Layme, of the Shadow Guard, was tense.
“What should we do...? I’m sorry, but I can’t...”
Because Rebecca was speaking softly. With the kind of expression one uses when choking someone to death.
“I’m sorry... I just don’t have the peace of mind...”
— Your Highness! Please, just help us once...!
“......”
The request from the caller was this:
They wanted Rebecca to step forward personally to publicize that the top-ranked achievement in the “Competitiveness↑ Dungeon” was done by Dante’s assassination squad.
But would Princess Rebecca ever do something like that?
She was the one who had suggested doing it anonymously in the first place.
“I’m sorry...”
And so the princess tried to decline politely.
But the academy professor was persistent.
— Your Highness!! This is an opportunity! If this really is Professor Dante Hiakapo’s assassination squad, aren’t they overwhelmingly superior to cadets from other nations!? We’ve gathered some data on our end too, so if Your Highness would just help set the stage a little, we could turn this into an official achievement of the Kingdom of Hiaka...!
On and on the barking continued.
They didn’t know whether this was truly the work of Dante’s assassination squad. It was Professor Dante who had made the request through Wilhelm—the curly-haired one who accompanied him on the Assassination Daily trip—to the Imperial Dungeon Administration. And Wilhelm had kept his mouth shut about it.
The department, ignorant of all this, was pushing the princess to bankrupt herself.
“Your Highness...”
Layme carefully suggested she be allowed to take {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the call instead, but Rebecca ignored her.
Instead, she briefly pulled the receiver away.
With trembling hands, she opened her cigarette case.
It was empty.
— As Your Highness surely knows...
“I said no.”
— ...Pardon!?
Layme was panicking inside.
Rebecca, too, looked like she had slipped up.
“...yo. Ah, I’m sorry. How many times have I said this...? Please understand that my position is that I cannot comply...”
— Ah, yes! But this is the first time you’ve picked up...!
“I’m sorry, then...”
She hung up and slammed the handset down.
Thud!
Layme rushed off to her quarters to look for a spare cigarette.
Left alone, Rebecca sighed.
“Haa......”
That made five times now. Five calls from the department. The mask she always wore in front of others was starting to crack from the sheer irritation.
“Stigma dungeon, stigma dungeon, stigma dungeon......”
It was so annoying, she was starting to shudder from disgust.
If only she hadn’t suggested anonymity......
At this point, it had become common to see Gray’s photos floating around on the web.
By now, Dante’s assassination squad would’ve begun gaining global fame.
The Empire would have pushed forward an academic exchange agreement just to poach them.
After that, Hiaka would slowly be eaten away by Imperial capital and reduced to a vassal state.
And she would’ve lost the souls she had worked so hard to collect to the gamble of the “Fortune Star□.”
“...I’d rather kill myself.”
Her heart thumped violently. Even if she lost a hundred million Hika. Even if she gave up her title as princess. She must not lose the souls she had collected. That was the only trump card Rebecca could wield entirely on her own terms.
To gain souls, she attended mass every dawn. Jamming her feet into ridiculously high heels. Chanting prayers she didn’t even care about. Forcing herself to smile like she was some holy girl made her feel sick. She’d been doing that bullshit for years.
And now, everything she’d gathered was on the verge of flying away.
“How the hell did it end up like this......?”
A sorrowful murmur slipped out.
“There was nothing wrong... I’m sure of it......”
Her original plan when enrolling in the academy had been different.
She would take promising kids, train them well, diligently collect souls, go to the Empire, assassinate the Emperor, and then live out countless dreams.
But now, all she felt was anxiety about losing her entire fortune day by day.
Where did it all go wrong? What went off the rails? Because of who?
‘No one...’
No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find the root cause.
How did the Dormant Dragon Cadets even get a chance to challenge the Imperial Stigma Dungeon?
Because the Empire had begun showing favor to Hiaka after the Assassination Daily became a hit.
Why was the Assassination Daily even scheduled?
Because the department resolved to open things up.
Why did the department decide to open up?
Because of the betrayal of the neutral professors.
Why did the neutral professors betray them?
It wasn’t just one person’s fault.
In other words, from the very beginning, this whole mess was beyond what a human could control.
Her hand gripped the empty cigarette case tightly.
Crunch.
Nothing was going Rebecca’s way.
If there was one silver lining, it was that she still had a single lifeline while the world was collapsing.
‘......Professor Dante.’
But even this damned lifeline was a problem.
He wouldn’t listen.
Professor Dante was uncontrollable. He absolutely refused to move according to her will. Even though he was the only person in all this chaos who could overturn everything by himself.
He’d act like he might help, then pull back. Like he was on her side—but maybe not. That’s what drove Rebecca insane.
