Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 15

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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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Episode 15
EP7 – Balloon Bone! (2)

Long ago in Hiaka, there were two clans of canine Beast-Humans.
To make a comparison, one was a Retriever, and the other was a Doberman.
They say even lions come when called by name.

● Bal Mung, First Year, Jamryong Academy

That was precisely him.
He was a son of the Black Path cartel, the Nibellung Family, and a descendant of the Doberman Beast-Human line.

“Come out.”
“…….”

At my command, the male student who had been hiding among the bushes emerged.
Elise’s brow furrowed.

“Bal Mung. How gloomy.”
“What can I do about it. …Good to see you, Professor.”

He lowered his head with a sharp bow.

Though both were descendants of Beast-Humans, their presence felt entirely different.
If Elise felt like cotton candy,
Bal Mung felt like steel.

Black-rimmed square glasses. Hair swept back with pomade, angular and sharp.
Elise wore a white shirt with a neatly creased harness,
while Bal Mung’s clothes were pressed with military precision.

“What were you doing? Hiding there so miserably.”
“…My apologies. I happened to notice you during physical training, and I was curious whether you would detect my Concealment.”
“I don’t care for being tested.”
“…My sincere apologies once more. You saw through me the moment I hid. I’m ashamed of my own level.”

Bal Mung bowed his head again.
The keywords that symbolized his Nibellung bloodline were obsession, fighting spirit, and loyalty——and he carried those traits properly.

“If you’ve got nothing else to do, come sit.”
“Yes.”

Truly a rigid demeanor.
Even soldiers would take a step back from such discipline.

There was an interesting fact here, though.
Their personalities and behavioral patterns were complete opposites.

Elise, the Retriever, originally came from a Hunting Dog lineage,
while Bal Mung, the Doberman, came from a Service Dog lineage.

“You do this.”

I handed the finished Balloon Dog to Bal Mung.

“……?”

According to the Script, Bal Mung seemed puzzled as to why I was giving this to him. His expression remained rigid.

“Come on. Take it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the gift.”
“Bal Mung. Want the flower too?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Take it. The professor made this one too, and it’s pretty~”

Bal Mung suddenly found himself laden with flowers, a dog, a sword, and a giraffe all at once.
But Elise didn’t give him a single Balloon Bone.

“You make one too.”

So I fashioned a white Balloon Bone and handed it over.
With both hands full of balloons, Bal Mung’s eyes darted back and forth between me and the creation, searching for somewhere to put it all.

【 Jamryong Academy 1st Year Bal Mung : ‘What is this……?’ 】
【 Jamryong Academy 1st Year Bal Mung : ‘Why all of a sudden…….’ 】

A flicker of conflict crossed his features, creasing them slightly.
A body ruled entirely by pride.
He was born into the son of a crime boss and had lived that way ever since.
Yet ultimately, his resolve could not hold.

【 Jamryong Academy 1st Year Bal Mung : ‘……It’s a bone.’ 】

A Doberman is still a dog, after all.

┃ Relationship Level increased : Bal Mung [6] (▲6)
┃ Reward : Star Fragment × 6

Good.

After that, I kept making all manner of balloon art and handing them to Bal Mung. He accepted each one with reluctance, though accept them he did.
And as he did, he began to question me about things, almost as if he were interrogating me.

“Do you often come to Central Park on your days off?”
“First time today, actually. Nice place. Spacious. And the fallen leaves——”
“You like nature?”
“Just so-so.”
“Ah, I see…. I do like it. Oh, the crepes over at that food stall are quite good.”
“Smells decent.”
“Yes. They’re famous. Shall I buy you one?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I insist. I’ll get one for you.”
“Here, take some money. It’s awkward otherwise.”
“No, sir.”
“Take it. If a professor starts eating off a student’s dime, people will talk.”

I flipped a 100 Hika Silver Coin to Bal Mung.
But why did both he and Elise show me such kindness?
Apparently word had gotten around inside Jamryong Academy. Treat him well, they were saying, if you want him to be your mentor.
As Bal Mung moved away, Elise leaned in close and whispered near my ear.

“He doesn’t have a dad either, you know……”
“Hm? Oh. Right.”
“Do you have one, professor?”
“Me. No.”

Dante doesn’t have one either, it seems. Neither do I.

“Hmm. So you’re saying none of you have a father?”

