Chapter 121

Chapter 121

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 121When a woman asks someone to put a necklace on her, it can carry quite a few meanings.

There's a reason lovers often put necklaces on women.

And she's asking me to put that kind of necklace on her right now?

Haru naturally turned around while lifting her hair, exposing the nape of her neck.

Having reflexively accepted the necklace from her, I could only stare blankly at the sight.

“Young Master?”

“Ah, uh. Yeah.”

Following the mood, I naturally fastened the necklace around her slender neck.

Maybe I was thinking too deeply about it.

Right. Maybe she just asked me because it was difficult to put on a necklace by herself.

Come to think of it, even when you buy a necklace, don't people sometimes help you try it on?

“So, how is it?”

“Yes. The moment I put it on, I understood how to use it.”

With that, Haru naturally put her hand into empty air and pulled it back out.

“It certainly seems like it will be a great help later. Thank you, Young Master.”

“Yeah, then that's good.”

Haru also nodded while maintaining her usual expressionless face, as though she hadn't thought much of it.

So I really was the only one overthinking it.

Before I knew it, Haru was looking into the full-length mirror. Judging by the way she examined the necklace, she seemed to like it quite a bit.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

-Young Master. This is Alessia. I came to report that dinner is ready.

Had this much time already passed?

The sun outside the window was already beginning to set.

“I'll come out now. Haru, shall we go?”

Haru was still looking into the mirror.

At my question, she answered without even looking toward me.

“...

I'll stay for a moment before going. You should go ahead, Young Master.”

“Really?”

It wasn't even my room at the Calione estate anyway, so I decided not to worry about it.

“Then I'll go ahead, so take your time.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Leaving Haru behind and stepping out of the room, I saw Alessia standing there with proper posture.

“I'll escort you. Young Master.”

“Since this isn't the estate, shouldn't you rest a little too, Alessia?”

“Since this isn't the estate, I should work even harder. Serving the two of you is rest for me.”

She even said that with a smile, so it felt a little strange to tell her to go rest separately.

“If you're happy with that... by the way, what about the other organization members' meals?”

“I heard there is a separate dining hall used by the servants. The others and I will probably all eat there. Despite being a dining hall for servants, the facilities were excellent.”

“Really?”

As expected, even the welfare for servants was apparently different when they worked for a chairman of this caliber.

When we arrived at the dining room, I saw Ji-yoon and Grandfather already seated.

Perhaps still not fully awake, Ji-yoon was rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“Huhh? Big Brooo... good morniiing...”

Ji-yoon smiled softly as she said it with slurred speech.

Grandfather smiled faintly at the sight, then instantly erased his expression and looked toward me.

“Yes, where did you leave Haru and come here alone?”

“She said she needed a little time, so I came ahead.”

“Is that so? Well, girls around your age have plenty to worry about, makeup and whatnot, so I suppose that's possible.”

Fortunately, Grandfather didn't seem particularly concerned either.

And once I took my seat, Grandfather spoke first.

“You caught her before even a full day had passed?”

“Pardon? Ah...”

He seemed to be referring to ‘Yenika Mohamdzham,’ who had infiltrated the estate as a servant.

“I was lucky. She happened to be a face I knew.”

She was a thief mentioned several times even in the game.

I could find her because she was a named NPC. If she'd been some ordinary nameless thief, I might not have been able to.

If the <​Character Encyclopedia> notification hadn't appeared as soon as we arrived, finding the shotgun probably would have been more difficult.

“Is that so? I heard she was indeed a thief with some reputation. We'll hand her over to the police, so you needn't worry too much.”

“Understood.”

She might consider that preferable to being handed over to Calione as well.

If she were handed over to us, she wouldn't go to Niflheim, but she'd learn there was a hell even worse than that.

At that moment, the dining room door opened and Haru entered.

“I apologize for being late. Chairman.”

“No. You aren't particularly late.”

“Big Sis is here too, so can we eat now?”

Ji-yoon, who had been nodding off, realized we were about to eat and shook her head from side to side to drive away her drowsiness.

“Yes. Let's pick up our utensils now. Were you very hungry?”

“Mmm~ No. I'm okay.”

Perhaps trying to be considerate of Haru, Ji-yoon shook her head, and Grandfather nodded before stroking her hair.

“Yes, yes. That bastard at least seems to have taught you proper manners. What a good girl.”

“Hehe.”

And so dinner began as Grandfather picked up his spoon and chopsticks.

I'd felt it at lunch too, but while meals at Calione were mostly Western cuisine, here the majority of the table was occupied by neatly prepared dishes and a wide variety of Korean food...

Maybe I should visit often.

It was even delicious.

“That's a necklace I haven't seen before.”

At the sudden mention of the necklace, I raised my head and saw Grandfather looking at Haru.

“Ah, you mean this?”

Haru lifted the necklace.

“The Young Master graciously gave it to me as a gift.”

The corners of Haru's mouth rose slightly as she spoke.

“Hoh. Eugene did?”

Grandfather's gaze turned toward me.

“Eugene gave Haru a necklace as a gift? Hoh. Haa. Hoh. Hohohoho.”

Something about his reaction was strange.

“Yes. Hmm. I suppose that could work. If it's the Inomiya family...”

“...

Grandfather?”

