Chapter 740 – 740. Savior Of The Academy
740. Savior of the Academy
“You’ve been subtly provoking the Hero Alliance. If you had a vendetta against them, you would have taken a different approach. You wanted to contact me from the start.”
“Do you really think so? If I had wanted to meet you from the beginning, I believe I could have.”
“Even if we had met, we would have just had a meaningless conversation and it would have ended there. I wouldn’t have seen you as you are now. I’ll ask again. What do you want?”
“I’ll ask the opposite. How far can the Hero Alliance go?”
“……”
Silence fell.
Park Sung-gu took a sip of his coffee. I could feel him watching my every move. The Hero Alliance had no idea what my goal was.
“I don’t know how to put this. Our Hero Alliance will compromise with you to a reasonable extent.”
“And what exactly is that reasonable extent?”
“It depends on what you want. Stop testing the waters and tell me what you want.”
“Before that, there’s something I want to show you.”
“……Something?”
Park Sung-gu’s face hardened. Showing something here meant it was related to the negotiation. In fact, I intended to use this to gain an advantage over him.
“This is a video taken a week ago. I had a very hard time then.”
I took out my smartphone and played the video.
It was a combat video taken and edited by Makina. The video showed me being attacked by a villain group called Mebius. In the video, I deliberately mentioned the name of the Hero Alliance. Jang Ji-wook, the leader of Mebius, reacted as if it was nonsense, but the fact that the name of the Hero Alliance appeared in this video was important.
“Ugh…”
Park Sung-gu groaned.
“You have an interesting video. Do you have this video all to yourself?”
“No. I gave a copy to my aunt. It’s too risky for me to do everything alone. If today’s negotiation falls through, I plan to bring my aunt into this. Because there’s something I want no matter what.”
“This video can’t be solid evidence. The public will be shocked, but that’s it. The Hero Alliance is too big to be shaken by just this one video.”
“I know. But once a video is released, it doesn’t disappear easily. This video will continue to erode the Hero Alliance’s credibility and stock price. Like a parasite clinging to a living thing.”
Park Sung-gu glared at me.
“You. Don’t you think you’ve crossed a line?”
“If the negotiation succeeds, I’ll forget what happened this afternoon. And my mother still doesn’t know about this.”
“……You said your aunt has a copy of that video? Is it the person I’m thinking of?”
I grinned and asked back.
“Who are you talking about?”
“…The person at Maruhan Academy. Your mother doesn’t have any sisters. So, there’s only one person you could be calling your aunt. I can only think of that person.”
“You’re right about who you’re thinking of.”
“…Hah. Scary.”
“This negotiation is the last resort. I don’t have any personal grudges against the Hero Alliance, but if this negotiation falls through, I think I might develop one.”
It was a threat that if the negotiation failed, I would use Sung Ha-ri and Kang Ji-young to pressure the Hero Alliance. The threat worked well.
“Okay. I understand how important this negotiation is, so tell me what you want. It’s not money, is it? Do you want an A-grade item that the Hero Alliance has?”
“I want you to transfer Yoon Hee-jung’s debt to me.”
“……Yoon Hee-jung. An academy teacher. Her debt is over 200 billion, so we’ve been keeping an eye on it. The interest rate is 3% per year. That’s about 6 billion.”
He stared at me, as if trying to figure out my intentions.
“Yoon Hee-jung is very capable. She’s been using over 10 billion every year to pay off her debt. From our perspective, she’s like a goose that lays golden eggs. Are you asking for that goose that lays golden eggs?”
“Yes. That’s why I made such a fuss. If I had asked for it normally, you would never have given it to me.”
“……Why do you want Yoon Hee-jung’s debt? As a student, you wouldn’t be trying to pay off your teacher’s debt…. Do you have a grudge against Yoon Hee-jung?”
“It’s a personal matter. Will you give it to me? Or will you not?”
“…This is a matter involving at least 200 billion. I can’t decide this alone. I need the chairman’s approval.”
“I’m not asking for it for free. I’ll give you 100 billion. How about that?”
“100 billion…. That’s not a small amount, but do you even have it?”
“I do. Wasn’t there a bitcoin craze a few years ago? I made a good profit then.”
I have future knowledge through the original work.
‘Some of the major real-world events also appear in the original work.’
And I started the game in the time before the start of the original work. There were so many opportunities to make money. Not just stocks, but future technology, future fashion trends, future games, etc. Using those things, it was easy to rake in money.
The problem was my identity, but I solved that through Lamia.
‘Actually, buying the debt with a premium is also an option…. But I was a bit short on cash.’
I had a lot of assets, but not much cash on hand. I had a lot of investments, and I had to save money for the auction.
“You’re no different from a robber.”
“If I were a real robber, I wouldn’t even think about paying 100 billion.”
“Wait a moment. I’ll go report to the chairman.”
I leisurely waited, drinking raspberry juice.
100 billion.
It’s a lot of money.
But considering the size of the Hero Alliance, it’s an amount they can easily cover. The Hero Alliance is also involved in illegal activities.
Fifteen minutes later, Park Sung-gu returned.
“We’ll transfer Yoon Hee-jung’s debt to you. Oh, the chairman has something he wants you to know.”
“What is it?”
“Know that we’re not giving in because we’re weak. We’re letting it go just this once. …That’s what he told me to tell you.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You don’t look like you’re keeping it in mind…”
The Hero Alliance chairman’s words were nothing more than the roar of a tiger behind bars. As long as I have Sung Ha-ri, Kang Ji-young, and the Jinryeong Family behind me, the Hero Alliance will lose more than it gains by making a move.
“When will the debt transfer take place?”
“It’s too late today, so we’ll do it tomorrow. Oh, you probably know this, but when transferring debt, you have to notify the debtor. We’ll call Yoon Hee-jung tomorrow to finish things up.”
