An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 117: The Angel Meets the Assassin (2)

At the end of the grand, yet cold, hallway of the Central Academy, Park Jin-ho, the vice principal, stood with a grim expression…

He was biting on a cigarette. He usually never smoked. And smelling the nicotine, a Fallen Elf stealthily approached.

"Park Jin-ho, what are you doing? You always nag me about not smoking… huff—"

Lusa, instinctively inhaling the lingering nicotine that Park Jin-ho exhaled, came to her senses and shouted again,

"This is hypocrisy at its finest! That’s what humans call a shitty situation like this. Hey, I told you to…"

But seeing Park Jin-ho's grave expression, she toned down her aggression and asked,

“Hey, what is it? What's wrong?”

“You heard that Merrill is back, right?”

“Yeah, that brat’s suspension’s over. So?”

“Merrill went to meet Leffrey.”

“Hmm... Merrill…”

Lusa muttered, as if annoyed.

“That brat Merrill, she’s the youngest of us professors, yet she won't even show me her true face. Acting all high and mighty because she’s an assassin… Wait, she shows you her face, right? What does she even look like?”

“Just understand. You’re an elf. Merrill’s past…”

“I know, she was a slave abused by other races. Elves, beast folk, dwarves, and so on…”

Lusa, with an indifferent expression as if to say ‘so what’, continued,

“Anyway, that brat… she couldn’t meet the Headmaster last time, so this will be her first time meeting a true celestial being.”

“It’s not something to be taken lightly. You know what kind of ideology Merrill has, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. She’s young, but she’s strong as hell, arrogant, a human supremacist who thinks everything we say is just old-fashioned nagging. And a naive brat who doesn't even know what the demon king looks like.”

People didn’t know the Demon King’s appearance.

The demon king always had Steps of the Fallen Angel Walking Through the Night activated, and those who couldn’t perceive karma couldn’t even sense his presence, let alone see what he looked like.

Only those who had reached the peak of their field, the professor-level superhumans, could somehow sense the demon king.

Park Jin-ho continued,

“What do you think a professor like that would do if they met Leffrey?”

“What else? You know what kind of men Merrill likes too.”

Lusa laughed mischievously.

“Her heart will probably be racing. But…”

“Stop messing around and make a proper judgment.”

“I’m making a proper judgment. There’s no way a naive little brat like that wouldn’t fall for Leffrey’s cuteness. I’ll handle it.”

She said ominously,

“I’ll make Merrill fall head over heels for Leffrey.”

Lusa nodded as if saying she would take care of it. Park Jin-ho, seeing that, sighed deeply.

“Truly, what a mess…”

* * *

The next morning. Leffrey, recalling yesterday’s events, sighed deeply.

‘I’ve met another one. Another Heaven hater…’

Leffrey had heard from the professors. There were quite a few people in this world who hated angels.

To them, angels were like this.

Cruel beings who ignored the world's cries for help and the countless prayers of humanity.

Some even knew that the demon king, the one who was trying to destroy the world, was once an archangel.

‘Shaman King James was one of them.’

James Tarden, the principal of the East Coast Academy, the one who gave Leffrey the gift of Leffriel, was one of them.

‘Well, things worked out somehow back then…’

But Merrill, as far as Leffrey knew, was a little different from James. The youngest professor, the most confident professor, the professor who hated the demon king the most.

And the professor who hated angels the most…

‘B-But surely, she won’t just assassinate me, right?’

Leffrey tried to be optimistic. And if Professor Merrill tried to harm him, surely the other professors would come and stop her?

Plus, Professor Hexi often protects him, so…

‘Still, I should do everything I can. To gain Professor Merrill's approval, I have no choice but to act cool. And also, be cute.’

Professor Merrill might be watching him right now. Leffrey decided to show Professor Merrill what a true angel was like.

‘…Why don’t I give the kids some snacks, it’s been a while!’

Leffrey’s stomach was full these days, thanks to the Angelic Power he had extracted from the demon king. So he hadn't been collecting these trivial amounts of Angelic Power, but…

He suddenly felt like farming some.

Leffrey used his Cooking Lv.10 skill. Delicious morning buns were made. They definitely weren't buns that could be made in an hour or two, considering all the proofing and baking, but…

He somehow managed to do it with magic.

Magic is amazing.

His first class today was martial arts training with Lusa. And so, Leffrey headed for the Martial Arts Department, carrying a mountain of buns.

As soon as Leffrey opened the training hall door, with his arms full of buns…

Trip-

Lusa casually tripped him, using a technique commonly known as *deashi barai* in judo.

“Kyaaa!”

The buns soared into the air, and Leffrey, surprised, fell. Although he wasn’t hurt at all since he was a superhuman…

…but the buns were scattered all over the floor.

“Hmph…”

Leffrey pouted and glared at Professor Lusa.

“Professor! What was that for?!”

“Hmm.”

Professor Lusa looked at Leffrey. His face was full of frustration, with tears welling up in his sparkling emerald eyes. And his golden hair, seemingly radiating a heavenly light.

Truly, a beautiful boy like him was hard to find.

Even Lusa, who had lived for a long time, had to admit it.

Truly so.

‘Merrill. You must be watching us from somewhere, right? You, who love pretty boys, there’s no way you could take your eyes off this heavenly beautiful boy, Leffrey.’

Lusa smiled wickedly.

‘I’ll make sure you can’t resist coming out. I'll pretend to bully Leffrey, to show you his true nature…!’

Is it really just pretending to bully? Leffrey was a little flustered by Lusa's sudden change in attitude.

“Leffrey, are you allowed to bring buns during class?”

