(Second Report) Professor Dante, injured during intruder assault, allegedly loses partial speech function
Dante clicked his tongue as he read the headline.
He really was a fucking lunatic.
A monopoly problem. The fact that a company could still function while publishing this kind of garbage... Dante sent a formal correction request, but also quietly committed the reporter’s name to memory.
Trashy Forbtime = Psychotic journalist bastard
*
But of course, not everything was sunshine and promotions now that Dante’s name was rising within the academy.
“This is outrageous.”
Especially the neutral faculty had begun to turn hostile toward Professor Dante.
“Professor Toxin from Black Abyss disappeared without a trace yesterday. His entire estate was cleared out. And today, a post praising Professor Dante’s assassination pops up? Even a passing dog could figure out what that means!”
“It could be a coincidence, no?”
“A coincidence is only a coincidence once! Are you telling me it’s just a coincidence that the same professor killer who took out Hakon has now killed another professor? So when it happens a third time, and a fourth, it’s still coincidence!?”
They had no official affiliation—
—but in a world ruled openly by Black Abyss and White Saber, even neutral professors had to band together.
Many among them were sick and tired of being dragged into endless factional turf wars.
“Isn’t he just a shady bastard?”
“Seems like it. I heard his [Illusion Arts] are top-tier. And who practices illusion magic? Crooked bastards who need to fool people, that’s who.”
“So what then?”
“We’re all being conned. Both Black Abyss and White Saber! Let’s be real, there’s no such thing as outsiders at Hiaka. The wars ended with the Second Assassination Conflict. The Hilden Treaty was signed. We don’t even send assassins to other academies anymore, and now this crap!?”
The neutral professors all nodded grimly.
“The faculty administration’s spineless too. They want him so badly they’re turning a blind eye to this power grab.”
“Right. He’s straddling both factions just to hike up his value—and yet he leaks some half-assed rumor about being mute just to play the victim in Assassination Daily.”
“We absolutely must not view him favorably!”
Had Dante originally belonged to either Black Abyss or White Saber, they wouldn’t have been this enraged.
But he had started from the same place as them: neutral, vulnerable, a supposed victim.
And now, he was acting like he had full authority. The neutral professors could no longer contain their fury.
“He’s a traitor.”
No one said it out loud—but many were thinking exactly that.
Still, the neutral faculty had no grounds to escalate. All they ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) could do was grumble behind his back.
*
Elsewhere, at the same time—
In the sewers.
Eyes glowing red in the dark, a professor stared into the identical eyes of a student.
Then they both turned toward a staff member with red eyes. And next to him, a janitor with red eyes as well. Their gazes all aligned.
They turned toward a figure farther down the tunnel. A man standing in darkness, horns emanating an eerie energy even in the pitch black.
The man had spent so long in the human world that the language now came naturally to him.
He spoke.
“Professor Dante Hiakapo must die.”
His voice was calm. There was no rage, no vengeance. Just pure, blind determination.
“Mobilize the Dormant Dragon Scholars. I suspect their level is far beyond what we imagine. Even so, two out of the seven appear intellectually weak—if persuaded, they could be moved.”
At that, the red-eyed humans bowed their heads.
***
【 First-Year Dormant Dragon Scholar, Gray: ‘.......’ 】
Ever since that first open lecture, Gray had continued to sit in on all of my classes.
【 First-Year Dormant Dragon Scholar, Gray: ‘.......’ 】
It was a minor discomfort. I still didn’t know why.
【 First-Year Dormant Dragon Scholar, Gray: ‘.......’ 】
And to make it worse, I couldn’t even think of a usable [Script] about it, which only deepened the mystery.
Then one day, this script popped up:
【 First-Year Dormant Dragon Scholar, Gray: ‘......I don’t accept this.’ 】
I didn’t know what it meant.
What couldn’t she accept?
That evening, I ran into the usual trio of idiots—Forte, Hwaru, and Dominic—in the student cafeteria and decided to ask.
“What’s Gray like?”
“Gray? She uses some kind of thread weapon. Her specialty’s [Illusion Arts]. Though, she’d be no match for you, Professor.”
That was Forte’s take.
“And her personality?”
“Hmm. Kinda cat-like? She seems lively and cheerful most of the time. Every time I’ve seen her, she’s either laughing or yelling. Back when she came to Moonshadow Institute as an exchange cadet, she was even nice to me.”
If she was nice to someone like Forte, she must really be a good person.
“Hmm... I think Gray once said she wants the world to reward people who work as hard as I do?”
