Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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104. What on earth is this guy doing?

I was just relieved that Professor Radian wasn’t dead. A few weeks after that incident, he returned to his academic life as if nothing had happened.

Only after the incident ended could the board of directors resume their duties. As soon as they returned, another incident erupted, and they had to scramble to deal with it.

Heidern was detained, and in his place, the head of the Pension Department took his position due to a vote and long meetings among the faculty.

There was nothing different from the main story, so I nodded quietly. However, one difference was the atmosphere within the academy.

If the injured had multiplied and one faculty member had died while the board members were absent, it goes without saying how they would react.

Realizing the situation, they immediately held a memorial service for Radian, where Teaching Assistant Adela broke down in tears.

Unable to control her emotions, she revealed the horns of her horned race, and the Cage Department Head comforted her with a heavy heart.

Then came the incident of Heidern’s escape during the vice principal’s dismissal. It caused enormous turmoil in the narrative while also attracting the royal family’s scrutiny…

`Skip always knows the answer!`

Professor Radian was perfectly fine. Since that day, he has been training the students without any injuries.

Mary wasn’t kidnapped, and there were no wounded students either. Even Heidern, who had appeared as the antagonist, didn’t end up dead but received a seemingly appropriate punishment.

If the main story had injuries serious enough to warrant hospitalization, here it felt like merely a scratch from brushing against someone. A difference between spicy and soft flavors.

“I hear the mission was a success. But…”

We could finally hear from Professor Radian what had happened to our protagonist during that time.

As soon as Lyman returned, he made a record with the Academic Information Department and reported to Professor Radian.

And before long, a letter arrived from the requesting party regarding Lyman’s performance.

“They were all slaughtered?!”

“Yeah, they say all the mercenaries accompanying Lyman were found in a terrible state. Only Lyman survived.”

Jenny gasped in shock, while Mary, unable to comprehend the situation, tilted her head in confusion.

In contrast, I was deep in thought. It didn’t make sense for that monstrous Lyman not to prevent his companions from dying.

No matter how much he disguised his identity as a student, losing everything felt too powerless.

“And that’s not all that horrifying.”

Teaching Assistant Adela chimed in. She was typing away at the document on the faculty desk while juggling her workload.

“Weren’t limbs severed? All the veins in their bodies were torn to shreds. There were unmistakable signs of torture. Some were still barely alive, but… they remember nothing. They could only scream about a demon appearing, and nothing else.”

“A demon…?”

Jenny swallowed hard at the mention of a demon.

I had no idea what it looked like. I suspected it might be the demon lord from long ago…

“Could it be that…?”

Something instinctively surfaced in my mind. The strange entity that mutilated King Talema towards the end of the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident.

Radian’s expression seemed to match my thoughts as he reflected on it somberly.

“They say they can’t know for sure. There are no clues to speak of.”

“But still, we should be grateful that Lyman returned alive. It’s not like he’d feel good about the mercenary buddies being horrifically slaughtered.”

Hearing this, Jenny and Mary began to understand. They now realized why Lyman had such an expression when he entered through the main gate.

But I thought differently. There was no way that was it.

No matter how friendly the mercenaries were, Lyman wouldn’t become that displeased without a good reason. He wasn’t the type to get mad unless there was a special bond.

“Could it be the work of the horned race? The mercenaries getting wiped out.”

When I posed the question with curiosity, Adela began to respond.

“While that’s what the circumstances suggest… it’s probably not the case. The horned race always respects their enemies, so they wouldn’t resort to such horrific torture.”

“….”

“I’m not trying to cover for them just because I belong to the same race, so don’t get me wrong. Even within the horned race, there are plenty of extremists. The elves, beastmen, merfolk, and demonkind are no different.”

Thinking back, Adela was indeed part of the horned race. She currently hid her horns and red eyes, which any skilled hybrid could do — just like our protagonist.

