WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Professor

Translator: Touch

Editor: Grass

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Chapter 74: Glass Butterfly (2)

I wasn’t expecting any particular reaction from Gray, but she sat frozen in place, clearly confused by what had just happened.

“…Ah, seriously, this is driving me nuts…” she muttered.

Eventually, she let out an awkward chuckle.

“How did you do that…?” she asked.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’?”

“Did I do well or something?” I played dumb.

“Geez, what nonsense are you spouting, seriously…”

Gray scrunched her face like she was annoyed, but her eyes betrayed genuine curiosity.

“How did you do it…? You’re not even from our house. You’ve never been taught 『Glass Butterfly』, and yet… I’m seriously shocked right now.”

“You don’t look like it.”

“That’s because I don’t even know what kind of face I should be making. No, really—how did you pull that off so easily?”

“I’m not sure. For now, I’ll try learning the rest.”

“The rest?”

“Didn’t you say there was one more step after making multiple butterflies appear? I need to learn that too to say I’ve fully learned Embroidery.”

“Right. But wait a moment. I need to go to the laundry room for a bit.”

“The laundry room? Why?”

“I was so surprised just now that I had a bit of an accident…” Gray said hesitantly, crossing her legs.

But her face wore a mischievous smile.

Ugh. Disgusting.

I really hated unhygienic things.

“That’s a filthy joke,” I muttered with a frown.

“Hm?” Her eyes curved like crescent moons as she chuckled. “Who said it was a joke? I’m serious.”

She doubled down on the bit. Maybe she found my reaction funny since I’m usually so straight-faced.

“…Whatever you say.”

“Wait, you don’t believe me? I really wet myself down there.”

“Enough.”

I furrowed my brows. Gray burst out laughing.

“…I’ll wait here,” I said curtly.

“Mhm. I’ll be back. But it’ll take a bit. I have to wash them, after all.” She winked.

This damn brat.

“Gray Habanero,” I growled.

“Kyahaha~! Sorry, sorry~♡”

“Keep the filthy talk to a minimum.”

“Okay~ But you know, your reactions are seriously hilarious, Professor. You get all flustered. So cute~”

I stared at her in silence.

“Okay, okay…! Don’t glare at me like that. Mmkay? I’m off now~!”

And just like that, I got teased endlessly by someone far younger than me.

While Gray briefly stepped out of the hall, I fell into thought.

I began pondering the House of Habanero—its past as a clan of feline beastfolk, and its distinct style of illusion art: 『Glass Butterfly』.

Illusion arts typically originated from mages. But there was one style that defied that rule—and that was House Habanero’s.

This was the legend of how it came to be:

A long time ago, a cat beastfolk lived closely with a human, cherished and loved.

But one day, the human abandoned it.

Alone and forgotten, the pitiful cat continued living. One day, while alone in a cave, it saw a fluttering blue butterfly.

Curious, the cat chased it into the forest. But before it could catch it, the butterfly vanished. The cat returned home, dejected.

Later, as it fell asleep in the cave, the cat dreamed of becoming a butterfly.

In that dream, it soared freely through the skies. As a butterfly, it could become anything—fly anywhere.

A flower. A tree. Anything it desired.

It could fly over rivers, perch on branches, even cross the flames of hell.

When it awoke, the cat began manifesting a supernatural ability based on that intense, dreamlike experience.

That was the origin of House Habanero’s unique illusion art:

『Glass Butterfly』

This illusion art was fundamentally different from others. Unlike other illusion arts, it had no circuits, no formulas, and no system.

It relied solely on mental imagery and mana to manifest illusions.

The more vivid the imagery, the better the illusion formed.

But human memory tends to fade. No matter how vivid the image appears in the mind, it often resembles pixel art more than a detailed painting. 

Try closing your eyes and picturing an apple right now.

Approximately 15% of humans cannot visualize anything at all. 

Of the remaining 85%, half can only form a vague outline, while about 40% can conjure a clear image. 

Only around 5% can visualize something photo-realistic.

But even that level of clarity wasn’t enough to cast and wield 『Glass Butterfly』.

To use 『Glass Butterfly』, one had to form more vivid mental images, needing to be even more detailed—as if the object or scene were physically in front of one’s eyes.

