The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 75

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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 75

“That aside… how are you even thinking of going to see the Demon Beasts? It could be dangerous.”
“I can’t stop wondering about your true nature. How can an ordinary rabbit use magic and speak, after all?”
“You know I’m not hiding anything from you, right?”
“Of course. You’re my Familiar. You couldn’t lie to me even if you wanted to. But something strange is still strange, isn’t it?”
“Well… but even if I told you my true identity, it wouldn’t really help with what you’re trying to do now, would it?”
As Pongko murmured uncertainly, Leoryna shrugged her shoulders.
“Whether it’s related to Khalid’s assassination or not, now that you’ve become my Familiar, it’s something I’ll eventually need to know. Besides, I deliberately declared I’d take a break from assassination work to do other things, so it’s perfect to do this while I have the time.”
At Leoryna’s words, Pongko looked at her with moved eyes and asked.
“Um, well, I do have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Do I really have to go tomorrow too?”
Leoryna stared in disbelief as she grabbed Pongko by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.
“You cowardly rabbit! Are you saying you don’t want to come with me because you’re scared of Demon Beasts?!”
“But they’re Demon Beasts! How could I not be scared?! I’m a rabbit, you know?!”
“What happens if a Familiar refuses to follow their Mage into danger?! That’s what the bond between a Mage and their Familiar means. You don’t back away from something that could cost your life.”
“I don’t want to know my own identity badly enough to risk my life for it.”
“Then just watch from a distance. I’ll handle everything myself.”
“Whimper…”
Pongko made a whimpering sound, but Leoryna cleanly ignored him.

* * *

The next day, when Leoryna arrived at the Appointed Meeting Place where she had arranged to meet Philiamone, she encountered Khalid and Zigzagel, both laden with packed supplies.
“Why are you here, Leoryna?”
Khalid and Zigzagel regarded her with bewildered expressions.
Leoryna spoke with her usual composure.
“I’m going to conduct Demon Research.”
“What?”
“Demon Research?”
Khalid and Zigzagel echoed her words.
“What good will that do you?”
“I have a personal interest in it.”
Leoryna subtly gestured toward Pongko beside her. Khalid, catching the meaning, narrowed his eyes and glanced at Pongko before sighing and voicing his objection. “Personal interest or not, do you think demon subjugation is child’s play? You don’t know how to do anything—you’ll just be a hindrance!”
“That’s right. Going in recklessly is far too dangerous.”
Even Zigzagel tried to dissuade her, and Leoryna’s mouth fell open in protest.
At that moment, someone interjected into their conversation.
“However, if even one more person develops an interest in demons, there is nothing more desirable than that.”
It was Oratora, a professor from the Beast Response Department.
“The more people understand the dangers of demons, the more vigilant society will become.”
“Professor Oratora.”
Khalid called out her name with emphasis, as if to discourage her from taking Leoryna’s side.
Oratora, a professor from the Beast Response Department, had begun demon subjugation at a remarkably young age and, despite being human, had earned considerable renown as a warrior. Now a veteran of countless undefeated campaigns, she served as a professor at Halderion Academy, dedicating herself to nurturing the next generation.
“And since we are going together, there is no need to worry about safety, is there? Surely you don’t think we would put Yuren in front of us? I was moved by her earnest desire to learn about demons, so much so that she volunteered to participate in the subjugation. I cannot simply abandon such a precious talent.”
At Oratora’s words, Khalid opened his mouth to respond, then fell silent and sighed. Leoryna smiled brightly and slipped behind Oratora. With the expedition’s commander taking this stance, Khalid had no legitimate grounds to object.
“Well, if it comes down to it, I can protect her anyway.”
Zigzagel, too, was persuaded by Oratora’s words and nodded in agreement.
In the end, Leoryna was able to join the subjugation party without significant opposition from Khalid.
In the end, Leoryna was able to join the subjugation force without any major issues, despite Khalid’s opposition.

