I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 61

“I think you already know what kind of rumors are going around the academy about you and me, Miss Even.”

‘…? What kind of rumors are going around about me and Professor?’

I knew there were rumors about me and Ruad. But as for rumors about me and Jeran Ennessy, I had absolutely no idea. This was the first time I was even hearing that such a thing existed.

One thing was certain, though. There were no good rumors when it came to me.

Jeran Ennessy seemed to take my stiff face as a sign that I was listening attentively, and he continued in a calm voice.

“I accepted you as my disciple because of your magic skills and potential, but to others, it seems I took you on for no reason, out of the blue. Maybe that’s why they’re misunderstanding the relationship between us in a rather unpleasant way.”

“….”

“Perhaps because I’ve never had a disciple before you, the rumors have grown bigger and more sensational. From what I’ve heard, about half of them are already being treated as facts. If I had had one or two other disciples besides you, things might have been better.”

“….”

“It was only that there was no student I wanted to take in and guide as a protégé, and I never thought it would come back in a way that would hurt you. In that regard, as your mentor and teacher, I feel sorry.”

Jeran Ennessy gave me an apologetic smile. His light green eyes looking at me were filled with pity and remorse.

I knew that in this situation, the polite response would be to say that it was all right and thank him for worrying about me, but I just couldn’t get the words out.

My head was a mess because I had no idea how things had come to this, and on top of that, I was stunned and flustered by the fact that my advisor was apologizing to me, something I had never even imagined.

Jeran Ennessy did not seem to be expecting an answer from me, and he finally got to the point.

“If these rumors continue, I think the one put at a disadvantage in this situation will be you, Miss Even. It will be easier for them to point their arrows at you than at me.”

“….”

“So I thought of several ways to break through this situation, and it seems I need to turn the reason I took you as my disciple into something they can accept.”

“…?”

“I know you might be disappointed in me, but I don’t think it would be very effective if I tried to explain the rumors head-on. There was no other way.”

With that, Jeran Ennessy took a square paper envelope out of his desk drawer and handed it to me.

The envelope was neatly sealed so that I could not check the contents on the spot. It was quite thin, as if there were not many sheets of paper inside.

“Once you go home and check what’s inside, you’ll know what I’m trying to propose to you. After you look through it carefully, just send a letter to my lab.”

“….”

“The deadline is one week. If your letter arrives within a week, I’ll take it as you agreeing to the proposal, and if I receive no letter, I’ll take it as a refusal.”

“….”

“Let me say again, I’m not forcing this on you. If you want to, you can do it, and if you don’t, you don’t have to. Your life will not change because of your answer this time.”

I had quietly been listening to him all this time when I finally spoke up with a short question. I still hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but there was one thing I was sure of.

“…Even so, if I refuse, won’t it cause trouble not only for me but for you too, Professor?”

When I asked, Jeran Ennessy gave a small smile as if admitting it. Maybe he liked that I was worried about him, because he even looked a little pleased.

But soon after, he looked at me with a very adult expression. For some reason, I felt like a child being protected by him.

“It’s all right. You don’t need to worry that far, Miss Even.”

“But….”

“I told you just a moment ago that nothing will change even if you don’t accept my proposal, didn’t I?”

“….”

“I meant it. Whether you refuse or agree to the proposal, nothing in your life will change. Even if you refuse, I’ll take care of the rumors going around on my own.”

When I still wore a worried face, my expression sulky with disbelief, Jeran Ennessy gave me a gentle smile as if to soothe me.

“Miss Even. You’re a student, and I’m a professor. A student doesn’t need to look after a professor’s circumstances.”

“….”

“So don’t worry about me and just freely do what you want to do. I took you as my disciple so that you could do that.”

He smiled softly at me again to put me at ease, and only then did he give a gentle dismissal as if his business with me was all done.

“You worked hard preparing for the presentation. I was so busy today that I couldn’t even prepare tea, so we didn’t get to sit and talk at leisure. Next time we meet, I’ll make sure to have it ready.”

“….”

“You must be busy with many things, and I’m sorry I kept you so long. Then I’ll see you again next time.”

“Ah… yes. Um, thank you for taking the time to look over the materials I prepared today, even though you must be busy. I’ll read the book you gave me as a gift as well. Then I’ll be going.”

In a daze, I bowed my head in farewell, almost pushed along by the flow, and left his lab.

***

‘What on earth is going on?’

After leaving Jeran Ennessy’s lab, I walked down the hallway, where a strange stillness had settled, lost in thought.

Just now in the lab, I had heard a lot of things that I didn’t know, but that he assumed I already knew, and all of it was jumbled together in my head so I couldn’t organize it properly.

