[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter: 43
"Congratulations. You're not being expelled."
Shin A-sol, who was standing in the hallway, blurted out those words.
I stared intently at her face and said, "Your expression is far from congratulatory."
Despite saying congratulations, Shin A-sol's face clearly showed regret. She flinched for a mont as if I had hit the nail on the head, and then opened her mouth.
"Honestly, I agree with Professor Kim Taek-hee. I'm sorry, but I don't think you should stay in this academy."
"Then why did you bother helping ? If it weren't for you, a few more professors would have voted in favor."
In fact, many professors greatly trusted Shin A-sol. If she had strongly argued in the eting that I should be expelled, a 7-7 tie would never have happened.
"I didn't help you. I just said what I felt,” Shin A-sol said indifferently, implying it was nothing.
She was the kind of person who never said anything she didn't an, so those words must be true.
"Since you didn't help , I guess you're not expecting a thank you. Then why were you waiting for here?"
"I should be the one thanking you,” Shin A-sol suddenly bowed politely and said, "Thank you. For saving Su-kyung during the field training."
"..."
A low but sincere voice.
It wasn't sothing she said lightly. I was a little surprised.
Shin A-sol was the most upright character in the Masterclass. She never bowed easily to soone she considered evil.
It ant she was truly grateful for saving Seo Su-kyung...
'...Sword Saint might be confused about her sexual identity.'
With soone who cared about her so much... For Seo Su-kyung, who grew up in a cruel family environnt since childhood, Shin A-sol must have seed like an angel.
But this was a misunderstanding. A very big misunderstanding.
"...I think you're misunderstanding sothing. I'm not the kind of person who would risk my life to save a student."
I said it as it was, but Shin A-sol replied, not minding.
"I know. I know you think that."
"...What does that an?"
"Don't people not know everything about themselves?"
I was montarily speechless. I couldn't understand what this kid was saying.
'Is she trying to say sothing like she knows better than I do?'
She seed to be under a serious delusion. How dare she say such things without knowing that I'm the villain?
"You have an inflated ego too."
"... too?"
"So does Seo Su-kyung, and so do most of the people in this academy. They all believe that what they see is right. They don't doubt it even a speck."
"I don't think it's wrong to believe in yourself."
"Do you have any idea why I saved Seo Su-kyung or why I brought her to the Deconstructionist Departnt? A mad psychopathic professor who only sees people and villains as re test subjects, do you think he would do sothing like that for a student you care about so much?"
I poured out the words as if I had forgotten that I was currently Do Jin-hak.
I was so upset. A character created in a re 20-year ga was talking as if she knew better than I did.
"...If that happens, I will definitely stop it."
After thinking for a long ti, Shin A-sol finally replied.
"But even then, the gratitude I have towards you for saving Su-kyung this ti won't disappear."
...I was dumbfounded.
In the end, Shin A-sol's words ant that business was business and personal was personal. It ant that even if she was betrayed or backstabbed later, she wouldn't forget the favor she'd received now.
It was difficult. Human reason followed emotion. No matter how much you know in your head, you can't overco your emotions in the end.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you this. Since I won't be attending the Deconstructionist Departnt classes anymore, I thought I'd say it here..."
As if that was all she had to say, Shin A-sol bowed politely and turned away.
She walked away with much lighter steps.
"...Rember at Yongmun Mountain?"
I watched her receding figure and said.
"You told sothing, didn't you? That you would grant one request."
Shin A-sol, who had stopped walking, turned around with a stiff face.
"Why suddenly...?"
"I suddenly thought of sothing to ask."
"A request...?"
Her expression turned pale, as if she was having so bad premonition.
I paused for a mont and then said, "How about you continue attending the Deconstructionist Departnt classes? That's my request."
"Huh?"
Surprised by the unexpected request, Shin A-sol's pale face turned confused.
"Why are you making such a proposal to ...? I was trying to monitor you, aren't you offended?"
"Honestly, my head is still spinning, but because I have a psychopathic personality, I don't get offended by such things."
I persuaded Shin A-sol that she didn't have to worry about harassing her under the guise of classes.
Shin A-sol fell into deep thought with a somber expression.
"But I don't have any reason to continue attending the Deconstructionist Departnt classes..."
"Don't you want to complete the 'Wave Penetration' spell?"
"!!"
