Chapter 13
After finishing my conversation with Jin-Woo, I returned home, checking my stats and weapons to prepare for tomorrow’s event.
There’s a knock on the door, and I can feel someone outside.
“Eugene, may I come in?”
It was my father’s voice.
I didn’t understand why he’d come at this hour, but I wasn’t about to say no, like a middle schooler going through puberty.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
Once I got over my embarrassment at the sudden turn of events of my father’s visit, I replied to him and sat up neatly on the bed.
“Okay. I’ll come in then.”
With a cigar in his mouth and a black overcoat and fedora hat on his head, he walked into the room.
From the way he was dressed, it was clear that he was about to go out somewhere.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes. I’ve been informed that we’ve found a hideout where the remnants of the Blunts are hiding.”
With a shrug and a look of resignation, he sits down in the chair on the other side of the bed.
The Outer Area is a place where the government is virtually unable to reach due to its past. As such, the security of the place was practically maintained by the Corleone family.
“You must be busy.”
“Of course. The Outer Area is beyond the reach of the government, so even your father has to work hard.”
He smiled and stroked my hair but the feel of his hard, rough hands on my head was not a pleasant sensation.
“You met the heir to the Bevalt family today, didn’t you? I had heard that Antonio’s son attended the Academy, but apparently he’s the same class as you.”
The report had gone straight to my father, after all, and I nodded, casually dismissing his hand and looking sheepish.
“Yes, that’s what happened. I also had a duel today.”
My father’s eyes widened at my words.
“Ho-ho, yes, and what was the result?”
“……The duel ended less than three seconds after I pulled the trigger, and it was too easy, so much so that instructor Ji-hyun said she wanted to see me fight without my weapon next time.”
“Hahaha, that’s just like Ji-hyun.”
Speaking of Ji-hyun, I decided to ask my dad what he thought about the academy.
“I……dad, may I ask what your relationship is with Lee Ji-hyun, she calls you uncle.”
“Huh? You mean her? Well, if you’re asking what our…… relationship is, she had a few run-ins with me before she started teaching at the academy, so we have a bit of a connection.”
“Ah…….”
She bumped into my father during her active duty days.
I knew from the game that Ji-hyun had taken down many criminals in the past as a hero, but I had no idea that he had also bumped into my father.
“Antonio’s son lost in three seconds, so you must have gotten something good, Eugene.”
My father said with a kind smile.
Apparently, he had heard from Parnello, and he knew about my unique weapon.
“Yes, I was lucky.”
“Speaking of luck, getting what you want is also a skill. You should be proud of yourself.”
The artifact [Al Capone’s Tommy] is the holy grail of the mafia.
It’s no wonder he was so fond of it, because I, his son, got it.
Well, it’s a possible reaction because to my dad, [Al Capone’s Tommy] is a toy.
“But dad, why are you in my room……?”
“Oh, that’s right. I have something for you.”
With that, he fumbled in his pocket and handed it to me.
“You’ve cleaned up the Blunt family, and if you’ve done a good job, so you deserve a reward.”
With that, he pulled out an ordinary-looking colorful cube.
“Is this ……?”
“You can’t carry that heavy gun every day, so I’ve prepared a subspace artifact for you. Do you like it?”
A subspace artifact.
I thought I’d seen this design before, but it was one of those inventory items I’d seen in games.
“Each square of that cube is about 1 cubic meter of space, so you’ll have a total of 6.4 cubic meters of space to work with.”
As soon as the cube touches my hand, information about how to use it starts to enter my brain and a 64-compartment inventory flashes before my eyes.
As a test, I pick up the pillow next to me and put it into the inventory, and it slides in, taking up eight spaces.
“What do you think?”
Father looks at me with a smile, curious about my reaction.
“Yes, I really……really like it.”
“Haha, right? Apparently, it’s adjustable in size, so you should wear it around your neck.”
With that, he handed me the cube and a necklace that appeared to be a set.
Apparently, the cube was to be reduced in size and attached to the end of the necklace.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, it makes me feel good that you like it.”
My smartphone vibrated as the item’s information had arrived.
“Huh? Did you receive a text from your friend?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Then another vibration is heard but this time, the source was not my phone, but my father’s pocket.
“Looks like……they contacted me, too, so I should probably get going.”
With that, he walked toward the door.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Okay, thanks.”
With that, he walked out of the room while I pulled out my phone from its face down position and checked the newly arrived alarm.
[New item acquired!]
[Name: Four-Dimensional Cube]
[Rank: Artifact]
[Type: Item]
[Description: A subspace artifact made by the artisans of the ‘Cube’. There are 64 compartments in total, with 10 cm³ of space per compartment, for a total of 6.4 m³ of subspace to hold things.
An option has been added to resize the cube to suit the user’s convenience.]
“I wonder if……was also from the Cube Workshop.”
Cube was the name of a workshop that produced high-end brands that appeared several times in the game.
