I Became a Crazy Swordsmanship Instructor in the Game - Chapter 28:

In response to the desperate plea for help, Phillip looked bewildered and asked with a puzzled expression, “Do you all think I’m a fool?”

“What? What are you saying… Aaargh!”

He tightened the bandage wrapped around her wounded arm.

“If you were planning to deceive me, you should have been more cunning. Think logically. If there was a traitor among your tribe, do you honestly believe the Shadow Cats could have remained hidden? They would have been exposed and dealt with promptly, like cornered dogs.”

“Wait, just give me a moment to explain everything!”

Lana urgently implored, but Phillip shook his head dismissively.

“Having an explanation wouldn’t change things. If you could explain, then it means you were prepared for this, right? So it doesn’t make sense that you’ve come to find me after only seeing me once.”

“Haah!”

Lana growled, her fur bristling. She stepped back and transformed into her human appearance.

With her black hair neatly tied, Lana’s eyes glimmered with an enchanting allure. Observing her pupils, Phillip realized, “It’s an eye ability .’”

Eye Ability.

An eye that exerts a negative influence on the soul or body of the beholder.

It was an ability possessed only by those born with it or granted by a high-ranking demon.

‘But shouldn’t I be affected the moment I see it?’

As Phillip pondered, Lana quickly regained her composure and approached him with a playful smile.

She possessed the ability known as the “Enchanting Eye,” a power bestowed upon her by her master, the Incubus Neffen.

“… You’re quite a shrewd one. You didn’t even consider this possibility, did you?”

Extending her hand, she caressed Phillip’s cheek.

“You’re handsome. I think you’ll be fun to play with. I’ll plead with my master to spare your life, so don’t worry. I’ll keep you with me until I grow tired of you.”

Exuding confidence in her victory, she grinned, and Phillip responded with a wry smile.

“Thank you.”

“What?”

Only then did Lana realize that Phillip was unaffected by the eye ability, and she hurriedly tried to step back, but before she could, Phillip’s fist struck her neck.

“Ugh!”

As she slumped to the ground, Phillip let out a relieved sigh.

“I had a feeling something was off about you. You must have been capable of such endless deceit due to your fraudulent ability, like the Enchanting Eye.”

‘That’s right. Neria also found her behavior strange. She’s no fool either!’

Neria, who had been holding her silence, spoke up. Observing her reaction, Phillip thought, ‘There’s one more person among us who’s deceitful.’

—

After completely subduing an unconscious Lana, Phillip returned to the academy building, pondering, “Why wasn’t I affected by the eye ability?”

Alone, he’d pondered back and forth, but the answer eluded him.

The possibilities were so numerous, so he couldn’t rush to a conclusion.

“I’ll ask Privia later.”

Once his academic schedule was over, he planned to take Lana to the dragon. With her, he could unravel the whole story by delving into the memories of that arrogant cat.

As soon as he returned to the faculty, he encountered one of the professors.

“Instructor? Professor Oswald urgently wants to see you. She said you should come to her immediately.”

“What? Already?”

Although he had recovered from the accident, it would take some time for the information to reach her, as classes were still ongoing. So, it seemed odd that she was already looking for him.

Arriving at Felicia’s office, he could hear Professor Harslan’s voice from outside the door.

“… In conclusion, I will never overlook this problem. Professor Oswald, you have been an exemplary and brilliant student since your academic days. That’s why you became a professor at Privia Academy at such a young age.”

The situation quickly became clear to him.

‘It seems like Harslan got furious, abandoned his class, and came to look for Felicia. How can someone like that become a professor?’

He had not expected a professor to think like that.

“Well, Professor Harslan, I told you I would make a judgment after listening to Instructor Oswald’s story.”

Perhaps due to the good impression he had made, Felicia didn’t seem particularly angry. He opened the door and entered.

Inside the office was a red-faced Professor Harslan accompanied by Felicia, who looked troubled.

As soon as Professor Harslan spotted Phillip, he was about to say something, but Felicia spoke first.

“What’s all this about, Instructor? Leaving the professor’s class in the middle? Why did you do that? I didn’t hear any reasons. I was going to ask when you arrived.”

Felicia looked at Professor Harslan. She had only heard about his absence and didn’t know the full context.

“It’s true that I had an urgent matter and had to leave in the middle of the class, but I didn’t expect him to cause such a fuss and lead you here.”

He looked at Professor Harslan instead of Felicia, and spoke.

“Are you pretending in front of your family? Act like you did a while ago. What’s wrong with my education?”

Then, Professor Harslan raised his voice with anger. But Phillip didn’t have time to argue with him.