“Hm? Ah, it's nothing. Yes. I was merely thinking it's fortunate that the two of you seem close. Weren't you and Haru close even when you were young?”

He definitely seems to be misunderstanding something.

Just as I was about to explain the necklace, Ji-yoon's voice rang out.

“Waaah... necklace... Big Bro... does Ji-yoon have one too?”

“Hm? One for Ji-yoon?”

Her eyes, which had been clouded with sleep until just moments ago, were now sparkling brightly.

“...

Of course you do.”

“Really?!”

“Of course. But Big Bro left Ji-yoon's one at home. I'll give it to you when we get back, okay?”

“Waaah! Yes!”

While saying that, I was busily typing a message behind the scenes.[When you come to work tomorrow morning, get me a necklace that would suit Ji-yoon.]...

This should do for now.

I felt a little sorry for Han Seo-jun, who was spending his weekend off, but I couldn't bear to watch that expectant expression turn into disappointment.

Seriously.

Even though it had been a long time since I'd enjoyed Korean food, things had reached the point where I couldn't tell whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose.‘...

Ah, I'm tired.’I did come here to rest, right?

______________

“Grandfather. Then we'll be heading back now.”

“Grandpaa~ goodbye~”

“Thank you for everything. Chairman.”

“Yes, yes. Have a safe trip home.”

At the entrance of the estate.

Grandfather had come out to see us off as we left to return home, still wearing his blunt expression while stroking Ji-yoon's head.

After yesterday's dinner, there hadn't been anything significant enough to call a major event.

At most, we had some casual conversations about recent events, and Haru went to speak with Grandfather separately.

And I played hide-and-seek with Ji-yoon and the other organization members in a new place.

But more importantly, there was something else.[Billy the Kid's Shotgun]

One of the reasons I'd come here.

Just as he'd promised to give me the item if I caught the thief, Grandfather not only handed the shotgun over to me, but also made the generous decision to give me everything we'd recovered from her.

His reasoning was apparently that they would've been lost if not for me anyway, so I might as well take them all.

Of course, considering Grandfather's wealth, they were trivial items, so as promised, I ended up taking everything.

After legally obtaining the gun that way, while Haru went to speak with Grandfather, Kim Gang-cheol guided me to a place where I could test the weapon, allowing me to confirm its performance.‘It was beyond imagination.’An Awakened training dummy had been blown to pieces by a single aura-infused shot, so its destructive power could only be called absurd.

Of course, that had only been possible because I'd fired from less than three meters away... but at that distance, it had enough destructive power to make me wonder whether it could shatter the shields of most Awakened.

“Grandpaa~ bye-bye~!”

Ji-yoon opened the window of the departing car, leaned her body out, and waved vigorously.

“Young Lady. That's dangerous.”

“Yes'm.”

But Haru, sitting beside her, quickly stopped her.

After closing the window again, Ji-yoon suddenly turned toward me and grinned.

“Grandpa is a super nice person!”

“Right?”

“Yes!”

Though it had only been a day, Ji-yoon seemed to have grown very fond of Grandfather.

“Grandpa's house was super fun, and there was lots of yummy food, and Ji-yoon liked it so, so much!”

“Really? Then let's come together again next time.”

“Yes! Big Sis Haru should come too!”

Saying that, Ji-yoon grabbed Haru's hand.

Haru looked at Ji-yoon with a surprised expression.

“...

Me as well?”

“Yes!”

“If the Young Lady says so... yes, I'll make sure to come with you.”

Perhaps feeling mischievous at the sight of the two getting along, Alessia turned around and puffed out her cheeks.

“Young Lady. Leaving me out completely makes me sad.”

“Ah! Alessia too, definitely! Together! Together!”

“Really?”

“Of course! You have to hold hands with me and come together, okay?”

“I'll always be with you, Young Lady.”

As I sat in the back seat listening to the three of them talk, something suddenly made me curious.

“By the way, Haru. I'm curious what you and Grandfather talked about yesterday. May I ask?”

“Yes. What? Y-yesterday, you mean?”

I'd only asked because I was genuinely curious, without thinking anything of it, yet Haru startled violently.

I'd only seen Haru this surprised a few times myself, so I was equally taken aback.

“Th-that... well... i-it wasn't anything particularly important. Most of the conversation was about the Inomiya Group.”

Then why is she this flustered?

Well, she probably had her own circumstances.

Maybe I shouldn't ask any further.

“...

Really? Then that's fine.”

Saying that, I left Haru with her head lowered and stared blankly out the window.

I said I'd rest yesterday, but it doesn't feel like I rested properly at all.

Maybe when I get home today, I should really lock myself in my room and get some proper rest?

Father told me to rest well this weekend too, so surely he won't make me do any work.

Just as I was peacefully imagining that.『Happy Familia Group Chat』[Jin-woo: Guys][Jin-woo: Guys][Jin-woo: Guys]

Suddenly, messages from Jin-woo appeared before my eyes as he tried to grab attention in the group chat.[Jin-woo: Hurry hurry, big trouble.][Young-je: What is it this early?][Se-ah: If it's nothing serious, you die tomorrow?][Me:?]

And the contents of the next message made it clear why Jin-woo was making such a fuss.[Jin-woo: Got a message saying the student council is coming for an audit tomorrow.][Young-je: Huh][Se-ah: Hm?][Me: Huh?]

So it wasn't bait?