Chapter 100
After returning to my room and getting changed, I spent some time checking on DisPater to see if anything was wrong.
“Is that all you got, a …… little bruise?”
Despite the fact that the attack was enough to tear through the Academy’s uniform, which had basic defensive magic attached to it, DisPater had survived as if it was nothing.
With the auto-repair function, this kind of damage would be repaired quickly.
This kind of performance despite being a unique rank, what kind of deceptive equipment would it be once the core would be added and it would be properly completed?
Thinking about that, I took out the dungeon core I had stored in the cube.
[Name: Dungeon Core]
[Rank: Epic]
[Type: Material]
[Description: A crystallized form of artificial dungeon energy. Decades of accumulated and compressed magic provides enough power to sustain a single dungeon.]
In effect, it was the arc reactor of this world.
“He said it needed a narrative.”
The Academy Terror ended up being the main scenario of the Academy route.
So, wouldn’t a dungeon core tied to this event be a perfect fit?
“Well, I’ll have to pick it up and see.”
I put the Dungeon Core back into the cube and sat down on my bed but I heard a commotion outside the mansion, which had been quiet until now.
“What’s going on?”
I opened the window to check and realized that the gang members who had gone out with my father were outside.
That meant he was back.
As I walked to the entrance of the mansion, I saw him walk in, just as I expected.
“You’re back, Dad.”
“……Yes.”
For some reason, his expression seemed darker than usual and he had a little soot on his face so I asked him cautiously, just in case.
“……Was it a trap?”
“Yes. There must have been some sign of him, but when we got there, there were only bombs.”
……That would mean the soot on my father’s face was the work of the Bloody Clown.
“It felt too suspicious to be their lair, so I went in alone. If I’d gone in with the others, it would have been a disaster.”
“Were you injured?”
“Hmm? Are you worried about me? Ha! I wasn’t even tickled, so don’t worry too much.”
……I shouldn’t be worried for a man who can take an anti-tank gun from the front and crush it with his bare hands without a scratch.
There was no way any of the Bloody Clowns could harm him, no matter what he did.
“But if the place you went to was a trap, isn’t there a problem with the informant?”
“……I thought so myself, but they must have been there.”
With that, he pulled out his cell phone and showed me a picture.
On a blackened wall was a drawing of a black rat, scurrying and giggling.
“……plague rat.”
“Yeah, that’s Plague symbol. That means the information isn’t wrong. It’s a shame it happened today, but we’re lucky no one got hurt.”
As he said this, he had the look of a determined avenger in his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him.”
There was a hint of life in his voice, of wanting to chase him down and kill him.
For a moment, I felt nervous, even though I wasn’t the one facing those eyes but then, he tapped me on the shoulder and smiled brightly, as if to lighten the mood.
“By the way, the academy is still holding the new student welcome party tomorrow after all, right?”
I wondered if my father had been informed. After all, he was like a parent to the academy, so it was only natural that he would know.
“Yes, because if we postpone it, it might be said that we were intimidated by the Villain Alliance.”
That was exactly what had happened this evening, as the academy had come out with the stance that the Villain Alliance’s terrorism had been completely thwarted by the students, and that the Villain Alliance was nothing more than a social club for villains.
“Really? In that case, the oath will be taken by the child of the Choi Family, who is the top student, which is really a shame.”
“That’s right. Father.”
“Hmm?”
“The oath. I’m going to take it.”
“What?”
My father’s eyes widened, as if he didn’t expect this.
“You mean you’re going to take the oath of the Seoul Hero Academy, an oath that only the best hero cadets in the country can take?”
“……Yes.”
“Oh, no. I knew you were brilliant, but…… how? Did that kid get killed in the attack?”
No, surely Consigliere must have told him about Choi Yeon and Sword Saint getting together after the incident, but from the way he was saying it now, I could sense how flustered he was.
“It’s just that Choi Yeon resigned from the position and I took her place.”
His eyes showed no sign of narrowing as I told him the truth.
On the contrary, his tired-looking face grew brighter and brighter.
“Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, Parnello. Did you hear? My son is taking the oath of the Seoul Hero Academy.”
“Congratulations Don, Master.”
“Now is not the time. Have Dominic write the best speech for Eugene to use.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll have it delivered right away ──.”
“Now, wait!”
I exclaimed, catching Parnello’s hand that was about to turn and move away, as I panicked at my father’s unexpected reaction.
“It’s okay, the speech is from the Academy!”
“It’s ……isn’t it?”
“Yes. So it’s really okay.”
Who knows what strange things Consigliere might write in my speech. Besides, I didn’t know what else my father might suggest if I stayed.
“Let’s call it a night, since I need to get ready for tomorrow, and you need to get some rest, too.”
