Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: The Disguised Beastman
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“That’s quite the story…? Hmph, I see. First, get this hand off me.”
Drag, drag.
Ban Hui-yeol, who had been meekly dragged along by his ear, shook off the hand.
His gaze lingered briefly on Jae-hyeok’s ankle.
“A beastman targeting students dares to infiltrate Lion’s Castle? It makes my blood boil. I have no intention of standing by, so leave the aftermath to the Student Council.”
Jae-hyeok had even mentioned Professor Lee So-young’s name.
The information about the beastman was likely true.
It was only natural for the Student Council—and Ban Hui-yeol himself—to step in.
He needed to shine in a major incident like this to have a shot at the presidency.
‘Besides…’
-Your real role is to guide the students, right?
Jae-hyeok’s words echoed in his mind.
The trigger for Ban Hui-yeol aiming for Student Council president?
It was to prove himself worthy to his father, even if just a little.
The worthiness in question was to inherit the baronial title.
But even when he became vice president.
His father’s reaction had been cold.
He had looked at him with the same displeasure as always.
Why?
Finally, Ban Hui-yeol had a vague inkling of the reason.
‘It wasn’t about making being at the top the goal.’
Realizing the ‘reason’ to stand above others came first.
‘…You could’ve just told me outright. Why make me suffer in silence until this kid beats it into me?’
Grumbling inwardly, Ban Hui-yeol harbored no resentment toward his father.
If anything, he felt guilty.
How long had his foolish son taken to awaken to a noble’s mindset?
He could only feel sorry imagining his father’s anxious wait.
“My friends are in danger, and you want me to leave the aftermath to you? We need to pool our strength even now, with time so tight.”
“You…”
Ban Hui-yeol stared straight at Jae-hyeok.
The boy struggling not to show his injured ankle, which he’d hurt saving him.
This kid had understood a noble’s mindset ten years ago.
His anger toward him, and even coming to make that request(?).
It was all for others.
He had perfected the qualifications to stand above.
“Looks like you’ve been thoroughly scolded by Duke Kang Dae-guk right up to the brink of death. Well-trained from a young age. In a way, I envy you. Thanks to a strict father, you matured quickly.”
“Did your head get smashed when you fell from the ninth floor?”
Whack!
How dare he paint someone’s father as a domestic abuser?
Jae-hyeok, frowning, kicked Ban Hui-yeol’s back with all his might.
This time, Ban Hui-yeol didn’t take it lying down.
This wasn’t the deserted backyard—it was the entrance to the Student Council building.
There were signs of people nearby.
“You’re swinging around an injured foot like that?”
Jae-hyeok’s ankle was badly sprained, to boot.
Tsk. Ban Hui-yeol, clicking his tongue, slipped his hand inside his robe and pulled out a vial of potion.
A deep, ocean-blue elixir.
Top-grade potion.
The most expensive among those commonly available on the market.
“No money at home, I bet. Take this at least and use it well.”
“Thanks.”
Jae-hyeok accepted it readily.
Even though he got free potions from Jaekyung Pharmaceuticals, they were mostly low-grade.
Accepting goodwill was etiquette, to begin with.
“You catch on quick. I was gonna tease you for scraping by on pride alone if you refused.”
“Teasing me is a century too early.”
“We’ll see about long and short. But the students targeted by the beastman are Jang Yeon-ju and No Jun-yeop? You’ve got quite the ties to the Archery Club, huh?”
Ban Hui-yeol smoothly steered the conversation.
He was convinced that Kang Jae-hyeok was behind pulling No Jun-yeop from club vice president and installing Baek Do-jin as acting president.
‘How are you gonna explain your connection to the Archery Club?’
With all that circumstantial evidence, how long did he think he could deny it?
Hiding a smug smile behind his fan, he stared at Jae-hyeok.
He anticipated the brat finally acting his age and panicking.
But.
“We go way back. The Archery Club is mine, after all.”
“…….”
Jae-hyeok plainly stated the truth, surprisingly.
Ban Hui-yeol’s status meant the truth would come out soon anyway.
“Not just the Archery Club. If Noble refuses to disband to the end, I’ll take that too.”
There was a massive lump in one corner of Jae-hyeok’s heart.
A sediment of loss from having everything taken away.
And one of the things House Kang had lost was this place.
“The Fencing Club or Magic Tower could be mine too.”
Lion’s Castle.
Pearl Island.
The Gate protected by the Yaksha.
This should have belonged to House Kang originally.
“Maybe even all of Lion’s Castle…”
Jae-hyeok had tried to bury the lump in his heart deep.
