I Planned a Su*cide Mission and Got Kicked Out of the Party

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Margaret’s feelings for Jeongjae were a problem that could be set aside for the moment. Although it didn’t seem like his relationship with Walter had soured, the simple fact that he received a dismissal order meant he had to pack his bags and leave the school dormitory.

“But can a Hero really just dismiss a school professor so simply?”

Of course, since he was a Hero, it wouldn’t be too difficult to remove someone like Jeongjae from his position at the Imperial Magic Academy. But still, there had to be some procedure in place. There was no way he could be kicked out overnight like this…

“Professor! You were dismissed, right? What in the world is going on?!”

Jeongjae’s thoughts shattered completely when he met his mentee, Jenis Harker, while heading to his study to gather his things.

Jenis came running towards him, her soft silver hair fluttering as she hurried over. Upon closer inspection, it seemed she had even cast a speedy spell on her boots.

“Uh, uh, Jenis. Yes, I’m now ‘former’ Professor Jeongjae. I’m not a professor anymore.”

For a moment, he thought perhaps he should use formal titles since he was no longer a professor and was now in the presence of a Count’s daughter, but even addressing her as ‘Lady Harker’ suddenly felt awkward, and he didn’t think Jenis would appreciate it much anyway.

“What happened? A Hero came to the school and then suddenly put up a notice saying you were dismissed! And he just ran off without explaining anything! No one else seems to care!”

“So, no one else cares, huh…”

Jeongjae felt a bit wounded by that. No matter what, he was a special professor from a ‘Hero Party,’ and it hurt to think that no one cared about his sudden dismissal.

He could easily imagine how much he must have been labeled as a ‘boring lecturer’ during that time, and it made him feel a bit sad.

“Well, most of the kids don’t attend your classes, or rather, they can’t!”

“Even those who do seem to lack interest, don’t they?”

“Uh…”

Jenis hesitated in her answer. Jeongjae concluded that was enough of a response and nodded.

“Alright, alright. I get it.”

“It’s okay! I’m interested enough for everyone! Uh, I mean, that’s not what I meant…”

Jeongjae looked at Jenis, and thought that if she said she liked him, he would probably believe it. This was the kind of response you’d expect from a female lead character in a comic who surely loves the protagonist.

Of course, that was only in comparison to Margaret; he was convinced that Jenis’s feelings toward him were fundamentally a sort of admiration for a Hero.

“Anyway, I can only say thank you for being here. Um, well, I can’t go into details, but things ended up this way. I’ve withdrawn from the Hero party and have been dismissed from the university. Now, I really don’t know what I should do with my life.”

“Huh? You were expelled from the Hero party too… What did you do?! Was it a crime? Are you going to be tried soon? Is visiting hours free if you go to jail?!”

“I’m not going to jail, I think.”

“Then is it a fine? How much? If you’re short on cash, I can lend you some!”

Though the House of Count Harker was incredibly wealthy, Jeongjae didn’t want to borrow money for a fine from a student. Upon reflection, he realized he had never committed any crime and owed no fines. What in the world was he even talking about?

“No, I wasn’t arrested. That’s not it.”

“Really?”

“Well, I was arrested for a bit.”

He hastily corrected himself as he recalled his encounter with Bernard. Jenis held onto his hand tightly, nearly in tears.

“Um, Professor, no matter what you did, I’ll visit you in jail, so please make sure you argue well to avoid the death penalty, okay?”

“Wait a minute, I’m not a criminal. I’m not going to trial. My dismissal is the maximum disciplinary action. Understand? Got it? I’m not going to jail, so there’s no need to come visit me?”

Realizing he needed to clear up this absurd misunderstanding, Jeongjae emphasized his points again and again to Jenis.

Finally, she seemed to understand and let out a sigh of relief.

“Ah, I see… I’m so relieved. I was actually thinking about where to find a lawyer if my father refused to support you because you committed a huge crime.”

It seemed Jenis had thought quite a lot during that brief time. Well, even if it was not necessarily that kind of problem, Jeongjae’s honest feelings were that he didn’t want to lose his friendship with the Harker family. Count Harker was an extraordinary person and one of the most distinguished gentlemen Jeongjae had encountered among the nobles.

“By the way, Professor, being expelled from the Hero party and losing your professorship is quite a serious disciplinary measure, isn’t it? What exactly happened? Even if it’s not a legal issue, what kind of trouble did you get into?”

“Um, well…”

There was no way he could reveal anything about the self-destructing operation. Having seen Margaret and Walter’s reactions, Jeongjae somewhat regained his rationality.

The more he emphasized the ‘efficiency’ of this ‘Manhattan’, the more he realized he would come off as a lunatic obsessed with efficiency, overlooking other important things.

It was clear Jenis had a fundamental respect for him, and her reaction wouldn’t be too different from that. Feeling playful, Jeongjae decided to tell Jenis something that was true but exaggerated a bit for fun.

“I was studying a forbidden magic that no one should touch, without anyone knowing at school.”

