I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 98

Isabella spoke on, a bitter smile lingering at the corner of her lips.

“I’d cling to Lucia Even and never let go. Even I wouldn’t be able to let her go.”

“….”

“So to become that child’s advisor, you’d have to pull Karl Evenhart down from his position. But if you do that, your standing in academic circles will become extremely unfavorable. No matter how you look at it, it’d mean reporting a colleague.”

Isabella stopped there and fell silent for a moment. Then, quite rarely for her, deep regret and remorse spread across her face.

“If only I were a little healthier, if only I were confident I could hold on until that child graduated. If that were the case, I could’ve protected her from Karl Evenhart no matter what. That’s what I regret most.”

Jeran, who had been listening quietly to Isabella’s words, asked carefully, “It seems you were willing to take the risk and make Lucia Even your disciple, Professor Cornell. Then why are you telling me to be careful of her?”

“….”

“I could protect Lucia Even in your place.”

At that question, Isabella’s expression and gaze changed instantly. It was as if he’d touched on the most important and central point of the conversation, her eyes sharpening.

After a brief pause, she opened her mouth.

“That’s because you’re… kindly put, naive, and unkindly put, you don’t know anything.”

“….”

“You lack the know-how and the experience to protect that child. Rather than stepping in clumsily, it’s far better to live on without knowing anything, just as you are now. For your sake, and for Lucia Even’s sake.”

She then warned him earnestly.

“Don’t be too drawn to that child’s dazzling talent. We love and revere the sun, but the moment we try to draw too close to it, we burn. It’s the same principle.”

“….”

“So no matter how radiant and beautiful that child’s talent is, don’t approach her. Unless you’re prepared to devote everything you have and take responsibility for all of her, or for her entire life.”

“….”

“Do you understand?”

Jeran couldn’t understand her words at all.

When it came to magic or research, he understood immediately, but now, grasping her meaning was difficult. It felt like the riddle his mentor had once handed to him.

However, the intense energy in Isabella’s eyes as she looked at him allowed only one possible answer.

“…I understand, Professor.”

***

Spring, still lingering with the chill of winter.

Green leaves sprouted on the dry branches outside the window, and even in the cold, flower buds began to swell as the season arrived.

As the seasons changed, the laboratory too had taken on a far cleaner and more presentable appearance than when Jeran had first arrived, now properly resembling a research lab.

The boxes that had been scattered messily across the floor were gone, and books were neatly lined up on the once-empty shelves.

On the absurdly large desk, the paper, pens, and ink he used most often were arranged side by side, and to one side, books he’d referenced while preparing for lectures were stacked high.

On the rectangular table meant for receiving guests, he’d arranged various kinds of tea he’d collected, simply to fill the emptiness since there was nothing else suitable to place there.

Standing in his own space, which had finally come to look like a proper laboratory, Jeran wore a face more serious than ever.

It was because he was tense at the fact that he would soon be entering a classroom for the first time, not as a student, but as a professor.

His heart was pounding so hard it felt as though it would leap out the moment he opened his mouth, and sweat kept forming on his palms.

He rubbed his palms against the fabric of his clothes to wipe the sweat away, but the sweat glands opened by tension showed no sign of closing.

“Haah.”

‘I need to head to the lecture hall to teach now, but my feet won’t move easily.’

Jeran let out a deep sigh and pressed his parched lips together, then parted them again.

Before his eyes were the lecture materials he’d prepared little by little in between organizing the laboratory, along with the attendance register listing the names of the students enrolled in his class.

He’d prepared as diligently as he could in his own way, but since it was something he’d never done before, it was hard to steel his resolve.

Even so, it wasn’t as though he could stay holed up in the laboratory forever.

‘I knew from the start that I was lacking, and even so, the reason I accepted the professorship wasn’t to prove my excellence in front of students, but to help them.’

Jeran recalled the vow he’d made at the beginning and steadied his heart. As he did, he felt the tension gradually ease.

Having finally hardened his resolve, Jeran tucked the prepared materials and attendance register under his arm, left the laboratory, and headed for the lecture hall.

The class Jeran would be teaching was Basic Design of Large Scale Magic Circles, and it was closely related to his major and research field.

