WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 28: DLC [Professor in a Heroic Fantasy] – Midpoint Recap (1)

The crow clarified that the Black Path was offering 200 million hika over seven years, not as an immediate lump-sum payment.

Even so, my perceived value had seemingly increased once again.

It seemed that once I had made it clear I wasn’t affiliated with the White Path, the Black Path had grown eager to recruit me too.

Life was full of strange experiences. To think people were making such a fuss and throwing around such large sums just to recruit me.

But still, how could I possibly join either side? I wasn’t even the one who killed Hakon.

If I joined one of them, they would soon realize that I was useless and weak.

And worst of all, there was a high chance the other faction would cause a serious incident and spark a war.

“I refuse,” I said to the crow.

“Cawk?”

“Just tell them that I appreciate the offer, but I prefer being alone.”

I patted the bird on the head and sent it off.

I would likely continue to receive recruitment offers in the coming days, but I would always decline them.

Standing on this ambiguous line between both factions was the only thing keeping me alive, after all...

——

Scene #1 – The Professors ◀

Scene #2 – Kaiser

Scene #3 – Eve

Scene #4 – Dante Hiakapo

They say beautiful women suffer from their success.

I wasn’t beautiful, nor was I a woman, but I could now fully understand what the expression meant. 

“Lovely weather today, isn’t it? Haha,” one professor said. 

“It’s allergy season. What’s so lovely about that?” another retorted.

As I walked down the street, a White Path professor stood on my left while a Black Path professor stood on my right.

"The fried flounder here’s really good, Professor Dante. You should try some," said the Black Path professor.

"Typical Black Path, all talk, no action," the White Path professor sneered. "Professor Dante, I already bought two of them. Please have one."

I sat in the faculty cafeteria, with White Path professors to my left and Black Path professors to my right.

“……”

Even at the urinals in the faculty restroom, one White Path professor stood directly to my left, and a Black Path professor stood to my right…

Come on, guys. There are seven urinals here. Maintain a minimum of one space between us.

Despite rejecting both offers, the two groups continued to curry my favor.

“You’re really popular, Professor.” Adele chuckled.

Personally, I didn’t like it one bit.

I had to maintain neutrality no matter what.

And as the Black and White Paths vied for my allegiance, others became increasingly hostile. Specifically, the professors from the neutral faction.

They had no reason to covet me at all.

Ever since I stepped in to stop the fight between Elize and Marina, they had begun to harbor a quiet disdain for me. 

And lately, that hostility had only grown.

That evening, after meeting with Eve at Mount Stargaze, I returned to the department office to review some paperwork. As I walked between the desks, a professor bumped into my shoulder and threw out an unsavory comment.

"Hah. A professor shouldn’t be killing another professor."

● Neutral Professor, Collider

Other faculty members were present in the office, and Collider’s words caught everyone’s attention. Their eyes turned toward us.

I took a brief moment to think before opening my mouth.

"What nonsense. Go check the Disciplinary Enforcers’ official statement regarding the matter."

"Hmph. And why should I trust them? They love to sweep anything under the rug if they have no definitive evidence."

"Then do as you wish. But I had nothing to do with that incident."

"Sure, sure. But let me give you a piece of advice. Try acting your age. Flaunting your power around like that is bound to bring trouble."

I didn’t reply. I simply stood there, waiting for him to move on.

I knew that none of my words would get through to him. But Collider didn’t relent and continued preaching.

"I get it, you’re strong. Just keep it in check. Do you think the rest of us work at this academy while seeing the people we hate daily, because we can’t kill them? No, we just control ourselves."

"Keep what in check? I haven’t done anything," I retorted.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Yikes, so scary. You gonna kill me next or what?"

I stared Collider straight in the eye.

"Should I?"

"...What?"

Collider flinched.

“What did you just—?”

“Just kidding.”

While the neutral professor clenched his teeth and trembled with fury, I turned away.

Although the Assassin Department was divided into two sections—black and white—there was a gray area in between them.

There were two reasons behind the existence of this gray area.

Either the members were so powerful that they didn’t need to join a faction, or they were too weak for any faction to recruit them.

I originally belonged to the latter, but somehow, I was now living as the former.

Senior Professor Collider, however, was a legitimate example of the first case. 

