Chapter 123

Chapter 123

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 123At my words based on the school regulations, their steps came to a stop.

“A first-year memorized the school regulations... no, would it be more accurate to say you knew we were coming and prepared in advance?”

Yeah. No. I memorized everything I might use against you guys ages ago.

Do they know? That I've enrolled in and graduated from the Academy countless times more than they have.

Apparently frustrated by the continued standoff, Jin-woo stretched out the hand holding the documents.

“You rushed over here like lightning and you're talking about preparation. Ah, just hurry up and take these. What kind of tyranny is this, barging into someone else's club while we're trying to do business?”

Seo Yeon-su frowned at the visibly small number of papers.

“What is this?”

“What else? The documents you seniors told us to bring. The documents confirming the use of club support funds and the supporting documents.”

“...

Bring them here.”

At Seo Yeon-su's words, another male senior approached Jin-woo and practically snatched the documents away.

Then she examined their contents.

“Expenditures: 0 won? Are you joking right now?”

“Are you saying we tampered with the documents? Seeing you make up accusations of document manipulation without any evidence, our president must be getting pretty desperate. What, did President Arthur tell you to put the screws to us?”

Flinch. Her body trembled faintly, and at the same time, I felt a trace of fear.

I had struck right at the heart of it.

“...

Student council audits are conducted fairly. We don't go harder or softer because of any one person's feelings.”

An audit based on nothing but a tip, and they call themselves fair? Even a passing Financial Supervisory Service employee would laugh.

“Then if it's fair, there shouldn't be any reason to insist on entering our club room when we've sincerely provided every piece of material required for the audit according to the regulations, right?”

Grit.

I could hear her grinding her teeth.

“Jin-woo.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Our guests are leaving. See them off and sprinkle some salt after them too.”

“Yes, sir! All right, everyone, time to leave, yeah? If you block the hallway like this, how are our clients supposed to come in? Hm?”

With the regulations, the documents, and not even a speck of anything they could pick at, there was absolutely nothing they could do.

Apparently realizing that themselves, they had no choice but to turn around at our criticism.

“Oh, and before you go, the seniors over there.”

At my continued words, the audit team that had been about to leave the hallway stopped.

“Looks like a few people from Ares Club are mixed in. Give your president my regards.”

This incident made me certain.

Student council president Ray Pendragon had noticed that Vivian's Spring Water was gone. And that he'd singled me out as a suspect.

There shouldn't have been any suspicious circumstances, so how exactly did he identify me as a suspect?

I'd definitely figured out the routes of every CCTV camera leading to the garden and confirmed there were no witnesses nearby.

And that wasn't all. After the villain terrorist attack, I'd even scattered several remnants from villains around Lake Vivian to make it look like the villains had done it.

Could it be because I sided with the dean and made remarks hostile to the Association?

No, if anything, that guy would betray the Association himself. He wasn't the type to stake everything on them to that extent.

Then because I ruined his plan in the student council room?

Well, there was no way that alone would be enough to suspect me.‘Then was it just to test me?’If there was one likely possibility, maybe because I was a first-year with exceptional strength, he assumed I'd already drunk Vivian's Spring Water?

That seemed the most likely deduction.

“Shoo~ shoo~”

Leaving Jin-woo behind as he sprinkled Himalayan pink salt on the spot they'd left after I told him to scatter salt there, I returned to the president's office and gathered the others who had been exercising in the training room.

They seemed to understand that what had just happened wasn't ordinary either, because their expressions were quite serious.

“They'll probably be bothering us a lot for a while. They'll pressure us and make things annoying under all sorts of pretexts.”

They might interfere to stop our club from raising its rank too quickly, or nitpick every single thing we did.

For us, still a Bronze club, that could be fairly fatal.

So.

“Tomorrow, I'll go settle things with them personally.”

A frontal breakthrough.

All I had to do was personally prove that I hadn't taken ‘Vivian's Spring Water.’

Even though it was sitting very~ safely inside my Cube.

“You're going to go settle things yourself, President?”

“I think if we talk a little and clear up the misunderstanding, it'll be resolved.”

If the reason they're doing this isn't ‘Vivian's Spring Water,’ then things could get fairly complicated... but whatever.

Most of it falls within what I can handle.‘All I need is time.’For now, the important thing is to grow the club until it's large enough to properly stand against them.

At that moment, Jin-woo shot his hand into the air.

“Boss. I've got a good idea.”

“A good idea?”

“I'll bring some explosives from home and install them so the president's head goes bald──.”

“You want to set off a bomb in the Academy when it hasn't even been long since the terrorist attack? Stop talking nonsense.”

“Tch...”

Apparently he'd genuinely thought it was a good idea, because he instantly shrank down.

Anyway, I'll keep Jin-woo's suggestion as a backup plan.

If I remembered correctly, that guy had a way to detect ‘Vivian's Spring Water.’‘I can prove my innocence(?)

through that ability.’No, so what if he suspects me?

His proud ability itself will prove that I didn't drink it. If he feels wronged, shouldn't he be the one bringing evidence?

Because of his lofty pride, even if he doubts everything else, if something is confirmed through his own ability, he'll have no choice but to let it go.

