The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 42

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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 42

“Ta-da! I brought what you asked for.”
Zeles handed me a wooden box.
“The Information Department’s special memory-sharing magical artifact that you requested~ Normally, the Information Department uses this when extracting information from others. I came personally since sending it by automaton risked it being stolen by some strict person or getting lost.”
“Wow! Thank you so much!”
Leoryna cradled it tenderly against her chest.
“But, you’re leaving right away?”
“I went through all this trouble approaching you under the pretense of hunting, so leaving immediately would look bad, wouldn’t it? I don’t want to get rejected.”
“What are you saying.”
As Zeles winked at Leoryna, she grimaced slightly. But Zeles leaned close to her ear and whispered in a friendly manner.
“The thing is, it seems we’ve picked up a tail.”
At those words, Leoryna’s expression hardened, and Zeles rolled his eyes.
“Over there.”
Leoryna turned her head in the direction Zeles had indicated. She easily spotted Khalid and Zigzagel rushing straight toward her.
She pressed her palm to her forehead.

* * *

Pongko, slightly sulking after Leoryna had sent me away, was bouncing around the Campus when I spotted Zigzagel walking with Khalid from the opposite direction.
“Am I imagining things, or have you been mooching drinks off me constantly lately?”
“That’s why I said I’d pay you back. Leoryna’s eating with us too, so just help out a little.”
“Tsk, I thought you were my lucky charm slave, but you won’t even help with my research and you’re drinking in broad daylight….”
Khalid grumbled, then noticed Pongko hopping toward him alone from ahead and tilted his head in confusion.
“Pongko. Weren’t you with Leoryna?”
Pongko answered with a sullen expression.
“Leoryna is busy right now.”
“Why? The one who ran off to play—why is she busy?”
As Khalid tilted his head in confusion, Pongko tattled.
“Leoryna is being hunted right now and is with a man. So I was told not to interfere and got kicked out!”
Then Khalid erupted in fury.
“Who dared to approach my precious lucky charm slave?!”
“A man. He was handsome.”
This time, Zigzagel burst with indignation.
“She promised to drink with me and now she’s playing around with some guy?”
“Which way?! Where is Leoryna right now?!”
At Khalid’s insistent questioning, Pongko pointed in the direction I had come from.
“Over there.”
“Show us the way!”
Khalid rushed toward the location where Leoryna had been hunted, with Pongko leading the way. Zigzagel followed behind, asking a question.
“But why are you chasing after her? Since I’m here, I don’t need to drink with Leoryna.”
“Why?! I need to verify what kind of guy has attached himself to Leoryna! What if he’s a suspicious character?”
“She’s an adult—she can handle it herself.”
“No! And Leoryna absolutely cannot get a boyfriend!”
At Khalid’s firm declaration, Zigzagel tilted his head in confusion.
“Why?”
“Think about it, Zigzagel. If Leoryna gets a boyfriend, she’ll spend time on dating, right? Then what about my research?! Dating instead of helping with my research? That’s absurd!”
At Khalid’s utterly self-centered words, Zigzagel found himself at a loss for words.
“Khalid, you should know you have nothing to say even if Leoryna curses you out.”
“So what? As long as she helps with my research well, it doesn’t matter if she curses me or bites me. But dating is absolutely not allowed!”
Pongko clicked his tongue at Khalid’s ruthlessness.
Poor Leoryna. Now he understood why she cursed him so much when Khalid wasn’t around.
In the meantime, Khalid spotted Las—or rather, the disguised Zeles—standing beside Leoryna in casual conversation, and Leoryna smiling at him.
When Khalid’s eyes met Leoryna’s, he inexplicably slowed his pace and put on a composed expression. Then, clearing his throat awkwardly, he approached the two who were looking at him with puzzlement.
“Professor Khalid, what are you doing here?”
“Who is that person?”
Khalid pointed directly at Zeles and asked.
“Well, this person is….”
Leoryna trailed off, unsure how to introduce Zeles. But unexpectedly, the answer came from Zeles himself.
“I’m Leoryna’s friend.”
“A friend?”
Khalid looked at Leoryna as if to confirm, and she nodded in agreement.
“Yes, as of today, we’re friends.”