“Ah, N-no.”

“Is class a joke to you? Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Merrill, in a dark corner of the spacious martial arts training hall, watched the scene unfold with a surprised expression.

‘Is that… Leffrey…? He looks no different from an ordinary human.’

There was only one student named Leffrey in the entire academy. So this Leffrey must be Leffrey the angel.

‘Such a beautiful boy is an angel?’

Thump, thump—Don't tell me this is the sound of her own heart beating? Her head felt hot and lightheaded, and the space around her seemed to be heating up. What was this feeling?

An angel, is no doubt of the same kind as the demon king.

He should look like a monster or an otherworldly being… but his appearance was too similar to the angels depicted in legends.

‘Weren’t those idealized depictions just heavenly propaganda? Only humans could have such beauty…’

But looking at Leffrey, she could tell it wasn't an idealized depiction at all. It was more like his true appearance was ‘downgraded’ by the limitations of human expression.

‘…’

Merrill was surprised once again to feel her heart ache as she watched Leffrey being scolded.

‘No, pull yourself together, Merrill.’

Merrill shook her head and looked at Leffrey again.

‘He’s of the same kind as the demon king. He’s not human! He’s an otherworldly being! Don't let your guard down.’

Surely, despite his appearance, he must be a cruel angel who trampled humans under the pretext of judgment.

Merrill, filled with hostility, stared at Leffrey once more.

“Hmph, I worked so hard to bake these…”

Seeing Leffrey dejected while picking up the fallen morning buns off the floor, Merrill felt an indescribable emotion. She almost let out an ‘Uuungh…’ sound.

For some reason, she suddenly felt like running over and showering him with buns.

‘Just as planned.’

Leffrey sensed a faint presence in the corner. He had noticed Merrill’s concealment, something even the other professors hadn't been able to detect.

This was the divine intuition of karma.

A power superior to all other powers.

‘Professor Lusa is probably acting like this… because of Merrill.’

If she were to show favoritism towards Leffrey, Merrill, who hated angels, would react even more negatively.

So she was deliberately keeping her distance and being harsh towards him.

“Ahem, hmm.”

But even then, Leffrey’s act of pretending to be dejected made her fidget restlessly. It was cute.

As other students started to arrive, Lusa, for the first time in a while, snapped out of her laziness and began teaching seriously.

“You little brats, listen up.”

A serious and difficult lesson.

“I was truly disappointed by your pathetic display at the Monster Festival. How could you, students of the Central Academy's Martial Arts Department, not overwhelmingly crush those Mariana soldiers? Why?”

Lusa, her killing intent rising, said,

“I’ll fix your rotten minds. Today’s class is a sparring match.”

“Professor, don’t tell me…”

“Yes, you'll be sparring with me.”

The students’ faces instantly turned pale.

And so did Leffrey.

‘A Crisis is an opportunity.’

Leffrey, watching Lusa taking the first stance of Fairy Martial Arts, steeled his resolve.

‘A chance to show my angelic side…!’

Thus, the martial arts class began.

The format was a many-versus-one spar, something Lusa occasionally used. Normally, she would have the students spar with each other, then give feedback on the good and bad points of their technique, but…

…Sometimes she sparred with the students herself.

This method was often used when she wanted to punish them.

Most of the students couldn't endure and collapsed, and Lusa, without mercy, made them stand up again, then beat them down once more. But…

Some students, however, could stand against Lusa.

The first, of course, was Yumari.

And the second was Leffrey.

‘Who am I? I’m Leffrey, the one who reached Fairy Martial Arts Lv.6! If Professor Lusa goes easy on me, I can keep up with her using Fairy Martial Arts…!’

Although he was no match for Lusa, who had mastered Fairy Martial Arts to its limits… Leffrey was also a true successor of Fairy Martial Arts.

If he were to spar against someone using the same technique,

His skills were slightly lower than Yumari's.

And being slightly weaker than Yumari meant...

‘Beautiful.’

Merrill, hidden in the shadows,

…watched the spar between Leffrey and Lusa.

It was a beautiful sight. Even someone who knew nothing of martial arts would find it beautiful… and to Merrill, an expert in martial arts…

‘The martial arts that angel is using. So beautiful. I shouldn’t acknowledge the technique of an otherworldly being… but it’s just too beautiful…!’

Merrill was captivated.

And at that moment,

‘Surely, she acknowledges Leffrey’s skills by now?’

Lusa thought. It was time for her next act.

Lusa used her shoulder to deflect Yumari and Leffrey’s punches, then, with a shoulder barge, pushed the two boys and girls towards the wall.

And then came Lusa’s kick, targeting the collapsed human student.

“No!”

Leffrey leaped in front of the student.

‘A deceptively fast kick. It’s not part of Fairy Martial Arts, so it's probably just going to be loud, but not that powerful. Professor Lusa, don’t tell me…’

A kick that only those who have mastered Fairy Martial Arts would recognize as being nothing special. But only two people in this space had mastered Fairy Martial Arts.

*Crash*—A chilling sound filled the silent training hall.

Leffrey bit the inside of his cheek,

Drawing blood at the corner of his mouth.

Lusa, seeing Leffrey drawing blood by biting his cheek, looked proud, then targeted another student with a low kick…

And Leffrey, once again, leaped to protect that student. A flawless performance, a perfect act.

A collaboration between Lusa, the Director Elf, and Leffrey, the Acting Angel…!

And in the end, someone fell for that act.

Someone blocked Lusa's kick.

“Elf Professor, that’s enough.”

“…Merrill?”

The one who blocked Lusa’s kick was a woman wearing a dark mask.