Chapter 735 – 735. Savior Of The Academy
735. Savior of the Academy
I took off my hood and sat on a chair. Perhaps sensing a customer, the door inside opened, and the shop owner came out.
“Welcome…”
The shop owner paused when she saw me.
But only for a moment. She cleared her throat naturally and approached me.
“Welcome.”
She was wearing a long, black robe. She had a hood pulled up and a mask on. The only visible part of her body was her eyes, which were heavily made up. The robe was so large that it was hard to tell her figure. However, her narrow shoulders and the slight curves suggested that she was definitely a woman.
Her voice had a neutral tone.
“Hmm.”
Even though she was disguising her appearance and voice with magic, it was clear that she was Yoon Hee-jung.
She strode over and sat opposite me.
“You must know where this place is and what I do, right?”
“I heard rumors that there’s a top-notch enchantress here. Though, I don’t know if you’re actually the best.”
“Since you came here first, let me tell you the terms of the commission. You must provide all the materials for the enchantment, and please understand that it may take some time. The commission fee varies depending on the enchantment, but the minimum basic fee is 5 million won.”
“……”
I stared at her. Yoon Hee-jung’s eyes trembled nervously as I looked at her without saying anything.
“May I ask you a question?”
“Yes. What are you curious about?”
“You’re said to have master-level skills, so why are you doing business here? Even if you’re worried about taxes, with your level of skill, you could work at a proper shop.”
“……That’s a personal matter.”
Of course, I knew about her personal circumstances.
Yoon Hee-jung had taken out a loan from a second-tier financial institution. It was from a place that was known for being quite shady, a place that was a third-tier financial institution until ten years ago.
I didn’t know the exact amount of her debt, but it was definitely over 200 billion won. The reason she was able to borrow that much money was because she was an academy teacher. If she were to quit her job at the academy, they would move to collect the money by any means necessary. And once caught by them, she might end up living as an enchantment slave for the rest of her life.
I pretended to take them out of my pocket, but actually took two boxes out of my inventory and placed them on the table.
One box contained clothes, gloves, and shoes, while the other was filled with neatly stacked red firewood.
“Firewood from a Firewood Oni. Do you want fire resistance or warmth?”
“Warmth. And if possible, I’d like to increase defense as well.”
“The commission fee will go up a bit. Is that okay?”
“How much?”
“It’s not a difficult enchantment, but there’s quite a bit of it. It’ll be 12 million won. I’ll take 20% as a down payment, which is 2.4 million won. Please transfer it to this account. Come back in three days to pick it up.”
12 million won was a reasonable price. I used my smartphone to transfer the money to her account. When I didn’t leave and remained sitting in my chair, she asked.
“……Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“Yoon Hee-jung, Ms. Yoon?”
I stared at her with suspicious eyes. Yoon Hee-jung didn’t panic.
“I’m not that person.”
I touched my smartphone. I called Yoon Hee-jung in front of her. The call went through, but Yoon Hee-jung didn’t answer. It seemed she had left her smartphone somewhere else.
‘She’s been working here for years, so she must have prepared thoroughly.’
I wanted to fluster Yoon Hee-jung, but it was a shame.
“Customer. Don’t try to figure out my identity. It’s a rule of our shop. If you don’t follow the rules, I won’t take your commission.”
“…I’m sorry. It’s inconvenient not having a way to contact you. Could you give me your phone number?”
“Yes, I can.”
Yoon Hee-jung gave me her number. This wouldn’t fluster her either. It was obviously a burner phone. It wouldn’t be hard to get one if I wanted to.
“…Aren’t you leaving?”
“Ah. I’ll go. But did you know there are some ominous rumors going around lately?”
“Ominous rumors? …I don’t think I’ve heard anything.”
Of course, she wouldn’t. The rumors had just started from my mouth.
“There’s a rumor that an A-class villain is wandering around the academy. They say they’re looking for something for some purpose… Be careful not to run into an A-class villain.”
“Yes. I’ll be careful.”
***
The next day.
I walked to school. The distance between the main academy building and the dormitory was about 15 minutes. It wasn’t a long distance, so I had plenty of time. As long as I didn’t oversleep.
The surroundings were quiet. It was 8:20 AM now. I was 20 minutes late.
‘Why am I suddenly going to school? I barely went to university…’
I fought off the lingering sleepiness and walked towards the main gate.
“Hey, you.”
Someone called out to me. My eyes widened. It was because a beauty who could make my sleepiness vanish was standing at the main gate.
Black hair tied in a ponytail, a crisp school uniform, and a yellow armband on her left arm. The armband had the words ‘Prefect’ written on it. She had a sword at her waist.
She stared at me with intensity in her eyes. Her skin was pale, and her figure was outstanding. Her chest looked to be about a C cup, but I knew she was binding her chest with bandages. In reality, she was a G cup.
Her name was Namgung Hwa-yeon.
She was the top student in the second year and the head of the student council.
“Judging by your sleeves, you’re a first-year. The entrance ceremony was just the day before yesterday, and you’re already late… You’re a troublemaker.”
The sleeves of the academy uniform had stripes on them. The color of these stripes distinguished the grade level. First-years had blue stripes, second-years had red stripes, and third-years had green stripes.
“Calling me a troublemaker just because I’m late once. That’s a bit harsh.”
“In my experience, the ones who are late at the beginning of the semester are late until the end of the semester. Especially you, you have the aura of a troublemaker. You might be the biggest troublemaker I’ve ever encountered.”
“……”
I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe I was being treated like the biggest troublemaker just for being late once.
Namgung Hwa-yeon slowly approached me. Her black skirt swayed. The skirt barely covered half of her thighs. My heart melted every time her sturdy thighs moved.
She had shortened her skirt, claiming it was uncomfortable to move in. She was the head of the student council, yet she was too sexy.