What the hell should she do?
How could she put a leash on that professor?
If only she could completely have him, she wouldn’t need to worry about any of this......
“Your Highness.”
Just then, Sir Layme returned and handed over a fresh pack of cigarettes.
— Ding-a-ling!
At the same time, the phone rang.
Was this the sixth time now? Rebecca’s guess was half-right.
— ...We’re looking to escalate the situation, so we ask that Your Highness accompany the Dormant Dragon Cadets.
“......”
Rebecca held back the foul words rising in her throat and asked gently.
“...May I ask just one thing?”
— Yes, Your Highness.
“...Whose order is this?”
— It’s a directive from the Geumryun Palace.
It was the royal family.
Even the royal family, knowing the greatness of the Dormant Dragon Cadets, wanted a piece of the action in this affair.
“......”
Strength gathered in Rebecca’s jaw. There are emotions in this world that can only be expressed with crude, vulgar words. Rebecca was beginning to realize that she was well and truly fucked.
“...I’ll consider it.”
After hanging up, she rose abruptly.
“Sir Layme. Prepare the car.”
“Ah, yes. But Sir Cheongru is arriving soon...”
“What, am I going to die just because I don’t have a bodyguard? Just go prep the damn car.”
“Understood. Where shall I escort you?”
“My father.”
‘...Excuse me? Ah, yes...’ Layme was baffled. She was saying she would go see His Majesty without even arranging an audience.
Still, if the princess says go, then she goes. The two of them headed outside together.
At that same moment—
The old knight-guardian, Cheongru, was watching her from the window when he made a call.
“Yes. She’s in motion. I’ll send the location.”
After ending the call, the elderly knight Cheongru clicked his tongue as he watched the car disappear into the distance.
“...Filthy little bitch.”
***
“Huff, haa....”
“Kha... w-water, please....”
The kids who had been running collapsed and gasped for air. It was Dante’s assassination squad.
We were in the middle of training.
Lately, we trained like this every single day.
“Uuugh, urgh... blergh...!”
“Hey! Huff huff—Don’t, don’t you dare throw up, Kendreik, you bastard...! Huff huff—If you puke...! Huff huff—I’m gonna...!”
“...Kyaahaha! Huff Fucking hell, huff, that’s hilarious....”
Even Gray and Balmung—let alone the physically fit Kendreik and Elize—were gasping as if dying, their heads pressed to the ground. That was because the stronger they were, the heavier the “restraints” I’d put on them for training.
“Your times are gradually improving. Keep it up.”
Originally, we were supposed to train for another two hours.
But a sudden alert on my status window changed my plans.
“Today’s training ends here.”
“...Professor, huff, where are you going...?”
As I packed up my things, Gray asked.
“There’s somewhere I need to stop by nearby. All of you, go rest well.”
Though they had been suffering through training, they seemed reluctant now that I told them to rest.
It was more comforting to just keep training.
Because the next mission would soon begin.
But for now, there was something more urgent.
⋮
< ⧉ Global [Erosion] is progressing.
< Progress: 1 / 3 >
⋮
Demons weren’t just monsters.
They were ridiculously diligent bastards. Monsters who spent every waking hour scheming how to kill humans.
Once “Erosion” began and the [Progress] meter climbed, it was accompanied by a corresponding change in demonic strategy.
According to what I’d already uncovered, they were planning an indiscriminate terrorist attack on the academy dormitories.
Right now, it was winter break. With the academy open to the public, most students and professors had left Zone 0 and gone home. The ones left behind were kids like mine, who had no place to return to. The demons were targeting those kids.
I had to do what assassins were meant to do.
I washed thoroughly, shaved, and dried my hair.
I looked in the mirror. There I was. When others said I was handsome, I’d just shrugged it off—but after washing up, I really did look pretty damn good.
Once my hair was dry, I slicked it back with pomade. It was nice being handsome. Any hairstyle looked good on me.
Dressed in a pressed uniform and polished shoes, I was ready. That was all I needed for this assassination.
Ding!
On my way to the banquet hall, I stepped into the elevator.
As the doors began to close, a hand slipped through.
“Hey. Mind if we join you?”
“What’s the rush? We saw you coming.”
Two men stepped in behind me. A glance at their nametags told me everything: both were “Subordinates.”
Traitors of humanity who had made contracts with demons and were last in line to die.
“Yaaawn, I’m tired. Where you headed, brother?”
One of the Subordinates asked me.
“The banquet hall.”
“The banquet hall? Knew it, you looked sharp.”
“What’re you heading there for? To pick up chicks? Uwahaha!”
“Hahaha! Lucky guy. The selection’s good tonight!”
At that moment, I was behind the two of them. They stood in front of me, facing the door.
