Chapter 124
Julie Rodman offered these terms.
She would provide me with Vivian’s Spring Water, an elixir that the student council president is secretly creating and give me unprecedented privileges among the Academy’s clubs.
And that I would succeed her as student council president next year.
I wasn’t planning on being the student council president, which would be a lot of hassle during my time at the academy, but I liked the perks of being the student council president.
The only problem is that……First, I already have ‘Vivian’s Spring Water’ in my hands.
“If it’s Vivian’s Spring Water, isn’t it a legendary elixir from King Arthur’s mythology? Are you sure it’s real?”
But I couldn’t reveal that I had it, so I kept a straight face and carefully asked.
“Uh, no, I haven’t seen it in person, but I do know that it’s made in the President’s garden, Lake Vivian.”
“It’s a guess after all, I’m sorry, but it’s a bit much to go out on a limb for something you haven’t seen for yourself.”
“Wait, I’m almost certain. I don’t think you know what a great elixir that is…….”
“No.”
I cut her off.
“I know enough but I like things to be certain. Do you have any other suggestions?”
Julie closed her eyes, seemingly troubled by my words.
Then, cautiously, she opened her mouth.
“There’s an elixir that my family keeps……I swear it’s on par with Vivian’s Spring Water, and I’ll give it to you.”
“Hmm…….”
I feigned deliberation.
The initiative was clearly on my side, so it was important to get as much out of her as possible.
‘Senior, that’s not all you have, is it?’
Take out some more, some more.
She sighed and shook her head.
“Hu, if you need help, I’ll help you in private, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my plans.”
“Surely not just once.”
“……twice.”
“Okay. The Lamp Genie also grants three wishes, so let’s make it a tidy three, shall we?”
“……three times.”
“Why not?”
“I can do it if you say……!”
“With words?”
She bites her lip a few times at my words and waves her hand in the air, blood on her thumb.
“I swear on mana and blood.”
In response, her blood begins to glow brightly and dissolves into the air.
The magical oath has worked.
“I hope that’s enough.”
“Yes. It’s enough.”
An elixir and three passes from the future president for doing what I intended to do anyway?
How could I not accept such an offer?
“Let’s do it together.”
“You won’t regret it, junior.”
We shook hands as a sign of trust, then met each other’s gaze and smiled.
“So you’re going to be my black hand?”
“The black hand of the academy. Not bad.”
A black hand that works behind the scenes to create a chairman.
What a wonderful sound.
Just as my father, Vito Corleone, expanded his reach by making political figures his own, I had the opportunity to make the president of the Academy student council my own and gain that kind of power.
I hadn’t planned on doing this already, but……should I thank President Pendragon?
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Huh? The plan?”
“The plan to get the president out of office and let senior take over the student council.”
“I thought……my plan was to get junior on my side first.”
No, wait.
“No way, you didn’t have a plan for that?”
“I was going to sit down with you and figure out a plan from here on out.”
……I can’t believe I have to come up with a plan.
‘Oh, that was a surprise, wasn’t it?’
* * *
Thinking about the future was simple enough.
“I’ll let you know if anything comes up in the student council about your club. Just don’t act like you knew it was coming.”
“Don’t give away the fact that you and I are working together.”
“I’m not an idiot to give that away.”
Well, I had already been through similar events, so it was just a matter of controlling the variables in each situation.
It was all about maintaining the status quo and exploiting the gaps without making any major changes.
So what was needed was for Familia to focus on growth.
In the meantime, Julie remained the vice-president of the student council, helping Familia grow by investigating the weaknesses of the student council and the president and warning me of upcoming dangers.
In order to accelerate the process, Julie agreed to pay the elixir in advance.
“I didn’t think you’d ask for that in advance.”
“Anyway, with your plan, isn’t the fastest way for me to become stronger?”
“That’s true, but…….”
“Believe what I’ve done so far, the results don’t lie.”
“Ha…… Every time I see you do this, I feel a little condescending, but I’m also encouraged. For a freshman you’re good with words.”
Is that a compliment?
From the look on her face, she wasn’t being sarcastic, so I decided to take it as a compliment.
“So, when can you give me the elixir?”
Julie looks up at my words.
“First, I have to contact my family back home, get permission, and transport it from there to here, so even if I can…..a month?”
“That’s a long time.”
“It can’t be helped, it’s such an important elixir.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t know about the elixir, so I understood.
It certainly wasn’t something that could be sent by courier.
“Well, let’s call it a day, then, I don’t want to be gone too long and raise suspicion. By the way, you can reach me at the number I gave you. Calling my work phone is a little risky.”
“Okay. Sure. You can call me if anything happens, too.”
“Can I call you when I’m bored?”
