Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 146

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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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Chapter 146
EP31 – The Betting Table, The Marquis League (3)

The days blur together in relentless motion.
Scheduling the cadets’ training and expeditions, checking their health and equipment and condition—all while carving out time for my own training regimen. For the next venture ahead.

And through it all, I felt the weight of recognition settling in.
The moment I opened the mailbox at the Dormitory Residence, letters came pouring out—interview requests, meeting proposals, correspondence from countless news outlets and figures. I tossed them all aside without looking.

For three weeks straight.
Shaman began his usual pestering from beyond the Crystal Orb.

– You know, why don’t you put your face on a few interviews? Some broadcast appearances?
“…I’m not sure.”
– Your name and face will spread through the Empire anyway. Might as well speed it up, right? Besides, people here in Hiaka are dying to know more about you. Everyone’s talking about it!
“…….”
– Your Assassination Unit’s been soaring in the Marquis League, and the whole department’s seeing incredible trickle-down benefits. Word is they’re willing to push you with everything they’ve got.

In short: do some public outreach.

“I’ll give it some thought.”

I left it at that and ended the call.
Interviews.
Broadcast appearances.
Public outreach.
It would be beneficial, certainly.
Build my profile, become a star professor.
Unlock greater opportunities later in the Duke League, the Capital League, and beyond.
And when the Paradigm shift arrives, the academic world would shower me with attention.

‘Besides, what happened with Dante and Abeltus wasn’t even that extraordinary.’

And yet the reason I’ve held back from going public is simple.

‘…Honestly, I don’t have the confidence.’

Everyone still believes I’m a brilliant professor.
But the truth is, every success hinges on the system carrying me, on performance, on carefully crafted image. I know that.
I’ve just been lucky enough each time to muddle through. So what happens if I slip up once on camera?
I think broadcast media is a cruel thing. The moment a single mistake is made, or something ugly buried deep inside surfaces—it’s frozen forever, endlessly recycled into a permanent liability.
So I reconsidered.

– Professor~! Come do an interview with us!

The next day, Adel reached out with a similar proposal.

– Professor, shouldn’t we do some broadcasts? The second-place team from last time did tons of interviews….

Grey, whose follower count on the Empire’s Starfield social network had stalled at 199,900, made a comparable pitch.

– Hmm, not that I was trying to hit exactly 100k followers or anything….

What could I do?
And so, now.

“…….”

I laid out Cain, Abeltus, and Dante before me and asked seriously.

“What would you think of having a broadcast-quality Phantom Body?”

At my question,

“That sounds good….”

Professor Cain, who found everything in the world good, approved.

“I concur, my lord. It would be excessive for you to reveal yourself directly to such base creatures.”

Abeltus, the man-hating war strategist, assented as well.

“I oppose it.”

The Phantom Body version of Dante interjected then, crossing his arms.
Oppose?

“Why?”
“Because it’s an utterly worthless idea.”
“It’s better to have a fixed Phantom Body than for me to commit human error directly. It hardly makes mistakes at all.”
“That’s absurdly stupid reasoning…. Your logic is flawed.”
“How so?”
“The fact that you’re even asking that proves you’re an idiot.”

……What’s with this guy. Why is he so hostile.

‘Ah.’

This one…?

‘It’s the Negation Dante.’

The one who denied everything at Starlight Meeting Mountain before, driving both Royal Knight Kashan and me to madness. I should have fixed him long ago. But then life got so hectic I forgot.

‘While I’m at it, let me adjust this variable nuisance.’

Just as I was about to touch the Negation Dante’s mind,
an urgent message came from an acquaintance.

– Professor Dante! I hope you’re in good health?
“Professor Bilemons. It’s been a while.”
– It’s good to see you’re doing so well lately.

It was Professor Bilemons from the Systemic Society.

– My students are having their first adventure in the Marquis League today, you see.
“You must have your hands full with preparations.”
– Ha ha ha. Thank you. I do hope they do as well as you have, professor.

I felt a bit of warmth at this.
I had heard in passing that Forte, Hwaru, and Dominic—the “three fools”—had become members of an assassination unit under Bilemons.

‘Ordinarily, those idiots wouldn’t qualify for the Empire.’

Wasn’t this also a trickle-down effect? As the Dante Assassination Unit thrived, so too did the Bilemons Assassination Unit debut in the Marquis League.

– But one of my students was badly injured yesterday.
“…Is it Dominic?”
– Ah. No, it’s not me. It’s my son who’s injured. The foolish boy broke his toe, and…….

Bilemons’ Son was also a student, and appeared to be the fourth member following the trio of fools.

– So I was thinking of popping into a C+ rank dungeon just briefly. Would it be possible to borrow just one unit member as a mercenary?