But I knew by instinct. Both of them had rolled their eyes deep into their sockets to secretly watch me.
“It’s not for women.”
“Then who are you here to see?”
“You two.”
Click.
I shot one of them in the head with the pistol I’d prepped in advance.
“Y-you motherfu—!!”
By the time the other pulled out a blade, the muzzle was already pressed to his forehead. Click—the silencer gave a clean report. Both bodies collapsed. Blood began to pool on the floor. I had to step aside to avoid getting splattered.
Ding!
Luckily, the doors opened before my shoes got wet. I stepped out and heard soft music playing.
As I walked down the corridor, I killed a few more. All of them were Subordinates.
Tonight’s banquet in Zone 3 was supposedly for external guests only. But that was a lie.
“Hey. Who are you?”
“Unauthorized personnel can’t enter.”
Two guards blocked me. I wondered if they might be human, but no—fortunately, they were Subordinates.
Click click—
The two brutes fell.
I opened the doors to the banquet hall.
No one was dancing under the dim lights. There was no champagne. No musicians, either—the music came from a crystal orb.
But the floor was lined with siege weapons. Things like anti-tank rockets.
I’d expected them to at least pretend this was a banquet. Had I known, I wouldn’t have bothered dressing up.
“Hey! Who the hell are you!”
Someone shouted as I scanned the weapons laid about.
“...So you were planning to fire these at the student dorms.”
A man in uniform barked at me.
“The hell are you talking about, asshole! Did the Master send you? State your identity and purpose!”
So I did.
Identity—
“Senior Professor of the Department of Assassination, Dante Hiakapo.”
Purpose—
“Student protection.”
After that, I unleashed the Giant Soldier’s Sword○ and laid waste to the area. I killed every last Subordinate. Didn’t let a single one escape.
Around that time, a hornless demon burst out from the far side of the banquet hall. It looked similar to the one I’d killed before—Toxin.
The battle was one-sided.
Now I could wield not just [Illusion], but [Martial Arts] too. And I held a [National Treasure]. The demon didn’t stand a chance.
KRAAAANG ―
It tried to flee through the window but was smashed against the wall by an invisible hand, a mess of blood and gore.
“...Will you spare me?”
This time, the hornless demon asked calmly.
I didn’t answer.
Click.
Demons must be killed.
┃ Mission Complete: [Student Protection]
┃ Reward: Star Fragment ×5
< Current Star Fragments: 221 (▲5) >
***
The location was a lakeside. Ran was hiding between trees.
“......”
So this is how that perverted woodsman must’ve felt while spying on the bathing fairy.
Of course, she wasn’t the woodsman. And the one over there wasn’t a fairy.
Instead of a fairy robe, the figure was wearing what looked like a ghillie suit made of rags.
But as she splashed water on her face, her hood slipped back—and nestled in her sky-blue hair were two round, curled horns like a sheep’s.
Two horns.
What was that?
‘A demon.’
More specifically, a “Two-Horned Demon.”
Demons were categorized by number of horns: hornless, one-horned, two-horned, and three-horned. Three-horned demons were Demon Lords.
That meant that one was a demon just below the level of a Demon Lord. A boss monster that shouldn’t exist in the world at this time.
The power gap between hornless and one-horned demons was vast, and the difference between one-horned and two-horned was even greater.
Since Demon Lords were half-abstract entities, that one was likely the strongest physical enemy that could currently exist in this world.
‘Hmm. So this is the sight of a creature capable of destroying a country by itself... splashing water on its face?’
Ran recalled something she had once said:
— ...There’s something in there that was supposed to have died according to the world’s order, but is being forcibly kept alive.
There was no doubt now that this was what she meant.
Was it because of the two horns? Because it was a monster that shouldn’t have appeared yet?
Still, she could only read notifications from the System⧉—not interpret them.
── ⧉ ──
Notice 1: Something that was supposed to have died under the world’s order has been confirmed to exist forcibly within Error Space.
Notice 2: Event points within the Error Space dungeon are intersecting... (verifying) >
── ⧉ ──
Even Notification 2 was still unfinished.
‘...Professor will know.’
For some reason, Professor Dante seemed to know quite a lot about this world.
Ran decided she would return and report this—
To the professor.
But on the way down, she forgot.
⋮
“What happened today?”
Dante asked, washing his hands repeatedly with soapy water.
Ran pondered something, then replied:
“Nothing in particular.”
“I see. Then tomorrow, let’s go together.”
“Why are you coming along?”
“Princess Rebecca says she’s going to accelerate the redevelopment of Starfall Mountain. I want to check on it in advance.”
“The Witch of the Graveyard?”
“That’s right.”
And after that, Dante continued washing his hands. For a long time.