“Hehe. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“……!!”
Park Sung-gu shuddered when he saw my smile. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
“You…. You have a really creepy smile.”
***
Thud.
Yoon Hee-jung slumped to the floor. She looked back and forth between me and Park Sung-gu with disbelieving eyes.
“N-no, this is a joke, right? The debt was transferred to Yoo-jin…!”
“It’s not a joke. Would we joke about something this important? Just in case, let me tell you, there’s nothing wrong with the contract.”
From the start, the contract was extremely favorable to the creditor. Since it was a debt of over 200 billion, there were several clauses that were extremely favorable to the creditor.
“S-suddenly doing this…. Did I do something wrong? I’ve been paying off the debt diligently…!”
“You haven’t done anything wrong. It just happened to turn out this way. If you think about it, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for you. Isn’t the creditor your student? He might take your circumstances into consideration.”
“…Do you really think so?”
Yoon Hee-jung and Park Sung-gu’s gazes turned to me.
“Hehehehehehehehehehehehe!!”
I held the debt transfer contract in my hand and did a dance of joy. I was smiling so evilly that even I was surprised.
“Um…. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going. I’ve already told the staff, so you two can talk slowly and leave whenever you want. Oh, Yoon-teacher. If you need some quick cash, contact me. I know your diligence, so I’ll lend you money anytime.”
Park Sung-gu left. Of course, Yoon Hee-jung would never contact him to borrow money. She wasn’t stupid.
“…Y-Yoo-jin. I don’t know how you got that debt transferred to you, but…. I can pay off the debt.”
She was watching me very carefully. A debtor has no choice but to watch the creditor’s every move.
“Over 200 billion?”
“Didn’t you hear from Park Sung-gu? I’ve been paying off over 10 billion every year. It might be hard to pay it all off in 20 years…. But I can pay off all the debt someday. I can even swear it here. So…. You won’t make me do anything weird, right? Huh?”
“Weird things? What specifically?”
“…Like manipulating academy grades, or leaking exam content.”
“Hey. I would never ask you to do something like that. Actually, I’m not that interested in grades. I’m always late, and I’ve already gotten over 5 penalty points for dozing off in class? I’ve already given up on grades.”
“…Don’t say that. It hasn’t even been a month yet. You can make up for those 5 penalty points by earning merit points.”
“It’s okay. But looking at the certificate, there are joint guarantors. Yoon Sung-bok, Oh Jin-sook. Could it be….”
“My parents.”
“Hmm. Your parents are joint guarantors…. May I ask how you ended up in debt?”
“Haa.”
Yoon Hee-jung sighed first.
“I don’t usually tell anyone this, but…. As the creditor, you need to know.”
Yoon Hee-jung began to tell her story in detail.
I half-listened. I already knew the story through the original work.
The cause of the debt was Yoon Hee-jung’s older brother, Yoon Jong-woo. Yoon Jong-woo, who had failed in business, borrowed money from bad people and became a fugitive. Then, Yoon Jong-woo was afflicted with a powerful curse, and Yoon Hee-jung and her family had to pay off the debt to lift Yoon Jong-woo’s curse. As with any private loan, the debt had increased exponentially, and her family went to the Hero Alliance to pay it off.
Yoon Jong-woo’s debt was paid off.
Yoon Jong-woo was freed from the curse. And the next day. Yoon Jong-woo took all the remaining assets in the house and ran away. He is currently missing.
“That’s a sad story. But I can’t get rid of your debt. I didn’t get the debt transferred to me for free either.”
“…Please don’t. I’ll definitely pay back the money.”
“Yes. I believe you will. But I have several questions.”
“Questions?”
“I know that an academy teacher’s annual salary is 5 billion… How do you pay off 10 billion a year, which is twice your annual salary?”
“T-that’s…. I do things like stocks.”
Yoon Hee-jung flinched. Her eyes darted around.
“Ah~ I see.”
I put my arm around her shoulder. Yoon Hee-jung froze. She couldn’t carelessly shake off my arm and watched my every move.
“You haven’t had dinner yet, have you?”
“…I came straight here after work, so I haven’t.”
“I haven’t either. There’s a good restaurant nearby, shall we go together? Of course, it’s on me.”
“That’s… I have some work left to do….”
“How long does a meal take? Or do you not want to eat with someone like me?”
“N-no, that’s not it. Let’s go.”
“Oh, I’ll visit your office tomorrow afternoon, so please keep some time open. It’s a very important matter related to the debt.”
“……Okay. C-could you take your arm off me?”
“Oh dear. I did it again without thinking…. I’m sorry.”
“I-it’s okay.”
In a somewhat awkward atmosphere, we had dinner together.
***
The next day in the afternoon. After class, I entered Yoon Hee-jung’s office.
Click.
I didn’t forget to lock the door.
Yoon Hee-jung, with a nervous expression, stared at me.
“Why are you locking the door?”
“It’s an important matter, so I don’t want to be disturbed. And someone passing by might overhear. You wouldn’t want the fact that you’re a debtor to be known, would you?”
“…It was out of consideration. Thank you. What’s the important matter? Does it have to be here?”
“Should we meet separately?”
“…It’s better to do it here.”
I sat on the sofa in front of the office. And I gestured to Yoon Hee-jung.
“Please sit here too, teacher. It’s going to be a long story.”
“It shouldn’t be too long….”
Yoon Hee-jung got up. She walked over to me, her neat suit making a clicking sound. I could feel the ample presence of her white blouse under her jacket. Below her skirt, I could see her legs in black stockings.
She sat across from me, her face tense. When I created a serious atmosphere, she became serious as well.
“Teacher. Please watch this video.”
I placed my smartphone on the desk and played the video.
Her face turned pale as she watched the video.