A mercenary?
I could refuse, but that would be the end of it.
By Marquis League standards, you couldn’t attempt a quest without a minimum of four members.
I called Valmond to the dormitory residence’s common room.

“Valmond.”
“You called for me?”
“If you have free time today, would you be willing to work as a mercenary for Bilemons’ Unit for a while?”
“Yes. I shall.”

Formal posture.
Not a single question raised.
The bearing of an instrument.

“By the way, where have the others gone?”
“They’re all conducting their individual training, I believe. As for myself, today is my scheduled rest day.”

That afternoon, I went to find Bilemons’ Unit with Valmond in tow.
For me, it had been a long time since I’d seen the trio of fools.
Wolf, rabbit, pig.
The moment they saw me, they practically leaped into the air.

“Ah, Professor. It’s been so long.”
“Wow…!”
“Professor Dante. I’ve been hearing stories about you lately. (…pfft)”

Here again, I felt the weight of my newfound popularity from entering this league.
During ordinary classes, they’d sit eagerly in the front rows, chatting familiarly with me.
Now they approached with a subtly stiffened demeanor—like observing a neighbor’s son who’d been accepted to medical school.
After some idle chatter, Hwaru ventured carefully, “Professor, you’re not going to pretend not to know us…?”

“Professor, you’re not going to pretend you don’t know us, are you…?”
“Why would I pretend not to know you?”
“Because we’re not strong enough…?”

Worthless talk.

“Professor Bilemons, if you don’t mind, would you like me to assess the children’s condition?”
“Yes, yes. Oh, that would be wonderful!”

To integrate Valmond and conduct a simple evaluation, I sent forth monsters, created cliffs, and threw them into various scenarios. That was why skilled Illusion Magic assassins commanded such high prices.
And I couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised.

“Huff, huff… How was it?”

Forte asked with a grin, confidence evident on his face. Understandably so.
Unexpectedly, the three had reached a considerable level of advancement.
It was development that made even a teacher covet further growth.
I’d thought they were a rural quota entering the Empire.
But that wasn’t the case at all.

“When did you get this strong?”

In response to my question, the three answered with hardened expressions.

“Since the Zinksite Incident, I’ve been working very hard.”
“That’s right….”
“I’ve thought a lot about needing to do well, and since the Capital was decided, I’ve been training without sleep.”

A pinwheel spins inside me. Yes. Hiaka stands before an unprecedented opportunity. Everyone, from their own position, is clenching their teeth and climbing upward.

“We have to do well…. There’s a reason.”

Hwaru spoke with a hardened expression.

“What reason?”
“The competition ratio for our Capital selection was 9 to 1, you see? Which means we beat out the other eight teams to come here. If we fail, we can’t face them….”

The rabbit’s expression was gravity incarnate.
I like people with desire, and these three fools were starting to grow on me. I wanted things to work out for them just as well as they had for our people.

But then…….

Perhaps the Trickle-down Effect didn’t mean only good things fell downward.
Even if only a drop or two of poison mixed into the falling water, those below couldn’t escape it, could they?

“…Ah, hello there.”

The problem was discovered in Bilemons’ son. His toes were completely shattered. There was no way he could make the dungeon run in three or four hours.

“How did you get hurt?”
“I fell wrong while running…. I’m sorry…. With such a great opportunity….”

The boy hung his head like a criminal.

“It’s fine, kid. Professor Dante is helping you, isn’t he? Don’t lose heart like that.”

Bilemons comforted his son.
If you just looked at the injury itself, it would be something to brush off.
But I didn’t miss the 【Script】 that flickered past.

【 Bilemons’ Son: ‘Should I tell them it was from those Outsider Association trainees…? No…. I’m already being looked down on for being from Hiaka, and if I say something, it’ll only make the conflict worse….’ 】

The Outsider Association?
Those people—they’d tried to recruit me not long ago.
A drop of water falls in my inner landscape. One drop, then another, but the color was pitch black.

“I’m fine! Thank you for helping….”

Bilemons’ son smiled and bowed his head, but I was already uneasy.
Because our Dante Assassination Unit came in through the department head’s direct connection with the Marquis League. But all the other Hiaka assassination units come through the ‘Marquis League Outsider Adventurer Association.’
I knew the Outsider Association was quite inconvenienced by me.
Because I had rejected their recruitment offer.

“Everyone, could you gather for a moment?”

I went outside and called over the three fools and Valmond.

“We’re going to conduct an inspection of the association-issued equipment.”
“Now?”
“We depart in thirty minutes….”

There was no need to persuade them.

“Proceed.”

At my word, the four of them laid out the equipment they’d received from the Adventurer Association. They did it because I asked, though their expressions betrayed confusion.
Every adventure comes with support. No one descends into a dungeon empty-handed. At minimum, there’s a first-aid kit or potions. At most, full gear provisions.
Among the items, something caught my eye.

