Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor - Chapter 69

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Chapter 69
DLC [The Hero’s Professor]: Mid-Term Reckoning (2)

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Scene # 1 – Kaiser
Scene # 2 – Teaching Assistant ◀
Scene # 3 – How It Came to This
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Soon after, the 9th District of Hiaka Academy began its transformation into a tourist destination.

Dozens of construction mages descended on the area, and buildings and facilities rose as if by magic.

Among them, a massive signboard appeared.

「Cain’s Christmas Tree」

Colloquially known as the “Cain Tree.”

For days now, the Academy had been showing me branding concepts and merchandise, asking me to oversee the approvals.

Ever since the royal dispatch arrived a few days ago, swarms of domestic tourists had begun flooding in.

“Wow, there are so many people, aren’t there?”
“Indeed.”

Adel and I had ventured into the 9th District to observe the tourists observing the tree. Crowds disembarked from numerous vehicles—airships, buses, carriages—gazed at the tree, made for nearby restaurants, and enjoyed purchasing merchandise.

“It’s remarkable, truly. How did Senior Professor Cain manage to create something so magnificent?”
“Quite remarkable.”
“Though the name seems somehow connected to me—’Cain and Adel.’ Ha ha. You must know something I don’t!”
“…Indeed.”

Adel had no idea I was the tree’s architect.
I had kept everything confidential from the research phase through the final exam presentations.
And I had continued to hide it afterward.

Meanwhile, as I had planned, numerous illusionists appeared throughout the 9th District. They entered the Illusion Realm and adorned the Christmas Tree with decorations conjured from their own magic.
In real time, vast ornaments continued to materialize on the Cain Tree.
Ornament balls—crimson spheres symbolizing apples. Candy canes. Symbols of the stars each mage revered, arranged like star decorations. Ribbons. Garlands. Bells. Snowflake ornaments. Stockings. Gift boxes, and more…

Christmas had long since passed, and I found myself wondering what it all meant. Yet watching the tree gradually reach completion filled me with quiet satisfaction.
Not long ago, the Academy had been suffused with the atmosphere of death. But now?
Tourists savored the spectacle with joy. Even students from the Magic Faculty, some volunteered as staff, moved about the grounds displaying their skills. Laughter echoed across every corner.

Vitality bloomed anew.
Here at Hiaka Academy.

“Wow, this tree is incredible! Up close like this, it’s really….”
“So they built this at Hiaka? This Professor Cain fellow? Huh….”
“My child’s stationed at the 0th District, and just a while ago we were hearing nothing but war reports, my heart was pounding. But they say even Imperial nobility will be visiting tomorrow.”

Tourists chattered in clusters.
Beside me, Adel watched them with evident wonder.

An unlikely tourist destination, this was.

Groups of elderly visitors came together. A couple smiled as their son spread his arms wide to gauge the tree’s height. Couples strolled hand in hand throughout. Adel’s gaze lingered particularly long on the couples.

“Ah, what a handsome young man over there!”

A tourist approached me and held out a Crystal Orb.

“Would you mind taking a photo for us?”
“Oh, of course….”

I handed it to Adel.

“Huh? I should take it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not very good at photography though.”

I figured it was worth a try—she couldn’t be much worse than me.

“Is it—is it like this? Hmm, like so?”

Adel did her best.
The results were catastrophic.

“Uh, what—what is this?! Ahahaha!”
“What is it? What? Whoa! Bwahahaha! Young lady, you did this to be funny, right?”
“I, I really did try my best….”

Adel laughed awkwardly, having inadvertently entertained the tourists.
I had to take the photo again.

“Are you two a couple, by the way?”
“Pardon? Us?”
“You make a lovely pair—so beautiful and handsome together.”
“Oh, no, no! He’s my professor, and I’m his assistant…!”
“Ah. That makes it even more interesting, doesn’t it?”
“Sorry?”
“Kyahahaha! Sister, what are you saying~!”
“Aigo, my wife says foolish things. I’m sorry! Come on, dear, let’s not bother these fine young people any further…!”

