WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 21: Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (3)

I hadn’t planned to get deeply involved—surviving the assassination and confiscating their weapons would’ve been enough.

But once I released the fog, lured them with a fake car, and sent fake cadets to sow confusion—

That’s when I started noticing strange thoughts surfacing in the textbox.

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Bedin: Why is this happening? I thought he wouldn’t retaliate! I wasn’t told of this…! 】

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Parnan: Damn it, I didn’t want to do this crap from the beginning… 】

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Guinery: …If I just play along and pretend to fight, surely he won’t cuss me out too much… right? 】

It seemed they were acting under someone else’s orders. And ultimately, it was Forte’s thoughts that gave me the full picture.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Forte: …Joaquin, you bastard. I bet you’re trying to dig up information through us. Sure, keep dreaming. There’s no way you’ll ever beat Professor Dante. 】

So Joaquin had instigated them. Or perhaps even threatened them.

…So it’s a proxy assassination, then.

The Assassin Department tolerated things like murder as long as the culprit wasn’t caught. But, even they had a few lines that could not be crossed, and one of them was having someone else do the dirty work.

That was known as “proxy assassination.”

The academy is a place for raising useful ‘tools’ called assassins, not for nurturing the masters who would wield those tools…

And if long-term survival was my goal, then long-term threats had to be removed.

So in a situation where a malicious cadet had orchestrated a proxy assassination, I had to intervene and set things straight.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Forte: Damn it! These morons! 】

Worse yet, the tiny spark ignited by these immature cadets’ foolishness had spread into a wildfire. And now, some of their lives were at risk.

So, I had no choice but to step in.

Once I lifted the 『World Forgery』, time snapped back into motion. Birds took flight with startled cries, and cadets collapsed to the ground, as if waking from a nightmare. 

They couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. 

“All of you. Drop your weapons and put your hands up,” I ordered.

The cadets obeyed without protest, shaking like leaves. 『World Forgery』 had clearly stunned them hard.

Forte, gasping for breath, looked up at me with panicked eyes. 

“Professor…”

“Shut up and stay down.”

The kid had been stabbed in the back. His breathing was shallow, meaning his lungs had been injured.

As for the one who had stabbed him…

“Ah... Aah…! W-What just…?!”

It was the cadet behind Forte, the one he protected. He was still trembling, clearly overwhelmed by what had happened.

“Adele, call the Disciplinary Enforcers. Tell them we’ve got a casualty.”

“Yes, sir. My goodness…” she murmured, then turned to contact the Disciplinary Enforcers—Hiaka’s police force.

“Any cadet here trained in first aid?”

“Oh, I-I know how to…”

“Then tend to these two. Now.”

The situation was gradually being brought under control. 

Still, the stark white cadet uniforms of those two were soaked in blood. 

“…Haaa.”

Personally, I was a bit pissed not just because of the professor assassination attempt. 

It was the fact that someone had handed such a dangerous operation to a group this uncoordinated and inexperienced.

Like giving a scalpel to a child and asking them to perform open-heart surgery.

Scratch that. I’m thoroughly pissed now.

Soon, the Assassin Department’s Disciplinary Enforcers and medics would arrive to take over.

But before they did, there was something I had to confirm.

Forte had regained some strength after drinking a potion. I walked over to him. 

“Who orchestrated this?” I asked.

“…What do you mean?”

“Who ordered this group assassination?”

“We just planned it ourselves…”

This wasn’t getting us anywhere. I removed the glove from his right hand. 

A blood-soaked bandage was wrapped around it. It wasn’t an injury from today’s assassination attempt.

I lifted his hand for all to see and stared directly into his eyes. 

“Was it Joaquin who did this?”

Technically, I already knew the answer. I just needed a reason to confirm my knowledge and justification for my next move. 

“…Yes.”

That single word was more than enough.

“Got it.”

Eventually, the enforcer vehicles arrived. Officers climbed out and began securing the scene.

Adele stepped forward and explained the situation to them, including the details of the proxy assassination. Thanks to her, everything went smoothly.

“Shall we handle the rest, Professor?” one of the enforcers asked.

“No. I’m coming too.”

Truthfully, I wanted to leave it all to them. But something had caught my attention—one of the assassins, clearly one of Joaquin’s lackeys, was sending out a telepathic message.

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: « Joaquin!! Pick up the comms! The Disciplinary Enforcers are about to storm in!! » 】

Most people would’ve given up by now. But he was still trying to signal something to Joaquin through telepathy. What was that about?

Is Joaquin planning to flee?

