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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 21: Would It Have Been Better to Just Get Caught?
When exploring a dungeon, you should never carelessly open a treasure chest.
After all, it could be a mimic disguised as a chest, eagerly waiting to devour adventurers.
Likewise, no matter how badly I need something, I shouldn’t step into the professor’s office, which is always lying in wait for me.
Because once I’m inside her domain, she could devour me at any moment.
Not physically, of course, but it still feels like my energy is being sucked dry.
In any case, the commonality between a mimic and a professor is simple: you should never open or enter them without caution.
What?
You think that’s nonsense?
I’m too mentally drained to know any better.
“It might just be my imagination, but it felt more dangerous than when I fell into a trap room in the Great Labyrinth.”
[The goddess acknowledges the hero’s hard work, praising their perseverance.]
After barely escaping Professor Shin Arin’s office—where she kindly insisted I could visit her anytime if I ever needed anything—I clutched my chest and slowly exhaled.
The kind of place that seems like it’ll let you leave, only to cling and refuse.
The kind of person who uses nothing but gentle words and kindness, making it impossible to fight back—a truly sinister trap.
Honestly, I thought I was going to get dragged into grad school against my will.
“Phew.”
At least I was relieved to have secured the dungeon pass I originally came for.
With C-rank dungeons now accessible, I could visit a good number of the locations I had scouted beforehand.
If I could gather enough materials and get some support, improving the constitution would be much easier.
I’d only done it once before, but that was over ten years ago.
Even though I couldn’t use all kinds of magic, when it came to dispelling curses, there were two experts here.
The hero who saved the world, and the goddess.
One was a half-transcendent being, while the other was a full-fledged transcendent—an elite lineup.
[The goddess shrugs her shoulders, flaunting her dignity.]
Though in this world, she couldn’t display her full power, so it was practically a wash.
Actually, wait.
I could at least cut something if I drew my sword, but our goddess couldn’t even speak properly…
Hmm.
[The goddess glares, asking if I’m mocking her.]
‘No, I was just thinking… You’ve been speaking less than usual lately. You said you were fine with talking sometimes, so why aren’t you?’
Could she be scheming something?
Like preparing a surprise event behind my back?
[The goddess flinches and trembles.]
…Looks like I was right.
“I’ll just pretend I don’t know anything.”
Surprise gifts are always better when you least expect them.
So, I’ll deliberately avoid thinking about it.
That way, my silly goddess will secretly prepare a splendid gift for me.
[…….]
Someday, maybe?
[The goddess clamps her mouth shut, glaring daggers at the hero.]
--
“So, what have you been up to? Just lazing around? What were you doing?”
“I spent all my time waiting for you.”
“Shut up!”
--
“How many husbands have you had before me?”
“You’re the first. And the last.”
--
Thus, after living for 1000 years.
On a day when the sun was warm and the weather was fine.
She met the first person she ever loved.
“If I could see you again, when spring comes, let’s go look at the sea together. I would’ve told you that, over and over again…”
She was someone who continued to yearn.
--
With a thud, the goblin collapses and closes their eyes.
And the boy, now a man, smiles faintly before walking away into the distance, disappearing beyond the frame.
Imagining that sight, the goblin quietly smiles.
That’s how the 12-episode drama came to an end.
[Hrk…! What about our goblin? No, how could they end the drama like this!]
[The goddess, tear-streaked, sobs that the female goblin’s fate is too cruel.]
Honestly, I thought the original Goblin drama from my world was better.
Here, the female goblin played the “tall guardian” role, which made it feel oddly off.
The original lines were more impactful…
[The goddess glares, demanding I take that back.]
[How dare you say such a terrible thing about our precious Yoon Sol!]
But I didn’t do anything…
I wasn’t the one who killed the female goblin.
And I didn’t even say the actress’s performance was bad.
I just mentioned it felt slightly off due to the difference in adaptation.
[The goddess’s eyes narrow threateningly.]
…Yeah, I think I’ll just keep my mouth shut.
For some reason, she seemed far more emotionally invested in this drama than usual.
"Yes, it’s my fault."
[The goddess declares that she is relieved you finally admitted it and magnanimously decides to forgive you.]
"Oh wow, thank you so much."
It’s really not easy to keep the goddess in a good mood.
There was even an incident where she sulked for a while.
I had watched a modern-day romance series that I thought she’d like, and oh boy, she loved it.
