Meeting Song Sia in the Club Room (2)

Jeong Siu swallowed hard.

D-don't tell me he saw the pamphlet…

The Crime Research Club here was sharper than he'd expected. Truth be told, every club at Theia operated well beyond amateur level — but this one was packed with cadets who studied professional profiling. Unlike ordinary crimes, villain crimes involved unique authorities, so plenty of awakened investigators and hunters existed for that reason alone. The Crime Research Club had no shortage of cadets aiming for that career path.

Their analysis of Horror Hole was incredibly thorough, too.

Jeong Siu had tracked Horror Hole down through his own authority, but the Crime Research Club had approached the villain's trail with a rigorously scientific method of analysis. And the villain who had killed that infamous Horror Hole was none other than Unknown. Naturally, the cadets of the Crime Research Club were desperate to uncover ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Unknown's true identity.

Lee Junwoo glanced casually at the upperclassmen.

"Hello. I wanted to take a look around the club room."

"Of course! Are you interested in villain research too? Got a favorite villain? Obviously Gallery Master — I mean, Unknown?"

Jeong Siu's heart lurched. The bespectacled senior girl he'd been talking to just moments ago was now asking Lee Junwoo the question.

This senior… she's been really into Unknown.

Of course, only he knew the truth. Even the Hunter Association hadn't managed to pin down Unknown's identity. But Lee Junwoo, who had lived quietly for the past three years, was finally starting to move in earnest.

Jeong Siu snuck a glance at Song Sia, who had come along with Junwoo. Attacking Song Sia during the class assignment evaluation had been a declaration that he no longer intended to live quietly.

Unknown will gradually start unleashing his power.

Right now, after such a long absence, he was just lightly warming up. But a man who had spent three years posing as a powerless nobody was moving again — whatever he did next would make taking down Horror Hole look like nothing. Visiting the Crime Research Club might even be about snipping potential obstacles in the bud before they became a problem.

This senior's a good person, though… what do I do?

This female upperclassman had been warm even to a thug like him. Surrounded as he was by rough, aggressive girls from the underworld, Jeong Siu was hopelessly weak to a woman's kindness. The moment she'd spoken to him so gently, he'd already started fantasizing about dating her.

But Lee Junwoo was a dangerous villain who could smile while killing a female cadet without a second thought.

Unknown hunts Horror Hole for fun. If someone gets in his way…

It meant that one day, this kind senior might quietly disappear. At the same time, he couldn't help recalling what had happened that morning. Instructor Lee Suyeon. She was young and pretty, and Jeong Siu always paid close attention to her. More than anything, she was a kind instructor who never discriminated against cadets from underworld backgrounds — and still had the skill and career of a top-tier hunter. But even Instructor Lee Suyeon was in danger.

She casually gave Unknown unsolicited advice.

For a cadet like Jeong Siu, that kind of teaching would be invaluable. But for Lee Junwoo, already a complete villain, it was nothing more than irritating meddling. In Warworld, when someone of the same tier started giving you tips, it was basically a declaration of war.

He must have been furious. It wasn't ordinary advice either — she nitpicked every single fundamental and made a real nuisance of herself.

And yet Lee Junwoo hadn't shown a single hint of annoyance. If anything, he'd focused intently on Instructor Lee Suyeon's lecture and guidance.

If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to hold back. I'd have gone after her.

Of course, given that the other party was an A-rank hunter like Lee Suyeon, carefully concealing his true self was the right call. But to endure even that kind of lecturing… as expected, Unknown operated on a different scale. He'd probably already written Lee Suyeon's name in his kill book.

Either way, Jeong Siu was starting to feel a little afraid. These women who treated him so kindly were already stacking karmic debt with Lee Junwoo. But he shook his head.

Still, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if it's Unknown's will… then it has to be the right thing!

From the start, he was on a completely different level from a pervert villain like Horror Hole. If that guy was district-level at best, Unknown was world-class. Now that he'd started moving, he was surely already drawing up plans to casually take over all of Seoul. If something stood in the way of the grand design Unknown was painting, a few small sacrifices were inevitable.

I want to be on that boat too.

No — even that thought was disrespectful. Casually weighing in on anything Unknown did was already an act of insolence. At least the people here weren't hostile toward Unknown. So Jeong Siu decided to watch Lee Junwoo's actions even more carefully.

Wait. But why is he with Song Sia?

The two of them had entered the club room together. Lee Junwoo was a defector from Aegis. The three girls of Aegis had all been stunningly beautiful, but Junwoo had apparently gotten bored of even those three pretty quickly. That was why he'd made new girlfriends in Choi Hana and that Baek Jiyu girl.

Is he just taking Song Sia on the occasional date out of old affection?

As expected of Unknown. Depending on his mood that day, he casually swapped out the women he brought along. It was the same mindset as a rich man collecting supercars he barely even drove.

He's insane. There's so much to learn!

Just then, the bespectacled senior girl addressed Lee Junwoo and Song Sia. Quite some time seemed to have passed while Jeong Siu had been lost in deep thought.

"So, what do you think of our club?"

At those words, Lee Junwoo's eyes met the senior's.

"It seems like a solid club. I'm surprised cadets are doing profiling at this level."

"Really? You've got a good eye, then. Like you said, Theia's Crime Research Club sometimes even gets cooperation requests from the Hunter Association…"

Jeong Siu's heart lurched again at that reply.

A solid club? What does that mean?