That wouldn’t work—this was Zone 0. Unless you were a Black Dragon cadet, there was no way to escape.

Is he destroying evidence, then?

That didn’t make sense either. There was a truckload of witnesses here.

“Let us head out right away, Professor.”

“Ah, sure. But before that… You there.”

“Hm? Me?”

“Come with us.”

Joaquin’s lackey blinked in surprise a couple of times but eventually followed without protest. 

The enforcers threw the kid into their vehicle, and we headed toward the Moon Shadow Dormitory.

On the way, I questioned him.

“Haman. You’re with Joaquin’s crew, aren’t you?”

He clamped his mouth shut and turned away, pretending not to hear. 

But I had my handy dandy 【textbox】.

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: How did he know? No, I can’t answer. Don’t listen to him. 】

His true thoughts were laid bare.

So I asked again.

“What is Joaquin doing right now?”

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: No. I must not say anything! 】

Haman clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead, refusing to speak. The enforcer driving the car finally snapped. 

“Hey, you filthy maggot! The professor’s talking to you! Don’t just stare back—answer him! Do you hear me?!”

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: Hmph. Whatever. You can ask me all you want, but you’ll never figure out that Joaquin went to meet some third-year seniors. 】

Aha. So that was it.

My eyes narrowed even further as I glared.

Joaquin knows how to dodge a proxy assassination charge.

Assassins were tools.

One could be accused of proxy assassination if they had broken free of that label—if they acted as a “master” who ordered other tools around. 

In other words, if there were someone else positioned above Joaquin, someone who could be seen as the true orchestrator, then Joaquin would still be classified as a tool. The blame would shift upward. 

He was planning to designate some gullible senior as his “master”, making himself a mere tool and dodging the blame.

That was the play. The sly boy’s aim was obvious now. The only thing left to figure out was his location.

“Where is Joaquin now?”

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: Shit. He looks scary as hell… But I can’t be intimidated! If I tell him where Joaquin is, everything’s over! 】

“You better answer while I’m still asking nicely, Haman. Where is Joaquin?”

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: No. No. Nonononono. Empty my mind. Don’t even think of anything! I can’t risk letting something slip out…! 】

His mind had been answering me nicely so far, but he was resisting more effectively now.

The cadet began to mentally flood himself with distractions—elephants, sheep, dinner menus—anything to block out my interrogation and keep his real thoughts buried. 

If this continued, we’d miss the perfect chance to catch Joaquin. But I had other ways of dragging the answer out. 

“Found it,” I said calmly. 

“Really? Where should we go, Professor?” the enforcer asked. 

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: What?! 】

“Joaquin is in Building 20.”

The enforcer blinked. “Building 20? Hm… I really don’t think he’d be there, Professor…”

He was right. That wasn’t where Joaquin would be. Building 20 was the White Path cadet dorm, and Joaquin was a Black Path cadet.

“Why not? Building 20 is correct.” I doubled down.

“Uh, it’s just that Building 20 is…”

“That’s enough. Stop questioning me and get us to Building 20. Joaquin is definitely there.”

“…Understood.”

So why did I insist on the wrong answer?

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: What’s with this professor? Why’s he doubling down when he’s clearly wrong? 】

Sometimes, the most efficient way to obtain an answer is to tell a blatant lie that provokes the other person to correct you, rather than simply asking a question.

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: This professor’s a total moron! Go ahead and search Building 20 all you want! You’ll never find him there! Joaquin’s in Building 31! 】

And just like that...

“Officer.”

“Yes, Professor?”

“My apologies. On second thought, I think I misspoke.”

“Huh? Then…”

“Please get us to Building 31.”

【 Assassin Department, First-Year, Haman: Wha—?! 】

Haman snapped his head toward me, eyes wide with panic. The enforcer caught his reaction and seemed to realize what had happened.

“Understood!” he replied with a sharp nod. 

Soon, we arrived at Building 31.

Seven enforcers poured out from the three vehicles.

“Joaquin! Show yourself immediately!”

“You’re under arrest for organizing a proxy assassination!”

They began sweeping through the dorm. 

But then we hit resistance—third-year Black Path cadets stood in our way. 

“What the hell is going on? Hey, you’d better leave right now,” one growled.

“Step aside! We’re here for Joaquin!” an enforcer barked back. 

“He’s a first-year. Why would he be here? Get out!”

They weren’t budging. Instead, they erected mana barriers and positioned themselves at the stairs, forming a physical blockade.

They were using force to resist law enforcement.

“Move,” I said.

“Ah, Professor…” one of the enforcers muttered, but stepped aside.

