I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 30

Whether he knew my feelings or not, the endlessly kind professor asked about me as if it were now my turn.

“Miss Even, how have you been all this time? Nothing unusual happened?”

“Thanks to your concern, I’ve been well, Professor.”

“No particular difficulties?”

“…No, none.”

The fact that my very existence was painfully miserable was something I chose not to say.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice my inner thoughts.

“Then I’m glad. If you ever have any difficulties or concerns while living at the Academy, tell me anytime. As I wrote in the letter, if it’s urgent, you can come without contacting me first.”

“Thank you again for always looking out for me, including the other day.”

I expressed my gratitude once more.

Catching on quickly that “the other day” referred to when he offered to become my guarantor, Jeran Ennessy smiled gently.

“I only did what was natural. From the start, the best thing for you is not needing my help at all.”

With that, Jeran Ennessy finally brought up the main reason he had called me here.

“As I mentioned in my letter yesterday, the reason I asked you to come today is because I have some news that you would like.”

I straightened my slouched back and sat up. I watched him nervously, wondering what he was about to say.

Jeran Ennessy reached out casually, as if he had prepared it beforehand, and handed me a sheet of paper.

‘What’s this?’

“I often get notices from various societies about conferences they are holding, and it so happens that a society related to your field of research will be holding one.”

“Ah, yes…”

‘I have a bad feeling about this…’

Even before he got to the main point, a sense of dread had already begun to creep in.

“Though you haven’t yet graduated from the Academy, I think with your ability,it would not be unreasonable for you to give a presentation. That’s why I called you here, to suggest you present on the research topic you showed me earlier.”

“Ah… I see…”

The moment my bad premonition became reality, the light vanished from my eyes and an empty reply slipped from between my lips.

‘I really hate giving presentations at conferences.’

I had only just barely come to understand the basic outline of the research Lucia had been pursuing. And now I was expected to present it in front of researchers of that very field at a conference?

Nothing in life could be more dreadful.

But what was worse was that I couldn’t refuse Jeran Ennessy’s suggestion.

‘When your advisor tells you to do it, how can you say no…’

Not doing it wasn’t even an option.

In the end, regardless of my will or choice, I was going to have to present at the conference.

Completely unaware of my feelings, Jeran Ennessy pointed at the poster made by the society and said, “Take your time and look it over. It’s two months away, right before the vacation begins, so there’s plenty of time. There will also be many people there who can help you in your research.”

“Yes…”

I forced myself to hide my distaste and looked at the contents written on the paper Jeran Ennessy had given me.

It said almost exactly what he had explained. There were also quite a few names of people I had no reason to know.

‘There aren’t many people researching dimensional transfer magic, and it hardly gets any support, so why are there so many working on it?’

I grumbled inwardly, but it wasn’t incomprehensible. Not everything in the world was decided by money or usefulness.

And even I had pursued, however clumsily, research that seemed useless and unprofitable in the real world.

‘Still, I really hate presenting at conferences.’

Before I could even indulge in sentiment, harsh reality pressed down on me, and I squirmed in despair. Just then, when I lifted my head, Jeran Ennessy was still smiling at me with that bright and good-natured face.

“How is it? This is a great opportunity for you, isn’t it?”

The moment I met his sparkling light-green eyes, filled with conviction that this could only be good for me, I gave up struggling and chose to accept the bitter reality.

I was destined to present at the conference.

“Yes… it is, a good opportunity…”

“If you continue your research into dimensional transfer magic, it will surely help you greatly in the future. It may even give you more appropriate direction than I could. And…”

Jeran Ennessy, who had been listing the advantages of presenting at the conference, suddenly fell silent. Then, for the first time, he showed an expression I had never seen before.

It was the face of someone feeling sorry that all he could offer me was something like this, and at the same time, desperately hoping his sincerity would be fully conveyed to me.

“I can assure you, the kind of thing you worry about will never happen. I may be a professor like Karl Evenhart, but I am a completely different person from him.”

“……”

“So I swear before you that I will never steal, take, or snatch away your research. Of course, I know well how hard it is to trust words alone like this…”

“……”

“This is the only way I can prove my sincerity to you.”

Jeran Ennessy gave a bitter smile as he said this.

I didn’t know how to respond. I was simply bewildered, my head tangled with complicated thoughts and spinning in confusion.

It wasn’t because Jeran Ennessy was overly kind to the point of burdening me, nor because he made a proposal I couldn’t refuse.

‘He drew a line, saying he was separate from Karl Evenhart, then suddenly swore he would never steal or snatch my research…?’

It sounded as if Karl Evenhart really had stolen or snatched my research before.

‘No, maybe I’m overthinking it.’

I tried hard to think of other possibilities, but my mind circled back to the same place.

‘No matter how many times I think it over, that bastard definitely stole my research, and Jeran Ennessy knows it—that’s how it sounds.’

A chill ran down my spine, and the back of my neck grew hot, as if an overwhelming storm was bearing down on me.

I wanted to escape this place as soon as possible and confirm whether my suspicion was true.

I even forgot to respond to Jeran Ennessy’s words, my gaze fixed instead on the conference poster that I couldn’t even really see.

The mood instantly dropped. Though the warm and clear afternoon sunlight streamed into the laboratory, the air felt awkward and heavy. Even the tea he had given me had grown lukewarm.

In the silence that followed, Jeran Ennessy spoke first.

“Then I’ll take it that you’ll be presenting. Come by sometime next month. I’ll check over the contents and materials of your presentation. If you feel uneasy, you can visit once more right before the conference.”

“……”

“If… for some other reason you feel reluctant to present at the conference, you can tell me. I want you to do it, but I won’t force you.”

He added that condition to show consideration for me.

Of course I was reluctant to present, and I would’ve preferred not to, but I couldn’t let that turn into a matter of mistrusting Jeran Ennessy.

“…No. I’ll present. Thank you for your concern. Then I’ll come back next month with my presentation materials prepared.”

“Good. I’m sure you’ll do well, Miss Even.”

With his heartfelt encouragement, the long yet short meeting came to an end.

***

The moment I stepped out of Jeran Ennessy’s laboratory, I ran down the quiet hallway straight back to the dormitory.

Unlike the cold wind striking my face, my head was burning as if it would explode.

Truthfully, I had been feeling an odd sense of unease for some time.

The way he was overly kind and considerate toward me, just a mere student. The fact that he had apologized to me twice for Karl Evenhart’s matter. Ruad’s words, asking if my advisor ever said anything strange or suspicious. The red eyes that had asked me if I was happy about Karl Evenhart’s dismissal, convinced that I must be.

And lastly, the contents I had read in the Academy newspaper…

[Former Professor Karl Evenhart (…) plagiarized a total of five theses written by current Calypse Academy students, passing them off as his own research and presenting them in the academic world.]

All of those things aligned with what Jeran Ennessy had said to me today, combining into one enormous certainty.

The moment I arrived at the dormitory, I hurried past the servants wandering the halls and shut myself in my room, locking the door.

I was finally alone.

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest. My hands trembled, and it felt like all the blood had drained from my body.

The only thing moving vividly within me was the sharp anxiety and impatience rushing through my veins, and the heat of my head, boiling with countless assumptions and possibilities.

‘No… surely not… It can’t be…’

Even if I was trapped in a game, for my advisor not only to have been dismissed for plagiarism but also to have plagiarized my thesis—

Such a thing couldn’t possibly happen in real life.

And yet, even if I wanted to deny it, I had no evidence to counter it.

The only way to know for sure was to uncover the truth of Karl Evenhart’s plagiarism. And in doing so, I could also confirm whether or not he had stolen my thesis.

Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to dig into it.