The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 23

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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 23

However, Leoryna paid it no mind and scrutinized the porridge, which had taken on an unappetizing hue. “Did that person really recover after eating this? You’re absolutely certain there were no complications?”
“He died.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
Khalid’s offhand response left Leoryna uncertain whether he was serious or merely jesting. She found herself wondering if she should confiscate the ladle from him immediately.
It was then that Khalid assigned her a different task.
“Leoryna, if you have nothing better to do, why not fix Zigzagel’s bed?”
Leoryna glanced at Zigzagel, whose massive frame was crumpled atop the sofa, and ascended to the bedroom without complaint.
Zigzagel’s bed was in dire condition—the mattress was flattened, and the frame beneath was shattered. Restoring it through magic did not take long.
Leoryna verified once more that the bed frame was securely fastened, then cast reinforcement magic to ensure it could withstand considerable impact.
Upon completing her work and descending the stairs, the porridge had already been finished.
“Wake up. Eat this and rest.”
As Khalid set the table and returned, he kicked the sofa with his foot. Zigzagel’s eyes snapped open, and he grimaced sharply.
“You know that porridge you made is absolutely vile, right?”
“I know, but what else can I do? Someone’s sick.”
Zigzagel grumbled as he shuffled into the Dining Room and sat before the table. With a thoroughly reluctant expression, he lifted the spoon and began consuming the porridge.
From past experience, he knew that eating slowly would only make the nauseating taste linger, so he attacked it with militant determination. The bowl emptied in moments.
“Phew, I feel a bit better.”
The porridge had indeed been effective—his complexion appeared somewhat more at ease than before.
Khalid confirmed that Zigzagel’s coughing had diminished considerably and his fever had subsided, then rose from his seat with a satisfied expression.
“I’ve left the remaining porridge in the Refrigerator, so eat it again tomorrow. Understood?”
“Got it.”
“The bed’s fixed too, so go upstairs and rest.”
“Alright.”
Zigzagel climbed the stairs with lingering coughs, his movements sluggish. He waved his hand toward Leoryna and Khalid.
“You two should head out now. Thanks for today.”
His eyes, heavy with drowsiness, blinked slowly. Khalid released a small sigh before speaking.
“I’ll come by tomorrow too.”
“What? You don’t need to. I’ll be better tomorrow than today.”
“That’s not it—I need to confirm how much you’ve recovered before I can proceed with my experiment!”
Zigzagel’s expression crumbled with disappointment as he pointed toward the Foyer with his finger.
“My head’s pounding, so stop your racket and get out. Go on, you brat.”
Khalid possessed the peculiar talent of receiving curses despite providing nursing care.
Unlike Khalid, who was scratching his ear in bewilderment, Leoryna—possessing at least some common sense—bid Zigzagel farewell and dragged Khalid out of the Home.
“Oh no, this is a disaster. When am I supposed to conduct my experiment?”
Khalid sighed repeatedly while waiting for the Tram.
“There’s no set date! I was supposed to ransack the Greenhouse today!”
“There’s no telling when it’ll happen! I should have cleaned out the Greenhouse today!”
Despite the chaos he’d caused, Khalid showed not the slightest hint of remorse, and Leoryna finally achieved enlightenment.
‘That’s right… This is simply how this man must live….’
Heh, heh, heh.
Leoryna decided to let everything go. If she harbored no expectations of Khalid’s world—one that deviated slightly from common sense—then there would be nothing to anger her.
Yet that resolve lasted only a moment before Leoryna tilted her head and cast a sidelong glance at Khalid.
‘The prophecy about numerous lands splitting apart was supposed to mean territorial disputes from war, but… would Khalid really go so far as to start a war?’
She recalled how Khalid had conducted himself over the past month and more.
Though he was brimming with drive and action, that drive stemmed solely from research. Just look at today’s reckless raid on the Academy Storage—he’d insisted on executing his research plan without a single delay. His ambitions extended no further than the success of his research.
Yet he would take on troublesome duties like a king? And worse, initiate labor-intensive endeavors like war?
Leoryna would have wagered the carrot Pongko had eaten that Khalid would dump the Demon Lord’s duties onto someone else entirely.
‘In the first place, is this one-horned Demon Lord really Khalid? There could be other one-horned demons. Why did His Holiness specifically identify the one-horned demon as Khalid?’
Members of the Special Mission Unit did not harbor doubts about the Pope’s words. Doubt was not something a mere operative should entertain.
Leoryna had been educated that way all her life, and she had never once inserted her own opinion into a mission handed down by the Pope.
Yet this assignment, having brought her close to the target and consuming considerable time, kept allowing unnecessary thoughts to creep in.
‘Hmm. I’ve grown too soft toward the target. That’s not good.’
Leoryna gently tapped her cheek with her palm.
‘What exactly is Khalid?’
Leoryna found herself harboring a question she should never have entertained.

* * *

Upon arriving home, Leoryna spotted a raven automaton tapping against the Window and wore a weary expression.
“I think I’ve done enough for one day!”
She had attempted an assassination, though it had failed.
As that fact came to mind, Leoryna could not shake a sense of deflation.
“Sigh… Thank goodness the Manager didn’t think it strange. I nearly got caught in a disaster.”
Leoryna brushed her chest and retrieved pen and paper. She drafted a report to send through the automaton, listing everything that had transpired, and mixed in her own observations.
How Khalid was obsessed with research… what happened in the Greenhouse… the assassination attempt….
She was detailing everything that had occurred today, but what she truly wanted to say could be condensed into a single line.
Your Holiness! Before we talk about Demon Lords or anything else, this man is simply obsessed with research! Please let me live!
But instead of writing that outright, she added two lines at the end of the report.

[P.S. By the way, is the one-horned Demon Lord mentioned in the oracle that the Saint spoke of really Caladniel? I was just wondering if there might be other one-horned demons.]

Leoryna scratched her head with the pen’s tip but did not erase the passage, instead placing it directly onto the raven’s back.
After sending the raven off, she offered her customary prayer.
Please, let me go home, Petila.

* * *

It was Sunday morning when Leoryna was leisurely enjoying a late breakfast.
A man’s figure appeared in the full-length mirror leaning diagonally against one wall. It was Zeles, dressed in priestly robes and wearing a mask.
“Oh, Zeles. Hello?”
Leoryna greeted him as usual, but Zeles’s expression remained rigid.
“Leoryna. You’ve received a warning.”
“A warning?”
“Apparently you asked His Majesty whether Caladniel truly is becoming a one-horned Demon King.”
“Well….”
Leoryna answered reluctantly.
“I was just curious if there were other one-horned demons out there. I absolutely wasn’t implying that Caladniel isn’t a Demon King or anything like that.”
But Zeles let out a deep sigh and continued.
“How could you ask such a question? You know well that His Majesty’s words cannot be questioned or reasoned with.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true, but….”
Leoryna scratched the back of her head awkwardly, then laughed to diffuse the uncomfortable atmosphere.
“I never planned to stay with Khalid this long anyway. The assassination attempt failed yesterday, right? So I was just hoping to gather some clues about easier ways to handle the situation by asking His Majesty various things, haha!”
Zeles sighed deeply again.
“In any case, I’d appreciate it if you’d be more careful about such matters going forward.”
“Ah, understood.”
“And regarding that other information you requested—about whether there was anyone sick around Caladniel.”
“Oh, did you find something unusual?”
“If anything, it would probably be Caladniel’s Younger Sister.”

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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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