Surviving the Assassin Academy as a Genius Professor-Chapter 170: Light⁺₊⋆ and Fire Are Friends

⁺₊⋆’s human companion has malfunctioned.

♥ † ☮ ♣ │ㅁㅇ) : (startled!)

⁺₊⋆ : ???

⁺₊⋆ : …….

♥ † ☮ ♣ │ㅁㅇ) : (nervous glance)

⁺₊⋆ is fine. It’s been a while since I last updated~

│ㅁㅇ)

│ㅁㅇ) ….

│ㅁㅇ) …….

│ㅂㅇ)

│ㅂㅇ) leaned in to whisper slyly into ⁺₊⋆’s ear,

“Even stars need a human companion, eventually. And there just so happens to be a promising candidate over there…”

The Empire, which held more than half of all known Constellations under its banner, hosted various gatherings among them.

Some were cartels vying for control. Others were assemblies of peacekeeping stars.

And then there were those who simply gathered because they were… friends.

A circle of stars born from elemental attributes. Its name:

「Elemental Banquet」

“Look at this! Isn’t it cool?”

A woman with blue hair and a raindrop-shaped pin—Ocean Constellation Water—spoke, while Continent Constellation Earth and Windbreaker Constellation Wind, arms crossed, peered into the 「Crystal Orb」 together.

The casino was flooded with radiance.

Undeniably, Agion’s power.

“But get this—Agion wasn’t even exerting power inside the casino during this scene. So this light? It couldn’t have come from him.”

“Uuh… That was… Nibelung’s… territory…”

Earth’s slow, heavy voice was met with a sneer from Wind, dressed in fluttering silks.

“You’re still spouting that idiotic theory?”

“That’s not idiotic.”

“It is idiotic.”

Even as Ocean tried to speak with a gentle tone, Wind cut sharp like a blade.

“It is idiotic. Think about it. That light? It’s not some ‘elemental magic’ nonsense. Unless you’re a Constellation-level being, no one could produce light that grotesquely pure.”

And Wind was right.

That was no mere magic.

It had to be a [Stigma].

“Not necessarily.”

Ocean gently pushed back.

“Just think—if Agion had gotten that much stronger and actually had the power to penetrate the Black Darkness⚉ domain and inject that light into the casino… then there’s no way he would've died like that.”

Wind fell silent.

After all, the Matriarch of Black Darkness⚉, Nibelung, was ranked 9th.

Among the stars that soared and reigned, she stood high.

From Rank 9 and upward, a Constellation would be granted an ultimate Stigma directly from the stars:

「Authority」

This was the ultimate dream of any Constellation—

The pinnacle of mortal combat power.

If Agion had truly surpassed Nibelung, there was no reason he wouldn’t have used his 「Authority」 before dying.

“What does the leader think?”

At Ocean’s question, all eyes turned toward the elderly man sitting in a corner.

He was the head of the Elemental Banquet, the Warden of the World Tree. Currently World Rank No. 5.

Forest Constellation Wood: Oban.

“…Who knows! I’m an old man, my eyesight’s foggy. What would I know? Could be, could not be. Pretending to understand the world just from watching a crystal orb—that’s the dumbest crap I’ve ever heard!”

The stars frowned at his words.

“Come on, Leader. This is a serious matter.”

“Are you senile? Be serious for once! The Emperor wants our stance!”

But Forest only cackled and waved his hand.

“Nope. Don’t know! Don’t care! You bratty little stars. More importantly, where’s our baby? Aren’t all our little ones here today?”

“I’m the baby.”

“Bah! The tiniest one’s the baby! You’re a girl, but you’re bigger than him!”

The old man grinned mischievously.

Then asked about the whereabouts of Radiant Constellation Fire: Uki.

“So—where’s Uki?”

***

Not long after Agion's death, Radiant Constellation Fire, Uki, arrived.

“Ahaha! I’m late again!”

Just as his name implied, his red-and-gold hair looked aflame, wild golden pupils gleaming with an off-kilter madness.

Though short in stature, the pressure radiating from his body dwarfed any giant.

