Chapter 172
“First of all, as you said, I had to tell the academy that I was running late…… What else is going on today?”
Kwak Chun-sik scratched his floppy ears and asked why he was called to the warehouse in the morning.
He had initially asked why he had to mentor me on a day when I had academy classes, but…….
‘It seems that your disciple needs some help.’
‘Really?’
As usual, the word “Master” threw him off and he came to me.
“Anyway, the first years of the academy will be away for ‘Gaegwacheonsun’, so you should be able to help, don’t you think?”
“I was going to stay and sip coffee with the juniors and see how you’re doing, but I heard you’re having a hard time, so I’m here.”
He grumbled that it was a bother, but he still came.
I could tell he was really thinking about me.
“It’s just like I said on the phone. There are children who need your help.”
“Huh? Not you? Other kids?”
“Yes.”
I turn my head and look toward the warehouse.
Latte had already instructed Han Seo-joon to take over before she left for work at the cafe.
I wonder how Han Seo-joon, the secretary and former National Intelligence Service officer, handles the kids?
“Let me treat you to a cup of coffee, old man.”
I walk into the warehouse with Kwak Chun-sik, still puzzled, and am greeted by a huge space.
The only difference is that it’s strangely quiet inside, compared to yesterday’s overly noisy atmosphere.
I wonder if there’s no one there, so I go a little deeper.
“Ah, hello, Master. Mr. Chun-Sik.”
Han Seo-joon, who was standing in front of the children, turned his head this way and bowed while the children greeted me with the same bow.
When I was puzzled by the completely different atmosphere, Han Seo-joon spoke as if it was no big deal.
“The kids are more attentive than I thought. Agent Latte must have worked hard last night.”
“You didn’t do anything?”
“I don’t know, I just did a little training as I was taught.”
He shrugs his shoulders and the kids start to shiver.
I don’t know what the hell he’s done, but……they seem to be good listeners for now.
“It’s been a long day, go to the car and rest for a while.”
“As you wish.”
With that, Han Seo-joon bowed his head and left.
Standing in front of the children, I spoke as if making an announcement.
“First of all, what you called a circle is now broken.
“……?”
“What?”
“What?”
……The kids were more serious than I thought.
“It means it’s gone, and you don’t have to pay to be in the circle anymore.”
The kids are stunned as they finally understand.
It’s fun to watch them open their mouths.
“You mean, all those people are gone?”
“No. Uh, how?”
“Well, you don’t need to know how, and anyway, they’re gone, so you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
And that’s not really the point.
“Okay, I know the……circle is gone, but who’s that guy behind you? I think I recognize him.”
Han Ji-yeon, the girl in the sweatshirt, first recognizes Kwak Chun-sik and asks.
“Oh, really? I think I recognize him.”
“Is he a celebrity?”
The elderly man begins to laugh, as if he was pleased with the children’s reaction to recognizing him.
“Eugene, you see, I’m like this. There are no kids who don’t know me, just. Hehehehe.”
“Of course. You’re not just anyone, you’re a hero of Korea.”
After giving the old man a curt answer, I turned back to the children and continued.
“This is my teacher, Aura Master Kwak Chun-sik. I brought him here for no particular reason, but to educate you.”
“What? Education?”
“An Aura Master? Oh, you don’t mean the one from ……!”
“Oh my God, am I going to learn that Aura thing or something?”
Huh? What are they all talking about?
“Why would you want to learn Aura?”
That’s mine.
“You’re not learning Aura, you’re learning manners.”
“””Ah.”””
The three kids stiffen at my words.
“Sir. These guys used to beat people and steal money in the past, so can you teach them some manners the old-fashioned way?”
“Huh? How did you know? They call me the manners injector.”
Of course they do.
How many people have been victimized by your manners injector?
“Well, first of all, these are the subjects of my ‘Gaegwacheonsun’ and I still have about an hour before school, so can you do me a favor……?”
“Well, you’re asking me to help with academy activities, so I can’t really say anything……eh.”
As he said that, he raised his forearms, and the compressed muscles and blood vessels hidden under his clothes began to sprout and prove themselves.
“Let’s keep it simple and start with the Four Books of the Three Sages.”
“Hee hee!”
“Brother, I’ll be a good boy, okay? Please!”
Yeah. No way.
Another reason he was called the manners injector.
It was because he was having the most fun and it’s so sincere about teaching manners that there was even a post about this in the community.
[Title: Dude, do you know what a walking human disaster in CS is?]