“Ah, yes. Well, you’ve been trained in eloquence from a young age, so you’ll do fine.”
…… Did I learn eloquence too?
Eugene learned something new about Corleone.
“You’ve been holding on too long. Go upstairs and rest.”
With that, I thanked my father and returned to my room, where I stared at the speech I had received from the Academy a few days earlier.
“…… Does this mean I have to read this in front of the whole school?”
Of course, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t read the speech before.
When I went the Academy route, I usually aimed for Chief or Vice Chief for ease of play, and along the way, I always encountered events that required me to read a speech.
But there’s a big difference between what you see in the game and what you actually have to read.
“Inevitably, we will collide.”
I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to have to recite the speech, so I might as well get an achievement.’
As I continued to read the speech, I thought to myself.
[Master? It’s Alessia, are you sleeping?]
I heard Alessia’s voice outside.
Alessia came to see me at this hour?
“The door is open, come in.”
As I said that, wondering what was going on, Alessia crept in, carrying something, and bowed.
“I apologize for the late hour. My order just arrived, so I thought I’d excuse myself.”
“Something you ordered?”
Alessia showed me the item in her hand at my question.
“Your secretary said that your uniform was torn today, so I got them in a hurry. You can’t take the oath in plain clothes in front of the whole school, can you?”
I can’t help but smile back at the way Alessia speaks with a playful smile on her face,
“I see. I could have gotten in trouble.”
I take the school uniform from her and check it out.
It’s the same size as mine and must have been washed separately after I bought it, because the uniform has a nice scent.
“Thank you Alessia.”
“I was just doing what I was supposed to do. Cough!”
“Have you caught a cold?”
“No, I don’t think so, it’s probably from following the money and breathing in the dust, but……you might want to drink some warm water before you go to bed.”
Oh, she said that there was an explosion.
“Any injuries?”
“Fortunately, no one was hurt, including me, because Don was in the lead, not anyone else.”
Certainly no one was hurt, not even father.
She didn’t have any visible wounds either, but I wondered if it was really just dust.
“If that’s the case, that’s fine, but…….”
“Is that the speech you’re going to read tomorrow?”
Smiling, she walks over to the monitor, curious to see that it was still on.
It wasn’t like there was any reason she shouldn’t read it, so once she was still, Alessia gave her assessment of the speech.
“Isn’t it?”
As she said, it was a speech that had been used from the past until now, so I also thought it was trite.
“Isn’t it possible for you to write your own speech?”
“I wouldn’t mind if you did, but the academy probably wouldn’t like it if I’d be doing it on my own terms.”
Among other things…….I was barely keeping my sanity, thinking I was reading what the Academy told me to read, but changing it?
I thought my face would explode and I would die.
“If that’s what Master says, then I suppose it can’t be helped, so I’ll leave you to it.”
“Okay. Take care of yourself.”
With that, I let Alessia leave. Sitting back down at my desk, I stared at the manifesto in front of me again and sighed.
“……I don’t know.”
* * *
The entrance to the Academy was even more tumultuous than usual.
“Outside guests, please identify yourself here!”
“Students, please present your student IDs here before entering through the gates!”
There was extra security due to yesterday’s terrorist attacks.
At least the students’ IDs were being checked against the academy’s records, but it was clear at a glance that the vigilance was considerable for outsiders.
“This is it. I’ll go in alone from the gate.”
“Are you sure?”
Sitting in the car driven by Han Seo-Joon as usual, I gathered my things, realizing that this was taking longer than I thought.
“It’s better than this. I’ll call you when I get back, since it looks like it’s hard for outsiders to get in.”
“That’s fine with me. I’ll be near the academy, just let me know.”
“…… Do as you please.”
Getting out of the car, I pulled out my student ID, which I always kept in my purse, and approached the school gates.
It was more of a hassle than usual, but I figured it was for security purposes.
Just as I was about to show my ID to the academy staff who spotted me──
“You must be Eugene Han, the student who will take the oath for today’s new student welcome meeting, so you can go inside right away.”
“……Ah, yes.”
I was immediately given a free pass without even showing my student ID.
What the……?
Still, I figured a good thing is a good thing, so I walked to my class.
It was still quite a while before the freshman welcome ceremony was scheduled to begin, and the academy’s guidelines were to wait in line for the rest of the day.
“Welcome, freshman class president, boss Familia, Eugene Han!”
As soon as I enter the classroom, I’m greeted by Jin-woo, who was screaming and dropping titles.
From the looks of Young-jae clutching his forehead in the back, and Se-ah sighing, I think I know what’s going on.
“Jin-woo.”
“What? Why? Are you impressed?”
“Oh, don’t be shy.”
“Hing…….”
I don’t know, really.
I should be preparing my speech.
