Scheming in the Shadows
Ever since I became Tyrat, one thing had always nagged at me: I didn’t know the corruption routes. If I’d known this would happen, I would have gone for a 100% clear. That way I could have come up with all sorts of methods to claim Sehwa for myself…
Still, it didn’t really matter. The routes were mine to create now. As long as I had the standard happy-ending route memorized, I could steer things however I wanted. And honestly, that was more fun anyway.
At any rate, Yu Seunghyeon was a diligent young man who had jumped straight into the job market after high school. He was also the ultimate simp, shoveling money straight into Dr. Cash’s ever-expanding lab for the sake of the heroine’s future and better welfare benefits. I still couldn’t believe I used to empathize with a protagonist like that… especially now that I was an absurdly wealthy man who never had to worry about money.
They say your environment shapes you. The version of me that once saw himself in Yu Seunghyeon had long since been blown away to some distant corner of my mind.
“This is my friend I met today. His name’s Song Jihyeok. He’s in our department.”
Ever the kind-hearted one, Sehwa introduced me to her friends. My face was on the thinner side, but strikingly handsome. No wonder people joked that someone this good-looking could sweep all three top spots in the civil service exam. The female classmates didn’t exactly swarm me, but they definitely gave me interested looks.
I’d only been pretending to be an innocent young man for a short while when the professor finally appeared. He was the stereotypical old-fashioned extra whose role was to highlight how weak Sehwa’s scientific knowledge actually was. Renowned, yes, but not an important character. To me, however, he was a rather useful consumable—perfect for solidifying my image.
Once the dozens of students had settled into their seats, the professor looked at me and spoke.
“Ah, so you’re that student. Song Jihyeok… correct?”
“Yes, hello.”
“It’s truly admirable how you’ve stood back up so firmly despite such terrible circumstances.”
“Well… a living person has to keep living, right?”
“Indeed.”
After sharing a meaningful conversation with the renowned professor—and even receiving a personal invitation to discuss things further—curiosity bloomed in the eyes of the students, Sehwa included.
Curious? Of course you are. Go look up the article Marcela and I fabricated this morning and shower me with sympathy.
After finishing roll call, the professor began the actual lecture. Thanks to the base’s technological prowess, I had become an absolute genius. Even though I had never experienced a single class before, there wasn’t a single concept I couldn’t understand. Whenever the professor tossed out a question, I answered instantly.
All the technical knowledge Marcela—the genius of the demon realm—had extracted from Earth in 2533 and countless other worlds now resided inside my head. This is what true over-technology looks like, you foolish humans.
“Shall we talk about Polymus next? Hmm… Lee Sehwa.”
“Y-yes?”
Sehwa, who had been blankly staring at the beam projector beside me, jumped in surprise when her name was called.
The professor asked, “What is Polymus?”
“Um…”
Sehwa hesitated. She was just an ordinary college student attending school on loans. She wanted a stable job in the future and to earn a lot of money. And I was the person who could solve her future for her.
I’ll make sure the professor likes you. So buy me lunch at the cafeteria later.
I subtly raised my book to cover my mouth and whispered to her, “153 years ago, a cosmic substance was accidentally discovered in the Arctic.”
She glanced at the professor, then repeated in an uncertain voice, “153 years ago… a cosmic substance was accidentally discovered in the Arctic…?”
“Correct. Then what is Polymus primarily used for?”
“Um…”
Her eyes darted toward me. Hurry up and tell me? Got it.
“It’s used as a material in exoskeleton armor that fuses with the nervous system.”
“It’s used as a material in exoskeleton armor that fuses with the nervous system… but…”
“Although it’s a universal material, its quantity is extremely limited…”
“Although Polymus is nearly a universal material, its quantity is so limited that…”
“The World Coalition agreed to restrict its use exclusively to people suffering from severe disabilities.”
“As far as I know, the World Coalition agreed to restrict its use exclusively to people suffering from severe disabilities.”
Wow, her ears really were sharp. She repeated it almost perfectly.
The professor nodded with a satisfied expression. “I didn’t expect you to know the correct answer. Polymus isn’t something ordinary people usually know about… You must be very interested in future science. Well done.”
“Th-thank you.”
