Chapter 158
I was home, making up for a missed mentoring class, when I heard a voice at the door.
-Master, are you sleeping? Shall I come in? Master? Master?
It was Latte.
Whether she thought I was sleeping or not, the eager whisper from the other side of the door made me jump out of my seat, covering the assignment I was finishing.
“Come in.”
“Oh, you weren’t sleeping!”
As soon as she heard my voice, Latte opened the door and stepped inside.
Unlike the cafe, she was dressed in the mansion’s maid’s outfit, which was a refreshing change of pace.
“What’s going on?”
“Uh, today’s results!”
Saying that, Latte hands me a USB.
“Do you think the sound quality is good?”
“Yes! It’s the first round of filtered conversations, and the files inside are categorized with the time, table number, and a brief description of the conversation.”
These are the recordings of the conversations of the people who visited the cafe today that were found useful.
“It didn’t take long, did it?”
“Oh, yeah! The secretaries helped me out, so it was quicker than I thought.”
“Really? That’s perfect. Good job.”
“Hehe.”
I stroke Latte’s head for doing a perfect job on her first day and look at the file.
This is the end of my preparation for information warfare at the academy. The only thing left to do is to prepare for the storm ahead.
Today’s meeting with the clubs supervisor was satisfactory, but Ray would surely see the purpose behind it and follow up.
‘Well, I did ask Julie for a favor.’
I asked her to delay getting today’s business into the student council ears as much as possible, which would buy us a little time.
I had to play the game.
“By the way, was the cafe job easy?”
“Yes! I never thought that the coffee errands the older villains sent me on when I was a new prisoner in Niflheim would come in handy here. It was easier than I thought!”
“Well, really?”
I don’t see what the two have to do with each other, but if……Latte’s okay, I guess it’s fine.
Well, then.
* * *
The next day.
Arriving at the academy, I immediately gathered the kids together and began to explain what we had to do today.
“Today is going to be pretty busy.”
The kids gathered around me from recess.
Was it because I had laid the groundwork for a new plan?
Their eyes glowed with excitement.
“Is that it?! We’re going to take over other clubs to celebrate being a silver club, right?”
Jin-woo’s words are scary from the start, and Se-ah shakes her head in disbelief.
“Are you crazy? I’ve been working so hard behind the scenes to improve our club’s reputation, that’s not possible!”
However, I was immediately interrupted by Se-ah, who is our club’s public relations and image-making officer.
Choi Yeon, who came to visit us for a while, also shook her head.
“……I was looking forward to it.”
……I wonder what she was expecting.
I wondered if she had a picture in her head of me randomly signing up for tournaments with other clubs.
“That’s not why I said we’ll be busy, this is why.”
With that, I pulled out the pamphlet I’d kept in my cube and spread it out on the table.
[Familia with you]]
“This is our new business item. It’s a support policy for weak clubs.”
Familia’s support system is aimed at clubs that have difficulty operating with only the academy’s funding.
It was a pamphlet that explained in an easy-to-understand manner that we could sell their products through connections with outside companies and return the proceeds to them.
“Hmm? This says that the Seoul Hero Academy is involved, but did the academy agree?”
At that moment, Young-jae asked me if he had already skimmed the contents.
As I was about to respond to his question the speaker on the wall turned on and a faint noise was heard.
-Eugene Han. Eugene Han, please come to the dean’s office, I’m going to say it again. Eugene Han…….
Even though it’s still early in the morning and the morning inspection hasn’t started yet, the sound of the loudspeaker draws the gazes of the children from Familia, as well as the gazes of other children, to me.
“I’ll go get permission right away.”
The dean’s permission?
It’s not that hard to get permission.
I walk out of the classroom, leaving the kids behind, and head for the dean’s office, where the dean, who is already out, looks at me and smiles.
“Shall we go inside student Eugene?”
“Thank you. Mr. Dean.”
We walked inside and took our seats. The first to speak was the dean, Heo Seok-ki.
“I see you’re wearing the shoes.”
Realizing that I’m wearing the Black Mist he gave me, he asks with a proud smile.
“What do you think, were they good?”
“Yes. They’ve gotten me through a lot. Thank you.”
I can’t tell how many times I’ve gone undercover and how many times I’ve saved my life because of the Black Mist.
I was feeling genuinely grateful to him and the dean nodded his head as if satisfied.
“I’m glad to hear that, then, but……I have a favor to ask of you, student Eugene.”
The atmosphere relaxes a bit, and he gets to the point.
“It’s a favor that no one but you can grant.”
He leans back and strokes his chin as he speaks from the heart.
“I hope you don’t mean that you’re going to cause some sort of incident at the Academy, because even I can’t cover for something that big.”
……What the hell does he think of me?
“I’m not asking you to do that. On the contrary, I’m asking you to do something that will benefit the academy, the students, and all of us.”
“A favor that benefits all of us?”
The concern in my voice is replaced by interest.
“Let’s hear it, what’s in it for all of them.”
Actually, my request wasn’t that serious.
“I’d like you to gather the Academy’s student council and club heads, in your name.”