You had to invent something from nothing, which demanded great imagination. But imagination was simply about “finding a new link between unrelated elements,” and those elements came from one’s memories.

In short, one required incredible memory to cast 『Glass Butterfly』 properly.

And that was Gray’s strength. She possessed a far more vivid memory than most.

If she tried, she could recall and count the number of bangs on my forehead the day we first met.

She stored her memories like books, stacking them high inside a mental archive.

That was the hereditary ability of the Habanero bloodline:

「Cat Tower Record」

Unfortunately, I didn’t have that ability.

And yet, I had almost flawlessly replicated the third form of 『Glass Butterfly』, Embroidery—so close to perfect that Gray was visibly shocked by my achievement.

But technically, I wasn’t deserving of my achievement.

In truth, I still couldn’t use 『Glass Butterfly』.

The reason I was able to replicate Embroidery so closely was that I had forged it.

Just as I thought…

My ability 『World Forgery』 could even replicate 『Glass Butterfly』.

Since I was using one supernatural ability to mimic another, the mana efficiency was abysmal. It drained a significant amount of my mana, but the result was undeniably close to the real 『Glass Butterfly』.

Feels like I’m stepping into a new field of study.

Just like how counterfeiting currency required perfect knowledge of the genuine article, I had thrown myself into a completely foreign illusionary system—trying to understand and internalize it.

I really was learning illusion arts from Gray.

“I’m back, Professor~”

“Let’s continue.”

“Mhm. But wait a sec~ Hmmm…”

Gray rummaged around in her shoulder bag for a moment.

“Huh? Where did it go? I brought it with me…”

“What are you looking for?”

“Well, since you didn’t believe me… I was going to show you…”

“…??”

She looked back up at me and gently pressed her legs together, her face brimming with mischief.

“…Oi, you little—”

I had no idea what kind of face I was making, but it must’ve been pretty funny since Gray burst out cackling.

“Kyahahahahaha!!”

I had made a mistake. I never should’ve let her know how much I hated unhygienic jokes.

These damned catfolk—they always loved toying with humans like this.

“Are you that embarrassed?” Gray asked, eyes gleaming.

I didn’t respond.

“You’re such a virgin loser, Professor~ So pathetic♡”

That’s it.

“Today’s session ends here,” I declared, standing up to leave.

“Huh?”

Gray then flailed her hands.

“Ah, fine, fine! I’ll stop messing around with you…”

“…”

“Wha— Wait, are you seriously leaving? Really? I was just kidding…!”

I remained silent. 

“W-Wait… don’t go! I was wrong…! I’ll stop messing around nowww…!”

* * *

“Then, should we try to learn the Fourth Form before the end of the day?”

“I’ll do my best,” I nodded.

“Haa… Even though this took me three whole months to learn…”

We resumed serious studying. This time, we planned to learn the Fourth Form of 『Glass Butterfly』, Dreamscape. It involved transforming an illusory butterfly into a different form.

“To put it simply, the butterfly becomes the material for the illusion,” Gray explained.

First, you had to craft the butterfly. Then, that butterfly could be transmuted into something else.

“So for now, try copying me…”

The strength of 『Glass Butterfly』 lay in how it couldn’t be understood within the framework of conventional magic—just like how a programming expert couldn’t comprehend how a magic mirror operated.

This ability existed outside the bounds of common logic, and only those who truly understood it could wield it.

That was why neither assassins nor mages could make sense of 『Glass Butterfly』.

“Are the wings shimmering?” she asked.

“They are.”

“Good job. I can’t see it, so that means it’s a success.”

If I had to compare it to something, it was like how English speakers viewed Korean or Chinese characters—someone who had only learned Latin-style alphabets would feel utterly lost when faced with a completely different writing system.

“『Glass Butterfly』 also works well against physical attacks. If someone tries to destroy it, you can do this. Look—did you see that?”

“You turned it back into a butterfly?” I asked.

“That’s right. This way, it can avoid physical hits. If you rapidly switch back and forth between the butterfly and the illusion, it’ll look like it’s glitching to others. The enemy might think their blade went through the illusion, but the illusion won’t shatter.”

Our session had originally been scheduled for three hours, but as we continued, we became more and more absorbed in the lesson.

Gray and I delved deeper into studying 『Glass Butterfly』.

