I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 35

Unlike the commotion outside, the library was cozy and quiet.

So quiet it felt as if nothing had happened.

But the vile words hurled at me like stones undeniably existed.

‘It’s bad enough that my thesis was stolen by my advisor, and now I have to hear that kind of crap just because a commoner is attending the Academy?’

Ever since I was turned away at the bank, I had no great expectations of this thoroughly stratified society. But even with low expectations, there should still be such a thing as basic manners or common sense.

And those bastards had neither manners, nor sense, nor morals.

They treated harassing me, a commoner, as if it were some kind of sport. From the way they spoke and behaved, it was obvious they weren’t new at it.

From that perspective, my resolve to crush those vermin could be considered a fairly rational decision.

Even if, in the end, Ruad was the one who carried it out for me.

‘But Ruad was a little strange today.’

While the ones who bullied me were strange for being so thoroughly devoid of character, Ruad was strange in how overly friendly and determined he was, speaking and acting in ways no normal friend would.

Ruad’s affection meter was currently at 0%. Nothing had even happened yet, no events had taken place.

There was no reason for him to act with such gravity.

Of course, I was thankful that he empathized with the wounds and insults I suffered, became angry for me, and fought in my place.

But it didn’t feel like he was doing it merely as a friend…

Anyway, something about it felt uncomfortable.

‘I’ll have to ask him later when he comes. What he meant by those words.’

Lost in such thoughts, I picked out a few research books that seemed related to the study I intended to pursue, and managed to copy several papers I needed.

Then I sat in my usual spot, reading theses as I waited for Ruad.

Contrary to his words that he’d be right back, Ruad didn’t show even a strand of hair until long past lunchtime.

Every time I thought of him, I lifted my head to check the entrance, but only saw the faces of other students.

‘Don’t tell me he went to take care of them and ended up getting beaten himself?’

That possibility felt likely enough to send a chill through my chest.

‘Well, it would be difficult for him to take on all of them alone.’

Just as I was about to tidy my things and go smash those bastards’ heads myself, Ruad walked inside, his footsteps steady. Then he sat down next to me as if nothing had happened.

“Hi, Lucy.”

“……”

“So? I came back quickly, didn’t I?”

Ruad smiled brightly, as if wanting me to confirm he had kept his promise.

But unlike his fresh greeting, there was a faint scent of blood wafting from him.

It was faintly hidden under his natural scent and the breeze of the outdoors, but it was definitely the smell of blood.

“I don’t know if I’d call this quick, but you smell like blood.”

“Ah…”

An awkward look crossed Ruad’s face.

He quickly buried his nose in his shirt, sniffed, and then spoke as if apologizing for making me smell such a stench.

“I thought you wouldn’t like it, so I tried to brush it off before coming, but I guess it stuck. Sorry.”

“I don’t care about the smell of blood, but you’re not hurt, are you?”

“Lucy. Are you worrying about me?”

At my question, Ruad’s face lit up as if thrilled, and he spoke with so much joy that it left me embarrassed for even asking.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t get hurt. Look, my clothes are fine, right?”

“…Yeah.”

The clothes Ruad was wearing were perfectly fine, without a single stain of blood. They looked no different from when he had taken off his jacket and draped it over me.

I was relieved that the person who had gone to fight in my place hadn’t been injured, but at the same time, it was unsettling.

The fact that he reeked of blood as if he had been near it, yet bore not a single wound himself.

‘…What the hell did he do to them so that he didn’t shed a drop of blood, yet left them bleeding so much?’

It wasn’t as if he had just stood by and watched. He must have personally dealt with them. But I couldn’t begin to imagine how.

Just as I was about to ask, Ruad spoke first, his smile as bright as if nothing had happened, his clothes as clean as ever.

“Nothing happened while I was gone, right? No one strange came and bothered you?”

I didn’t know who in the library would bother someone who was just quietly studying, but I answered obediently.

“Nothing happened. It was the same as always. No one picked a fight with me like earlier either.”

“Then that’s good. And my jacket?”

“Oh, here. It got in the way while I was moving around, so I took it off for a bit.”

