I Became a Crazy Swordsmanship Instructor in the Game - Chapter 30:

Lisriel Joseph felt tormented, bored, and afraid.

Being targeted by an elite and secretive assassination group known for their bloody history was a situation that would make almost anyone uneasy.

During the day, she spent her time in the headmaster’s office, and at night, she endured restless days in a secluded corner of the dormitory where Senior Professor Emil Phanoy resided.

Senior Professor Emil Phanoy was a fairly amiable person, but she found it challenging to tolerate the smell of bachelorhood and cigarette smoke that lingered in his room.

‘Who could be after me?’

Fortunately, her connections in Crescent allowed her to receive warnings in advance. Otherwise, she could have easily fallen prey to a surprise attack while bathing, sleeping, or even using the restroom.

‘I may not have the Golden Seal in my hands, but it has come into my possession. I can’t just die without using it. Could there be a leak of information?’

If information about the Golden Seal had leaked, her status as an assassination target wouldn’t be surprising.

However, she was well aware that the likelihood of a leak was extremely low. The existence of the Golden Seal was known only to Joseph’s direct descendants and Philip.

If Philip was behind this, there would be no need for the assassins to request her elimination. There were far easier ways to handle her.

‘It can’t be my sister or brother either. Those people wouldn’t attack me in a manner that leaves evidence like an assassination request.’

Her fellow Joseph competitors were exceedingly cautious, making such a move unlikely.

For several days, her thoughts were consumed by hypothetical information without any concrete evidence.

The childhood habit of biting her nails returned, and the lack of proper sleep gave rise to dark circles under her eyes.

‘This can’t continue.’

Hiding like this wouldn’t change anything. She had already sent a letter to the Joseph Association, explaining her situation, but even if they tried to help, it would likely take several months to resolve the matter.

“Miss, are you having a good time?”

At that moment, Senior Professor Emil Phanoy opened the door and entered the headmaster’s office.

“Ah, Professor.”

Lisriel bowed in greeting, and the Senior Professor skipped formalities and asked directly.

“One of the junior instructors hasn’t returned since yesterday’s class. I heard he was close to you. Is this related to you?”

“… If you’re referring to the junior instructor, are you talking about Philip Oswald?”

“From your reaction, it seems like you don’t know either. Damn it.”

The Senior Professor grumbled, saying some idiot had stirred up trouble for no reason, and he took out a sealed letter from his pocket, and handed it to Lisriel.

“By the way, someone from the Joseph Association asked me to deliver this. They said it’s important. Read it.”

“Thank you, Professor.”

It was no easy task for someone to become a senior professor and be willing to handle such delicate errands on their behalf.

With a sense of awe, Lisriel carefully unfolded the letter sealed with Joseph’s official emblem.

The contents of the letter were succinct:

[After exhaustively investigating the client, we have confirmed the collapse of Crescent. The remaining members are now three or fewer, and it is deemed impossible to sustain the organization. Please return to your duties as instructed.]

As Lisriel folded the letter back up, while her hands trembled.

“What’s going on? Well, if it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”

In response to the Senior Professor’s inquiry, Lisriel hesitated for a moment and then replied, “Crescent has fallen…?”

“How?”

“I suppose I’ll have to find out from this point forward.”

The contents of the letter were not mere speculation.

It was an official document bearing Joseph’s seal, so the results of it turning out to be false would cost someone their life.

This meant that the long-standing assassination organization, Crescent, had indeed vanished.

‘… Phillip? Could it be him?’

She briefly pondered about Phillip. However, it didn’t seem likely that he had anything to do with Crescent’s collapse.

‘… Perhaps it’s just a coincidence?’

She concluded that she would have to return to her duties immediately to gather more information.

* * *

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how to repay this favor…”

Stella, the chief of the Shadow Cat Tribe, regained consciousness after several hours. Her first act upon waking up was to express gratitude to Phillip.

The wound had barely started to heal on her face, and she appeared pale.

“Oh, well… It’s alright. I didn’t start this to help you specifically. I also gained something from it. Anyway, what should we do about this guy?”

Phillip raised his right hand, which held a small kitten.

It was Tania.

The moment Tania opened her eyes after pretending to be unconscious from Phillip’s chokehold, she glared fiercely at him.

However, upon seeing Phillip’s face, she quickly tucked her tail between her legs and trembled. It seemed as though she recognized him as her superior in the hierarchy.

Perhaps it was the fear of death she felt when he choked her.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

Tania bared her fangs and raised her front paw as she faced Stella. She appeared ready to pounce at any moment.

Witnessing Tania’s unexplained hostility, Stella avoided eye contact, wearing a desolate expression.

“I’m in trouble.”

“Miyaaong….”

