Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The words struck a nerve, and my mind went blank. Seeing my reaction, Mallo playfully twirled his fork.
“Come on, say ‘ah.'”
Before I could think, crispy, warm French fries slipped into my mouth. Mallo brushed away a crumb at the corner of my lips with his fingertip, then smiled.
“Eat plenty and stay strong.”
“……What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. Course registration’s coming up soon.”
Ah, right. I swallowed the French fries.
Last night I’d combed through Amelie’s journal thoroughly, but I’d learned almost nothing new about course registration.
Whether it was my imagination or not, the volume of recorded information seemed to drop sharply starting from this course registration period.
The girls recorded things by week-count from semester start rather than by date, and the diverse handwriting styles that had filled the earlier pages suddenly narrowed down to barely five or six people once the semester began.
Of course, it was possible they’d simply grown busy and stopped writing…….
I glanced at Mallo before speaking.
“About that…… course registration…… could you give me a hint about what it is? Everyone just talks about it being like a war, but no one explains it properly, and I’m just anxious…….”
“Well, I hear the method changes each semester.”
What?
Mallo spun his fork idly while resting his chin on his other hand.
“Either way, it doesn’t seem very efficient. But once course registration ends, so few students remain that it’s hard to gather feedback for improvements.”
“So few students remain? What do you mean by that? Wait, don’t tell me…….”
“But anyway, it should be fine. You look quite sturdy…….”
Sturdy? What on earth does that mean? What exactly happens there?
Of course, he wouldn’t explain it straightforwardly.
“Professor, the fact that I’m your only student—that’s still valid, right?”
I asked somewhat nervously.
“Hmm?”
Mallo looked at me with an expression that suggested he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“What I mean is, if I happened to be replaced…… then your class would just be cancelled again, wouldn’t it?”
If I die during course registration, that’s bad for you too, isn’t it?
“Well, that’s true. But…….”
“Yes?”
Mallo spoke in a deliberately drawn-out manner.
“I’m quite fond of you, but I’m still not sure if my lecture is truly what you need.”
“……You’re joking, right?”
When did you ever cling to me like that!
“I wonder, who jokes around. The professor buying hamburgers in the morning? Or the heartless student who won’t even share her name?”
Ugh.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t told him my name yet. So I had no complaint if he treated me as just “Student.”
“Then I’ll just go by……Lee Yuri.”
That should settle it. Mallo’s head tilted slightly to one side.
“That really doesn’t suit you.”
“……There’s nothing I can do about it. It’s my name.”
“I’ll just call you Student.”
If you’re going to call me what you want anyway, why ask in the first place? As I grumbled inwardly, Mallo exhaled a long breath. His expression seemed somehow cool.
“Listen, Student.”
“……?”
“If you need help with anything—course registration or otherwise—”
After a brief pause, he spoke softly.
“Come find me anytime.”
“……What’s the price?”
What will you ask for in exchange for helping me? A fingernail? A tooth? Or something even more gruesome?
Mallo regarded me with an unreadable expression. I looked away slightly.
Meeting his gaze for too long made my mind go blank, as though I were falling under hypnosis.
“A price? For my precious student?”
What a kind offer. Though I trust it not a bit.
Of course, I couldn’t very well press the issue. I often forgot when I was with Mallo, but I had a role to play in this world.
If Mallo was the professor, then I was, in every sense, his student.
There seemed to be nothing more I could learn from this conversation, and talking back to a professor would gain me nothing.
I picked up the large hamburger with both hands. Either way, I had to survive here, had to endure.
I still didn’t know if the Fortress was truly the City of Gods. But if this was the gods’ game, there was almost nothing I could change.
So I would just…… go along with it well enough.
With that thought, I took a large bite of the hamburger.
“……Could I take this with me?”
“I’m glad to see you eat well.”
Mallo said it with a smile. Somehow, it sounded genuine. Though it was probably an illusion.
* * *
Seoul.
On elevated ground slightly south of the city, there stood a quiet Traditional Korean Mansion.
It was an imposing dwelling from the moment you entered. The garden, complete with a pond and stone lanterns, was meticulously maintained without a flaw, and every corner exuded the scent of old wealth.
Yet somehow, an sinister and ominous aura permeated throughout the mansion.
A middle-aged man in a black suit entered the mansion with an anxious expression, continually checking his smartphone as he walked along the long corridor.
“Chairman, Mr. Kang has arrived.”
The mansion’s steward announced the man’s arrival. He entered the study where the Chairman was waiting, visibly tense.
“……So, all contact lost?”
The question came before Kang had even straightened from his bow. The elderly man seated behind the massive desk was backlit, his face invisible.
“I apologize……. We’re still assessing the situation, but it appears the personnel we deployed are all…….”
Tsk. At the sound of the old man’s clicking tongue, Kang fell silent.
“Issue an order: terminate all of them.”
Termination. A directive to cease all pursuit and support. The mercenaries dispatched to the Fortress would become like a kite with its string cut, their chances of returning alive near zero.
That is, of course, assuming they were still alive.
It was a cold directive, but Kang did not dare question it.
“I will relay your orders.”
“What about Shin Harbor?”
“You mean the personnel assigned to the Loan Shark Organization, sir? Actually, I was about to report on that as well—apparently there’s something unusual.”
Kang withdrew an organized report from his document case and respectfully placed it on the desk.
The old man’s withered hand flipped through the papers. Among various debt-related documents was the personal information of someone.
“As you know, those loan sharks use crude methods, so the success rate for infiltration is low to begin with. But apparently, four days ago, one of the debtors we planted actually made it into the Fortress unharmed.”
“Is there a chance this person’s connected to the agency?”
Kang shook his head at the old man’s question.
“I don’t believe so. Given her age and how straightforward her background is…….”
“You don’t believe so?”
“Ah…….”
“You’ve grown sloppy lately, Kang.”
It wasn’t a tone of reproach exactly, but Kang’s secretary paled instantly and bowed deeply.
“I misspoke. I will investigate thoroughly.”
“Where is she?”
“Still…… under investigation. The equipment those loan sharks have can only confirm whether the insertion was successful. Besides, given how high the probability of death is, it may take some time to locate her.”
The Chairman flipped through the personal document.
Lee Yuri, female, age 23. Below that were listed the straightforward work history Kang had mentioned.
School cafeteria, hospital, logistics center, factory, moving company, day labor—every sort of menial job one might imagine.
“How remarkable that such a young woman perseveres.”
The Chairman made a remark impossible to tell if it was jest or earnest.
She was nothing special among the debtors. But the Fortress always had its plans. Recovering a body from the Fortress would be no easy task, though it didn’t matter.
What mattered was this unremarkable debtor had entered the Fortress, nothing more.
The Chairman believed that behind her safe entry when all others had failed, there must be some invisible variable at work.
“Investigate thoroughly. Family, workplace, friendships—everything.”
Kang bowed deeply, thinking what terribly bad luck this debtor had—alive or dead, she’d drawn the Chairman’s attention.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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