Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 113

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

Episode 113
EP27 – Starlight Meeting Mountain Redevelopment (3)

– Chengru. Go ahead and send the Kashan Knights to Professor Dante. Kashan hasn’t met him before, right? I’ve given him a heads-up, so tell him to use that to tidy up Starlight Meeting Mountain.

‘Understood.’ After his reply, Chengru ended the call.
The man across from him in the warehouse spoke.

“Do you truly intend to begin now?”

The man’s identity was the leader of the Kashan Knights.
Royal Special Operations Chief Knight—Kashan.
A dirty knight who did the royal family’s dirty work.

“Yes. Let’s begin. This is our only chance.”
“…Commander, I’m the sort who executes orders without question, but are you certain about this?”
“Damn it. There’s no helping it. Think about it—what other way is there to safely eliminate Princess Rebecca right now? Harvesting her soul? There’s no basis for it. Killing someone of royal blood comes with extenuating circumstances. But this job is different.”
“…Because of Dante Hiaka, then.”
“Precisely.”

His rank was merely senior professor.
A swordsman with no grade, no ranking.
And yet—

“…he possesses an intangible value far beyond that. The academy’s Black Path and White Path, the royal family itself, Zamryong Academy—if that one man vanishes, all hell will break loose.”
“I’ve only heard rumors, but it seems he’s truly exceptional.”
“Indeed. Tch!”

Chengru clicked his tongue.
He hated to admit it, but the facts were what they were.

“Moreover, that man. There was something uncanny about what he seemed to know.”
“Know about what?”
“That I was trying to eliminate Rebecca.”
“…How could he possibly know that?”
“How would I know?”
……

Chengru remembered it.
The enigmatic smile that Dante Hiaka had drawn.

– You do care for the princess, don’t you, Commander.
– What in the world do you mean by that? Of course I must protect her with my very life. That is the duty of a guardian knight.
– …How reassuring.

The tilted head, the pink eyes gazing downward. The voice that flowed from their depths—Chengru had not heard it as anything ordinary.

“Hmm.”

It was then that Kashan was thinking.
What Commander Chengru was attempting was not born from private sentiment. It was a conclusion reached through clear calculation.

‘Kill Dante and pin the blame on Rebecca.’

Rebecca had sent Kashan to push out the witch of the graveyard, and this was a matter with royal approval.
But what orders Rebecca had given to Kashan remained unknown to the outside world. It was to keep all matters concerning the redevelopment of Starlight Meeting Mountain under wraps.

‘It must be an attempt to destroy the academy. There’s no other way to seal the door of the Empire’s opening.’

Chengru meant to exploit that weak point.
The old man spoke.

“Everyone with eyes to see knows the relationship between Professor Dante and the Princess is… ambiguous.”

Because Zamryong Academy was like a single blade with two masters.

“Yes. I understand.”

Kashan, the Grandmaster, rose to his feet.

“But is it all right with you?”
“What is?”
“The Princess has been with you since childhood. Her words may be clumsy, but she doesn’t see you as merely a grandfather, does she?”
……

Chengru gazed out the window, his face etched with deep lines.
Toward the Princess’s car, already vanished into the distance.

“It’s hard.”
“Ah, I see. Forgive my presumption—”
“Ten years of indulging a foolish child’s petty theatrics and vulgar antics. It’s truly exhausting.”
……

Kashan lowered his head.
The relationship between an old man and a reckless girl held no further interest for him anyway.

“Understood. I will proceed without incident.”

As he stepped outside, his thoughts turned.
Dante Hiaka.
A man whose name he, a knight with no connection to the Academy, had heard spoken two or three times over.

‘A promising professor, it would seem…’

A feeling of regret stirred in him.

“All of you, move out.”
“Yes, sir.”

Seven royal knights assigned to kill a single assassin seemed excessive, but it couldn’t be helped—Illusion Magic assassins were notoriously difficult to eliminate.

Yet Kashan harbored no doubt. It was because of the other name by which the Kashan Knights were known.

The Elite Assassin Extermination Unit.

* * *

I headed toward Starlight Meeting Mountain with Ran. Along the way, we stopped at a peculiar lodge we came across.