After they left, Adel broke into quiet laughter.

“They really thought we were on a date.”
“Seems that way.”
“It’s amusing, isn’t it? Having new experiences like this. The truth is, I’ve never even held a man’s hand before.”

That surprised me. I would have expected plenty of people to follow Adel around.
She sat perched on the railing of a high observation deck,
and as the breeze came through, her hair danced.

“What about you, Professor? Do you have a girlfriend?”
“How could I? She’d know my schedule well enough.”
“Right, we’ve been so busy all this time. But is there a particular reason you don’t date?”
“You just said it yourself. Because I’m busy.”
“And if you weren’t busy?”
“…This is a proper tourist attraction, isn’t it. You certainly have strange thoughts. If I weren’t busy… well, the truth is, I’ve never even considered things like romance or marriage.”

Now that I thought about it, that was true.
Not once in all my life.

Perhaps romance and marriage had always seemed to me like a luxury—something only for those with time to spare.

For those who had something to share,
Could I share my heart with someone too?

It wasn’t as though the chance had never come.
Not often, but there were people who’d told me they liked me, and I was grateful for that.

But then again….
When would have been the right time?

My teenage years, sleeping face-down at school while hiding bruises?
My early twenties, stretching a thousand-five hundred won across two meals, making egg custard by pouring beaten egg into instant ramen broth I’d set aside?
My late twenties, when I got called to my Guiding Professor’s house for kimchi-making and scraped my hand on the grater, then got scolded for it anyway?

‘…Heavens, what a shabby way to have lived.’

That was when Adel spoke, laughing softly.

“Actually, you know what? I’d prefer it if you didn’t date anyone, Professor.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you shouldn’t waste your time on something like that. Your abilities are too valuable for it.”
“That’s true enough.”
“Oh? How irritating of you!”

Adel laughed, her voice bright and clear.

“And besides—wouldn’t your girlfriend be jealous of us?”
“Is this about the shared residence?”
“Shared residence—that’s just a nice way of saying you’re living together, isn’t it? Professor, you’re actually cohabiting with a woman. One who’s capable, confident, and absolutely charming.”

Adel poked her own cheek with her finger.
Then her expression hardened for a moment.

I looked away.

“I suppose.”
“…Wait, you suppose? Setting charm aside, surely you’d admit to the ability part, right? I’m an S-rank teaching assistant, after all.”
“I suppose.”
“You can’t say I’m wrong—you know it yourself. I’m the best among the teaching assistants. I do my work well. I’m quick to read the room. I drive well. Honestly, you won’t find another assistant like me. You know that, right?”
“…I suppose.”

After I kept dodging like that, Adel’s expression turned deliberately sulky and she shook her head.

“Fine, forget it. Really. Some people work so hard just to get your recognition. And some people—no matter how much they try, day in and day out—can’t get a single word of praise….”

Adel began to grumble, her voice taking on that nagging, whining quality.

“Still, of all the assistants I’ve seen, you’re the best one.”
“Really? Truly?”

Those words alone made Adel genuinely happy.

It was one of those moments.
I was about to suggest we get going.
But Adel’s expression had grown slightly stiff.

“Yes?”
“In that case, Professor….”

She spoke in a lowered voice.

“Yes.”
“You’re not going to abandon me, are you…?”
“What?”

Adel’s gaze drifted downward.

“Well, what I mean is… you made senior professor in just two or three months, right? I was just worried that if you become even more successful going forward…”

That was when the Crystal Orb rang out loudly.
An urgent summons from Shaman, the Assassination Department Head.

* * *

The Department Head’s Office held Shaman and Ezekiel.

“Ho-ho-ho. Welcome, welcome. Sorry to call you in on your day off.”

Thick jowls. Round spectacles and a dapper mustache.
But his build was anything but cuddly.
Shaman Creutz, the Assassination Department Head.
His eyes crinkled with a warm smile.

