WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Translator: Touch

Editor: Grass

Join our discord to check out the official illustrations: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 64: The Bell Rings Over Snow-Covered Ruins (9)

“I must confess, Illusion Arts rightfully belong to the mages.”

“Can a crow-tit become a stork by stretching its legs? Can you paint a pumpkin green and call it a watermelon? Only the venerable mages can truly wield Illusion Arts. All we assassins ever did was clumsily mimic your arts.”

“And yet, you might find it strange that Gray continues to rise in the rankings. But worry not. I understand it all. Even I, as her professor, was surprised by what my student has achieved. Just like a dog follows the back of its master, a cadet follows the back of their professor. So then, does it mean Gray has a mage for a professor?”

“But the saying that a cadet follows their professor seems a bit off, doesn’t it? In fact, you yourself have criticized your past lab environment, and take pride in providing adult diapers to your assistants, Chief Galois. But then, it doesn’t make sense. If cadets resemble their professors, then Chief Galois’s mentor must have praised adult diapers too. And the Chief’s mentor’s mentor must also have researched in such dire circumstances that they too praised adult diapers. Oh no, to think that mages work in such terrible conditions, yet gain continental recognition… It does explain why only the venerable mages can utilize Illusion Arts to its fullest potential…”

“Ah, it seems Gray moved up another two ranks while I was talking. What about your dearest Farhan, who was trained by the great genius Chief Galois? Ah, how unfortunate. It seems he hasn’t been scoring well. The gap is shrinking by one point every two minutes. At that rate, it will close by another thirty points in an hour—but I suppose it doesn’t really matter, does it? Gray must’ve learned Illusion Arts from a mage professor after all, since only mages can properly wield Illusion Arts, as you’ve mentioned. So all the glory she brings will rightfully go to the mages, don’t you think?”

“But still, Chief, I worry for you. You owe me one elixir for every ten-point gap, and the gap is likely to go over nine hundred points. That’s ninety elixirs at the very least. But if I were to take ninety elixirs from your treasury, Chief, the whole storehouse would be emptied. Still, bets are sacred, aren’t they? So we have no choice. Surely you’re not thinking of backing out now? No? Of course not. I was told that you're the kind of man who never goes back on his word. A real man among men—who never backed down even when there were false rumors spreading endlessly around Hiaka that you had plagiarized a thesis. So it seems you can’t retract this bet, either. And sadly enough, I will have no choice but to bankrupt your vault and take those ninety elixirs… Chief? Chief? Where are you going, Chief Galois?! Chief Professor Galois! An examiner cannot leave their position in the middle of an exam! Are you seriously trying to run away using Teleport while someone is talking to you?!”

“…Take up the blade, O Colossus…” Dante whispered.

BOOM—!

“Oh no!! Good heavens, what just happened?! Are you alright, Chief? But as expected from a Grandmaster-rated mage like you. To come out unharmed from that kind of collision! It seems something invisible disrupted the teleportation. Don’t worry too much about it and come this way. There are still 21 hours left until the exam ends…”

“Hey! Stop Chief Galois! Collider! Catch that damn old man! He’s running away!!”

That day, inside the Forest of Magic, an old man’s scream echoed relentlessly.

⋮

——

1. Elize – 1,012

2. Gray – 992

3. Farhan – 754

As night fell and most cadets had left, the second day of the exam came to a close.

Only one day remained.

* * *

“Good work today.”

“Well done, everyone.”

The professors and teaching assistants let out a collective sigh as they rotated shifts. As they did, they looked up at the tree the cadets had been constructing.

At the edge of Zone 9, approximately 4,000 meters up in the sky, was a tree taking shape. It was still shrouded in white mist and not fully visible, but already, it was massive—enormous beyond words.

A tree was being built through the combined efforts of 1,200 cadets.

Was this what the World Tree from those ancient legends looked like? The one whose destruction supposedly brought about the Ice Age? If it were as enormous as this tree, perhaps the story made some sense.

“It’s around 7 kilometers away from us, right?”

“Roughly, yeah. It starts 4 kilometers vertically, while being about 6 kilometers away horizontally… so yeah, 7.2 kilometers out.”

“Whoa… It doesn’t feel real…”

The professors were left speechless.

“Who in the world is this Chief Professor Cain? How did they construct the framework for such an impossibly large illusion?”

“I know, right? Even most Challengers wouldn’t be able to pull something like this off.”

Professors who didn’t know who Cain was could only marvel at the sight.

Those who did know kept glancing at Dante.

Especially Galois, whose ears still stung from the young professor’s verbal assault.

