Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I Became the Academy Mafia, Chapter 3The Father of DarknessThe Shadow of GodThe Devil of DevilsAnd, the Ruler of the UnderworldA man called by countless epithets.

Don Vito Calione.

Even those who did not know him could tell that the dozens of men in black suits who appeared with him had changed the atmosphere of the parking lot.

Just standing there was enough to make tension hang in the air.

“You’ve arrived, Don.”

When I bowed my head and spoke, Father frowned.

“That’s disgusting. This isn’t even an official occasion, so why are you calling me Don when we’re family?”

“Still, since we’re outside...”

“Ahem!”

“Yes... Father.”

I’d already thought something was strange when I heard that Eugene normally didn’t use polite speech, but apparently Father disliked a stiff atmosphere within the family to begin with.

“Good. You worked hard. Let’s go home.”

“...

Yes.”

Without even asking about the results, Father patted my shoulder and reached for the handle to open the rear door.

Then suddenly, his movements stopped.

“Parnello.”

“Yes, Boss.”

The moment Father called the name Parnello, the middle-aged man sitting in the driver’s seat got out of the car and stood in front of me.

“Father?”

“Eugene, stay still for a moment.”

Father said that as well and stood beside the man called Parnello.

It looked as though they were protecting me from something. When I carefully looked in the direction Father was staring.

A chill.

For a moment, it felt as though electricity ran through my entire body.

An old man with sky-blue hair was silently walking toward us while holding the hand of a girl who wore an embarrassed expression.

Although I couldn’t see the old man’s expression, I could at least tell that his gaze was directed toward us.

As the distance between Father and the old man gradually closed, the air around us began to feel heavier and heavier.

Parnello slowly slipped a hand into his pocket, while the old man subtly moved a hand toward the sword at his left hip.

In the middle of that explosive situationOnly then, after seeing the faces of the old man and the girl beside him, did I understand the current situation.

A man capable of giving off this kind of presence in front of Father, with distinctive sky-blue hair and a setting that said he absolutely doted on his granddaughter.

The Sword Immortal, Choi Sun-ho.

His known age was 94. However, judging by his appearance alone, he looked to be in his forties, and his extremely trained body was enough to tell at a glance what sort of realm he had reached.

Little by little, the distance between Choi Sun-ho and Father narrowed, and when there was less than three meters between them.

Choi Sun-ho took his hand off the sword hilt and slowly raised it, pointing in my direction.

“There.”

A clicking sound came from inside Parnello’s pocket as though something had locked into place.

And at the same time, an immense silence descended.

The one who broke it was the girl standing behind Choi Sun-ho, Yeon.

“Grandfather...”

The girl holding Choi Sun-ho’s right hand tugged at it and murmured, and Choi Sun-ho’s shoulders lowered.

She must have felt it too. That if this continued, something serious would definitely happen.

At that, Choi Sun-ho’s stern expression from moments ago melted into a smile as he spoke to the girl beside him.

“Don’t worry, child. What you’re thinking won’t happen.”

After saying that, Choi Sun-ho pointed slightly to the side of where I was standing and spoke to us.

“I’m trying to get into my car, so I’d appreciate it if you moved aside a little.”...

Car?

When I turned my head to check, I noticed a pure white SUV parked next to Father’s black sedan.

That car belonged to Choi Sun-ho?

At that, I heard a stifled laugh from in front of me.

“I was wondering whose car it was. So it belonged to you, old man. My apologies.”

Father, who had been shielding me with his back, stepped to the side and raised the corners of his mouth in a smile toward Choi Sun-ho.

Choi Sun-ho shrugged.

“Your son, I take it?”

“That’s right. The eldest son of our Calione Family.”

As though the contest of wills from moments before had been a lie, both of them relaxed their expressions and began talking.

“The eldest son of Calione entering the Academy. Interesting.”

“I don’t know about myself, but shouldn’t my son at least receive instruction somewhere good?”

“Hahaha! Indeed. Parents are beings who can do anything for their children.”

After saying that, Choi Sun-ho trudged toward his SUV, then stopped beside me and looked at me.

“Very well, son of Calione. I’ll look forward to seeing what you do.”

“Yes, have a safe trip back, old man.”

“What? Hahahaha! You really are the spitting image of him! Hmm.”

Saying that, Choi Sun-ho used the hand that had been resting on his sword hilt to pat my shoulder a couple of times before getting into the car.

The girl who had been holding his hand also stared blankly at Father and me for a moment before getting into the car.

The pure white SUV left the parking lot.

Once the exhausting contest of wills between the two giants ended, Parnello removed his hand from his pocket and bowed his head toward Father.

“I’ll prepare for departure, Boss.”

“Good work, Parnello.”

Parnello returned to the driver’s seat.

