WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Translator: Touch

Editor: Grass

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 37: Who’s Better at Illusion Arts? (2)

Professor Dante clicked his tongue as he read the article:

——

– (Update) Professor Dante experiences a partial loss of speech following an intruder ambush.

Looks like that reporter really was a lunatic.

It was the problem with monopolies. The fact that a company could still function despite publishing such trash was unbelievable…

Dante sent the news agency a request for correction and made sure to engrave the reporter’s name into his brain.

Tracy Forbetime = Lunatic Reporter.

* * *

As mentioned previously, gaining fame within the academy didn’t mean everything was all sunshine and rainbows.

“This is outrageous.”

Especially since the neutral professors were beginning to show open disapproval toward Professor Dante.

“Yesterday, Professor Toxin of the Black Path suddenly disappeared, and his entire residence was wiped clean. And today, a post was released praising Professor Dante for an assassination. Even an unborn baby could figure out what happened!”

“Could it be a coincidence?”

“A coincidence is when it happens once! Do you actually believe it’s a coincidence when that professor-killer murdered two professors? Then what, will you consider the third death a coincidence too? What about a fourth?”

Though they were not a formal faction, in a world ruled by the Black and White Paths, even the neutral professors had to band together to survive. Many of them were sick and tired of the endless conflicts of vested interests.

“He’s a shady bastard, I tell you.”

“Seems that way. I heard his Illusion Arts are quite advanced. But we all know it’s only the shady bastards who ever bother learning Illusion Arts to deceive others.”

“Your point is?”

“Black or White Paths, it doesn’t matter. He’s deceiving every single person out there! And we all know there would never be an intruder at Hiaka. Ever since the end of the Second Great Assassination War and the Hilden Treaty, academies haven’t even bothered to send assassins to rival schools anymore. Yet he dares to claim there was an intruder?!”

The neutral professors nodded in agreement.

“The administration must be frustrated too. They’re probably letting him overstep his boundaries and be all cocky because they want to keep him around.”

“He pisses me off… He tries to raise his own value by playing hard to get with the Black and White Paths, but then acts all fragile with this aphasia nonsense to look weak in The Assassin Times.”

“We must not go easy on him!”

If Dante belonged to either the Black or White Path, they wouldn’t have been this outraged. But he was someone in the same boat as them—a neutral professor, a weakling, an obvious underdog. And now, he was acting like he had the authority to do as he pleased, killing other professors left and right.

The neutral professors could no longer suppress their anger.

He’s a traitor.

No one dared to voice it aloud, but most of them were thinking the same.

Still, the neutral professors had no justification to punish him. They simply complained behind his back.

But there were others who disagreed with their inaction.

Inside the sewers, a red-eyed professor locked gazes with a red-eyed cadet in the darkness.

He then turned to lock eyes with a red-eyed academic staff member and a red-eyed janitor standing beside them.

Eventually, they all faced a horned man standing farther down the tunnel.

Even in the dimness, his horn exuded a chilling, dreary aura.

The man, now long accustomed to human speech after living in the human world for some time, finally spoke.

“We must kill Professor Dante Hiakapo.”

His voice was calm, with no hint of hatred. It wasn’t for vengeance or anything of the sort.

He only had a blind, unwavering determination.

“Get the Black Dragon cadets to move. I suspect they are far stronger than anyone expects. And two of the cadets seem less smart than the other five. If we manage to persuade them, we may be able to use them.”

The red-eyed group bowed their heads and left the sewers immediately.

After her first audit, Gray continued to attend every class I taught.

But her presence felt like a burden since I couldn’t figure out her purpose.

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Gray: … 】

Even the textbox didn’t offer anything useful regarding her intentions. That is, until one day, it finally showed something more concrete.

【 Black Dragon Division, First-Year, Gray: …I won’t accept it. 】

But I had no clue what it meant.

What is she refusing to accept?

Later that day, I ran into the Idiot Trio—Forte, Hwaru, and Dominic—during dinner, and decided to ask what they thought of Gray.

“Gray? She uses some kind of thread-like weapon and specializes in Illusion Arts. Not that she’d be a match for you, Professor,” Forte explained.

“What’s her personality like?” I asked.

“Hmm… she’s like a cat, I guess? Lively and cheerful. Whenever I see her, she’s usually smiling or yelling… She was nice to me when she visited the Moon Shadow Dorm before.”

If she was kind to someone like Forte—a known outcast who got bullied by Joaquin—she must be genuinely kind.

“Hm… She said something along the lines of ‘I believe the world should reward hardworking people like you’ to me.”

That was surprisingly wholesome. Maybe I had misjudged her as short-tempered.

