Chapter 167

Chapter 167

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 167“Hey, Alessia. Are you sure this will really work?”

“Absolutely.”

It was early enough that I would normally be heading to the Academy.

And yet I was sitting in the estate, specifically in Alessia's room, getting ready to go to school.

Yes, not the Academy, but ‘school.’

“Lower your hair like this... put on these black-rimmed glasses too... ah, your skin is naturally so pale, Young Master, that there's no need to apply anything separately.”

I kept my eyes closed while Alessia carefully worked on my face.

“All right, finished. Young Master. Could you open your eyes?”

At her voice, I slowly opened my eyes and saw myself reflected in the vanity mirror.

“...

This is.”

“I styled you exactly as you requested, Young Master. The look of someone who'd easily get shaken down for money by passing delinquents. In society, this is called nerd-boy makeup.”

Unlike my usual hair, which I swept up with pomade, it was let down over my forehead for a calmer look, paired with black non-prescription horn-rimmed glasses.

And even a check-patterned cardigan.

Seeing how completely different I looked from usual, I couldn't help stroking my chin in admiration.

“...

This is beyond what I imagined.”

I definitely looked like someone delinquents would never leave alone.

“Then, Young Master. Starting today, you're going to Jigle Middle School instead of the Academy?”

“Yeah. Probably for about a week?”

Originally, the Reformation Project had a strong sense of giving us a week off after working hard on midterms.

“In that case, I'll inform the other Family members separately, and starting today──.”

“No. Don't do that. Starting today, I'm going to school on a motorcycle.”

“A motorcycle? Then that can't be helped. You don't have a license, Young Master, so──.”

“I do.”

Her smiling expression froze in place.

“Pardon?”

“I said I have a license.”

I grinned and waved the license I'd newly obtained in front of her.

“It's convenient for me to have at least a motorcycle license too. I went and got one over the weekend.”

“Y-you passed in one try?”

“Of course?”

I'd already had years of motorcycle experience originally.

I probably would've passed on the first try even with my eyes closed.

“I-I had to try five times before I barely got mine... as expected of you, Young Master.”

I'd wondered why her driving looked the way it did.

So there was a reason.

“In that case, it can't be helped...”

Alessia suddenly put on a solemn expression and began rummaging through her pocket.

Eventually, she pulled out a key with a trembling hand, held it toward me, and said in a shaky voice.

“Please borrow my beloved ride──.”

“Ah. I already bought a scooter, so I'm fine.”

“Waaah.”

Why didn't she understand that if I rode her motorcycle out on the street, the police would stop me?

No matter how disappointed Alessia was, what couldn't be done couldn't be done.

Fidgeting with the scooter key in my pocket, I smiled at Alessia.

“Then I'm off, Alessia.”

Because if I stay any longer, you'll probably say you're coming with me.

______________

Jigle Middle School.

Not jiggle, and not the sound of meat sizzling either.

It used the character for wisdom, Ji,

and the character for bond, Geul,

meaning a middle school where wisdom is bound together.

But unlike its name, it was notorious as the worst delinquent school in Incheon.

“No, does it seriously make sense for a high schooler to only carry this much cash?”

In an alley near that school.

Classes should already have started, yet for some reason three students were gathered together.

“Kids these days all carry cards. Don't we need to change our methods too?”

A girl with yellow highlights frowned as she counted the bills in her hand, while a boy leaning against the wall complained.

“We can extort money through bank transfer! Am I actually a genius?”

And one more boy smiled brightly as though he'd found the solution.

At that, the girl counting the money frowned and smacked the boy in front of her on the head.

“You fucking idiot. Don't you know transfers leave records? Do you want to go on trial and get sent back to juvenile detention?”

“Fuck... why'd you hit me then?”

“I hit you because I thought it might fix you, asshole. What, got a problem?”

“No... sorry.”

In the end, the boy shrank back and took a step away when the girl clenched her fist.

The name tag on his uniform read [Kim Hyun-su].

“Seriously, how am I supposed to get around with these idiots... sigh.”

The girl shook her head and leaned back against the wall again.

“Haah... it's the week we have to pay the circle activity fee. If we don't, we're gonna get beaten to shit. Isn't there any way?”

The girl, whose name tag read [Han Ji-yeon],

said that while staring at the money in her hand.

At that moment, a boy tapped Han Ji-yeon's shoulder.

“Hey. I've got a good idea.”

“What?”

Han Ji-yeon looked up at [Gi Min-ho],

who was standing beside her.

“Adults carry way more money than kids, right? Then why don't we just mess up adults?”

Gi Min-ho muttered with a wicked smile, then listened to the sound of a scooter approaching from beyond the alley.

One by one, the kids stood up and peeked out of the alley.

A mint-colored scooter was approaching the deserted street.

“...

True. If we hit one big score, we can pay the activity fee. What's the plan?”

“Same as always.”

“Okay. Then get ready?”

The kids' faces immediately brightened at the sudden opportunity.

Han Ji-yeon poked just her head out, gauged the scooter's speed, then began gathering mana into one hand.‘What's with that stupid mint-colored helmet? Is he making deliveries or something?’A mint scooter with a mint helmet... grimacing at the horrible combination, she hurled the completed cluster of light in her hand toward the scooter and shouted.

“Now!”

