I Ended up Doing Too Well as a Professor of the Enemy Nation - Chapter 176
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 176. Midterm Exams (2)
Kalon twisted up the corner of his mouth.
However, that wasn’t his usual cynicism. Like a hunting dog with its mask removed, a cold and ruthless air lingered about him.
“…You’re trying to frame me as part of the Revolutionary Army?”
“There’s no need to hide it, is there? What’s so great about taking His Majesty the Emperor’s head?”
Kalon let out a hollow laugh.
“Evidence?”
Ruin leisurely threw the documents.
Evidence? That Assassination Studies Professor had specifically said he was ‘suspicious.’ And with intuition that wouldn’t lose even to the Hero, that crazy… no, that Assassination Studies Professor.
If such a person pointed him out as suspicious?
‘Then naturally he becomes a target for investigation.’
So he checked thoroughly.
And the result.
“You did quite the adorable thing.”
At those words, Kalon’s eyebrows twitched.
Evaluation records where students’ grades were abnormally ‘standardized.’ Moreover, among all the department head professors, only Kalon had done this.
“I saw your dedication in making everything unremarkable so that nothing would stand out. But why did you do such a thing?”
At Ruin’s words, Kalon wrinkled his nose and let out a laugh.
“…Tsk, you really were unlucky from the start.”
At those words, Ruin’s eyes narrowed.
Right, when Ruin had exposed Kalon, he had felt suspicious.
‘Kalon and I were enemies from the beginning.’
Rather than enemies, it was almost a relationship of mutual hatred.
But why would someone who was a Revolutionary Army comrade hate him so much?
The answer to that question came from Kalon’s mouth.
“At first, I had no choice. If I pretended to be friendly with you, I’d be suspected.”
And then.
“You never responded to the Revolutionary Army signals, no matter what.”
Ah.
So that was it. The reason he had picked fights to the death and tried to drive him out, the reason he had pressured him by calling him a spy at every turn.
That’s why Ruin looked up at the sky.
‘Hah… how this bastard must have seen me all this time.’
Honestly, the fact that Ruins Wayne was part of the Revolutionary Army was bizarre to begin with, but Kalon too.
Soon Kalon’s eyes turned menacing.
“You answer me. Why didn’t you respond to the signals?”
Oh no. This is quite a troublesome question.
Ginseng Superior was also in a panic.
「Wait, if we mess this up, won’t they find out you’re fake?!」
There was no way out.
However, Ruin actually smirked instead.
“I didn’t like you.”
“…What did you say?”
“I said it, didn’t I? That I don’t like you.”
Ruin decided to go on the offensive brazenly.
“I just joined the Revolutionary Army to get top-grade Frix… I didn’t want to go as far as meeting people, chatting, and becoming friends. Is that really a necessary procedure?”
“…This crazy bastard-“
“Right. I sometimes think so too.”
Ruin rolled his eyes.
‘Right. This is an answer worthy of Ruins Wayne.’
「…No, this is just being insane?」
Then Kalon also let out a hollow laugh as if disgusted.
“Right. This is the first time I’ve spoken with you since entering this academy… but I really hate you too.”
At those words, Ruin’s eyes flashed.
…Good. The crucial statement ‘we’ve never met outside.’ This settles everything for certain.
Then from here on, it’s Fire Butterfly’s domain.
“Honestly, even if you are part of the Revolutionary Army, I can’t trust you. Why did you betray the Imperial Court? I did it for compensation, but why would someone like you?”
A moment of silence flowed.
And soon Kalon’s mouth slowly curved upward. His sharp smile was filled with quiet venom.
“Betrayal? That’s just your perspective.”
“…?”
He silently rolled up his sleeve. On the inside of his left arm, when faint light shone on it, an incomplete star-shaped seal mark was revealed.
It was the Revolutionary Army’s seal mark.
“I’ve never once ‘trusted’ the Imperial Palace.”
And the words continued.
“…If only grandfather hadn’t fallen to Fire Butterfly.”
“…Fire Butterfly?”
“That’s right. Since you mocked me so thoroughly, you must know well too.”
Kalon smiled sharply toward Ruin.
“The day that infamous Fire Butterfly broke through our defense. The Imperial Palace made Gloucester a scapegoat. From that day on, we’ve lived with the label of ‘defective shield.'”
“…”
「So in the end, you’re the root cause. As expected, Butterfly of Ruin…」
‘Be quiet.’
“So you joined the revolutionary army because of that resentment?”
“…Resentment?”
Kalon narrowed his eyes.
“No. This isn’t revenge. This is proof.”
He gritted his teeth.
“True defense doesn’t crumble.”
At those words, Ruin took a heavy breath.
‘Now I understand.’
The revolutionary army wasn’t simply a gathering of idealists. Though they had the bridge called ‘Spider,’ behind them was the Demon Emperor. In other words, it meant the Demon Emperor had reached out to destroy the Union and Imperial Palace.