To reach that level… and yet he’s only thirty years old?

This was no ordinary final exam.

At just thirty years of age, this young man was presenting a whole new dimension to the continent’s study of Illusion Arts.

“May I have a word, Professor Dante?”

“Yes, Dean.”

Ezekiel, the Dean of the Mage Department, called out to Dante. The two then walked off to a quieter area.

“This is going better than expected,” he remarked.

“Indeed. Did the royal family approve of the plan?” Dante asked.

“It’s not fully settled yet. But the proposal has been submitted to the Royal High Council.”

Ezekiel had no intention of letting this newly discovered dimension of Illusion Arts end as merely the topic of some final exam for cadets.

This was far too magnificent to pass off as just another measly academy event.

So Ezekiel had decided to expand the scope.

But if he wanted to scale things up, the half-destroyed academy lacked the proper resources. The support from the country and its royal family was essential.

“The High Council meets tomorrow. But I know there are some opposing elders and ministers. I’ll have to persuade them myself.”

“…I see. If circumstances allow, please let me accompany you.”

“No. That cannot happen. ‘Cain’ must never appear in an official setting.”

“Even if it’s for a royal audience?”

“I believe there are Kreutz spies even within the palace. Don’t concern yourself too much. Leave royal matters to the royals.”

“I see. Then I shall count on you.”

If Ezekiel succeeded in persuading the royal council tomorrow, every Illusion Arts practitioner in the kingdom would end up participating in Dante’s final exam.

That would truly be a sight to behold…

With that thought in mind, Ezekiel disappeared with a 『Teleport』 spell.

As Dante turned to return to the professors’ quarters, a soft scent brushed his nose.

He changed direction and headed deeper into the forest, following the scent.

There, a mountain cabin—one he had never seen before—sat in the dark of night.

Dante instinctively knew it was an invitation for him.

And he decided to accept it.

When I opened the door to the cabin, I found myself in my own office.

The whole thing was an illusion, it seemed.

As I sat in the chair as usual, the door I had closed behind me quietly creaked open once more.

A cadet crept in like a cat. She walked on the balls of her feet and toes—clearly out of habit. Then she met my eyes.

“What business do you have with me?” I asked.

Gray Habanero stood before me.

The trembling eyes that had once been filled with constant anxiety were nowhere to be seen.

Her expression now was calm.

Then, she hopped up onto my desk and walked across it before sitting on the very edge of the table.

She now sat face to face with me, at an incredibly close distance.

After a peculiar silence weighed upon us, Gray chuckled playfully, revealing her usual cheeky fang. But the corners of her eyes were subdued, giving off an air of composure and earnestness.

“…Are you using my dagger well?” she asked.

She must have been referring to the Swift Dagger I had confiscated from her on my first day at the academy.

“I sold it.”

“Really? Even though it was pretty expensive… Did you get a good price, at least?”

“Who knows? What’s your business?”

“Oh, c’mon. Do I really need a reason to hang out with you? Maybe I just wanted to talk about life or something…”

“Save that for another time. It’s not appropriate for an examiner to be meeting with a cadet privately like this.”

“Eh? Why so serious…”

“If you have nothing to say, I’ll take my leave.”

I was about to get off my chair when Gray suddenly hopped off the desk and straddled me, face to face. Her weight forced me back into the chair. One of her hands gripped the hem of my clothes—tattoos curling across her skin.

The playful expression she wore just moments ago had vanished.

Her lips quivered. No words came out.

A faint tension filled the silence between us as seconds passed.

But ultimately, her soft voice finally broke through.

“…The wings.”

“Wings?”

I repeated her words, and she nodded.

“…That was me. I did that, right?” she asked.

Her breathing was slow, but her eyes began to tremble again.

I thought for a moment—what did she mean by that?

I didn’t consult the textbox. I just kept thinking to myself before I came up with an answer.

“Indeed.”

Her gray eyes narrowed slightly.

“…It’s true?”

“It is.”

“…Right? It wasn’t you who did it, but me. Right, Professor?”

I remained silent.

“…Hm?”

Still, I said nothing.

“…Why? Why aren’t you answering…?”

The truth about that incident meant little to nothing to me. If a lie could bring someone peace of mind, then what did it matter?

“It’s true. You did it,” I finally responded.

Gray leaned forward, pressing her forehead against my chest.

Her small head rested there, its weight surprisingly grounding.

If someone were watching, they would easily misunderstand the situation. I myself felt somewhat alarmed by our awkward position. But I didn’t push her away. I let her be.

Eventually, she gave a slight nod and muttered into my clothes.

