Student Council President Jo Arin and An Yumin (2)
"Why are you giving me something like this!! Hah, I'm not grateful at all, you know!!"
Jo Arin was startled. Out of habit, her vicious tsundere way of speaking had slipped right out.
Ugh, of all things, that chocolate...
It wasn't some special high-end chocolate. Just milk chocolate carved into a heart shape. But it happened to be Jo Arin's favorite kind of chocolate.
"Ah. I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a chocolate you don't particularly like, Senior..."
"That's not it! I misspoke just now... Anyway, I'll gratefully accept it!"
She hurriedly apologized to her underclassman, Lee Junwoo. Then she unwrapped the heart-shaped chocolate and carefully put it in her mouth.
It's delicious...♡
Nothing particularly special compared to ordinary chocolate. A slightly childish, sweet flavor. But with a subtle mix of strawberry that she absolutely loved. More than anything, this was the first chocolate she had ever received from a member of the opposite sex in her life.
And from Lee Junwoo, no less.
Memories from her high school academy days suddenly came flooding back. She had already been a third-year who had not only conquered Theia High Academy but every awakened high school academy in Seoul. That dark history was something she never wanted to recall again.
I was just too full of youthful vigor back then...
With her second awakening, she had gained an extremely high-firepower flame authority. She had gone completely wild seeking revenge for all the teasing and bullying she'd endured before that. Before long, just hearing the name Jo Arin was enough to keep the delinquents from even approaching her.
So when she met a blonde-tanned punk who didn't run away even when he saw her, Jo Arin found herself unintentionally interested in him. That blonde-tanned punk's name was Lee Junwoo.
"Could you please watch this video and give me just a word of advice!"
And one day, that blonde-tanned punk suddenly bowed to her with the utmost politeness and made a request. At the time, the out-of-control Jo Arin would activate her spells the moment anyone blocked her path. But somehow, she couldn't do that against Lee Junwoo. She averted her gaze from his.
Jo Arin hated delinquents. Yet strangely, the underclassman before her made her heart race. He definitely looked like a delinquent to anyone who saw him. But his attitude was extremely courteous, and to be honest, he was handsome.
In fact, it wasn't just that day. Since he was the eye-catching blonde-tanned Lee Junwoo, she had even pretended it was coincidence and watched him from afar several times.
"…… I don't particularly feel like it, you know? Why should I go out of my way to grant your request?"
So she answered with words far kinder than she could have imagined herself saying at the time.
"Of course, I'm not asking you to do it for free. Here..."
Saying that, Lee Junwoo held out a prettily wrapped snack package to her. She was startled. Of all days, it was some day in November—a commemorative day when high school academy couples exchanged snacks.
She glanced at the video on the smartphone Lee Junwoo held out. An underclassman she also knew. An Yumin.
So that was it.
Jo Arin was the strongest at the high school academy at the time. So the reason he had brought a video of An Yumin's combat scenes was obvious. He wanted advice for An Yumin's sake. And the fact that Lee Junwoo himself, rather than the person in question, was making this request in person clearly meant that Lee Junwoo liked An Yumin.
"It's not particularly because of this gift. Well, I suppose I can spare a little time."
But Jo Arin granted Lee Junwoo's request. Her feelings for Lee Junwoo were, after all, just admiration from afar. Even if the gift package wasn't given because he liked her, receiving a gift package from Lee Junwoo on that special commemorative day didn't feel bad at all. Jo Arin still kept that chocolate package from back then at home.
It's delicious...
While the brief recollection continued, she quickly finished the chocolate Lee Junwoo had given her. It was still as sweet as the chocolate she had eaten back then. She unconsciously looked at An Yumin—the most watched talent at Theia Academy after her, and the girl Lee Junwoo had clearly liked. But in the end, the two of them didn't seem to have become a couple. From what she had heard from Vice President Scarlet, recently Lee Junwoo and An Yumin weren't getting along.
What am I even thinking.
But that didn't mean an opportunity would come around to her. Lee Junwoo, now a cadet at the academy, had already shed that rustic blonde-tanned look and become even more handsome. With just a hint of roughness remaining, it was a face that made girls' hearts flutter even more. He seemed so gentle, yet as could be seen in the Hell Week footage, he possessed both composure and ferocity at once. That subtle contrast held a charm that was fatal to a girl like Jo Arin who had no experience with men. As long as they were this close together, her heart racing was inevitable.
No. I have to stay cold.
