I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 23

I wondered whether I should return the jacket, my hands moving awkwardly in the air, when Ruad suddenly froze.

Then, his face slowly turned red, and even the skin showing through his white shirt at his neck and chest flushed scarlet.

His reaction was so endearing that I let out a quiet laugh and said, “Then I’ll sleep. Wake me up in a little while.”

“…Ah, yeah… Sleep well, Lucy.”

Ruad, with a look of disbelief in his eyes, stared at me blankly, nodding. Finally, as if my words had sunk into his heart, he smiled softly as he bid me sleep well.

It was such a smile that even I, watching him, felt my chest tickle.

Feigning nonchalance, I covered my face with my arm and lay down. As soon as the jacket on my shoulders began to slip, Ruad reached out quickly and adjusted it for me.

In the darkness that blocked out the light, my heartbeat thundered so loudly it was almost deafening.

‘…This really is “Thump Thump Magic Academy.”’

With the image of Ruad’s smile sketched vividly in my mind, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

***

“Lucy.”

“……”

“Lucy, wake up.”

“…Ruad?”

His hand shook me gently as his voice called me back. I woke groggily from my nap.

Perhaps I had slept too soundly, because it took a while for my senses to return.

I sat up in a daze. The jacket that had kept me warm the entire time fell from my shoulders onto the floor.

“It’s almost lunchtime. Didn’t you say you had an appointment today?”

“…What time is it now?”

Blinking sluggishly, I snapped awake at the word “appointment” and asked quickly.

Ruad answered, “Twelve.”

“Twelve…?”

I had gone to sleep at half past ten, and now it was noon. That meant I had been napping at the library for an hour and a half.

‘Did I really sleep that long?’

It was absurd that I had managed to nap for ninety minutes in such an uncomfortable position, but at the same time, my body felt refreshed. I must have slept well.

“I thought about waking you at eleven, but you looked tired, so I didn’t.”

“It’s fine. I was tired today anyway, so let’s just say I got good rest.”

“Are you going to eat lunch in the lounge again today?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded at his question.

Every time I came to the library, I usually had lunch in the lounge.

It wasn’t that the lounge sold food; rather, I would ask a servant from the dormitory to prepare a simple lunchbox and eat it there, since eating was allowed in the lounge.

It wasn’t particularly because I needed to save money or anything like that, but to avoid the situation of ending up at Bell Restaurant with Ruad.

If I said I had brought a lunchbox, then going to the restaurant wouldn’t be an option.

As for the cafeteria, I could have gone with him, but unfortunately, he didn’t care for it.

Ever since the time when, feeling guilty about having coldly rejected his earlier invitation, I suggested we eat at the cafeteria together and he immediately showed displeasure, I hadn’t brought up the word “cafeteria” around him at all.

So, unintentionally, I had ended up eating lunch in the lounge again and again.

As I packed the books on the desk into my bag, I asked, “You didn’t bring anything for lunch again?”

“I can eat later.”

“But you just sit with me while I eat, doing nothing. Doesn’t that bore you?”

“Not at all.”

Ruad answered firmly, as if the thought didn’t even warrant consideration.

“And besides, you’re only safe when I’m by your side.”

“…Really…”

I didn’t know what exactly he meant by safe, but I gave him back his jacket and tidied up before heading with him to the lounge.

There were hardly any people in the library lounge, yet somehow all eyes seemed to turn toward us.

As we entered, the students who had been seated glanced over, only to quickly avert their eyes and go back to their own business. But since it happened every time we came here, I couldn’t figure out why.

‘Is it because Ruad looks a bit intimidating?’

His impression wasn’t exactly gentle, so maybe that was why. His bright red eyes made him stand out more than most as well.

Still, something about it felt odd, though I chose not to think too deeply.

My task was to write my thesis and raise affection points, not to puzzle over background characters’ reactions.

“Shall we sit here?”

“Sure.”

Ruad, paying no attention to people’s reactions, chose a suitable table by the window.

I sat down at the small round table he had picked out and took out the lunchbox the servant had packed for me.

Today’s menu was a tuna sandwich and a small bottle of orange juice.