If it wasn’t a remnant of the horned race that was the culprit… the only suspect my instincts pointed to was none other than Lyman. He never lets a villain go lightly once he gets fired up. Just like during Talema, he always delivers hellish pain.

‘The reason is obvious.’

Why did he kill the mercenaries? Simple. They must have turned out to be the bad guys after all.

It wouldn’t be strange if one adapted to that atmosphere while playing this Devil Arca.

No matter how temperamental he might be, the protagonist never commits such insane acts against innocent people.

“You all seem particularly worried about Lyman.”

“Because he’s a friend!”

“He’s a friend! Even if we see each other less often now!”

Jenny and Mary declared innocently.

But that perception was only limited to their immature minds. Rather, their relationship resembled that of a teacher and student than true friends.

Every time Jenny trained, Lyman would appear sometimes and offer tips, while Mary would receive feedback on more efficient methods to build her spirit affinity.

“Because of Lyman, I was able to fix weaknesses I hadn’t even noticed.”

“I’ve learned how delicious bugs can be!”

The reason Lyman cares so much about the two is… because of their father.

They share blood with the men who formed a bond of friendship, so how could he not care? In the first place, the major students of this academy are the very same parents who know Lyman.

Not just the parents, but even their ancestors from centuries ago.

*

By the lakeshore illuminated by the full moon.

A chilly breeze swept over the surface, creating a gentle sound along with the light.

If only I could withstand the cold, it would be the perfect time to clear my head.

“I shouldn’t have laid down like this.”

Lyman lay on a flat rock to pass the boring time after returning to the academy. Just closing his eyes for a moment brought back memories of the mission he had experienced.

From the very beginning, the mission reeked of foul play. Having seen enough of the discrimination against hybrids on this continent over the years, he was more than fed up. Moreover, he had personal experiences that were similar.

The guild claimed the horned race had unilaterally stolen artifacts.

I remember the guild leader’s snide, condescending response when I asked if they had even fact-checked that: `Do I really need to explain how lowly and barbaric the horned race is?`

The faces of those I had seen over many long years and the trash blinded by glory that didn’t fit their subject are prevalent everywhere. The mercenaries were no different.

A mission lasting as long as a month. It was a blessing that it was him and not some other student.

Having a callow student forced to kill innocent people… the difficulty of such a mission was beyond words.

Due to a twist of fate, he ended up staying in the horned race’s village for several days. Normally, there are human haters among them, yet they were incredibly pure.

They rescued him without any reward when he was washed ashore.

‘Looking back, I was incredibly na?ve. They didn’t even suspect I was a mercenary here to hunt them down.’

They didn’t even intend to steal the artifacts; the village chief simply stumbled upon them while passing by. That was all.

It was likely that the guild had intentionally discarded them in the open for them to pick up like that. So they could frame it as our saying they had raided it and enjoy the massacre under the pretense of retrieval.

And sure enough. The moment the mercenaries arrived at the village, they began mercilessly slaughtering the horned race.

I still vividly remember the moment when one of the leaders scolded me for hesitating. With a smile on his face as if it were just a child he was about to behead.

Witnessing that… my body was no longer my own.

The personality I had suppressed for so long had been liberated, and I had already transformed into my `original form`, slicing the mercenaries to pieces.

The personality spoke. That’s why I’m stuck inside you. Such a tragedy will never disappear, which is why I will never cease to exist.

When I came to my senses, the screams of the mercenaries were ringing in my ears, and the slowly severed bones and remnants stained the grass crimson.

The leader begged for mercy with a severed leg in the back. The nonsensical notion that `these barbarians are no different from monsters` came tumbling out.

Even with the personality gone, my body moved on its own.

One by one, slowly — first the index finger, then the middle finger, and the thumb. Next came the wrist, then the forearm, elbow, and finally the shoulder.

Using the stolen sword, I shredded them like pieces of meat on a cutting board. I punctured the area connecting the veins and nerve cells, causing one collapse after another. One by one, sequentially.