* * *

The Demon Beast Subjugation Force of Huaderica Territory was far larger than Leoryna had anticipated.
It wasn’t just the Beast Response Department, but also the Demon Research Department, Combat Magic Research Department, and Magical Weapon Crafting Department—along with various smaller departments conducting research related to demon beasts—so a considerable number of professors and students had been mobilized. As a result, it was hardly a small-scale subjugation force.
“But why are we going to subjugate demon beasts specifically in Khalid’s home territory of Huaderica Territory?”
During the flight to Huaderica Territory aboard the Flying Airship, Leoryna finally voiced the question that had been nagging at her the entire journey. Philiamone, who sat beside her cracking peanuts, answered.
“It’s rare to find a place with such a diverse variety of demon beasts. From lower-tier beasts to high-tier ones dwelling in the depths—you can train against many different types of creatures there.”
“But originally, that land had no demon beasts, didn’t it? That’s why people could live there in the first place, right? So why did it become like this?”
Khalid yawned and cast a sidelong glance at Leoryna.
“Why do you have so many questions?”
Both of them sensed they’d broached a forbidden subject and wisely fell silent.
Leoryna recalled the information about Khalid that she’d reviewed the previous day.
The Huaderica Family.
Before Khalid exterminated his entire clan, the Huaderica Family had been the most renowned among the Demon Race’s noble houses. In the past, when the Demon Race still had their own kingdom, they had even produced a Demon King.
Even as the Demon Race declined, the Huaderica Family maintained its form steadfastly and succeeded in securing enough land for the clan and their retainers to live together.
Huaderica Territory was located within the Keltict Kingdom—a nation to the west of the Rompel Kingdom where Halderion Academy stood.
Though technically part of the Keltict Kingdom’s territory, the members of the Huaderica Family ruled their domain as independently as a king would rule his own kingdom.
However, that was a story from 124 years ago.
All the Demon Race members who bore the Huaderica name except Khalid were dead, and with those who governed the territory gone, the territory’s inhabitants naturally abandoned the land as well.
Though the territory lay vacant, no humans wished to settle there. They considered it inauspicious—a land where the Demon Race had dwelt and where those very demons had been slaughtered.
And so, a land without people gradually became a paradise for demon beasts.
Leoryna couldn’t quite grasp this part. If demon beasts simply gathered wherever humans didn’t live, the world would have become a demon beast paradise long ago.
“The blood of the Demon Race is special, you see.”
When she asked Philiamone about it during mealtime in the Dining Area while eating a sandwich, the girl whispered her explanation.
“Professor Khalid slaughtered his entire clan, didn’t he? That blood is what called the demon beasts.”
“Isn’t that just some urban legend?”
“It’s not a legend… Look. Demon Race and demon beast—they both use the character ‘魔’ which carries the same meaning. What do you think that suggests?”
“That the Demon Race and demon beasts share a common origin?”
What Halgrok—credited with creating the Demon Race—made was not merely the Demon Race as a species. Demon beasts were also Halgrok’s creations.
This was why other races condemned Halgrok for unleashing such a dangerous element into the world, and why they harbored disdain for the Demon Race.
“If the Demon Race and demon beasts share the same origin, then land hospitable to the Demon Race becomes equally hospitable to demon beasts. And when that land is soaked with the blood of the Demon Race? Such essence becomes an invaluable nutrient for the beasts.”
“I see.”
“So when the Demon Race lived together in their own nation, battling demon beasts was part of daily life. Now that they’re scattered across the world, the territories of the Demon Race and demon beasts no longer overlap, so they don’t clash.”
Leoryna nodded vigorously while chewing her sandwich enthusiastically as Philiamone spoke.
“So, stop summoning me every time and find another region instead.”
While Leoryna and Philiamone conversed, at the adjacent table Khalid was tapping his palm against the tabletop, voicing his complaints. But Oratora, seated across from him, merely smiled while sipping his post-meal coffee.
“There’s no other landowner as accommodating to demon beast subjugation as you are. Other regions won’t even grant access for fear of casualties, and there’s no external subjugation force willing to tolerate dragging along all those troublesome researchers either.”
“Ugh, fine. Maybe I won’t grant permission next time.”
Despite his words, Khalid had received substantial funding from the Beast Response Department in exchange, so it wasn’t entirely a losing proposition.
As everyone exchanged various remarks, the Flying Airship had already drawn near to Huaderica Territory.
“Oh, is that where Huaderica Territory begins?”

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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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