As I ate my sandwich normally, Ruad spoke to me. It was just light conversation.

“You said you had an appointment at lunch today, right? What kind of appointment?”

“Oh, I just have someone to meet.”

“Who are you meeting?”

I swallowed the food in my mouth before answering.

Evan Bell’s face floated vividly in my mind, but it was a name I couldn’t say aloud.

Telling Ruad his name was just as dangerous as going with him to Bell Restaurant.

“Just… someone.”

When I brushed it off vaguely, Ruad pressed further.

“Is it your advisor?”

“No. I haven’t heard from my advisor since the semester started.”

“That’s a relief… That person doesn’t say strange things to you, does he?”

“Strange things?”

“Or act suspicious in any way.”

“Hmm…”

I fell into brief thought.

Recalling all my memories of Jeran Ennessy, nothing came to mind except the fact that he was unusually kind to me.

And if I considered that kindness suspicious, then Ruad would also seem suspicious in turn.

“I don’t think so. He’s kind and treats me well. He even contacted me first, worried that I might be struggling with tuition, and said he’d help if I asked.”

“Ah… really?”

Strangely, there was a long pause before his reply. His gaze on me was as calm as a predator watching prey in the field.

It felt a little frightening, but I showed no sign of it and simply munched on my sandwich.

“Other than that, nothing unusual?”

“No. When I visited his office, he even brewed me tea he had bought during a trip to the East.”

“Then that’s good.”

Only then did Ruad stop interrogating me, relaxing his body like a predator who had let its prey slip away. I had no idea what exactly he was being so cautious about.

I took a sip of orange juice to wet my throat. In the meantime, Ruad asked another question, phrasing it differently this time.

“How do you feel now that Karl Evenhart is gone?”

“…What do you mean?”

When I couldn’t tell what he was getting at, Ruad explained.

“Karl Evenhart was dismissed as a professor. He’s no longer your advisor, and on top of that, he went bankrupt.”

“……”

“So, how do you feel? Are you glad?”

I hesitated, unsure what answer to give.

From his tone, I could tell Ruad was convinced that I must be glad about Karl Evenhart’s dismissal.

Certainly, the downfall of someone who stole students’ theses and passed them off as his own was something to celebrate.

But personally, I had no reason to be especially happy about his ruin.

Because of Karl Evenhart’s dismissal and bankruptcy, I had spent nearly a month suffering. I had even collapsed with a cold because of it.

Aside from the lofty message that justice prevails, good is rewarded and evil punished, and that righteousness triumphs, there had been no real change in my life.

But Ruad seemed convinced that something dramatic had changed in my life and that I would be glad about it. That much was certain.

‘Ah… this feels off.’

Though I thought that inwardly, outwardly I showed nothing, and instead gave the answer Ruad expected.

“Yes… well… I suppose it’s good.”

Forcing myself to sound pleased left me with a strangely bitter tone, but Ruad didn’t notice at all.

He smiled brightly and looked at me as though he were watching a child delighted to receive a gift.

“Right? I knew you’d be happy.”

“……”

“By the way, are you still going to research dimensional transfer magic?”

At his natural change of subject, I blinked blankly for a moment before nodding. My hand reached for the rest of my sandwich.

“…Yes.”

The truth was, I had no other choice but to research that magic. But Ruad didn’t need to know that.

At my answer, Ruad seemed curious. Resting his chin on his arm, he asked, “You still have no thoughts about researching other magic?”

“…None.”

“Why? You’d do well with any field, not just dimensional transfer magic.”

“I just… like the magic I’m researching now.”

“……”

“I’ll graduate with this.”

“And after you graduate, what will you do, Lucy?”

At his question, I paused mid-bite and fell into thought.

‘After graduation…?’

I slowly blinked, picturing life after graduation in my mind.

This was a game world. One of the conditions for reaching the true ending was to write a thesis and graduate successfully from the Academy.

What happened in the true ending, I didn’t know, nor did I care. My life in this world would end at graduation.

There was no “after” for me. I had no need to think about it.

After pondering briefly, I finally answered, “…I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”