“She’s not all gentle and kind,” Dominic—the pig of the wolf-rabbit-pig trio—interjected as he adjusted his glasses.

“Really?”

“Everyone says she’s like a cat, but from what I know, Gray Habanero is quite… extreme.”

“Extreme?”

“Yes. During the first semester, the administration tried to assign a supervising professor to the Black Dragon Division. They refused, but the academy forced them to comply anyway. So Gray stormed into the admin office with a 25-kilogram bomb vest, threatening to kill everyone.”

“…Huh?” I exclaimed.

That was an incredibly absurd story.

“She apparently said, ‘If you won’t change your minds, let’s all die together.’ It’s technically just a rumor, but it comes from a trustworthy source.”

And who’s your “trustworthy” source…?

I held back from asking, since Dominic was trying so hard to look mysterious while pushing his glasses up.

“So, did the administration cancel their decision?” I asked instead.

“Yes. They even contacted House Habanero, but her family admitted they couldn’t control her either. In the end, she avoided expulsion since the dean was fond of her.”

What is up with that girl, seriously?

So, to summarize:

Gray was cheerful. Liked to smile. Sociable. Kind and warm-hearted. Anti-authoritarian. Clearly academic, since she voluntarily attended my Illusion Arts lectures.

But also violent. Resorted to extreme measures. And… peculiar?

“She seems like a temperamental girl,” Adele concluded.

That sounded about right.

But then, Hwaru, who’d been picking at her fried shrimp, awkwardly glanced my way. I caught her mid-action and called her out.

“Hwaru.”

“Y-Yes?!”

“Looks like you’ve got something to say.”

“N-No! I mean, not really… just… um… I used to be friends with Gray a long time ago…”

Both Dominic and Forte turned to her, shocked.

“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s my first time hearing this too.”

They both stared while Hwaru smiled awkwardly.

“Well… it was a long time ago. And she’s a friend, so I didn’t want to talk carelessly…” she said in her defense.

“Go on. I’m curious now,” one of the boys urged her.

“Professor Dante seems curious as well.”

“Uhhh…” she hesitated.

“C’mon, Hwaru. You can’t not talk about it now. Professor Dante literally put himself on the line to protect you in the forest.”

“Well… I don’t know too much, but…”

I was about to cut her off since she was being cornered and pressured, but before I could speak, she continued.

“…Gray used to be depressed, introverted, and easily scared before.”

Oh. She spilled the beans so easily…

Then I remembered what Forte had told me on the running track.

Hwaru and Dominic were both well-known blabbermouths. Obviously, she’d be fine talking about it.

“What? That doesn’t make sense. She’s cheerful, kind, and violent. But you’re saying she’s also depressed, introverted, and easily scared?” Forte asked, confused by her statement.

“Uh… well, she had a lot going on with her family,” Hwaru murmured. “One time, she ran away from home and stayed at my place for about a week. She thanked me every day and asked if there was anyone I wanted to kill. She said she would kill them for me as repayment.”

“Was that before the Habanero Incident?”

Forte, being from the White Path, asked thoughtlessly.

But Hwaru, who was of the Black Path, instantly became stern as the smile dropped from her face.

“Ah, sorry…” he quickly apologized.

The Habanero Incident had resulted in the near-total destruction of House Habanero.

It wasn’t a topic you could bring up so willy-nilly.

Regardless, it seemed Gray was a mess of contradictions.

But at the very least, there was one thing everyone agreed on: she was like a cat.

Let’s do a quick summary.

After dinner, I made a list of all the Black Dragon cadets, with their names and traits.

★ = White Path / ☆ = Black Path

Boys (4)

– Kaiser Truman [Leader]: The evil mastermind-looking boy. Second-in-command. He leads and chooses the direction for the Black Dragon Division but holds no commanding power.

– Balmung Nibelung☆: Dobermann. Son of 「Pitch-Dark Constellation⚉」, the Matriarch and “Great Mother” of House Nibelung. Specializes in Sniping Arts.

– Kendrake Drake☆: Aggressive and belligerent. Often cocky. Specializes in Combat Arts.

– Kwan Oliviera★: White-haired boy. Don’t know much about him yet.

Girls (3)

– Rebecca Hiakium von Hiaka★ [Boss]: Known as the Saintess of the Palace, but actually has a fairly nasty personality. True strength unknown. The supreme commander of the Black Dragon Division. Ultimate decision-maker.

– Elize Csikos★: Daughter of 「Shadowless Constellation○」 , the missing count. Kind but twisted. Like a retriever. Very strong. Attends my class. Specializes in Stealth Arts.

– Gray Habanero☆: Daughter of House Habanero. Cat-like personality. Seems to be targeting me lately. Specializes in Illusion Arts.

There was a girl who liked to poke her nose into things.