“…Mm.”

In that soft, nasal murmur, we both understood that several unspoken words had passed between us.

Soon after, she climbed off and perched herself back on the edge of the desk.

“You asked what business I had with you earlier, right?” she said. “Well, I do have something to say.”

“I’m listening.”

“House Habanero is a prestigious family of Illusion Arts practitioners.”

“I know.”

“We’re one of the top three across the continent. Back in the day, both the Empire and Kreutz offered big money to recruit us.”

“They did. I know the history.”

“Mhm. But now, most of the family is dead, and our techniques were almost lost. So the family decided to pour everything that was left into one genius. Kind of like selecting and focusing on a single prodigy’s growth.”

I already knew all of this.

“…So it would be quite the honor to teach someone like that… right?”

She glanced at me, trying to gauge my reaction.

“You think?” I replied, sounding nonchalant.

“Of course~ I mean, I’d be the best student of your entire career! You could brag about it to others, telling them stuff like, ‘I taught her! We ate lunch together! Went to the sauna together! We did everything together!’ It’d be a privilege, no?”

I didn’t respond. She peeked at me again.

“…You get what I’m saying, right?”

“I have no idea.”

“…You don’t? I’m saying you should feel honored to be teaching me, the greatest cadet you’ll ever teach in your life.”

It seemed she was trying to ask me to teach her Illusion Arts, albeit in a very roundabout way.

After a pause, I said, “If you want to learn from me, get first place on the exam and apply for a tutoring session.”

Gray scowled.

“I can easily get first place, obviously… But then you’re only gonna teach me one technique…”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s not… I mean, I don’t even need to learn your dumb techniques… What I’m saying is, don’t you want to teach me? Me, the Gray Habanero?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why are you acting like this…? You already know the answer, don’t you…?”

“I don’t.”

I kept replying with “I don’t know” to every question she threw at me.

Eventually, she bit her lip, frustrated.

“…Think about it again. Carefully.”

“About what?”

She pulled out a knife and pressed it to my neck.

“So, do you want to teach me or not? Answer me.”

Unfortunately for her, I knew the knife was just an illusion.

Clink!

With a flick of my finger, I interfered with the mana. The illusory knife shattered. Gray flinched, startled.

“I don’t know,” I said again, as casually as before.

“Ughhh. Seriously, what is wrong with you?” she groaned. “I just explained my glorious family history, and that I’m the genius who inherited it all… and you still don’t know what I’m getting to?”

“Why not…? Why don’t you understand?? Are you stupid, Professor? Did you go dumb from studying Illusion Arts too much? Why don’t you get it?”

Her mouth twisted in disbelief.

“…Fine, whatever… I don’t know either, then. I don’t know!”

I remained silent, and she huffed.

“I’m not the type to cling onto someone, begging disgracefully, okay? I’m not gonna learn from a professor who doesn’t even want to teach me…! Unbelievable. Do you realize how many people want me around the world? And here you are, too blind to even realize what you’re missing out on—”

She continued grumbling.

To be honest, I was only teasing her because her reactions were amusing.

But I needed Gray for the upcoming 「Betting Table」 main story.

It was time to stop messing with her.

“I was joking,” I said.

“Just when I was getting my hopes up… Hm??”

It took her a moment to register what I’d said. Her surprised eyes turned back to me.

“…What?” she asked.

“I said I was joking. I, too, want to be your supervising professor.”

She blinked. Light returned to her eyes, though she quickly turned her head away.

“…But I don’t like you,” she muttered.

Unfortunately for her, that cheeky fang poking out of her lips gave away her playful tone.

“Then I guess I’ll give up.”

Her head snapped back toward me.

“Ehh? Why would you say that…??”

“You refused me. What else can I do?”

“…I said I didn’t like you, not that I was refusing! Wait, that’s not the point! Why do you give up so easily? Be a man! If I say no, you’re supposed to push harder at least once!”

“Why should I?”

“Geez, Professor!”

“You’ve never dated anyone, have you? You act all stoic and cool on the outside, but I bet you’re secretly a total virgin! You’re a loser! An awkward and bumbling fool! In fact, I bet your hands start shaking whenever you’re talking to girls…! Wait, I bet they’re shaking right now—!”

And so, amidst this strange conversation where both people were playing hard to get, we somehow managed to reach a conclusion.

It was now time to part.

“…I’ll get first place for sure,” Gray declared while cautiously waving goodbye to me.

If you wish to read ahead, there are 10 advanced chapters available right now!

Join our Discord for the official illustrations and the fastest updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/wetried