That line’s warmer than I expected.
Was I just projecting my own cynicism onto her?
“She might not be that warm.”
“What?”
Then the pig among the wolf-rabbit-pig trio—Dominic—pushed up his glasses and added:
“Everyone says she’s cat-like, but from what I know, Gray Habanero has a very peculiar personality.”
“Peculiar?”
“Yes. Back in first semester, the faculty tried to assign Dormant Dragon Scholars a supervising professor. Dormant Dragon rejected the proposal, but the school pushed it anyway. So Gray showed up at the academic office wearing a bomb vest and carrying a 25-kilogram bomb and threatened to blow the place up.”
“Excuse me??”
Now that’s a wild one.
“She said, if you’re not removing the assigned professor, then let’s all just die together. It’s just a rumor, but I heard it from a very credible source from ‘our industry.’”
What the hell is “our industry”...?
I wanted to ask, but Dominic just kept adjusting his glasses like some kind of elite specialist.
“So, did the department back off?”
I asked.
“They did, Professor. They even contacted the Habanero family, but the family said they couldn’t control her. Even so, the Dean favored her, so she avoided expulsion.”
What kind of personality is that?
Let’s sum this up:
Gray is bright.
Likes to laugh.
Sociable.
Warm and kind.
Anti-authoritarian.
Also seems passionate about academics (hence auditing illusion lectures).
But also violent.
Extreme.
And “peculiar.”
“A fickle child, it seems.”
Adele, who had been quietly listening beside me, concluded with that summary.
And she was probably right.
But just then, Hwaru—nibbling awkwardly on a shrimp tempura—got caught red-handed by my stare.
“Hwaru.”
“Uh—y-yes, sir?!”
“You clearly have something to say, don’t you?”
“Ah—n-no?! I mean, not really... it’s just, um, well... I used to be friends with Gray...”
Friends?
Both Dominic and Forte’s eyes went wide. They clearly had no idea.
“Hey. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
Hwaru gave a sheepish smile at their remarks.
“Well, it was a long time ago... and, you know, it’s not easy to talk about a friend behind their back...”
“Go ahead. I’m curious.”
“Professor Dante’s curious too.”
“Yeah...”
“Come on, Hwaru. Don’t say no. Just recently, Professor Dante put himself in danger to protect you.”
“Umm... I’m not totally sure, but...”
Hwaru looked cornered. I almost stepped in to save him before he got overwhelmed.
“...Gray used to be quiet, anxious, and really introverted back when she was with her family...”
Ah. It suddenly came back to me—
Hwaru and Dominic were notorious for their loose lips.
“What the hell? That makes no sense. She's cheerful. Friendly. Violent. Introverted. Timid. Depressed?”
“...Um, and... she had a lot of conflict with her family, too. There was this one time she ran away from home and stayed at my place for like a week. Every day she’d ask me if I had someone I wanted killed. Just real casual-like...”
“Was that before or after the Habanero Incident?”
Forte, coming from White Saber, asked carelessly—
—and Hwaru, from Black Abyss, immediately went stiff.
“...Ah. Sorry.”
Even I knew about the Habanero Incident.
The near annihilation of the Habanero family.
That wasn’t something you brought up lightly.
Either way, it was clear now—Gray had a mess of a personality.
But one thing came up over and over:
She was “cat-like.”
—
‘Let’s do a quick summary.’
After finishing dinner, I decided to list the Dormant Dragon Scholars by name and personality.
———
☆ = White Saber / ★ = Black Abyss
Four Male Cadets
Kaiser Truman [Team Leader]: The shadow operator (...). The #2, but also the de facto leader. Sets the direction for Dormant Dragon but lacks command authority. Balmung Nibelung★: The Doberman. Son of “Dark Abyssal Constellation⚉” Matriarch Nibelung, boss of the Nibelung family. Specialty: [Sniping]. Kendreik Drake★: Aggressive, warlike. Displayed arrogance several times. Specialty: [Combat]. Kwan Oliviera☆: A white-haired boy. Unknown background.Three Female Cadets Rebecca Hiakium von Hiaka☆ [Master]: Known as the "Saint of the Palace," but personality’s reportedly terrible. Specialty: Unknown. She’s the #1 in Dormant Dragon, holds final authority. Elize Xikos☆: Daughter of the missing “Shadowless Constellation○” Count. A twisted golden retriever. Incredibly strong. Attends my lectures. Specialty: [Stealth]. Gray Habanero★: Daughter of the Habanero family. Cat-like personality. Lately has been targeting me. Specialty: [Illusion].***
There was a girl.
