Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 37

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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 37
EP12 – Who’s Better at Illusion Magic? (2)

– (2 days later) Professor Dante suffers partial loss of language function after attack by intruder

Dante grimaced internally upon reading the article.
So the bastard really was insane after all.
It was a monopoly problem. The fact that a company could keep running even with articles like this being published… Dante fired off a correction request and decided to commit the name to memory.

Trash Forbtime = lunatic journalist bastard

*

Thus, not everything was pleasant as Dante’s reputation rose within the academy.

“This is absurd.”

In particular, the neutral faculty members began to show displeasure toward Professor Dante.

“Professor Toxin of the Black Path vanished abruptly yesterday, and his entire residence was cleared out. Then today, an article praising Professor Dante’s assassination is posted. Even a stray dog could figure out what this means!”
“Couldn’t it be a coincidence?”
“A coincidence happens once! If that professor—the serial killer—has now murdered two professors, is that a coincidence? Then is killing three times a coincidence too? And four times?”

They had no formal affiliation themselves.
Yet in this world of assassins dominated so openly by the Black Path and White Path, the grey neutrals also had to band together.
And many of them harbored resentment against the tedious factional disputes.

“What, isn’t he just a shady character?”
“Seems so. They say his Illusion Magic is quite advanced. Who learns Illusion Magic? Generally, only shady people study it to deceive others.”
“And then?”
“He’s fooling everyone. Both Black Path and White Path! To be frank, where would an outsider come from in Hiaka? The conflict ended in the 2nd Assassination War. We had the Hilden Treaty. We don’t even send assassins to other academies, so what’s this all about!”

The neutral faculty members nodded in agreement.

“The Academic Affairs Office is frustrated too. Now that he’s become valuable, they’re apparently overlooking this kind of Exceeding Authority.”
“True enough… For someone trying to raise his own value by walking the line between Black and White, he certainly leaves behind traces like this fabricated aphasia for the Assassination Daily News.”
“He absolutely should not be viewed favorably!”

If Dante had been an assassin affiliated with the Black Path or White Path from the beginning, they wouldn’t have been so indignant.
But a professor of the same standing—neutral, a victim, clearly the weaker party.
Now that he was acting without hesitation in ways that appeared to exceed his authority, the neutral faculty could not contain their anger.

‘He’s a traitor.’

No one spoke such words aloud, yet many came to harbor similar thoughts.
However, the neutral faculty had no justification to do anything further from that point. They could only nurse their resentment in whispered complaints.

But there were those who did not remain idle.

*

At the same moment. In the Sewers. From out of the darkness, the professor with crimson eyes met the gaze of the student with crimson eyes.

And the administrator with crimson eyes exchanged looks, along with the custodian beside them with crimson eyes.

They turned their gazes toward a man standing far down the sewers. A man whose horns radiated a desolate aura even through the darkness.

At last, the man—long accustomed to the human world and for whom human language had become familiar—spoke.

“We need to kill Professor Dante Hiaka.”

The voice was calm. No hatred. No thirst for revenge. Only blind, implacable will.

“Move the Zamryong Academy. By my estimation, their level exceeds what one might imagine. That said, about two of the seven are intellectually inferior—persuade them, and they’ll fall in line.”

At those words, the red-eyed figures bowed their heads.

* * *

【 Zamryong Academy, First Year, Grey: ‘…….’ 】

Since that first audit, Grey had attended every class without fail.

【 Zamryong Academy, First Year, Grey: ‘…….’ 】

It weighed on me—this small, persistent presence. Because I had no idea what she wanted.

【 Zamryong Academy, First Year, Grey: ‘…….’ 】

And when even the Script offered nothing useful to work with, my questions only multiplied. Then one day, a particular Script surfaced.

【 Zamryong Academy, First Year, Grey: ‘……I can’t accept it.’ 】

What that meant, I couldn’t say.
What exactly she wouldn’t accept.

So at dinner that evening, I decided to ask the three dimwits I’d happened upon at the Student Dining Hall—Forte, Hwaru, and Dominic—about Grey’s nature.

“Grey? Oh, she uses some kind of thread weapon. Her specialty is Illusion Magic. Probably outmatched against you, Professor, but…”

That’s what Forte said.

“What about her personality?”
“Well, she’s kind of catlike, I’d say. Fairly lively and bright overall. When I see her, she’s usually laughing or yelling about something. Back when she came as an exchange opponent against Welyoung Academy, she was kind to me too.”

If she’d been kind even to Forte, a social outcast, then she truly was a kind person.

“Hmm… Did Grey say something like, the world should be one where diligent people like her succeed?”

That sentiment was warmer than I’d expected.
Had I jumped to conclusions, assuming she’d be difficult?

“She’s probably not quite that warm.”
“Huh?”

