Chapter 129

Chapter 129

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 129“Choi Yeon, you shouldn't be using your trapezius there. You have to lift it using pure arm strength!”

“Like this?”

“Good! More! More! One more set from there!”

“Okay!”

Leaving the two of them already happily lifting weights together behind, I sat on the sofa in the club room and looked over the materials Se-ah had organized and sent me.

At that moment, Jin-woo approached me holding his smartphone.

“Boss, Boss. I found something interesting.”

“Something interesting?”

Saying that, Jin-woo showed me the screen of his phone.

A post from the community was displayed there.[Title: Wasn't the ghost story about the club building supposed to be fake?][Author: Chick Sexer][No, there've always been tons of ghost stories about the club building. I thought they were all bullshit, you know? But fuck, I actually saw a ghost at dawn yesterday. It was kind of like a skeleton wearing clothes? Good thing I ran like hell the moment we made eye contact, or I would've died for real][Anonymous: Huh? Isn't that just a skeleton? One smack with a club and it'd die.][└Chick Sexer: Do skeletons wear clothes and moonwalk around?][└Anonymous: Oh lololol then that's not a skeleton lololol][└Anonymous: Dancenecromancer lolololololol][Chick Sexer: No, seriously, it's fucking creepy.][└Anonymous: Where'd you see it?][└Chick Sexer: I saw it around 1 on basement floor 1.][└Anonymous: A moonwalking skeleton is a little... scary... yeah...][Sister: The club building?]

“A moonwalking skeleton?”

“Even you think that's ridiculous, right, Boss? I mean, what kind of ghost is there in this day and age? And what the hell is a moonwalking skeleton supposed to be──.”

“It is one, though. A ghost.”

“Whaaaat?! It is? B-Boss, you're joking, right?”

“No, that's actually a ghost. There are necromancers, so why wouldn't there be ghosts?”

“Ah. I guess so.”

In a world where spirits, dragons, and elves existed, there was no reason ghosts wouldn't.

Naturally, ghosts existed in this world.

“But why the hell is a ghost moonwalking around the basement?”

“Who knows?”

I wanted to tell him the details, but unfortunately, since it was a secret operation, I couldn't tell Jin-woo the reason.

Because the skeleton wandering the basement was a phenomenon Yuli and I had created.

“Because of this, the priest seniors are making a huge fuss about holding an exorcism ritual right now.”

According to Jin-woo, the Platinum Club ‘Exorcist,’ made up of clergy, was searching all over the club building because they couldn't tolerate an undead being there.

Just as planned.

“They're usually quiet because they're holding prayer meetings and services. What's gotten into them?”

“I dunno, maybe they think a dancing skeleton is interesting.”

In truth, it was nothing like that.

A dancing skeleton.

The post described it comically, and everyone treated it like a joke, but to ‘clergy’ whose profession was exorcism, it was absolutely no laughing matter.

Because it meant only one thing.

‘A demon.’

And they had judged that not an ordinary demon, but a high-ranking one had appeared.

If so, what came next was obvious.

“They'll probably guard the club building all day for a while.”

“Probably? What's the big deal about a dancing skeleton?”

To be precise, it really was a huge incident.

As far as I knew, in this world, a dancing skeleton was part of the ritual required to summon ‘one of the Archdemons.’

Of course, the moonwalk I'd requested had no meaning whatsoever, so it had absolutely no value as a ritual.

Still, they couldn't simply ignore an abnormal phenomenon.

And so the members of a Platinum Club that upheld neutrality and faith and refused to yield to evil were now standing night watch in the club building.

With this, no matter how skilled a thief was, they wouldn't be able to wander the building carelessly.

Including the student council, of course.

The beginning was simple.[Yuli: Junior. These guys. Looks like they're planning to break into your club room somehow?]

An urgent message from Yuli last night.

It was also roughly what I'd expected.

Unlike an audit, a search warrant couldn't be issued through the authority of the student council alone.

More importantly, with clear physical evidence like documents and records here, there weren't many options left for them.‘It's not like that slippery bastard would just give up, though.’Then the method they'd choose was simple.

Use force.

And rob us before we even realized it.

So the scheme I created was Operation ‘Necrodancer.’

Use a fake Archdemon summoning ritual to bring in a neutral force that even the student council couldn't recklessly touch.

And the fact that the operation worked properly could be confirmed through more than just Jin-woo.[Yuli: Junior. The Exorcist kids really moved.][Yuli: Our president's so dumbfounded he's just laughing in disbelief right now.][Yuli: Looks like he's given up on infiltrating at night for now?]

Having an information network on the inside really was convenient.

Without her, I might've trusted only the security facilities in the club room and let them infiltrate.

Of course, even if they searched our club room, it wouldn't have caused any major problems, but this was ultimately a battle of pride.‘If a Mafia loses in momentum and atmosphere, it only gets eaten.’And to be honest, it's irritating, isn't it?

He rose to power during an easy period and everything's gone smoothly for him until now, so he's gotten cocky...

I decided to use this opportunity to show him just how terrifying religious people could be.[Me: Senior. Tonight, let's hold a skeleton rave in the garden.][Yuli: Hm? Why there?][Me: That's the place the student council president finished setting up, right? If we wreck it once, he'll probably be too busy dealing with that to pay attention to us.][Yuli: Okay. Doesn't sound too hard. I'll give it a try.][Me: Thank you.]

The community exploded again.

