Chapter 100
Chapter 100
Chapter 100
EP23 - Hand (10)
The results were announced.
▶ January 21, 502nd Year, Monthly - Assassination Daily Cover Model Gray Habanero, Amulet Carolina 10-Day Sales Figures
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157,215 copies
It was a huge success.
And not just a success, an enormous one!
A moderate success was 50,000. A big success was 100,000. The figure the Academy and Dante had hoped for was 80,000 copies.
When Trash delivered the good news, Dante had wondered if it might even exceed 100,000 copies, but the result was 157,000.
The Academy was in an uproar.
Elise jumped up and down, then hugged Gray and planted a kiss on him. For some reason, Kendrake also jumped up with a "Ugh."
Quan and Balmung suddenly let out groans and howls, the reasons for which Dante couldn't fathom.
Balmung, realizing something, clutched his head and kept checking the numbers projected onto the 「crystal ball」, as if in disbelief.
Rebecca, rarely seen smiling, also showed a smile and nodded. Her eye makeup made her smile look gentle and bright.
And every moment of this was captured by the 「Filming Device」.
There was a problem. Kendrake had jumped too high. He was already a towering 2.20 meters tall. As he began to bounce, the flooring started to sink. Then, as his airtime became excessively long,
Balmung shouted. "Whoa! Whoa!"
He was a little too late.
His head went through the ceiling. His profile listed his weight as 165kg of pure muscle, making it look like a wild boar had charged through.
The ceiling tilted and began to collapse, taking the chandelier with it. It fell directly onto Rebecca.
Up until that moment, Rebecca had been watching the falling chandelier with a blank expression, her legs crossed. But Cheongru threw herself forward and deflected the chandelier. With a crash, a section of the living room was destroyed, and it embedded itself in the fireplace. The scene of jubilation had instantly turned into chaos.
After a brief silence, Gray suddenly burst into laughter.
...Because Kendrake's wig had flipped off!!
At this, everyone burst into laughter.
Elise, looking curious, gently poked it.
"Your rooster comb was fake?"
"Ugh..."
Kendrake, despite his shallow self-awareness, seemed to realize something was wrong and hastily fled the Academy.
Balmung shook his head. He had tried so hard to hide it, and this is what happened. Still, he felt no responsibility. He had protected the secret as much as he could.
Afterward, the Students grabbed Gray from the wrecked Academy and gave him a celebratory lift.
The subsequent interview was also a mess.
Q. Are you satisfied with the sales figures?
A. Yes. Thank you. I love you so, so much...
Q. Do you have anything to say to Student Amulet, who filmed with you?
A. Know that it's all thanks to me...? (laughs)
Q. Weren't you nervous before the results were announced?
A. Not at all? (buck teeth)
Q. Indeed, you seemed a little nervous, then suddenly became fine. It was the same during the last Assassination Daily shoot. You seem like someone who performs well under pressure. Do you have your own method of mind control?
A. ...
Gray glanced at Dante in the living room mirror and chuckled.
A. Do I have any special methods? I just endure and persevere on my own. Haha. (buck teeth)
Dante thought.
Oh, really.
⋮
Afterward, there was a party.
"157,000! Cheers—!"
At Elise's words,
Clink
Everyone's glasses met.
How did I end up here? I had intended to return after the shoot, but Gray grabbed me as I was leaving, asking where I was going, and brought me along.
Still, I felt it was good that I came. The place was full of energy. Gray was the one who achieved it, but everyone there shared that tension. Boisterous conversations. Alcohol flowing down throats. Time passed with laughter and chatter.
Elise was incredibly excited, constantly touching Gray or trying to lift him onto her shoulders. She got a bump from one of his hits.
"Professor. Cheers."
After being hit repeatedly like that, he came next to me.
Ding!
I clinked glasses with him.
"I applied for a club in my second year."
"A club?"
Good heavens.
I had a feeling it might be that, but...
"A travel club."
That was a relief.
"But to start a club, you need a supervising professor, so they told me to find one. Can I use the professor's name?"
"Go ahead."
Elise smiled brightly.
Then, suddenly curious, I asked.
What the club's name was.
"A Stroll Club!"
That was certainly a name fitting for Elise.
"A stroll."
Just then, someone flinched. It was Balmung.