＊ 「Life Constellation♥」 Inverse Summon Earring [Rare, Constellation Mark, Defective]

This was Constellation Mark equipment known as the “Miracle of the Life Constellation♥”—the most widely manufactured and replicated gear in existence.
An earring that triggers an inverse summon back outside the dungeon when an adventurer or combatant sustains a fatal wound.
The final safety mechanism that keeps adventurers and fighters alive—even as playthings for entertainment.

“…Professor. Is something wrong?”

I don’t know what my face showed. But it couldn’t have been good—not when Valmond and Professor Bilemons and the other three all turned grave.

“It’s defective.”
“…Defective? This earring?”

Professor Bilemons hurried over to inspect it. He wavered—until he channeled mana into it and saw it light up, apparently functioning perfectly.

“The circuits look normal to me.”
“The light-source circuits are fine. But the inverse summon Constellation Mark portion—it won’t activate properly.”
“Still, if there’s at least a Life Constellation Mark…”

There was no point in explaining further. I picked up Dominic’s hand axe and brought it down on the earring.

Crash!!

What happened next was extraordinary—the earring exploded. It split cleanly in two and shattered the wooden table, yet the Constellation Mark had manifested to crudely repair only the fractured portions.

“Oh!”
“This… this is—”

At that undeniable sight, Bilemons and the three others went rigid.
The imagination was inescapable. If such a thing had happened in actual combat… and if it had detonated beside someone’s head.

“Ah.”

That’s when Dominic frowned. When Hwaru asked “Why?”, Dominic pulled up an article on the Crystal Orb.

“In the first deployment of the Dante Assassination Unit, the inverse summon magic on an earring also failed to activate.”
“Oh, that mage—what was her name, Halin?”

And Elise had been the one to save that Halin.

I checked the time.
Thirty minutes remained before dungeon entry. For Bilemons, this was his first adventure after months of preparation since his appointment to the Empire.

“Damn it. These insane bastards…”

Defects were found in his son’s equipment too. An enraged Professor Bilemons grabbed the Crystal Orb to call the Association in a panic.
When an Association staff member picked up, he laid it out: he was Professor Bilemons from Hiaka, and there were certain problems with the inverse summon earrings. That’s what he said. But the response was breathtaking.

– Ah yes, we can exchange those for you.

That response pressed Bilemons’ button.

“What?”
– Pardon?
“Excuse me. Are you really calling that a safe mechanism?”
— “Yes? Oh, no — if it’s defective, we can exchange it for you—”
“No, you damned fool! Are you out of your mind? ‘We can exchange it for you’ — that’s not the point! Your safety device nearly killed someone, and you think swapping it out fixes everything? So if your brakes fail in a few months and someone gets hurt, I should just replace them too? Should I?”

While Bilemons raged like wildfire, I rose from my seat.

“Professor? Why—?”

I could feel it.
This wasn’t something to be settled with words.
This was retaliation, pure and simple — an attack on Hiaka using me as the pretext.
And so I asked.

“Professor Bilemons. Which branch of the Outsider Adventurer Association approved this shipment?”

* * *

Knock, knock.

A man rapped at the door, and it creaked open with a low groan.
But no one answered it.
Looking down, he found his heart skip a beat — a boy so endearingly cute stood there gazing up at him.
This kid would go viral if you posted a photo of him…

“Who are you…?”

The boy tilted his head and asked.

“Ah! Hello there. I’m Trashi Forbtaim from the Assassination Daily. A close colleague of Professor Dante’s — a journalist, you see. Ha ha.”
“……?”
“I’ve come regarding an interview request. Say, are you perhaps the Professor’s son?”
“……??”

He wasn’t Dante’s son, but at the mention of knowing Dante, Cain smiled and opened the door wider.
Then out walked a gruff-looking old man.

“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m Trashi Forbtaim. I’ve come hoping to interview Professor Dante about his great deeds. Ha ha… Might you be the Professor’s grandfather?”
“……”

He wasn’t the grandfather, but Abeltus was pleased enough by the prospect of flattering articles about Dante’s accomplishments, so he showed Trashi to the parlor.

“Right this way, yes? Mm. Yes.”
“If you cause trouble, I’ll kill you.”
“Ha ha ha… *gulp* That won’t be necessary, I assure you……”

Trashi sensed something amiss — the old man’s and the boy’s reactions both seemed subtly off somehow.
But regardless, other journalists were ignored and refused meetings entirely, while he’d been let through. Wasn’t that what connections were all about?
After that exchange, Trashi entered the parlor, and

there sat Dante.

Arms folded.

Legs crossed.

Expression grim.

Terrifying as always, Trashi thought, managing a careful smile.

“Hello, Professor…?”

Dante replied.

“I’m afraid not.”

…What?

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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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