I had this unpleasant feeling that something huge was happening with me at the center of it, but I, the person directly involved, was the only one who didn’t know the truth.

‘I thought I was just going to have him check the materials for my conference presentation today. I had no idea something like this would be waiting for me.’

On top of that, what I had been endlessly worried about, being threshed by Jeran Ennessy like grain in a thresher and despised for being ignorant, didn’t even happen. No, at this point, that worry had been completely pushed to the back of my mind.

What I was most concerned about now was the contents of the paper envelope he had handed me.

I didn’t know what was going on, but I was sure that once I checked that, I would naturally understand the meaning of the puzzling things Jeran Ennessy had said to me.

‘I’m glad I didn’t make plans to meet Ruad this evening. It would have been a disaster if we had met.’

Meeting Ruad to seek comfort with my mind this troubled and tangled would not have been appropriate. Even if we had met, I probably wouldn’t have been able to focus on him properly.

‘Well, once we actually started, I probably would have ended up enjoying it….’

Even so, it was obvious that the contents of the envelope would keep bothering me and my thoughts would keep drifting elsewhere. And with his sharp and keen powers of observation, Ruad would have ended up interrogating me, if not outright, then something close to it.

‘I’m really glad I didn’t make any plans with Ruad.’

Admiring my own choice, I quickly hurried toward the dormitory.

As soon as I arrived at the dormitory and locked the door, I set the books and materials I had been holding in my arms down on the desk, picked up the paper envelope, and sat down at the round table.

I didn’t have the time or room to take off my coat and put it away.

I immediately tore open the neatly sealed paper envelope and checked its contents.

Of the handful of sheets of paper, on the first page, at the very top, a large title was written on a single line.

[Survey Form]

“…? Why a survey form all of a sudden?”

Puzzled, I read the next line, and before I knew it, my eyes widened, my eyebrows creased sharply, and wrinkles formed between them.

And with a serious face, I blinked a couple of times.

“?”

‘What did I just see?’

I definitely read the sentence, but it felt like it bounced off in front of my eyes before it could even reach my brain.

Convinced that something was clearly wrong with my eyes, I picked up the paper again and carefully read the question written on it.

[Q. I feel a strange sensation when I kiss someone.

1. Not at all.
2. No.
3. Neutral.
4. Yes.
5. Very much so.]

The format of the survey itself was ordinary, and dividing responses into five choices according to degree was normal too. But the question was anything but normal.

In my life, I had never seen or heard of a survey like this.

And on top of that, this wasn’t from someone else but from Jeran Ennessy, something that came from the paper envelope he had personally handed me not even an hour ago.

No matter how I looked at it, it could only have been prepared by Jeran Ennessy, but no matter how many times I read it, there was no way I could believe that he had written something like this.

‘What is this? Is the world playing some kind of trick on me?’

Sitting alone in my room, staring at the words written on the pure white paper, I fell into confusion, and then a quest appeared in front of my eyes, shining brightly.

[Quest: Complete Jeran Ennessy’s survey form and submit it within the deadline. (Deadline: 6 days 23 hours) (0/1)]

It had been a long time since I last saw the status window, but I didn’t feel happy at all. All it told me was that I couldn’t refuse this ridiculous survey and that I absolutely had to comply.

Wondering if only the first question was strange, I checked the others, but the rest were even more outrageous.

[Q. I enjoy a somewhat coercive atmosphere during intimacy.]

[Q. I find it pleasing to have my free movement restricted by restraints such as ropes or handcuffs.]

[Q. I tend to feel a strange sensation when I’m scolded or reprimanded by someone.]

‘It’s basically a full reveal of the kinks I’ve kept hidden.’

Until now, I had lived as a not‑very‑diligent but otherwise normal graduate student. And suddenly, I had to reveal all my hidden kinks to a professor in a game?

There were some questions that had a sweeter feeling to them as well.

Whether I felt good hearing someone tell me they loved me on the bed, whether I liked it when my partner paid close attention to my feelings, whether I preferred them to stop exactly when I said stop, and so on.

If I wanted, I could lie and write something half‑made‑up, but for some reason, I really didn’t want to.

‘He wouldn’t be making me do this for no reason. Once he takes this and analyzes it, he’s absolutely going to use it on me later. And having sex that isn’t to my taste is just….’

And for that kind of caring and affectionate play, doing it with Ruad was more than enough.

Though calling it caring and affectionate was a bit much considering the slightly perverted side he couldn’t hide.

“…Hang on.”

Suddenly, I felt like I had passed over something important, and I fell silent, deep in thought.