One morning, she wandered near her house as usual when she came across a strange note on a park bench.

‘Wanna play a fun game? If you’re interested, come to the abandoned parking lot near the Black Dragon Dormitory at 5 PM.’

It was a ridiculous message. A “fun game”? Who in their right mind would listen to such a shady message?

Fun game…?

Well, this pink-haired airhead fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

So here she was, entering the indoor parking lot at 5 PM.

Her pink hair swayed gently as she walked, her footsteps making no sound at all.

Eventually, she came face-to-face with a masked man.

“You’ve come, Cadet Elize.”

“Fun game?” she asked.

“Yes. A very fun game,” he replied.

To her surprise, the man proposed an extremely thrilling and interesting game.

“Assassinating Professor Dante?” she said, eyes wide.

“Yes. Doesn’t it sound fun?”

It did sound fun.

She’d fail, of course—but it would surely be a fun game.

Furthermore, the masked man said he’d support her to ensure she had the best chance at winning.

“How will you help?”

“We’ll provide ten assassins. All Platinum-rated combatants. If you utilize your full power, I believe you could kill Professor Dante. He is estimated to be Diamond-rated, after all.”

Oh?

That was quite the offer.

Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold-rated combatants fell in Tier 3. They were vastly weaker than Platinum-rated ones, the lowest rank of Tier 2.

Hiring a Gold combatant costs nearly double the price of a Silver. But a Platinum combatant? That costs over five times what a Gold one does.

And now, he was offering ten Platinum assassins for free?

Elize pondered for a short while before answering.

“It won’t work.”

“Pardon?”

“Even with ten Platinums and me… I don’t think we can kill Professor Dante.”

“That cannot be. We are aware of how strong you truly are, Cadet Elize.”

“Hm.”

Her pink eyes drifted to the ceiling.

She imagined Dante in her head, then imagined herself and the assassins rushing him.

She shook her head.

“Nope… Professor Dante’s crazy strong.”

“But you learned Stealth Arts under 「Shadowless Constellation○」, didn’t you?”

“Still, Professor Dante finds me so easily.”

Elize smiled brightly, then explained why the game’s rules were flawed.

“He’s really strong. Great vision. Great hearing. Fast reflexes. Great spatial awareness. Strong combat skills. I heard he even killed that super-strong Professor Hakon.”

...As a side note, Elize had poor memory. So the fact that she recalled all this was impressive.

“Then, we’ll drastically raise the stakes,” the masked man declared.

“Hm?”

“One Diamond-rated assassin, three Emerald, and fifteen Platinum.”

Elize’s eyes went wide.

It was an absurd offer.

Adding herself to that mix, it would be the most fun assassination ever, even if they failed.

“Sounds fun, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“Yep yep!”

“We think so too.”

Her pink eyes sparkled with excitement, and the man smirked beneath his mask.

Everything was going according to plan…

Until a chill suddenly ran up his spine.

Elize and the masked man both fell silent, not knowing why themselves.

A quiet lull descended in the parking lot.

But soon enough, they saw someone in the far distance, walking toward them.

Clack.

The sound of a cane hitting the hard floor echoed in the room.

Long, black, glossy hair flowed behind him as vertically-slit pupils stared into their souls.

A certain cadet approached the two.

“Kaiser?”

Recognizing the boy, Elize waved joyfully.

The masked man was seized by a nervous tension before greeting him.

“Oh, if it isn’t the leader of the Black Dragon Division. What brings you here?”

There wasn’t a soul in the Assassin Department who didn’t know of Kaiser.

The masked man gulped as a drop of cold sweat ran down his back.

“I was just passing by. I like to know where my comrades are,” Kaiser said softly.

There was no falsehood in his words. He had simply been out on a walk.

“Oh, I see. If I’d known you were nearby, I would’ve invited you to join us…”

“And who might you be, sir?”

“I am Vaisakhi, an academic staff. I was simply having a chat with Cadet Elize.”

The masked man let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Although Kaiser was dangerous, he also knew Kaiser didn’t respect professors, just like most other Black Dragon cadets this year.

There was the bomb incident involving Gray. Then there was the time Kendrake killed a professor in broad daylight. Moreover, there was Kaiser, who had already assassinated four professors.

Getting discovered by him wasn’t part of their plans… but surely, he would prove to be useful.

Or so he thought.

“Elize,” Kaiser said, turning toward her.

“Yeah?”

“What were you two talking about?”

He genuinely had no idea what the conversation was about and was asking out of curiosity.

Elize happily answered, “He wants me to kill Professor Dante.”

“…Really?”

Instantly, Kaiser’s gaze fixed on the masked man, a glint of rage hidden behind those vertically-slit pupils.

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