Chapter 176

Chapter 176

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 176Lately, I had been thinking that life at the Academy was becoming strange.

“You just substitute it here. Now then, who wants to solve the problem next to it? As expected, our top-rank──.”──Glare.

“ed student is busy, right? Jin-woo Vivald, who's sleeping beside him? Come up and solve this.”

“Huh?”

“Solve it.”[Trait: 【Human Totem】 activates.]

Even though I was merely sitting there with my arms crossed, the instructors' questions avoided me.

“Pass! Pass it here! I'm open!”

“Heyheyheyheyhey! Han Eugene's over there! Han Eugene's on defense!”

“Ah! Turn it around! Move the ball!”

“Nice, President!”

Even the ball and people avoided me during physical education.

“Boss! If Boss hadn't covered that spot properly, we'd seriously have been in trouble. Thanks~”

Seriously.

The feeling of becoming an important defender for the team while doing absolutely nothing was surely something no one else had ever experienced.

“What the hell is this thing that makes people act like this?”

Not just today, Human Totem boasted fairly useful effects in various situations.

There was what happened at the Martial Arts Hall not long ago, and if I went for a night walk and merely wandered around blankly, my influence within the organization increased.【Main Story (Gangs of kalione)】[You, the successor of Calione and a Hitman. You have defeated countless enemies of the organization and begun writing your own narrative. Just what awaits at the end?

Death to our enemies. Glory to the Family.][Achievement Condition: Increase influence within the Family][Target Influence: 2761 / 3000][※Achievement rewards may change depending on the result.]

And as a result, I could even increase the influence requirement for one of the main stories, Gangs of kalione, so it could definitely be called one of the traits I'd made the best use of lately.

So, thinking I should research it a little, I tested it on Jin-woo.

“You're asking what Boss is doing right now?”

“Yeah. He's just sitting there.”

“What are you talking about? He's sitting there thinking about the club's future.”

I realized there was a problem.

The problem was that no matter what I did, people thought I was doing something.

Fortunately, everything so far had flowed in a direction favorable to me, but at this rate, it might become a little difficult to bluff by pretending to be weak or make an opponent lower their guard.

“Young Mas— no! Boss! When you're resting, you need to rest properly! Here, have some coffee and take it easy!”

During club activities, I stopped by Café ‘Cielo notturno’ to take a break.

Sighing at the reality that even here, my rest was being seen as work, I picked up my coffee, and at the same time.

“Hm?”

I noticed a woman with a somewhat familiar appearance sitting at a terrace seat.

She was absentmindedly stirring her drink with a straw as though she had no thoughts at all.

It was Yuli Rodman, vice president of the Seoul Hero Academy student council and someone who had recently been working with me.

Perhaps she felt my gaze as well, because she lifted her head and looked this way.

Then, as though the lifeless appearance from just moments ago had been an illusion, she stood up with a delighted expression.

“Wow, Junior. What brings you here at this hour? Managing the shop?”

“...

I just came to clear my head a little. What about you, Senior?”

“Ahh, pretty much the same for me.”

She set the coffee she'd been holding on the table and naturally sat across from me.

“Still, looking at something cute helps relieve stress a little, doesn't it?”

She leaned slightly and spotted a hamster cleaning the floor, then raised her index finger and gently stroked its head.

“I think you're right about that.”

After all, this was where I'd come to get some air too.

“What has you so stressed, Senior? The student council president?”

At my question, she gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

“If it were school matters, at least I could handle them at my level. But this is a family matter.”

“Ah.”

If one spoke of Yuli Rodman's family, it would surely mean the Rodman family based in Romania.

Was there anything troublesome happening to the Rodman family around this time?

Honestly, I wanted to ask what had happened, but since it concerned her family rather than herself, I couldn't help feeling cautious about asking.

Judging by the way she'd drawn a line by calling it a family matter, it didn't seem like she'd tell me even if I asked.

So I was only going to offer a little encouragement, but...

“No, seriously, what kind of world do we live in where a father still nags his daughter because he lost a bragging contest about his kid to a friend?”

Hm?

“His friend's son did this, and he did that, so what are you doing? Do you have a boyfriend? When are you coming home? It's so annoying. Seriously!”

Uh?

“And then what? There's an important engagement this weekend, so come home? When I said I wasn't going, he started throwing around the family name and said I shouldn't even dream of support if I don't show up?”

Crunch─The ice that entered her mouth was instantly crushed.

“Junior, you're descended from a famous company too, so you understand, right? The way the elders think that the greater the family becomes, the more its bloodline has to move for the family's sake.”

Crunch─“I really hate that.”

Unlike before, her expression had become incredibly fierce, but the hand stroking the hamster's head remained endlessly gentle.

Of course.

-Squeak...!

The hamster seemed absolutely terrified.

“So, Senior, are you going back to your family home this weekend?”

“Yeah. Probably?”

