The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 102

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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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Chapter 102

Part 12: Let’s Go on an Expedition!

At this very moment, I was being chased.
“Huff, huff, gasp…!”
“Leoryna, just a little more! We’re about to get caught!”
At Pongko’s words, I glanced back over my shoulder while catching my breath, only to see my pursuer still clinging stubbornly to my heels. My expression twisted in exasperation.
This was getting dangerous. I needed help.
I made a beeline straight for Khalid’s Office.
“Help me, Professor!”
The moment I burst through the door, Khalid swiftly kicked off his shoes and hurled one directly behind me.
“Why do you keep showing up here?!”
“Oof!”
Seleya took the shoe square in the face and stumbled backward. Khalid spoke with an expression of utter exasperation.
“I told you to stop chasing after Leoryna! It’s been a whole week already!”
“I only asked you to introduce me properly to Mirea!”
At Seleya’s protest, I looked down at her with a gaze tinged with contempt.
“You’ve simply transferred your stalking from Professor Khalid to me. Is stalking an incurable habit of yours?”
“That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? I’m merely being true to my feelings of love!”
Khalid scratched his ear and waved his hand dismissively.
“Leoryna and I are busy. We have no intention of playing matchmaker between you and Leoryna’s distant relatives, so why don’t you go see more potential matches instead?”
“I’ve been cast out from the Hestro Family! Who would agree to a match with someone like me?!”
“How should I know?”
Faced with Khalid’s and my lukewarm responses, Seleya opened her mouth with a determined expression.
“Fine then…”
She rummaged through her belongings and pulled something from an inner pocket—a stack of papers. Spreading them across Khalid’s desk, she tapped her finger against the surface as she spoke.
“Because of you two, I was cast out from my family, so there’s something you need to take responsibility for…”
“Why is that our fault?! You twisted your own fate with your own hands!”
Ignoring Khalid’s words, Seleya continued.
“There’s a region called Raimdel in the Langriyon Republic. It’s originally land registered under my name, but a few months ago, a massive magical ruin was discovered there.”
Seleya pointed to the map she’d spread on the desk. Khalid, showing some interest, began glancing sideways at the map.
“I heard news of the ruin’s discovery, but I didn’t know it was your land.”
“Excavation work is still underway, but there’s a problem. When I was expelled from my family, the land’s ownership became ambiguous. It’s registered under my name, but my family has been managing it. Now they’re demanding I simply hand it over, but I refuse!”
Seleya clicked her tongue and continued.
“But do you know what the bigger problem is? The Langriyon government is trying to seize the land under the pretext of the ruin, claiming that magical ruins cannot be private property.”
“But typically, for magical ruins, the government pays the landowner a certain compensation and manages it themselves. That should be the case whether it’s the Rompel Kingdom, the Keltict Kingdom, or anywhere else, right? Is Langriyon different?”
“It is different in some ways. But my reason for not wanting to lose this ruin is something else entirely. After investigation, this ruin is…”
Seleya selected several photographs and spoke.
“It’s believed to be an ancient ruin of the Demon Race.”
Leoryna’s curiosity was piqued as well, and she leaned in to peek at the photograph Seleya was holding out. The image showed what appeared to be a marble temple, along with various artifacts and what looked like the foundations of dwellings.
“It’s a ruin that proves the Raimdel region belonged to the Demon Race since ancient times.”
“I see…”
Khalid had already begun nodding along, completely absorbed in Seleya’s story.
“I can’t let land that has belonged to my clan for generations pass into the hands of humans on my watch. That’s why… I need decisive proof that the magic inscribed on these ruins belongs to the Demon Race. Before the Langriyon government seizes this ruin site, as soon as possible.”
Seleya grasped at the hem of both Khalid’s and Leoryna’s clothing as she spoke.
“So help me out! You’re a professor in the Department of Magical Formula Design, so you know magical formulas inside and out! Please investigate the magical formulas! My family said if I don’t want to hand over the ruin’s ownership to them, I should protect it from the government. If I succeed, I can return to the family. I was cast out because of you two, so you bear some responsibility, right?!”
“I understand your situation, but why should I be responsible for—”
Leoryna let out a deep sigh and was waving her hand in refusal when Khalid suddenly shot to his feet.
“Fine. I’ll help you!”
Leoryna and Seleya stared at him with wide eyes. Seleya blinked several times before breaking into a broad smile.
“Really?!”
“But I have a condition.”
Khalid raised a finger to cut off Seleya’s words, but she didn’t mind.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Nothing major, really…”

* * *

About ten days later, Khalid and Leoryna boarded a flying airship belonging to Halderion Academy and set out for the Langriyon Republic. Their purpose was to investigate the magical ruins as Seleya had requested.
If only Leoryna and Khalid were traveling, the Academy would never have provided an airship. But they had one convenient excuse that allowed them to board comfortably—and that was…
“Professor, I bought this much meat, but won’t it be short?”
“This isn’t a pleasure trip.”
“I got one crate of each type of alcohol, but it still seems like it might not be enough… Is there a good shop there where we can buy more?”
“That’s exactly why I’m saying this isn’t a pleasure trip!”
Leoryna shook her head while pressing her temples with her fingers, a headache mounting.
“But the highlight of any field survey is grilling meat and drinking at night, isn’t it?”
Isto passed by with a shrug, his luggage floating effortlessly in the air as if nothing were wrong. Leoryna, who had never formally attended the Academy’s undergraduate program, wouldn’t have known any better.
“Without something like this, field surveys feel like such a chore that motivation drops significantly.”
Shebril also added her two cents as she walked past with her luggage, her steps eager and light.
“Since when have you two been motivated about studying?”
Khalid clicked his tongue and casually handed his own bag to Leoryna before boarding the airship.
The condition Khalid had demanded of Seleya in exchange for investigating the ruins was precisely this.
That she approve the Demon Theory Department’s first-semester field survey to take place at the Raimdale Ruins!
One of the mandatory requirements for completing the Demon Theory Department was to participate in at least two field surveys during the Academy program.
And the person responsible for organizing those surveys was none other than Khalid.
But who was Khalid? Was he the type to seek out new survey locations each time? Because he found it tedious to arrange new sites, he’d been going to the same place every year, which meant students found field surveys to be a rather dull event.
But if he agreed to Seleya’s request, she’d stop pestering him, his intellectual curiosity would be satisfied, the Academy would provide survey funds, and he’d complete a field survey all in one go!
Judging this to be the most efficient arrangement possible, Khalid led the Demon Theory Department students toward Raimdel. And besides…
“Um… it’s okay if we join in too, right?”
Isikabel, a Demon Clan student at the Academy belonging to the Magical Engineering Department, lingered near the Flying Airship boarding gate before approaching Zigzagel timidly and tugging at his collar.
“Of course, don’t worry. Act with confidence.”
At Zigzagel’s words, Isikabel gestured to the other students who had been standing at a distance. Then, led by Zargen, the Demon Clan students came rushing over.

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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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