‘Tried to call it a night around episode 9, and she got pissed.’
She asked how I could dare to go to sleep at such a critical moment.
If I wanted to die so badly.
I was just getting sleepy and wanted to call it a night, but she, without missing a beat, asked me if I had a death wish.
And after the drama was over, she scolded me just for thinking about it.
At this point, getting scolded by her wasn’t even an annual event—it happened practically every week.
‘Honestly, is it even worth trying to make it up to her?’
By the way, these thoughts are safely hidden.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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The goddess can’t hear them.
‘Abolish the goddess’s voyeuristic surveillance of the hero’s mind! Abolish it!’
[The goddess sniffles and mourns the tragic fate of Yoon Sol from Goblin.]
[(ㅠ_ㅠ)]
[She is deeply moved and emotionally invested.]
Well, considering she has been alone for hundreds of years, it’s only natural she’d be lonely.
That’s probably why she talks to me more often and enjoys spending time together.
But still—
Chirp, chirp—chirp, chirp—
‘Ugh, I have to head to school soon, but staying up all night watching dramas is a bit much, isn’t it?’
Thus began another rough day.
* * *
[The goddess encourages you to give it your all today.]
Since I’ve been free from limitations like sleep and food for about five years now, fatigue wasn’t an issue.
Eating was purely for pleasure, like having fried chicken, ramen, or chugging soda.
I kept doing it out of habit from my human days.
So, while I wasn’t tired, seeing the goddess all smiles after binge-watching the entire series while I hadn't slept at all...
It made me feel a little mischievous—a petty urge to annoy her.
Sigh, I’ll let it go, since I did prepare a surprise gift for her.
"Hello, everyone. I’m Aris Severus, and I’ll be teaching the Grand Magic class for this year’s combat department freshmen. Nice to meet you all."
More importantly, we had a new professor today.
Though it had already been three weeks since the semester started, the class hadn’t been canceled.
Instead, Shin Arin had been handling the Combat Theory and Practice class, and now they were rotating.
‘Well, I guess they do have a lot on their plates.’
Even though it was a relatively peaceful era.
Despite that, monsters occasionally went boom and popped out of dungeons, so having an S-rank hunter at the school all the time was difficult.
It made sense why Shin Arin seemed unusually clingy when I visited her office.
‘She was probably just busy.’
The rotation didn’t have a fixed schedule, but it seemed they’d switch around every two to three weeks.
If Shin Arin specialized in monster combat, then Aris Severus was clearly handling magical combat.
Tap, tap, tap,
She had jet-black hair and red eyes.
Despite her expressionless face, her hands were deft, swiftly and precisely drawing magic circles on the board.
Her magical presence, fitting for a university professor, was more than adequate.
‘Judging by her aura, she’s probably around baron or viscount level.’
Just as I was gauging her skills, Aris completed a complex, multi-layered magic circle and displayed it to the class.
"I’ll now demonstrate why it’s essential for you, as monster slayers, to prepare for magic as well."
When she said this, the students looked puzzled.
If they were going to learn magic, they figured they’d simply learn it—what was there to demonstrate?
The answer was simple.
"Sink into it, 《Magical Illusion Manipulation.》"
Clap, clap,
And just like that, off we went to dreamland.
* * *
Fwoooosh
The magic circle on the board flared, radiating its power.
‘Did they all fall asleep?’
Aris Severus scanned the classroom, watching the students collapse onto their desks.
Since the spell’s full effect was triggered the moment it was seen, even elite students or seasoned hunters who didn’t recognize it were bound to fall victim.
‘There are so many vicious techniques these days.’
After all, hunters didn’t only fight monsters.
There were villains, insane dark mages,
And occasionally, extremely rare high-risk transcendental beings.
Hunters needed to know how to counter magic, not just monsters.
This class was designed for them to experience and learn how to break free from such spells.
Satisfied that everyone had succumbed, Aris Severus prepared to erase the magic circle from the board.
But then—
"…Hmm?"
She noticed something strange.
There was one student who wasn’t nodding off or drooping—
Instead, he was wide awake, staring right at her with alert eyes.
The sole survivor in the lecture hall, Shin Yuseong, raised his hand with a somewhat regretful expression.
"Uh… would it have been better if I just got caught?"
Hearing his casual tone, Aris’s eyelid twitched ever so slightly.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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