Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 30

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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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Momo was right. Of the eight Credit Points in total, six were now in my possession—more than half.
No matter how things progressed from here, I wouldn’t fall short or fall behind on Credit Points.
“……So what happens next?”
Momo answered readily to my question.
“You write your name on a Stone Tablet.”
“A Stone Tablet?”
“Once we go back to the Main Lecture Hall, the scenery will have changed. Like you’ve probably heard, the student who offers the highest Credit Points gets to attend the lecture, and whether multiple students are accepted depends on each professor’s inclinations. And…….”
Momo seemed to pause thoughtfully, twirling her braided hair around her finger.
“Actually, until last semester, we used to reach an agreement among ourselves before writing names—though it was closer to a free-for-all, honestly……. Anyway, we’ve never had such a dramatic point gap before…….”
That reminder sparked a memory.
In Amelie’s diary, it said that any enrolled student found not attending any lecture after the semester begins can face immediate Expulsion.
“What happens if the course registration fails? If I don’t get any Credit Points at all, or if the Betting fails and isn’t accepted even if I do?”
Momo shrugged at my question.
“Well, you’d have to find some way not to get caught. But in most cases, Expulsion is pretty much guaranteed.”
“And Expulsion means……?”
“Replacement.”
As I thought.
“We’re here. Don’t be too startled.”
Click. The door to the Main Lecture Hall opened. And I was standing in a rain-soaked forest.
‘It’s dark…….’
Fine rain drizzled across my hair and shoulders. I pulled the hood over my head.
Flick—as Momo lit her Zippo Lighter, something long swept past my face in a blur.
Flinch—as I stepped back, stifling a curse, Momo grabbed my arm as if she’d anticipated it.
“Look.”
Following her direction, I saw white and crimson cloth hanging long from a massive tree branch.
Following a small path behind the tree deeper inward, we came upon a circular Clearing.
In the center of the Clearing, a stone lantern burned with light, and beneath it someone sat leaning at an angle.
“……Russell?”
Looking at Russell’s pitiful state, Momo burst out laughing.
“Wow, I can’t even bear to look. I told you to dial back the cruel jokes, didn’t I!”
Russell didn’t respond. It was the same when our eyes met.
It seemed he’d managed to reinsert the Pain Relief Pump back into his vein after I left.
Judging by the fact that he showed up here, Russell must be the one who took the remaining one Credit Point. I have no idea how he managed it.
There’s no point asking what happened to Kai and the others now. Honestly, I don’t even want to know.
“What about the other four?”
I lowered my voice and asked Momo.
“They probably disappeared long ago. No point in the staff finding out they didn’t earn even a single Credit Point.”
As Momo spoke, she gestured in a direction. Another stone lantern burned in that direction.
One, then another, and somewhere the view suddenly opened up.
I quickly realized this forest had the exact same structure as the Main Lecture Hall from before.
Except all the desks and chairs that had been on the tiered seating were now replaced with small shrines.
They looked like the kind of humble shrines you sometimes find on secluded hiking trails.
Some were shaped like small tile-roofed buildings, others like stone pagodas or monuments. Each had incense and candles lit, and some were outfitted with small statues.
“After you offer the Credit Points, you can write your name on a Stone Tablet. Man, it’s been so long since we’ve had such a small group.”
At Momo’s words, Russell clicked his tongue.
“Skip the chatter and start already. I’m bleeding so much I’m about to pass out.”
“Hmm……, we agreed to start with the highest rank, didn’t we……?”
Momo glanced at me sideways. I shrugged.
“I’ll go first.”
I climbed the steps following the stone lantern. As I did, I reached into my pocket and pulled out six Gold Coins.
There appeared to be over thirty shrines, but I had no way of knowing which lecture from which professor each one represented.
I tried to recall the course information written in Amelie’s diary.
Of that short list, there was only one worth attempting—the lowest difficulty class, but the competition was so fierce they said not to even bother trying.
I turned back to look at Momo and Russell standing beside the stone lantern. Neither of them held more Credit Points than I did.