______________

[★Title: Was yesterday Halloween?][Author: Anonymous][(Photo of skeletons dancing and partying.

jpg) What the hell is this lolololol I live in the dorms, so I came out for a walk at night and nearly had a fucking heart attack when I saw this lolololol but the situation is so ridiculous that it's more funny than scary lololol what is this, the Academy or a party venue lololol][Anonymous: This is legendary lololol Is this just some necromancer screwing around?][└Anonymous: What kind of lunatic throws a skeleton dance party in the garden as a joke lololol][└Anonymous: For real lolololol][└Chick Sexer: Huh? Why is the one I saw in the basement mixed in there lolololol]

The community was completely filled with skeleton-party posts.

When I went to the garden during lunch to see the aftermath of this incident, an incredible scene was unfolding.

“We must purify this land immediately!! Satan!! A demon will descend!!”

“Stop them!! Grab every last one of them and throw them in detention!”

Members who seemed to belong to ‘Exorcist’ were physically struggling with students who appeared to have been hired by the ‘student council.’

Just by making skeletons dance at dawn, we'd succeeded in creating a new enemy for the student council in the form of a ‘religious group.’

“They're kind of scary... the Exorcist people. Their eyes aren't focusing.”

Standing beside me and watching the scene together, Se-ah shuddered as she muttered.

Definitely... even I hadn't expected it to work this well.

“Purify! Purify! Exorcists! Purify this contaminated land!”

“You lunatics! There's nothing here!”

Watching the student council suffer somehow made one side of my chest feel peaceful.

With this, their attention would probably be elsewhere for a while.

It seemed I wouldn't have to worry too much for the time being.

Coincidentally, today was the day Jin-woo, Young-je, and Choi Yeon had all gone out for mentor classes.

The only ones left at the Academy were me and Se-ah, so I was thinking of skipping club activities today and going home early to rest...

-How about this evening?

“This evening?”

-Yes. One of my appointments happened to open up today, so I have time. We talked about it before as well, and I think it would be good to meet the elder today.

Apparently the world was unwilling to let me rest.

No, maybe it was actually a good thing since I might get to see a scene I'd been looking forward to?

“I think I'll have to ask him first.”

-Is that so? Then ask him and let me know.

“Yes. Father.”

In the end, I turned away from the parking lot and headed toward the faculty office.

Now that Kwak Chun-sik had entered the Academy as an instructor, he should be there as well.

He was probably busy organizing the recent test results, so carefully──“Old Man?”

“Oh. Eugene. Why aren't you going home?”

I ran into Kwak Chun-sik carrying a briefcase, apparently on his way out.

“I heard all the instructors would be busy organizing the test results all week. Are you leaving work?”

“They were practically begging me to go home first, so I was on my way out.”

Kwak Chun-sik clicked his tongue in displeasure as he said that...

Well, with a senior veteran like Kwak Chun-sik sitting beside them, even work that should go smoothly probably wouldn't.

I could understand how the remaining instructors felt.

“Perfect timing, Old Man. Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“Hm? Dinner? Why dinner all of a sudden?”

He tilted his head as though he couldn't understand my intention, so I spoke carefully.

“Father said he'd like to have dinner with you today.”

“Hm? That brat did? Wait a moment.”

Saying that, he put a hand into his inner pocket.

“Let's seeee~ today's scheduuuule~ oh, found it. Today~ right, fortunately, I'm free this evening.”

“That's fortunate. Then would you like to come with me now?”

“Yes, yes. Let's do that. Did you bring a car?”

“Yes. It should be waiting for us in the parking lot right now.”

As I headed to the parking lot with Kwak Chun-sik, I contacted Father again.

“Father. The elder said he's available, so we're planning to travel in our car.”

-Is that so? Then do that. This father of yours should prepare to receive the elder after such a long time. Hahaha!

Father also ended the call laughing as though he was looking forward to meeting Elder Kwak Chun-sik.

Kwak Chun-sik was smiling as though he was quite excited too.

That reaction felt ominous.

For some reason, I felt uneasy...

When we arrived at the parking lot, Han Seo-jun, who had already gotten out of the car and was waiting, bowed toward us.

“I just received the report. It is an honor to escort a hero of the Republic of Korea.”

“Yes, I appreciate it. By the way, Eugene, do you normally ride around in a monster like this? Even if I hit it at full strength, it looks like it'd withstand a few blows.”

Kwak Chun-sik looked at the sedan I usually rode in and laughed heartily, muttering in a tone that made it impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.

I played along.

“Father worries quite a lot about his children. If even you say that, Old Man, it must truly be safe.”

“Of course! Even the president probably doesn't ride around in a car like this! Haha!”

I opened the rear door and let Kwak Chun-sik get in first, then climbed in after him.

“The seats are good. Smells good too. Mm~ very nice.”

“I'm glad you like it. Ah, Old Man, this.”

“Hm? Ah, right, that.”

Kwak Chun-sik looked at the pink bracelet I handed him and reacted as though he'd forgotten about it.

“Just keep that.”

“...

Pardon? Didn't you say you'd borrowed this?”

“I did borrow it... but when I said my disciple had been using it well, the original owner told me to just keep it. The bracelet isn't my style anyway, so you just keep using it.”...

It's not my style either.

It felt like I was being used to dispose of unwanted junk.

Still, since it was an item known as an ‘Anti-Awakened Suppressor’ or mana restraint, its rarity and value alone made it quite precious.

I might have a use for it someday, so I decided to quietly keep it and carefully put it back into the Cube.

“Then I'll gratefully accept it.”

“Yes, yes. By the way, the Calione estate... if I go there this time, wouldn't I be the first former Hero Association executive to visit? My heart's actually pounding! Hahaha!”

Right.

I never thought I'd actually get to see a situation like this in person either.

The meeting between Vito Calione of the red aura and Kwak Chun-sik of the blue aura.

Ah, my chest was already starting to swell.