Ch.394394 – Excuses Backfire

<394 – Excuses Backfire>

The practice instructors had no face to show as they reported their mistakes in front of Professor Redmountain.

“Teaching assistant. Is it true that you were ambushed by a passing senior year student at night who stole your key card?”

“It’s true. That overwhelming strength definitely belonged to a senior year student.”

“You’re from the Production Department, so your combat ability is weak, right?”

“…”

“Are all the instructors just going to keep their mouths shut like chicks who’ve eaten honey?”

The instructors tried their best to make excuses.

Of course, their excuses didn’t work at all.

“Let me summarize. The teaching assistant returning home alone had his key card stolen, the instructors didn’t even know their own key cards’ security was compromised, and the herb garden was completely cleaned out?”

“We’re deeply ashamed, Professor…”

“As you should be. Drink one each as punishment.”

Professor Redmountain used her tail to open the middle drawer of the cabinet, not the top one.

The instructors’ eyes trembled with anxiety, knowing that the more dangerous potions appeared as you went lower.

Unlike the top drawer with labeled bottles, the middle drawer contained unlabeled potions with unknown effects.

‘Does the professor even know what these are?’

‘Why did we make such a stupid key card?’

‘That damn teaching assistant, losing to a freshman and getting his key card stolen. Should’ve never given him a key card in the first place.’

Of course, the instructors who had eagerly handed over the key card to dump tedious work on the teaching assistant would never have withheld it.

Only after confirming that all instructors had drunk one potion each did Professor Redmountain close the drawer.

“Huh? Why isn’t the teaching assistant drinking one?”

“What further punishment does someone need who got beaten up by a freshman, passed out, then got caught lying that he was beaten by a senior year student because he was embarrassed?”

“Ah…”

The teaching assistant’s face was truly a mess of changing colors. His humiliation was complete.

What made it even more embarrassing was that, just like the instructors, he had secretly admired Professor Redmountain, and now he had thoroughly lost face in front of her.

“Professor, please give me a chance to redeem myself. I can’t live with this shame. Wherever I go, I’ll be followed by the label of a third-year beaten by a freshman!”

“Why state the obvious? In front of a professor who now has to be known as one who employs a teaching assistant beaten by a freshman. At least you know to be ashamed, that’s fortunate.”

“Because of me, even your reputation…!”

While the instructors only suffered humiliation, Professor Redmountain had gained much information from this incident.

‘Quite a seasoned little one. Secretly monitoring what our lab’s instructors were doing and immediately identifying the key card as a weakness. Even figured out the weakest teaching assistant’s route home.’

Despite considering raiding the greenhouse maintained by senior year students, which was more valuable than what second-years grew, the culprit hadn’t even headed in that direction.

This meant they had the mental strength to achieve only their targeted goal and cleanly withdraw without being tempted by other opportunities despite their skill.

‘They even took the rainbow herb. According to the traces left on the ground, 23 different status effects were triggered in succession, but they blocked all of them within a certain distance.’

They possessed the discernment and reflexes to immediately detect and defend against different status effects, and could use versatile elemental defense techniques.

No wonder the teaching assistant was helplessly defeated.

But sometimes, excessive competence leads to unexpected mistakes.

‘That competence is what activated the stealth formula.’

Professor Redmountain activated the control formula on the mana board paired with the rainbow herb.

This would allow the control formula’s owner to always detect the location of the stealth formula hidden in the rainbow herb and even force it to permit eavesdropping.

‘I’ll steal much more from you than what you stole from me, you impudent rookie thief!’

But something was wrong with this mana board’s operation.

[SIGNAL LOST]

[Unable to determine target’s current location.]

[NO SOUND]

[No sounds currently detected.]

Location unknown.

Audio silent.

All responses completely cut off.

Since they couldn’t have consumed the labor-intensive rainbow herb in such a short time, this meant the stealth formula in the rainbow herb was being stored in an environment where it couldn’t transmit externally.

Perhaps inside an artifact of relic grade or higher that emitted mana on its own.

Considering the value of the rainbow herb, using a special storage container wasn’t unusual.

It would have been disappointing if the disciple of the righteous thief hadn’t thought of such precautions.

“Tsk. The lead went cold.”

The tracking was cut off.

There was nothing to be done until they took out the stolen item.

‘Or so you might think.’

While Professor Redmountain showed resignation in front of the instructors and dismissed them, she kept the teaching assistant who had been thoroughly beaten by a freshman.

“Poor guy. Is she going to make him drink a potion from the bottom drawer?”

“The sight must be too horrible for her to show us.”

“If he drinks a potion with a curse that turns him into a water flea, that would be too pitiful.”

The horrific scenarios the instructors imagined were playing out identically in the teaching assistant’s mind.

‘Mom, Dad, I’m sorry. I promised to succeed and return home, but I should have been satisfied with just becoming a third-year.’

The professor’s tail slapped the trembling arm of the teaching assistant.

“Why are you shaking so much? If you were that upset about being beaten, you should have fought back.”

“Professor… please don’t be so kind to me… if you keep doing that, I’ll start misunderstanding…”

It’ll be even sadder if you pretend not to make me drink a potion but then do!