Then Dominic, the pig of the wolf-rabbit-pig trio, pushed his glasses up and spoke.

“Everyone just calls her catlike, but from what I know, Grey Habanero’s personality is quite… distinctive.”
“Distinctive how?”
“Well. Last semester, the Academic Affairs Office tried to assign an advisor to Zamryong Academy. The Zamryong side refused, so they pushed anyway. Then Grey showed up at the Academic Affairs Office with a Bomb Vest and a twenty-five-kilogram bomb and blackmailed them.”
“Huh?!”

Now that’s absurd.

“She told them if they didn’t remove the advisor, they’d all die together. It’s rumor, but I heard it from a reliable source in this industry, so it’s credible.”

What in the world is this industry he keeps referring to……
I wanted to ask, but Dominic simply adjusted his glasses and displayed his mysterious expertise.

“So the Academic Affairs Office removed her faculty advisor?”

I asked.

“Yes, Professor. We even contacted the Habanero family, and they said they couldn’t control her either. Still, since she’s a student the Dean favors, expulsion was avoided.”

What kind of character is this, exactly?
Let me piece it together.
Grey is bright. She likes to laugh. She’s social. Warm and kind. Anti-authoritarian. Yet she shows academic drive (why else would she audit Illusion Magic class?), and at the same time, she’s violent. Extreme. Peculiar.

“I’d say she’s a temperamental child,” Adel concluded, summarizing from the side.

That assessment was right on the mark.

Then Hwaru, who’d been crunching on fried shrimp beside us, caught my eye as she looked uncomfortable and glanced around awkwardly.

“Hwaru.”
“Oh, y-yes…!?”
“You look like you have something you want to say.”
“Oh, no?! I just, I don’t really have anything to say…! It’s just, um… I used to be friends with Grey….”

Friends?
At this, Dominic and Forte’s eyes widened. They had no idea.

“Why didn’t you mention that?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it as well.”

Hwaru laughed awkwardly at their words.

“Well, it was a long time ago…. And since it’s about a friend, I shouldn’t just talk about her carelessly, right…?”
“Tell us. I’m curious.”
“Don’t you find it curious, Professor Dante?”
“Mm, well….”
“Look, Hwaru. You can’t say no here. Professor Dante threw himself in to protect you not long ago.”
“Mm… I’m not really sure myself….”

Seeing Hwaru backed into a corner like this, I tried to intercede so she wouldn’t feel caught in conflict.

“…The only thing I know is that Grey used to be depressed, timid, and introverted back in the family….”

Ah, it suddenly struck me.
Hwaru and Dominic were known as notorious gossips.

“What? That doesn’t make sense. She smiles easily. She’s kind. She’s violent. And she’s introverted? Timid? Depressed?”
“…Um, and there was a lot of conflict with her family in the household…. Once she ran away for an extended period and stayed at my place for about a week. Every day she’d thank me and ask if there was anyone I wanted to kill….”
“Was that before the Habanero Incident?”

Forte, being from the White Path, spoke without thinking.
Hwaru, from the Black Path, stiffened visibly.

“Oh, I’m sorry…….”

I know about the Habanero Incident.
The incident where the Habanero family was nearly annihilated.
It was not something to be brought up carelessly.

In any case, Grey seems to possess a bewilderingly complex personality.
But one evaluation appeared consistently across all accounts: she was “cat-like.”

‘Let me summarize this for a moment.’

After finishing my meal, I decided to go through the names and personalities of everyone at Zamryong Academy one by one.

———
☆ = White Path / ★ = Black Path

Four Men

– Kaiser Truman [Team Lead]: The puppet master. Second-in-command and leader who sets the direction for Zamryong Academy, but has no authority to issue direct orders.

– Valmond Nibelung★: A doberman type. Son of the matriarch Nibelung of the Dark Starlight Seat, who heads the Nibelung Family. His specialty is Sniper Techniques.

– Kendrick Drake★: Aggressive and bellicose in nature. Has shown arrogance on several occasions. His specialty is Combat Techniques.

– Quan Oliveira☆: A white-haired boy. Not much is known about him.

Three Women

– Rebecca Hiakium von Hiaka☆ [Owner]: Called the saint of the palace, but her actual personality is quite poor. Her specialty is unknown. The top figure of Zamryong Academy. Final decision-maker.

– Elise Xicos☆: Daughter of the count of the Shadowless Starlight Seat, whose father has gone missing. Kind-hearted but twisted, like a retriever. Quite strong. Attends my class. Her specialty is Concealment Techniques.

– Grey Habanero★: Daughter of the Habanero house. Cat-like personality. Currently targeting me. Her specialty is Illusion Magic.
———

* * *

There was a woman.
She had a habit of poking around here and there in her spare time.
This morning was no exception. As she wandered through familiar spots near her home as usual, she discovered a strange note on a bench in the park she always visited.