Sehwa let out a sigh of relief and sent me a grateful look. I accepted her thanks with a small smile.
At lunchtime, I had the honor of eating in the cafeteria with Sehwa. She had offered to buy me lunch as thanks for my help. Just as I had expected.
Aaah… I could feel the jealous stares of the other guys boring into me. If you’re so upset, go crawl into a bio-reactor and become a genius yourself.
“Hold on… I need to use the restroom real quick…”
I set my tray on the table and spoke. Sehwa replied, “Couldn’t you have gone before getting your food…?”
“Sorry, my stomach suddenly feels off. I’ll be right back.”
I hurriedly left the table, pulled out a small tablet from my pocket, and turned it on. The moment I touched the screen, a list of every surveillance camera on campus appeared. I selected the one near the table where Sehwa sat and zoomed in. After plugging in earphones, I tapped the audio button.
The girl sitting next to Sehwa—the one who had been glued to her phone—was the classmate I had been keeping an eye on. Why? Because I figured she would look up articles about me.
Sehwa asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Isn’t this Song Jihyeok?”
“Jihyeok?”
“He had that weird conversation with the professor earlier. I got curious and searched, and there’s this suspicious article.”
“Suspicious article? Let me see.”
Sehwa turned her eyes to the phone screen. I zoomed in on it too.
The article claimed that a cargo truck had rear-ended the vehicle, killing the entire family except for Mr. S, who was now in critical condition in the ICU. It was a perfectly fabricated article from several months ago.
Sehwa’s expression hardened the moment she read it. During our first meeting, I had told her I’d been in a car accident—someone had hit me from behind—and that I’d spent a long time in the hospital afterward. If she couldn’t put two and two together at this point, she’d have to be completely brainless. Fortunately, Sehwa wasn’t that stupid.
“It could be someone else,” Sehwa said.
Her classmate gave her a pitying look. “It literally says prospective Hankuk University freshman and science prodigy! Didn’t you see how Song Jihyeok answered every single one of the professor’s questions today?”
“Let’s keep this a secret from Jihyeok.”
“Obviously. You think I’m crazy enough to tell him?”
“You like drinking, right? At the freshman welcome party, maybe…”
“I absolutely, positively will not say anything.”
“You guys make sure to watch what you say in front of Jihyeok too, okay?”
The surrounding classmates nodded. That was enough.
I slipped the tablet back into my pocket and returned to the cafeteria. I even wet my hands and wiped them on my clothes to leave realistic water marks. Attention to detail was important.
“What? Why haven’t you eaten yet?”
When I asked upon returning, Sehwa and the others looked slightly flustered.
“We were waiting for you. Food tastes better when you eat together.”
Aaah… Sehwa, you really are an angel.
I nodded and sat down with a bright smile.
“Uweeegh…!”
Tsk tsk… just look at them puking. Glancing around, it wasn’t just one or two people retching. Well, it made sense. They had only just graduated high school and were now wild, untethered foals.
The freshman welcome party ended in great success. I had deliberately purged the alcohol from my modified body, but I still flushed my face as if drunk. My tongue had stumbled a few times during the drinking session, but that had all been acting. By now, my classmates and upperclassmen probably thought my drinking habits were quite tame.
Anyway, I had grown quite close with my classmates. My face was naturally likable, so many people approached me, and I treated them kindly in return, steadily building relationships.
The image I had shown so far was just right—smart, well-behaved, and kind.
As I stretched while quietly gazing at the night sky, Sehwa approached. She had drunk a little but not too much.
“How was it?” she asked.
“Hm? What?”
“The freshman party.”
“It was fun. I liked how lively it was.”
“You didn’t look like you were having fun at all, though…”
Even though I had deliberately kept some distance, she had still been watching over me? It seemed the events at lunch were still bothering her. A good sign.
I said, “Really? I thought I was smiling the whole time.”
I had been smiling. Just with a faintly sad expression. Similar to the one I’d worn when I first met Sehwa that morning.
I changed the subject. “Are you heading home now?”
“Yeah, I should. You’re so lucky living so close. But…”
Sehwa looked around, then asked in a suspicious tone, “Now that I think about it… is there a one-room village around here?”