Even though the site resembled a funeral—after all, many had died, including Fleetmaster Falcon—Uki laughed as if it were nothing.

“Well, well, you all made it through alive! What a mess that was!”

“If you had arrived a little earlier, sir… this wouldn’t have—”

“Huh? Falcon died? Too bad! But no, I couldn’t have come any sooner!”

He followed with something like, “He was a good guy, though,” and laughed.

Everyone from the fleet simply accepted it—Uki was, by nature, an unstable lunatic.

While his insurance agents began surveying the damage and contacting the Empire, the crew—even aboard this illegal smuggling ship—looked relatively calm. That was due to Falcon’s far-reaching connections.

The fleet might dissolve, but the tax-free slush funds would probably be preserved. Some even saw this as a good time to cash out and disappear.

“So, he’s dead, huh?”

Later, Uki stood in the mountain, quietly facing Agion’s seated corpse.

“…Sir Constellation, what should we do about these?”

One of his agents asked, gesturing toward the inactive Radiant Legion Knights.

Each one was a mechanical soldier worth tens of millions of Hika—a fortune comparable to solid gold. If they could salvage even one…

“What do you want to do with them?”

“M-me? Ah… I don’t want to, per se, but… if it were for investigation or research purposes…”

The agent danced around the answer with feigned innocence, hiding his greed.

But his fellow agent elbowed him in panic—because Uki was smiling with his mouth, but not with his eyes.

“You want them?”

The reason for his reaction was simple.

Radiant⁺₊⋆ and Fire🔥 are friends.

In other words, this agent was trying to loot his friend’s belongings.

“Ah…!”

The agent finally realized and bowed in horror.

—KYYYYAAAAAAH!!!

Suddenly, a deafening screech rang out as something burst up from beneath a heap of rubble. A Skyspawn. Both wings severed, spraying blood like a fountain, it thrashed and lunged at the nearby crowd.

“Uwaaaah!”

“Get back—get back!!”

The area became chaos as the three-story-tall beast went berserk.

“So noisy.”

And then, the Skyspawn was engulfed in fire.

FWOOOOOSH!!!

In a flash, a monstrous blaze erupted, like a wildfire exploding into the heavens. Nearly 20 meters tall, the inferno terrified everyone present. The sickly stench of burning flesh and scorched blood filled the air.

Everyone instinctively knew—

It was Uki’s ability.

The burning lizard thrashed even harder at first, but its body soon melted from the feet up. In less than a minute, it was reduced to ash.

“Mm. Quiet now. But hey—”

At that moment, Radiant Constellation Fire, Uki, approached one man.

The professor at the center of this entire incident.

< You’re the one who killed Agion, aren’t you? >

It was a question that came out with a smile—

But it was also whispered via 『Silent Voice Transmission』.

< Yes. >

Unexpectedly, the professor replied calmly.

< Why? Self-defense? >

< He needed to die. >

People around them tensed, watching Uki and the professor.

Both were monsters—but of completely different kinds.

And now, those monsters were looking straight at each other.

< So you kill anyone who needs killing? >

< If I can kill them, I do. >

< What if I’m someone who needs killing? >

< Do you have horns on your head, Constellation? >

< …No. >

< Then I have no reason to kill you. >

< Is that so? >

Uki’s lips spread into a wide grin, revealing knife-like fangs.

< But what if I think you need to be killed? >

The little giant took a step forward.

And looked up at Professor Dante.

“Then should I let you live?”

The stench of burning flesh still choked the air. Observers felt their knees buckle.

But the professor looked down at him, unfazed.

< If I grow horns—kill me. >

Uki’s eyes narrowed.

“……”

He glanced around, then pressed a hand to his forehead.

“You’ve made a lot of enemies with this. Starting with me.”

“……”

“Honestly, I didn’t like Agion. But still—he was my friend.”

Stars of similar alignments tend to form bonds. Light is a good-aligned and elemental Constellation.

And Fire is both of those, too.

“Fire and Light are friends.”

A finger tapped the professor’s forehead.

“Be careful. If something ever goes down—I’ll be your enemy.”