Although he was Diamond-rated like most other professors in the top 1% of combatants, Collider ranked in the top 0.01%, making him one of the strongest Diamond-rated combatants out there.

He had received elite training and was now a well-respected professor among his peers.

"Don’t mind him too much, Professor Dante. Professor Collider just gets easily irritable when it comes to assassinations," said a voice beside me.

Funnily enough, it was a Black Path professor who tried to comfort me.

But the thought that followed in his mind wasn’t as comforting.

【 Black Path Professor, Shark: The neutral guys definitely seem to hate Professor Dante these days… I mean, it’s not like I don’t get them. Nobody chooses neutrality because they like it. They just have no choice. And now, some no-name professor starts getting praised outta nowhere. So he’s bound to earn their resentment. 】

Apparently, the neutral professors were jealous of how I was being courted by both the Black and White Paths.

On top of that, the chief neutral professors are planning a mass defection.

The main story event was approaching quickly.

Since only the chief professors are defecting, the other neutral professors, like Collider, will be left behind. They’ll be nothing more than the severed tail of the escaping lizard.

In other words, Collider was just a poor fool who had bet on the wrong horse.

Not that I cared too much. Whether they hated me or not, it didn’t matter to me…

I made my way out of the office and headed back to my residence.

Despite being involved in various incidents lately, I finally had a moment to breathe.

It’s time to start tracking down demons and gathering Star Shards.

Assassinating demons.

Harvesting Star Shards through those assassinations.

These were my main goals. They had never left my mind, even as I was dragged from place to place into one mess after another.

I hadn’t even begun preparing to fight demons yet, but now that I had some breathing room, I could finally get started.

The first thing I needed to do was find demons.

But then... something caught my eye, and I was absolutely dumbfounded.

I halted, standing near the professors' residential area.

"Adele. Who’s that guy?" I asked, pointing to a man standing in the garden of the opposite building.

Adele stared for a moment to get a better look before answering.

“Uh… Oh, that’s the new professor, Professor Toxin. He was brought in from the Black Path to fill Professor Hakon’s vacancy. Not sure where he’s from, though.”

I figured it was about time they showed up.

As I continued glaring at this Toxin guy, Adele cautiously asked, "…What’s the matter? Do you happen to know him?"

It was a demon without horns that had appeared at the academy.

● Hornless Demon, Toxin

The moment I saw him, an intense rage surged from my chest.

For some reason, I held immense, instinctive hostility toward the enemies of humanity.

Perhaps the game’s system had programmed the players to feel this way?

“…I think I do,” I muttered.

To explain my current feelings, it was like seeing a snake’s spawn slither into your tent on a peaceful camping trip, baring its fangs toward your children.

It wasn’t a situation where you would simply shoo it away—you would grab a rock and smash its head into a bloody mess, making sure to incapacitate it.

That was the kind of instinctual loathing I felt.

I had expected this. I knew I’d be fighting demons. I wanted the Star Shards, after all.

But now that a demon stood before my eyes, all those logical thoughts got pushed to the back of my mind.

All that remained was an instinctive, overwhelming disgust that even I found surprising.

───

Scene #1 – The Professors

Scene #2 – Kaiser ◀

"Come on in," an elderly man said, inviting a boy inside the room.

The boy limped in with his cane and, after greeting the elder with a light nod, sat down across from him and crossed his legs.

"Thank you for receiving me," said Kaiser Truman.

He had come for a meeting with the Royal Council of Elders. It wasn’t a particularly special event, as he frequently had routine meetings with them.

"The weather’s getting chilly, isn’t it? How about a cup of tea?" the elder offered kindly.

"Thank you. It’s quite fragrant and warm," Kaiser replied, accepting it.

"How have you been lately? Personally, every time I meet with you, my heart races a little in anticipation of what you’ll say," the elder chuckled.

"I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you this time. These days, I’ve just been growing an apple tree in the Black Dragon Dormitory’s backyard," Kaiser said.

As the two exchanged this trivial banter, the elder pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

No matter how many times he saw him, this boy always exuded a dangerous aura.

Kaiser was born a commoner—one of the lowest classes at that. Yet here he was, sitting comfortably and chatting casually with a noble-born royal elder.

"Would it be all right if I asked you a bit about your recent activities?" the elder asked, cautiously steering the conversation toward the main point.