After flinching, he seemed to wonder why he had flinched.
Soon, he seemed to shake off his thoughts and return to what he was doing.
What was he doing?
In fact, amidst the party, Balmung had been glaring at me ferociously, and my glass never ran empty. If it even looked a little empty, it was instantly refilled with alcohol.
He even meticulously peeled the shells off shrimp and offered them to me.
"Hey, Balmung."
"Yes."
"You eat it yourself."
"Yes, Professor. Understood."
This guy ate almost at a right angle.
Meanwhile, Kendrake looked somewhat dejected.
"Ugh..."
The rooster comb was fine. Balmung had done some repair work (?) later.
From his perspective, he probably didn't understand Gray or the sales figures. All that remained in his mind was the exposure of his shame.
It didn't feel like a foreign experience to me. While I'm fine now because Dante passed on good genes, I remember the experience of becoming bald during chemotherapy. That was a deeply humiliating memory.
So, I gave him all my meat.
"Ugh, uh."
Then Kendrake became happy...!
Don't underestimate him just because he's muscular.
His weight is on par with Dean Shaman.
His appetite is something to be reckoned with, even compared to Dominic.
"By the way, is Quan not here?"
At my question, Elise nodded.
"Quan doesn't really do company dinners with us."
"Why?"
"I don't know. He seems to meet up with guys sometimes, though."
I looked at Balmung.
"He does hang out with us sometimes... but honestly, it feels like he just shows up whenever he wants, not when we invite him. I don't even know what he usually does. He barely makes it to classes."
Come to think of it.
I have some connection with every member of the Hidden Dragon Society. But strangely, I have no connection with Quan.
I've never even run into him on the street.
So, I couldn't even recruit him into the Assassination Squad. It felt odd to propose something to someone I'd only met once.
'Strange.'
If there are seven people, it's possible not to connect with one of them. But considering that the relationship between the Hidden Dragon Society and their Professor is being enforced as a global trend in this [Hell Difficulty], it feels somewhat odd.
Just then, Balmung stealthily approached and bowed his head.
Then he said in a low voice.
'Do you require information about his secret hobbies or strange private life?'
'No. It's fine.'
'If you have something you wish to say, shall I bring him in? Leave it to me. I'll bring him within 10 minutes.'
'No. It's fine.'
'Yes.'
Balmung bowed his head and moved away.
Then he came back.
'I secretly saved the king crab shell I peeled. Would you like me to mix it with rice for you?'
No...
"Ah! Ah, it's overflowing!"
"Huh? Huh? What a waste!"
Then Lucy brought over a beer bottle she had accidentally shaken, and as it began to erupt, Elise urgently put her mouth to it.
Gulping it down, her cheeks puffed out, and at a precarious moment.
In the spot where everyone's gaze was focused.
As Elise gave a thumbs-up.
Gray poked her side.
"Pooop—!"
"Kyaa, ahahaha!"
"Hey! Don't spray the Professor!"
"Ugh."
It was a mess.
That was the kind of time it was.
* * *
After the drinking session ended, I gathered four of them separately.
Excluding the Maid, it happened to be only the members of my Assassination Squad who had been at the drinking party.
The place I gathered them was the living room.
Everyone had a flushed face from having had a few drinks.
The feeling was slightly strange.
It felt like just yesterday when I first came here. I was caught by Gray and dragged here. I almost died.
Assassination is a method for the weak to kill the strong. I am still not completely free from such threats. I could get hurt or die if I'm not careful.
Even so, things are different now than they were then. I have grown stronger. And my relationships with them have progressed remarkably. I've accomplished so much in less than half a year.
Survived numerous Professor assassinations.
Opened relationships with the Hidden Dragon Society.
Met a Princess.
...Hmm...
Suddenly got caught up in the recruitment war between the Black Path and the White Path,
Killed the Hornless Demon Toksin.
Fought Jinxite in the Error Space.
Overcame Rebellion and Collapse.
Created the Cain Tree.
Achieved a glorious victory in the Assassination Daily.
After experiencing all those events, I am sitting here again.
"Umm. But Professor, that's the Princess's seat."
"It's fine, Professor. You can sit."
This time, I sat down by mistake, but still.
I crossed my legs and leaned back.
What are you going to do about it, you brats.
