During downtime, I usually train. Either pulling cables or doing free weights in the mansion’s training room. Sometimes, I climb the rock wall behind the professors' quarters.
< [Stamina] +0.1 >
< Total Combat Power: 132,659 → 132,661 (▲2) >
Today, I was going for a long-distance run, which I hadn’t done in a while. Everything else I could train indoors, but long-distance running required borrowing the cadet track—because that track had a [Growth Option] built in.
【1st-Year, Moonshadow Institute - Forte: ‘Professor Dante...’】
Forte was running beside me.
I was already falling behind.
My stamina was still only at the level of a real-world athlete, so I couldn’t last long.
Not that it mattered. I had a reputation.
【1st-Year, Moonshadow Institute - Forte: ‘Even that monster gets tired... How heavy must the restraints he’s wearing be...?’】
People usually filled in the blanks on their own.
But today, something was off.
‘...What the hell is that?’
Nearly twenty cadets were huddled in the distance—whispering and glancing at me.
I opened up the 【Script】 and skimmed it carefully. Words like ‘yesterday’s western forest,’ ‘pillar of light,’ ‘rumor,’ and ‘killed an intruder outside the campus’ popped up.
And that’s when I realized.
These punks—
Didn’t they promise to keep it a secret?
Didn’t Dominic say something about how heavy his tongue was?
“Professor!”
Sure enough, as I was finishing the workout, Adele ran up and informed me:
The entire Department of Assassination had spread the rumor that I’d assassinated a “[Master]-rank intruder.”
“It’s true, isn’t it!? No wonder you got back so late!”
Adele exclaimed, startled.
Apparently the faculty had decided on that narrative. Better to say I’d taken out an “intruder” than admit the truth—that the professor had been a monster.
“It’s nothing worth fussing over.”
“Nothing!? You know how sensitive Zone 0 is about intruders...!”
The Department of Assassination is a closed-off group. They hate confinement—but are incredibly territorial.
In Hiaka and across the continent’s academies, it was common for assassins to sneak into rival departments to steal info or artifacts.
So intruders were always viewed as intense enemies.
And now the rumor was: I’d killed one.
“So what exactly happened yesterday?”
Adele asked, and I gave her a brief summary.
Forte, eavesdropping beside us, turned pale and added:
“...Wait—Dominic and Hwaru were there? Professor, those two may be my friends, but their mouths are gaping holes. You could park a truck in there.”
So that’s how it was...
And from that point on, I was swarmed with attention.
“Professor, just how strong are you?”
“So that pillar of light in the western woods—that was your doing...?”
Cadets. Professors. Everywhere I went:
“Who was the intruder?”
“How did you kill him?”
“Do you use light magic too?”
I couldn’t answer any of it.
“...It’s classified. Faculty-level secrets. I can’t speak of it.”
So I told the truth.
Which turned out to be a mistake.
【White Saber Professor Eugene: ‘Classified by the faculty... That confirms it was an external assassin.’】
【4th-Year, Department of Assassination - Aubrey: ‘Professor Dante... Did he just stop a foreign assassination?’】
At least the professors misunderstood within reason.
The cadets, however, took it way beyond.
I had to grit my teeth and pretend not to know anything.
“......”
But this kind of useless fame brought other problems—
Adele, giggling, showed me something.
“Professor, take a look at this.”
It was a post on Assassin Town, the private forum for the Department of Assassination.
< I think I finally get why everyone’s obsessed with Professor Dante >
You know how professors are these days?
Always talking big: “I’m an assassin, I’m a killer”—then hiding in their labs, terrified of getting attacked by their students, just trying to milk research funds.
But Professor Dante ← this guy?
Stops student assassinations. Breaks up inter-faculty wars. Catches proxy killers. Assassinated a Master-class assassin. Took out an intruder.
And then he hides all his achievements like it’s nothing ㄷㄷㄷ
“It got 450 upvotes. That’s a lot.”
“......”
Unbelievable. How am I supposed to face the other professors after this?
“Want to see another one?”
“No.”
“Oh come on, this one’s even better—”
Adele shoved the next post in my face.
< Wow. That last post? Totally real, lol >
Student assassination: Doesn’t retaliate Inter-faculty clash: All the neutral professors froze up, but he stepped in—and never talked about how he did it Proxy assassination: Even though they were caught by Ho**kin, didn’t punish the students who tried to kill him Ha**on assassination: He’s the one who killed him, but pretends he didn’t External intruder assassination: If he just admitted it, his professor ranking would skyrocket—but nope, absolutely won’t ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ lmao→ Professor Dante ← Who even is this guy?
“This one has 375 upvotes.”
Great. Very detailed. Very wrong.
I didn’t retaliate against the students because I couldn’t.
I didn’t punish the proxy assassins because I didn’t have the authority.
The Hakon incident... I’m too tired to even talk about it anymore.
Actually—
At this point, maybe I should just say I killed him.
‘Hakon was a punk anyway.’
...That thought looped in my head as I watched. This kind of reputation inflation is dangerous.
Sure enough—soon after, a new wave of assassination attempts began.
[Is Professor Dante’s class open to auditing this semester?]
