An Angel Lives in the Academy
Chapter 151: The Angel Who Crossdresses (1)

And so the Demon King smiled.

[In the worst employment freeze in history, the unemployment rate is nearing 20%…]

[I’m literally going to starve to death. I’m not exaggerating! This is how people start picking up bamboo spear, you know?]

[Go ahead and pick up your bamboo spear. Even if we did, those superhumans would just crush us with their bare hands.]

(TL Note: 죽창 (jukchang), which is a Korean bamboo spear weapon. It’s a symbol for revolution, for the commoners to rise up against those in power. Don’t know why I explained this again, but just in case.)

Things were going smoothly. The chorus of doom, which had been ringing since the very beginning, had grown even louder, enough for anyone who wasn't deaf to hear…

“But…”

The darkness was so deep and dense, it seemed endless. Now, he would soon be able to completely eradicate those demon-like creatures, those that called itself humans.

[And now for some heartwarming news. The Leffriel Foundation, established by the great alchemist, the Rainmaker, has donated a large sum of money to aid the gate refugees…]

The light Leffrey was emanating was too weak to change the darkness of this world.

“Such a weak light. Too weak…”

Even if that light were to become a fire that would engulf the world, the demon king wasn’t worried.

If there was one thing he was concerned about, it was that his only kin was now active in the demon king’s world.

“Many of those high-ranking humans are targeting my little angel.”

The demon king hated those humans. Hated them more than anything else. Those humans, who always tried to exploit and use his kind.

“To be absolved of the grave sins they’ve committed…”

They were a species that knew no satisfaction.

And so, the demon king worried about Leffrey.

There were two reasons.

First, it was because of the aforementioned old, high-ranking humans, and…

“When the dark karma surpasses the critical point, humans will then finally reveal their true nature…”

The other reason was because of the humans who would become even more vicious in this crumbling world. They would do anything to survive.

“Never.”

The demon king muttered under his breath.

“I will never allow such a thing to happen again.”

Thus, the demon king decided.

To rescue Leffrey from the hands of humans.

Originally, he had planned to let his kind, disgusted by human ugliness, come to him on their own. He had even planted his most trusted subordinate near his kin for this purpose…

But he couldn’t help but worry. Leffrey, the last of his kind. To Luciel, who cherished his kind, Leffrey was truly his last hope.

Of course, from Leffrey’s perspective, this would be nothing short of kidnapping, but if he cared about such things, then he wouldn’t be called a demon king.

“Can you hear me?”

The demon king reached out his hand towards the light. His cold, beautiful voice, transcended the wall between worlds, reaching someone.

“My priestess, can you hear me?”

And a girl answered,

“I can hear you, my Lord.”

* * *

“An exchange program?”

Leffrey, who had been sweating while practicing Fairy Martial Arts, asked again as if finding the word interesting.

“You're saying we’re having an exchange program with another academy? It’s not like it’s never happened before, but it’s still a little strange.”

“Yeah, and the real kicker is this.”

The male student from the Martial Arts Department made a gesture suggesting he had something secret to tell. Leffrey wiped away his sweat and moved closer to him.

Then the male student whispered.

“It’s with St. Lucia Academy. You know, *that* St. Lucia.”

“St. Lucia… isn’t that an all-girls academy?”

“That’s the one.”

And the male student’s eyes sparkled.

“It means I can finally escape from being a ‘mosool’”.

(TL Note: 모쏠 (mosool) is slang in South Korea for someone who has never been in a relationship. It’s short for 모태솔로 (motae-sollo)/(Mother solo), meaning ‘single since birth.’)

“…I-I see.”

“What’s with that awkward smile? Bragging about being popular…”

The male student suddenly stopped talking. Leffrey understood why, because of the voice that came next.

A tired-sounding,

…yet beautiful voice.

“Ah, I’m so embarrassed.”

Lusa, the owner of that voice, shook her head. The smell of alcohol suggested that she had been drinking all night. Or perhaps she hadn’t even stopped this morning.

