The Graduate Student Wants to Assassinate the Professor - Chapter 49

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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 49

“Huh?”
“You lie every single day.”
“What, what? What are you talking about?”
Leoryna, who concealed her true identity daily and lied as casually as breathing, felt a sting of guilt and shot back defensively.
“When did I ever lie to you?”
Pongko then cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“I know all your secrets.”
“What?”
“I know what you’re hiding.”
“So, what is it?”
Faced with Pongko’s cryptic words, Leoryna broke into a cold sweat.
‘Did that bastard find out I’m an assassin? But how? I was certain I hid it perfectly.’
Leoryna’s hand drifted to the staff at her waist, preparing herself to kill Pongko if necessary.
She could always tell Khalid she had to dissect him for research purposes. It would invite ethical condemnation, but with her identity on the verge of exposure, such trivial concerns hardly mattered.
Whether Pongko sensed this or not, the rabbit wagged his fluffy front paws left and right as he spoke.
“If you don’t want your secret revealed to Professor Khalid, you’ll have to treat me well… Eek?!”
Leoryna’s hand shot out and seized Pongko by the throat. Pongko hadn’t anticipated such a swift reaction; he tried to cry out, but his strangled throat only produced choking sounds.
She tightened her grip, and before she could snap his neck, she demanded an answer.
“What is this secret of mine that you claim to know?”
“Gack, gack! My… my throat…!”
Leoryna realized her grip was preventing Pongko from speaking and loosened her hold. Tears glistened in his eyes as he gasped out his words.
“Is… is being exposed really that terrible for you?!”
“Answer my question first. Your life depends on what secret you think you know about me.”
Faced with Leoryna’s menacing aura, Pongko trembled violently, squeezed his eyes shut, and cried out.
“You’ll kill me because I know you have feelings for Professor Khalid?!”
“What the hell?!”
Leoryna cursed without thinking and let out a scream.
She dropped Pongko from her grip without realizing it, and he quickly landed on his feet, scurrying to hide among the equipment scattered throughout the Research Laboratory. Leoryna hurled every obscenity she could muster toward his hiding place.
“What?! I like Khalid?! Are you insane?! Have you completely lost your mind?! What makes you think I like Khalid, you damned furball?!”
Leoryna spewed vehement denials without pause. At her words, Pongko poked his face out from between the equipment and nodded knowingly.
“Ha ha! I understand your embarrassment at having your feelings exposed.”
“I said no!”
As Leoryna stomped loudly toward Pongko’s hiding spot, he quickly burrowed deeper into the gaps between the furniture.
“Hey! What evidence do you have that I like Professor Khalid?!”
As Leoryna vented her fury at the spot where only the tip of Pongko’s fur was visible, he sniffed and spoke.
“You’re actually quite strong.”
“Huh?”
“So what you’re saying is… I’m not the kind of person who’d cause a major incident over a single man, like Khalid worries. I’m quite good at fighting, aren’t I?”
I recalled the things I’d accomplished at the Athletic Competition.
Since Pongko had witnessed all of it firsthand, I couldn’t possibly deny any of it.
“Well, I suppose that’s… true….”
“But you act weak in front of Khalid.”
“And? How does that lead to the conclusion that I like Professor Khalid?!”
“Well, your true nature is rough and violent and….”
“Want to die?”
“But that’s the truth….”
“Really want to die?”
“Please let me finish what I’m saying.”
“Sigh….”
I exhaled deeply and waited for Pongko’s next words.
“You hide both your combat skills and your true personality from Professor Khalid.”
Isn’t that obvious? It’s true that I’d like to kill my advisor, but I can hardly say “Want to die?” to his face.
“No, that’s just because Khalid is my advisor… I’m his graduate student, so I have to maintain proper decorum.”
“No. You’re being coy. That’s different from mere politeness.”
“Coy?”
“Acting weak in front of Khalid, pretending to be delicate, acting virtuous, acting ordinary….”
That’s because I wear a mask to prevent Khalid from finding me suspicious, to appear harmless.
But from Pongko’s perspective, all those actions were interpreted entirely differently.
“Isn’t all of that coyness because you like Khalid?”
“No, you damned rabbit!”
“You wouldn’t want to show your unsightly side to someone you like. So you disguise yourself with weak abilities to trigger protective instincts, and only show aspects that would earn favor, right? Even if Khalid is your advisor, you’d only need to maintain basic courtesy—there’s no reason to hide your true strength and pretend to be delicate unless there’s another reason.”
Pongko spoke with absolute certainty.
“So you definitely like Khalid!”
“I’m going to lose my mind.”
I began banging my head against the wall.
“That’s not it! What on earth would make me fall for that bastard?! Is there even a woman who’d like him?! He’s locked away in the Research Laboratory all the time, has been forever, and he’ll be single for life!”
“Really?”
“Yes! It’s not like that! First of all, Professor Khalid is not my ideal type!”
“Oh? What is your ideal type then?”
Pongko tilted his head curiously.
“I like someone who’s handsome, has a great body, is intelligent, is better at magic than me so I can learn from them, is strong enough not to get beaten up anywhere, and—oh, strong means stronger than me. Anyway, that’s the kind of person I like!”
After hearing my description, Pongko made a subtle expression.
“…Isn’t that Khalid?”
“How is that Khalid?”
“But Khalid is handsome.”
At those words, my eyes rolled involuntarily and I found myself nodding in agreement.
‘Yeah, that bastard’s face is pretty decent-looking, I’ll admit.’
“Your physique is quite impressive too.”
‘That’s true. How does she maintain such a figure while doing nothing but research? Almost no excess fat, well-developed muscles in all the right places… if she actually trained, how stunning would she become?’
“And you’re intelligent.”
‘Though her brilliance does manifest in rather peculiar directions, she’s undeniably sharp.’
“Your magical prowess is exceptional as well.”
‘That’s undeniable—her circle rank surpasses mine, after all.’
“You’re formidable in combat too, aren’t you?”
‘Seeing how she defeated Kochalirakes before, I suppose she is genuinely strong…’
“By these standards, Khalid perfectly matches your ideal type. So it’s only natural you could develop feelings for him.”
My eyes lost focus. I couldn’t refute the fact that every condition I’d stated aloud fit Khalid perfectly.
Pongko cleared his throat with an exaggerated cough before continuing.
“However, Leoryna. Don’t grow too fond of Khalid. Setting aside his appearance, he’s not really that admirable of a man, is he?”
“Exactly! That’s right! Khalid is not a good man!”
Finally, someone talking sense!
I felt the weight lift from my chest as if a dam had burst.
“Still, women are naturally drawn to bad men, so that aspect could be equally appealing, you know.”
“Pfft, talking sense? What a joke. You’re just spouting nonsense.”
“I’ll support your love for Khalid.”
“Don’t. Please. Don’t do anything.”
I spoke with a murderous glare, and Pongko pretended to groom his ears with his front paws, deliberately ignoring me.
Alone with my frustration, I conjured ice with magic, dropped it into my coffee, and gulped it down. Then I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and ground my teeth.
“Regardless, I don’t like Khalid. Even if he matches my ideal type, he’s an exception. What graduate student harbors feelings for their advisor?! I can’t stand the sight of him breathing.”
“Then why have you been acting that way all this time?”
At those words, my voice caught in my throat.
“I… well…”
I rolled my eyes, searching desperately for an excuse, but nothing convincing came to mind.
“I… it’s not that I like Khalid…”
‘This is driving me insane.’
I felt tears welling up.

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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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