The professor paused at the sight of the suffering teaching assistant.

“Hmm. So the teaching assistant has been looking at this professor with such eyes?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“No need. Though I’m not in my prime after what Bronze Professor did to me, I still hold a professor position. It’s not unreasonable for you to misunderstand.”

The professor was pleased.

Even after losing her charm, there was still a man who looked at her that way!

“Your feelings are admirable, but I am a professor and you are a teaching assistant. We mustn’t cross that line.”

“I’m truly sorry!!”

“No need to apologize. Just do me a small favor.”

Professor Redmountain created a tiny totem on the spot.

Though it looked like a badge at first glance, it was actually an espionage artifact that neutralized the magical reactions of artifacts carried by the target and enhanced communication performance!

“Attach this to the freshman Oknodie’s body.”

“M-m-me!?”

“Heh. No need to be so moved. If you’re uncomfortable with your hands touching, I’ll hand it over like this.”

She dropped the artifact she had personally picked up onto the teaching assistant’s hesitant hand, and he nodded with a very complicated expression.

The professor thought it was the fresh face of a youth in love, but it was actually the nod of a man who had given up everything after being terrified.

He had already been beaten badly by the student who appeared with Oknodie, and Oknodie might be even stronger.

No matter how he thought about it, this was more difficult than putting a bell on a cat’s neck.

But when the professor says jump, a teaching assistant must ask how high!

* * *

‘Sob. The professor wants me dead!’

Crying inwardly, the teaching assistant went to find Oknodie’s classroom as her lecture was ending.

Though he intended to get it over with quickly, believing it was better to face the music sooner, he was quite dismayed to see Oknodie surrounded by friends.

‘If I approach and speak to someone with so many friends…’

-Oh, hello senior who got beaten to a pulp by someone weaker than me!

Just one such greeting would spread rumors throughout the school, and he would become the officially recognized pushover senior of the 981st class.

That would be the end of his academy life.

‘I’ll follow her. And approach when she’s alone!’

There was no guarantee Oknodie would keep his shameful secret, but it was better than being witnessed by third parties and having uncontrollable rumors spread!

But… this child had many lectures.

Beyond just many, even after the sun had set and the moon had risen, she was still attending lectures.

‘Is this what a schedule looks like for someone who isn’t even a third-year?’

Even the teaching assistant, who worked diligently until 2 AM for Professor Redmountain’s laziness, thought Oknodie would be perfect as a teaching assistant given her diligence.

After attending lectures until late at night, wouldn’t she be doing assignments until dawn?

But even after all her lectures ended, Oknodie wasn’t alone.

“You’re late today, miss.”

“The lecture ran long!”

A maid, commonly seen around the academy, greeted Oknodie.

However, unlike the beast-kin maids with tails, this maid had no tail visible behind her, which confused the teaching assistant.

Without a tail, she couldn’t be a maid working at the academy.

What was she?

“Your mana cultivation method for maids has improved greatly. Your posture is proper and your footsteps silent, so now you can learn absolute balance control to prevent spilling a drop of tea from a cup even in the most horrific battlefield strewn with blood and entrails.”

“Wow, how exciting!”

“But who is that person following behind you? A friend?”

“!?”

“No? I don’t know them!”

The teaching assistant, startled by the eerie conversation, had neglected his vigilance.

Despite quickly focusing more on concealment after the maid detected his presence, her eyes were clearly looking at him.

Fearing another unprovoked attack, he hastily dropped his concealment and revealed himself.

“D-don’t attack! I didn’t come with bad intentions.”

“I wonder what scheme brought you to follow the miss who came alone to meet her maid at this late hour, if not bad intentions.”

As he hesitated and fidgeted with the badge, the maid noticed it with sharp eyes.

“Is that badge a gift for the miss?”

“Ah, that… y-yes, it is…”

“You filthy pedophile.”

“N-no! That’s absolutely not the intention behind this gift…!”

“Then what is your intention? Are you trying to harm the miss after all?”

A chilling look appeared in her eyes, colder than the night wind.

A sharp dagger had somehow appeared in the maid’s hand.

‘I came to attach an espionage artifact to her body under the professor’s coercion, not request. Would you please just let me do it once?’

Unable to say that, the teaching assistant could only nod with a face of complete resignation.

“I’m sorry… you’re right about the confession… sob. You don’t have to accept my feelings, just please take this badge. Then my heart will be at ease.”

The maid looked at him with contempt before speaking to Oknodie.

“Miss. This man’s heart is as big as his tears suggest, wanting to give you a gift while crying.”

“Hmm, it does seem that way!”

“Though he’s despicable, he’s pitiful, so perhaps we could spare his life just this once.”

“How could you kill someone just for confessing? It might be creepy and unpleasant, like bugs crawling on your skin, but that’s not a capital offense!”

Just kill me instead.

The teaching assistant shed real tears of sorrow after being forced into this fake confession.

“But what do you like about me?”

“I was impressed by your dedication to studies late into the night.”

“You have really strange tastes.”

Oknodie looked at him as if she’d spotted a suspicious stranger offering candy to follow him.

The teaching assistant’s sense of injustice doubled as he received such a look from the most suspicious person in the world.