“Huh… Huh? Then that means the time you said you’d be focused on research…”

“A forbidden great magic that could take countless lives… I was caught by a Hero while researching it, and was summoned before him for questioning.”

“That’s unbelievable… I can’t believe you were researching something like that…”

“The Hero accused me of being filled with madness, and in the end, my forbidden magic was sealed, and I was expelled from the society at the Hero’s decree. But if I were formally tried, I would have to submit evidence of the forbidden magic that shouldn’t be revealed, so it was something I couldn’t dare to do…”

“I-I see…”

Jenis was trying to act calm, but her hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably.

Now that he mentioned it, it wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was definitely packaged in a much scarier way than what actually happened. Usually, when one hears ‘forbidden magic,’ it conjures images of summoning ancient demons or sacrificing human blood to execute spells.

The simple and clear concept of a massive explosion magic Jeongjae devised didn’t even exist in this world yet.

While there was no shortage of gunpowder, this world was stuck at the level of 14th-century cannons, and the concept of using large-scale explosive power as a tactical notion was nearly nonexistent.

Jeongjae’s magic was an extension of explosion magic, so it wasn’t classified as black magic, but Jenis must have certainly mistaken him for having researched black magic.

“Well, it’s not like I planned to become a villain…”

“That’s good! I understand! You must have been trying to find a way to defeat the Demon King’s Army and accidentally dabbled in forbidden magic, and the Hero couldn’t just ignore it. It seems like there’s some misunderstanding, but over time it will all resolve itself… Then problem solved! That’s a relief!”

Her perspective was overly optimistic, but it wasn’t bad at all.

Jeongjae gave a light nod before saying to Jenis with a serious expression.

“By the way, it would be troublesome if this got out. It’s still ‘forbidden magic,’ you know? Got it?”

“Yes, Professor! Even if His Majesty the Emperor comes to inquire, I won’t say a word!”

“That’s quite a good attitude.”

However, even with that, Jeongjae couldn’t stop Jenis from shivering. Leaving her behind, he headed up to his personal study. It was clear he needed to pack up his things quickly. There was no doubt he could no longer stay at this school.

“This book is from the library, and this one is my personal collection…”

First, Jeongjae pulled out a large magic bag and began sorting through his books. Although he had been buried under books on Earth, his affection for books in this world hadn’t died out.

When he first crossed into this world, he worried, ‘Isn’t this a medieval setting? How can I manage if paper is scarce?’

That had been an unfounded worry.

This was a world where wizards cast large-scale magic using scrolls. To prevent a shortage of spellbooks and scrolls for study, magic to produce paper was thoroughly developed using the skins of various creatures and plant fibers from Jeongjae’s ancestors.

It was likely that while the level of gunpowder research in this world was around level 5, its scholarly research would easily surpass level 99. Jeongjae had scarcely seen such thick yet lightweight books even on Earth.

“But I still need to pack as briefly as possible. I can’t just grab anything and everything.”

Among his personal collection, Jeongjae deliberately set aside a majority of books for donation to the Imperial Magic Academy. They were books that he had read enough to have no further research left to do.

Some of the books even had annotations he had written himself, and knowing his standing as a wizard in this world, Jeongjae believed it wouldn’t diminish their value.

As he was classifying the already read books to donate, one particular book caught his attention.

“Research on the Conversion of Life Force to Magic Power…”

This book could, in some sense, be said to have inspired Jeongjae’s expulsion from the party.

Since it was a book filled with excellent techniques, he didn’t find it entirely repugnant. But just as he was about to hand it over for donation, he hesitated.

“Just in case…”

Jeongjae abruptly halted and grasped the book tightly. He had lingering attachments. The scroll had been confiscated, but regardless, it had been a scroll he wrote by himself with no assistance. As long as he had paper and a pen, he could always resurrect that magic again.

Walter seemed to have experienced the action of that magic being used in the future. Even if that weren’t the case, it was certain that he had witnessed an explosion akin to a mushroom cloud.

“If there are still answers left…”

Jeongjae, with trembling hands holding the book, took deep breaths.

“Get a grip. I already did something like this and was treated like a madman, leading to this situation. It wouldn’t make sense to say, ‘Do that again and rehire me.’ Forget it. Just forget it and do what Walter says. Forget…”

For a moment, Jeongjae regained his sanity and transferred the book back toward donation. That book’s content wasn’t what mattered anymore. Picking up that book meant he still had regrets about ‘Manhattan’.

If he left that book in the university library, it would mean he wouldn’t revisit that terrifying magic.

After spending the next 20 minutes focusing on sorting the books, Jeongjae suddenly lost control like someone struck by lightning and started rummaging through the books he had designated for donation.

“Damn it, there’s no way it ends like this, damn it!”

The book Jeongjae pulled from the pile was none other than ‘Research on the Conversion of Life Force to Magic Power’.

He couldn’t shake off his attachments. He was a man who, though gentle, could never escape from an idea once it took root in his mind. That was just who Park Jeongjae was.

Casually, he tossed the book into the pile of items he was taking with him and began sorting the books again as if nothing had happened.