“I was a boy who loved watching the stars, you know.”
“When was that?”
“About seventy years ago, I’d wager. Damn it!”

Some elderly man came pleading with us to rid him of a cemetery witch.

“Tell me her weakness.”
“Her weakness?”

He proceeded to rattle off information about the Cemetery Witch—that she was formidable, active only at night, hard of hearing, and had an extreme aversion to taking life.

“Thank you for the information. Take care of yourself.”
“If you’re going to do something, get rid of that witch already. Otherwise, I’ll attempt my final strike as an eighty-eight-year-old, and believe me, it’ll be something!”

As he turned to leave, Ran paused and tilted her head curiously.

“Just how powerful would this final strike of yours be?”

Why was she asking that?

“You want to know? Then I’ll tell you what I’ve prepared to deal with that witch!”

The old man’s neck was turning red with passion, so I quickly dragged Ran outside before he could elaborate.
As we climbed the mountain again, Ran spoke.

“Interesting. Hard of hearing. A refusal to kill.”
“Indeed.”

At first glance, these seemed like unrelated pieces of information. Even by my standards as someone stagnant in this world. In other words, the Cemetery Witch was likely a newly added character from the DLC.

“She only appears at night, though. Isn’t it too early?”
“If she’s not here, we can come back at night.”

So we climbed the mountain.
And we discovered something sitting atop an Ancient Tomb larger than the others nearby.
Contrary to what the Mountain Keeper had said.
Despite it being broad daylight.

“…There she is.”

A figure dressed in something like a hooded one-piece, with overgrown grass clinging to it.
So this was the Cemetery Witch.

“….”

Her name was Eve.

● Eve 『Curse of Oblivion』

An unfamiliar name.
Which meant she was a character included in the new DLC.

Next to her name was written “Curse.”
The Curse of Oblivion—a curse that erases one from the memories of the world and all people. It was a transcendent-grade curse that only high-ranking demons could cast.

‘So that’s why the information was so murky.’

At that moment, we were hidden behind trees.
And though we’d made rustling sounds as we approached,
she hadn’t noticed us.

“What should we do? We came to investigate, and we found her.”
“Let’s try talking first. Since she’s humanoid.”

I had come to drive the witch away for the redevelopment of Starlight Meeting Mountain.
If she’d leave by request, that would be ideal, but I had my doubts.
Still, since the witch apparently didn’t commit murder, there was merit in attempting conversation.

“If anything goes wrong, I’ll step in.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“I have two lives, after all.”
“…Since that’s settled, don’t remove the Band-Aid Form from your head.”

After instructing Ran, I stepped forward.
Slowly.
Toward the witch.

This was merely an approach to an unfamiliar presence.
No greater hope. No expectation beyond that.

Yet something struck me as I walked.
For some reason…
This situation felt oddly familiar…?
But how many moments of déjà vu do we experience in a lifetime? There was no reason to attach meaning to it.

“You there, Witch of the Tomb.”

I called out as I approached, but there was no answer.
Ran leaned in and whispered.

“She can’t hear you, it seems.”
“…Still worth checking, isn’t it?”
“Witch! …She really can’t hear.”
“…….”

Given how Ran kept breaking the tension at a crucial moment, I held up my index finger to tell her to be quiet. That’s when something changed.

and blue eyes met mine.
Beneath that grass-green hood was a face far younger than I’d expected.
At a reasonable distance, I could see her pupils moving distinctly in those vivid blue eyes.

Why was she doing that?

“She’s stopped moving.”

I studied her more closely. Whatever they said about her being a witch, her expression was nothing like it. If anything, she looked like some small animal caught completely off guard. The bent fingers still frozen mid-turn told the story.

Then, slowly, she began to rise.

“She’s standing now.”

The witch descended from the tomb with deliberate slowness.

I drew a sword from my Inventory. The national treasure.

“Are you going to fight?”

Thirty paces or so between us.

Perhaps it was the battle with those minions yesterday. My tension level had risen slightly.
Yet even upon seeing the weapon, the witch did not stop, and drew closer to me with deliberate, measured steps.

