Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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That’s right, because of Mallo, I’m becoming weak.
‘So there’s only one conclusion.’
Just then, the Currency Exchange door swung open. It was Bibi who stumbled out with a stricken expression.
“Ah, did everything work out…?!”
Retch.
The moment Bibi emerged, she dropped to her knees on the marble floor and began heaving.
“Bibi!”
I tried to check on her condition, but she jerked her head away urgently.
“Security concerns be damned…!”
She gagged again, then bolted frantically down the Staircase toward the Casino.
“I told her stubbornness would…”
I should have known. What did she expect—that extracting information directly from a human brain would be pleasant to witness?
That’s when Mallo stepped out of the Currency Exchange.
“Did you wait long?”
He handed me a Black File Folder. I hesitated for a moment, but it looked like an ordinary folder. His white lab coat bore not a trace of blood or stain.
I took the file and opened the cover. Inside, names and purchase lists were organized and categorized neatly.
I don’t know how it came to be printed and bound, but I’ll accept it as is.
With this customer directory, I should be able to uncover the identity of the man in Room 1202. Why he attacked me. And perhaps…
‘The scarecrow’s true identity.’
It was only one lead among many, but after such grueling effort, it felt invaluable.
“Thank you, Professor. Thanks to you, things worked out well.”
I offered a perfunctory smile as I spoke. Mallo studied me in silence for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“Good thing it helped, even if late.”
‘Somehow his tone sounds a bit barbed…’
Then an awkward silence stretched between us.
“Well, I should be going—”
“You’ve been avoiding eye contact since earlier.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.”
He said it with a smile, but something felt off about his tone. I shifted nervously and scrambled for an excuse.
“I’m sorry… it’s just out of apology. Today wasn’t even a scheduled lecture day, and here I am putting you out…”
“…”
The corridor connecting the Currency Exchange to the Staircase wasn’t very wide. I stood wedged between Mallo’s shadow and the railing.
The Casino’s lights still blazed brilliantly, and coins cascaded with their ceaseless din. Standing with his back to the chandelier, Mallo seemed utterly out of place in this world.
I sighed.
“Actually, Professor, there was something I wanted to discuss anyway. As you know, there have been a lot of things happening lately. Balancing part-time work hasn’t been easy either. So…”
I hesitated for a moment. But in the end, there was only one conclusion.
‘I need to put distance between us. Before it’s too late.’
“I think it would be best if I stopped the field internship for a while. Looking back, I think I may have asked too much of you anyway…”
“…”
“And if possible, could we also reduce the lecture hours and frequency? Right now it takes up my entire afternoon, so it’s been feeling like a burden…”
The entire time I spoke, I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at Mallo’s face.
What would he say this time to seduce me? Last time I saw him feign sadness with that downturned gaze, and my mind went blank.
Lost in thought, I glanced sidelong at his expression, and then—
“All right.”
“Pardon?”
“Let’s do it that way.”
“Um… are you really sure about that…?”
Really? Just like that?
Unlike my bewilderment, Mallo’s expression had already returned to his usual composure.
“A suspension might actually be better for now. There aren’t other students anyway, and I set it all up around you from the start.”
“Well, I… suppose.”
“Don’t worry about your grades. I’ll make sure you graduate.”
Mallo smiled faintly, then turned and headed for the Staircase.
‘He’s… leaving?’
“Oh.”
Mallo paused halfway down the stairs and turned back.
“Try not to go out tonight if you can.”
“Why…?”
“The atmosphere will be a bit unstable for a while. Not a good night for dating, so ask your friend to drive you home early, understood?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean, dating…?”
But before I could respond, Mallo was gone.
‘What was that…?’
The coins kept pouring, and I stood there frozen for a long time.
* * *
「Wow! Finally writing in my diary again after so long?! ( ᐢᗜᐢ )
The second semester is finally over! I didn’t rack up many credits, but if things keep going like this, eventually I’ll graduate, right?
When that time comes, I hope the materials I left behind will help my successor, the next Amelie! ♥♡♥
Thank you so much, Amelie, for telling me the Dormitory 3rd Floor Equipment Room connects to the Student Council Building Storage! (｡• ◡ •｡)♡
I know you won’t hear this, but thanks to you I avoided getting scolded ㅎㅎ
I think it would be good to document the PC equipment in that room too!
It’s usually dead, but on days when the atmosphere gets unstable, it seems to randomly connect to somewhere ((°o°))?
I heard you can even access the hotline through it!
I don’t have an Access Code, but if anyone needs one, try asking ‘Freya’ who lives at the end of the second floor!
She’s a kind person, so she’ll probably help you (•ᴗ•)*✲ﾟ*｡⋆
Of course, that’s only if you’re still here and haven’t graduated yet ㅎㅎ
Anyway, Amelies! Let’s hang in there just a little bit more!
Love you! ♥ₒ• ᵕ •ₒ♥
P.S. By the way, do you guys know who ‘Kang Woo-jin’ is? His name shows up sometimes on the Equipment Room monitor, but it seems way too much like a real name, you know?
Oh, you can’t read my answer anyway! ٩( ˙꒳​˙ )ว=͟͟͞ 」
* * *
Goldilocks.
During a lull, I was staring at my phone behind the counter.
Checking my phone during work hours—something that would never happen in my entire part-time career—but this time I couldn’t help myself.
‘He’s ignoring my text…?’
That person—no, that professor—who was always making stupid jokes and showing up at work to act coy, had gone completely silent since we parted ways at the Casino last week.
Complete radio silence.
I wavered for a long time before finally screwing up my courage and opening my sent messages. There it was—a text I could barely stand to look at.
[Are you sleeping?]
‘…Am I an idiot?’
Are you sleeping? What am I, some clingy ex-girlfriend?
Besides, with this antique phone, I couldn’t even check the read receipt. Not that knowing whether it was read or unread would help.
The file Mallo gave me that day was enormous. Of the people who purchased the Pain Reliever Pump within the right timeframe, only eighty-four had verifiable identities.
Investigating all of them individually was impossible. We didn’t even know if the man in Room 1202 was alive.
So I decided to cross-reference with the data Bibi had, removing from the list anyone confirmed dead or alive in other records.
‘I’ve done all I can. Now I just have to wait.’
So why was I so restless?
Things went the way I wanted. I decided to keep my distance from Mallo and did it, and I even got a free break from lectures.
I was heaving a deflated sigh when the shop door chimed and a bizarrely dressed, heavyset middle-aged man walked in.
He wore a clean-toned Neapolitan Suit with sunglasses, and everything on his person looked expensive.
What stood out most was the distinctive black scale pattern running from his exposed neck down below his jaw.
At first I thought it was a tattoo, but looking closer, there were actually thin, translucent scales protruding from his skin.
The man glanced around the shop, then spotted me standing by the jukebox and grinned widely.
‘What the…?’
Moments later, when I went to take his order at his table, the man greeted me as if we’d known each other for years.
He looked at me with curious eyes and said,
“Hmm? You’re not quite as short as I expected?”
“…I’m sorry?”
When I frowned in bewilderment, the man apologized good-naturedly.
“Oh, that was a compliment, a compliment. But anyway—you have no idea who I am?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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