Chapter : 02
Even after gaining a new life, my circumstances hadn’t changed one bit from my previous one.
Adel Catherine, born into a fallen landowning family, discovered she had a talent for magic and entered the Academy, where she graduated as the top student.
Not only that, she attended on a full scholarship in the Academy’s most prestigious department—Magical Engineering.
Immediately after graduation, she was recruited by the Magic Tower, where she spent her days taking care of every little task her professor threw at her.
Ah, for reference, you can think of the Magic Tower as the graduate school for mages.
Anyway, aside from being a little smarter than I had been in my previous life, I was still living the same miserable existence of being worked to the bone under a professor.
Even so, I’d been fairly satisfied with my life until now…
But this world…
It was the world of the novel I’d read.
And it was destined to be destroyed.
What’s more…
I was the one who would destroy it!
…How did things end up like this?
Honestly, looking at myself now, I seemed far too ordinary for that to be believable.
But no matter how many times I searched my memories, the conclusion never changed.
Adel Catherine, the final boss of The Young Master Doesn’t Want to Stop the End of the World.
That was my fate.
It made sense because…
Before awakening as the final boss, Adel was the daughter of a ruined noble family and a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower.
…Wait, that’s me.
Adel was also renowned as a genius mage who constantly drew attention at both the Academy and the Magic Tower.
…Wait, that’s me.
Furthermore, Adel was credited with making a tremendous contribution under Professor Great to the groundbreaking discovery that mana could distort space-time.
…Wait, that’s me… in the good future.
However…
In the end, Adel decided to use that very principle to destroy the world.
And eventually…
She succeeded.
…Wait.
That really is me…?
In my dream, I had been holding a research presentation as a successful mage.
After years of research, I’d proven that mana could twist time and space.
Yet in reality…
Instead of becoming a great scholar, I was merely a villain-in-training destined to destroy the world.
Could it be… because the professor overworked me so much?
Honestly, it was entirely possible.
There had been plenty of graduate students who completely lost their minds after being treated like slaves by their professors.
Considering everything I’d bottled up over the years, I could’ve snapped a hundred times already.
Was everything happening now simply another step toward that catastrophic future?
…No.
If I keep living like this, I’m really doomed.
Forget the research—the whole world is doomed!
I shot to my feet.
At this rate, one year from now, the world would be reduced to ruin.
There was only one way to stop it.
I had to change the course of my life before I awakened as the final boss.
All right.
I’ve got my goal.
I clenched my fist.
From this moment onward, Adel—the perfectly ordinary magical researcher—would abandon the Final Boss Route.
And the first obstacle was…
No.
Forget the dramatic buildup. Let’s get straight to it!
Without wasting another second, I headed directly for Professor Great Everrun’s office.
* * *
“Professor… I quit.”
“…What?”
Professor Great Everrun frowned, as though he doubted his own ears.
He blinked several times.
Apparently, he couldn’t decide whether what he was seeing was reality or a dream.
“You know alcohol is prohibited inside the Magic Tower.”
Convinced he’d simply misheard me, he lowered his gaze to the documents on his desk and spoke absentmindedly.
“I haven’t been drinking.”
“Then… have you taken Mekedonia?”
For the record…
Mekedonia was a hallucinogenic drug.
“No.”
“Then what nonsense are you talking about?”
He let out a sigh and adjusted his glasses.
He had probably expected me to report experimental results—not announce my resignation.
Ignoring his reaction, I continued seriously.
“Professor, I’m completely serious. I can’t keep being a graduate student anymore.”
“You’ve barely done any research and you’re already talking about quitting? Look around! There are laboratories full of graduate researchers who’ve worked far harder than you!”
“That’s true, but… at least half of this research was my—”
“…”
I suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Hold on.
Was I a slave down to my very bones?
I’d come here to quit.
So why was I defending my contribution to the research?
As I hesitated, Professor Great immediately cut me off.
“Half the research? Don’t be ridiculous.”
He tapped the desk irritably and narrowed his eyes.
“As you know, this place is filled with mages who’ve devoted more than ten years to a single research project! And you’re talking about quitting? I was considerate enough to limit your work to only eighteen hours a day because I knew you’d get tired. Is this how you repay my kindness?”
“That’s not consideration. That’s exploitation.”
“You only call it exploitation because you still haven’t come to your senses.”
…
He’d been exactly like this in my previous life.
There had been one time when I’d become so exhausted that I’d told him I wanted to quit.
The professor had gaslit me so thoroughly that I somehow ended up staying.
After that, he made sure I couldn’t escape again.
And eventually…
I lost every chance to break free.
And now here we are again.
Looking at the professor standing before me, it was obvious that a normal resignation wasn’t going to happen.
“Professor, I’m not a piece of laboratory equipment.”
“Laboratory equipment? What are you talking about? I’ve always treated you with respect.”
“You know my name, right?”
The professor opened his mouth—
Then froze.
Judging by his wavering eyes, he was desperately trying to remember.
“…Ahem… the student who graduated top of the class?”
Sigh…
I let out an unmistakably exasperated sigh.
“Anyway, I’m not changing my decision. I’m leaving.”
As I turned to end the conversation, Professor Great bit his lip in irritation.
“Just don’t come crawling back within a month, begging me to take you back. When that happens, I won’t be so generous.”
“You don’t have to worry. That’ll never happen.”
Since he showed absolutely no sign of admitting he was wrong and remained as shameless as ever, I didn’t bother being polite either.
His expression stiffened.
I supposed my slave’s sudden rebellion had made him furious.
Just as I reached for the door—
His booming voice echoed through the office.
“Your name is coming off the paper! Don’t even dream of being listed as an author!”
Yeah.
Go right ahead.
After all…
I’m the one who completes this research and ultimately destroys the world.
In other words…
If the person responsible for the core of the research disappeared, then the research itself would become worthless.
So…
Goodbye, Professor.
From now on…
I’m not your slave anymore.
I’m going to be the master of my own life.
* * *
“Adel… you really quit?”
As I packed my belongings to return to my family’s estate, Isabella walked over.
“Nothing happened back home, did it?”
Her expression was unusually serious.
Apparently, she couldn’t believe that I’d made this decision.
After all, I’d survived in this place longer than almost anyone else.
I simply shrugged.
“Isabella… sometimes…”
“…Knowing when to give up is the smartest choice.”
She blinked, still looking unconvinced.
“Seriously? I thought maybe you’d taken Mekedonia… or that you just said it in the heat of the moment.”
Let me say this one more time.
Mekedonia is a hallucinogenic drug.