The cluster of light left her hand, floated into the air, and burst into a powerful flash.

The scooter's rider, seemingly startled, immediately toppled sideways.

The speed wasn't high enough for him to go flying, but he still ended up rolling across the ground.

“Move!”

At Han Ji-yeon's shout, the two boys inside the alley quickly dragged the mint helmet and scooter inside.

At the same time, she cast magic that prevented anyone outside from looking into the alley.

All of those movements took only twenty seconds.

They were movements impossible without practice.

“We usually only do this to guys riding bicycles to school, so I was worried, but it works pretty well, huh?”

Han Ji-yeon smiled as she looked at the man still lying on the ground.

Then she glanced at the man's clothes visible beneath the mint helmet and shuddered.

“Ugh. A check-patterned cardigan over a white shirt? And black slacks? What kind of fashion is that? I fucking hate it.”

“Probably just some nerd passing by.”

Excited by how weak their prey looked purely from his clothes, Kim Hyun-su roughly pulled off the helmet.

“All right, let's see what our nerd looks like.”

The helmet came off, finally revealing the nerdy man's face.

At the same time, all three kids froze.

“Uh...”

“This is...”

“This oppa is fucking handsome.”

Until the helmet came off, he'd been nothing more than some sprawled-out nerd number one.

But the moment his face was revealed, he seemed to transform into a model from a famous overseas magazine spread, leaving the three flustered.

“Handsome my ass, he looks fucking pathetic. Hey. Snap out of it. You're not paying the circle activity fee?”

Gi Min-ho grumbled at Han Ji-yeon, who was staring blankly, and began reaching for the man's clothes.

She glared at him for a second, then quickly joined in.

“Check his chest first.”

“Search his pockets. Does he have a wallet?”

At her words, Kim Hyun-su immediately shoved a hand into the man's pocket.

At the same time, the corner of his mouth curled upward.

“Got one. Wallet.”

He lifted the wallet in his hand, looked at the logo engraved on it, and exclaimed.

“Whoa, fuck, isn't this a crazy expensive brand? Damn. I think we hit the jackpot this time. Inside... wow. Who the hell is this guy?”

The wallet was packed full of ten-thousand-credit bills.

Kim Hyun-su's mouth fell open at the sight of all that cash, enough to make his earlier claim that nobody carried cash anymore look ridiculous.

“Probably just some rich family's young master with too much money. But... what's she doing?”

The kids, who had been thrilled by the sudden haul of credits, soon looked toward Han Ji-yeon behind them.

She was crouched down, staring blankly at the unconscious man wearing crooked glasses.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

“Enjoying the view.”

At her immediate answer, the boys shook their heads with disgust.

“Crazy. What's handsome about him?”

“His clothes already scream loser.”

“Don't you know the face completes the fashion? Seriously, what would fashion terrorists like you know when everything you wear looks like shit?”

Han Ji-yeon looked back at them with contempt, then turned toward the man's face again and smiled dreamily.

“Ah, seriously. If he wasn't our target... what should I do?”

“What do you mean, you crazy bitch! We need to get out before he wakes up!”

Gi Min-ho grabbed her hand and immediately tried to leave.

But.

“──Where do you think you're going?”

That attempt ended when the fallen man opened his eyes.

“Fuck...”

He had seen their faces.

______________

All the information I had about them was what had been written in the documents.

That was why I'd set up this operation to see and hear them directly, but I hadn't expected them to actually try to run away like this.

Thinking about what they'd done to me so far, I could see why they had been grouped together and rated Difficulty S.

They used a flash to stop a passing scooter?

If the victim had been an ordinary person instead of an Awakened like me, it could have led to a serious accident.

And it didn't stop there.

They were skilled enough to drag me into an alley and conceal the area.

It was obvious this wasn't their first or second time doing something like this.‘I'm starting to get a rough idea of how to deal with these guys.’They even took the wallet and cash I'd deliberately prepared as bait.

Now I had justification, so all that remained was to get up whenever I wanted and begin educating them.

The problem was...

“No, seriously, why is he so handsome?”

The girl crouched in front of me, staring holes into my face.

Her name was Han Ji-yeon.

Judging from the situation, she seemed to be something like the leader of this group.

The one thing I hadn't accounted for was the Charm stat that had risen due to the effects of the 【Bad Boy】 trait thanks to my rapidly increasing notoriety lately.‘No, even then, does it make sense to keep staring only at my face in this situation?’I'd been planning to get up at the right moment and try educating them a little, but her gaze was so uncomfortable that I couldn't find a good time to stand up.

“We need to get out before he wakes up!”

At that moment, the others tried to leave, giving me the opportunity.

You're running?

Go ahead and try.

Do you know how many times I circled this area looking for you bastards?

Not a chance.

I immediately rose and spoke.

“Where do you think you're going? I've already seen all your faces.”

“Fuck──.”

First, I declared that I'd memorized all their faces so they couldn't leave carelessly.

Their uniforms, faces.

I'd even remember them using their abilities against me.

So they wouldn't be able to recklessly think about running away.

Of course, even if they did just run, I was confident I could chase down and catch every one of them.‘Now then, let's see what they do.’Will they immediately run?

Will they pick a fight?

Or perhaps──“Um, could I get your number?”──I wasn't expecting her to ask for my number.