And when only the two of us remained in front of the car.

“Eugene.”

Father, who had maintained a stern expression until the very end, called my name.

“Yes.”

“Do you know who that old man just now was?”

“...

The Sword Immortal. Choi Sun-ho.”

“Oh? You knew, and yet you still managed to endure that old man’s presence.”

Thud, a thick hand settled on my head.

“Just like now, never cower before any powerful enemy. You are my son, the son of Vito Calione.”

“...

Yes, Father.”

Having been extremely tense at the appearance of the first giant figure I had encountered aside from Father, those words were truly like having an army at my back.

_____________

“Hoho, to think Calione’s son has already grown that much. Since he came to the Academy today, I suppose he’ll be in the same class as you?”

The Sword Immortal, Choi Sun-ho, who was heading home with his granddaughter, spoke to his granddaughter Choi Yeon, who was seated in the back, the corners of his mouth still raised.

“Yes, I remember he took the exam after me.”

When his granddaughter Choi Yeon, who had been silently looking only at her phone without reading Choi Sun-ho’s expression, said that, Choi Sun-ho tilted his head.

“Is that so? Then how was he? Was he worth keeping an eye on?”

At Choi Sun-ho’s question, Choi Yeon briefly raised her gaze and thought hard about something.

“A gun.”

“...

A gun?”

“Yes, it seemed he ordered someone who appeared to be his subordinate to fire a gun at the instructor.”

“Huh, he had someone shoot the instructor?”

“Yes.”

At the sight of Choi Yeon explaining it so calmly, Choi Sun-ho, who was holding the steering wheel, burst out laughing.

“Hah! Truly, that boy is an interesting one as well!”

“...

Is that so?”

As his granddaughter Choi Yeon tilted her head as though she didn’t understand, Choi Sun-ho wiped the laughter from his face and immediately spoke.

“Yeon.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“When you enter the Academy, be careful of that boy.”

“Huh? He didn’t seem dangerous.”

When Choi Yeon responded in surprise after hearing Choi Sun-ho’s words, Choi Sun-ho shook his head.

“That’s not what I mean. How should I put it... there was a scent about him.”

“...

A scent?”

“Yes, a scent. The same scent Calione gave off a very long time ago, back when that man was still just a brat.”

As he said that, Choi Sun-ho chuckled while recalling the past of a certain man who had once caught him off guard.

“My granddaughter’s Academy life is going to become quite interesting.”

_____________

At last, mail arrived from the Academy.

I already knew I had passed, but apparently there was no helping the nervousness.

“What are you doing? Open it.”

My father’s, that is.

“It’s obviously going to say I passed, so why are you acting like that? There’s no reason to be so nervous.”

“Even so, isn’t it an acceptance letter from the Academy?”

Even though Father was trying his best to look relaxed, for some reason the rocks glass in his hand was trembling.

Could he possibly be nervous?

“Haah, understood. It’s just a letter...”

Saying that, I opened the envelope with a paper knife.

A single sheet of paper could be seen inside.

As I slowly lifted it up, the first thing I saw was the Korean word [Certificate of Acceptance]

written on it.

Up to that point, it was exactly what I expected, but the problem was the writing underneath.[Second Place]

“Second place?”

“What? Second place?!”

Father, who overheard the words that slipped from my mouth without thinking, abruptly stood up.

“Ah, wait──.”

But despite my resistance, Father ended up snatching away my acceptance letter.

“My son placed second. This is wonderful! Wonderful!”

Then I heard the rapid sound of someone running over, and a cute little girl came rushing in.

“Second place? Wonderful! Wonderful! But Papa, what does second place mean?”

As though it had always been her rightful place, the girl naturally climbed onto Father’s lap and settled there.

At the same time, ding

- an alert sounded from my smartphone.[Character Encyclopedia(N)][Name: Ji-yoon Han Calione][Affiliation: Calione][Description: Vito Calione’s youngest daughter and Eugene Calione’s only younger sister. Having lost her mother at a young age, she grew up receiving plenty of love from her father, Vito Calione. She is responsible for Calione’s cuteness.]

Apparently, she was my younger sister.

“Wonderful? Is wonderful a good thing?”

Ji-yoon looked up at Father’s face, apparently genuinely not knowing what it meant.

In an instant, Father’s previously intimidating expression melted away.

“Of course, of course. It’s a very good thing.”

And so began a heartwarming father-daughter conversation.

While I stared blankly at the amazing sight of the godfather of the underworld grinning from ear to ear.[Achievement Accomplished!]

An alert appeared on my smartphone.

Achievement accomplished?

When I pressed the alert, it automatically opened the game app.[Achievements(N)]

An achievement section had appeared out of nowhere.