“Did I say something wrong earlier? Am I truly to blame for what happened when the student you taught couldn’t control himself and attacked the instructor during the training? Is it fair to hold me responsible for this?”

“That’s something I’ll deal with later; it’s not your concern.”

“But should we just leave this unresolved for now? Leaving thirty students at the mercy of yours? What are those kids doing at this moment?”

Felicia, who had been observing their argument, tried her best to understand the situation from the context of their conversation.

‘… Both of them seem to be in the wrong, don’t they?’

As she thought that, she suddenly looked at Philip’s expression.

“Huh?”

It was the first time she had seen his face since they reunited as an instructor and a professor.

There was something disturbing about his contorted expression that even she, his elder sister, found unsettling.

“You’re being too lenient. Do you believe you can get away with this? I will report this to the headmaster. I can’t tolerate it any longer.”

Professor Harslan’s words were decisive.

“Before you mock me, consider this, Professor. What do you think will happen if I get expelled because of you? Do you think I’ll quietly go back to my old habits of drinking? Well, perhaps I can’t directly confront a professor working at the academy, but what about your family and the people around you?”

“What are you threatening me with…?”

“Yes, it’s a threat. So what? If I make a threat, what will you do? Pull out a sword and kill me? You can’t do that. You can’t bear to get your hands dirty with a worthless bastard like me.”

“Philip! What are you saying?”

Startled by Philip’s words, Felicia grabbed his shoulder.

Philip pushed her hand away and shouted, “Go and inform the authorities. Expel me now. From the moment I leave here, I will use everything I have to torment you. Do you see how much I have to lose?”

When faced with unexpected situations, most people tend to act on their instincts.

Professor Harslan was no exception. He had climbed up from the bottom and was afraid of falling back down.

He felt a sudden surge of clarity, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

Philip might be a worthless and inept individual, but he was the powerful son of a powerful Viscount, and Harslan was a fallen noble holding a prestigious teaching position.

Though he might not be able to do anything right now, Philip could very well destroy him in the near future.

‘Why did I do that?’

Having regained his sense of reality, Professor Harslan suddenly realized that there was nothing to gain by provoking Philip.

Those eyes.

They were not filled with anger or threat, but rather appeared nonchalant, like someone observing a tree root that had tripped them.

It wasn’t a result of uncontrollable anger due to the situation, but rather a gaze that seemed to be contemplating what punishment to bestow upon the wrongdoer.

Although it might have held a slightly different meaning for Philip, at least Professor Harslan felt that way.

He gazed at Philip in silence. The hostility and anger in his eyes had already dissipated.

“If you have nothing more to say, then I will take my leave.”

“Wait, Philip! Hey, hold on!”

Ignoring Felicia’s urgent voice, Philip continued to exit the office.

Professor Harslan didn’t stop him, and Felicia stared blankly at the doorway through which Philip had disappeared for a long moment.

* * *

Right after leaving Felicia’s office, Philip headed straight for the hills behind the academy.

Near the meeting place where he was supposed to encounter Privia, Philip had bound Lana, securing her with a sack covering her face, and tying her arms and legs to limit her movements.

With her strength depleted, Lana wriggled in response when she sensed someone approaching.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

“What is she saying?”

‘It seems like she’s begging for help.’

When Philip asked, Neria replied.

“Really? I have no intention of killing her, though.”

Soon, a portal opened in the empty air, and Privia emerged from the other side.

“What is that?”

When she inquired, Philip pondered for a moment and then responded.

“She came to find me, claiming that the Shadow Cat Tribe had ambushed her and begged for help. Her true intention was to deceive me into stepping into the enchantment of the eye ability to be captured.”

The wise dragon sensed the hidden meaning in Philip’s words.

“It must be Neffen’s doing.”

Philip quickly cut the rope binding Lana. Falling from several meters high and unable to use her arms and legs, she had to endure the impact with her body.

“Ugh!”

Lana writhed in pain, and Philip removed the sack covering her face. Despite being bitten by a basilisk, she hastily activated the Enchanting Eye, but neither Philip nor the dragon Privia were affected.

“Step aside for a moment; I need to extract her memories.”

Following Privia’s instructions, Philip obediently stepped back.

“Extracting memories, you say?”

“A dragon of my league can do that. There might be some side effects, though.”

“Side effects… you mean?”

“Sometimes, some end up becoming fools.”

“Uh!! Eueueup!”

Upon hearing the term “fool,” Lana nearly glowed with anger. Becoming a fool meant a mental death, and it wasn’t much different from physical death.

As an assassin, she was all too aware of that fact.

Philip looked at her pitifully before finally opening his mouth.

“Shall we try it right now?”

————

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