Chapter 45

Chapter 45

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 45Before returning home, Ji-yoon and I finished our meal at the family restaurant.

Ji-yoon had the Kids' Special, while I had an ordinary pork cutlet set.

As expected of a family restaurant described as one of the hidden gems, the food it served was every bit as excellent as its setting suggested.‘I couldn't tell in the game, but this is what it tastes like.’The exterior crumbled crisply with every bite, but was only crunchy enough that it wouldn't hurt the inside of my mouth.

The moment I bit into it, meat juices bursting with rich flavor exploded like a bomb, accompanied by just a hint of oiliness.

And then there was the brown sauce, which instantly cut through that greasiness and transformed it into savoriness.

It was a flavor faithful to the basics while still several steps above them.

Enough to make my eyes widen.

If even I reacted like this...

Fortunately, Ji-yoon also thoroughly enjoyed the food she had ordered.

Come to think of it, weren't there also hidden restaurants that sold food with special effects?

I thought I should visit one sometime later.

“Ji-yoon is full...”

Having eaten enough food that her tiny belly was sticking out, Ji-yoon sleepily patted her stomach and smiled blissfully.

The bear doll she'd won earlier had eventually ended up in my hands.

Ji-yoon had looked exhausted struggling to hug the bear doll, so I had taken it for her.

And so, with Ji-yoon beginning to doze off on my back as well, I stepped out onto the main road and saw the sedan already waiting for us.

An organization member got out of the driver's seat after seeing me and opened the rear door.

Judging by his badge, he seemed to be part of the security team that had protected us throughout the day.

I put Ji-yoon down first, then got into the front passenger seat so she could sleep comfortably.

“You've worked hard, Young Master.”

Han Seo-jun said after returning to the driver's seat.

“The security team watching over us from behind worked harder than I did.”

At my words, the security team member chuckled.

“That certainly seems to be the case.”

The sedan slowly began moving.

“By the way, what happened to the suspects and personnel you subdued today?”

While Ji-yoon and I had been walking around downtown, a total of four people, including the first guy we caught, had been arrested by the security team.

“All four were transported to a nearby safe house, and a technician is scheduled to extract information from them tomorrow.”

“...

Then there shouldn't be any problem.”

The fact that as many as four people had targeted us despite this being an almost completely spontaneous outing meant that someone was either normally keeping watch on us or that internal information had leaked outside.

Of course, now that a technician was involved, we'd get results one way or another, so there shouldn't be any problem.

And so, the sedan returned to the mansion.

After getting out of the front seat, I opened the door to take Ji-yoon to her room, and she rubbed her eyes as she sat up.

“Hooome? Sleepy...”

Smiling at the sight, I pulled Ji-yoon into my arms.

She continued nodding off even while being held against my chest.

At the mansion's main entrance, Ji-yoon's personal maid, Alessia, was waiting for us.

“You've worked hard, Young Master. And Young Lady.”

Alessia bowed her head in greeting. I carefully placed Ji-yoon into her arms.

“Mmm... Alessia...”

Once Ji-yoon was in Alessia's arms, she rubbed her face against her and began sleeping peacefully.

Alessia smiled at the sight.

“It seems the Young Lady is quite tired.”

“She rarely gets the chance to play outside, after all. Ah, this doll belongs to Ji-yoon too, but...”

Alessia was already holding Ji-yoon with both arms.

“...

I'll have another maid take care of it.”

“Thank you for your consideration. Then, may I take the Young Lady ahead first? I should wash her before she goes to sleep.”

“Please do.”

“Young Lady, sleeping is fine, but you have to wash before bed.”

“Mmm...”

After asking for my understanding, Alessia left first. I also returned to my room, took a quick shower, lay down on my bed, and turned on my phone.

Normally, today was the day Young-je was supposed to go to a dungeon with the Ranger Club members, so the results should have arrived by now.

When I opened the messenger app, I found a message from Young-je.[Young-je: According to them, it seems they're planning to come by once on Monday. What should I do?]

Judging by the time it was sent, he seemed to have sent it just moments ago.[Me: I think that's enough for now. If you stay there any longer, you might be exposed, so you don't have to go over there starting tomorrow.][Young-je: Really? Then can I train with the others too?][Me: Probably.]

According to Young-je, it seemed they were planning to come to our club room on Monday and check our strength.

In that case, all I had to do was respond even more thoroughly and crush their arrogance.

The next day.

As usual, when I headed to the dining room for breakfast, Father was already seated at the table reading the newspaper.

“Did you have fun with Ji-yoon yesterday?”

I couldn't see Father's expression because of the newspaper, but his voice was much gentler than usual.

“Yes. Thanks to your consideration, I was able to have a wonderful time with Ji-yoon. Thank you.”

“There's no need to thank me. That's only natural between siblings.”

Father lowered the newspaper, revealing a smile on his lips.

“If you are a member of the Calione Family, you must always put family first and cherish them most, just as you did yesterday. Do you understand?”

“...

I'll keep that in mind.”

“Ah, your maternal family contacted me recently. My father-in-law said he'd like to see you sometime soon. Have they not contacted you separately?”

Right. Come to think of it, I had forgotten that I'd borrowed the name of my mother's family for this matter.