For now, click.[Academy Second Place(N)][?? ][?? ][?? ]...

Apparently, the previously locked achievements had been unlocked.

To get rid of the N, I clicked [Academy Second Place]

and an alert appeared.[You have successfully completed the Academy entrance examination!][Your entrance examination score is second place. 2nd out of 120 total!][A special reward will be granted!][[New Trait: Bad Boy] has been granted!]

They were giving me a new trait just because I placed second?

I left the achievement window and checked my information.【Name: Eugene Han Calione】[Gender: male][Occupation: Heir to the Underworld][Traits: Bad Boy(N) ]

A new trait really had been added.[Bad Boy(N): Your charm increases in proportion to your notoriety.]

A trait I had never seen even once while playing the game.

Apparently, it was a trait made for role-playing.

If that was the case, I would probably have to move my plan forward a little faster.

“Father?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes.”

Father came to his senses at my call and looked at me again.

Even then, his hand was still stroking Ji-yoon’s head.

“There is something important I need to tell you.”

“...

Now?”

“Yes.”

Perhaps he saw the seriousness in my expression, because Father stopped stroking Ji-yoon and patted her waist.

“Ji-yoon. Papa needs to talk with your brother for a while, so go play in your room.”

“Okaaay~”

After hearing Father’s words, Ji-yoon got up and returned to her room. At least she seemed to listen well to Father.

Only after Ji-yoon climbed the stairs and the sound of her door closing could be heard did Father take out a cigar and light it.

His eyes had already become serious again.

“What are you trying to say that makes you so serious? Since you entered as the second-highest scorer, are you asking for a reward?”

Puff

- thick cigar smoke poured from Father’s mouth.

Even amid that, Father’s eyes were glowing red.

To be honest, I was trembling.

But I knew I had to say it anyway.

Because it was a necessary step for my plan.

“...

I’m an adult now, so I would like to begin receiving successor training.”

Father stared blankly at me after hearing my words.

Then he took another drag from his cigar and asked.

“Are you serious?”

“I am. Isn’t it about time I started receiving successor training?”

After hearing my words, Father began tapping the dining table with his finger.

I had seen that gesture before while playing the game.

One of Father, Vito Calione’s habits.

It was something he did when calculating something or thinking deeply.

Apparently having finished organizing his thoughts, Father struck the table slightly harder with his finger, making a sharp tap, then raised his head and looked at me.

“Very well. If that is what you wish, then do so. I don’t know what changed your mind after you kept insisting that you didn’t want successor training until now...”

That was because the original Eugene had wanted to enjoy the sweet power held by the Family without taking on any of the responsibility.

But I was different. If I wanted to survive in this damned world, receiving the help of the Calione Family was the most important thing.

No matter what it took, I had to inherit Father’s organization. The Calione Family.

Cigar smoke escaped Father’s lips and obscured the space between him and me.

The red gleam in his eyes visible through the smoke. As I swallowed hard at the indescribable aura coming from him, Father finally opened his mouth.

“You understand that once you begin successor training, there will be no turning back?”

“...

Yes.”

“Very well. If that is your wish...”

After saying that, Father rolled a ring he had been wearing on the ring finger of his left hand toward me.

I caught the ring as it slowly rolled toward me and carefully lifted it.

The letter C was engraved on the ring.

Calione(Calionae)

was also the word headed by that letter.

“That ring was made to be given to the successor. I originally intended to give it to you the year you became an adult... but I never imagined you would be the one to ask to begin successor training first.”

Just as I was about to put the ring Father had rolled toward me onto my finger.

“The moment you put it on, there will be no turning back.”

As though giving me one final warning, Father’s cold voice pierced my ears.

However, since I had already finished preparing myself for everything, Father’s words sounded like nothing more than worried nagging.

I silently put on the ring, looked at Father, and spoke.

“I won’t regret it.”

Was he pleased by the sight of me?

Father gave a faint smile.

“Good. I’ll trust you. There’s about a week left until enrollment, correct?”

“Yes.”

“During that time, I’ll teach you the basics. How to use your body, management, and many other things. And during the semester, you can commute while receiving your lessons.”

“Understood.”

Father spoke with dignity, then rose from his seat and headed toward the stairs.

Step. Step.

As the sound of his footsteps faded, I could feel his uniquely suffocating presence disappear as well.

I let out a light sigh.

“Did I at least clear the first stage?”

Haah, I was nervous. I wiped away the sweat pouring over my entire body and relaxed for a moment, leaning back.

No matter what, it seemed I still couldn’t help being overwhelmed by Father’s presence.

As expected of Don Vito Calione...

At that moment, a voice came from upstairs.

“Papa, I hate the smell of cigarettes!”...

Apparently, Father had ended up being disliked by Ji-yoon.