I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 92

“Exactly three months. If you wait just three months, this abandoned mine will bring you a great deal of money. I’ve already invested quite a lot into it myself.”

“How much have you put in?”

Evan quietly stated the amount. Karl Evenhart’s eyes widened. It looked as if his jaw might drop to the floor.

“…You put in that much? Just how does an abandoned mine like this make money?”

Karl Evenhart, who had been doubting the materials Evan handed him just moments ago, began to show interest. That was because Evan had named an amount that would be difficult to invest lightly even for a noble.

Of course, even that amount was a lie.

Evan wiped the smile from his face and explained with grave seriousness, “It’s called an abandoned mine, but in truth, there’s a valuable mineral sleeping inside.”

“What kind of mineral?”

“A mineral called Moon Shadow Stone.”

“…I’ve never heard of it.”

“That’s only natural. There are very few people who know of its existence. Aside from me, maybe one or two others at most. It was named only very recently.”

“Hmm.”

Karl Evenhart leaned back against the sofa and let out a low murmur. His expression was filled with hesitation, but his ears were already open.

Evan began persuading him in earnest. Just like he was holding an investment briefing.

“As I mentioned before, the essence of investment is entering when people don’t know the value and the price is low. And Moon Shadow Stone fits that condition perfectly.”

“…What kind of value does this Moon Shadow Stone even have? From the name, it doesn’t sound like a gemstone.”

“It’s not a gemstone. But it can make gemstones.”

“What?”

Karl Evenhart asked back in shock. Evan responded with a confident smile.

“By mixing this mineral with various materials, it’s possible to create a wide range of gemstones. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and even diamonds.”

“Is that really true?”

“It is. You simply need to process it by mixing Moon Shadow Stone with other materials. I’ve already hired five alchemists and completed the formula ratios needed to process gemstones.”

“….”

“There’s something I made as a test. Would you like to take a look?”

Evan took out an emerald that hadn’t yet gone through processing and handed it to him. Karl Evenhart hastily accepted the gemstone and examined its color.

“This is definitely… an emerald. And a high grade one.”

“….”

Evan smiled silently. It was a smile brimming with trust.

Clutching the emerald tightly in his hand, Karl Evenhart asked. There was no trace left in his eyes of doubting Evan. His suspicion had been completely wiped away by greed.

Feeling that he was one step closer to Lucia, Evan calmly opened his mouth.

“As you know, abandoned mines are publicly known to be unprofitable, so there’s no one who wants to buy them. They can be acquired at a low price. On the other hand, the money gained from mining the Moon Shadow Stone sleeping inside will be dozens of times greater.”

“….”

“Of course, there’ll be some expense in hiring people, but when you can freely create high-grade gemstones, that level of investment is nothing. You could practically control the gemstone market of the entire Empire.”

Toward Karl Evenhart, who had grown markedly quiet, Evan drove the final nail in with a gentle smile covering his face.

“If you have doubts, you don’t need to decide right now. This is merely a personal investment of mine, after all. Just because I’m investing doesn’t mean you must follow and invest as well.”

“….”

“Please go back and examine the documents I gave you carefully. And I’ll also give you the emerald I made.”

“….”

“Then, if you change your mind, please contact me. I’ll be waiting anytime.”

A few days later, Karl Evenhart signed a document stating that he would invest his entire fortune into the abandoned mine.

***

“You seem to be in a good mood, boss.”

The usually quiet, taciturn manager spoke politely while wiping a wine glass with a dry cloth.

Evan, who had been humming to himself while looking over the shop and checking documents, stopped humming and lifted his head to look at him. His face showed that he didn’t understand why the manager was suddenly saying such a thing.

At that, the manager added a brief explanation.

“Ah, you’ve been humming for a while now.”

“….”

“Did something good happen?”

“Something good….”

Evan set the documents down and silently gazed outside the shop, at the scenery visible beyond the glass window.

When Bell Restaurant had first opened, it had been the height of spring, with flowers in full bloom, but before he knew it, cold and lonely winter had quickly arrived.

The roadside trees stood enduring the cold wind in silence, having lost both their leaves and their vitality, and the once lively streets had lost their dazzling colors and become desolate.

