Villain Takes Over The Academy

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 42

"This is something only you can do, Shin A-sol."

A month ago.

The day after Arche died, Professor Kim Taek-hee said.

"Do Jin-hak was released due to insufficient evidence. But I'm strongly convinced that he's connected to Arche's death."

Summoned to the Emission Department professor's office, Shin A-sol silently listened to Kim Taek-hee.

However, her mind was in turmoil. She tried to take deep breaths and focus. It was still too hard for her to accept Arche's death.

"Go into the Deconstructionist Department and keep an eye on Do Jin-hak. Find out what kind of person he is, what kind of impure thoughts he teaches, and how inhumanely he treats the students... absolutely everything."

The mission Kim Taek-hee was proposing was difficult. It went against her usual belief of walking only the path of the Defense Department without a minor.

But in the current situation, she couldn't refuse.

"...Okay. I'll do it."

Shin A-sol nodded with a firm determination.

As a student council member.

As Arche's friend.

She couldn't just leave Professor D in this academy.

* * *

"I swear to tell only the truth here."

Shin A-sol, who entered the meeting room, took an oath in front of everyone.

Next to her, Kim Taek-hee was looking at Shin A-sol with a satisfied look.

'I never thought Shin A-sol was taking my class at Kim Taek-hee's request.'

I was quite surprised. Honestly, I didn't expect Shin A-sol to appear here.

Shin A-sol was the most trusted student in the Masterclass.

Even the professors would think twice and listen carefully to what Shin A-sol said. If Shin A-sol were to say something unfavorable about me...

'I might really get expelled this time.'

For the first time since entering the meeting room, I began to feel nervous. This time, I got hit by Kim Taek-hee.

"Shin A-sol, is it true that you chose the Deconstructionist Department as a minor for the past month?"

Kim Taek-hee started asking questions as if reading a prepared script.

"Yes, that's right."

"How many classes did you attend?"

"I attended a total of 12 classes."

"Then, what was the general atmosphere of the Deconstructionist Department classes?"

"It was very stiff and tense. There was a strong atmosphere of the students being afraid of the professor."

She was being honest.

Even in front of me, Shin A-sol answered with a firm tone.

Kim Taek-hee glanced at the other professors as if to show them, and then asked again, "Have you ever seen Professor Do Jin-hak make inhuman remarks or actions towards the students during the class?"

"Yes. I heard him say such things a few times."

"Can you reproduce exactly what he said?"

"...Are you really asking me to say it exactly?"

Shin A-sol, who had been answering without hesitation, hesitated for the first time.

For some reason, I felt uneasy about that hesitation.

"This is an important verification process. Please say exactly what you heard."

As Kim Taek-hee urged her, Shin A-sol glanced around for a moment and then opened her mouth.

"...You idiot, you have the intelligence of a dog, a machine that just eats and poops, did you fill your head with sewage instead of brain matter, even a goldfish is smarter than you, students like you should jump out of the window now to help your future colleagues, and also..."

"Stop. That's enough."

As if he couldn't bear to listen any longer, Kim Taek-hee quickly raised his hand to stop her.

The other professors, however, had expressions of shock.

"What... what did I just hear...?"

"Oh, my goodness..."

"To utter such terrible words in the sacred classroom of the Masterclass!"

"Are those the words that should come out of the mouth of someone who calls himself a professor!"

The professors of the noble Masterclass seemed like they wanted to dig their own eardrums out after hearing such terrible words.

'So she actually remembered all that.'

I had thought she was listening to the lecture attentively because she was staring at me with wide eyes every time. But now it seems she was memorizing all these things one by one.

Kim Taek-hee said, "Even more disgusting remarks come out in the Deconstructionist Department lectures. Professor Do Jin-hak is killing students' precious self-esteem and corrupting their souls with insulting words."

He spoke with a serious expression, emphasizing each word, making me feel like I had committed a great crime.

The crime of insulting students' personalities and corrupting their souls.

It was a crime that made me wonder how many years I'll be imprisoned.

"But what does this have to do with the murder of Arche?"

Professor Sarah, who had been unusually calm among the agitated professors, suddenly asked a question.