“Just a friend?”
“Yes, yes.”
“What’s your name?”
Khalid interrogated him relentlessly, as if conducting an interrogation.
Leoryna noticed Zeles’s lips twitching slightly upward as he suppressed a smile. His expression seemed to leak a silent thought: ‘This guy’s ridiculous.’
“Las Rustathia…that’s my name. I’m in the History Department.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two….”
“What’s your family situation?”
“I have parents and one younger brother….”
“When was your last health checkup?”
“Two years ago, and there were no abnormalities….”
“Professor! What are you doing right now?”
Leoryna rescued Zeles from that barrage of questions.
“Why are you asking someone you’ve just met so many questions?”
“Because I’ve just met him, I need to conduct a background investigation, don’t I?”
“Since when has the professor taken such an interest in me…?”
Khalid’s nonsensical excuse left Leoryna utterly exasperated.
“Anyway, don’t play around with suspicious people. You need to be careful about who you associate with. Don’t rush into friendship with someone you just met today.”
Khalid’s tone, as if he were handling a small child left by the water’s edge, stirred irritation in Leoryna rather than gratitude.
‘What business is it of his who I spend time with, where, or how?’
“More importantly, Professor Khalid, aren’t you busy?”
Khalid could hardly have missed Leoryna’s pointed hint for him to leave.
Yet he made no effort to hide his displeasure, his gaze sweeping over Zeles from head to toe.
“Busy? Well, I am busy, but…”
As Leoryna’s eyes began to narrow dangerously, Khalid cleared his throat.
“Ahem, well then. My research is piling up, so I’ll be going…”
“Yes, please do.”
He turned to leave at her dismissal, but after only a few steps, he spun back around and spoke.
“I don’t mind you having fun, but make sure it’s wholesome!”
Though the word “wholesome” grated on her nerves, Leoryna didn’t care as long as Khalid left, so she smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“Wholesome. Got it? You two are still children, after all!”
‘Why am I suddenly being demoted to a child?’
“Understood, Professor. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Khalid dragged Zigzagel away toward Tavern Street and disappeared. Zeles stood there with a bewildered expression, as if a storm had just swept through.
Leoryna sighed and apologized on Khalid’s behalf.
“That’s just how Khalid is.”
“Haha, you’ve got it rough.”
“Tell me about it! That bastard seems to get his kicks out of tormenting me at the strangest moments!”
Leoryna began to curse. But then Zeles placed a finger to his lips and spoke.
“Those people haven’t left yet.”
Leoryna’s face went pale. She too could sense the presence of Khalid, Zigzagel, and Pongko.
They seemed to be hiding in the bushes.
“This is hopeless…”
Zeles laughed silently, his lips forming words without sound.
‘What should we do?’
‘What do you want to do?’
‘Like I said before, as long as those two are watching, it’ll look strange if we part ways here.’
‘Haha, those bastards have even cast a concealment spell? They’re really planning to follow us around.’
‘Can’t be helped. Should we pretend to spend time together for a bit?’
Leoryna immediately nodded with a beautiful smile.
“So, what would you like to do?”
Leoryna spoke to Zeles in a refined tone, adopting the kind of atmosphere that might exist between a man and woman just beginning to know each other.
“How about we take a walk? The flowers are in bloom.”
Only then could Leoryna look around at her surroundings. Just as Zeles said, cherry blossoms were in full bloom along the edges of the path, and other spring flowers were opening their buds as well.
She felt a pang of sadness realizing she had been cooped up in the Research Laboratory being pestered by Khalid, and had yet to see the beautiful scenery of the Campus.
That’s right. In spring, I was content just sitting on the grassy lawns of the Campus in bloom, playing guitar and singing without a care in the world.
Leoryna barely managed to recall what had often happened during breaks at the High Academy.
‘What is this? I actually had my own youth, didn’t I?’
Back then it had felt so ordinary, but when did it all become like someone else’s story?

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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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