***

The situation wrapped up quickly.

[Breaking News: The tragic madness of Radiant Constellation Agion…]

[A bitter end for a Constellation once dedicated to the Empire…]

The Empire spun Agion’s rampage into a tragic mental breakdown, and shifted blame onto the Black Darkness Constellation⚉.

[We condemn ⚉ for their terroristic acts across national borders.]

[♥ : We grieve for the lives lost in this atrocity.]

[Hattengraj Imperial Court: “Hiaka must be held accountable for Black Darkness⚉’s crimes…”]

This led to harsh retaliatory policies against the Kingdom of Hiaka.

[Empire raises tariffs by 7% on most Hiaka imports.]

[Travel advisory upgraded for territories under ⚉ control.]

At the same time, an official apology was issued.

[Hiaka Royal Family: “We are deeply ashamed.”]

King Hiaka III quickly summoned the Nibelung Family to the palace for reprimand.

Hiaka Academy was also investigated, but thanks to the chairperson who knew the full story, it was buried.

“Ahem! That’s classified, you know!”

“Hedwig. Are you dodging responsibility?”

“As the head of this prestigious academy, I will personally correct everything!”

It was the role of the System⧉ to allow the game to continue—by applying pressure at just the right point.

The owl mascot was dragged around and interrogated repeatedly, but ultimately managed to prevent fallout from reaching Dante or the Academy.

“There will now be a Patch Award Ceremony.”

After the incident ended, Dante and Ran personally awarded A-rank+ patches to every member of the assassination squad. Having survived Agion—and retrieved the Holy Sword—they had earned it.

And yet, none of the four looked happy.

“Sniping is such a results-based job… You either kill or fail. But none of my shots really hit…”

Balmung, ever the perfectionist, was crushed by his performance.

“Am I… really that weak…?”

Gray, misinterpreting being pushed away by Dante, saw herself as the weakest of the four.

“Professor. Can I upgrade mine to an S-rank?”

“You’ve still got a long way to go.”

“…Okay…”

Elize felt strange knowing Agion—her father’s old friend—had tried to kill her. She wanted an S-patch to help Dante find Shadowless Star○.

“Ugh…”

Kendreik was just sad because everyone else was sad.

“I’ll do better next time.”

“Mmhm, Gray too.”

“Me too…”

“Ugh…”

Thus, the Holy Sword officially became Dante’s.

A major turning point had passed.

***

Time flew after that.

Because of the “Holy Sword Dispute,” I was dragged into the stars’ game without intending to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) be. I needed to lay low—and grow stronger.

The Hero had apparently been given his “Hero’s Trial.” One morning, Glory—who had been tied up in the manor—was gone. The next night, Eve appeared and waved goodbye. A gesture that said: I’ll be back.

I took her to the department store and loaded her up with artifacts and heavy gear before letting her go.

Before she left, I signed: health, return, horns, don’t get caught.

(I used illusions to hide her twin horns.)

Then, Eve made a gesture I hadn’t seen before:

She formed circles around her eyes like glasses, then tugged her fingers across her neck.

“What’s that sign mean?”

I asked Ran.

Ran stared blankly, then replied:

“It means… ‘I’ll miss you.’”

So that’s what it meant.

A few days later, the new semester began.

I dropped all lectures. As a senior professor, I only attended a few special seminars.

In my spare time, I began researching demonkin—documents, curses, traces.

I also trained in isolation. Took the assassination squad with me for the occasional betting table appearance.

And so, as the semester passed, my squad and I grew rapidly.

By the end of the first semester of second year in the Marquess League, we’d advanced into the Ducal League.

Our Star Fragments steadily accumulated.

< Star Fragments held: 492 >

< Star Fragments held: 713 >

< Star Fragments held: 895 >

…

Half a year passed like that.

Our collection of Star Fragments for a second Lv.9 ability, and my personal training, had progressed well. The demonkin research was making headway.

Then, one morning—

I was eating bread, minding my business, when suddenly—

A message popped up in front of me, glowing:

< Would you like to become the human companion of Radiance⁺₊⋆? >

…Huh??