Shin A-sol looked at in surprise, wondering how I knew that spell.
It was effective. I should throw a more tempting bait.
"I saw during the field training that your spell success rate was very low. What if I could help you complete it?"
"Complete Wave Penetration...?"
Shin A-sol was now so surprised that her ears perked up. It was the first ti I had seen her eyes shine like that since I t her.
"But... why? Why ?" Shin A-sol hesitated for a long ti and asked. She was clearly conflicted between her desire to complete the spell and her distrust of .
But I knew what Shin A-sol’s weakness was.
"As you said in the eting, I feel the sa way. When I saw your incomplete spell during the field training, I felt sorry for it."
"Sorry...?"
"If the spell's completion rate had been higher at that ti, we could have reduced the number of casualties. Don't you think so?"
As expected, Shin A-sol's eyes wavered. For her, whose first priority was to protect the students, there was no better justification than this.
After thinking for a long ti, Shin A-sol opened her mouth with difficulty.
"...Thank you, but I can't decide right now. I'm sorry."
Oh, she was not falling for this bait... It seed the incompatibility between Shin A-sol and Do Jin-hak was a problem.
"I have to talk to my professor about it. Can I give you an answer then?" Shin A-sol asked cautiously. Judging by her reaction, it seed like there was still a possibility.
"Of course. For a student like you, it's necessary to talk to your ntor."
"...Thank you. I'll give you an answer then."
In the end, Shin A-sol walked away.
Her back looked rather disappointing to .
‘I almost had that fish.’
Getting Shin A-sol to join the Deconstructionist Departnt wasn't as easy as I thought. Besides the compatibility issue with Do Jin-hak, there was another obstacle.
"The Defense Departnt professor... he cares so much about his student."
The bond between Shin A-sol and the Defense Departnt professor was very strong. The reason Shin A-sol didn't join any minor departnt in this academy was also because of that guy.
For , he was a huge obstacle...
"It's a pity, but I'll have to find another way."
I realized I needed a different approach to get Shin A-sol into the Deconstructionist Departnt.
Just as I was about to leave with that in mind...
Beep-!
[Shin A-sol's affection for Do Jin-hak has increased!]
[Do Jin-hak and Shin A-sol are now in a "favorable" relationship!]
[You have acquired Shin A-sol's special skill "Unwavering Will 1"]
A sudden ssage!
I couldn't help but be surprised. It was a completely unexpected ssage.
"Shin A-sol's affection level has increased this much?"
Shin A-sol and Do Jin-hak were not compatible characters.
The fact that the relationship between the two has developed to this extent ant that Shin A-sol had started to trust with a big heart.
"...She may seem indifferent on the outside, but she seems to be quite grateful deep down."
I was quite impressed. I risked my life to save Seo Su-kyung, and my offer to complete Wave Penetration as a condition for the favor I received at Yongmun Mountain.
"Unwavering Will... This is the first ti I've gotten this here."
"Unwavering Will" was one of the easiest special skills for players to obtain because Shin A-sol is so easy to befriend.
But since I lived in this world as a villain, I didn't have the opportunity to get it, so it felt new.
The effect is superhuman willpower that is activated in specific situations.
It allows you to endure an unstoppable spell once, or to keep so of the experience or items you lose when you die...
It's not an incredibly rare or great ability, but it's a useful ability to have.
However, the downside of this skill is that you don't know when the effect will appear because it activates randomly.
"Still, it's better than nothing."
I took out my phone and checked the ti.
5 PM now.
It was almost ti for the sun to set. I decided to go back to my office and finish the rest of my preparations.
I was ready to visit Sarah's lab.
She must be eagerly waiting for by now.
* * *
"Professor Sarah! What on earth were you thinking?"
Sarah rubbed her head, looking tired. Kim Taek-hee, who had co to the lab to complain, was unusually excited.
"Leaving Do Jin-hak in this academy! Isn't this different from what we talked about?"
"What are you talking about? What did we talk about?"
"What...?"
"I never said I would help expel Do Jin-hak. I just agreed that he was a terrible person."
Kim Taek-hee was utterly dumbfounded by Sarah's brazenness. Just a mont ago, she had been passionately arguing that Do Jin-hak was the worst kind of trash, but now she had changed her tone so quickly.
"Anyway, let's stop talking about this. There's nothing more to say, so you can just leave."