[Author: nikonocotin]
[Subject: What is a new event?]
I thought it was some kind of new event, so I was watching it, but he just grabbed me and preached to me for an hour.
I don’t know if the producers intended it or not, but it was like a fucking joke]
[ㅇㅇ : Oh, I heard that’s the official setting of the producers. If you get caught by Kwak Chun-sik while committing a crime, you’ll be punished…]
[└nikonocotin: What kind of shitty setting is that?]
[└Ang : You must have gotten lost in the shuffle again with a request…]
[└deepblackblindness : ㄷㅊ라].
[└ã : 🙒 : 🙒 : 🙒 : 🙒 : 🙒]
It made me even more evil.
Oh, man, I’m getting PTSD just looking at that.
As I slowly turned to leave the warehouse.
“Come on, Eugene, this is something that will help you too, so sit down and listen.”
“I’m sorry, I had a sudden emergency, so──”
“Stay──”
“……ah.”
I couldn’t escape.
* * *
After the kids left for school I was in the passenger seat of Kwak Chun-sik’s car, staring blankly out the window.
“That’s strange, why would you want to go to the academy when you could be resting?”
“Because I have a lot of things to do that don’t involve classes.”
Haru and her International Trade Club had been doing most of the work, but the influx of clubs that had been struggling with the economy, as well as those that had become expendable, was paralyzing.
It was yesterday that I contacted Haru with concern……..
‘I haven’t slept in about three days.’
‘You mean you’re not sleepy? I don’t know, I think I’m actually numb to sleepiness.’
‘I probably have caffeine coursing through my system instead of blood, boo hoo hoo.’’
I realized she was losing her mind and decided to do something about it.
I grabbed the coffee and desserts I bought from Latte’s cafe and went to the International Trade Club’s meeting room.
“Welcome to…… International Trade Club…… eh?”
A staff member with a tired look on his face was surprised to see me.
“Looks like you’ve been busy.”
“Oh, no, I’m not, I’ll get the president in here quickly.”
I remember him looking down on me when I first met him, but now that I see him moving so quickly, I feel a sense of satisfaction.
Obviously, there are many differences between when I first came here and now.
Back then, I was just a kid who hadn’t built anything.
After waiting for a while, I saw a tired-looking Haru walking towards me, rubbing her eyes.
“Welcome to ……master.”
“You look like you’ve been working hard.”
“Still, I guess it’s worth it when you see the results, and that’s……?”
“Oh, I thought you might need it.”
With that, I hand her the coffee and slice of cake I’ve packed for her.
Haru’s eyes sparkle in response.
“Apparently, the coffee I was drinking was all gone and I had to go buy some new ones, but…… thank you very much.”
Bowing, she accepts the coffee and immediately starts handing it out to the club members.
Then, like ravenous hyenas, they quickly disappeared with the coffee.
Holding the last coffee, Haru takes a sip and looks at me with eyes that are a little wiser.
“This tastes familiar, I think it’s similar to the coffee we used to have at your mansion.”
“It is, isn’t it? I’m glad you seem to like it. By the way, where are those papers you said you couldn’t handle?”
“Ah. You mean those.”
Nodding, she turns and says.
“I’ve filed them away in my office, if you’ll come with me.”
I followed her to her office.
As is typical of her personality, there are neatly organized bookshelves and décor, and a squeaky clean floor.
However, we were greeted by a mountain of papers on her desk, a mess that hadn’t been there before.
“You’ve been doing all of this …… by yourself?”
“I distributed it to the other members, so I guess that means your plan worked.”
With that, she walked to her desk.
“Hmph.”
Holding up a stack of papers, the only one of them organized, Haru gently sets them down on another desk next to hers.
“These are the papers I was talking about.”
“……All of them?”
“All of them.”
‘……It’s a pretty substantial stack.’
No, a little bit, given the papers on Haru’s desk.
“Do you want to get started right away?”
“Sure.”
Still, it didn’t take me long to go through the papers, perhaps as a result of Consigliere’s recent training.
Apparently, most of the problems are clubs that don’t make a profit on their investments, or organizations with ridiculous plans.
Even I, an outsider, can’t see a single possibility, so I’m done.
While I was organizing the preliminary waste packages one by one.
“Huh?”
A piece of nonsensical planning paper with a familiar club name caught my eye.
“This is ──”
‘On the Development and Utilization of Strategic Weapons Using Magic Stones’.
The title was mouth-watering.
