The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 113

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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 113

I Must Be Losing My Mind

The final examination season had arrived at last.
The students trailed after me relentlessly, begging for even the slightest hint about the test questions, but I turned a deaf ear to them just as I had during midterms.
Moreover, the demon beast of exams spared me no mercy either. As a graduate student, I had substituted research materials for the midterm, but the final exam required a written test.
“Here, your exam materials.”
Khalid thrust a mountain of books toward me.
“I’ll draw from these, so you just need to memorize them.”
I was certain this exceeded any reasonable amount a human could memorize. I had thought being a graduate student might earn me some leniency, but instead, he was tormenting me far worse than the undergraduates.
Khalid spoke to me with absolute certainty.
“Surely you’re not saying you can’t memorize even this? And you’re not even an undergraduate.”
Under normal circumstances, I would have wailed and protested, but I felt no real concern.
“Yes, Professor! Just trust me!”
With that confident declaration, I levitated the books using weightless magic and carried them to my home. After carelessly dumping them beside Pongko’s hideout, I settled in with snacks in one hand and a magazine in the other, lounging about idly.
Pongko regarded me with exasperation.
“You’re not taking the exam?”
“I am.”
“But you’re not studying?”
I replied with a shameless grin.
“I’m not going to.”
“What gives you such confidence?”
I lifted my chin proudly.
“I’m going to cheat.”
“….”
“I’m not actually a graduate student, am I? That means I don’t need to take the test honestly. My real job is assassinating Khalid, not actually earning a master’s degree! So cheating is perfectly fine.”
“Do you think Khalid will let you cheat? There’s anti-cheating magic in place.”
But I spoke with supreme confidence.
“Ha! Such trivial magic? Don’t underestimate the technological prowess of the Yorken Divine Temple!”
“….”
So that’s why the cutting-edge magical technology of that temple was being used for cheating….
Pongko regarded me with a vacant stare.
“Anyway, I’m not studying. What are you going to do about it?”
I crunched on my snacks again.
After reading about halfway through the magazine, someone rang the doorbell to my home.
“Oh, you’re finally here.”
I sprang up excitedly and flung the door wide open.
“Zeles!”
Before the door stood a girl with brown hair braided into two neat plaits. Zeles, disguised once again as an unremarkable figure, greeted me cheerfully.
“Leoryna, how have you been?”
“Come in, come in.”
I watched from the sofa as Zeles produced a bundle, my hips wiggling with anticipation.
“This is what you requested.”
I immediately unwrapped the package and showed it off to Pongko.
“This is the item I mentioned that will help you cheat.”
Inside the bundle were a small vial of mysterious potion and something resembling a delicate hairpin, no larger than a pinky nail. Pongko tilted his head in confusion.
“What is that?”
“Hehehehe, it lets you hear the voices of the heart. Once the target drinks this potion, their innermost thoughts will transmit through this receiver that looks like a hairpin. Just slip the potion to Khalid and wear the receiver in your hair like an ordinary pin, and you’re done.”
At my confident declaration, Pongko’s eyes narrowed.
“As far as I know, magic that reads another’s mind is strictly illegal…”
“In Yorken, they use this potion even during confession, so by our standards it’s not illegal.”
As Zeles spouted this sophistry, Pongko voiced his concern.
“So you’re absolutely certain we won’t get caught?”
“Of course! There’s no way we’ll be discovered.”
I laughed with unbridled confidence, my voice tinged with madness.
“Ahahaha! Yorken’s developers are the finest in the world!”
Pongko thought it absurd that such illegal methods even existed, but decided to support me anyway.
“It does seem like a good plan, though.”
“Doesn’t it?”
I cradled the potion carefully in my arms with a confident expression and spoke to Zeles.
“I’m truly grateful.”
“Don’t mention it. Supporting your mission is my mission, after all.”
“Because of this, I can say without hesitation that I’m ready to take the exam tomorrow.”
I was grinning wickedly at Pongko when Zeles began rummaging through his bag again.
“What is it? Is there more business?”
“You requested one more thing, remember?”
Zeles handed me a small bottle different from the potion.
“Ah, right. I’ve been so preoccupied with the exam that I forgot.”
“What is that?”
I answered Pongko’s question.
“Holy water. Just in case.”
After what happened in Huaderica Territory, if something involving Halgrok were to occur again, it would be troublesome. It seemed Halgrok was vulnerable to Petila’s divine power, so it felt prudent to keep holy water on hand for any contingency.
Even as I secured the holy water, I could only hope I would never need to use it.
“And this as well.”
Just when I thought Zeles was about to leave, he rummaged through his bag one final time.
“You still have more to give?”
Since I had no memory of requesting anything else, I tilted my head in confusion as Zeles produced three beautifully ribbon-wrapped items.
“A bit early, but happy birthday, Leoryna. These are gifts from me, Sungha, and Roabel.”
“It’s your birthday, Leoryna?”
Pongko asked in surprise, and she nodded in confirmation.
“Yes, as it happens, the exam is on my birthday. What can you do?”
Since I had perfected my cheating preparations, the exam itself posed no real threat—so it wouldn’t be an unlucky birthday after all.
“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”
“I forgot.”
Pongko looked disappointed, but I brushed it off lightly and opened the gifts.
Zeles had given me a Magical Stone that could be attached to a staff to supplement magical power, while Veronas presented a pocket watch. Roabel’s gift was a teddy bear, which made me grimace at the sight of it.
“My master still thinks I’m a child.”
Though Roabel was human by birth, upon reaching his current level, his lifespan had extended—he had lived for centuries as a mage. This distance from human affairs had made him awkward in his interactions with people, naturally depriving him of a generation with whom he could find common ground.
Perhaps because of this, while raising me, he alternated between treating me as far too young and, at other moments, speaking to me as though I were an elderly person—an extreme inconsistency in his approach.
Still, I understood that this was simply Roabel’s way of cherishing his disciple.
I propped the teddy bear against the head of my bed.
“Thank you, Zeles. I’ll send an automaton to convey my gratitude to the other two.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Zeles finally rose from his seat.
“Do well on the exam. Contact me if anything comes up.”
“Got it.”
After seeing Zeles off, I grinned wickedly and rubbed my hands together.
“Now then, shall I indulge in a life of debauchery?”

* * *

Time passed swiftly. For days, I sat in the Research Laboratory with dark circles under my eyes, poring over books.
Khalid nodded in satisfaction at my diligent appearance.
“My slave is studying hard, I see. Don’t overexert yourself—take it easy. The problems aren’t that difficult.”
“Yes… Professor…”
I sucked on a fatigue-relief potion and flipped through the pages rapidly. At my theatrical display, Pongko—who knew the truth—looked at me with eyes like a rotting fish.
The dark circles under my eyes were actually from staying up all night reading pulp novels borrowed from the Library.
Normally, I wouldn’t have had time for such indulgence while assisting with Khalid’s research, but in recent days, he had given me self-study time to prepare for the exam. As a result, I had plenty of free time!
I wasn’t about to waste such an opportunity.
So I never went near my desk. With such a rare chance, there was no reason to subject myself to the horrid ordeal of studying—my conviction on this matter remained steadfast.

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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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