[ Shall we play an interesting game? If you’re curious, come to the Abandoned Parking Lot near Zamryong Academy. At 5 p.m. ]

Ridiculous, isn’t it? An interesting game, no less… What fool in this world would actually show up after seeing such a suspicious note?

‘Curiosity.’

It was Elise.

And so Elise had now stepped inside the parking lot.
Soundlessly, her pale pink hair swaying as she moved.
At the far end, she found herself seated across from a masked man.

“Welcome, Elise. Thank you for coming.”
“A game?”
“Indeed. A most entertaining one, I assure you.”

Remarkably, the man proposed a game that was truly fascinating.
It was to assassinate Professor Dante.

“Assassinate Professor Dante?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t that be entertaining?”

It would be entertaining.
Of course she would fail, but she thought of it as a “fun game”.
And wasn’t the masked figure before her offering help in every conceivable way?

“How can I help?”
“I’ll assign ten assassins to you. All of them Platinum rank or higher. If you demonstrate your strength, we should be able to kill Professor Dante, who is estimated to be Diamond rank.”

Oh.
It was truly astonishing.
Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold…. The gap between this three-tier rank structure and Platinum was immense.
If the price difference between Silver and Gold was roughly twofold,
then the difference between Gold and Platinum exceeded fivefold.
For all ten assassins to be Platinum rank, and for those expensive hires to be lent for free?
Elise thought carefully before answering.

“I don’t think it’ll work…?”
“Pardon?”
“Ten Platinum assassins and me together…. We still won’t be able to kill Professor Dante, will we?”
“That’s not the case. We’re aware of your considerable strength, Cadet Elise.”
“Hmm.”

Elise’s pink eyes converged toward the center as she gazed at the ceiling. She pictured Dante in her mind. Then, imagining herself and the assassins rushing at him from all directions, she shook her head.

“It won’t work…. Professor Dante is incredibly strong.”
“But you’ve learned Concealment from Shadowless Starlight Seat, haven’t you?”
“I still get caught, though….”

Elise laughed brightly. Then she spoke as if explaining that a game’s rules had been set wrong.

“The Professor is incredibly strong. Sharp eyes. Sharp ears. Fast reflexes. Good spatial awareness. Excellent combat ability too. And they say he even killed that powerful Professor Hacon.”

…. As it happened, Elise’s memory was not particularly good.

“In that case, I’ll make the game’s conditions extraordinarily favorable.”
“Extraordinarily?”
“Yes. One Diamond rank assassin. Three Emerald rank. Fifteen Platinum rank.”
“……??”

It was an absurdly lavish proposal. And if you added herself to that? Even then it would fail, but how entertaining would such an assassination become?

“It’s enjoyable, isn’t it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“It is for us as well.”

The masked man laughed, while the pink eyes struggled to conceal their excitement. And just as all the plans were about to fall perfectly into place, an unexpected twist unfolded. Elise, the masked man—neither spoke first. The reason was unclear. But in that space where silence had suddenly descended, someone began walking from far across the indoor parking garage.

Clop.

Black, lustrous long hair.

Clop.

Vertically slit pupils.

Clop.

A cadet leaning on a cane.

Clop….

“Kaiser?”

Elise waved her hand at Kaiser Truman.
The masked man greeted him with a hint of tension.

“Ah, so you’re the team leader from Zamryong Academy. What brings you here?”

There was no one in the Assassination Studies Department who didn’t know Kaiser’s reputation. The masked man swallowed hard.
In response, Kaiser spoke in an unremarkable voice.

“I was passing by and thought I’d stop in. I make it a point to keep track of my colleagues’ whereabouts.”

Kaiser’s words were true. He’d simply been out for a walk and happened to drop in.

“Ah, I see. Had I known you were nearby, I would have invited you to join us.”
“And who might you be?”
“I’m Baisaki, from the Academic Affairs Office. I was just having a brief conversation with the student Elise.”

At that moment, the masked man felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Regardless of how dangerous Kaiser was, he knew that all this year’s Zamryong Academy students held their professors in contempt.
There was Grey, who’d attempted a bombing in the first semester; Kendrick Drake, who’d assassinated a professor in full view of everyone; and Kaiser himself, who’d actually assassinated four professors.
If things went well, he might just gain one more useful card to play.
That’s what he thought.

“Elise.”
“Yeah?”
“What were you discussing with him?”

Kaiser asked the question.
He genuinely knew nothing about it.
Elise answered with a bright smile.

“We were going to kill Professor Dante.”

The next instant.
Kaiser’s eyes shifted smoothly toward the masked man.

“Is that so?”

—————
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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