“They haven't contacted me yet.... When I have some free time, I'll reach out first and pay them a visit.”

“Yes. Your maternal family is family as well. Go visit them sometime.”

“Yes. Father.”

Hanwol Group.

One of South Korea's leading conglomerates, and also the corporate family in which Mother had grown up.

I might end up relying on Hanwol Group even during my future Academy life, so paying them a visit wouldn't be a bad idea.

While I was wondering when would be a good time to go.

Rapid footsteps came from the hallway.

“Young Lady! You'll hurt yourself if you run!”

“It's okay! Big Bear will protect me!”

Ji-yoon's voice came from the corridor.

Soon, Ji-yoon entered the dining room hugging the huge bear doll and smiled brightly.

“Papa, Big Bro, good morning!”

Today, she had adorable twin tails.

At the sight, smiles appeared on both Father's face and mine.

“Good. Now that the whole family is here, let's have breakfast.”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

And so began a breakfast no different from that of any other family. After finishing breakfast while exchanging stories about our daily lives and other trivial matters, we returned to our respective routines.

Father, for the Family.

Me, for my Academy life.

And Ji-yoon... for her homework.

After leaving the mansion and getting into the waiting sedan, I looked at the scenery outside the window.

The weather seemed clearer than usual.

“You seem to be in a good mood today.”

Han Seo-jun's voice suddenly came from the driver's seat.

“Hmm? Do I?”

When I looked puzzled, Han Seo-jun nodded.

“Yes. Your expression seems brighter than usual. You must have enjoyed your day off quite a bit.”

I had gained Thousand Poison Immunity, played with Ji-yoon, and made plans to screw those guys over.

Even now, just thinking about the event I had prepared made a smile rise naturally to my face.

“...

It was fun.”

“I'm glad.”

_______________

There was no separate sparring scheduled for this afternoon either.

According to our homeroom instructor, Ji Su-hyeon, aside from the initial sparring matches used for evaluations, there wouldn't be any more sparring until the second week.

“Seriously, old fossils these days. Kids need to grow up fighting if they're going to grow healthy.”

She genuinely believed Academy cadets could only grow stronger through crisis, combat, and real battle, so her expression looked extremely disappointed.

But then she looked at me and smiled.

“Right?”

Ji Su-hyeon stared at me with an expression that already showed how much she was looking forward to it.

I merely gave a slight shrug so the other students wouldn't notice.

She was also an accomplice in what would happen today. It seemed she was greatly looking forward to the event that would take place shortly.

“Well then, enjoy class.”

After finishing everything she had to say, Ji Su-hyeon left the classroom, and not long afterward, first period began.First period was Monster Studies.

Since I already knew the names and characteristics of countless monster species from the game, it wasn't a class that particularly interested me.

And so, while I was browsing the school community site through my Smart Lens as usual.

“Eugene. Han Eugene.”

The instructor teaching at the front called my name.

“Yes.”

I immediately closed the internet window and looked at the instructor.

“Is my class not interesting?”

“...

I'm not sure what you mean.”

“You've been spacing out from the very beginning. You must already know everything I'm teaching, so you're bored, aren't you?”

Apparently he had mistaken me sitting still while browsing the community for spacing out.

I glanced at what he'd written on the board, then shook my head in denial.

“That's not the case.”

“Oh... is that so? Then could you explain the unusual characteristics of the Minotaur that I just asked about?”

The Minotaur...

“Although individuals can also appear in grassland-type dungeons, they usually appear frequently in labyrinth-type dungeons. One of their defining traits is that if you wave something like a piece of cloth in front of them, they become agitated and charge, so exploiting that is the best method of defeating them.”

I had farmed Minotaurs in the triple digits back in the game. There was no way I wouldn't know their traits.

Even the instructor merely stared blankly with his mouth open after hearing my explanation.

But then he shook his head and regained his composure.

“Th-then. You must also know about the byproducts obtained from hunting a Minotaur?”

Byproducts...

“A Minotaur's horns are normally used to make weapons. Its hide is used for armor, while its axe can be reprocessed into an ingot called ‘Labyrinth Iron.’”

“Ha! If that's all you know, then you're wrong! It's not widely known, but the most valuable byproduct of a Minotaur is──““Are you referring to ‘Arachne's Thread’?”

As if I wouldn't know that.

“‘Arachne's Thread,’ which marks the escape route from a dungeon simply by being used. Unlike a Return Stone, which immediately takes you outside a dungeon, it only displays the route leading out.”

It seemed the instructor had been trying to lead me into making a mistake... but considering how many hours I'd spent playing, you could say he'd picked the wrong opponent.

“Since it isn't an item that uses teleportation or mana, it's useful even for people without mana or in situations where mana cannot be used. That's all.”

The instructor was now completely frozen.

The gazes of the surrounding students also focused on me, but at the same time, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and everyone's attention shifted to the subject of lunchtime.

Seriously, why bother someone who was minding his own business?

Since it was lunchtime anyway, I planned to quickly finish lunch and head to the club room.

But.

“Eugene. Someone outside asked me to give this to you.”

“Hmm?”[Challenge Letter]

“What do these Chinese characters mean? Is it something like a love letter?”

“...

A challenge letter.”

“Huh?”

A challenge letter at this timing...

As expected, this world never leaves me alone.