“If you don’t mind me rambling.”
“That’s cheesy. Okay……!”
Julie stretches as she gets up from her seat.
“Shall I go then?”
-Poof.
With that sound, she turns back into a bat and disappears out the window.
At the same time, a message pops up in front of me.
Main story quest completed!
[You’ve created a new wind in the academy! By creating a new club, you’ve written your own new history! Lead the club successfully and get it promoted to Silver Club!]
[Achievement condition: Complete 5 club requests!]
[Number of Requests Completed: 5 / 5]
-Satisfied 2
-Highly Satisfied 3
[*Achievement rewards may change depending on the results.]
“Oh.”
It seems that the kids who had left for the literature club had successfully completed their requests.
Good timing.
Now, if only we could be promoted to the Silver Club, the quest would be fulfilled.
I left my office and called Se-ah, the community manager.
“Se-ah, what is our club’s performance right now?”
“Wait a minute, here’s a summary……Ah! Our achievements are a bit low, but thanks to the club competition, they are pretty good.”
If so, we’ve met the basic requirements to get the review in.
This quarter’s review is before the midterms, so it’s still relaxing.
“Do you still have attorney Han Kwang-ki’s number?”
“What? Yes, I have his number.”
“Tell him I told you to, and send the application form to him for review, and don’t forget to tell him to put his stamp on it and send it back.”
They can’t just withhold documents that have been vetted by a legal entity.
It’s as simple as having a more powerful force behind you to make sure they don’t get away with it.
That’s what power and money are for.
“Yes. I’ll do that. So, are we going to be a silver club?”
“That’s the goal, right?”
“But what about our club room? If we become a silver club, they’ll tell us to go upstairs.”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter, we don’t have to move as long as we keep using the room we’re in.”
We’re free to not take what we’re offered.
Of course, the only people who took this approach were the few who didn’t want to be bothered by a stale move, but it was within the academy’s rules.
“That would be great, huh? Looks like Mr. Jin-woo and Mr. Young-jae are already here. “
As if on cue, two sets of footsteps could be heard from outside my office.
“Boss, we’re here!”
“Ha…… I’m tired.”
The contrast between Jin-woo’s smiling face and Young-jae’s exhaustion is stark.
Jin-woo even had a thick book in his hand.
“Thanks for the trouble, but what happened……I asked you to do a little research?”
“Huh? I just walked into the other club with a model grenade and glared at them for a few minutes, so they begged me not to do it first.”
“You’re lucky it was a model grenade, you could’ve gotten detention for that, asshole.”
…… When I looked at them, I realized that there was a lot going on.
Still, they completed the request with a ‘very satisfied’ rating, so it must have worked out in the end.
“Oh, right. Boss, did you see that Choi Yeon person we’ve ever seen on our way here?”
” Choi Yeon?”
“Yep. She was walking in circles, checking out the club house.”
……No. No way.
I called Choi Yeon, just in case.
-Hello.
“Where are you?”
-Me? The clubhouse.
“What are you doing there?”
-I’m looking for room Z.
“If it’s room Z, then it’s our club.”
-Yes. But I think I’m lost. The club hall is complicated.
……Choi Yeon was….
“Then why don’t you call me? I’ll pick you up and you won’t get lost.”
-Ah. Right.
She’s either blind or stupid.
Either way, she’s made a decision.
“I’m going to send someone……and I want you to stand still at the entrance to the hall.”
-Yes. I’ll wait.
I sighed and turned to Se-ah.
“Can you get Choi Yeon, she’ll be at the entrance. No, she’ll forget again even if I give her directions, so take the elevator from the incinerator.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be right back.”
Se-ah hurries out the door.
A moment later, the elevator began to move with a goo-goo-goo sound, stopping at the basement level where we were, and the doors began to open.
“Oh.”
There was an exclamation from inside the elevator.
I turned my head and there, as expected, was Choi Yeon, looking around curiously.
“Hi.”
“……Yes. Next time you come to our club, you should take the elevator.”
“Yeah.”
At least she won’t get lost again.
Turning her head from side to side, Choi Yeon walked inside and casually sat down on the couch in the hall.
I handed her a teacup and spoke to her.
“Is this the first time you came here?”
“Yes. It’s so big. It looks like a great place to train.”
“Right? By the way, why are you at our club? Is it about the stuff we got from the dungeon the other day? Or that thing about joining the club I told you about?”
She shook her head at my question.
“No. Something similar, but for a different reason.”
“Different reason?”
Huh? Not that?
Then she slipped her hand into her jacket and pulled something out and placed it on the table.
The thing was.
“Is this ……?”
[Challenge Letter]
I had forgotten about it until now.
“Eugene, duel me.”
“……Suddenly?”
