Chapter 195

Chapter 195

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 195There was only one reason I was this surprised.

It was closer to shock at seeing an item I'd never heard of or seen in the game appear right before my eyes, and one with considerable effects at that.

“G-Godfather. This is...?”

“Ah, Eugene, this must be your first time seeing this too. This is... a ring my father passed down to me on the day I immigrated to Korea. I used it often in the past, but I no longer have any need for it.”

He chuckled as he looked at the ring inside the box.

There was a great deal contained in those eyes.

“Are you really sure you can give this to me...?”

He was giving me a ring that had practically become a keepsake from his father.

No, of course I liked it, but if he said something like that...‘It's way too much pressure!’Heavy.

But as though making my worries seem pointless, he spoke with an expression that said it was only natural.

“Then who else would I give it to? To me, you're already no different from my own son.”

And once again, he held the ring out toward me.

“Take it. You'll be able to use it better than I did.”

At those words, I slowly took the ring and slipped it onto my hand.

As though insisting it wasn't an ordinary object, the ring naturally adjusted itself to fit my finger.

“Ah, Eugene, you had an appraisal skill, didn't you? Then I suppose I don't need to explain it separately.”

“Yes. Truly, thank you very much for giving me something like this.”

“Good, I'm glad you seem to like it. It's your day off, but I've kept you too long, haven't I? Go back and get some proper rest.”

Godfather said that and waved his hand.

He soon turned his gaze away and began processing the few documents he had left.

Realizing that this was his own way of hiding his embarrassment, I tactfully offered my farewell and left the study.‘...

A lot really happened.’An overseas business trip, an assault, and even an unexpected artifact like this.

The moment it finally felt like everything was over, all the accumulated fatigue seemed to hit me at once.

So, just as I resolved to spend the whole day shut inside my room and rest properly, and was about to move.

“Ah. Young Master.”

I ran into Han Seo-jun, who was carrying a stack of documents, apparently still handling the aftermath of the mission without even resting after returning.

Considering the route, there was nothing behind here except Godfather's study and office...

“What are those?”

“Ah, these are documents concerning the supplies needed for the mine camp we occupied today and various other issues.”

“...

Ah.”

It seemed they were documents sent up from the secretarial office.

For some reason, Godfather's expression from earlier came to mind, the one where he'd been trying to hide his embarrassment while looking excited that he'd soon be able to rest.

______________

The morning in Class A was much quieter than usual.

The scratch-scratch of writing and the sound of people diligently tapping on tablets.

There were even students with wireless earbuds in both ears, eyes closed.

“Good morniiiiiing!!”

But as if making that silence meaningless, Jin-woo threw the door open with a flashy entrance, and everyone shot him a sharp glare.

“...

Ack! What? What is it? Why's everyone looking at me like that?”

Apparently finding it strange that the classroom, which was normally noisy, was so quiet, he shrank back and asked.

Young-je let out a sigh at that reaction as though frustrated.

“Exams are coming up.”

“Exams? Midterms are over though?”

Perhaps finding the way he looked at Young-je as though Young-je were the strange one frustrating, Se-ah went, “Ugh! Ugh!” and pounded her chest.

“Did finals collapse or something? If midterms are over, obviously finals come next!”

“Ah.”

Only then did the bastard nod as though finally understanding, quietly close the classroom door, return to his seat, and sit down obediently.

“Then I'll just stay quiet.”

And immediately collapsed onto his desk.

I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him upright.

“Aaaagh! What! What is it!”

“You planning to fail this time?”

“I can make it up with practicals! I can make it up with practicals!”

Seriously, how did this kid even get into the Academy?

“Finals are mostly written, unlike midterms. There are practicals mixed in too, but the written portion weighs more.”

“Huh? Th-then what happens?”

“If you fail, it's obvious. Remedial classes during vacation. And restrictions on club activities.”

“Wait! Then...”

“Right. Your salary disappears too.”

“!!!”

Jin-woo's expression instantly became one of the world collapsing.

Of course it did.

Without the club activity allowance he received every time, he'd be in serious trouble.“I-I already made a prepayment because of gacha this time? If I don't get paid, I won't even be able to eat breakfast!”

Se-ah shook her head at the sight.

“Did someone threaten you with a knife?”

“Gyaaaagh!!!”

He'd already sold his present to his future self long ago.

“...

So. You're saying I need to study starting now?”

“Yeah.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

In the end, after hearing my words, Jin-woo sighed, stood up, and trudged toward the locker at the back of the classroom.

The massive lockers, one given to each person as a result of the Class Ranking Match.

When he opened the door, every textbook issued by the Academy came pouring out.

“Damn it. Seriously. When did I organize this and it got like this again?”...

I felt like the owner himself would know, but for now, I decided to stay quiet.

In the end, he carried over a few textbooks, put them down on the desk, and sat.

He immediately picked one up, looked at the contents, and frowned.

“Hmm... Boss.”

“What.”

“I'm really, reallyreally sorry... but I don't understand any of this. What do I do?”

What am I supposed to do with this idiot's empty head?

At that moment, as they say there is a way out even if the sky collapses, Young-je, who had been sitting, shook his head a few times before turning around and speaking.

“Then should we all get together and study today? If there's anything you don't understand, I'll teach you.”

“All get together? Oh. That sounds fun.”