No matter how much personal interest she had, with Leticein's Ark—the system that perfectly protected Theia's cadets—broken, she had to suspect not only Lee Junwoo but every cadet whose movements were suspicious. And today's patrol mission would be an extremely sweet temptation for villains.
In fact, expanding the temporary members of the disciplinary committee was partly to protect the cadets. But to some extent, it was also a trap to weed out villains. So if Lee Junwoo really was a villain, she absolutely must not miss his suspicious movements with her witch's eyes.
But there's no way Lee Junwoo is a villain. That much I can guarantee.
If he really were a villain, dominated by the power of Chaos, he would have already caused far more incidents. There would have been no need to deliberately interfere with Villain Bone China's plans.
If he had hidden his power there, even more chaos would have broken out.
While she was lost in thought, the three of them quickly arrived at their destination.
Villain Ash Monk. She had successfully infiltrated Theia Academy. She had created a fake identity from the start and enrolled as a freshman, so far no one had discovered her true identity. As a B-rank villain and a genius of disguise, she had been quite tense after receiving orders from above a few days ago.
Finally, a chance to make a name for myself has come.
Leticein's Ark, which protected Theia Academy. Because of that system, villains couldn't freely invade this place. But things had changed. Leticein's Ark had weakened. The cause still hadn't been identified by any magical engineering scholars. And a single Crimson Teeth hacker had broken through the gap in that weakened system. In other words, even places protected by the Ark system had become places where villains could move.
Of course, it wasn't completely disabled, so there are still some restrictions.
Still, places where the Ark system existed would surely have clues left behind about that Archmage Leticein. The gates that appeared on Earth thirty years ago and the massive numbers of monsters—Leticein was the person said to have come closest to the truth of that Monster Shock.
Yeah. If I can monopolize just the various items or legacy he left behind... I won't have to rely on that damn Chaotic crap!
As a villain herself, she had no intention of being satisfied with her current B-rank villain life and low rank. Freer than underworld organizations, but Crimson Teeth still had a clear hierarchy. Naturally, the standard for that ranking was strength as an awakener.
And a good opportunity has come my way just in time.
Two people who had been competing for rank in the organization had fallen into the abyss. Bone China and Running Claw. Both of those guys had been quite strong villains, but in the end they were arrested by the Hunter Association authorities and locked in prison. Especially that idiot Bone China had been taken down by a mere Theia cadet of all people.
That incident had caused quite a stir even within the organization. Especially since Bone China wasn't a weak villain who would get caught by some random cadet. The executives whose original plans had gone awry seemed quite pissed off. That fallout had almost hit her too, but fortunately she still had the holy relic she had seized from the Pure White Festival, so it quietly blew over.
Well, just an overreaction from the upper ranks.
Bone China had just been careless. And even in the case of B+-rank Running Claw, he had been caught by the quite well-known mafia figure Hwang Yonggyun. Ash Monk inwardly sneered fully at those two idiots.
Soon it'll be Crimson Teeth's world. Still, they probably won't even break those guys out of prison.
Seoul's political situation had become very complicated. The conflict between the Hunter Association and Valhalla's Apostles had openly intensified. Because of the security vacuum that created, Crimson Teeth had even more opportunities to run wild as they pleased.
Same for the underworld.
The underworld, too, was said to have become extremely factionalized over whether to maintain relations with the Hunter Association or join hands with Valhalla's Apostles. Naturally, the current era offered far more opportunities than a stable society.
So I absolutely have to succeed in today's mission.
Through her fake identity, she had successfully joined the disciplinary committee. Especially tonight's patrol was an absurdly good opportunity. A closed-off zone that ordinary cadets were absolutely forbidden from entering—she had become able to enter Theia Academy's old campus.
According to the information Crimson Teeth's upper ranks had given her, clearly an incident related to Leticein had occurred on that old campus fifteen years ago. Naturally, it was an important location that Crimson Teeth absolutely had to investigate.
Good. That Jo Arin is dangerous, but as long as I'm careful of that bitch, I can get close enough.
Originally, that closed-off zone had multiple layers of perception-interference magic cast so that cadets could never approach it. But that Jo Arin would have received entry permission from Theia's board of directors. She was already a strong enough fighter even compared to active hunters.
"This place..."
"This is Theia's old campus."
And Ash Monk, who had been secretly following Jo Arin's group, stopped in her tracks right there.
I have to memorize it. That Jo Arin's deactivation pattern.
But then—one of the male companions with Jo Arin suddenly looked back. And the moment her eyes met that man's, Ash Monk froze solid right where she stood.
That... that guy, what the hell is he?