Why? The screams came as music. If it weren’t for the voice of my master, and the illusion of a certain girl that I could not see… I probably would have enjoyed it endlessly.

`Thank you for stopping me. Sensei. And…`

I reflected on the girl from the hallucination, shyly with red hair…

Just then, as I raised my head, something flew and smashed into the rock. Lyman, knocked off balance from the impact, took offense.

“Do you have no manners?”

“Growl!”

Cracking the rock was Luska Mad Eye. No matter how prickly she could be, she appeared more feral than usual.

With her alert tail and fox ears. Her razor-sharp claws and beast-like red eyes.

Her appearance, abnormal at a glance, suggested that a professor should be called immediately.

“Is that what it was? I thought…”

But Lyman merely clicked his tongue and gazed at the sky calmly.

The full moon floated like a tray in the approaching winter season. It was clear what that represented to beasts and animals.

Thanks to that full moon, which would last at least for weeks, Luska had lost her composure. She had recently said she could now `awaken`, thus it was natural for her to be like this.

“Your roommate must be going through tough times.”

“Graaar!!”

Seemingly interpreting that as provocation, Luska charged like a wild beast.

She displayed her extraordinary speed, but it was clear to Lyman, who dodged and jabbed her in the neck.

“Ugh!”

Luska, seemingly anesthetized, fell down but quickly got back up.

“Damn it… I lost my mind again.”

Recovering her senses, Luska thanked Lyman.

“Thanks for saving me.”

“Is that how you’ve been going to class for the past few days?”

“Well, I can manage in the mornings. But I don’t think you’re the one to say that, considering you always skip class.”

Lyman’s lips twitched slightly. It was a bit of an unflattering remark, but he held back.

“So, when do you plan to regain control? Isn’t it hard?”

“Do you think it’s easy? Once I go berserk, my reason flies away, making it tough to realign my mind.”

The blood of a Thousand-Year Fox is not something easy to manipulate.

In particular, for Luska, who only inherited her strength from her mother, the difficulty level was higher. A human’s blood sometimes caused a rejection reaction in the body of the Thousand-Year Fox.

On the other hand, if both the mother and father descended from divine beasts, it would be easier to handle. Her sister Angela is an example of that.

“How about not resisting turning into a beast?”

“What?”

“No matter how you change, that’s still you. That’s just a hidden facet of yourself — what’s the point of suppressing it?”

“You want me to simply accept it?”

“Embrace it and become yourself. Then it might come to you sooner.”

“That’s just a hypothesis.”

Though she pouted, it was an enticing suggestion that she stored in her mind. Seeing that side of Luska, Lyman remembered the woman who had been his master.

She too had animal ears and a tail just like the beastmen.

“By the way. How’s your roommate these days?”

“Radon? Why are you asking about him?”

“….”

Lyman gazed at her silently without saying a word.

Faced with this, Luska blushed and stammered a response.

“Don’t get the wrong idea! Just because we share a room doesn’t mean anything weird happens!”

“Not that kind of thing, I mean something special about him.”

“Something special… maybe he’s good at annoying people with his lies?”

“….”

Lyman rubbed his chin, feeling that her answer was quite unfruitful.

Radon Crawler, when I first met him, he looked like a scammer with a few screws loose. However, as time passed, every encounter with him left me with a peculiar feeling.

The peak of that strange vibe was during the end of the Nine-Tailed Fox Incident.

When he disguised himself as the `Demon God` to torture Talema, I could sense that everyone there was frozen in fear. Everyone present was palpably frightened, except for one person.

‘That Radon guy, while appearing shocked outwardly…’

The fear-sensing Lyman comprehended completely the mental states of the others. The one who wasn’t visible in the gaze was also not exempt.

The principal had also been horrified that day, yet, only a single student’s indifference stood out among all that chaos — it was utterly absurd.

‘What on earth is this guy doing?’

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.