* * *
That afternoon, for the first time in a long time, the entire student body was gathered in the convention hall.
The students were puzzled by the suddenness of the gathering, as it was scheduled once or twice a month, and among them were members of the Student Council, the pinnacle of the academy.
“Julie, did you hear anything about this gathering?”
With his hands in his pockets, Ray Pendragon made his way to the convention hall and Julie, walking beside him, shook her head.
“I don’t know, it hasn’t happened recently, and according to an instructor I know, it was the dean’s order.”
“The dean? That’s weird.”
Ray looks even more puzzled by Julie’s words.
The secretary pokes his head out first and smiles.
“Isn’t there something like that sometimes to recognize someone, like when a student saves a citizen on the street or something like that?”
Ray makes an “hmmm…….” sound and nods when the secretary says it’s nothing to worry about.
“If that’s the case, I don’t really want to go, but…… did the dean say it’s mandatory?”
“That’s right, Mr. President.”
“That’s annoying~ They should keep that stuff to themselves.”
As he muttered that, he opened the door to the convention hall, and everyone’s eyes were focused on the entrance.
It was a rare sight to see the entire student council.
“Wow, the whole school is here. Where should we sit?”
“There’s a sign in front that says Student Council, so I think we can sit there.”
“Oh, I see it. You mean over there?”
They follow the words on the sign to the front of the convention hall.
Finding a chair with his name on it, Ray sits down and crosses his legs.
‘Okay, so who the hell did what to get the entire student body here? Let’s take a look, shall we?’
Ray smiles, looking forward to it.
A few moments later, the empty seats begin to fill up, and the convention hall begins to fill with people.
‘Wait. So he’s here too?’
At that moment, Ray turns her head toward the back and begins to look around, searching for ‘him’.
The one who had recently made his life at the academy so much fun.
Perhaps they would be involved in something like this? There was also the hope that they might get involved.
‘The president is looking over here!’
‘Mr. president!’
There were screams and waves from the students who adored him, but Ray smiled at them as if he was used to it by now, and finally found ‘him’.
“You’re sitting in the back, aren’t you?”
That person was sitting in the topmost but back seat with an arrogant smile on his face.
‘Eugene Han.’
The one who had recently become the head of the first grade.
Next to him were the members of the club he ran, and the granddaughter of the Sword Saint who had been relegated to the second place, Choi Yeon.
At that moment feeling Ray’s gaze Eugene’s gaze met his.
He smiled and laughed at the same time, and Ray smiled back, intrigued.
“So, you’re involved after all. Is this it?”
I wonder what he’s up to.
Just like last time. How did he move the dean?
As his gaze shifts back to the front of the room, the kid from the broadcast department comes out, sets up the microphone, and stands at the podium.
-Thank you all for attending. The reason we’re here today is because there are some people who the Dean would like to congratulate in person.
“I see.”
He nods, realizing that this is about congratulations, as they’ve been talking about since they got here.
‘Okay, well, let’s hear what you’ve done that the dean is going to personally congratulate you.’
Ray crosses his arms and leans back in his seat with that thought.
-The Dean himself will be presenting the award, and the recipient will receive 10 million credits in scholarships from the Academy.
With those words, the broadcast department student descends from the podium, and the Dean, who had been waiting, steps up.
The convention hall immediately erupts in applause but stops soon as the dean raises his hand lightly.
-Good evening, students. I’m your dean, Heo Seok-ki. Today, I have asked you to gather for one simple reason. Two of our students have done an outstanding job.
Ray stifles a yawn and covers the corners of his mouth with his hand in the familiar repertoire of every congratulation ceremony.
It was nothing particularly exciting but the next words that came out of the dean’s mouth were enough to make Ray shudder.
-Ray Pendragon, Student Council President, Seoul Hero Academy. Forward.
“What?”
As Ray is caught off guard by the suddenness of his call, the Dean looks at him once more and opens his mouth.
-Forward.
In an instant, eyes begin to gather around him.
“The dean is recognizing you?”
“I wonder what the president did this time?”
He couldn’t understand how he had unwittingly become the recipient of the award, but at this point, he had to step forward.
Ray Pendragon stood up with a smile on his face, as if he was expecting it.
For him, this level of facial expression management was very simple.
Ray Pendragon walks to the front of the podium and stares at the Dean’s face.
A look that said, “What the hell are you doing?”
But the Dean remained smiling as he read from the script in front of him.
-The above student has been instrumental in the creation of a new system created by the Student Council to support clubs that are struggling to make ends meet, and──
“Huh?”
-Student Ray Pendragon was very instrumental in helping to establish the ‘Club Economic Activity Support System’ and on the strong recommendation of our hero, Kwak Chun-sik, and our vice president, Choi Sun-ho, we are awarding you this certificate.
“Ah.”
The corners of Ray Pendragon’s eyes begin to flutter, as if he finally understands the situation.
-Congratulations. Ray Pendragon.
‘Ha. I got my ass handed to me, didn’t I?’
It was the first time he’d been ‘humiliated’ since he became the student council president.
