WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

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Chapter 22: Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination (4)

The next day, Joaquin Hilavan’s disciplinary hearing was held.

The charges: orchestrating a proxy assassination and engaging in an illegal assassination attempt.

A total of eight professors were present in the room—me, the victim of the incident, two professors from the White Path, Black Path, and Neutral factions, and the supervising professor of the Moon Shadow Division.

Together, we held a hearing to determine Joaquin’s punishment.

“How does Professor Dante see the situation?”

“He must be expelled,” I replied instantly.

There was nothing more to say. Expulsion was the obvious outcome for that insolent boy, given the charges he had incurred.

However, the supervising professor of the Moon Shadow Division just so happened to be from the Black Path.

“He is still a young cadet with great potential. His grades aren’t to be ignored, either. Don’t you think we should give him another chance? Most children raised as assassins become this aggressive, and we’re the ones who have to gradually teach them to keep their emotions under control, through incidents like this.”

The two professors from the White Path and I pushed for expulsion.

The two Black Path professors and the Moon Shadow Division’s supervisor argued for leniency.

The Neutral professors were split one-to-one.

“Hmm. That splits the vote for expulsion four to four,” stated Shaman, the Dean of the Assassin Department, as he stroked his thick chin.

“I shall now deliver the final verdict for Joaquin Hilavan. The cadet orchestrated a proxy assassination at a time that broke department rules, thereby violating the core values of the Assassin Department. Thus, I hereby issue Disciplinary Order No. 9.”

Disciplinary Order No. 9—the harshest penalty besides expulsion or execution.

“Cadet Joaquin Hilavan is hereby sentenced with 2.9 penalty points, a fine of 500,000 hika, a repeat of his current academic year, full responsibility for the proxy assassination, and 400 hours of on-campus community service.”

It was quite a harsh sentence.

The most brutal of them all was the 500,000 hika fine. That amount was financially devastating for a cadet.

“An assassin is, above all, meant to be a tool. And the Assassin Department is a forge that hammers and shapes such tools. Cadet Joaquin. If you truly came here to learn to be a better assassin, do not overstep your bounds or cross the line again.”

Joaquin knelt on the floor and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. I will reflect on my actions.”

The professors began murmuring amongst themselves.

“For someone with such pride to bow his head like that... perhaps we should leave it at this.”

“He is showing signs of remorse.”

“His actions were excessive, but I’d say Order No. 9 is sufficient punishment.”

The professors from both factions were reaching a middle ground.

Joaquin was still a young cadet, after all, and it appeared as though he was remorseful.

But I knew the truth: it was all an act.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Joaquin: Holy shit, I’m saved. These dumb old boomers. I bow my head once, and they actually think I’m sorry. Fucking morons. But seriously, 500,000 hika is way too much. What the hell is up with this school, robbing its cadets blind? Fuck me, I don’t want to pay all that… 】

This internal monologue revealed his true, rotten self.

They say mind-readers die young, and I can see why… I’ll probably end up with anger issues and high blood pressure if I keep reading thoughts like his for the rest of my life.

I had just made up the expression. No one had ever said that “mind readers died young,” but it probably wasn’t far from the truth.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Joaquin: ……! 】

As our eyes met, Joaquin quickly looked away, his face pale and frozen.

He seemed utterly terrified of me now.

Good.

This was a great outcome from a survival standpoint.

I had deliberately made the effects of 『World Forgery』 big and flashy, knowing that some of it would surely be transmitted to Joaquin through a visual feed. I had hoped it would intimidate him. 

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Joaquin: That fucking professor… Fine, I won’t get involved with him for now and lay low. But just you wait… Once I gather my strength, I’ll kill him in one shot next time… 】

Unbelievable. He still hadn’t given up on killing me.

You think everything will be fine if you don’t get involved with me for a while? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you’ll be dealing with me for a while longer.

I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. Not until I chose to.

After all, he had tried to assassinate me outside of class. I wasn’t about to let that slide.

“The disciplinary hearing is adjourned.”

