The Snake's Head

Go Chungshin finished his shift and headed for the cafeteria, muttering the same word over and over.

"Fuck…."

The reason for the cursing was simple enough.

Of all people, that bastard had to be the one in charge….

He hadn't even wanted this posting in the first place. To make matters worse, the security department's new manager turned out to be Sung Suho.

He'd only learned the name yesterday, when the man walked in as manager and introduced himself. On his first day, spotting Suho in the hallway, Chungshin had been busy fantasizing about revenge. Somehow, before he knew it, he was the one bowing his head in humiliation.

Fuck… I just have to keep my head down for now.

He had been promised a future. No special orders had come down yet, but if he performed his duties at the Hero Academy without incident for a full year, the position of Church captain would be his.

A captain of the Church.

In a world where even the leaders of major guilds wielded enormous power, those same major guilds still couldn't hold a candle to the Church. A Church captain sat far above the combined authority of three major-guild leaders.

The catch was that nothing could go wrong in the meantime.

Pay cuts and suspensions he could weather. The real disaster would be getting fired. If he were dismissed, the captaincy wouldn't even matter — his entire standing would be in genuine danger.

Go Chungshin looked like a man with no particular talent, yet the Church rated him highly for one reason: his ability. The power to possess the body of a fly. It seemed useless on the surface, but by steadily feeding the Church useful intelligence through that ability, he had earned recognition.

Of course, no one actually knew about the fly possession….

Fuck… just endure it for now… Find that bastard's weakness as fast as possible, crush him, and life gets easy again.

Chungshin was already scheming how to dig up Sung Suho's weak points with his ability and ruin the man's life. The problem was that Suho kept noticing the flies he possessed and killing them on the spot.

At least he doesn't know it's me….

The one silver lining was that Suho still seemed ignorant of his true identity and his power.

Chungshin rubbed his sleepy eyes and muttered,

"Fuck, I'm so goddamn tired…."

After wrapping up my work in the security department, I arrived at the Knight Department faculty office to find Cho Seohyun muttering to herself with a troubled look.

"This is a problem…."

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh… you're here."

She exchanged morning greetings with me, then got straight to the point.

"After we fixed the internal network last week, we were planning to start approving weekend leave and overnight passes for the cadets. This whole incident shut that down completely."

"Well, safety does come first."

"That's true… but the problem is the kids are starting to show signs of discontent."

I understood the academy's position, and I understood the cadets' as well. From the Hero Academy's standpoint, after a dangerous incident, they could hardly send students outside for leisure. From the cadets' side, they spent every day in training — being cooped up in the dorms on weekends on top of that was genuinely harsh.

Either way, it was a bad situation. These cadets were future heroes in the making. Suppress their desires too hard during their prime years, and if it all exploded after graduation, the nation itself could take a hit.

The real issue was that there was no clear solution.

"They're asking us for suggestions… but what suggestions are we supposed to give?"

Instructors had no idea how to relieve cadet stress. Group outings under supervision, small escorted parties with safety guaranteed — the moment any of those ideas left an instructor's mouth, that instructor would own the responsibility. And even if one person spoke up, the majority of the other instructors would still have to agree….

If it's bothersome and comes with liability, of course they'll all shy away….

Seohyun didn't seem optimistic about it either. No matter how you sliced it, the cadets would still be put at risk. And there was one more annoying problem on top of that.

"There's also talk about guild field trips."

"Guild… field trips?"

The Hero Academy trained cadets and produced heroes. After graduation, those cadets joined various guilds and began their careers. Guild field trips were a system that sent a handful of third-year cadets to actual guilds for hands-on combat experience.

"Top-ranked students are automatically confirmed. For the rest, we take applications and select by lottery."

"The timing for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that isn't great either."

"Well… the guilds don't just stick anyone next to the cadets, so it should be fine, but…."

"…?"

Then it shouldn't be a major issue — yet Seohyun still looked troubled. I understood why a second later.