I have walked many paths, but.
This is only the beginning.
There are still many places to go.
And many things to do.
"Attention."
All eyes turned to me.
"You are now officially part of my Assassination Squad."
I had already obtained signatures from Gray and Balmung beforehand.
Seriousness settled on their faces.
"From now on, under my supervision, you will be deployed to numerous training sessions, assassinations, requests, dungeons, labyrinths, sieges, and sieges—"
"As tools, you have no right to refuse my orders. Conversely, as your master, I have the responsibility to train you into excellent tools."
There is a procedure that the Assassination Squad must perform here.
It is the act of abandoning one's humanity.
'Declaration of Abandoning Dreams.'
"My dream, Dante Hiacapo's dream, was happiness. As of today, I abandon it."
However, I have no reason to be overly invested in being an assassin.
So, I decided to check their dreams.
Gray opened his mouth.
"My dream, Gray Habanero's dream, is to establish 『Glass Butterfly』 as a school of Illusion Magic and gain continental recognition. As of today, I abandon it."
It's not simply a matter of wanting to inform.
In an era dominated by Newton's classical mechanics, the emergence of quantum mechanics overturned the paradigm of theoretical physics. What Gray desires is such a future.
And I believe there is such potential at the fringes of 『Glass Butterfly』. Something that rivals 『World Fabrication』 exists.
Gray must find and reveal it.
"My dream, Balmung Nibelung's dream, is the assassination of the Dark Star Constellation ⚉. As of today, I abandon it."
This dream is much rougher than I expected. A killing intent emanated from Balmung's eyes as he spoke.
A son who wishes to kill his mother. Was there such a narrative in the world's stories? It was a foreign feeling to me.
But if one day I become an enemy of humanity, if I become an obstacle in the Demon King's battle, I too will consider killing the Grandmother.
"...Me?"
"Yes."
"Um, umm... My dream, Elise Ksikos's dream is... ...I miss my dad. As of today, I abandon it."
Conversely, this is much gentler than expected. However, the heart behind it may not be so gentle.
Rebecca must have also ordered such declarations in the past. If she had the ability to successfully assassinate the Emperor, she would have persuaded them that establishing 『Glass Butterfly』 as a school, assassinating the Dark Star Constellation ⚉, or finding the lost Shadowless Star ○ would not be difficult.
After that, Kendrake just blankly went "Ugh ugh," so I accepted it.
With this, the Declaration of Abandoning Dreams concluded.
"This year, let us all achieve great things."
Various emotions flickered across everyone's faces at my words.
It could be solemnity, or it could be excitement.
"I'm leaving."
This meeting was supposed to end here.
But.
"Eeeh? Wait a minute, Professor."
"What is it?"
"Aren't we going to do an 'Aja Aja Fighting'?"
Elise suddenly said that.
Geez, what kind of 'Aja Aja Fighting' would assassins do...
"Let's do it. Yes? Let's do it. Gray, come here too."
"Eh...? What the hell..."
"Whyyy. Let's do it, let's do it. Balmung! Come here, you punk...!"
As Elise placed her arms on her sides and commanded, Balmung approached with a grimace.
Balmung doesn't admit it, but Elise seems to think she's higher in rank.
He still looked embarrassed, hesitating, but thinking "Ah, whatever," I extended my hand. He immediately placed his hand on top of mine. As if pressing a button that said 'Here's the button...'.
"Chicken!"
"Ugh."
Kendrake 2.0, who just copies what others do, also joined in. His hands were big, so he had to be at the very bottom. By the way, if that's a chicken, is it something like a Reckon?
"...Is this kindergarten?"
Afterward, Gray, revealing his buck teeth with a look of disdain, reluctantly placed his hand on top.
Finally, with five hands gathered in one place. A thumb scratched my back of the hand with a fingernail. Looking at Gray, he gave me a '??' look. Even though he was the one doing it.
Regardless, separate from such antics, it felt like something was beginning, and the atmosphere wasn't bad.
Looking at the hands gathered above and below mine, I thought.
From now on, these hands will turn the world upside down.
"Alright."
Elise shouted with a bright smile.
"Dante's Assassination Squad! Aja, Aja—!"
In response, the others also shouted.
"Fighting—!!" (Ugh)
EP23
Hand
END