It’s like a luxury brand.
If it was a product of the Cube Workshop, it would be quite expensive, and even subspace artifacts were said to be difficult to obtain no matter how much money you had, so I couldn’t imagine how much it would have cost.
Well, with my father’s name and Corleone’s wealth, it wouldn’t have been a huge expense.
As it turned out, I had gotten something that I really needed.
So, as I was checking my inventory, putting Al Capone’s Tommy and other miscellaneous items into it, there was another knock at the door.
“It’s Han Seo-joon. May I come in?”
It was Han Seo-Joon, who had paged my father before he came into the room, and he was waiting for my father to leave.
“Sure. Come in.”
As I finished organizing the cube and pointed to the outside, Han Seo-joon carefully opened the door and entered the room.
As soon as I saw his face, I told him the reason I called him here.
“Han Seo-joon. I need the power of the secretariat.”
“You mean the …… secretary’s office?”
“Yes, Kim Se-ah and Kim Young-je, who are in my class, and Ji-hyun. Use the power of the secretary’s office to gather information on the three of them and report back to me. The deadline is…… by tomorrow morning. Can you do it?”
“If you use the secretary’s…… unilaterally, Don will───.”
“I’m the heir to the Corleone family right now. I should have the right to use the secretary’s office.”
“I’ll report to you……by tomorrow.”
“Okay, please.”
At my words, Han Seo-joon bows his head and walks out the door.
He was originally an insider planted inside Corleone by the National Intelligence Service.
Ordinarily, I would have informed my father of his identity and let him handle it himself, but…… I decided it would be more beneficial to keep him by my side, watch over him, and slowly tame him into one of my own.
He was the key card that would later give me access to the National Intelligence Service.
Of course, that would be in the distant future.
* * *
“Boss~ You’re here.”
When I arrived at the Hero Academy, Jin-woo, who had arrived first, waved at me in a friendly manner.
“……Can’t you just say hello quietly?”
“Huh? Why?”
Why?
If I concentrated hard enough, I could hear the chatter around me.
‘That asshole just called Eugene his boss, didn’t he?’
‘Did he decide to become his subordinate after losing in the duel yesterday?’
Something bad was being said back and forth.
“I think you should tone down the loudness of calling me boss.”
“Really? Well, it’s just a matter of lowering my voice…… So, are you ready to start recruiting for the club?”
Hearing Jin-woo’s words, I recalled what happened this morning.
Kim Se-ah and Kim Young-jae’s character books had been updated after receiving information from the secretariat.
The ability to receive information from outside sources was a very useful skill in a situation like this.
“Of course.”
“That’s good, then. What about the advisor?”
“Huh?”
“A club advisor, an instructor who will advise the clubs. Are you trying to start a club among the students?”
“If you want an advisor, you can ask Instructor Ji-hyun.”
“Hey, you think she’ll advise the club because she’s crazy?”
As if my answer was ridiculous, Jin-woo waved his hand and said so.
“Even though I’ve only seen her for two days, Ms. Ji-hyun I’ve seen isn’t the kind of person who would do something like that.”
“Really?”
A normal person might think so.
In fact, I had thought of all sorts of ways to convince Ji-hyun, but…… didn’t think it was necessary to elaborate on them right now.
“First of all, I have a morning meeting, so we’ll do it at lunch. As for Instructor Ji-hyun……I’ll take care of it.”
“……Really? I won’t stop you if the boss says so, but……. Oh, is there anything I can do to help?”
“You just need to stay still.”
“Really? That’s great.”
He replies and goes back to his desk. When I was finally alone, I turned on my phone and flipped through the Personality Book.
[Name: Kim Se-ah]
[Affiliation: Academy, South Korea]
[Age: 19]
[Specialty : Excellent in spatial magic and spatial perception]
[Family : 1 sister, 1 brother, both parents deceased]
[Description : Alone and taking care of her 2 younger siblings. Her father was once a hero with spatial abilities but was killed during a mission. She was supported by the Hero Association until she reached adulthood, but upon reaching adulthood, she was no longer supported by the Association and is in a poor economic situation because of this].
[Name: Kim Young-jae]
[Affiliation: Academy, South Korea]
[Age: 19]
[Specialty: Has a natural talent for elemental magic and is extremely intelligent]
[Family Relationship: Single]
[Description: He had an average school life in middle school, but his magical talent exploded in high school. Currently lives in the academy’s dormitory and was admitted as a scholarship student. Has contacted the intelligence agency under Corleone a few times and is looking for someone.]
As I was organizing the information in my head, trying to figure out how to approach them using the information from the intelligence agency and the Personality Book, the front door of the classroom opened and Instructor Ji-Hyun Jang entered, smiling brightly.
“Well, it’s certainly a small class, so it’s easy to keep track of numbers, so shall we begin our third day at the Academy?”
I feel uneasy about something.