It was so petty and ugly.
He wanted to take back what was stolen.
To others, it might seem like a child’s tantrum.
“We’re alike, huh.”
As expected.
Ban Hui-yeol sneered.
But Jae-hyeok didn’t regret revealing his inner thoughts to him.
If anything, it felt refreshing.
A person who knew House Kang’s full story.
If Ban Hui-yeol had any conscience, he couldn’t just mock him outright.
He’d empathize, at least a little, in his heart.
“Not while I’m holding on.”
Ban Hui-yeol turned away.
His light-green robe fluttered gorgeously, outshining the entire surroundings.
It drew every cell in his body to focus on Ban Hui-yeol the man.
“I won’t let you take the Student Council from me.”
If you want everything here, wait until after I graduate…
The words he left behind gave Jae-hyeok a strange lingering feeling.
***
“Why do you look so fine?”
Student Council lobby.
The treasurer girl, squatting on the stairs, spotted Ban Hui-yeol and grumbled.
She had already stashed away the potion and gauze she’d brought.
“What’s with that disappointed reaction?”
“Oops. Busted.”
“Watch that sweet tooth of yours. If your face is plain, at least have a nice personality.”
“That’s what you should hear.”
“My face is gorgeous.”
“That guy earlier was Kang Jae-hyeok, right? Standing side by side, you looked just like squid too.”
“…I can’t let that slide. Our faces are just a matter of taste—no high or low there.”
“Then mine’s the same. I hold up fine next to you, so why keep calling me ugly?”
“Because you’re below me.”
“Then you’re below Kang Jae-hyeok.”
“Mm.”
The mirror treatment worked wonders.
Ban Hui-yeol, who never lost an argument with forced logic, clamped his mouth shut.
The treasurer girl snickered and stood up.
“Should I contact the Disciplinary Committee?”
“Yeah. We need to find the guy threatening student safety ASAP. Can’t ignore the poor kid’s request either.”
“Seemed more like a threat…”
“That’s just House Kang blood for you. Total savages.”
Ban Hui-yeol shook his head with a brighter expression than usual.
Even after getting assaulted out of nowhere and falling from the ninth floor, he looked in a good mood.
‘He’s changed.’
***
“Hey! Are you Disciplinary Committee nuts?”
“Orders from Student Council. Cooperate.”
From morning, students were in an uproar.
The Disciplinary Committee had blocked all paths to the main building, stopping students for hair inspections.
Not a sight you’d see in a democracy.
“Nobles’ servants don’t get hair checks, you lunatics!”
“Pre-Wall communists!”
“You gonna buzz us or what?”
“Quiet! Calm down and focus!”
As student complaints grew, the Disciplinary Committee head stepped forward.
Who’s the strongest student?
He was always a top contender in those debates.
With his bull-like bulk and scary face yelling, the scene went dead silent in an instant.
“Student Council has zero interest in your hairstyles, so don’t misunderstand and listen up.”
The head signaled behind him.
Two committee members dragged a bound student onto the platform.
“Let go! I said let go! What the hell did I even do wrong?!”
The student, forcibly seated, screamed bloody murder.
Judging by his tie color, a second-year, but his face had deep wrinkles.
A middle-aged man who awakened late and enrolled.
“Quiet.”
Clack!
The head placed a hand on the middle-aged student’s head.
What?
Gonna smash it?
His fierce scowl tensed up the students automatically.
The gripped middle-aged man looked on the verge of fainting.
“I-I haven’t broken a single school rule in two years…!”
The terrified man defended himself, then froze like a statue.
The watching students, on edge, couldn’t close their gaping mouths.
Whoosh!
The head yanked off the middle-aged man’s hair entirely… no, his wig.
The gleaming bald scalp sparkled in the morning sun.
“Kyaaaaah!!”
A shocked girl screamed at the unforeseen twist.
Some snickered at the man’s head, red as a boiled octopus from shame.
But most students stayed silent.
The whole thing was too absurd.
“What the actual fuck is this…?”
Baek Do-jin in the crowd stuck out his tongue.
‘To devise such a brilliant plan?’
Someone else shivered, breaking out in cold sweat.
“Ugh, what’s that smell?”
Nearby students pinched their noses.
A foul stench from bodily fluids secreted through someone’s sweat glands.
Beastman.
The monster who infiltrated Lion’s Castle to find the Song family craftsman was right here.
‘Worst case, I’ll have to risk a massacre.’
Squeeze!
The beastman’s skin, clamping its sweat glands, hardened tougher than steel.