Chapter 19
Puzzlement flashed across Haru’s face, which hadn’t changed a bit up until this point, at my suggestion of turning the International Trade Club into a Gold Club.
“What do you mean, you will make the International Trade Club a Gold Club.”
As if realizing her mistake, Haru quickly cleared her face and looked at me with her normal expression. But having already seen her expression crumble, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Are you afraid of getting stabbed in the back?”
“A backstabbing…… what is that──.”
“The International Trade Club is secured through necessity by establishing trading relationships with other clubs.”
In other words, it was the “necessity” of the international trade club that kept it intact, even though it was powerless to defend itself. But that’s only if the clubs don’t show their true colors.
“You’re planning to hire recent Bronze-ranked clubs as mercenaries, aren’t you?”
“Not really.”
“Well, then, consider this a guess on my part, but hear me out: there are two ways for a club to advance to the next rank.”
The first is through performance.
Only one club per quarter can be promoted by submitting their activities and performance to the student council. Of course, the weaker clubs are demoted.
The second way is through club competitions.
This is a high-risk, high-reward method that involves declaring war on a club that is higher in rank than your own, and if it fails, the winner gets all the rights to the losing club.
“In the case of the International Trade Club, since it is a club that lacks military power, it is likely that it hires mercenaries from other clubs to defend itself. But……I’ve noticed an increasing number of bronze clubs signing contracts with the International Trade Club lately.”
“That’s a wild guess.”
“You’d like me to think so. Besides, you’ve been spending a lot of money lately, and you’re probably preparing to sign inviolability pacts with other clubs.”
If they allowed other clubs to intervene in the middle of a club competition, they would surely lose, so they would have already been talking to other clubs while spending big money.
“……That’s confidential information that only the vice president and assistant vice president know, so how on earth do you know that?”
“You think there’s a whistleblower in the International Trade Club?”
“Other than that, I don’t understand the current situation.”
Of course there is no such thing. All of this information was part of one of those big events that happens in the first semester of freshman year that everyone knows about if you take the academy route in CS.
The International Trade Club, a silver club, hired mercenaries from other clubs to fight the Gold Club in order to get promoted, but in the end, the betrayal of the other clubs, who had made an inviolable pact, was fatal.
After this event, the International Trade Club loses all of its key leaders, and eventually the International Trade Club is reduced to a mere appendage of the other clubs.
From the player’s point of view, this event was a fork in the road, as they had to choose between building goodwill with the International Trade Club and building goodwill with the other clubs, but as Eugene Corleone, I found it more efficient to side with the International Trade Club.
The International Trade Club, as well as the family of its leader, Haru, were subordinate organizations of Corleone.
In other words, I was going to change the future of the club, which had been reduced to the status of slaves.
“Don’t ignore the intelligence of the Corleone heir, Haru.”
I activate my blood power, instilling a sense of intimidation in Haru and she flinches, wondering if she’s heard anything about the red aura around me.
My prediction of her reaction is correct, as the only other person who has ever shown this trait is Vito Corleone, my father and the current boss of Corleone.
“Do you think there are traitors in your circle? Do you think your security is so great? Spare me that nonsense. What matters now is what I do now, knowing this information.”
Little by little, I started to notice the fear radiating from me seeping into her skin.
This was proof that the head of the International Trade Club, who until now had only seen me as the kid she knew as a child, was afraid of me now.
I took this opportunity to lean back in my seat, put my feet up on the desk, and stared at her.
“Fund Investment Club.”
Haru looks at me with trembling eyes at the words that come out of my mouth, and I smile at her reaction.
“I’ll have the Fund Investment Trade Club shut down by the end of the day.”
“……Closing it down today? Is that possible even if it’s the young master?”
“It is possible.”
I sounded so confident that Haru’s mouth dropped open.
“I’ll give you credit for your intelligence, but shutting down a Gold Club is a different story.”
“Isn’t that why you targeted the Fund Investment Club in the first place, because they were less powerful than the other Gold Clubs?”
“If you’re aware of……you know that. No matter how low their power is compared to other clubs, the opponent is a gold club. It’s an opponent that I can only succeed against if I put everything on the line.”
The Fund Investment Club was also a club with low strength, but they made up for their lack of strength with financial resources.
In other words, as long as there are clubs that are allied or contracted with them, they can’t be dismissed because of their low power.
“However, how can you, who is still only a freshman, say that you are going to shut down the Gold Club───”
“Didn’t you just say it with your own words?”
“───Eh?”