She liked to snoop around. Always had.
That morning was no different. Wandering near her home, she stumbled upon a strange note on the usual park bench.
[Want to play a fun game? If you're curious, come to the abandoned parking garage near Dormant Dragon Hall. 5 PM.]
Seriously? A fun game? Who in their right mind would actually show up after reading that kind of sketchy note?
“Curious.”
It was Elize.
Which is why she was now stepping into the parking structure.
Her footsteps made no sound, but her pale pink hair swayed as she moved.
At the end of her path sat a masked man.
“Welcome, Cadet Elize.”
“Game?”
“Yes. A very fun game.”
The masked man made a surprising proposal:
Assassinate Professor Dante.
“Assassinate Professor Dante?”
“Yes. Doesn’t it sound fun?”
It did sound fun.
Of course, she’d fail—but still, it was something she could call a “fun little game.”
Especially since the masked man offered to help her—materially and strategically.
“How would you help me?”
“We’ll assign you ten assassins. All of them [Platinum]-rank or higher. With your power, you should be able to kill Professor Dante, who is estimated to be at [Diamond]-rank.”
Oh.
That was truly insane.
[Iron], [Bronze], [Silver], [Gold]... the tier difference between those and [Platinum] was vast.
If the price gap between [Silver] and [Gold] was about 2x, the jump from [Gold] to [Platinum] was over 5x.
And now he was offering her ten Platinum assassins? For free?
Elize thought for a moment, then replied:
“That won’t work.”
“...Pardon?”
“Ten Platinums and me? We still wouldn’t be able to kill Professor Dante.”
“That’s not true. We’re well aware of your formidable combat skills.”
“Mm.”
Elize’s pink eyes drifted upward toward the ceiling. She imagined Dante in her mind. Then pictured herself and the assassins rushing at him—and shook her head.
“Nope. Wouldn’t work... Professor Dante is insanely strong.”
“But you’ve trained under the Shadowless Constellation in [Stealth], haven’t you?”
“He still catches me...”
She beamed as she said it, like she was calmly explaining a broken game rule.
“Professor’s super strong. His eyes are sharp. His ears too. He reacts fast. Great sense of distance. Great in combat. I heard he even killed that super strong Professor Hakon.”
...For the record, Elize had terrible memory.
“In that case, let me dramatically improve the offer.”
“Dramatically?”
“Yes. One [Diamond]-class assassin. Three [Emerald]-class. Fifteen [Platinum]-class.”
“......??”
That was an outrageously excessive proposal. If she added herself to that list—even then, they’d still fail. But how fun could an assassination attempt like that possibly be?
“Exciting, right?”
“Mhm.”
“We think so too.”
Elize’s pink eyes sparkled with childlike excitement. The masked man smiled.
Everything was falling into place—until the unexpected happened.
Elize.
The masked man.
Both fell silent at once. Neither knew why.
But silence dropped like a curtain across the room—
And from the far end of the underground garage...
Step.
Long, black, gleaming hair.
Step.
Vertical pupils.
Step.
A cadet with a cane.
Step...
“...Kaiser?”
Elize waved.
It was Kaiser Truman.
The masked man tensed as he greeted the new arrival.
“Ah... you must be the Dormant Dragon Team Leader. What brings you here?”
There wasn’t a soul in the Department of Assassination who didn’t know Kaiser’s reputation. The masked man swallowed dryly.
Kaiser opened his mouth with his usual calm voice.
“I was passing by. I tend to keep track of where my comrades are.”
And that was true.
He really had just been out for a walk and dropped by by chance.
“Ah, is that so? Had I known you were nearby, I’d have invited you to join us...”
“And you are?”
“I’m... Administrative Officer Baisaki. I was simply speaking with Cadet Elize here.”
At this, the masked man relaxed internally.
Kaiser’s reputation aside, he was well aware that the Dormant Dragon Scholars of this year had zero respect for professors.
From Gray, who attempted a bombing in the first semester...
To Kendreik, who publicly killed a professor...
And to Kaiser himself—who had assassinated four professors already.
Maybe this would be another usable card.
That’s what the masked man was thinking.
“Elize.”
“Yeah?”
“What were you talking about with this man?”
Kaiser asked.
He really didn’t know.
And Elize replied, brightly and without hesitation:
“He said we should kill Professor Dante.”
In the next instant—
Kaiser’s eyeballs slid sideways and locked onto the masked man.
“...Is that so?”