Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 28

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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 28
Crow said that two hundred million was two hundred million over seven years in Hikara.
Even so, it was clear my market value had risen again.
Once it became certain I wasn’t affiliated with Baekdo, it seemed Heukdo had started wanting me.
You live long enough, you experience everything. I never thought I’d see the day when two factions would be fighting over me like this.
But what could I do now? The truth was, I didn’t kill Hacon, so going over would be useless anyway, and if I defected to Heukdo, there was a high chance something serious would happen on the Baekdo side.

“I’ll decline.”
“Caw?”
“Tell them this: the offer is appreciated, but I prefer working alone.”

Crow stroked my head and let me go.
I had a feeling I’d be declining recruitment offers for a long time to come.
Standing at that delicate fulcrum was the only thing keeping me alive.

DLC [The Professors of a Heroic World]: Mid-Check (1)

───
Scene # 1 – The Professors ◀
Scene # 2 – Kaiser
Scene # 3 – Eve
Scene # 4 – Dante Hiakhapo
───

They say beautiful women have it hard. I’m neither beautiful nor a woman, but I think I understood the reason.

“Ha. Lovely weather, wouldn’t you say?”
“It’s a transitional season. What’s so lovely about it?”

On the street—the Baekdo professor on the left, the Heukdo professor on the right.

“Professor, this flounder tempura here is excellent—you should try it.”
“Talk is all Heukdo knows how to do. Dante, I brought two—here, take one….”

In the Faculty Cafeteria—Baekdo professors on the left, Heukdo professors on the right.

“…….”
“…….”

In the Faculty Restroom urinal stalls—Baekdo professor on the left, Heukdo on the right…… These maniacs, there are seven stalls.

Despite my refusal of their offer, both factions continued trying to cultivate my favor.
At that, Adel laughed quietly.

“Professor, you’re quite popular.”
“…….”

It was nothing but troublesome for me.
I had to maintain Neutral status, after all.

Just as there were those who wanted me—Heukdo and Baekdo—there were others who opposed me.
The Neutral faculty members, who had no reason to covet me.

From the moment I’d broken up the fight between Elise and Marina, they’d subtly disliked me, and lately that sentiment had only grown.

That evening, after meeting with Eve before it got too late.
I was in the Department Office handling some paperwork when it happened.

“What’s the point if a professor kills another professor?”

Some professor had shoved past me while saying that.

● Neutral Professor Collider

There were other professors in the office.
At his words, every eye turned toward me.
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“That’s nonsense. Go look up the Discipline Division regulations.”
“Hmph. Well. Those idiots who like to cover their eyes and pretend ignorance—why should I trust what they say?”
“If you choose to do it, do it properly. It’s not my concern.”
“Fine, then. Professor. But I’d like to offer you some advice—act with maturity. If you go around swinging your strength like that, you’re just courting disaster.”
……

Truth was, I already knew.
That my words wouldn’t land on him.

“I know you’re strong, so show some restraint. Not everyone can just skip over the professors they hate because they can’t use Assassination, you know.”
“What restraint? I haven’t done anything.”
“Sure, sure. God, that’s terrifying. Are you going to kill me too?”

I met Collider’s eyes directly.

“Want me to?”
“What?”

Collider flinched.

“Did you just…?”
“I was joking.”

The Neutral professor ground his teeth as he trembled, and I turned away.
In this Assassination Department where black and white clashed and fractured into conflict, the reason a gray figure could exist was twofold.

One: a professor so great he had no need to belong to any faction.
Two: a weak professor that no faction would accept.

In my case, I’d originally been category two. But somehow I was living as category one now.
Collider, on the other hand, was unambiguously category one—a Master-ranked warrior in the top 0.01% of martial artists, educated in the elite tradition and revered within the department.

“Don’t mind it too much, Professor Dante. Professor Collider’s just a bit sensitive about Assassination, that’s all.”

