Chapter 56: Echoes of ■■, a Date, and an Exam Part 5

The reporter asks Koll, “What exactly happened?”

However, it was Koll who wanted to ask that question.

The sudden appearance of the monster.

“We must follow the professor’s example and establish order. Therefore, the weak must be protected.”

For that reason, I was forcibly made to join the journey.

“Just let me go home.”

But those words were too terrifying to say.

I ended up joining the journey, and we finally reached the castle.

I wondered what would happen when we met Paimon, but immediately after, the monster transformed twice and swept away all the beasts and demons.

Like the wind, they swept everything away and vanished, leaving only Koll behind.

I was told that I needed to report to Riyan-sama and prepare a few things, but to be honest, I was too scared to fully comprehend what was being said.

The death of Paimon.

And the contaminated land being purified.

People then rushed in after witnessing that, and that’s how the current situation unfolded.

Everyone began questioning Koll.

It was as if Koll were the hero who had accomplished all of this.

If I keep quiet about it, surely I can succeed.

I can even treat my parents well.

“I was not the one who defeated Paimon.”

But Koll quickly corrected the record.

If I were sneaky enough to claim that achievement, I wouldn’t have been abandoned by my comrades in the first place, and turning such a mad monster into an enemy would be something I would never choose.

Honor or anything else comes second; survival comes first.

“The name… it was definitely Riyan. That person, whether a familiar or a biological weapon, led a group of monstrous beings to conquer the cursed realm.”

Thus, Koll relayed the facts as he had witnessed them.

Logically speaking, it couldn’t possibly have been a human.

As soon as Koll mentioned Riyan’s name, an uproar broke out.

None of the reporters present had ever heard of that name.

It was astonishing that the professor had conquered the cursed realm, and now Koll was claiming that the professor didn’t even personally take part.

“The number was… about twenty, I think.”

Twenty.

At that, everyone’s faces turned to confusion.

A genius wizard and genius swordsman—such a superhuman might also be a genius summoner or engineer, but that number didn’t make sense.

No matter how many times they were killed, the monsters kept multiplying.

Paimon, the powerful lord who ruled the vast cursed realm.

And yet, it was defeated by only twenty? That didn’t add up.

Even if you gathered twenty swordmasters from the royal family, the cursed realm could never be conquered.

“But now, Koll was saying that Riyan’s familiar did it?”

“One familiar overpowering a swordmaster?”

This just didn’t make sense.

The reporters asked Koll if he was absolutely certain.

As expected, Koll apologized for his earlier mistake, acknowledging that he had spoken without the full context.

“I was mistaken. It wasn’t twenty. It was one.”

But then, he uttered an even more bizarre statement.

Naturally, everyone’s faces were filled with bewilderment.

The reporters doubted their ears.

‘Was this really what they had just heard?’

But Koll didn’t hesitate at all.

Calmly, he revealed the shocking truth.

“Paimon was defeated by just one of their familiars.”

***

For a moment, the room fell into silence.

“I look forward to your next visit.”

“I’ve enclosed a brochure with a souvenir in the envelope. Please be sure to read it, make up your mind, and come back again.”

A strangely stubborn and persistent attitude.

Was it just for sales purposes?

The way they kept insisting on a return visit made me uncomfortable.

But aside from that, my daily life was quite satisfying lately.

The Fluffy Club.

Originally, I called in those fox beastfolk for a dubious massage shop, intending to be treated like a useless teacher by the students.

It was a paradise where I could feel both softness and coolness at the same time.

Rather than calling just one person, I visited the shop myself, which improved the quality of the service, and it felt like all the built-up stress from various recent failures had disappeared.

‘It was a good idea to take a personal vacation.’

Healing and possibly aiming for a dismissal—killing two birds with one stone, as they say.

If I had stubbornly tried to get fired, there’s no doubt that I’d be facing a miserable end by now.

I could tell just from looking at the plan I was about to use for the upcoming test.

[Write what 1+1 is. (100 points)]

The exam paper contained just one question.

They made us take an exam like this for the midterms.

It made me question the teacher’s intellectual level.

When the inevitable comment about not joking around came, I would claim that it was actually a difficult question and mimic a fool’s response, dropping all respect for them, which was always the plan.

Although, I didn’t think it was such a bad plan.