“Huh? What are you doing, Professor?”

“…Hm.”

“Those butterflies are flying away,” she pointed out.

“They’re not obeying my commands.”

“Eh? That’s strange… Still, it should be fine since the others are listening to you.”

It was my first time being taught by someone since entering this body, and it felt… nice.

Not simply because I was quick to learn, but also because—

“Yes, that’s good,” Gray said softly. “Now look at the butterfly and imagine what you want to transform it into. Uh-huh. A little more specific…”

I focused.

“Yes. That’s it. Well done,” she praised.

“You’re really good at this, Professor…”

Gray was far more patient and kind than I’d expected.

“A little more to this side…”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Good job…”

⋮

Time passed, and the clock struck midnight.

Multiple calls came to our crystal watches.

Gray got scolded by Lucy, the dorm maid, for not returning home yet. I got scolded by Adele.

Still, our lesson didn’t end.

Time passed again, quickly and quietly. Around 4 a.m., mountains and fields unfolded from the spot on the gymnasium floor where a butterfly had landed.

It was quite similar to Spatial Forgery.

With that, I had completed the Fourth Form of 『Glass Butterfly』: Dreamscape.

“Does that mean it’s a success?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Geez, would you stop doing that already…? Why do you keep asking when you know the answer?”

Despite her sharp tone, Gray’s eyes had grown hazy.

“Good work,” she murmured.

“You too. Thanks for today.”

“I didn’t think you’d get this far in a single day… Are you sure you’re not a Habanero, Professor?”

“What, you think I’m Dante Habanero?”

“Exactly.”

Gray gave a silly laugh. I found it a little amusing too.

Afterward, she stared blankly at the mountains and fields I had conjured, watching the butterflies flutter among them.

She watched them in silence for a long time.

Since her family had been wiped out in her childhood, it had likely been years—if not her whole life—since she’d seen 『Glass Butterfly』 cast successfully by someone else’s hands.

I couldn’t know exactly how she felt, but I was sure she had many emotions swirling inside her.

Eventually, Gray turned to me with a blank expression.

“…How is it?” she asked. “Now that you’ve learned it, what do you think?”

It was a question thrown out casually, almost as if it didn’t matter.

But I could tell it carried meaning. And I knew what kind of answer she was hoping for.

“Think what?”

“…I mean, how is it? 『Glass Butterfly』.”

“How is what?”

“…You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Professor?”

“Doing what?”

“…Just die already.”

A flicker of disappointment crossed her otherwise unreadable face.

“…Well, I guess 『Glass Butterfly』 doesn’t faze you at all, since you already know so many amazing illusion arts. Forget it…”

“You want to know what I think of 『Glass Butterfly』?” I asked, still playing dumb.

“Nope. You don’t have to answer anymore…”

“I’ll answer after we go.”

“…Go where?”

“To the laundry room.”

“…?”

When realization finally hit her, Gray lowered her head, hiding her twitching lips as she tried to suppress her laughter.

“Gosh, you’re such a boomer… That’s not how you do it. At least pretend you had an accident or something… You’re terrible at joking around~”

It was time I stopped messing with her.

“If I were to be honest,” I said, “I think 『Glass Butterfly』 is an incredible illusion art, one that could compete with others on a continental level.”

“…Eh?”

“Given the rising skill level of combatants across the world, an illusion art that is this hard to understand and copy is extremely valuable. After all, the Habanero founder created a 9th-level illusion system. If you ever reach the founder’s level of mastery, not even a Challenger could see through your illusions.”

I was praising her and the founder of House Habanero highly, since Challengers were the top 200 combatants on the entire continent.

“ 『Glass Butterfly』 is a powerful ability. And you have immense potential to contribute to the illusion arts industry of Hiaka.”

Gray rested her chin in her hand, covering half her mouth as if trying to act indifferent.

Then, gazing into the distance, she murmured softly—

“…Competitive on a continental level? Hm… Really~?”

She turned away with a pout, but couldn’t hide her cheeky fang poking out through her grin.

“…It’s that good?”

Furthermore, she couldn’t hide this pop-up window either.

┃ Bond Increased: Gray [43] (▲13)

┃ Reward: Star Shard ×13

This was the answer she’d been hoping to hear from me.

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