The area near Hankuk University was filled with luxury apartments and officetels. There were no districts cheap enough to be called a “one-room village.”
I chuckled inwardly, nodded, and pointed at one of the officetels.
“I live right there. Pretty close, right?”
When Sehwa saw where my finger was pointing, her eyes widened in shock.
“Th-that place is insanely expensive! Just the monthly rent alone…”
She was surprised by just this? If I told her I bought the entire building, she’d probably faint.
“Hmm… I don’t really know the details. I have someone who handles all that for me.”
“Someone who handles it? Like a secretary or a butler?”
“Well… you could say that. They take care of literally everything.”
Sehwa looked at me with envious eyes. She clearly thought I had been born with a silver spoon. She wasn’t wrong. In this Beast Slayer world, I wasn’t a gold spoon—I was a diamond spoon. No, a Polymus spoon.
Her expression soon changed.
“Yeah… but it must be really sad. I think I can understand how you feel. I lost my parents too… ah!”
She clapped a hand over her mouth mid-sentence. Sehwa… who was it that told you to watch your mouth? And yet here you are bringing it up. It was good for me though—her words carved themselves even deeper into my heart. Alcohol really was the culprit, huh?
I hardened my expression.
“What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly mentioning your parents? And what do you mean by ‘sad’?”
“No, it’s just…”
Sehwa fidgeted with her fingers, looking anxious. It was incredibly cute. To think such a pure and lovely girl would become a righteous hero protecting the Earth. The saying “life is full of unexpected twists” fit her perfectly.
I softened my face and said, “Ah… you must have heard it somewhere? That my parents passed away?”
“Uh…?”
“The professor must have mentioned it. No wonder everyone was looking at me strangely during the party.”
It would have been awkward to say she had seen the article, so I helped her out. Seeing her nod vigorously, I figured I had done a good job.
“Yeah. I’m sorry for hiding it.”
“Do you always say sorry for everything? I’m fine.”
“Really?”
“No, actually I’m not fine. I still think about my parents whenever I have a moment. But… they say time heals all wounds…”
“Yes, time is the best medicine. I lost my parents too. I was very young, but…”
Good. Rapport established.
“I ended up hearing about your past without meaning to. I’m the one who should apologize.”
“No, I brought it up first… Wait, I have a call.”
Sehwa pulled her phone out of her eco-bag. It was probably Yu Seunghyeon. That girl-obsessed fool always drove her to school and picked her up, as if trying to prevent anyone from getting close.
Too bad, Sehwa. Looks like you’ll have to take the subway home today. Yu Seunghyeon’s work car is in the shop after an accident.
Putting the phone to her ear, Sehwa said, “Yeah, Seunghyeon. The freshman party just ended and I’m outside… What? Really?”
Her surprised tone and reaction were proof that Marcela had done an excellent job.
“Are you hurt anywhere? No, I’ll go by myself. I can take the subway. Okay, got it.”
After hanging up, Sehwa looked up at me.
“My boyfriend got into an accident… I think I should go now.”
“An accident? Is he okay?”
“Yeah. But he sounded really anxious. I’m worried, so I want to go see him.”
Of course he sounded anxious—he was the one at fault. The brakes on his car had failed, causing him to slam hard into the back of a properly stopped vehicle. No one was injured, but he was going to have to work his bones off to pay for the damages. The car he hit was a luxury foreign model, and right now he had no insurance. (Originally he did, but Marcela had taken care of that.) No one would listen to his complaints.
Thanks to this, Sehwa would have a lot more free time after class. She would also have fewer chances to meet Yu Seunghyeon.
“Hurry and go. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Sehwa waved and hurried down the stairs toward the subway station.
My first objective was to become extremely close to Sehwa. Close enough that she would think of me as an all-powerful cheat key. Close enough that she would introduce me to Dr. Cash. Only then could I infiltrate the lab—whether as an intern or in some other capacity—and tamper with the Device.
I couldn’t rush this. I had to take it slow and steady.
Once I judged that we had grown quite close, I would send Amducias to trigger her awakening.
Watching her retreating figure, I let a wicked smile spread across my face. Then, just as quickly, I returned to a bright expression and began chatting with my newly made friends.