For some reason, Elise laughed.
She sounded like a pure lunatic.

Bal Mung returned shortly and handed over a waffle—100 Hika Silver Coins in change. Or rather, it seemed he’d bought it with his own money.
At that, Elise conjured a question mark above her head.

“That’s for me?”
“No.”
“That’s cruel. Then yours?”
“No. I bought this to feed to the Professor, so why would I buy one for you and one for me?”
“That’s so cruel. And gloomy. I hate it.”
“…Elise. Didn’t you hide and sneak around too?”
“No, I didn’t? I knew I’d get caught anyway. He’s just being gloomy, but I’m being cautious…??”

The conversation had become a complete mess.
So I broke my waffle into thirds and shared it.
The two of them accepted it quietly and ate together.
It tasted good.

“Professor, I…”

Bal Mung broached the subject carefully then.
He cleared his throat as if his voice had caught, and continued.

“Ah, my apologies. How exactly do you train, Professor?”

I was doing so even now, but that didn’t seem to be what he was asking.

“Why do you ask?”
“For your age, you seem extraordinarily strong. And I myself am desperate to become stronger.”
“Aren’t you already quite powerful?”
“That’s what Kaiser says—that we’d rank among the very strongest for our age across the entire continent.”

It was undeniably true.
But in a world where the average lifespan of High Rankers was one hundred and forty years,
youth was a fatal weakness.

“Each person has their own methods. Sniping is your primary skill, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I specialize in Magic as a secondary.”
“On the training methods for those two disciplines, my knowledge and yours will likely differ greatly.”

And at this juncture, it would serve him better to awaken to such things himself rather than have me instruct him—he was a genius, after all.

“Ah, I see…”

Day was beginning to fade.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Since their very presence posed an assassination threat, I started to stand, but Bal Mung rose with me and asked,

“Professor. Would you perhaps have time tomorrow?”
“What’s this about?”
“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, might I request Assassination Sparring with you once?”

His expression had gone rigid.
A tense look settled over his face.

Assassination Sparring is the sparring version of Assassination Combat.

“I’ve truly been wanting to try Assassination Sparring with you, Professor.”
“Why?”
“……The truth is, Kaiser mentioned it. He said that if I were to spar in Assassination Combat with Professor Dante, I would certainly gain tremendous insight.”

Nonsense. He must have mistaken me for something far more impressive than I am.
If these prodigies—not ordinary cadets, but genuine geniuses—came at me with desperation, there was a real possibility I wouldn’t walk away.

“I don’t engage in one-sided or meaningless combat.”
“…….”

Bal Mung’s eyes twitched at the corners.
His pride as a prodigy, clearly wounded.

“…I understand that isn’t quite fair. I’ve heard you were disappointed by half-hearted or poorly executed assassinations. I promise you, I won’t disappoint you.”

The Script showed what blazed across his mind: genuine hunger to grow. He really did want to test himself against me.
But that desire wasn’t reason enough for me to take the risk.

“Fine. We’ll see each other again.”
“…Yes. I apologize for pressing you on something so unreasonable. Please go on ahead. I’ll make another request next time.”

As I turned to leave, Elise trotted alongside me, speaking up.

“You’re really just going to leave like that?”
“You should head back too. It’ll be night soon.”
“That’s a shame.”
“What is?”
“If you’d sparred with Bal Mung, I was going to ask you to do Assassination Sparring with me too.”
“I refuse.”
“Shouldn’t people without fathers help each other out?”
“…….”

It seemed like this was no longer just about Balloon Dogs or any of that nonsense.
I decided to understand.
Those of us without fathers have to help each other survive.

Elise waved goodbye only after I’d reached the Professor Building.

“See you again, Professor.”

I felt like I’d just taken a puppy for a walk.
Strange as it was, she was genuinely a good kid.

* * *

“Balloon bone…♪ Balloon bone…♪”

Elise, clutching five Balloon Bones, made her way toward Jamryong Hall.
Beneath the shade of trees.
A handful of female cadets from the Black Path, smoking Cigarettes, saw Elise and curled their lips in sneering smiles.

“Look at her, all cheerful. That White Path maggot.”

* * *

“The Neutral Path Professors’ forum scheduled for today is canceled due to an urgent condolence visit by Superintendent Battalion.”

The superintendent remained absent the following day as well.
It was the same even though a different professor had shown up than yesterday.