Either way, I had Malo’s lecture, so there was no real need to take risks. In that case…….
I approached a nearby shrine to examine its monument more closely.
That’s when it happened. With a sliding sound, the Stone Tablet turned.
“……What?”
The small statue had definitely been holding the Stone Tablet open in both hands moments before. But now it was gone.
I moved closer to the statue.
Slide.
“……?”
The sound had come from behind me. When I turned, I heard it again—another shrine, another Stone Tablet sliding into place.
“Hey! Did you two just see that?”
I called down to Momo and Russell at the bottom of the steps. But neither said anything.
Momo simply widened her eyes and shrugged.
I approached the first statue again. It wore something like a ceremonial crown and a loose-sleeved robe.
The Stone Tablet it had been holding open in both hands was now hidden between its folded robes at the chest.
I tried to slip my arm through to pull out the Stone Tablet. But it had already become one with the statue’s chest—immovable.
The statue beside it had hidden its tablet behind its back. And its eyes, which moments before had been wide open, were now softly lowered.
“……Hey! Momo! Come up here a second!”
“Huh? Um…….”
Momo bounded up the steps with a bewildered expression.
“You try first.”
“What?”
“Go ahead and bet so I don’t have to follow. Hurry. I’ll make sure Russell can’t bet on the same one as you.”
I pressed Momo, who was raising her eyebrows.
Momo looked uncertain, but eventually she looked around and left a coin at the second-to-last shrine.
She placed the coin in a rectangular Offering Box and drew out a long Needle from it. After glancing at Russell and me, she pricked her fingertip and wrote her name on the Stone Tablet.
“Well……, it’s done.”
Carved beneath the Stone Tablet were Arabic numerals.
42
If I remember right, that’s the lecture Amelie’s group called Easy Honey. And I’d marked it as my top priority—only to lose it with my eyes wide open.
I checked the Stone Tablet again, and it unmistakably bore Momo’s name. Blood had seeped completely into the smooth surface beneath.
But the moment I leaned closer.
Slide.
“Huh.”
This stone thing’s refusing me?
“Accept it.”
I tried to shove a Gold Coin into the Offering Box. But the opening was blocked.
“Ha……, haha…….”
Accept it! Just accept it!
Am I a joke to you? You discriminate between people? Why won’t you accept my application?!
In frustration, I slapped the Offering Box with my palm, but the opening remained sealed as if cemented shut.
“Hey, if you keep that up, something bad’s gonna—”
“Amelie?”
Momo, who had been about to stop me, froze. When I looked up, the Student Council President was standing at the bottom of the steps holding an Umbrella. Even though he stood far below, our eyes were at the same level.
“The notice came late. The professors said you don’t need to register for any lecture, Amelie.”
“Huh……? Why?”
The Student Council President seemed about to say something, then let out a deep sigh. After a long pause, he opened his mouth reluctantly.
“Because you’re……such an excellent student.”
“……Pardon?”
“Yes, that’s what they said. They say there’s nothing they could possibly teach you.”
Just as I was about to step forward in disbelief, the Student Council President quickly covered his nose with one hand.
“What.”
What is it! We just walked together and had a fine conversation! Why again…….
Ding.
[Did you have fun?]
A reply from Malo had arrived after a long while.
Did I have fun? Surely he’s not teasing me. I mean, when else would I ever get to fire a Flame Thrower in my life…….
Wait, hold on.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind. Before entering the Final Stage, Malo had grabbed me and rubbed his sleeve all over my head and shoulders.
Even when I complained that he was crazy, he didn’t care.
〈Wait, what are you doing?! It’s not like you’re petting a dog or something!〉
〈You say awful things.〉
That must have been it.
So it was that man—no, that professor—who had deliberately rubbed his scent on me from the start.
Now that I think about it, the other undergraduates started avoiding me right after Malo carried me to the Student Council Building on the second day.
“Could it be.”
I held up my phone to the Student Council President.
“Everyone’s refusing me because of this person?”
“…….”
“Because of this guy—no, because of this professor, right?”

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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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