The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 121

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

Chapter 121

The morning after, I awoke with a start and immediately began tearing at my hair. The moment my eyes opened, Khalid’s face seemed to hover before me like a phantom.
I was grateful that Khalid had granted me a day off during his vacation. In my current state of mind, I lacked the courage to face him.
With a vacant expression, I muttered repeatedly, “I’ve lost my mind… I’ve completely lost my mind…” while pounding my aching muscles—sore from sleeping on the bare floor—with my fists.
“Leoryna? Are you alright?”
“No.”
My voice in response to Pongko’s call was utterly devoid of spirit.
“I can’t accept this reality. Something’s wrong with my head.”
“They say love is just a bit of madness caused by hormones.”
“No! It’s not love! I’m telling you it’s not love!”
As I spiraled into denial, Pongko quietly covered his mouth. My reality rejection, which had barely subsided, began anew.
“How can this be? I… I… I like Khalid… Damn it all!”
I struck my forehead repeatedly.
“Petila, for heaven’s sake! This can’t be real, can it? Tell me it isn’t?!”
I clasped my hands together in reverent prayer as I cried out.
“I’m supposed to kill Caladniel in your name, so why am I spouting such nonsense about… about… liking him… This is absurd! Completely absurd!”
Pongko was taken aback by my crude language, but I continued muttering profanities under my breath.
“Petila, surely this isn’t right. Even you must think so, mustn’t you? I must have gone mad. Why would you subject me to such a trial?”
Yet there was no way I could hear Petila’s response.
Petila’s divine will came through the Holy Maiden’s lips. Without her mediation, it was nearly impossible to discern Petila’s true intentions.
“That’s it! The Holy Maiden!”
I leaped to my feet.
“I need to see the Holy Maiden directly. She’ll have the answers I need.”
“You mean to go to Yorken now?”
Pongko tilted his head in confusion, and I nodded firmly.
“I can take two consecutive spatial transfer spells from here and reach it within three hours. Since it’s still morning, there’s no reason I can’t see the Holy Maiden and return by tonight.”
“Isn’t the Holy Maiden a busy person?”
The Holy Maiden was someone even the Pope could not treat casually. Meeting her involved considerable formalities, and simply showing up uninvited would not grant an audience.
But I was already past the point of no return.
“It doesn’t matter if I just go and come back, does it? I simply need to do something—anything—right now!”
I changed into traveling clothes, packed only the essentials, and set out for Yorken with Pongko at my side.

* * *

Leoryna descended at the bus station before the Yorken Divine Temple and gazed up at the grand structure standing majestically atop the hill, her eyes resolute. Though she had been away for merely a few months, the temple’s magnificent presence felt more welcoming than ever before.
With reverent heart, Leoryna sprinkled purified water upon her feet before ascending the hill toward the western entrance of the temple—a passage through which only authorized personnel discreetly came and went.
Upon entering the temple’s interior, Leoryna hesitated briefly before Pope Beronas’s office, then turned her steps away. Pongko followed faithfully at her heels and asked.
“Leoryna, aren’t you going to see Pope Beronas?”
“Well… I think it would be better to meet with the Holy Maiden first rather than His Holiness right now.”
I lacked the confidence to face Beronas at this moment. He had entrusted me with this mission in good faith, and yet here I was in this state. He would surely be deeply disappointed if he knew. I couldn’t bear that.
“It would be better to meet directly with the Holy Maiden, who heard the oracle herself.”
Leoryna entered the Sanctuary, located in the deepest recesses of the temple. Two Female Holy Knights stood guard at its entrance.
“Who are you?”
The fact that someone could reach this place meant they were affiliated with the temple, so one of the helmeted knights asked Leoryna respectfully. Leoryna responded with a somewhat awkward smile.
“I’ve come hoping to meet with the Holy Maiden.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I don’t have one…”
Leoryna’s eyes darted briefly before she continued.
“I have matters concerning the Holy Maiden’s oracle that I wish to discuss.”
“An oracle?”
The knights exchanged puzzled glances.
The Holy Maiden’s oracles were not shared among those outside the inner circle, so even the Holy Maiden’s own knights could not know which oracle was being referenced.
“Please tell the Holy Maiden that Leoryna Yuren of the Special Mission Unit, who operates according to her oracle, wishes to seek her counsel regarding the oracle.”
At the mention of the Special Mission Unit, one of the knights nodded and entered, while the other examined Leoryna’s credentials to confirm her affiliation with the unit.
Before long, the knight who had entered returned.
“She has just finished her previous engagement and was resting, so she said she would see you immediately. Please go in.”
With the knights’ permission, Leoryna was able to enter the Saint’s Chamber.
This was her first time coming here. It was customary for the Holy Maiden to meet visitors in external spaces, so only a select few were permitted to enter the Sanctuary.
As a result, Leoryna followed the attendant who guided her, her eyes curious as she observed her surroundings.
The attendant led her to the room where the Holy Maiden rested, then withdrew. As Leoryna stepped carefully forward, a gentle voice greeted her.
“Leoryna Yuren. It’s been a while.”
“Greetings, Holy Maiden Laita.”
Leoryna bowed respectfully to the Holy Maiden seated in the place of honor. The Holy Maiden then laughed heartily.
Laita was quite the opposite of the image commonly held of a holy maiden. Her sharply angled eyes were adorned with gold and crimson cosmetics in an elaborate display. Her lips were painted a vivid red, and her entire face was covered in white powder.
With an enormous headdress adorned upon her head, she sat with her upper body held perfectly straight, showing no sign of discomfort as she regarded Leoryna.
“Thank you for permitting my sudden request for an audience. I came hoping to see you, but I never expected to actually be granted this opportunity.”
“Oh, I happened to have a moment free. May I ask the reason for your visit?”
Laita invited Leoryna to sit in the guest’s seat as she asked. Seated, Leoryna touched the back of her neck awkwardly with a strained smile.
“Well, you see…”
Throughout the journey here, I had wrestled with what to say to Laita, yet nothing had been settled in my mind.
So I simply plunged ahead.
“I’m terribly sorry, but it appears I can no longer fulfill the mission you entrusted to me. Please, I beg you to withdraw your command!”
At Leoryna’s words, Laita smiled without a trace of alarm.
“Why? Tell me what’s brought this about. Oh my, is this your familiar? How absolutely adorable.”
While Leoryna searched for words, Laita drew Pongko toward herself and began stroking him gently. Though startled, the rabbit yielded to her touch without resistance.
“Well, you see… living alongside Khalid has proven far more challenging to adapt to than I anticipated, and considering my abilities alone… I couldn’t defeat him in direct combat. Finding an opportunity for assassination proved equally difficult. As I mentioned before, I believe it would be better for someone more skilled than me to assassinate Khalid. Someone like Master Roabel, for instance.”
Leoryna rambled through her excuses.
“I truly lack confidence in this. It doesn’t seem like a task suited for me.”
Though Leoryna spoke with gravity, Laita continued stroking Pongko, shaking her head with an amused smile.
“No. You’re the one who has to do it.”
“What? Why?”

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