I walked forward, stopping before the barrier. The cadets tensed up, clearly nervous.

And I didn’t miss that opening.

『 World Forgery: Phenomenon Forgery [Mana Barrier Destruction] 』

All I did was reach out and touch the barrier. 

But suddenly, a crack formed immediately, splitting through the dome like glass under pressure. Lightning danced along the fissures. 

Crackle—! Shatter!!

The barrier exploded into fragments of light. 

“W-What the—?! How did…?!”

“S-Shit! Run for it!!”

Human perception relied more on sight than most would expect. What they didn’t realize was that the barrier was still intact. 

The destruction was an illusion, wrapped in smoke. But the cadet maintaining it bolted the moment he saw it break, even though he was still channeling mana into it.

Thanks to that, the path was clear.

“Move in.”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

“Joaquin! The disciplinary enforcers are on the first floor!”

“I know, dumbass!”

Joaquin dashed up the stairs of Building 31, racing toward the rooftop.

As he ran, he cursed under his breath.

Shit…! This wasn’t part of the plan…!

He’d always expected the assassination would fail. Professor Dante wasn’t someone you took down easily. 

But not like this. Not this badly. 

They had learned nothing new about him—no information, no weaknesses, nothing. They hadn't even managed to injure him in the slightest.

And worst of all, his role in organizing the proxy assassination had been exposed.

He had dumped 100,000 hika into this operation. Yet Dante had sniffed him out in seconds.

What the fuck…! How did he know…?!

Frantic, he’d tried to bribe a few broke upperclassmen to stall things inside Building 31.

But Dante quickly arrived with the Disciplinary Enforcers at the same building, as if the professor could read every move Joaquin made.

If they caught him here, it was over.

He still had zero penalty points. But this? This incident could result in immediate expulsion.

And in this small world of assassins, expulsion was death by disgrace. He’d be branded a failure, a joke, a stain on the Black Path’s legacy.

It would stay with him for life, a lasting mark on his face that could never be wiped.

“Joaquin! W-Wait for me!”

“Hurry up, idiot!”

But even now, there was still a way out.

There was a faculty building to the north. If he could reach it, the professors from the Black Path would help him. 

There were no genuine, unbiased cadet-teacher relationships in this godforsaken academy.

The White Path and Black Path factions simply used Hiaka’s royal academy as a stage to expand their influence and consolidate power.

And Joaquin planned to take advantage of that. He clenched his teeth and sprinted up the stairs like a madman. 

But the situation was tight. Joaquin could sense the enforcers’ mana—they were almost upon him.

“Stop right there, Joaquin!”

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!

Gunfire echoed behind him. A few cadets fleeing with him were struck and went tumbling down the stairs. 

“Gah…!”

Still, they bought him time.

He reached the rooftop and pressed himself against the edge of the building, eyes clenched shut.

『 Presence Concealment 』

His body blurred, fading into transparency and blending with the air.

Now he just had to climb down.

He scaled the dorm wall in silence and eventually reached the ground.

…Made it. Fuck yes.

He slipped past the parked patrol cars and vanished into the woods at the back of the building.

A nasty grin formed on his face, and he couldn’t hide it. 

Ah, I’m saved. That was way too fucking close.

Walking backward into the woods, he kept his eyes locked on the dorm. 

Through the fourth and sixth-floor windows, he saw enforcers scrambling, frantically searching for him. 

Poor bastards. All that work for nothing.

He was already outside.

Sure, the members of the Black Path would chew him out a bit. But that wouldn’t last long.

He had money and connections. As long as he kept his head down and lay low for a while, it would be like nothing had ever happened…

Thud—

His back collided with something.

“The fuck? Watch where you’re—”

He turned, mid-curse, and froze. 

A man with black hair and pink eyes towered over him, staring down with cold precision.

His gaze—that of an apex predator eyeing its prey—reduced Joaquin to something utterly insignificant.

“Seize him.” Professor Dante Hiakapo ordered.

In the blink of an eye, Joaquin was slammed to the ground and pinned.

None of it made sense.

How…?

They were supposed to be inside the dorm.

Even if they had come out, they should’ve exited through the main entrance. But he had been watching that entrance the whole time.

“H-How did you find me…?”

He asked, not to learn from his mistakes or to improve as an assassin.

He simply couldn’t understand. His mind refused to accept the breach in his logic. 

He wanted to close the dark, empty void where his certainty had been. 

But the answer only deepened it.

“What do you mean?” Dante said calmly. “Even a blind man could’ve found you.”

⋮

That day, all ten members of Joaquin’s crew were arrested by the Disciplinary Enforcers.

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