Afterward, I headed to the Disciplinary Office to meet the cadets who had participated in the assassination attempt.

They looked thoroughly disheartened and demoralized. They had probably already received a scolding from the enforcers. 

“We’re sorry, Professor.”

“We’re sorry…”

Heads bowed in unison.

Pitiful kids, really. 

In the Assassin Department, power determined one’s worth, and they had none.

They had likely lived difficult lives and gotten caught up in this mess through sheer bad luck.

Not that it matters to me… 

I didn’t feel much sympathy. I had enough trouble surviving as it was, so I had no space in my heart to be concerned for others.

Still, to weaken Joaquin’s power and influence just a bit, I decided to give them a small shot at revenge.

Joaquin’s actual lackeys were being held in a separate location. The only ones here were the victims of his bullying and threats, forced into following his orders.

I stood in front of them.

“Attention.”

Their defeated eyes turned to me.

“All ten of you attempted to assassinate me under Joaquin’s orders. He, who orchestrated the proxy assassination, has received Disciplinary Order No. 9. On the other hand, you all will be let off with just a warning.”

Their faces darkened again.

Frustration. Defeat. Fear.

A mixture of all three emotions swirled in their minds. The same went for Forte, the Moon Shadow cadet in the back.

They seemed to think I was about to scold them. 

But I wasn’t.

“…However, I was so overwhelmed at the time of the assassination attempt that my memory’s a bit fuzzy.”

A few of them looked up, confused by my words.

“Since the attempt happened outside of class, I must confiscate the weapons and items you used… but unfortunately, I was so flustered at the time that I cannot remember which tools exactly you all used during the attempt on my life.”

Some of the kids slowly started to understand what I meant, but many still looked confused.

“Since I am unable to remember which items were used, you, the participants, are to voluntarily confess the items you utilized. And according to Disciplinary Order No. 9, Joaquin will take responsibility for those items and pay the price as I confiscate them from him.”

A mixture of shock, surprise, and realization lit up in their faces. They were finally starting to understand my intentions. 

If a mastermind had ordered an assassination through proxies, then the consequences of the proxies must also be borne by the mastermind.

But some still hesitated to speak. What dense kids.

I decided to spoon-feed them the answer a little more. 

“You lot went as far as to destroy a vehicle protected by magic to assassinate me. I may be an experienced and powerful assassin who holds the title of professor, but even I felt genuinely threatened by your actions. Thus, the equipment you used must’ve been quite expensive.”

I decided to seek help from the most clever among them. 

“What about you, Forte Asimov? What items did you use?”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Forte.

His eyes and mouth slowly widened as he belatedly realized that I was throwing him a bone.

“Ah, yes! You’re correct! To do my best in assassinating you, Professor, I used my most expensive rifle, the TTI-13…”

He stopped mid-sentence. I glanced at my textbox to see what he was thinking.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Forte: …Wait a second. If Joaquin’s the one bearing the responsibility and paying the price, that means my gear won’t be confiscated… then there’s no reason to say I only used one weapon, right? 】

Exactly! That’s exactly it!

He perfectly understood what I was going for.

“…And I used twelve shurikens and two daggers that I borrowed from Hwaru, a classmate, and eight different alchemy potions borrowed from Dominic!”

Damn. That was wild. He really borrowed that much?

“Are you saying you used all those items during the assassination attempt?”

“Yes…!”

“How unfortunate. Then they must be confiscated from the person taking responsibility.”

Needless to say, that person was Joaquin.

Lightbulbs practically lit up over the cadets’ heads as they finally realized what this charade was about.

“Uh, Professor! I’m so sorry…!”

“What is it? What did you do?”

“I-I borrowed a Magic-grade longsword from my older brother to do my best to kill you!”

“Naughty child. Sadly, that too must be confiscated.”

“Ah, Professor, me too…!”

Once the dam broke, countless confessions came flooding in.

“M-My family has this heirloom… It’s an explosive shuriken. I used it in the attempt, although for some reason it didn’t explode. Still, I definitely used it…!”

