“I-I have committed a crime worthy of death.”
Ritt’s face went deathly pale, and that was what they said.
No, what kind of crime worthy of death was being a little late finishing some work?
Could this be some ridiculously entertaining hidden-camera prank?
But judging by Ritt’s expression, they seemed completely serious.
Why? Why?
Did graduate students really have such a bleak image of professors?
“P-Please, just spare my life.”
It was a misunderstanding.
I was not the kind of professor who hunted down the graduate students under me like rats or abused my authority just because their work was late. Besides, you’re a Demon.
Little misunderstandings like this piled up and eventually led to something horrific.
A headline flashed through my mind.
[Overworked Academy Teaching Assistant Murders Famous Professor]
I could not allow that. I had worked hard to extend my lifespan this much.
‘What do I do?’
For now, it seemed best to clear away this awkward atmosphere first. Let’s start with a light joke.
“You want me to spare you…….”
I stood up and turned my back to Ritt, worried it might get awkward if they saw my expression.
‘Hm? What’s with this fly……?’
CRUNCH!
After taking care of the fly, I lightly dusted off my hand and continued the joke.
“Very well. I shall spare you.”
How tactful was that!
Had I not humorously conveyed that I meant them no harm? Now I sprinkled in a little of what I wanted.
“In exchange, you will leave work early from now on. That is my condition.”
How much had Ritt tormented me by never leaving work and walking around with that dark, haggard face? It was a gentle, roundabout, and even humorous suggestion.
This should have lightened the mood a little, right?
I turned around with eager anticipation.
“……!”
Only for Ritt’s deathly pale face to leave me bewildered.
***
Failure.
Who could have known Lucas would break through Bewitchment Arts that even a High-Ranking Demon could not avoid with such ease?
Nothing had affected him beyond a brief moment of bewilderment.
Ritt begged for their life.
There was nothing else they could do.
They wanted to live.
Ritt’s will to live was twice as strong as that of other Demons.
Some Demons might consider death honorable, but Ritt was nothing like them.
They simply wanted to live a long life, and then live even longer.
“You want me to spare you…….”
Ritt swallowed dryly as Lucas deliberated.
When he turned his back, they briefly wondered whether they should ambush him and run.
But.
CRUNCH!
‘He knew about the catalyst……?’
Watching Lucas locate and destroy the catalyst without the slightest hesitation, Ritt gave up.
They no longer had the means or the confidence to try anything.
No matter what they did—ambush him from behind, flee, anything—it would not work on that man.
Their life would end today…….
“Very well. I shall spare you.”
But color immediately returned to Ritt’s face at Lucas’s next words.
They were saved!
But only for a moment.
“In exchange, you will leave work early from now on. That is my condition.”
“……!”
He had noticed the surveillance too……? From the very beginning.
Lucas truly knew everything.
The surveillance had failed.
The Bewitchment had failed.
Everything ‘that person’ had ordered ended in failure.
On top of that, Ritt’s identity had already been exposed.
Even if Lucas spared them, Ritt was as good as dead.
They sank into a bottomless swamp of despair.
***
‘What’s wrong with them?’
Didn’t the joke land?
Or……
‘Don’t tell me they think I’m firing them?’
Come to think of it, Ritt was a graduate student before they were a Demon.
And not just any graduate student, but one who had infiltrated Grasco under orders from a superior Demon.
Naturally, Ritt could not afford to be kicked out of Grasco.
That was why they never left work and struggled desperately to fulfill their duties as my teaching assistant.
I saw tears faintly welling in Ritt’s eyes. Ritt quickly lowered their head.
‘I-Isn’t this a warning sign?’
What if Ritt’s eyes rolled back and they tore me limb from limb?
Once again, the headline [Overworked Academy Teaching Assistant Murders Famous Professor] came to mind.
‘Calm down.’
There was still room to improve the situation.
Right. If I were in Ritt’s position, a joke like that could sound less like a joke and more like a threat. This was my mistake.
I opened my mouth again, slowly yet hurriedly.
“I understand.”
They must be anxious because they had not finished their work. They were probably worried they might get fired too.
“It is not your fault.”
It was all the fault of my own lack of virtue. I should have done twice as much work!
So……
“Do not speak of this matter to anyone.”
As the saying goes, there is a world of difference between ‘ah’ and ‘uh.’ I could end up branded as a professor who abused his authority.
So let’s all bury this matter.
[‘Ritt’ Favorability greatly increases! +30]
‘Huh?’
Did that…… solve it?
***
A Familiar showed Lucas heading to his lecture.
The two people watching through Shared Vision Magic let out low groans.
