I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 95

‘Phew. Thank goodness. That person didn’t disappear.’

I let out a deep sigh of relief inwardly.

Every time a researcher succeeded, the researcher disappeared, which was truly a problem. But at the same time, my feelings were complicated.

The fact that he’d lived a long life and remained here to leave behind his writings ultimately meant that he had failed, in the end, at dimensional transfer, that is, his research.

‘If you succeed, you disappear, and if you stay behind, you’ve failed.’

I thought it was a rather ironic field of study. The fact that only those who failed in their research could remain here and continue studying dimensional transfer magic.

“Perhaps if you spend a bit more money, you’d be able to obtain books that organize the various debates that arose over Galore Jamis’s memoir as well.”

“How much would it take to obtain everything?”

Jeran seemed to ponder for a moment, then answered, “Well. If they were put up for auction, I imagine you’d need around three to four million gold. If you’re lucky enough to find them at an antiquarian bookshop, it’d probably cost less than that.”

“Three to four million….”

It was a price that made one gasp out loud. It was an amount I’d never once imagined spending on books in my life.

‘That’s almost the price of buying a luxury bag.’

It seemed that because they were practically antiques, the price had risen that high.

‘Well, Galore Jamis was said to be an ancient wizard who lived a long time ago.’

Even without knowing much about antiques, it was obvious that obtaining books or documents written later about eras like the Three Kingdoms period or Gojoseon would require a considerable amount of money.

‘Still, I’m glad it’s an amount I can somehow manage with the money I have.’

It was more expensive than I’d expected, but I still had the money I’d received when I signed the contract with Evan. Even though I’d spent some of it buying pasta at the restaurant a few times, I could still easily pay three to four million gold.

‘It feels a bit wasteful to suddenly spend such a large sum, but it’s not like I have any other use for the money if I keep it.’

If I really wanted to, I could travel somewhere during vacation, but I still hadn’t filled the capture targets’ affection meters.

Once the next semester began, I’d be busy finishing my thesis, so I needed to diligently build relationships during the vacation.

In the end, there was no need to hold onto the money, and spending it wouldn’t cause any particular problems.

‘Good thing Evan added another five million gold on top of the ten million when we made the contract. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to get the books even if I wanted to.’

Thinking of Evan made my chest stir with emotions that were difficult to put into words once again, but I forced myself to compose my expression and rein in my feelings.

Seeing this, Jeran seemed to think that my stiff expression was due to worry over not having enough money to pay, and he cautiously spoke.

“Don’t worry too much, Miss Even. I have no intention of making you pay that amount.”

“Yes…?”

Pulled out of my thoughts, it took me a beat longer to understand what he was saying.

Feeling both puzzled and surprised, I blinked and asked, “…Professor, are you saying you’ll buy those books for me?”

“….”

Jeran didn’t answer, but judging by the deepening smile on his face, it was as good as an affirmative response.

Grateful for his consideration yet also surprised and flustered, I asked again, “Even for a professor, that’s not a small amount. And you’re saying you’ll buy them for me?”

At that, Jeran answered immediately, without a moment’s hesitation, “Yes. They’re books you need in order to continue your research, Miss Even. Helping you carry out your research more smoothly is also part of my role. So you don’t need to worry too much about the cost.”

I realized then that there was something I’d briefly forgotten about him.

That in the past, Jeran had already prepared the necessary documents and money and waited, saying he would become my patron in case I couldn’t secure the tuition.

‘If I stay like this, I’ll end up accepting books worth four million gold without even realizing it.’

I hurriedly cleared up his misunderstanding.

“No, Professor. I’m fine. I have more than enough money to buy the books. You don’t need to buy them for me. I can purchase them with my own money.”

“But your expression earlier….”

“That was just… because there was something else I needed to think about. It’s absolutely not because I’m short on money, so you really don’t need to worry. Still, thank you for being considerate.”

“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”

Having safely cleared up the misunderstanding, Jeran said that with a gentle smile. There was a deep sense of relief in his voice.

It seemed he’d genuinely been worried that I might be short on money to buy the books.

Once the conversation settled, Jeran shifted the topic.

“Since vacation is coming up soon and I’ll have some free time as well, I’ll help you look for the books. It’d be difficult to enter auctions and go around antiquarian bookshops on your own, after all. This much should be all right, shouldn’t it?”