And inciting those whose honor had been trampled was the revolutionary army’s specialty. No, it was also the method the Demon Emperor used best.
That’s why Ruin frowned.
‘At this rate, my house will become a battlefield for other bastards.’
Then, Kalon spoke with a sneer.
“So. Even knowing the revolutionary army is after Haven’s treasure, why did you openly hold this treasure hunt? Did you switch sides to the Chairman?”
It was a question that seemed to probe his identity.
But Ruin wore his characteristic unpleasant smile.
“You people are too simple-minded.”
“…What did you say?”
Kalon’s brow twitched.
However, Ruin shrugged his shoulders.
“If you dig tunnels so openly and pull out boxes, won’t the revolutionary army’s existence be exposed? The Hero is a perceptive person, so if you get caught, it’s immediate ‘execution’ for professors or whatever.”
“…!”
Kalon flinched. They knew the Hero’s persistence better than anyone.
“But.”
Ruin smiled like a fox.
“What if we ‘pretend to find’ the Hero’s treasure and legally obtain it to bring back?”
Kalon’s eyes wavered.
“Is that possible…?”
“My brain is-“
Ruin lightly tapped his temple.
“A bit different from your simple minds.”
Kalon’s expression crumpled.
Ginseng Superior’s expression was the same.
「So annoying…」
‘I’m imitating Ruins Wayne.’
Well, the real Ruins Wayne would probably have said the same thing while timidly muttering.
Anyway, since Kalon was the opponent, there was also the intention of being more annoying to wear him down.
“Do you understand? Don’t do stupid things that will get you caught. This midterm exam operation is also my strategy to prevent the treasure from going to the Chairman.”
That’s right. I’ll handle it myself, so don’t even think about touching my severance pay! You bastards!
「No, it seems like half of it is mixed with your real personality…」
* * *
A room with brilliant crystals hanging. There sat a silver-haired, brilliantly cold beauty.
She was the Demon Emperor, resting her chin on her hand. And before her, kneeling on one knee, was Spider.
“Great Demon Emperor. May I ask just one thing?”
The Demon Emperor only opened her eyes without answering. Red eyes within silver hair glinted in the light.
“…About Ruin, no. Fire Butterfly.”
“…”
“…Why do you keep him specifically by the Hero’s side? Isn’t Haven, let alone beside the Hero, too dangerous a place?”
A moment of silence.
Soon the Demon Emperor raised the corners of his mouth and spoke.
“Because letting him into Haven was the only future where that child wouldn’t die.”
Spider was stunned.
“What…?”
“To be precise, it was a future no one had ever tried. In thousands, tens of thousands of loops, not once did anyone choose to put Fire Butterfly into Haven.”
“…!”
At those words, Spider seemed to stop breathing.
However, the Demon Emperor smiled coldly.
“No matter what choice is made, the ending is the same. That child dies. The situations are all different, but always at the same age, the same time. Cut down before the flower can even bloom.”
“…How can you be so certain….”
“Because I’ve watched it all.”
As the Demon Emperor’s fingertips cut through the air, thousands of light streams spread throughout the room. Each of those lights was a ‘future’ of the Demon Race.
And among them, one particularly short light stream.
‘Ruin’s future.’
Yes, whether it was the influence of Misfortune, Fire Butterfly always lived a short life. Whether killed by the Hero, committing suicide, or meeting with an unexpected accident, the end was always the same.
Always the same age, the same time. No matter what desperate struggle the Demon Emperor made, cruel fate would inevitably take him away.
And at the end, only the Demon Emperor’s anguished cries remained as he held the cold corpse. Even after repeating it thousands of times, only this grief that never became familiar would revive.
“And it has come around again. The time when that child must die.”
The time when the orbit of death returns—
In other words, there wasn’t much time left before Fire Butterfly would die again.
“So this time, I chose a path no one had ever taken.”
Making Fire Butterfly a ‘Professor’.
The Demon Emperor closed his eyes for a moment.
“…To create the only path where that child ‘can live’.”
“Do you really think… that’s possible?”
“There’s no possibility. But there is the ‘unknown’.”
And finally, he muttered as if to himself.
“…I hope he lives this time.”
* * *
Thud—
The black ink bottle tilted precariously.
“…What did you say?”
The Hero’s fountain pen stopped on the paper. The ink soaked into the white documents, spreading like red blood.
The person standing before him was Kalon Gloucester.
“I’m certain. Professor Ruins is connected to the Revolutionary Army.”
“…What… do you mean….”
The Hero looked bewildered.
“He even tried to approach me using this treasure hunt exam. Honestly, I was surprised.”
“….”
“From the beginning, there was intelligence that he might be with the Revolutionary Army, so I was suspicious, but this confirms it.”
“….”
That’s right. Kalon was the Hero’s person, a double spy.
At this, the Hero fell into anguish. If Ruins was really with the Revolutionary Army….
‘I’ll have no choice but to execute him…!’
An earthquake occurred in the Hero’s eyes.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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