“To think that my class is so boring and tedious that they’re gossiping about their love life. I think I need to spice things up a little and add some tension to this relaxed class…”

Tremble tremble- Feeling the student next to him start to shake, Leffrey looked up at Lusa while maintaining his stance.

“Professor, let’s spar.”

“Sure, a hangover match is the best way to recover from a night of drinking.”

Lusa was dressed casually. A traditional Eastern martial arts uniform, a *dobok*. It was a little tight, but other than that, it was no different from any other dobok.

However, the Martial Arts Department students, seeing this ordinary dobok, couldn’t help but let out small gasps.

“Her ‘serious’ clothes have appeared.”

“No way, we're only second-years…”

Lusa wearing a dobok meant that she was going to show herself as a martial artist, not as a professor, at least for now. It was a sign that she would spar with them seriously, though she would show some mercy.

A serious match with Lusa?

Any other student would have already run away.

“Then I will too.”

But Lusa wasn’t the only one wearing her ‘serious’ clothes.

Silver Shoes, made entirely of blessed silver, the most sacred metal, a metal that’s been blessed to its limits.

And Sanctus, the gloves made for archangels, crafted from the hide of a dragon, the ruler of the skies, tanned with a heavenly technique, and with holy words inscribed on top of the surface.

‘I may not be able to handle the Silver Shoes yet, but I can perfectly control Sanctus.’

Leffrey, in the blink of an eye, activated those two items and took a combat stance.

“It’s quite obvious.”

Lusa, seeing that, was truly impressed. High-grade items were inherently difficult to handle. If low-grade items were like bicycles, and mid-grade items like cars… then high-grade items were comparable to fighter jets.

Then Sanctus, an EX-rank item, could be compared to a spaceship that was incredibly difficult to pilot.

‘Those gloves are definitely a top-tier item.’

To think that he could activate those gloves in an instant and immediately unleash the abilities he desired. This kind of sense could only be honed through real combat.

Real, genuine combat.

“That you’re a fighter.”

But this was just the beginning of Leffrey’s strength.

Leffrey Lv.57

Race: Angel

HP: 1300/1300 MP: 700/700

Strength: 71

Agility: 55

Magic: 54

Esper Ability: 10

Angelic Power: 67

Cooking Lv.10 (Master), Repair Lv.5, Cleaning Lv.5, Crafting Lv.5, Fairy Martial Arts Lv.8, True Cheongu Swordsmanship Lv.8, Klein-style Magic Lv.8

Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons Lv.9 (Critical Threshold Reached)

Healing of the Seraphim that Heals All Creation Lv.9 (Critical Threshold Reached)

Blessing of the Power Angel who Graced the King Lv.9 (Critical Threshold Reached)

Steps of the Fallen Angel Walking Through the Night Lv.8

Light of the Ruling Archangel that Illuminates the World Lv.8

The Breath of the Angel Blowing Seven Trumpets Lv.5

His stats had increased dramatically.

It was an unprecedented level up, in terms of stats alone.

But as with all levels and stats, the higher they are, the more resources they require. The amount of Angelic Power Leffrey needed to increase his stats was literally exponential.

It was a level up that could only be achieved by using all the Angelic Power he had accumulated so far. No, even more than that.

‘It definitely feels like it costs more…’

Just how on earth was Leffrey able to acquire so much Angelic Power?

‘I've been stupid all this time.’

The way Leffrey had been earning Angelic Power until now could be described as gathering and hunting.

‘It seems like just yesterday that I was so happy with auto-hunting.’

He would fix problems one by one, erase the darkness one by one. But such methods couldn't provide the amount of Angelic Power Leffrey desired.

So he built a pyramid. A pyramid to spread good deeds everywhere.

‘A pyramid I built with the Volunteer Club, the Rainmaker, and Sori’s New Angel Church...!’

The method was simple. Leffrey would do one good deed for the Volunteer Club, one for the Rainmaker’s Foundation, and one for the New Angel Church.

And while doing so, he would tell them.

“Be sure to do good deeds for exactly three people. And tell those three people to do the same.”

And lastly, he left these words to each of the executives.

“If you do this well, I’ll give you a ‘Well Done’ stamp. If you collect a lot of these stamps, you can level up… a heavenly level up…!”

