Chapter 118

Chapter 118

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 118“...

Judging by the look of you, it seems you haven't been going hungry anywhere.”

The elderly man clicked his tongue as he watched Ji-yoon run toward him with both arms spread wide.

His pure white Western suit, neatly slicked-back graying hair, and sharp eyes seemed to explain exactly what kind of personality he had.

“...

Grandpa?”

“If you're going to hug me, then hug me. Why are you taking so long?”

He looked down at her with a deeply displeased expression, then lifted Ji-yoon up and placed her on his lap.

“Hehe!”

“Huh, judging by how much heavier you've gotten, it seems you've been growing well.”

“Ji-yoon is heavy?”

“This old man is strong, so it's fine.”

“Grandpa is super strong!”

A sight I never could have imagined was unfolding before my eyes.

To think Chairman Han Jin-wol, known as the iron-blooded businessman, had a side like this.

Whenever I encountered him in the game, he always wore a cold expression or carried his unique heavy atmosphere, but right now, he looked like nothing more than a grandfather who was bad at expressing affection.

“It's been a long time, Grandfather.”

“...

Oh?”

Han Jin-wol, holding Ji-yoon tightly so she wouldn't fall, turned his gaze toward me.

“...

Yes, Eugene. Your atmosphere has changed quite a bit.”

Perhaps because this was his first time seeing me since I'd entered this body, he seemed puzzled by how drastically my personality had changed.

“I've entered the Academy now, and I can't keep acting immature forever.”

“Hmph. At least you've come to your senses now, so that's fortunate. I had hoped you might follow your mother and become a businessman... but from what I hear, you've decided to succeed your father?”

He glanced over me as he spoke.

“That's right. Continuing the family business is both tradition and rule.”

“Ha! The father I know isn't the sort of man who would force something on his children.”

“I merely decided for myself that this path was mine.”

Because if I wanted to survive in this world as ‘Eugene Han Calione,’ this was the best choice.

And it wasn't all that bad either.

“If you believe your choice is right, then that's enough. And...”

This time, his gaze shifted beside me.

“It has been a while, child of the Inomiya family.”

“It has been a long time, Chairman. I'm glad to see you looking healthy.”

“Healthy? I'm old enough to drop dead any day now. Still, I'm not in too bad a mood. Now, all of you sit.”

And so, the three of us took our seats in Han Jin-wol's study.

Even then, Ji-yoon showed absolutely no intention of moving, as though Han Jin-wol's lap were naturally her seat.

“Grandpa. Should Ji-yoon sit somewhere else too?”

“Hmph! Moving would only be bothersome. Just sit there.”

“Okaaay~”

Well, she seemed satisfied too, so it didn't matter.

After taking my seat, I placed the items I'd put into the Cube before getting out of the car earlier onto the table.

“Hm? A subspace artifact?”

When two neatly wrapped boxes appeared on the previously empty table, he tilted his head.

“Yes. Since it's been a long time since I've seen you, I prepared something. I hope you'll accept them.”

“...

What's so special about meeting this old man? You could've come empty-handed.”

Despite saying that, Han Jin-wol kept glancing over at me.

That was only natural.

Considering Eugene Han Calione's original personality, there was no way he would have prepared a gift separately, so this was effectively the first gift his grandson had ever brought him.

And since Han Jin-wol didn't have any other blood relatives, it would probably mean even more to him.

“Still, I couldn't come empty-handed. I didn't know what kind of things you liked, Grandfather, so after discussing it with Haru, we chose them together.”

At that, Haru widened her eyes and looked at me.

I quietly brought a hand to my mouth while continuing my conversation with Han Jin-wol.

In truth, I'd had Haru prepare them after considering Han Jin-wol's tastes that I roughly knew, but saying that would be a little awkward, so it was better to put it this way.

“Huh. To think that tiny little you would bring me a gift... fine, let's see what it is.”

The gift I'd prepared was in a box about the size of a bowling ball, but light enough that even a child could carry it without difficulty.

Perhaps that made him even more curious about what was inside, because he immediately untied the ribbon on top and opened the box.

“...

This is? Ha!”

A smile appeared on his face, as though he found it amusing.

Because what appeared inside the box was a rolled-up scroll.

“A painting?”

“Yes. Open it.”

At my words, he took the scroll out of the box and spread it wide.

Painted on the scroll was an ink painting with a strongly traditional feel.

An extremely exotic medieval fantasy city, creatures flying through the sky, and even a sky that hardly looked like Earth's.

It was truly a work that shattered common sense, blending East and West to create a mysterious atmosphere.

“I heard recently that you've been collecting paintings by rookie artists, so I prepared this. I don't know whether you'll like it.”

I said that while trying my best to hide my smile.

Han Jin-wol stared blankly into the framed painting as though he'd been drawn into it.

I could see the corners of his eyes trembling slightly.

Right.

There was no way he wouldn't like it.

Considering how dearly you'll treasure that man's paintings in the future.

A painting by‘Kim Hwang-seo,’who would later be called one of the greatest painters in the CS world.

The title of the work was ‘New World.’

Of course, since he was still a rookie, I could buy it for practically nothing.

“Huh. You know how to judge paintings too?”

“That's why I asked Haru for help, isn't it?”

“Then the other box...?”

This time, Haru answered Han Jin-wol's question.

“That also contains another work by the same artist.”

“Hoho... I once found a painting in Jongno with a style similar to this and searched everywhere for the artist. No matter how much I searched the Korean market, I couldn't find anything, so I gave up. And yet you two found him for me.”