With the students who had filled the campus leaving for their respective homes for vacation, it felt even quieter and lonelier.

It wasn’t a scene that would normally inspire happiness, but Evan was different.

The long and arduous curtain of revenge was just about to rise. There was no way he wouldn’t be happy.

Evan said with a faint smile resting at the corner of his lips, “There is something good. Or rather, I should say that good news will be coming very soon.”

“…?”

The manager looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if asking what on earth that meant, but Evan simply smiled and shook his head.

“If you wait, you’ll understand what I mean.”

Evan chuckled quietly, like a child who had secretly played a prank behind the adults’ backs. It was the happiest expression the manager had ever seen on his face.

Thinking that even if he pressed further, Evan didn’t seem likely to explain, the manager was about to return to his work when Evan suddenly muttered,

“…It seems he really can’t be a gentleman after all.”

“Pardon? What did you just say….”

Before the manager could finish speaking, someone strode toward the shop, roughly yanked the door open, and barged inside.

The man who stormed into the shop like an enraged bull was none other than Karl Evenhart.

With a haggard appearance reeking of deep fatigue, he panted heavily as he glared around the shop.

“Ah, um, I’m sorry, but we’re not open yet.”

“We open at ten, so please wait just a little while.”

Startled by the sudden appearance of a customer, the staff rushed over to stop Karl Evenhart, but he ignored them completely.

Then, the moment his eyes met Evan’s, Karl Evenhart’s eyes flashed ominously.

He immediately brushed aside the staff who were trying to restrain him and strode straight toward Evan, who was standing near the kitchen, grabbing him by the collar.

Everyone inside the shop sucked in a sharp breath in shock.

Only Evan remained calm.

Karl Evenhart shook Evan by the collar, his eyes blazing, and roared, “You damn commoner bastard! How dare you deceive me?!”

At the thunderous roar that shook the entire shop, the staff froze, holding their breath. It seemed like they should intervene, but the man’s overwhelming ferocity made it frightening to approach.

Reading the atmosphere, Evan gestured toward the hesitant staff, signaling them to stay back.

Karl Evenhart poured out his deep rage and sense of betrayal toward Evan.

“It wasn’t just my entire fortune, my title is gone too! Because you egged me on to invest in that trashy abandoned mine!”

“….”

“What I have left now is massive debt and nothing of value at all, just a lump of scrap metal that’s not Moon Shadow Stone or anything! This is all because of you!”

Karl Evenhart shook Evan by the collar again in outrage. Evan looked down at Karl Evenhart silently.

“What are you going to do now! How are you going to compensate me for everything I’ve lost!”

“…Why should I compensate you?”

Evan, who had silently endured his rage until now, asked indifferently. At that, Karl Evenhart’s face, twisted with fury, was colored with disbelief.

“…What?”

“I asked why I should compensate you, Karl Evenhart.”

As he said that, Evan grabbed the man’s hand clutching his collar and pulled it down. Karl Evenhart’s hand fell limply.

Evan brushed off the spot his hand had touched with a few sharp pats, straightened his rumpled shirt, and then opened his mouth.

“Did I force you to invest? Or did I threaten to kill you if you didn’t invest in the mine?”

“….”

“I merely suggested a suitable investment opportunity to you, Karl Evenhart, and this time it simply didn’t work out. That isn’t my fault.”

“…Have you finished talking?”

Karl Evenhart, his blood boiling, glared fiercely at Evan and threatened him. It looked like he might strike him at any moment, but it didn’t even register as a threat to Evan.

“Before I truly started making money and my name began circulating among people, where do you think I worked, Karl Evenhart?”

Evan placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered with a cold sneer curling at the corner of his lips.

“Do you think someone like me, who’s rolled around at the very bottom over and over, would be frightened just because you glare at me like that?”

“….”

“I’m not like the servants you order around with a flick of your chin. I’m not one of those who laughs and cries at your whims and caters to your temper. Do you understand?”

At the chilling sensation, like the fangs of a great beast brushing past his ear, Karl Evenhart sucked in a breath, frozen stiff with fear.