Amusingly, Shark, the Heukdo professor, tried to comfort me, though his thoughts offered little solace.

【 Heukdo Professor Shark: ‘Still, those Neutral types have been making it clear they really hate Professor Dante lately…… Well, of course. Nobody maintains Neutrality out of fondness, and then suddenly a professor with no name value gets praised—they’re bound to resent that.’ 】

The Neutral professors seemed to harbor jealousy. That I was courted by both Heukdo and Baekdo.

‘Especially with the senior professors preparing a mass defection right now.’

The main story kept drawing closer with each passing moment.

‘Only the senior professors are defecting, so someone like Collider is basically a loose thread waiting to be cut.’

Looked at from that angle, he was just a poor bastard who picked the wrong side.

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly bothered by it anyway.
Like or dislike it, makes no difference to me.

Meanwhile, I found myself caught up in one incident after another until, at last, I had a moment of respite.

‘It’s time I started hunting Demons and acquiring Fragments of Star in earnest.’

Dragged here and there, tangled in this situation and that, my mind had harbored only one thought.
Assassination of Demons.
The acquisition of Fragments of Star through it.
I hadn’t begun yet, but now that I had time, I could proceed little by little.

To do that, I needed to find a Demon.

And then something ridiculous happened.

The location was near the Professor District Mansion.

“Adel. Who in the hell is that bastard?”

I asked, watching the man standing in the garden across the way.
At my question, Adel’s eyes widened, and he glanced sideways at the man.

“Ah, well… That’s the new professor, Toxin. He was brought in from the Heukdo faction to fill the vacancy left by Professor Hacon. I’m not sure where he’s from originally.”

I’d been expecting him to show up sooner or later.
So he’d finally arrived.

“…….”
“……Is something wrong? Do you know him?”

A Demon without horns.
He’d revealed himself at the academy.

● Toxin, Hornless Demon

The moment I saw him, I felt a fierce rage bloom inside me.
It seemed to be hostility kindled toward humanity’s enemy, as if written into the system imprinted on me as a User.
Did I know him?

“……I think I do.”

If I were to compare the feeling, it was like the revulsion one would feel catching sight of a serpent’s fang slithering into a tent amid a peaceful camp, reaching to bite one’s children—an instinctive hatred so primal that if there were a stone, one would smash its skull without hesitation.
This was no passing dismissal; this was pure, reflexive loathing.

‘…….’

I’d expected him to come. I’d known we would fight. I’d wanted the Fragment of Star.
But the moment he appeared before me openly, all such reasoning was shoved to the back of my mind.
What remained was a revulsion so overwhelming that even I was startled by its intensity.

───
Scene # 1 – The Professors
Scene # 2 – Kaiser ◀
Scene # 3 – Eve
Scene # 4 – Dante
───

“Welcome, Cadet.”

At the old man’s words, a man appeared, limping forward on a cane.
The man gave a slight bow, then settled into a chair across from the Elder, crossing his legs.

“Thank you for receiving me.”

The man’s identity was Kaiser.
Like today, he met periodically with the Royal Elder Council.

“It’s rather cold today, isn’t it? Do have some tea.”
“Thank you. It’s warm and fragrant.”
“How have you been lately? I must confess, every time I meet with you my heart races with excitement. Ha ha.”
“I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you this time. These days I’ve been tending an apple tree in the courtyard behind Sleeping Dragon Academy.”

As the two exchanged small talk, the Royal Elder adjusted his spectacles.
No matter how many times he saw the boy, there was something unsettling about him. Born the son of a commoner—not even a noble—yet he sat here before a Royal Elder of aristocratic blood with such composure.

“Might I inquire about your recent activities?”

The Elder broached the subject carefully, but Kaiser only smiled gently.

“Of late, everyone has been diligently focused on their studies.”

