The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 43

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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 43

“You said you were busy.”
Pongko plucked grass growing beside the Bushes where they were hiding and spoke to Khalid.
“I am busy.”
Khalid muttered as he squeezed himself deeper into the Bushes.
“Damn it, I want to sabotage this, but I can’t do anything about it.”
“Why? You’re good at sabotaging.”
“You fool, this isn’t the time to sabotage.”
“Are you saying you’re fine with Leoryna and that man getting together?”
“That’s not it—I don’t want them to get together, so I’m doing this! But I can’t just oppose it blindly right now!”
“Why?”
“Love always burns more fiercely when it faces opposition. But from what I’ve seen, Leoryna and that man don’t have a bad atmosphere between them, do they?”
“It did seem that way.”
“If you go cause a scene, Leoryna will feel defiant and end up protecting that man even more, won’t she?”
“Is that how it works?”
“That’s exactly how it works.”
“Then how do we separate them?”
At Zigzagel’s question, Khalid fell into thought for a moment.
“The fastest way would be to make her lose interest in him….”
“How do you do that?”
Khalid moistened his lips with his tongue and spoke in hushed tones.
“For now, let’s tail him.”
“Tail him?”
“Once we figure out what’s wrong with him, we can tell Leoryna about it.”
“That… actually makes sense.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
Khalid cast a concealment spell on himself and Zigzagel.
“Why are you being so serious about this?”
Pongko looked at Khalid with clouded eyes as the latter cast the concealment spell on him as well.

* * *

I enjoyed the festival with Zeles. What had started as mere pretense had gradually transformed into genuine enjoyment.
We wandered through booths decorated with various themes and participated in events organized by students from other departments. Perhaps because I had never truly had a friend before, spending time with Zeles felt remarkably more enjoyable.
As we walked between the booths together, someone called out to us.
“Hey, you two! Come over here and play our couple game—you’ll win a prize!”
The booth displayed a banner that read: “Confirm Your Love!”
“We’re students from the Pharmacy Department researching magic that moves human emotions, and we have several elixirs that could help couples.”
“Love potions? That’s illegal….”
At my objection, the booth attendants waved their hands frantically.
“No, no! Not love potions—just elixirs that move the human heart a little… very little. For instance, potions that make you feel good for no particular reason. If you win the game, we’ll give you one of these elixirs as a prize.”
“Isn’t that just drugs?”
Zeles muttered under his breath.
“Besides, we’re not a couple….”
I was about to politely decline, thinking the students had misunderstood our relationship, when Zeles quickly responded.
“Sure. What’s the game?”
“Las, are you sure?”
“Sure about what?”
“I mean, pretending to be a couple with me….”
I exhaled softly.
Fine, whatever. Khalid’s probably watching anyway—might as well have some fun with this.
The booth attendant handed us a stick-shaped candy.
“You both eat from opposite ends of the candy while we measure how much you’ve eaten. The prize varies depending on how much candy remains.”
“Doesn’t that mean you end up kissing at the end?”
“That’s the final goal, but it’s harder than you’d think. Not many people actually eat enough candy to kiss in front of everyone. Many couples can’t even take a few bites because they start laughing when their faces get close. So really, it’s a test of shamelessness.”
I looked at Zeles with an expression asking if he really intended to do this. He shrugged and whispered.
“We can just stop at a reasonable length.”
I eventually faced Zeles and bit into the candy.
“Start!”
At the moderator’s signal, Zeles and I began eating the candy. But after just two bites, our eyes met, and without thinking, I let the candy drop from my mouth.
“Hey, sorry. I think I’m about to throw up.”
I covered my mouth with a serious expression, and Zeles pretended to be genuinely hurt.
“That’s cruel. Do you hate me that much?”
But Zeles hadn’t actually wanted to kiss me either.
Teasing others was one of his pleasures, and he was delighted imagining Khalid’s expression bursting with jealousy as he watched.
The moderator spoke with apparent disappointment.
“Oh, you failed faster than expected! With this much candy remaining… well, I’ll give you this elixir.”
The moderator handed us a bottle filled with yellow liquid.
“What does this do?”
I asked in a considerably suspicious tone.
“It makes people’s hearts more forgiving. If you two fight, sharing this will quickly resolve any anger between you.”
I accepted the bottle from the moderator, who was winking at us, and glanced sideways at Zeles.
“Do you need it? I don’t think I’ll have much use for it.”
“Well, I’ll take it just in case then.”
Zeles didn’t refuse and slipped the bottle into his outer coat pocket. The two nodded to the Host in greeting before resuming their walk.
And Khalid, who had been secretly observing them from start to finish, was left fuming and unable to burst out.
“Should I kill him?”
At Khalid’s muttered words, Zigzagel grabbed him by the collar.
“Calm down.”
“No, I think my allergies are about to flare up right now? I absolutely hate watching couples being all lovey-dovey with each other more than anything in the world?”
“They’re not a couple yet.”
“Then why are they playing couple games?”
“Because there’s a prize?”
“What’s so important about some cheap elixir? I could make dozens more of those myself!”
Khalid grumbled and kicked at the ground repeatedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Leoryna, who had been looking around at various attractions, had momentarily forgotten that Khalid was tailing her. The festival was turning out to be far more enjoyable than she’d expected.
“Ah, that was fun.”
Leoryna licked her cone ice cream and laughed with a refreshed expression.
“Looks like we’ve seen just about everything?”
“Seems like it.”
“Oh! I think I understand now.”
“Understand what?”
“This must be what youth is. Everyone enjoys their youth by having fun like this!”
At those words, Zeles burst into laughter.
“What kind of thing to say…”
Zeles’s laughter had a way of putting people in a good mood, so Leoryna laughed along with him.
But their laughter deeply displeased one person.
Khalid, who was squirming in his seat watching the two affectionate figures, was precisely that person.
“Damn it, there’s nothing I can pin on him so far.”
Zigzagel also shook his head.
“He does seem like a good person though… but there are things about people you only learn through experience. He definitely has some flaw somewhere. Definitely.”
“But finding something like that takes time. Does that mean I have to chase after those two until I find that bastard’s weakness? That’s ridiculous.”
Khalid fumed indignantly.
It was then that Zeles, who had been keeping his attention on Khalid, whispered to Leoryna.
“Want to see Caladniel turn inside out?”
“Of course.”
Then Zeles asked in an even more hushed voice.
“How about we try this?”
He wiped the corner of her mouth with his hand.
“You’ve got ice cream on you.”
Leoryna felt genuine chills run down her spine, but she laughed bashfully instead.
“Oh my, thank you, Las.”
And at that sight, Khalid was literally grinding his teeth.
“I can’t stand this. Do I really have to watch this while sober?! Ugh, this is infuriating. Forget the verification—just seeing him like that makes me crave a drink! Zigzagel! If we can’t sabotage this right now, let’s at least get drunk. I’ll deal with that bastard later anyway!”
“Could I ask what you mean by ‘deal with’ specifically?”
“I’ll threaten the students not to approach Leoryna without permission.”
Khalid rubbed his hands together.
“They’re terrified of me, so it’ll definitely work.”
It was fortunate that he could put his usual intimidating image to such use.
“But right now, I should verify that guy rather than drink…”
“I’ll buy.”
“Oh, drinks! Drinks!”
Zigzagel bounded after Khalid, hopping excitedly as they entered Tavern Street.
“Wait, professors, if you were going to do this anyway, why did you follow us in the first place?”
Pongko trailed after them and complained, but the two, already excited at the prospect of drinking, didn’t even pretend to listen.

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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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