“What’s your class, number, and name?”
“I’m Sung Yu-jin, number 17 in class 1 of the first year.”
“You’re confident. I like that attitude.”
Namgung Hwa-yeon used her smartphone to write down my name and number.
“But being late is being late. Normally, late students get a 0.3-point penalty, but you’re more than 20 minutes late. I’ll add an extra 0.2 points, giving you a total of 0.5 penalty points.”
Maruhan Academy had a point system.
If you were late, fell asleep during class, or didn’t do your homework, you would receive penalty points. If you received too many penalty points, you would have to do volunteer work. Above all, points affected your grades, so students tried their best not to receive penalty points and wanted to earn good points.
“Okay.”
“…Aren’t you going to protest? If you reflect and promise not to be late again, I can change the penalty to 0.3 points.”
I didn’t care much about grades, so it didn’t matter to me.
“I was wrong. I reflected. I won’t do it again.”
Namgung Hwa-yeon gave a wry smile.
“You have no soul. You’re not reflecting, and you don’t even think you were wrong. My gut feeling was right.”
“Can I go now?”
“There are no other punishments besides the penalty, so you can go. But do you have any thoughts about joining the student council?”
“……Me?”
I looked at Namgung Hwa-yeon, surprised by her unexpected words. I didn’t understand what her intentions were in making such a proposal.
“I’ve heard rumors about you. You’re ranked 5th in the first year. Your grades are excellent, and there are rumors that your skills are on par with the top students in the second year. And your mother is Sung Ha-ri, right?”
When Sung Ha-ri’s name came up, Namgung Hwa-yeon’s eyes sparkled. Sung Ha-ri, known as a legend, was an idol to young female heroes.
“Yes. My mother’s name is Sung Ha-ri… But I don’t plan on joining the student council because of my mother’s name. And the student council doesn’t suit me.”
If I wanted to seduce Namgung Hwa-yeon, joining the student council would be the right thing to do. If I worked with her on the student council, I could naturally increase her favorability. But the student council was too much of a hassle. There were too many things to do.
‘The student council is good for students aiming for jobs at the association, but they make you work too much.’
Namgung Hwa-yeon was disappointed.
“I thought it would be best to keep an eye on a troublemaker like you… But if you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do.”
“…Is that why you made the offer? You’re quite peculiar, senior.”
“Well, I hear that quite often. That’s all for today. Go straight to your classroom. And don’t be late tomorrow.”
She patted my shoulder once and hurried towards the second-year classrooms. I nodded, watching her back.
‘Just like how a female police officer feels sexier, the fact that she’s a student council member makes her feel sexier than other girls.’
I entered the classroom.
The teacher hadn’t arrived yet, but the atmosphere was strange. If Namgung Hwa-yeon, a second-year, knew about me, it was clear that rumors about me had already spread among the first-years.
“Yu-jin, hi.”
Lee Si-eun waved her hand. I greeted her and looked around.
Kim Chun-woo had a complicated expression, and Ma Jin-bae turned his head away, blatantly avoiding me.
Lee Kang-hoo was fidgeting and looking at me. Yu Seung-joon’s seat was empty, as if he hadn’t come to school.
Choi Da-yeon was staring at me. I thought she would be angry and have her pride hurt after losing in the sparring match yesterday, but she didn’t seem angry.
‘What is it? Given Choi Da-yeon’s personality, I thought she would be glaring at me like she wanted to kill me.’
『Choi Da-yeon’s Favorability: 34』
Her favorability was definitely around 15 yesterday, but it had jumped to 34.
‘Games and reality are different… Well, good is good.’
I went to my seat and sat down.
“Yu, Yu-jin. I heard you’re Sung Ha-ri’s son… Is that true?”
A female student sitting behind me asked. If it were a male student, I would have ignored him, but she was a female student I would soon be sleeping with. I smiled kindly and answered her.
“Yes, my mother is Sung Ha-ri.”
“Really?! I’m a huge fan of Sung Ha-ri.”
“Do you want me to tell you some stories about my mom?”
The female student nodded quickly. I could feel the other female students paying attention to us.
I grinned.
***
Before class started, I headed to Yoon Hee-jung’s personal office. Yoon Hee-jung, who was working in her small office, which was less than half the size of the classroom, swallowed hard when she saw me.
“Yu-jin, what brings you here?”
“It’s nothing serious. I just met a gem in the back alley yesterday.”
I closed the door and approached Yoon Hee-jung.
“…You went out yesterday? Did you sneak out at night?”
“Yes.”
“You… Are you confessing now? Sneaking out at night is a 20-point penalty. Should we go to the student council now? Huh?”
“It’s in the past. Please let it slide.”
“Let it slide? I’m your homeroom teacher. I need to educate you so you don’t go astray.”
“More importantly, I have something to say about the gem in the back alley.”
“D, don’t change the subject. That’s not the issue here.”
“Are you really going to give me a penalty?”
“If you did something wrong, it’s natural to receive a penalty.”
“Do you have any proof? Proof that I went out.”
“…Didn’t you just admit it? That you snuck out at night and met a gem in the back alley.”
“I could have lied. Or maybe… Did you see me outside, teacher?”
“I, I tend to believe my students. And it’ll all come out if we investigate. You know there are CCTVs and barriers installed near the dormitory, right? Should we go investigate now? Huh?”
“Yes, go ahead. But if there’s no proof, I’ll report you.”
“What?”
“I can’t unfairly receive a penalty without proof. My mother created a parent-teacher association this time… If I tell my mom, she’ll help me.”
“……Haa. Okay. Let’s drop this matter. You seem to be fine, so it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Class will start soon. Go back to your classroom.”
“Teacher.”
I pressed down on her shoulders with both hands as she sat in her chair.