“A freshman.”
I stand up and walk over to the wall where the calendar hangs.
“What day is it?”
“……It’s the second day of the freshman class.”
“Yes, and today is the day that freshmen explore the clubs, so where are the members of the other clubs that the fund investment club has hired or contracted with right now?”
“Well, of course they have a booth at……to recruit other freshmen, but not only are their members away, so are the International Trade Club members, and even if we applied for a club competition, we don’t know when the Student Council would approve it.”
“If we use our connections at the International Trade Club, we should be able to get permission today.”
“We should be able to get it approved by today……but you do realize that our club is not going to be able to fight this alone.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you don’t have to worry about it.”
“What?”
Turning around, I took out the artifact I had kept in my cube, the Gloves of Midas, and put them on both hands.
“Because more than half of the Fund Investment Club’s power will be lost today.”
“Why is that──?”
“──Do you remember when I said I would offer it to you at the beginning?”
“……I remember.”
Here, I told her the whole proposal that I hadn’t told her before.
“My offer is simple. I’m going to cook you a meal so that you can eat the Fund Investment Club later today. In exchange, I want you and your club to pledge your absolute support and backing to the club I’m creating.”
The power of the International Trade Club is real.
She uses her family’s resources and abilities to get things that aren’t available here in Korea faster than anyone else, and she manages to get the International Trade Club, which was only an affiliate club in the original, promoted to Gold.
If we can attract people like this to our side from the start, it will be a huge help.
“Be one of my people, Haru.”
I said, extending my hand toward her, who was still listening to me in a daze.
“Hahaha…”
At the same time, she bursts into laughter.
“Phew.”
For the first time, laughter broke out on her face, which was almost like a mask. Lowering her head to wipe away the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes, Haru slowly raised her gaze and spoke to me with a still mischievous smile.
“Is that a confession, like back then?”
……A confession, I didn’t expect her to be joking here. Still, the joke came from Haru and no one else.
Taking this as a positive response, I smiled sheepishly and replied.
“You’re being overly self-conscious, Haru.”
“I never thought I’d hear that from you…….”
She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled again and grabbed my hand.
“I accept.”
“Very well.”
With a light shake of my hand, I finished shaking hers and opened the door to the office.
“Huh?!”
At the same time, Jin-woo, who was stuck in the door, collapsed towards me.
“What’s up?”
“Oh, hey. Boss.”
I sigh at his pathetic appearance.
Shaking his head, Young-jae helps Jin-woo to his feet.
“It’s a soundproof door and you can’t hear anything anyway.”
“Huh? Was it a soundproof door? I couldn’t hear a thing.”
When I told him that it was a soundproof door he put his ear to the door.
I knew it was a soundproof door, so I let it go anyway.
“Uh…… Mr. Eugene. Did the talk end well?”
Kim Se-ah, who was standing behind Young-jae, cautiously asked me. She was probably worried because the conversation had gone on longer than expected.
“Yes, the talk ended without any problems. It was rather successful.”
“Oh, that’s great! So we’re going straight to the Gold Club now?”
“Yes. Haru we’ll be there first to initiate the action and you can leave as soon as we are done.”
“As you say, Master.”
She bowed to me as she left the office.
At the sight of her, Jin-woo jumped to his feet and clung to me.
“Huh? What is it? What else do we have to do?”
“We got the bronze and silver agreements, so we’re going to go get the gold one.”
“You’re going straight to the gold club without giving us a break?”
“Eugene did all the work anyway, so what’s a break for?”
Young-jae sighs when he sees Jin-woo asking for a break.
“We’re going to the Gold Club, right? The Silver Club was on the fourth floor, so the Gold Club is on the seventh floor, right?”
“No, we’re going to the sports field.”
“……The sports field?”
Young-jae, who was about to leave the International Trade Club, stops in his tracks and scratches his head.
“Why the sports field all of a sudden?”
“Because this time we’re going to the club booth, not the club room and……will have to play an active role there.”
I look at Jin-woo, who’s sullen as I say this, and he looks around, then points to himself.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah, I think I can get this done faster with your help. Maybe you’re the only one who can do it.”
Was it because I suddenly said something that made him feel good about himself that his slumped shoulders began to lift a little?
“Something only I can do? If that’s the case, then of course I’ll help you! So, boss, what do you need me to do? Escort? Negotiate?”
“I don’t know.”
“……?”
“You’re going to get your ass kicked.”
I didn’t bother to say that somehow I thought he’d be good at it.