“It’s no trouble. What brings you to summon me?”
“Professor Dante, you submitted a Guiding Professor application recently, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”

A “Guiding Professor” and the “Guidance” system meant a professor forming their own assassination unit and nurturing them intensively.
Students in the unit learned under the professor, then went out into the world to be deployed on countless assassination contracts and operations.
Throughout the process, the students’ achievements were simultaneously recorded as the professor’s accomplishments; the students’ successes became the professor’s successes.
Naturally, it was the main story of the professor path, and I’d submitted the application yesterday. I was going to form my own assassination unit.
And now.

┃ Main Quest [Guiding Professor]
┃ Reward: Star Fragments (will increase or decrease significantly depending on student reputation)

A main-tier quest had appeared.

‘A main quest with excellent synergy with the Betting Table.’

This was the event where I could accumulate the most Star Fragments.
But simultaneously, it carried the greatest risk.
If a student died or my reputation as an assassin was destroyed, I would suffer severe penalties from the System.
Of course, I’d prepared for this to some degree.

“…….”

But Shaman’s expression was troubled.
Behind his round spectacles lay genuine concern.

“What’s wrong?”
“Can’t you just not do it?”
“…Sorry?”
“I’m asking if you have to do the Guiding Professor thing.”
“You must have a reason.”
“What if you go out there and end up dead? What then?”
“…….”

The Assassination Department Head Shaman was like that.
He was a monstrous assassin who’d reached one hundred years old.
But his face looked like a neighborhood baker in his fifties.
And his personality matched.

“Department Head, I understand your concern—I have much riding on this. But please, set your mind at ease.”
“Don’t. Don’t apologize.”
“I’m grateful for your consideration, but I’m not so fragile as to fall easily. Besides, there’s work waiting for me outside these walls.”
“No. You’re not going.”
“I’m aware Hiaka Academy faces considerable danger. I ask only that you trust me. I can take a leading role in our academic exchange and partnership program with the Empire, delivering excellent results—”
“I said no! You’re staying here!”
“…….”

There was nothing to say to an old man throwing a tantrum.
He was the type—rather like Galois, their senior instructor—who did things his own way.

“I don’t like it.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”

Shaman’s frustration boiled over.

“What if you die out there? Then Cain’s gone! What about Hiaka’s Illusion Magic? The peace talks?”
“I won’t die, Department Head.”
“That’s easy to say. If I draw a blade right now, you’ll die in this very room!”
“I came here because I’m certain you won’t kill me.”
“Perhaps not—but what of Ezekiel? He could kill you!”
“That’s nonsense, old man. By my magical senses, this fellow isn’t someone who dies—”
“Quiet, you! What does a shield stand know about anything!”
“…That’s harsh.”
“There’s no need to worry, Department Head. I won’t die.”
“…….”
“…….”

As Cain held his ground, Shaman became like a baker in a foul mood.
As if Jean Valjean himself had walked through the room thirty times over.

“…….”
“…….”
“You remind me of my younger self.”
“…Is that so.”
“I too was fearless once, swift and lean, knowing no dread of the world.”
“…Even now, you’re still quite….”
“…….”
“…I apologize.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…Still formidable, even now.”
“So. Have you marked any candidates?”
“Yes.”
“Who? Give me the list.”
“Valmond, Grey, and Elise.”

That was right.
It was time to guide Zamryong Academy.

“Interesting fellow, the more I see of you. Even among rats, one like you comes along.”

Ezekiel, standing nearby, offered what might have been praise or something else entirely—it was hard to tell. But Cain couldn’t very well tell a shield stand to stop evaluating assassins.

“Well, I take your point. Off you go now.”

Shaman waved his hand dismissively, his expression dripping with reluctance, his thick jowls swaying left and right with the motion.
Thick layers of chin wobbled with each gesture.

“Yes. Then.”

But just as I was about to leave, a Telepathic Transmission—a power reserved for Grand Mages—struck my ear. Ezekiel was attempting a private word with me.

A blunt question, offered without preamble.
Yet I nodded.