I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 45

“Running into you here again, what a coincidence. I thought I wouldn’t see you again after that time.”

Of course, that was a lie.

Ruad had already figured out which classes Lucia Even had registered for this semester, and he’d chosen three suitable ones among them to sign up for himself.

Though they were in different years, Calypse Academy didn’t impose restrictions based on grade level when registering for courses.

Even if a first-year took a second-year class, there was no problem.

Ruad knew he would inevitably run into Lucia again. It was a fated encounter disguised as coincidence.

Lucia Even would probably never know that for the rest of her life.

“You were studying so hard in the library. Did you eat something after I left?”

“….”

“Honestly, I spent my whole meal waiting for you to show up. When you didn’t, I felt kind of disappointed and lonely. Didn’t you think of me at all?”

At his gently posed, affectionate question, Lucia stared straight into his face. Her gaze carried a sense of distance, as if she were looking at a peculiar stranger.

Even so, she didn’t leave his question unanswered.

“I didn’t.”

That didn’t mean her words were kind.

“…I see. I… guess so.”

It was a merciless way of speaking that crushed his will to continue the conversation, but Ruad still tried to keep it going somehow.

“You ate, right? Studying is fine, but skipping meals isn’t good for your health.”

“I don’t know why you care about that, but I’m fine. Don’t bother.”

“….”

The conversation he’d forced open was coldly shut again.

Ruad frowned before he realized it at how difficult things were going.

He had expected her to be a tough one ever since their first meeting, but he hadn’t thought it would be this bad.

On top of that, even if he wanted to bring up another topic, on the surface this was only their second meeting. There wasn’t much he could pull out as new conversation.

‘Damn, this is driving me crazy….’

Just when he was anxiously tapping his foot at the dead silence, he noticed Lucia’s desk was strangely empty.

Unlike when he saw her in the library, there was no ink, no pen, no paper. She was just sitting there with nothing in front of her.

This class didn’t require separate textbooks, but even so, her desk was far too bare.

Seizing on this miracle of a new topic, Ruad eagerly spoke up.

“By the way, why didn’t you bring anything today? The professor for this class is strict, we’ll be diving straight into the material on the first day.”

“….”

“Want me to lend you some paper and a pen?”

Affection usually started with small acts of kindness.

Though Ruad hated it when others touched his belongings, he was also the type who’d stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

That small sacrifice was something he could endure.

The moment Lucia nodded, he resolved to lend her the best he had on him to win her favor… only for his hopes to shatter immediately.

“No, I’m fine. I don’t take notes in class anyway. You should use your paper and pen.”

“…? You don’t take notes?”

Ruad furrowed his brow, doubting what he’d just heard.

She’d been studying so hard in the library that she nearly emptied an entire bottle of ink, yet she didn’t take notes in class? It made no sense.

Calypse Magic Academy’s classes weren’t so simple that you could follow along without taking notes. Even he, who usually hated writing things down, had to pick up a pen.

‘Or does she just not pay attention in class? Because she thinks it’s beneath her?’

But Calypse Magic Academy wasn’t mediocre enough for anyone to look down on.

As if reading his confusion, Lucia said, “I just… don’t need to take notes. I remember everything from class even without writing it down.”

“You remember everything from class?”

“….”

“How is that even possible?”

Ruad couldn’t believe it, so he asked again.

It wasn’t like she was only attending one or two lectures. She took five or six courses, yet she claimed to remember them all without ever writing a single word down. That was impossible unless she used magic.

But Lucia’s overly calm expression made it feel even stranger.

“I just did it enough, and it started working.”

‘That’s not something you just “do enough” and it happens, that’s why I’m asking.’

“Anyway, I go over the lessons every day and organize them afterward. Remembering them for a day or two is more than possible.”

“….”

“Did that clear up your curiosity?”

No. Not in the slightest.

“So you’re saying after class you go back to the dorms and organize everything you learned today? Without looking at anything?”

“Yeah.”

“And you can remember it for a day or two?”

“Yeah.”

“Why bother going through all that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just pay attention in class and take notes? That way you wouldn’t have to put in the extra effort later.”

“….”

At his reasonable point, Lucia pressed her lips firmly shut, just like when she had rejected his offer to share a meal last time.