“Then that's perfect. Make sure to bring that too while you're there.”

“Hm? What?”

She tilted her head as though she had no idea what I meant.

Did she seriously forget?

“The elixir from your family that you promised to give me. Did you really forget?”

Only then did she flinch as though remembering.

“D-did... I?”

“What do you mean, did you? Do you even know how long it's been since you said you'd give it to me if I waited a month?”

Truthfully, I'd forgotten about it too.

I'd been getting so many elixirs lately.

There were already several I couldn't consume because I hadn't met their conditions yet, or couldn't use because the right situation hadn't come, so how would I have time to remember every little one?

Still, now that I'd remembered, I should apply as much pressure as possible.

“You're going to Europe to see your family. I hope you have a pleasant time, talk things over with the family head, then bring my elixir back and return safely. Senior.”

“Why does it feel like you only emphasized the last part?”

“Isn't that just your imagination?”

You need to return safely so I can get my elixir.

Of course not.

“Haa... don't worry. Just like you said, when I go home this time, I'll definitely bring the elixir back.”

She spoke as though giving up, leaned back in her chair, and tilted her head backward.

“Ah~ what a pain~”...

This.

She was obviously saying it out loud for me to hear.

______________

The evening Walpurgis Night was held.

“Brush.”

“Yes.”

“Fix this part more with spray.”

“Understood.”

“The handkerchief is too excessive. Bring something simpler and more refined.”

At the moment, I was surrounded by several maids, being decorated without quite being decorated.

“Shave the back with a razor.”

“I'll tidy up your hair, Young Master.”

“Our Young Master certainly has excellent skin. There's nowhere that needs covering with concealer.”

“Ah, there. That's just right. Fix it there.”

“Yes.”

Was this how Hollywood actors getting made up in old documentaries felt?

Being surrounded by several people while keeping my eyes closed as they worked on me gave me more anxiety and humiliation than superiority.

And yet the reason I couldn't say anything was...

“It would be good to add a little more color to your lips. Not enough for tint, so I'll apply some lip gloss.”

Because Alessia herself was leading my makeup as their representative.

“Hmm. This is good. Young Master. Could you press your lips together, mm

-ma

-mm

-ma. Like that?”

As she instructed, I rolled my lips inward and pressed them together to spread it more naturally.

This scent... black cherry?

“Yes, perfect. At this level, anyone would undoubtedly show awe and respect.”

Alessia finally nodded in satisfaction.

At the same time, the maids lined up behind her also nodded and raised their thumbs.

“Perfect, Young Master!”

“You're beautiful, Young Master!”

“There's no way anyone there could possibly surpass you, Young Master!”

They sounded like words meant to encourage me... but as the person in question, I could only blush from embarrassment.

“Okay, that's enough...”

“The Young Master is embarrassed!”

“Kyaa, how adorable.”

“Then we'll be heading out now.”

“Have a safe trip, Young Master!”

Even as they left, laughing together and saying how wonderful everything was, I couldn't help letting out a chuckle.

Because this atmosphere wasn't all that bad.

-Young Master. I've come to escort you.”

While I was checking the mirror for anything strange, Parnello's voice came from outside the door.

The time displayed on the clock atop the table was 21:00.

“Yeah. I'm coming out.”

When I opened the door and stepped outside, I saw Parnello standing there dressed a little differently from usual.

Unlike his normal suit, he was wearing one that felt familiar.

When I checked the engraving on the buttons, I saw a very familiar pattern.

“Maestro's clothes?”

“Yes. I am also going as a member of Calione. If my attire could affect our prestige, shouldn't I wear the very best?”

I smiled as well and nodded at his words.

“That makes sense. What about Father?”

“He's outside waiting for the witches.”

“Let's go there too.”

“Yes. Young Master.”

Following Parnello as he led the way into the garden, I saw Father's back as he stood outside first, looking up at the sky.

“Don, I've brought the Young Master.”

Parnello approached Father first and greeted him.

I followed behind him, approached Father, and gently bowed my head.

“I'm here, Father.”

“Yes.”

At the sound of my voice, Father slowly turned and looked at me.

“It seems the maids really put their hearts into your appearance today.”

Father chuckled, patted my shoulder, then turned and pointed toward the sky.

“There. Do you see it?”

“Pardon?”

I raised my head and followed Father's finger toward the sky.

Gray clouds floated across the night sky. Piercing through them as though asserting its own existence, the crimson Red Moon phenomenon emitted a brilliant glow so strange it felt uncanny.

“A Red Moon on Walpurgis Night. It will be an interesting night.”

A black dot began forming in the center of the red glow.

A dot?

No, it was something other than a dot.

After all, something that grew larger and larger with time while approaching this place, cackling and humming, couldn't simply be called a dot.

“Parnello.”

“Yes, Don.”

“Prepare to welcome the witches.”

Tonight.

Calione moves.