Kaiser merely smiled gently. "Lately, everyone’s been quietly focusing on their studies."

They continued talking for a while longer, and the elder sighed to himself.

This slippery little snake…

With strength far beyond his years, any other youngster would be flaunting it by now. Yet this one showed no sign of doing so. 

He hid it thoroughly, revealing certain aspects only when necessary.

As a result, the royal court still had no idea just how powerful the Black Dragon cadets truly were or what their goals might be. 

Discovering their intentions and gaining control over them had been the true purpose of these meetings. However, they had been unsuccessful so far.

"It was a pleasure, Elder," Kaiser said at last.

In the end, the meeting concluded without any progress once again.

Frustrated, the elder added a parting word.

"Young Kaiser, may I offer one piece of advice? Not as a royal elder, but simply as an old man who has lived a longer life than you."

"Yes, please feel free to share. I will take your words to heart," Kaiser said politely.

"If you keep everything so tightly hidden, you won’t be able to receive help from the adults," the elder warned. "When people build relationships, they must show at least some sincerity and share some secrets with one another."

“Ah…” Kaiser let out a small smile.

"I don’t know what great feats you’re trying to accomplish, but you won’t be able to do it alone," the elder continued. "Children grow by watching the backs of their heroes. Only then can they find the right path in life. And one day, when their heroes stumble from exhaustion, the children will carry on that will. In that sense, Young Kaiser, you—"

The elder babbled on for a bit longer, still cloaking his words under the guise of advice.

"Thank you for your guidance," Kaiser said, bowing respectfully before stepping outside.

In truth, none of that advice had truly registered in his ears.

What was he supposed to do with that information, anyway? He didn’t even want to be here in the first place.

But one thing the elder said stuck with him:

…If you keep everything so tightly hidden, you won’t be able to receive help from the adults.

This truth used to burden Kaiser. The fear was slowly gnawing away at his mind.

But now… things were different.

'Children grow by watching the backs of their heroes?’ He’s absolutely right.

The elder had failed to realize one crucial fact.

He was likely speaking under the assumption that Kaiser would consider the royal court his heroes.

But Kaiser… had already resolved to follow the back of a certain other hero.

Someone who supported him unconditionally.

Someone he could turn to for true guidance in times of hardship.

His one and only hero.

…Professor Dante Hiakapo.

As he was reminded of who truly mattered to him, Kaiser decided to send the professor a message for the first time in a while.

– To Professor Dante: Hello, Professor.

As someone who was only used to speaking with people he didn’t enjoy being around, talking to Dante was a healing experience for Kaiser. It felt like a dopamine rush.

But then, he hesitated.

Would the professor find it annoying if he contacted him too often? The boy began to worry and started deleting his message.

Sending such a half-hearted greeting wasn’t right. He should only reach out when he had something meaningful to say.

Slowly, Kaiser found himself thinking again about what it meant to be righteous.

To return the kindness of the one who supported him… Surely that was righteous.

Everything was a first for Kaiser—feeling no hesitation in killing someone, the catharsis of having defeated an enemy.

But more than that...

What truly stood out to him was that he had taken the lead for the first time.

Kaiser, who had previously been swayed and pushed around by the actions of others, made a decision for himself and carried it out voluntarily. 

Achieving his goals brought him a satisfaction he had never experienced before.

The boy read Dante’s message again.

– Dante: Righteousness is what you believe to be right.

Regardless of whether it was good or evil, he had achieved a goal he viewed as righteous.

Kaiser was finally examining his own heart and delving into his emotions for the first time. 

If his heart were a patch of land, it had long been abandoned.

A bunch of seeds thrown in by others sprouted haphazardly, creating an overgrown mess of tangled weeds and vines.

But after finally getting rid of the chaotic thicket, he was reunited with the empty patch of land he hadn’t seen in a very long time.

And now… Maybe he could plant something of his own in here, too.

Was defeating the professor’s enemies all there was? Could he truly consider that righteousness?

If not…

Then perhaps… just perhaps… he needed to take a step further beyond that.

Of course, it wasn’t the right time yet.

There was still much Kaiser had to do.

But this idea took root like a seed deep in his heart, right in the center of that cleared-up, empty field.

And now, if rain were to fall… 

Then one day, even this barren land may witness a healthy new sprout breaking through the dry soil.

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