I’d already been at a loss over how to obtain the books, so it was a good thing that Jeran would help directly.

I’d never participated in an auction in my life, so having someone experienced by my side would be reassuring. Going around antiquarian bookshops searching for books one by one would also be too much to handle alone.

It also felt less burdensome than accepting money directly.

I decided to accept his offer.

“…Yes. That should be fine. Thank you for taking the time to help me even though you must be busy, Professor. I haven’t really done much for you….”

“I didn’t bring it up to hear something like that. I’m doing this simply because I want to do so for you, Miss Even. So don’t feel too burdened.”

Jeran gave a gentle smile and immediately set up a plan.

“I’ll contact you when there’s an auction that lines up well. If the timing doesn’t work or something comes up, there’ll be other auctions as well, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Ah. Understood. Then I’ll wait for your contact.”

I thought the conversation was about to wrap up, but Jeran suddenly seemed to remember something he wanted to say and added, “Ah, and you did a great job on your presentation today.”

His bright smile spread warmth through my chest.

Even though I’d grown quite close to Jeran in various ways since possessing Lucia’s body, I still wasn’t used to being praised by him.

It felt strange enough to make my body twist awkwardly, but it wasn’t as though his praise was unpleasant, so as always, all I could do was smile shyly and manage a brief response.

“…Thank you.”

***

After all the morning presentations ended and everyone had lunch, the afternoon presentations followed.

I’d heard that there weren’t many people researching dimensional transfer magic, but perhaps they’d gathered all of those few people for this conference, because there were quite a number of presenters.

I sat in my seat and pretended to listen diligently to their presentations, and as time passed, the conference finally came to an end.

Everyone in the lecture hall rose from their seats all at once, gathered up their belongings, and headed outside.

I followed them, packed the things I’d brought into my bag, and left the lecture hall together with Jeran.

It felt like we’d arrived at the lecture hall quite early in the morning, but before I knew it, the sun outside was already sinking low.

‘Phew, I’ve finally gotten over one huge hurdle…!’

Looking up at the sunset sky, I felt a refreshing sense of release.

The presentation I’d truly hated and that had always weighed heavily on my chest had finally ended.

Free from that pressure, I couldn’t believe how light my mood felt.

Even the sky, which had looked gray and overcast just that morning, now seemed incomparably beautiful.

‘If Jeran weren’t beside me, I’d be tap dancing right here.’

Still, I did have my dignity, so after parting ways with Jeran, I planned to return to the dormitory and fully enjoy today’s sense of liberation.

Hiding my cheerful mood and trying not to look overly excited, I walked alongside Jeran when he suddenly asked me, “How was the conference today?”

“In many ways, it was a very good experience. There were a lot of things worth learning, and it made me think I should devote myself to my research even more.”

In truth, I couldn’t remember a single presentation or what anyone had talked about, but I answered in a reasonably convincing way. At that, a look of satisfaction appeared on Jeran’s face.

“That’s a relief. If you keep expanding your connections like this, good opportunities will come to you as well, Miss Even. It’s a shame that since you’re preparing for graduation right now, I can’t support you more actively.”

Jeran said that out of genuine goodwill, wanting to help me, but to me, it was something frightening to hear.

‘If I weren’t about to graduate, I probably would’ve had to attend every single conference out there.’

Just imagining it made my head hurt. I felt incredibly lucky that this game had started right before graduation.

However, I couldn’t say something like that to my advisor, so I simply smiled and reassured him that I was fine.

“By the way, nothing unusual happened in the meantime, did it? Even if it’s just a rumor, you’re in a position where you’re being exploited, Miss Even, so I was worried you might’ve heard something unpleasant.”

“No. Nothing in particular happened. I didn’t see anyone saying anything nasty either.”

Every time I went to the library, Ruad stood openly by my side protecting me, so there was no one reckless enough to say something strange in front of me.

As for hearing comments about whether I’d slept with a professor, I’d already heard those even before rumors about Jeran and me had started, so it didn’t bother me much.

‘People are going to gossip however they want anyway. If I lived my life worrying about every little thing like that, I’d die of stress before I even finished my thesis. As long as it doesn’t reach my ears, it’s fine.’

Of course, if it did reach my ears, I’d fight like a dog and rip the bastard apart.

But ever since that incident in front of the library, nothing like that had happened again.

What I was worried about instead was Jeran.