Moreover, security and barrier magic, which the Empire had recently begun to support wholeheartedly, also fell under the category of large-scale magic circles, so even though he was a professor with an unfamiliar name, he thought there wouldn’t be too few students applying for the class.

However, there were more students enrolled than he’d expected. As a result, he felt an unexpectedly heavy sense of burden and pressure all at once.

And as if to further add to that burden and pressure, he discovered a familiar name among the students enrolled in his class.

Lucia Even.

‘Is this the Lucia Even Professor Cornell mentioned….’

The moment he saw the name, Jeran’s heart grew indescribably complicated.

He had encountered her immediately after hearing Isabella’s warning to be cautious of her talent, to be wary of it, and not to draw close.

Should he call this coincidence, or fate….

In this difficult-to-define connection that led him to meet Lucia Even, Jeran’s feelings were, to be honest, split down the middle.

Half of him was afraid, and half of him was curious.

The conversation he’d had with Isabella still didn’t make sense, and he couldn’t grasp its meaning.

Even so, one thing was certain. Lucia Even was someone he needed to be cautious of and keep his distance from, so that he wouldn’t be captivated by her exceptional talent.

He was afraid that despite Isabella’s advice, he would be drawn in by Lucia Even’s talent.

Yet at the same time, just as with all taboos that tell you not to do something, curiosity arose, making him want to see Lucia Even’s talent with his own eyes.

He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of talent it was, one that had made even Isabella fall for it at first sight.

‘We’ll meet soon enough anyway. I’ll find out when I see it.’

Whether he would be captivated by her talent, or not.

Jeran stopped his steps and slowly entered the lecture hall where he would be teaching.

The moment he entered the lecture hall, the murmuring voices of the students that had been heard beyond the door vanished at once, and they all returned to their assigned seats in unison.

Jeran quietly closed the lecture hall door and stepped up onto the podium, feeling the students’ gazes fixed on him.

After setting down the attendance register and lecture materials he’d been holding at his side, he swept his eyes broadly across the lecture hall once.

He’d already felt it when he checked the attendance register, but more students than he’d expected were all staring at him.

The tension that had briefly settled seemed to rise again, but when he saw the looks being sent his way, filled with a desire to learn and a serious attitude, it instead made him resolve to teach them properly.

Jeran let a faint smile settle on his lips and opened his mouth.

“Hello. I’m Professor Jeran Ennessy, and I’ll be in charge of the 〈Basic Design of Large Scale Magic Circles〉 course this semester.”

“….”

“Before we begin the lesson in earnest, I’ll take attendance first.”

Perhaps because it was a line he’d practiced and prepared many times, his voice came out more naturally than he’d expected.

Jeran picked up the pen he’d prepared in advance, opened the attendance register, and began calling out the names one by one.

Voices of all kinds, high and low, thick and thin, small and loud, answered his call as hands were raised.

And finally, one name caught Jeran’s eye. It was the very name Isabella had warned him to be careful of.

“…Lucia Even.”

“Yes.”

At the cool, clear voice, Jeran lifted his head from the attendance register and turned his gaze toward where the sound had come from.

A student sitting in the corner of the lecture hall had raised her hand and was looking at him.

This was the moment Jeran saw Lucia Even for the first time.

With brown hair grown down to her waist, she sat with her back straight, looking at him with an expressionless face whose emotions were unreadable.

Her eyes, the same color as her hair, showed no wavering, and her tightly closed lips, combined with her large eyes, gave off an even colder impression.

‘She looks oddly weary and unhappy. Is it because there’s not a trace of a smile on her face?’

That was Jeran’s first impression of Lucia.

Her appearance was more ordinary than he’d expected, without any particularly striking features.

He’d thought that someone said to possess dazzling talent would give off an aura the moment you saw her, but he felt nothing of the sort.

All he confirmed was that she was an unremarkable student, no different from the others.

Contrary to Isabella’s warnings and concerns, Jeran felt perfectly indifferent.

‘Did I expect too much, for better or worse? She’s more bland than I thought.’

As the tension drained away, Jeran withdrew his gaze from Lucia Even and continued checking the attendance register, thinking that Isabella must’ve been worrying unnecessarily.

Whatever kind of talent Lucia Even possessed, he was certain he would never be drawn to her.

It was, in truth, an arrogant certainty.