As Phillip displayed signs of unease, Tania let out a pitiful sound, and swung her tail in response.

“As you probably know, I must return to the academy. It’s been a day already, and if I don’t hurry, there’s a risk of getting fired. What will you do from now on?”

In response to Phillip’s question, Stella narrowed her eyes.

In truth, she felt uncertain about her future. Among the few dozen members, ten had either perished or were injured. If she ventured out into the world now, she would only attract the attention of people with ill intent.

At that moment, Phillip suddenly made a proposal to her.

“I can see you have a lot on your mind. Can I offer you one option?”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t have any specific plans, I’ll hire all of you. No need to harm anyone, and you won’t have to take any unnecessary risks. It’s a perfect opportunity to use your abilities to navigate through the shadows.”

“What is it?”

Stella asked, and Phillip responded with a sly smile.

“Gathering information. You just have to fetch the information I need. Perhaps deliver a letter or two. If it becomes too dangerous, you can decline, and if that’s all you do, I’ll help your race integrate into human society.”

Over a few minutes, Phillip explained his plan to Stella, and upon some consideration, she nodded her head.

“If that’s all we need to do, then I’ll serve you for a lifetime.”

There was no courage or reason for her to reject the offer presented by the person who had a dragon as his backing.

Since Stella was currently injured, Phillip alone was strong enough to annihilate the remaining members of the Shadow Cat Tribe.

She decided to entrust her race’s fate to Phillip’s discretion.

Stella got up despite her injuries and kneeled in front of Phillip. He was surprised and quickly helped her to sit down again. The bandages wrapped around her body were stained with blood from the slight movement.

“If she cast a healing spell, you’ll recover quickly, but seriously, where is Previa? Why hasn’t she come yet?”

Muttering with frustration, Phillip lifted Tania.

“So, what about her? Are you going to take her with you?”

“I… will take responsibility for her somehow.”

“How will you take responsibility? Can you handle it if I let her go? She’s hurt so badly….”

As Phillip was speaking, he felt a familiar presence. That unforgettable, immense aura belonged to Previa.

“You handled it well. Indeed, you’re worthy of being the successor of the Moonlight Sword.”

She praised Phillip as she entered the room where Stella was resting.

“Why are you only coming now?”

Philip stared at Privia with eyes full of resentment, and his gaze also fell over at Neffen. Of course, she didn’t even flinch.

“I tortured this wretched demon and delivered the information to the Demon Lord. Depending on the outcome, we might be able to demand something from the demons. So, you’ve done your part.”

Privia’s expression brightened slightly, as if the stress from interrogating Neffen had been alleviated. She seemed willing to share even more information.

“Well, in that case, could you do me a favor?” Philip finally spoke up.

“Sure, as long as it’s not too much,” Privia replied, nodding in response to his question. She was impressed with how well Philip had handled the tasks at hand and what they had gained from resolving the situation.

Philip then brought Tania in front of Privia.

“I would like you to restore this Shadow Cat Tribe member’s mind to its original state.”

“No, there’s no need for that,” Stella interjected, trying to get up quickly.

Philip reached out and gently pressed her shoulder to keep her from standing.

“As a bonus, please heal her injuries.”

Without uttering a word, Privia pointed her finger at Stella.

“Go ahead.”

Suddenly, Stella felt her entire body itch, and her wounds began to regenerate on their own.

“Ah… Ahh!”

She shrieked and then passed out. Philip once again sighed at the linguistic magic employed by Privia.

It was a complete charade.

“That Shadow Cat girl will be perfectly fine in three days as if nothing happened. But this little cat… let me keep her for a while.”

Privia’s voice trailed off as she took Tania from Philip. After carefully observing the cat for a moment, Privia raised her head.

“Emotional pain cannot be cured by magic. It’s like trying to bring a lunatic back to sanity.”

“Then what should I do?” Philip asked.

“What can you do? Take care of her until her mind returns. If you’re lucky, it might happen within a few years. By the way, the Academy went crazy when you disappeared.”

“Really?”

Philip was taken aback. The idea that his mere absence as an instructor would cause such a commotion was hard to believe.

“That sister of yours is causing a stir all over the Academy.”

“Oh, no…”

Felicia’s suspicions were understandable. She had thought her reincarnated sibling might have gone astray due to some conflict with Professor Harslan, and yet, she chose to stay resolute.

“Let’s return quickly.”

“Agreed. But what about this cat?”

Privia opened the portal, and Philip hesitated briefly before using his sword to leave a few lines of writing on the ground.

“I’ll take her with us for now. Leaving her here alone wouldn’t be right.”

In the Shadow Cat Tribe’s current village, there was no one capable of supressing Tania. Philip let out a sigh and stepped through the portal, leaving it all behind.

———-

Translator’s notice:- Happy reading!