before.

While all the other students were off enjoying the festival, our class would be stuck in a nearby park, staring at some buildings.

‘What student would be happy about this?’

The classroom grew noisy.

Of course, everyone still trusted Professor Riyan.

They figured he must have some deep, profound reason for this decision.

“I don’t understand why the field trip destination was chosen,” someone muttered. “Why would we go there? We could be having fun at the festival, enjoying the flying cats with rainbows.”

And Riyan’s answer immediately silenced them all.

“Why did I choose this place? What’s more interesting, the flying rainbow cats, or the traditions of our people? It’s obvious.”

That response left everyone speechless.

Professor Riyan was certainly a remarkable person.

He was an intellectual who understood that the imperial nation’s history held more value than cute animals or festivals.

That attitude was admirable.

But still…

“I wanted to go to the festival.”

“Forget tradition; I just wanted to enjoy the celebration.”

“I knew that if I missed this opportunity, I’d regret it forever.”

The radicals, including the Saintess, were the first to agree with him, eager to follow whatever Riyan said.

But it wasn’t just the radicals.

There were students with troubled expressions on their faces.

They weren’t opposed to the professor’s wishes, but they clearly thought this was a bit much.

Seeing this, Ciel took the lead.

“Why don’t we vote anonymously and see what everyone thinks? We should decide the field trip location based on the majority’s opinion.”

This way, everyone could voice their opinion comfortably.

No matter the result, Professor Riyan would certainly accept whatever decision the majority made.

Ciel was sure of that.

But then, Riyan’s face turned dark.

He clearly looked displeased.

With a sharp voice, he spoke.

“If I say we’re going, then we’re going. Why is everyone asking so many questions?”

“The students these days… They didn’t understand the beauty of tradition. They didn’t understand how to respect their elders.”

Professor Riyan grumbled, clearly irritated, his gaze full of annoyance.

“Just shut up and follow me. Let’s go experience the spirit and soul of our people.”

Those words were so strange that everyone was left in stunned silence.

We had no choice but to follow him with confused expressions on our faces.

And that was when the destination for our field trip was decided.