Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 30

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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 30
EP11 – Professor Assassination: Illusion Magic (1)

The setting was the Department Office. I was reviewing various paperwork while preparing questions for a pop quiz.

“Professor Saka. What happened to your arm?”

A middle-aged senior professor had drawn the attention of several others with his arm swaddled in bandages.

“What else. I got hit with a Professor Assassination the other day, and this is what came of it.”
“You were stabbed?”
“Burns. Third degree.”
“My goodness. That’s rough.”
“Indeed. And Professor Saka can’t even use Elemental Protection Magic.”

At that, the middle-aged professor from the Dark School let out a heavy sigh.

“My arm’s throbbing so much……. That’s why I was thinking of skipping the lecture on Localized Ignition Magic…….”
“But you can’t just not teach it, can you? It’s your specialization in magical assassination.”
“Tch. The pain’s fine. The real problem is facing the students like this.”
“Mm. You should probably avoid the students for a while. If an assassination attempt comes in when you’ve got one arm out of commission, it could get dangerous…….”

If a professor had been hurt like that, the student who attacked him would be nearly broken.
I have a reputation as a professor who doesn’t counterattack, but the truth is I can’t.
The other professors counterattack when assassinated.

“Professor Assassination” is, in a sense, both preparatory work and review for the course itself. The nature of the assassination changes depending on the lecture content.
And right now, I’m feeling uneasy.
Until now, in my class “Assassination and Understanding of Abilities,” I’ve been teaching “History of Abilities,” and except for the first day of my appointment, assassination attempts have been few and far between.
But today, I officially began teaching about the 12 Ability Categories.
The first unit was Illusion Magic.

‘……Strange as it is, things have been quiet the last day or two.’

There should have been a Preparatory Assassination attempt.
Maybe it’s because I killed Hacon? (Though I didn’t actually kill him myself….)
If that’s the case, then I’m lucky.

At least I can get some training in. And I can also practice Illusion Magic to use in class.
I went back to the Research Lab and created various illusory constructs using World Forgery.

It was then that Adel entered the Research Lab and spoke.

“Professor. Want to go get some food~?”
“Alright.”
“But Professor, do you have time after class today?”
“Why.”
“It’s just……. I have something I’d like to talk to you about….”

I turned to face Adel.
She was looking at me with a flushed expression.
Both hands were clasped behind her back, her chest thrust forward in a way that was somehow suggestive—perhaps because one strap of the bustier she wore over her T-shirt had slipped down over her shoulder.

“What conversation? We can do it here.”
“I’m embarrassed to…….”
“Embarrassed about what.”
“Huh…? You knew all along, and yet…?”

Adel approached me with an enigmatic expression, her gaze suggesting something unspoken.
So I rose to meet her face-to-face. She was fairly tall, but I was taller still—her eyes looked up at me from just beneath my chin.

“I’ve liked you since before, Professor.”
“That’s rather sudden.”
“……Would a child planning arson really announce it?”

She stepped closer.
Close enough now that I could see her eyes clearly, Adel spoke in a low voice.

“……Would you hold me?”

I said nothing.
Wasn’t this development far too sudden?
Of course it was sudden. Because none of it was real.
This woman didn’t actually like me. She didn’t truly want an embrace, and she wasn’t even Adel at all.

【 Assassination Department, First Year, Ruine: ‘Just one step closer.’ 】

Ruine. A student in my class.
At that moment, I exhaled silently.
So the Professor Assassination attempts, quiet for so long, were beginning again.

【 Assassination Department, First Year, Ruine: ‘Just one more step…. Then the blade will reach….’ 】

Her impersonation of Adel was accomplished through Illusion Magic—specifically, Body Transformation. Pure shapeshifting, though she’d only changed her face to match Adel’s.
Ruine’s height and build were already similar to Adel’s; her voice was merely imitated; and today’s outfit—a simple white shirt and black corset—she’d simply copied.

【 Assassination Department, First Year, Ruine: ‘But seeing her up close like this…she’s actually insanely handsome. I can’t stab her with my eyes wide open….’ 】
【 Assassination Department, First Year, Ruine: ‘Hmm……. If no one finds out, maybe I could just steal a quick kiss……?’ 】

Madness.

【 Assassination Department, First Year, Ruine: ‘No, that’s stupid…. I’ll just close my eyes tight and stab, then run….’ 】

Now I understood what she was holding in that hand clasped behind her back.
Her cheeks were flushed in front; behind her waist, she hid a blade.

“…….”

In any case, it was fortunate I’d seen through it—the situation was dangerous enough as it was. Assassination itself carried inherent risk, and if I mishandled this, rumors would spread in all the wrong ways, making it a social liability as well.
After a moment’s deliberation, I opened my mouth.

“Adel.”

“Close your eyes for me.”
“…My.”

Ruine closed her eyes.

『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Ruine] 』

I conjured a phantom duplicate of her before me, placed two fingers across its lips, and inserted into its mouth a slip of paper that read: [For an attempted assassination outside of class hours, I am deducting zero-point-five penalty points. Report to Adel and submit a Disciplinary Report.]

In the Hallway, I encountered Adel.

“Professor, where are you heading? Aren’t you eating?”
“Lunch can wait. I thought I’d take a walk.”
“Would it be alright if I came along?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Aww, why not~?”

Because this one wasn’t Adel either.

【 Assassination Department First Year Ruidin: ‘My sister must have failed…. But now he’ll have let his guard down.’ 】

This time it was Ruine’s twin brother.
He’d even used Voice Transformation this round, but hadn’t managed to change his actual body. The face was Adel’s, but those broad shoulders were getting under my skin.

“…Can I hold your hand while we walk?”

Had I lost my mind?