Kim Taek-hee looked at Sarah intently and replied, "Of course, these things don't prove that Professor Do Jin-hak is a murderer. But who can be sure that a person with such a ruined personality wouldn't commit murder?"

Kim Taek-hee displayed another document on the screen. It was the Deconstructionist Department's class schedule up until last week.

"Professor Do Jin-hak immediately resumed his lectures right after Arche died, even though he was a suspect. Normally, people would postpone their lectures when such an incident occurs, but it's evidence of a psychopathic personality who is not shocked by the death of a student."@@novelbin@@

I was dumbfounded.

If I had been faithful to my duties despite a shocking incident, I should have been applauded, but he's twisting it and saying it's evidence of being a criminal.

'What a great logic.'

It was so absurd that it wasn't even worth responding to.

However, unlike my thoughts, the other professors in the meeting room were reacting unusually.

"Hmm... it seems that he has a very serious personality problem."

"It's far from the behavior of a normal person."

"It seems he has sociopathic tendencies as well as psychopathic ones..."

The professors nodded solemnly, as if Kim Taek-hee's words made perfect sense.

'I can't believe they're buying that.'

I was so curious as to where the persuasiveness came from that the professors were nodding in agreement with Kim Taek-hee's words.

At this point, I began to wonder why Kim Taek-hee was even a professor. If he had worked as a prosecutor in court, he could have even arrested a pacifist like Gandhi.

"Shin A-sol. Tell us, after observing for a month, do you really think Professor Do Jin-hak is the murderer who killed Arche?" Sarah asked as the public opinion about me was getting worse.

"The Professor D I observed..." Seeming to organize her thoughts, Shin A-sol glanced at me and said, "I definitely think he is the type of person to kill someone without hesitation."

"As expected..."

"That's right..."

The meeting room was once again in an uproar at Shin A-sol's firm answer. Kim Taek-hee smiled triumphantly as if everything was over, and sharp glances were thrown at me from all directions.

"But I don't think he's the one who killed Arche."

However, Shin A-sol suddenly added an additional statement.

Not just me, but everyone in the meeting room was staring at her in bewilderment."

"What is she saying?"

"He can easily kill people, but he's not a murderer?"

I was also puzzled. What was she trying to say?

"During the villain field training, there was a situation where a student was about to be killed by a devil villain. At that time, Professor D threw himself to protect the student. Even though he could have died himself."

...Was that it?

Shin A-sol was talking about the situation where I tried to use Seo Su-kyung to catch the devil villain.

'It was certainly a situation where I had to risk my life... but...'

To save Seo Su-kyung? That was a ridiculous delusion. The reason I saved her was simply because she was useful.

"I think if he had really killed a student with his own hands, he wouldn't have been able to do that..."

"Stop! We don't have much time, so let's hear the answer up to this point! Now, leave!"

Kim Taek-hee cut her off firmly, and Shin A-sol left the meeting room with regretful eyes.

Kim Taek-hee looked at the door with displeasure and said, "Shin A-sol is strong-willed, but as everyone knows, she has the flaw of being overly sentimental. Please take into account that point when considering what she just said."

Kim Taek-hee then began to point out my actions during the villain field training.

Disobeying orders.

Lack of leadership.

Making reckless decisions that put the team in danger, and so on...

Many professors nodded solemnly at his words.

After belittling me for a long time, he finally seemed to have had enough and stated his final conclusion.

"Considering all these facts, I have concluded that Professor Do Jin-hak is a very unsuitable person to be a professor of the Masterclass. For that reason, I request the expulsion of Professor Do Jin-hak."

Finally, the time had come to make a decision on the main agenda. The meeting room began to buzz with discussions among the professors.

"Hmm... it's been a long time since a request for a professor's expulsion has been made..."

"However, according to these contents, it would be very dangerous to leave him in this academy."

"He is definitely a person who will cause great harm to the Masterclass..."

The professors looked thoughtful, but most of them seemed to have already made up their minds.

'Now, it depends on how much Shin A-sol's story worked.'

I looked around at the professors' faces one by one.

Professors who avoided my eyes.

Professors who looked angry as if they were about to kick me out.

Professors with expressionless faces...

Honestly, I don't know anymore. I don't know how this meeting will end.

