Chapter 123
They stop dead in their tracks at the mention of school rules.
“First graders memorize school rules……No, you mean they knew we were coming and were preparing in advance?”
Uh-huh. No. I’ve memorized everything I’m going to use against you.
Do they realize that I’ve been through the Academy many more times than they have?
Jin-woo reaches for the papers in frustration, as if he doesn’t like the way things are going.
“You guys just came in like lightning and fried beans. What kind of domineering behavior is this, running someone else’s club?”
At first glance, Seo Yeon-soo frowns at the number of papers.
“What is this?”
“Nothing. Aren’t these the papers the seniors asked me to bring, the confirmation and proof of club funding?”
“Bring me…….”
At Seo Yeon-soo’s words, one of the other male seniors approaches Jin-woo and takes the documents from him.
Then she looks at the contents.
“Zero expenses? Are you kidding me?”
“You mean we fiddled with the paperwork, and now you’re making it out to be a prank with no proof, so our president must be a little shitty. Why? Did he ask you to peck at us?”
Cringe. I felt a shallow shiver run down my spine, and a handful of fear.
He’d hit the nail on the head.
“The……Student Council audits are conducted fairly. We don’t do more or less because of anyone’s feelings.”
A passerby from the Financial Accountability Office laughed at the idea of an audit based on a report.
“So there’s no reason to go after our club, which has been fair, compliant, and has provided everything we need for the audit?”
Poof.
I can hear his teeth grinding.
“Jin-woo.”
“Yes.”
“The guests are leaving. See them off and sprinkle some salt on them.”
“Why don’t you all leave now? How are our clients supposed to come if you block the hallway like this?”
With no rules, no paperwork, and not a speck of dust to grab onto, there was nothing they could do.
Whether they realized it or not, they turned around several times when we pointed it out.
“Oh, and before we go, the seniors there.”
The auditors stop in their tracks as I continue down the hall.
“Looks like there are a few Ares Club members in the mix. Say hello to the president for me.”
This confirmed my suspicions.
The student council president, Ray Pendragon, had noticed the disappearance of Vivian’s spring, and he was pointing his finger at me.
How on earth did he get me as a suspect when he had no reason to suspect me?
Sure, I had all the CCTV footage from the garden, and I knew there were no witnesses in the area.
Is that all there is to it? I even scattered some of the villain’s remains in Vivian’s lake after the attack to make it look like they were responsible.
Was it because I sided with the Dean and said something that antagonized the Association?
No, he’d stab him in the back, but I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who’d stick his neck out for the Association.
So, by sabotaging his plans in the Student Council?
Well, there was no way he could ever suspect me of that.
‘So it’s just for show?’
Perhaps, if there’s a chance, he thinks I’ve already drank from Vivian’s fountain, since I’m only a freshman and unusually strong?
It was most likely this way.
“Hui~ Hui~”
When I told them to sprinkle salt on the empty spot they left, I left Jin-woo, who was sprinkling Himalayan pink salt, behind and returned to my office to gather the kids working out in the training room.
Their faces were serious, as if they realized that what had just happened was no laughing matter.
“They’re probably going to be a pain in the ass for a while, pressuring us and bothering us in all sorts of ways.”
They’re going to try to stop us from moving up the ranks, and they’re going to call us out on everything we do.
This could have been pretty devastating for us as a bronze club.
So.
“I’ll build my own wall tomorrow.”
I just need to confirm in person that I didn’t pack a bottle of Vivian’s Fountain of Youth.
It’s already safely tucked away in my cube.
“The student council president is coming to talk to you?”
“I’m sure we can talk it out and clear up any misunderstandings.”
If the reason he’s doing this isn’t because of “Vivian’s Fountain,” it’s going to get pretty complicated……Oh well, whatever.
It’s mostly something I can handle.
‘Cause all it takes is time.’
For now, it’ll be important to grow the club so that it’s big enough to take on these guys.
Just then, Jin-woo raises his hand.
“Boss, I have an idea.”
“A good idea?”
“I’ll get some explosives from home, and we’ll set them off and bald the student council president head-”
“You want to set off a bomb at the academy when a terrorist attack just happened? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“C’mon…….”
I’m not sure if I thought it was a good idea or not, but I’m instantly dumbfounded.
Anyway, Jin-woo’s opinion is secondary.
If I remember correctly, he had a way to detect Vivian’s Spring Water.
‘I can use that ability to prove my innocence.’
No, what if he gets suspicious?
If he suspects me, he’ll have to bring his own evidence.
His pride will make him doubt everything else, but if it’s confirmed by his own ability, he’ll have no choice but to go along with it.
So I figured I’d see him in person and prove it to him, and then he’d have no choice.
Of course, I’ll have to leave the ‘Vivian’s Spring Water’ in the cube at the mansion.