“He-Heavenly level up?!”

“A Heavenly Level Up!”

“Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum…!”

The Rainmaker and the New Angel Church believers cheered at the word ‘level up’. Leffrey nodded with a pleased expression at the sight.

“Everyone, do lots of good deeds so you can all reach Diamond Level!!!”

That's how, Leffrey, the Multi-level Marketing Angel, was born.

‘I’m not a Multi-level Marketing Angel! Call me the Network Angel…!’

Anyway, Leffrey was able to acquire an exponential amount of Angelic Power through this method. If Leffrey did a good deed for three people, then those three would do good deeds for three more people each, making nine. Then those nine would each do a good deed for three more each, making twenty-seven…

And so on. The number of people doing good deeds increased exponentially, squared. And so did the number of people receiving those good deeds.

‘Thank you. Thank you. I really didn't know how I was going to get through this month…’

‘No need for thanks. All you have to do is promise me one thing.’

‘Wh-What promise? Just tell me, I’ll do anything.’

‘Help three other people, and tell them to do the same…’

[Talking to someone who’s lonely is an angelic act!]

[Sharing food with a family in need is an angelic act!]

[Guiding the blind is an angelic act!]

[Healing a friend's wound is an angelic act!]

It didn’t matter if it was just a gray act, it's fine.

Even if those good deeds were done for selfish reasons, it's fine.

In this dark world, even that is light. If this light gathers and gathers, eventually it might even be able to burn away the dark forest.

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

[You have gained Angelic Power.]

Leffrey remembered that even a massive inferno that could engulf the world started with a mere spark.

‘…The direction of this world is changing. Definitely.’

Anyway, it was a truly devilish…

No, an angelic pyramid.

It felt as if Leffrey, the Scammer Angel, had finally crossed a line, but it was too late to stop now. After all, they say once a needle thief, always a cattle thief. It’s basically a ‘rule of thumb.’

(TL Note: [바늘도둑이 소도둑이 된다] The proverb is ‘Once a needle thief, always a cow thief,’ or ‘A needle thief becomes a cattle thief’ It means that if you repeat even small sins, it becomes a habit, and you will commit bigger sins.)

And so, a spar began between the Scammer Angel who had established a multi-level marketing scheme to farm Angelic Power and a Fallen Elf who loves alcohol, meat, and even cigarettes.

A light jab was thrown as soon as they greeted each other. Although it was a jab with a feint, its pressure was no less than a full-powered straight punch from a master.

But Leffrey dodged it.

Leffrey, instead of using his usual fighting style, had changed Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Dragons into Martial Arts of the Archangel who Tramples Fairies, naturally disrupting the footwork of the Fairy Martial Arts and causing in-fighting.

To an outsider, it would have looked like he was just tripping slightly, but from Lusa's perspective, the countless feints contained within those steps gave her a bit of a headache.

And how he was clearly aiming for a counter…

‘He’s not panicking at all, slowly but surely, creating opportunities to win.’

Lusa, suppressing her goosebumps, abandoned the jab that was no longer working.

“To aim for in-fighting despite having a lower weight class, well. Are you asking to be hugged?”

And instead, she immediately tried to hug the boy and lock him in place…

…But she failed.

“Teleportation. Short-range leap?”

“You’re not going to call this cowardly, are you?”

“No, it’s brilliant.”

Leffrey wasn’t a child who had only learned Fairy Martial Arts. He was a successor of Klein-style magic. Naturally, he had completely mastered the essential combat spell, Chantless Short-Range Teleportation.

Of course, he was only able to master it because he had an overflowing supply of Angelic Power, but…

Anyway, the gap created like this inevitably left a big weakness behind Lusa's back. And Leffrey didn't miss it.

He channeled the Light of the Ruling Archangel that Illuminates the World in both his fists, then unleashed a flurry of punches.

A barrage of punches imbued with literally the speed of light rained down on Lusa's back.

“Ugh.”

“I-I can’t see.”

The light left behind by the trajectory of the fists enveloped the area around the sparring ground. It blinded Lusa.

And so,

The victor standing in the training hall was…