“Fine. But close your eyes first.”
“Oh my….”

After that, things proceeded as before.

『 World Forgery: Form Forgery [Ruine] 』

I placed his twin sister’s hand in the brother’s palm as he stood there with his eyes closed, and in his other hand I pressed a Post-it Note regarding “Attempted Assassination Report Submission.”
And with that, I fled the Assassin Hall.
Only to encounter another Adel.

“Huh? Professor, you’re here. They’re serving steak at the Faculty Cafeteria today—would you mind if I joined you?”

Damn it.
Was this one fake too?
I was starting to develop a slight neurosis, so I tensed up, but—
Checking the Name Tag, thankfully it wasn’t.

“Hehe? Ahahaha!”

When I recounted what had just happened, Adel burst into delighted laughter.

“Tehehehe…. But Professor, you’re quite unobservant, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean.”
“You still think I’m the real Adel, don’t you?”
“You are the real one.”
“No, I’m not? Look, Professor…. Mm……♥”

Adel had the air of a sheltered nobleman’s daughter, but all evidence suggested she had no romantic experience whatsoever. The awkwardness of that protruding lip made that abundantly clear.

“…Let’s pretend I didn’t see that.”
“Ahahaha! Do you really hate it that much?”

In any case, the Ruine siblings’ assassination attempt was merely “Preparatory Assassination”—and in a few hours I would head toward the classroom where murder was legal. I was also aware that “Review” awaited me after class.

“But really, aren’t you going to eat?”

No.
I plan to starve to death.

* * *

“Among the new professors, who’s the strongest?”

Cadets love to rank things. And ranking professors—well, that’s an endlessly fascinating subject.

Who is the strongest?
Whose technique is most refined?
Whose achievements are most legendary?

Lock three cadets in a room with questions like that, and they’d argue about it for four days and nights straight.
But lately, the question of “which new professor is strongest” had lost its appeal. The answer was always the same predictable one.

“Among the new professors, it has to be Professor Dante. He took down Hacon, ranked 7,100th, without leaving a scratch on him.”
“Isn’t Professor Ujin from the Curse Studies department at least in the running?”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Hmm… honestly, I think Professor Dante might be stronger than most of the senior professors.”

There had been several displays of force. The frenzied assassination evasion on the first day, the capture of the proxy assassin, Hacon’s death—in every single incident, Professor Dante had left a startlingly powerful impression.

‘Professor Dante, Professor Dante… good grief.’

Yet as this conversation echoed around them, there were cadets whose expressions grew dark.
Ruine and her brother among them—cadets who had recently failed assassination attempts.
They found such praise deeply grating.

‘Why are they fawning over him like that?’

Strength?
Fine, she could accept it.
Professor Dante certainly seemed strong.
Even having faced him directly, she got the sense that assassinating him would be impossible.
But apart from his strength, there was a dissatisfaction that arose from sitting in his actual classes.

“Hm…”

Gossip often begins with small irritations. Any cadet whose assassination had failed was bound to be in a foul mood.
Ruine scowled and let slip a remark in passing.

“…But honestly, Professor Dante’s teaching method is pretty terrible, isn’t it?”

Ruine had opened the floodgates.

“What?”
“Really?”

The other cadets in the class tilted their heads in confusion.
Was it?
They’d never really thought about it that way before.

“Professor Dante’s teaching seems fine to me.”
“His voice is nice, and he barely assigns any homework.”

Ruine’s frown deepened.

“But honestly, it’s like this—the class is called Assassination and Understanding of Abilities, right? I thought he’d show us tons of different abilities. Instead, he just drones on from the textbook every single day. That’s all Professor Dante does.”

At that, the other cadets blinked.
Was it?
Now that she mentioned it, it did seem like that might be true.
Then one cadet spoke up in objection.

“But Ruine, the textbook itself is in the History of Abilities section right now. How are you supposed to make it entertaining and crystal clear when the material’s like that?”
“You’re right about that. But the problem is it’s still boring even accounting for that.”

Ruine crossed her arms.

“Think about Professor Viper’s self-study course or Professor Parthenon’s magical assassination lectures. The lectures themselves are actually fun to listen to, right? You learn a lot too.”
“Hmm…. True, those two are good teachers…. But don’t you think things might be different starting this unit?”

After giving it thought, even the cadets who’d been defending Professor Dante began to waver slightly.
A professor being strong.
A professor’s research being excellent.
A professor’s teaching ability being good.
They were all separate things.
If you separated each one individually, Professor Dante’s evaluation could easily shift.

‘Hmm…. Does that professor actually teach well…?’

Doubt about Professor Dante began to take root.
At least the tedious unit had ended yesterday.
Wasn’t today the start of something more interesting?

“I should pay close attention today.”

With that thought, the cadets waited for the professor to arrive.

Creak.

A man entered the lecture hall.
Concrete. Metal. Winter. Ash-grey. A rainy day…… This is what the cadets felt upon seeing him. Even his manner of entering observed the precise moment, clinical and exact.

“Adel. Take attendance.”
“Yes~”

In the lecture hall, while Adel took attendance, Ruine and her friends scrutinized Professor Dante’s face. Then one cadet raised her hand sharply.

“Professor. It’s Harim. Would it be alright if I asked just one question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Is it correct that Assassination and Understanding of Abilities is entering a new unit starting today?”
“That is so. History of Abilities ended yesterday.”

The cadets’ eyes flickered toward one another.
That meant today was the first class where they could truly assess his teaching method.
Ruine let out a dry laugh and crossed her arms. Let’s see how well he actually does, her expression said.
Under the weight of all their gazes fixed upon him.

“Silence.”

Professor Dante stilled the commotion with a single word.

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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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