“For now, let’s not worry too much and focus on our club work. How’s the last request coming along?”
“Protecting the literature club? I’ve almost finished researching the information before I started.”
“Then go with Jin-woo and talk with their president, then make a report and give it to me.”
“Okay. Hey, stop pretending to cry and get up, we have to go meet the seniors of the literature club.”
“Glasses…….”
“Huh?”
“Are the seniors there pretty?”
“Crazy.”
The two of them left the office first, and I went into my office to prepare for the upcoming student council inspection.
Suddenly, I felt a tremendous sense of power in my office.
I jumped to my feet and drew my shotgun when I heard an urgent voice calling out.
“Junior! Calm down! Calm down!”
……Who is it?
I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a black bat sitting on the couch.
“……Senior Julie.”
“Phew. At least you remembered my voice, huh?”
At the same time, a reddish smoke began to surround the bat, growing larger and larger.
As the red mist dissipated, a woman with her legs crossed and a bright smile appeared.
It was Julie Rodman, vice president of the Academy’s student council.
“You look surprised, I’m sorry.”
“How did you get in?”
“Through the window? My magic is a bit unusual, as you just saw.”
She smiles mischievously at my question and flaps her wings with both hands, then glances across to the couch.
“Do you think I could talk to you for a moment? It’s important.”
“I’ll have……get us some refreshments.”
“Huh? No, no, it’s okay, I’m here in secret and I don’t want to be seen. You understand, don’t you?”
Why would she be so cautious?
I sat down across from her, not relaxing since she was the vice president of the student council.
“I just ran into an audit team from the student council.”
“Oh, that’s right, I know, because the president ordered it during the meeting, and it’s related to what we’re about to talk about.”
Is it related?
“What do you mean?”
“Apparently, your speech the other day really upset the president, and he wanted to keep you in line.”
“You mean a check?”
I ask, and she points at me.
“Your behavior. I mean, you’re a little unconventional, even for you, the way you started a club freshman year and pushed seniors around. It’s a lot like our current president, Ray Pendragon. You know what I mean?”
“Crush it while it’s a sprout because I might take over the student council, is that what you mean?”
“Nipping it in the bud, I think that’s going too far and……like I said, a check. A check because you didn’t accept the offer to join the student council.”
I expected it, but it’s still funnier to hear it out loud.
“So, you’re here to warn me?”
“No. Not a warning, an offer.”
“You want me to join the student council now. Like I said, I’m not going to join the student council-”
And then unbelievable words escaped her lips.
“──Why don’t you work with me to get Ray Pendragon dismissed?”
“……Yes?”
For a moment, my brain froze.
“Let’s get the student council president……out of office. Did I hear that right?”
“Yep. That’s right.”
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face at the suggestion of a de facto coup.
“Is this some kind of entrapment investigation or something?”
“Of course not. I’m very serious.”
“For all your seriousness, you have a playful expression on your face.”
“I have a pretty smile. Can you say I’m a beauty queen?”
……It’s clear from the way she talks that she’s not joking or trying to trick me.
It’s not like this hasn’t happened in games before. In CS, there was an Academy Coup event.
The problem was that the triggers for it were very complicated and difficult.
Off the top of my head, I can think of “enter the academy as a senior,” “join the student council,” and I wasn’t in any of them.
“Why are you suggesting this to me?”
I asked.
Why are you offering me these things?
Because from her point of view, she could have lost her position as vice president of the academy, and her family back home could have been affected.
And now she’s proposing this to me, someone she hasn’t even established trust with yet?
I couldn’t believe it.
“Junior, do you really not know how many organizations in the academy have presidents similar to or equal to you?”
“The presidents of……the Diamond clubs, and a few of the Platinum clubs, as well as a few of the non-moving students.”
“Okay, so how many of them have a close relationship with our president?”
“I’d say most of them have an amicable relationship with the student council.”
“Exactly, but I consider them to be in the same class as you. It’s natural for me to assume that you’re the most trustworthy, since you’re more outspoken than the others.”
Clearly, we were the only club that had taken such a hostile stance towards the student council.
But why did she send me this proposal in a pattern I had never seen before?
As I stare at her with unresolved suspicion, she sighs and continues her story.
“Half personal grudge, half greed? Of course, if you help me, I’ll take care of you so you don’t feel bad.”
“What do you mean, take care?”
“One of the treasures the president is hiding, and the alliance with the student council that I will create. How about that, doesn’t that sound tempting?”
The latter, yes, but…….
“You mean the treasure the president is hiding?”
She nodded at my question, then looked around cautiously before covering her mouth with her palm and speaking quietly.
“That……is Vivian’s fountain of youth. Do you know that?”
“What?”
I asked, already knowing about it.
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