“I’m sorry! I set up a magic trap for your assassination, Professor, but I don’t remember where I placed it! It’s probably dismantled by now…”

“Uh, I used 32 potions! But since I drank them, there is no proof of their usage…!”

Good. Very good… No, wait! This is not enough!

Did no one here try to assassinate me with a solid bar of gold? Or did no one attempt to crash-land a space station onto me?!

“Oh, I know! I used a Legendary-grade consumable, but I already used it, so there’s no way to prove—!”

“That’s too much.”

“Ah, s-sorry…”

They shouldn’t go overboard. If it were too excessive, the Disciplinary Enforcers would flag it anyway.

Thankfully, the enforcers were siding with me for this incident.

In fact, an officer was grinning ear to ear as he watched over us from the corner of the room. It sure seemed like he enjoyed watching Joaquin getting royally screwed over.

“Officer.”

“Yes, Professor?”

“Don’t just stand there smiling. Come write down the list of items for the invoice. And don’t forget to file it anonymously.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll take care of it without issue.”

“How long will the confiscation process take?”

“Not very long. A day should be enough. The faculty has agreed to cooperate.”

That was unexpectedly fast. Even though they had to assess the value of the items and initiate the confiscation process through the Assassin Department’s faculty, it could be done within a day.

A rough calculation showed that just this haul would be worth at least tens of thousands of hika.

I glanced back at the cadets. Their once gloomy expressions were gone without a trace.

“You lot. Don’t ever carry out such mindless assassinations again. Understood?”

“Yes! We understand!”

“We’re sorry! It won’t happen again…!”

There was a particular joy in our demeanor, like the citizens of a town banding together to tie up a criminal and stone him.

These cadets were all smiling with glee, united in their efforts to take down a common enemy.

They didn’t feel threatened by Joaquin anymore. He had already lost most of his power and influence and would have to spend a long time showing self-restraint.

“Well then, I shall take my leave now.”

I stood from my seat, preparing to go home. I really wanted some rest now.

“Take care, Professor!”

“Goodbye, Professor!”

On my way out, Forte stared at me for a moment before quickly looking away.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Forte: Professor Dante… To go this far for our sake… Just who are you…? 】

He was clearly emotional.

Even though all I had done was line my own pockets, he saw my actions as noble and just for some reason.

Moreover, his misunderstanding didn’t end there.

【 Moon Shadow Division, First-Year, Forte: I didn’t even sense Professor Dante when he approached me near the end of the fight… Who knew the difference in our skills was so vast… 】

In truth, he was probably stronger than I was. But if he wanted to believe otherwise, I had no reason to stop him.

Ah, come to think of it, he’s from House Asimov, isn’t he?

It was something I had learned while digging through some documents in my office earlier.

The House of Asimov was a prestigious family of the White Path, renowned for their sniping.

They were especially known for assassinating enemy royalty during the Second Great Assassination War.

So, could that kid be the son of Seimo Asimov? But even so, his skills were pitiful.

His grades were mediocre. His eyesight, mana, and ability proficiency were all terrible.

That was why he had to repeat a year despite being a Moon Shadow cadet, and why he got pressured into a proxy assassination by another Moon Shadow cadet.

…No reason to get further involved.

I had no reason to care about someone else’s circumstances.

However, as I carefully examined the textbox during this incident, I made another realization.

It was Kendrake who had secretly instigated Joaquin.

He must have planted the seed of disobedience in Joaquin’s mind, pushing him to assassinate me.

“…He must be taught a lesson.”

⋮

The following day, some funds were deposited into my account.

▷ Joaquin Hilavan’s Assassination Items Confiscation Fee

 　- 464,120 Ħ

And I got another reward along with it.

┃ Objective Completed: [Stop the Proxy Assassination]

┃ Reward: Star Shards ×5

< Star Shards in Possession: 69 >

I was satisfied with these results.

Professor Assassination: Proxy Assassination - END

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