So my thinking was that if I met him personally and that fact was proven, even he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Of course, I'll probably have to leave the ‘Vivian's Spring Water’ currently inside my Cube back at the estate or something.

“For now, don't worry too much and focus on club work. Young-je, how's that request we got last time going?”

“The Literature Club protection job? I've basically finished the information gathering before starting the request.”

“Then based on that information, go with Jin-woo, talk to their president, and make me a report.”

“Got it. Hey, stop pretending to cry and get up. We have to go meet the Literature Club seniors.”

“Glasses...”

“Hm?”

“Are the seniors there pretty?”

“You lunatic.”

After the two of them left the club room first, I went into the president's office and was handling documents to prepare for future interference from the student council.

Then suddenly, an enormous amount of mana could be felt inside the president's office.

I immediately stood up and drew the shotgun, when a hurried voice rang out.

“Junior! Calm down! Calm down!”...

This voice?

When I looked in the direction of the voice, I spotted a black bat sitting on the sofa.

“...

Senior Yuli.”

“Whew. So you remember my voice, at least?”

At the same time, crimson smoke wrapped around the bat and began expanding.

Red Mist

disappeared, revealing a woman sitting cross-legged with a faint smile.

It was Yuli Rodman, vice president of the Academy Student Council.

“Did I surprise you? Sorry, but the matter is a little sensitive.”

“How did you get in?”

“Through the window? As you just saw, my magic is a little unusual.”

At my question, she gave a playful smile and flapped both hands like wings, then glanced at the sofa opposite her.

“Can we talk for a moment? It's important.”

“...

I'll have one of the members prepare some refreshments.”

“Hm? No, no, that's fine. I came secretly, so I'd rather not show myself to anyone else. You understand, right, Junior?”

Why did she have to be this cautious?

For now, since the other party was the vice president of the student council, I didn't let my guard down and sat across from her.

“I just encountered the student council audit team.”

“Ah, that? I know. The president personally ordered it during the meeting. What I'm here to talk about is related to that too.”

Related?

“What do you mean?”

“It seems the president was pretty displeased because of your speech last time. And apparently that gave him an excuse to start seriously keeping you in check.”

“Keeping me in check?”

At my question, she pointed at me.

“Your actions. Even you have to admit they're pretty radical, right? Starting a club as a first-year and crushing seniors with force regardless of who they are. It's very similar to the current president, Ray Pendragon. Do you understand what I mean?”

“He thinks I might take over the student council, so he wants to crush me while I'm still a sprout. Is that it?”

“Crush you is going a little far... like I said, it's keeping you in check. Keeping you in check because you refused the offer to join the student council.”

I'd expected it, but hearing it directly made it even more interesting.

“So, you came to warn me?”

“No. Not a warning. A proposal.”

“A proposal? You mean, join the student council even now? Like I told you last time, I have no intention of joining the student council──.”

And then, unbelievable words slipped from between her lips.

“──Would you like to help me remove Ray Pendragon from power?”

“...

What?”

For a moment, my mind stopped.

“Remove the student council president... did I hear that correctly?”

“Yeah. You did.”

Despite essentially proposing a coup, the smile never left her face.

“Is this some sort of entrapment operation?”

“No way. I'm completely serious.”

“You look awfully playful for someone who's serious.”

“I look pretty when I smile. Can't you just call it a honey trap?”...

Judging by how she was speaking, it didn't seem like this was a joke or a trap.

It wasn't as though something like this had never happened in the game. CS had an Academy coup event too.

The problem was that the triggers required to cause it were extremely complicated and difficult.

Just off the top of my head, there was ‘enter the Academy as the top-ranked student,’ and ‘join the student council,’ but I didn't qualify for either one.

“Why are you making this proposal to me?”

So I asked.

Why was she making this proposal to me?

From her perspective, merely saying something like this to me could not only get her removed from her position as the Academy's vice president, but could also affect her family back in her homeland.

And yet she was making this proposal to me, someone she hadn't even built proper trust with yet?

It wasn't easy to believe.

“Junior. Are you really asking because you don't know? Do you know how many organizations in the Academy are comparable to the president or can stand toe-to-toe with him?”

“...

The presidents of the Diamond clubs. A few students who act independently, and several of the Platinum clubs, aren't they?”

“Right, then how many of those people are on friendly terms with our president?”

“...

Most of them probably maintain smooth relations with the student council.”

“Correct. And I consider you at least on the same level as them. Of course I'd judge the junior who openly keeps the student council in check to be more trustworthy than the others.”

It was true that ours was the only club taking such an openly hostile stance toward the student council.

But why had she made me this proposal through a pattern I'd never seen even once until now?

When I looked at her with unresolved suspicion, Yuli let out a helpless sigh and continued.

“Half personal grudge. And the other half greed? Of course, if you help me, I'll make sure you're well compensated too.”

“Compensated with what?”

“One of the treasures the president is hiding. And an alliance with the student council I'll create afterward. How about it? Tempted?”

Putting the latter aside...

“A treasure the president is hiding?”

At my question, she nodded, carefully looked around, covered her mouth with one hand, and quietly spoke.

“...

Junior, do you know something called Vivian's Spring Water?”

“What?”

That's already mine.