‘I’ve learned my lesson. If I try to take charge and do something weird, it’s always doomed to fail.’

Looking back on past experiences, I knew something absurd would get in the way, ruining everything.

‘1+1, what was it, really?’

‘The students, instead of taking the question literally, believed there was some profound meaning behind it.’

‘One of them even got inspired by my question.’

‘Somehow, they made a huge discovery that would change the world.’

‘In an instant, the world flipped upside down, and my pathetic attempt at mimicking an infant would be seen as mocking those who didn’t understand the real meaning behind the question.’

‘I could already see that future in my head.’

‘At this point, doing nothing is much better.’

‘What can you all even do?’

‘If I say I won’t do anything, and I don’t even give you anything to praise, what can you possibly do?’

‘Make up an exam I never gave and praise me for it?’

‘You can’t do anything.’

The only option is to criticize my dereliction of duty and demand I be fired.

‘I should’ve done this from the start. If I had, I’d be living a happy retirement life by now.’

It’s a bit of a shame, but I’ll try to think positively.

Even if it’s late, I’m glad I thought of this method.

It’s the most practical and convincing plan yet.

The chances of success are nearly 100%.

…Though, it’s still too early to relax.

Lately, my luck has been off in the worst possible way, and there are some scenarios that make me anxious.

Carefully, I cautiously headed to the A-Class classroom.

“I knew this was your test, professor!”

“Are you testing our patience?”

“We could’ve waited a month, but you came early!”

The voices of students, spitting out chilling words from the darkness.

A terrifying vision of insane students with glowing eyes charging toward me, having stayed awake all night waiting for me, flashed before my eyes.

I knew my plan had a high chance of success, But my memories of failure and the countless ridiculous problems that had come my way were making me feel extremely uneasy.

I swallowed nervously and opened the door…

A sigh of relief escaped me.

Contrary to my fears, there were no students in sight.

Well, even the craziest of people wouldn’t stay up for days waiting for me.

I guess I was just worrying too much.

Maybe I have severe paranoia at this point.

Stress really is the root of all ailments.

‘I should revisit the Fluffy Club as soon as I can.’

With that thought in mind, I turned on the classroom lights.

However, as soon as the lights came on, an unusual sight greeted me.

Two changes immediately became visible in my line of sight.

I walked forward with a very perplexed expression.

On the teacher’s desk was a bundle of papers.

I definitely didn’t create any exam papers, so what was this pile?

Upon examining its contents, I found a bizarre array of numbers and letters.

[Sylvia Leonhart]

[Midterm score: 301 points]

[Ciel]

[Midterm score: 1009 points]

[Christiana Roland]

[Midterm score: 19450815 points]

‘Did these bastards eat something weird together?’

‘Did they write the score they wanted on a blank sheet?’

“Just keep your mouth shut and give me the grades as written.”

…Well, this is to my benefit, after all.

If I submitted these grades, other professors would definitely grab me by the collar and ask if I had gone insane.

Basically, my dismissal would be confirmed.

It’s a good thing, but I still couldn’t shake my confusion.

Students wanting to cheat on their grades—

That’s expected, but my students were all out of their minds.

Something felt off.

My instincts told me something was wrong.

My gaze naturally moved.

A bundle wrapped carefully with a ribbon.

Next to the pile of papers, a gift made its presence known.

Without hesitation, I quickly unwrapped the packaging.

What rolled out was a head.

A rose embedded around the eye area.

Glitter scattered across the skull.

A head adorned with a butterfly-shaped ribbon.

But the problem wasn’t the bizarre decorations.

It was the desecrated corpse, even in death.

The face, I had seen it before.

The master of all beasts.

The powerful demon who ruled the vast cursed realm.

The Lord of Despair, Paimon.

‘What on earth had happened for this monster’s head to be delivered as a gift?’

I had a stunned expression, but the world was too cruel to give me time to process.

The situation didn’t even allow me to sort my thoughts.

From afar, I heard loud footsteps.

Soon, figures emerged.

They were the big shots I’d only seen in the newspapers.

The golden mage tower master, who deals with mechanical devices.

The black mage tower master, who researches summoning and familiars.

And the current president of the Adventurer’s Guild.

All of them looked at me, licking their lips, As if they were about to pounce on a rare beauty.

Middle-aged men rolled their eyes and charged toward me.

The world had completely gone mad.