“To think it failed even after we invested the Essence of the Queen of the Dream Demons.”
“Should Ritt be…… disposed of?”
“No. Although the attempt failed, it was not discovered, so we should leave Ritt in place and continue the surveillance. It would be difficult to assign someone new as well.”
“What about the gaps in surveillance?”
Whether because of the failed Bewitchment Arts or because Lucas had sensed something unusual, they could no longer keep Ritt attached to him twenty-four hours a day.
Even before that, they had kept Ritt with him only during working hours because Lucas could read the presence of covert guards as clearly as if he could grasp it in his hand. But when Professor Lucas personally asked Ronald to formally establish a quitting time for teaching assistants, even that window had shrunk.
“It cannot be helped. Fortunately, his sphere of activity is limited to Grasco, so there should be little cause for concern.”
“Understood.”
One silhouette disappeared. The remaining person’s monologue echoed.
“So even the Essence of the Queen of the Dream Demons did not work…….”
Their gaze fell on Lucas as he made his way to his lecture.
‘What in the world is a bastard that powerful doing here?’
They could feel their plans gradually going awry because of Lucas.
Just as they wondered whether they should step in personally now for the sake of what was to come—
Lucas stopped walking.
‘Hm?’
Lucas’s gaze slowly shifted until it landed on the Familiar watching him.
GASP!
Startled, the watcher hurriedly cut off the Shared Vision Magic.
Had they been even a little slower, Lucas would have found even them beyond the Familiar.
‘He truly is beyond anything I imagined.’
Familiars would not work.
Despite the enormous distance between them, Professor Lucas’s senses could not be deceived.
Now they had no choice but to rely on Ritt, their only remaining means of surveillance.
***
[A new notification has arrived.]
[Bilal donated 500G.]
[Fivecard donated 300G.]
[sjdje donated 300G.]
[Remake donated 100G.]
[Soryong donated 100G.]
While I was on my way to teach, a new batch of donation notifications arrived.
To think so many readers had donated that the notifications stretched beyond my field of vision.
‘Maybe this life isn’t so bad?’
When else would I ever receive this many donations?
The Gold I had accumulated thanks to the recent surge in donations alone came to 4,900G.
I had saved enough to start eyeing the hurdle for the next level of the Gold Shop.
On top of that, the Points from views, recommendations, and Favorites had increased tremendously.
That amount alone came to around a thousand Points or more.
Enough Points to raise my Stats by roughly 100.
Gratitude surged within me at the immeasurable love of my readers. I looked over the donation notification windows, where at least I could see their names, and committed each one to memory.
FLAP!
In the distance, I saw a bird fly away.
Ah, how peaceful!
***
“As announced, today marks the start of five days of practical training at .”
It was the first day of the announced practical training.
This lesson was for ‘Real Combat Training,’ one of the two components that made up Everything About Combat.
It was a class that would grind through the entire week, so one might have expected exhaustive preparation, yet the only thing Lucas required was each student’s own weaponry.
The students brought the weapons Lucas had recommended for each of them and gathered in front of .
“This course will run for a total of five days. You may quit midway. However, the moment you do, you are expelled from my class.”
The students’ expressions tightened with tension at Lucas’s cold voice.
“You will enter the practical training divided into four teams. I have already assigned the teams, so proceed accordingly. The rule is simple. I will run in Survival Mode. There, you will survive for four nights and five days. That is the core of this lesson.”
“Students, please collect the name tags prepared for each of you.”
Ritt called out the students one by one and handed them their name tags.
Each tag clearly displayed the team to which its wearer had been assigned.
“Um, Assistant. The color of this name tag seems strange.”
“Mine seems a little strange too.”
Of the five name tags distributed to each team, one was a different color. As though it had been magically treated, the name tag gleamed gold.
“Um, well, the professor will explain that.”
The students’ gazes returned to Lucas.
“The color of the name tags will change at set intervals. The summoned monsters will focus their attacks on whoever has the gold name tag. However, whoever’s name tag turns gold may not participate in combat.”
“Pardon?”
“Instead, the remaining four will have to protect the teammate with the gold name tag. If the wearer of the gold name tag attacks a monster, or if the team fails to protect the teammate with the gold name tag, the entire team is eliminated. And it would be best not to expect much from your midterm grade.”
“Ah…….”
In other words, they had to survive while protecting a teammate amid circumstances that kept changing at set intervals. If they failed, their grades would end up in a very bad state.
“Professor, you said this would last five days…… Do the name tags change even while we are asleep?”
Lucas’s gaze fell on the student who had asked.
With utter puzzlement on his face, he opened his mouth.
“Who…… said you were allowed to sleep?”