┃ Schedule Cancelled: [Neutral Path Professors Forum]

Another schedule struck from the record.
Five Star Fragments gone, just like that.
The helplessness of these Neutral Path Professors grated on me.
Yet none of them voiced any real objection.

“Sigh…”
“Shall we head out?”

They simply yawned and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, the Doberman’s obsession that flowed through Bal Mung’s blood had begun to manifest.

“Professor.”

After refusing the Assassination Sparring in the park, Bal Mung had returned countless times, pressing me again and again.

“Would it be possible to request an Assassination Sparring session?”
“I must refuse.”
“Yes. I apologize for the trouble.”

Yet even with my refusal, the requests persisted.

“Professor.”
In the hallway.

“Professor.”
In my office.

“Professor.”
On the street…

Unable to bear it any longer, I furrowed my brow.

“Look, Bal Mung. Go on now, get out of here.”
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No, no. I mean leave for good. Don’t come looking for me next time.”
“Understood. I sincerely apologize.”

I thought that would finally settle it.
The very next day, there was a handwritten letter on my desk—Bal Mung’s cramped, uneven script reading something like [Esteemed Professor, I humbly beseech you to teach me one technique as an assassin…]—a request for Assassination Sparring, no less.

‘This kid really will try anything.’

Regrettably, I refused.

┃ Schedule Confirmed: [Neutral Path Professors Forum]
┃ Reward: Star Fragment × 5

In that stretch of time, the forum was scheduled once more.

┃ Schedule Cancelled: [Neutral Path Professors Forum]

And once more, it was cancelled.

“…My apologies, everyone. Today’s Neutral Path Professors Forum is cancelled due to the Chief Professor’s absence.”

This was already the third time.
At this point, it felt excessive.
I was getting irritated—at the Neutral Path Professors’ irresponsible attitude.

“Ugh. This one’s pretty bad. What, three cancellations in a row….”
“Yeah. Can’t be helped, I suppose.”

It was just as the other Neutral Path Professors and I were filing out of the Seminar Hall building together.
A commotion had erupted in front of the Seminar Hall.

—Hey, you White Path bastard. You think you’re that good?

What in the world.
What kind of scene is this in broad daylight?

Beyond the throng of Neutral Path Professors who’d left first, about twenty-five meters away at the base of the stairs, two female cadets were fighting.
And they were using their abilities to do it.

“Come on! Huh?! Come on, then!”

One side was the elite cadets from Wol Young Academy that I recognized by name—Marina, the one from the Black Path who always stuck with Kendraike, and her gang.
The other side… I furrowed my brow.

“…Stop. Please. Okay?”

It was Elise.
Her legs were caught in a trap, bleeding steadily.

“Go on. Don’t just stand there scared, running your mouth. Do it!”

It was clearly a 3-on-1 bullying situation, and I was beyond baffled—the Neutral Path Professors were standing there with their hands down, watching the whole thing unfold.

Why weren’t they stepping in? This wasn’t assassination or anything—it was a breach of School Rules.
That’s when I caught the conversation from the professors in front.

“Should we maybe break it up? It looks serious….”
“Leave it.”
“You’re new on the Neutral Path, so you might not know—but Marina’s Black Path and Elise is White Path. So why would we stop it? We’re neutral.”
“But still… what if the kids actually die….”
“Surely they’re not going to kill anyone?”
“Let’s just watch how it plays out for now. Looks like a love spat anyway.”

Again, it was that helplessness that grated on me.

‘I’m furious.’

Three consecutive forum cancellations. The Neutral Path Professors’ idiotic conversation. All of it was rubbing me the wrong way.
What made the irritation sharper was that Elise kept glancing toward the professors—as if begging for help.
And yet the professors stood idle, watching a little longer as the fight went on.
I took a step forward and pushed through the tightly packed cluster of professors.

“Hey. What are you doing. Don’t push.”

One of the professors tried to shove my arm aside, and for some reason, a sharp anger flared in me.

“Move. You done gawking?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said are you done gawking, you maggot.”

The Neutral Path Professor I’d turned to look at him stood frozen in shock.
I met his gaze without flinching, and I didn’t censor the words that came from my mouth.

“The kid’s bleeding.”

The professor went rigid.
I shoved him aside and descended the stairs. Straight into the heart of the fighting.

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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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