It was clear she knew it was more convenient to take notes in class. Even so, she must have had a reason she insisted on memorizing everything.

Ruad couldn’t imagine what that reason was. What sense could there possibly be in doing something so tedious?

It wasn’t as if she was trying to flaunt her overwhelming genius to those around her.

‘She doesn’t even have friends to flaunt it to, right?’

Or maybe she didn’t have the money to buy pen nibs and ink?

It was a plausible guess, but when he’d seen her in the library before, she had practically abused pen nibs and ink.

‘So why on earth doesn’t she take notes?’

Before he could solve the mystery of the academy’s top student and her bizarre study method, the professor appeared in the lecture hall with a thick book tucked under his arm.

In the end, Ruad had no choice but to set aside his questions for the day and listen to the lecture.

***

The mystery surrounding Lucia was solved a few days later.

That day too, Ruad was attending one of the classes he’d signed up for to follow her, and of course, the seat beside her was his.

It was a class that dragged on for a whole five hours.

It was so unbearably long that he felt like he’d rather die than sit through it, but it was the only one that fit his schedule, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and take it.

The only saving grace was that they didn’t actually lecture nonstop for the full five hours.

People needed bathroom breaks, and even the professor had to give students time to recover their focus.

After about three hours of talking alone at the podium, the professor declared a twenty-minute break and left the room.

A collective sigh of relief swept through the lecture hall, followed by a chorus of voices at just the right volume.

I should close my eyes for a bit, I need to hit the bathroom, I should drink some water, I almost died of boredom…. They were exchanging such trivial remarks.

And Ruad’s voice was mixed in with that trivial chatter.

He turned to Lucia, who sat beside him without the slightest sign of disorder, and asked.

On her desk again today, there was nothing but a single book open to the very page the professor had just lectured on.

“Isn’t this class unbearably boring? Maybe it’s just because we’ve been sitting too long, but even my back hurts.”

“….”

“Oh, wait, do you actually find this class fun, and I just said something unnecessary? If so, sorry.”

“…You don’t need to apologize. I don’t find the class all that interesting either.”

“Then that’s a relief,” Ruad replied with a smile.

His conversation with Lucia was still stiff, and he didn’t feel any closer to her, but at least when he asked questions, she gave answers.

That alone was quite the progress. A pitifully small one, but still.

“Where are you going?” he asked as she suddenly stood up after sitting still so properly.

“Bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. Go ahead. I’ll watch your seat.”

Despite his kind farewell, Lucia left without even a glance in his direction.

In an instant, the seat beside Ruad was empty.

The moment he confirmed she had fully left the lecture hall, Ruad dropped the smile tugging at his lips and returned to his usual face.

A face that looked like life itself was dull and tedious, arrogant and overbearing.

Crossing his legs and tapping one foot idly in the air, Ruad thought to himself with disinterest.

‘Smiling is a lot harder than I thought.’

Still, he couldn’t approach her with his usual temper.

‘If I do, instead of opening her heart, I’ll just get the door slammed in my face, fail to figure out her weakness, and that irritating blemish of being second place overall will keep following me.’

When it came to winning people over, personality was the most important thing. And no matter how he looked at it, his own personality had far too many flaws. To gain her favor, acting was absolutely necessary.

‘So I’m doing well right now.’

In the fable, the traveler’s cloak was removed by the warm sunlight. No matter how much Lucia tried to maintain her icy distance, eventually she’d melt in the warmth.

Even knowing that, Ruad’s impatient temperament kept getting in the way of calm judgment.

‘I hope she melts before midterms, if possible. At least before the semester ends, she needs to fall for me completely so I can take the top spot. If it drags out any longer, it’ll all fall apart.’

As he mulled over these thoughts, he suddenly felt the urge to pee.

‘I said I’d watch her seat.’

But it would only take a moment, and there was still no sign of Lucia returning to the lecture hall.

Besides, the only thing left at her seat was her coat draped over the chair, and there was no one in this academy bold enough to steal his belongings.

With that judgment, Ruad briefly left the lecture hall to use the restroom and then came back.

His body felt lighter as he opened the back door to the lecture hall, but something unfamiliar caught his eye.

At his seat, which should have been completely empty, some bastard was loitering around.