Apparently he hated studying but liked the idea of everyone gathering, because he started grinning.

“Where? Should we skip the afternoon saying it's club activities and study?”

“Then we'd just fall even further behind by the amount of class we skipped. Wow~”

Se-ah swayed her body exaggeratedly as though telling him not to say something so ridiculous.

At that, Jin-woo's lips jutted out.

“But we can't go home after all the classes are over. Going home before sunset every day is the joy of my life...”

“Then just do it at your house.”

“My house is── my house? That's a good idea?”

Se-ah seemed to have said it without thinking, but Jin-woo caught onto it with interested eyes and smacked his lips.

“No no no, wait. You seriously want to go study at Mr. Jin-woo's house? At a Mafia den?”

Apparently remembering that Jin-woo's family was Vivald under Calione, Se-ah jumped up in shock.

“What if we get kidnapped after going there? What if they extort money from us? That's kind of scary!”

“They won't! Is Calione some neighborhood gang?! If I just say you're my friends, nothing will happen, so what are you thinking?”...

That makes it sound like something would happen if you didn't say we were your friends.

Anyway, just as Jin-woo said, of course nothing would happen, but apparently that was how ordinary people saw them.

Almost like a synonym for terror.

To me, they're completely ordinary, though.

If I visit when I'm bored, they even give me spending money.

“I think it'd be fine? Sounds like it'd be fun too. President. What do you think?”

Young-je apparently thought it wasn't a bad idea and looked at me for my opinion.

“Jin-woo's house...”

I was certainly curious.

The Vivald Family's hideout was a sort of fantasy land that was difficult to enter because of the existence of none other than ‘Antonio Vivald.’

Of course, I'd infiltrated it a few times...‘I couldn't really look around carefully and just grabbed the items before running away.’Though because of the Vivald family's characteristics, there hadn't been much choice.

Well, that's how monstrous an existence ‘Antonio Vivald’ was.

“I don't think it'll matter.”

I was curious what the Vivald Family estate would be like when visiting as the son of a friend and as Calione's successor.

Just like that, I activated the Smart Lens and sent Han Seo-jun a message.[I plan to stop by the Vivald Family estate after school today with the Vivald Family's successor. None of the other kids know about me, so tell them to treat me as Jin-woo's friend.]

That should keep them from suddenly freaking out when they see me or doing anything strange.

Right.

At least, until then, I was certain nothing would happen.

______________

Incheon, a maritime city on the Korean Peninsula that had once been called the Demon Realm.

And among it, Songdo, once the most developed city, but destroyed once by an invasion of marine monsters.

The estate of Jin-woo's family, the Vivald Family, was located right here.

“Wow, the wind here is no joke. It's like someone's turned on a giant fan.”

With the sea surrounding the area, the sea breeze that constantly blew and the salty scent riding it into our noses reminded us that we were by the coast.

“It's the seaside. Can't be helped that the wind blows a lot. Come on, let's go. That's our house.”

Since Jin-woo always traveled by public transportation near his house, we had also used public transportation, so we had no choice but to walk a little to reach the Vivald Family estate.

Buildings with lights sparsely turned on, and craters gouged into the roads here and there as though proving the past monster invasion.

But Jin-woo walked without hesitation, as though even that scenery was perfectly familiar to him.

“Song~ do is great because~ there are no~ nightlife districts~. Every~ thing's~ open~ so it makes you not wanna commit crimes~”

Then the bastard suddenly started singing some weird song.

“What kind of weird song is that now?”

At the strange lyrics she'd never heard before, Se-ah frowned and asked, and Jin-woo looked at her as though she couldn't possibly be serious.

“You don't know Beautiful Songdo? That's legendary, seriously. It's basically Songdo's national anthem... ah, we're here. That's our house.”

Then Jin-woo suddenly stopped and pointed ahead.

Where his finger pointed stood a massive building.

A skyscraper so tall that counting the floors felt intimidating.

But perhaps no one lived there, because windows were shattered all over and there wasn't a single light on anywhere.

And beneath that building.

“““Welcome back, Young Master!”””

There stood the Vivald Family estate.

“Hm? W-why are all the uncles outside? What's with everyone? You never do this normally. Are you trying to make me look good because my friends came?”

Almost the entire Vivald Family had come out and bowed their heads in an extraordinary sight.

At that, Se-ah jumped in shock and carefully moved behind me, while Young-je stared at them with fascination.

To be honest, it wasn't as though I couldn't guess why they were acting like this.‘It's probably because of me...’I'd told them to pretend not to know me as much as possible, but I hadn't expected them to greet me in this kind of way.

“Everyone, say hello. These are our Vivald uncles.”

But Jin-woo smiled and introduced the organization members to us as though he had no idea.

“Hello. I'm Young-je, Jin-woo's friend.”

“I-I'm Kim Se-ah.”

“...

I'm Han Eugene.”

Only after I finished greeting them last did they all raise their heads at the same time, then move in perfect unison as though they'd trained beforehand, creating a path toward the estate.

“““All members of the Vivald Family sincerely welcome the Young Master's friends!!”””

“...

Wow. Look at how much effort the uncles are putting in. Seriously, is something happening today?”

Apparently it was his first time seeing them like this, because Jin-woo stared blankly at the path the organization members had created.

Somehow, I might have done something I shouldn't have...

What do I do about this?