As she neared, her expression became clearer. Much about her was strange. Her drooping eyes seemed too kind to belong to a witch, and her approach was cautious to an almost excessive degree.

“I will prevent your approach.”
…….

When the distance had narrowed to roughly twenty paces, Ran stepped between us.
This meant Ran had drawn closer to the witch. For the first time, the witch’s gaze fell upon Ran, and her brow furrowed slightly.

“Her expression changed.”
“…She seems to dislike it?”
“That is correct.”

I considered the possibility that this witch might be the “enemy” who had struck down Ran and taken her life.

“Step back for now.”
“Understood.”

And as Ran quietly retreated, the witch’s face brightened once more.
Here I felt something odd—both then and now. The witch saw only me. As though she knew me, or perhaps beyond that, as though we were close companions.
If I had to liken it, it was like an elephant whose eyes had met mine, shifting its hindquarters and eager to approach me.

‘…Why an elephant, of all things?’

As this inexplicable simile flickered through my mind, I felt oddly unsettled—and that elephant-like witch abruptly smiled at me.

…….

Lips curved gently upward. Eyes narrowed slightly on one side, carrying an undertone of sorrow.

The witch gazed at me and smiled.

…….

The witch resumed her steps. Now her hands rose slowly as well. Whether she meant to embrace me or something else, I could not say.
And finally, when the distance had closed to roughly ten paces, a Status Window suddenly appeared before me.

(ㅇω│Unknown Status Window│ㅂㅇ)♥

These were Reconnaissance Spirits. Moreover, not just one but two of them.
Why had these bastards shown up here…?
For now, I pretended not to see. Reconnaissance Spirits flee the moment they realize they’ve been spotted.

That was when it happened. The witch, who had been hovering at ten paces, suddenly lurched forward. I suspected the Reconnaissance Spirits had nudged her along—to bring her closer to me. Reconnaissance Spirits have a habit of encouraging interactions to occur.

…….

But perhaps because of this unexpected shove, as the witch stumbled forward some three paces, her hood fell back.
What it revealed was hair the color of the sky.
And….

‘Oh.’

……A demon.

“Ran. Get out of the way.”

Lan jumped back urgently, and I reflexively drew the Colossus Soldier Sword. Then I chanted the activation words.

Boom—

Mana vastly strengthened since the incident with Valmond and the Nibelung Family erupted across the entire space.

The mana radiating outward began to bear down upon the earth—the movement of an invisible divine soldier rising to its feet.

Thud, thud, thud, thud…

The entire space of Starlight Meeting Mountain trembled. The witch, with seven paces remaining between us, began backing away. Her eyes widened, emptied of all mirth.

“……?”

But now it was I who moved forward. There was no reason to hold back. Demons must be cut down.
As I drew nearer, the demon floundered, then began to retreat. That was truly strange. She had approached me of her own accord. Now she meant to flee?

“So that is your strategy.”
“……?”
“You survived this long by doing exactly that.”

Anyone can play innocent. Demons do it too. The Two-Horned Demon I killed yesterday did just that. The one who tried to fire an anti-tank rocket at the student dormitory wore a gentle expression.

I owe the Reconnaissance Spirit a debt of gratitude.

If I hadn’t known it was a demon, that monster would have approached me, leveled its blade, and I would have died fooled by its innocent face and careful movements.

“Grave Witch, they call you. A fitting name indeed….”

But something was wrong. Why did it have two horns? A Two-Horned Demon should only appear in the middle-to-late stages of the main story.
If that were truly a Two-Horned Demon, there would be no point in fleeing. Without reaching Starlight Seat rank, it couldn’t even be considered an opponent.

“Lan!”
“Yes!”
“Is this demon truly a Two-Horned Demon?”
“Yes! But it is an abnormally manifested entity! I suspect it cannot even reach ten percent of maximum output!”

Lan had said earlier that in this place “that which should have died within the order yet lives.” It seemed to be afflicted with a bug.

“……??”

Even now it played innocent, feigned surprise, seeking an opening—but it wasn’t funny.

I had to kill it now.

Before this demon broke free from the bug and destroyed Hiaka.

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