I’m heading there next class, lol
ㄴ Eh? Can 2nd-years attend?
ㄴ Nopeㅋㅋㅋ Hiaka Academy has a strict year-based structure, remember?
ㄴ Damn it, that sucks.
ㄴ Wow I’m a 1st-year—I can go! Jackpot.
ㄴ (龍) Thx ♥
...What?
My lectures were open to auditing?
Nobody told me that.
‘...Well, I didn’t register the class myself.’
I’d possessed this body after it had already been registered.
What caught my eye, though, was the symbol “(龍).”
“What’s this?”
“That’s for Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons. Assassin Town is fully anonymous, but if someone adds (龍), it means they’re from that dorm. Looks like they’re planning to audit your lecture too.”
Troubling.
If I can’t identify who they are, that’s a problem.
“Professor, it’s time for your next class~”
I left my office. But the moment I got near the lecture hall, I knew things weren’t going to go well.
“Oh? That’s Professor Dante.”
“He’s here...!”
At least a hundred cadets had mobbed the hallway, blocking the path. I had to push through them just to reach the classroom.
“Auditing is open, but if you disrupt the class, I’ll expel you on the spot.”
I was hoping someone would act out—give me a reason to boot them all.
But the auditing cadets sat perfectly still and quietly watched my [Illusion] lecture. Not a single assassination attempt. That was something, at least.
Somehow, I managed to get through the lecture.
That’s when I figured out who wrote the “ㄱㅅ♥” comment.
Sitting right next to Elise—waving at me with a smug grin—
● 1st-Year, Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons – Gray
Of all people, it had to be Gray. The one who was there that night.
【1st-Year, Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons - Gray: ‘Let’s see how good this guy really teaches...’】
It felt like she was going to try to assassinate me.
I had no choice but to grit my teeth and teach the class.
“Whoa. He made the lecture hall feel like outer space with [Illusion]... I didn’t even notice the gravity was gone—it felt so real.”
“Man, these guys are lucky. They get to learn like this every day.”
The cadets loved it. But Gray’s expression was... hard to read.
【1st-Year, Dormitory of Slumbering Dragons - Gray: ‘......’】
Later that evening, Adele once again came running toward me holding a crystal ball.
A string of posts had popped up on the forum, praising my lecture.
‘...This is bad.’
I was now stuck in a cycle I couldn’t escape.
***
But apparently, things weren’t chaotic enough yet.
Wherever there’s buzz, certain parasites always show up.
Enter the [Assassination Daily].
As I stepped out of the classroom, pushing through the crowd, a man in faculty uniform approached me with a polite bow.
“Good day, Professor. I’m Trashy from the Assassination Daily.”
[Assassination Daily]—the continent-wide news outlet that reports on assassins. They publish internally first... then a month later to the public.
“...What business does a newspaper have with me?”
“It’s nothing serious. You’ve recently become quite famous in the Department of Assassination, haven’t you? We were hoping for a quick interview.”
“......”
Assassins value secrecy. Journalists thrive on exposure.
You’d think the two couldn’t coexist.
But [Assassination Daily] pulls it off—because they aren’t just yellow press.
They’re black press.
They don’t give a damn about truth.
Or ethics.
Or the right to know.
All they care about is entertainment.
Shock.
Drama.
Gossip.
Tabloid trash.
Sales numbers!
Half the crap they print is utter BS, so no one ever shuts them down.
“I refuse.”
“Ah, P-Professor...!”
I had to stay out of this.
I turned away, but the reporter followed me doggedly, still pushing for the interview.
Of course—I kept ignoring him.
“Any comments about the intruder incident?”
“Can we ask why you're refusing the interview?”
“Is it because of the intruders? Are you afraid they’ll target you again?”
“Was the rumor about you killing them false? Or were they just not that dangerous?”
“Some professors claim the academy made up the whole thing to create a star faculty member. Any comment...?”
I ignored him. And ignored him again. Let him scrape his nails against me—I didn’t care.
“I see. So this is how it’s going to be.”
“You’re deliberately ignoring me. I’m just trying to report with sincerity...”
“Professors like you... it’s becoming common. We journalists always live in this cold neglect...”
Just before the whole thing fell apart—
The reporter's mood shifted. His tone got... weird.
But I kept ignoring him.
And then he smiled.
“It’s fine. I am Trashy Forbtime. Assassination Daily correspondent. Six years of experience. Eleven-time ‘Reporter of the Month.’ Once nominated for the Pulitzerf Prize. Ranked 7th in reader-voted ‘Journalist of the Year’—with 488 votes. A man destined to become the world’s greatest reporter... These moments of scorn and adversity? They mean nothing to me.”
...What the hell was he ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) mumbling about?
The guy locked eyes with me—dead serious.
“...I’ll show you.”
Show me what.
Was this guy insane?
***
“Professor Dante did an interview with the Assassination Daily!”
“No way, really?”
From the corner of the lecture hall, Kaiser’s eyes lit up.
The moment class ended, he subscribed to the paper, got the latest issue, and opened the article—
His heart nearly stopped when he read the headline:
– (BREAKING) Professor Dante sustains partial loss of speech due to intruder attack –