It could be simple praise. Or it could be a murder notice aimed at people digging into his identity. But the words that followed finally let Jeong Siu relax.

"So your name's Lee Junwoo, right? Want to join our club too? It's still the provisional membership period, so you can join casually if you like."

"Yes. Then I'd like to join."

It seemed to mean he'd keep an eye on things for now.

Still, the atmosphere toward Unknown is favorable, so maybe he's giving them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a chance.

Those words snapped Jeong Siu fully alert. This was a golden opportunity — a chance to create more points of contact with Unknown. He hurriedly called out.

"I'll join too!"

"Huh? You too? Sure. The more new members, the better."

And then everyone's gazes naturally turned toward Song Sia.

I spent a little time in the club room of Theia's Crime Research Club. I'd been briefly surprised to find Jeong Siu here, but thinking about it, he was the one who'd tracked down Horror Hole on his own. Setting aside the whole delinquent act, his talent might have been better suited to investigative work than any other cadet's.

Well, not a bad thing. Not if it's Jeong Siu.

Being in the same club might make him more useful — and at the very least, he was never going to be a threat to me. So I decided to join without much deliberation. This place overflowed with high-quality information. In particular, it was packed with crime data that far exceeded the level of ordinary cadets.

It'll be easy to keep tabs on underworld movements from here.

Granted, I already had Choi Hana, who was directly embedded in that world. But both of us were still hiding our true identities from each other, so we couldn't openly discuss underworld matters yet.

If I want to create authorities of four stars or higher, I'll eventually have to dig into the underworld side.

The Throne of the Shadow Mirror. The authorities formed through that skill were influenced by an item's grade. Naturally, the underworld was full of rare items circulating through illegal channels.

Among them, there should be some I can take for myself.

The title: Unknown.

Just as that hidden title's fate dictated — to reign at the summit of the underworld — I intended to use any means necessary. The Crime Research Club would be a major help in that regard. Above all, the second-year senior currently serving as club president: Yun Hyeona, a naturally four-star character. That bespectacled senior was a genius at profiling. Her mother was a criminology professor here at Theia Academy, and she had inherited that talent in full. In the original game, I'd been able to generate countless high-quality quests through her.

Still, I never expected her to like Unknown this much.

In the Crime Research Club, Unknown was treated like some kind of idol. There were enough analysis reports on him alone to fill several volumes. Horror Hole's notoriety had skyrocketed in such a short time that Unknown, the one who killed him, had been elevated even further into something almost divine. Well, in my previous life I'd preferred villains and dark heroes over regular heroes myself.

I'll live up to those expectations.

Going forward, operating as Unknown would leave plenty of trails to follow. But if I made good use of the Crime Research Club with Yun Hyeona in it, it would actually be the perfect place to conceal my identity and movements.

If even Yun Hyeona can't figure out who I am, then I'm safe.

Thinking about it again, there was no reason to doubt her skill. The Song Sia standing right beside me was living proof of that.

"Yun Hyeona. Or rather, Senior Yun Hyeona is a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠direct scholarship student of the Hunter Association. Father said that building a connection with her… that getting close to her would be good."

In that case, a brief greeting would have been enough. But Song Sia had gone and joined the Crime Research Club on the spot.

"Hold on. Can we talk for a minute?"

And so Song Sia and I left the club room. The two of us moved briefly to a wisteria rest area near the club room. She seemed to have something she wanted to say to me.

The moment she stepped out of the club room, Song Sia grabbed Lee Junwoo without thinking. There was so much she wanted to say. But she had no idea what words to give him — just as she hadn't ever since his departure from Aegis.

"……"

Still, Lee Junwoo followed her for now. Their eyes met. He looked so calm it was hard to believe he'd supposedly suffered a severe panic attack.

"What's up? Did you just want to grab a drink or something?"

He grinned, then pulled a can from a nearby vending machine.

"Here. Drink up."

He held out the can. A warm, heated black tea drink. It was cheap stuff that couldn't begin to compare to the premium tea her family's maids prepared — but Song Sia, surprisingly, liked this canned drink. And the only person who knew that preference of hers was Lee Junwoo.

No one else around her had ever been curious about who Song Sia really was. They simply assumed she was a rich girl and forced her into that typical mold.

Song Sia wordlessly sipped the drink.

It's good…

When she drank this alone at home, it never tasted this good. But just like back in Aegis, when Lee Junwoo looked after her first and handed her a can like this, the flavor felt strangely sweet and smooth. And with that sweetness came a rising thirst for his blood.

She wanted to hold onto him somehow. She didn't want to drift away from Lee Junwoo the way An Yumin and Ha Yeeun had. But Song Sia had never known how to get close to people. She had no idea how to rebuild a relationship that had already fallen apart.

"……"

Still, she couldn't just grab someone and say nothing forever.

Right. In the end… I need Lee Junwoo. That's a fact.

If there was something she couldn't do herself, she could always use her family's influence.

After some deliberation, Song Sia opened her mouth.

"Valhalla's Apostles provides various forms of compensation to those who leave. Since you worked with me in Aegis… if you need it, I could get you a membership to Rain Weapons, or…"

Every cadet coveted good weapons. Lee Junwoo was an orphan. A Rain Weapons membership was something he could never obtain even if he died and was reborn. So if she gifted him that membership, she might naturally create a new point of contact with him. Even Lee Junwoo would find that membership hard to refuse.

"Rain Weapons? I already have a membership for that."

But Lee Junwoo gave an answer she had never once imagined.