After speaking a while longer, the Elder sighed inwardly.
That cunning fox of a boy.
One would expect a youth wielding such disproportionate power to flaunt it or wield it openly. Yet Kaiser showed no such inclination whatsoever.
He concealed everything thoroughly, revealing only what was necessary—and as a result, the Crown still had no clear sense of how formidable Sleeping Dragon Academy truly was, nor what Kaiser’s true purpose might be.
Discerning his strength and taking hold of the reins was precisely the point of this meeting.

“This has been most pleasant.”

Once again, the meeting had yielded nothing of substance.
Exasperated, the Elder ventured an observation.

“Kaiser, if an old neighbor might offer you a word of counsel?”
“Yes. I shall take it to heart.”
“If you only ever hide yourself away, you cannot expect help from any of the adults around you. When people form bonds with one another, they must share some measure of sincerity. That is how it works.”
“I see.”
“I do not know what great enterprise you mean to undertake, but you cannot accomplish it alone. A child learns by watching the back of a hero as he walks forward. That is how one finds the righteous path—and when that hero grows weary and falters, a child can take up his will and carry on. In that regard, you…”

The admonishment continued a while longer.

“Thank you for your counsel.”

Kaiser bowed respectfully and stepped outside.
In truth, the advice had scarcely registered.
What was he supposed to do?
He hadn’t wanted to be here in the first place.
Yet one phrase from the Elder had lodged itself in Kaiser’s mind.

‘If you only hide yourself away, you cannot receive help from any adult.’

There was a time when Kaiser too had feared precisely that.
And that anxiety had gnawed at his spirit, growing deeper with each passing day.
But that was different now.

A child learns by watching the back of a hero?

‘Yes. That is truth.’

The Elder did not know one crucial thing.
The Elder had spoken as though the Royal Elder Council hoped he would become its hero.
But Kaiser had already made his resolve to move forward by the example of a different hero.

Someone who offered him unconditional support,
someone from whom he could seek genuine counsel in the face of hardship.
A solitary hero—the only one that mattered.

‘……Professor Dante Hiacapo.’

Today, for the first time in a while, he decided to send a message.

– To Professor Dante: Hello, Professor.

For someone like Kaiser, who seemed to contact only those he wished to avoid, correspondence with Dante was the highest form of healing—a dopamine rush.

– To Professor Dante: Hello, Professor.

But doubt crept in: what if contacting him too often became tiresome? The worry had begun to take root.

– To Professor Dante: Hello, Pro—

He deleted the message. It wasn’t right to offer empty pleasantries like this; he should only reach out once he had something to show for it, some achievement worth sharing.

“…….”

At that moment,
Kaiser found himself reflecting once more on the nature of Righteousness.

Repaying the kindness of one who had supported him—that was Righteousness.
For Kaiser, it had all been new.
The absence of revulsion at killing. The catharsis that flooded through him when he subdued a hostile force. And so on.

Yet more than that, for the first time, he—who had always been swayed by others—had made a decisive choice of his own volition and brought it to fruition.
And the spiritual satisfaction he felt from it was equally unprecedented.

– Dante: What you believe to be righteous is Righteousness itself.

Whether good or evil, to carry out what you deem correct
and see it through to its end—that is what matters.

And in that moment of reflection, Kaiser gazed into his own heart for the first time in his life.

If the heart were a garden, his was an abandoned courtyard. Seeds scattered by others had grown wild, and weeds choked it in an untended, tangled mess.
But as he pushed through the brambles and walked forward, Kaiser found himself facing an expanse of barren earth he had not seen in ages.

Could he plant something too?

Was it enough merely to strike down the Professor’s enemies? Could he claim to have established Righteousness through that alone? And if not—could he not take another step forward?

Of course, now was not the time. There was far too much he still needed to do. Yet this thought took root like a seed, settling in his heart—in the clearing where the brambles had been swept away.

“…….”

If rain were to fall,
then one day, even this barren earth would blossom with new shoots.

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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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