I handed Ruad his jacket, which I had draped over my chair, and asked, “I’m curious, what did you do with them?”

As he put on the jacket, Ruad paused for a moment. The smile on his lips seemed to falter slightly, but only for an instant.

Then, sliding his arms through the sleeves and adjusting his clothes, he spoke as calmly as ever, “I cleaned them up, just like you asked. They’ll probably never dare to say that kind of filth again. I told them if they so much as opened their mouths to say it one more time, I’d cut their tongues out.”

The casual tone made his words all the more chilling.

‘I only thought about shoving a sweet fist in their mouths and knocking out their teeth, but cutting out their tongues never crossed my mind.’

It was a cruel and violent threat, but I didn’t feel sorry for them.

They had brought it on themselves. If they hadn’t spewed such filthy, degrading insults in the first place, they wouldn’t have been threatened like that. They had earned it, and there was no need to pity them.

“Then that’s good. You said you’d clean them up neatly, and you really did.”

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you? I’m your one and only friend, and if you want it, I’ll always help you.”

“But there were quite a lot of them. Were you alright on your own?”

“More than enough. As proof, here I am in front of you without a single scratch.”

“Ah. True…”

Realizing I had asked a stupid question when the clear proof was right in front of me, I nodded awkwardly.

“But how exactly did you deal with them?”

“……”

“Did you duel them with magic, like you did with me? Or did you fight with a sword?”

If it had been a shootout, he wouldn’t have come out of it so clean, so I voiced the possibilities I could think of. But Ruad’s expression didn’t look good.

He clearly didn’t want to explain the exact method he had used to deal with them.

“That’s… well. You don’t need to know that much, Lucy. Even if I told you… you wouldn’t enjoy hearing it. It would scare you.”

“But they called me a whore who spreads her legs for professors. I need to know how you avenged me to feel at ease, don’t I?”

At my reasonable protest, Ruad frowned and let out a low groan, looking troubled as if he couldn’t find a proper excuse. He was clearly hesitating, unsure whether to tell me or not.

I pressed him. “Ruad. Come on. I want to know. If I don’t know exactly what happened to them, I won’t be able to sleep well at night.”

“…Fine. I’ll tell you, Lucy. But only within the range of what I can say. I’ll tell you about the one I dealt with the most mildly. As for the rest… I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“Alright. Go on, tell me.”

Having finally succeeded in breaking Ruad’s resolve, I eagerly prepared myself to listen.

Ruad, slightly burdened by the sparkle of focus in my eyes, nonetheless began to recount what had happened outside the library.

“First, I strangled him by the neck, and with my other hand I kept punching his face until he passed out…”

“……?”

At his first words, a huge question mark appeared on my face.

‘Didn’t he just say this was the mildest way he handled them?’

Yet he had already admitted to strangling him and beating his face until he blacked out.

And judging by the fact that his sentence didn’t even end there, it was obvious that it wasn’t the end of it.

It meant there was worse to come.

Seeing my shocked expression, Ruad dropped his gaze with a sullen face.

“…I told you, you’d be scared.”

I didn’t know if he meant I’d be scared of the way he dealt with them, or scared of Ruad himself for doing it, but either way, it was definitely a shocking statement.

Still…

“It’s not so much scary as surprising. I thought you just roughed them up a little, but I didn’t expect strangling and beating them until they passed out.”

“……”

“But honestly, it’s refreshing too.”

At those words, Ruad, who had been sinking into gloom with his lips drooping and his gaze downcast, suddenly raised his head.

The blood-red eyes that looked at me sparkled as if they had just found hope.

It felt like the Ruad I knew had finally returned, and I stifled a laugh as I said, “I wanted to deal with that bastard like that too.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you about something like this?”

Seemingly convinced by my answer, Ruad let out a faint smile. It seemed like a smile that slipped out unconsciously.

“Well, that’s a relief, but…”

“So what happened after that? Tell me more. I want to hear it.”

With his confidence restored, Ruad no longer refused my request, and told me what had happened outside while I sat waiting for him in the library.

And I listened to his story as if it were a sweet lullaby.