"Then, as per the tradition of the meeting, we will proceed with a vote. Those who oppose the expulsion of Professor Do Jin-hak, please raise your hands."

As Kim Taek-hee said, Clementine and a few other professors cautiously raised their hands. All the professors from the Alchemy Department, as well as some from the Defense, Transformation, and Necromancy Departments, raised their hands in opposition.

'7 out of 21 votes.'

Even if you combined the votes from the Emission Department and the Summoning Department, it would exceed 7 votes.

Kim Taek-hee smiled bitterly, as if he no longer cared to hide his inner thoughts, and said, "Then, those who agree, please raise your hands."

As expected, all the professors from the Emission Department raised their hands, and a few professors from the other departments also raised their hands.

4 votes from the Emission Department.

2 votes from the Divine Department.

1 vote from the Transformation Department.

"...7 votes?"

"7 votes in favor?"

"No, how is this possible...?"

The professors looked at each other in bewilderment.

7 votes in favor.

7 votes against.

7 abstentions.

In other words, the proposal to expel Do Jin-hak ended in a tie with 7 votes for and 7 votes against, so it was decided to postpone it.

"That's ridiculous!"

"How can we leave such a person in this academy...?"

"Are you all out of your minds!"

"Hey! What are you saying so carelessly?!"

"Yes! Didn't you hear that student Shin A-sol said that the murderer of Arche was someone else?"

The meeting room was instantly filled with chaos as the professors raised their voices and blushed at each other.

But I swear, the most surprised person at that moment was Kim Taek-hee. He glared at the Summoning Department, especially Sarah, with an unbelievable expression.

Ignoring Kim Taek-hee's gaze, Sarah said, "...Since the motion has been postponed, there will be no more meetings for now. So there's nothing more to talk about, so we can all go now, right?"

After saying only that, Sarah got up from her seat without any hesitation...

And before leaving the meeting room, she glanced at me.

"..."

Sarah, who gave me a meaningful look, left the meeting room without saying a word.

Amidst all the commotion, Kim Taek-hee declared in a voice mixed with anger and gloom.

"...This concludes today's full faculty meeting. I would like to express my deepest... gratitude to the professors who took the time to attend."

* * *

"Wow! It's a relief! Professor D!"

As soon as the meeting ended, Clementine sighed in relief and clasped her hands together.

"I was so worried that you were going to be kicked out..."

"I know. Thanks to Professor Alfred, I'm not being kicked out."

"I, I didn't mean it that way..."

Clementine was startled and immediately looked downcast.

I had to hold back the urge to tease her because her reaction was funny.

"I'm just joking. But it's true that I received help from the Alchemy Department professors, so I'll be there whenever you need my help in the future."

Then Clementine waved her hands and said, "Don't mention it. We just thought that Professor D was not the kind of person that should be expelled from this academy, so we opposed the expulsion."

"...I see."

I could tell she was sincere. And it felt strange.

Even though my humanity was disappearing, I should feel guilty for deceiving a person who trusts me this much...

'It's strange that I don't feel any emotions at all.'

I suddenly wondered if I would ever be able to feel guilt again?

"By the way... why did Professor Sarah do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't raise her hand in favor. Judging by Professor Kim's reaction, it seemed like the Emission Department and the Summoning Department had all agreed to vote in favor..."

Clementine seemed very curious. It was an illogical behavior. Probably all the professors there were surprised.

'Except for me.'

Only I knew that Sarah wouldn't oppose my expulsion, but at least she wouldn't agree.

If she had read the letter I sent, she wouldn't be able to kick me out.

"I'm so curious! I have to go ask her!"

As if she couldn't stand it anymore, Clementine suddenly turned around and ran towards the B area where the Summoning Department was located.

It was true that she had the setting of not being able to endure her curiosity...

‘She's really true to her character.’

Unfortunately, even if she goes to find Sarah, she won't be able to get the answer she wants. Because the person Sarah is waiting for the most right now is me.

Just before leaving the meeting room, her eyes clearly said- ‘Come meet me right now…’

But now is not a good time. To find Sarah, I have to wait until at least nightfall...

"...Hmm?"

Suddenly, I saw someone standing in front of me.

Shin A-sol, standing alone by the corridor window.

As if waiting for me, she looked at me intently.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]