"Professor Sarah, you will regret this behavior..."
Before Kim Taek-hee could leave a serious warning, a magic circle lit up under his feet, and he was sucked into it.
Sarah looked down at the magic circle that had driven Kim Taek-hee away and sighed.
‘I will regret it...? I regret it already. From the mont I didn't raise my hand in favor of expelling Do Jin-hak at the eting today.’
Even the night before the eting, Sarah had intended to help Kim Taek-hee expel Do Jin-hak. She knew firsthand how evil that man was.
But she couldn't do it.
‘If only I hadn't received this letter this morning…’
She pulled out a letter from her pocket.
The letter, stamped with the seal of the Deconstructionist Departnt, contained only a very short sentence.
-If you want to summon a devil, you have to keep in this academy.
As soon as she read the letter, Sarah felt a chill run down her spine.
‘How, how did he know? How could he know that I was trying to summon a devil...?’
Summoning a devil from the depths of the abyss was Sarah's long-held desire, a forbidden experint she had never told anyone about.
To think that such a dangerous secret would be revealed to Do Jin-hak of all people...!
‘Was it the last ti he ca here...?’
Do Jin-hak had only visited this lab once. Although she had been worried, she thought it had gone well, but apparently, he had discovered the secrets of this lab from that one visit.
‘What a scary guy…’
He was such a disgusting person, but she couldn't deny his abilities. That's why Sarah couldn't ignore Do Jin-hak's letter.
Because he might actually be able to make it happen.
Summoning a devil, sothing she had been researching for a long ti.
"Teacher, am I doing the right thing...?"
Doubting her own choice, Sarah asked the portrait hanging on the lab wall.
It was a portrait of Seo Gyeong-deok, a Joseon Dynasty Taoist.
As the founder of the Masterclass, Seo Gyeong-deok's image could be seen everywhere in this academy, in statues and pictures, but it was unusual to see it hanging in a lab like this.
He was a special person to Sarah. He was the teacher who taught her the art of summoning.
"Co to think of it, that picture was hanging in the lab last ti too."
"?!"
A sudden voice.
Sarah quickly turned her head, and Do Jin-hak was walking in from the entrance.
But there was one strange thing. He wasn't alone. Soone, with their hood pulled up deep, was following him closely.
"Who's behind you?"
"You'll find out soon. It's soone important to you."
"To ?"
Sarah didn't understand what he ant, but that wasn't important right now.
"The words in the letter... they weren't a lie, were they? If you were just trying to be smart and avoid being expelled, you made a big mistake. Your expulsion case was only postponed, not dismissed."
Do Jin-hak looked at Sarah with confidence. It was clear that he knew sothing.
"...How did you know? That I'm researching summoning a devil?"
"How could I not? You were collecting devil horns in this lab."
Sarah wondered how Do Jin-hak had seen the hidden devil horns, but he continued.
"You tried to hide them with an invisibility spell, but it was useless. You'd need enough horns to fill this lab to summon even one devil."
Of course, Do Jin-hak added that it would be impossible to collect that many horns.
Sarah sighed. He was right. To create a dium capable of summoning a devil with just horns, an enormous amount would be needed.
"I've been searching everywhere for horns... but honestly, I don't even know where to find more."
"Of course. Devils don't just drop horns everywhere."
"Stop acting so smart and just tell . How are you going to help ?"
"Before that, there's one thing I want to make sure of."
Seeing Sarah's tense face, Do Jin-hak said reassuringly, "It's very simple. Just don't question my thods. That's all you have to do."
"You have to tell what thods..."
"I just want you to say whether you'll follow or not. I'm not free either."
This suspicious guy was saying such suspicious things, and it made Sarah extrely suspicious, but in the end, she could only nod.
She was already conducting a forbidden experint.
'I can't hesitate now!'
Sarah nodded firmly, her eyes filled with determination.
Do Jin-hak nodded in satisfaction and gestured behind him. The mysterious person who had been standing silently behind him all this ti lifted his hood.
“!!!”
Sarah had vowed not to be surprised no matter what ca out, but her resolution was shattered in a second and a curse word flew out of her mouth.
"This, this crazy bastard..."
Sarah couldn't believe what Do Jin-hak had done.
As soon as he lifted his hood, two large, imposing horns were imdiately visible.
It was the devil villain who had devastated the city just two days ago.
[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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