Just as Han Jin-wol said, finding his paintings on the Korean market was practically impossible.‘Because at this time, he was doing manual labor in Japan.’Because of the economic crisis, he'd gone to Japan where reconstruction projects were in full swing to find work, scraping together money just to buy materials... he wasn't even in a position to release new work.

No matter how much Grandfather was the head of a major conglomerate, he couldn't possibly check every factor like that.‘Thanks to Haru having connections in Japan, it was easy to contact him.’This was all possible because Haru was involved in international trade.

We bought the paintings he already had cheaply and also invested in him while we were at it so he could focus on painting.

Considering he'd become a goose that laid golden eggs in the future, it was an excellent bottom-fishing investment.

“Yes, I'll treasure these gifts carefully. Thank you very much.”

Was this the power of gifts?

Han Jin-wol's expression, which had seemed stiff at first, appeared to soften slightly.

Right, considering how many paintings and treasures I'd taken from him in the game, I should at least give him this much...

To begin with, the paintings I'd prepared this time were works by an undiscovered rookie artist, so obtaining them hadn't been particularly difficult.‘I knew where Kim Hwang-seo was from several quests.’Maybe with the money I gave him, he'd dream of making a comeback and start painting again?

“A gift? Grandpa! Ji-yoon too, Ji-yoon has a gift too!”

“Hm? You too, Ji-yoon?”

Apparently bothered by the sight of Grandpa happily receiving gifts from Haru and me, Ji-yoon raised her head and bounced her legs.

Grandfather stared intently at Ji-yoon in his arms, seeming surprised by this too.

Ji-yoon opened her rabbit bag, took out a beautifully laminated piece of paper, and handed it to Grandpa.

“Ta-da!”

“...

What's this?”

“It's a five-minute Ji-yoon massage coupon!”

“Hm?”

“When your shoulders hurt, five minutes are free~?”

No matter what───“Kha! Khahahahahahahaha! Yes, yes! I love it! Khahahahahahaha!!”

You can't beat that...

The iron mask of Han Jin-wol, which even my gift hadn't managed to break, completely collapsed before Ji-yoon's coupon.

______________

After finishing our simple greetings.

We followed Grandfather to the dining room inside.

Perhaps they'd begun cooking to match the time of our arrival, because the entire table was filled with Korean side dishes and dishes.

“Looks yummy!”

Ji-yoon, who seemed very hungry, naturally ran toward the chair where most of the meat had been gathered and sat down.

Judging by the fact that even the chair height had been adjusted separately, they'd clearly considered that Ji-yoon's designated seat from the beginning when arranging the food.

And so I ended up sitting between Haru and Ji-yoon, directly across from Grandfather.

The meal began the moment Han Jin-wol picked up his spoon and chopsticks.

Perhaps because we hadn't seen each other often, he began asking about various recent matters as we ate.

“So, you're second-ranked at the Academy?”

“My skills are still lacking, but yes.”

“I've heard quite a few surprising things about you recently. They say you've swept through the Academy's first-ever records and even stopped a terrorist attack. How could I not be surprised?”

After saying that, he moistened his throat with the tea on the table and looked at me once again.

“At first, I was angry because you said you'd visit but never contacted me, so I even considered making the first move myself. But the more I heard about what you were doing, the less I could do that.”

I had been using Hanwol Group's name quite a lot until now.

I couldn't say I didn't understand Han Jin-wol's feelings.

If one of my few family members told me they were coming and then never showed up, I'd have been very... disappointed too.

“...

I'm sorry.”

“There's no need to apologize. I was also too busy recently to attend your celebration party, wasn't I? Let's call it even.”

Anyone could tell he was saying it to be considerate of me, but his expression remained blunt.

“You brat. Are you saving the sauce at the corner of your mouth for when you're hungry later?”

“Hm? Hehehe!”...

Maybe he just can't express himself.

Then, something from his story suddenly made me curious, so I decided to ask.

“By the way, Grandfather. May I ask if something happened?”

“Hm? Ah, you mean why I couldn't attend your celebration party? It wasn't such a major problem, so you don't need to worry.”

“Did a thief perhaps break in?”

“...

How do you know that?”

As expected.

I'd brought it up on a hunch, and apparently what I'd expected was correct.

“While coming here, the servants' behavior and the mansion's security felt unusually sharp. It felt almost... as though everyone was monitoring everyone else.”

At that, Grandfather's eyes widened in surprise.

“...

You noticed that?”

“Yes.”

Like hell I could notice it from that.

I had actually just thrown out a guess.

When I played the game with a hidden-power detective concept, receiving requests to catch thieves who'd broken into houses in the wealthy district was practically an everyday occurrence.

And among them was, of course, Han Jin-wol, one of the greatest tycoons in the wealthy district.

I figured the timing was probably around now, so I'd asked, but I hadn't expected it to actually be true.

“...

Judging by the look of things, it seems you haven't caught the culprit.”

“That's right. The treasures stored in the mansion all have tracking magic attached, so the moment they leave the estate, we'd know their location immediately. Even if the magic were removed, the final trace should remain... yet for some reason, even the experts couldn't find it.”

As Han Jin-wol spoke, he soon looked at me, Haru, and Ji-yoon before chuckling.

“Well, the experts say the items are somewhere inside the mansion, so it's difficult to even call it theft. I've decided to simply consider them lost and move on. They weren't particularly expensive items anyway.”

Certainly, considering Hanwol Group's wealth, ordinary items would be nothing to him.

And judging by the atmosphere, it didn't seem like the deepest main vault had been robbed, so it was unlikely anything truly expensive had been taken.

But.

“May I ask what items went missing?”

“Hm? I believe they were relics used during the Western Frontier era.”

“What?”...

Of all things, they touched what I was planning to take?

Those bastards are all dead.