"…Assistant instructors are required to accompany them."

"Ah…."

So if something goes wrong, it's my fault….

Apparently, ever since the Hero Academy was founded, major accidents during field trips had been almost nonexistent.

Almost….

That was exactly what Seohyun was fretting over. She was worried something might go wrong if we went.

"I'll be careful not to let anything happen."

"…."

Seohyun studied me for a moment, then whispered quietly,

"Nothing's confirmed yet… but if something does happen, contact me right away."

"Understood."

We wrapped up the conversation and proceeded with class.

The problem Seohyun had been fretting over turned out to be weighing on Seong Sua as well. After Knight Department classes ended and lunch was finished, I walked with her toward the Magic Department classroom and we talked it over.

"The Magic Department kids are, how should I put it… freer spirits by nature, so dissatisfaction builds up faster."

"Problems on every side, huh."

If the Knight Department still carried a bit of that military-academy flavor, the Magic Department felt more like a freewheeling high school. The one silver lining was that Magic Department classes were inherently less stressful, so complaints accumulated far more slowly.

For now, at least, the cadets weren't showing any major outward issues. But the real problem wasn't weekend leave or overnight passes.

It was the field trips again.

"If the field trips get confirmed, Instructor Sung Suho will probably have to go along…."

"If it's my job, I'll do it."

Fortunately, Magic Department cadets primarily did their practical field trips at the Tower, where the staff took the lead in assisting — so the accident rate was significantly lower than the Knight Department's.

Significantly….

If either department got unlucky and a cadet got hurt, I could easily end up hearing "You're fired!" while my entire profile went up in flames.

"…If anything happens while you're out there, make sure you contact me."

"Haha… yes, of course."

With that, the conversation ended, and Seong Sua and I entered the Magic Department classroom to begin the lesson.

I thought restoring the network would make things easier, but the work just keeps piling up.

When cadets went on practical field trips to the various guilds, those guilds put serious effort into looking after them. From a guild's perspective, they wanted those visiting honor students to join their ranks someday, so they worked hard to make a good impression. That meant they wouldn't assign half-baked people to the job.

Well, they haven't even decided whether it's happening yet.

From what I'd heard, there was even a chance the field trips might be postponed if we got lucky. But it was only a possibility. The decision wasn't up to the assistant instructors who'd actually be going — it came from higher up.

This was why nobody wanted to be the tail of the dragon.

Ahh… this is why being the head of the snake is so much better.

After finishing my assistant instructor duties, I walked the halls of the security department with a thoroughly satisfied smile. Every single employee greeted me the moment they saw me. They didn't bow at the waist, but they did lower their heads in greeting.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"You've arrived, sir."

"Looking forward to working with you."

Basking in the endless stream of greetings, I stepped into the manager's office and grinned from ear to ear.

Ahh… this is too good!

Sure, the extra work was a genuine hassle. At this hour I would normally have been spending time with Cho Seohyun or taking a break. But Seohyun no longer had a place for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us to meet thanks to the VR training room situation, and with the network restored, cadet grading had been automated — classes had gotten much easier.

I had free time now, and my body was less worn out. Having to show up every day and handle various duties was a trade-off I could live with if it meant this kind of treatment. Hell, if I'd known earlier, I would have wanted the job sooner.

And today I learned something new: every assistant instructor had been moved over to the managerial track rather than regular staff. The principal's office had probably pulled a fast one — if they'd advertised managerial positions from the start, people would have half-assed the interviews.

What do I care? As long as I'm happy, that's all that matters.

The important thing was that I was extremely satisfied. I sat down in the office and carefully reviewed the manual I'd received yesterday. There was more content than I'd expected — well beyond what I could memorize on my own.

…This is a lot.

That's our CEO for you.

This would be a goldmine for exams. Using her like this, I could probably score perfect marks without breaking a sweat whenever I took tests in places like Shutra.

As I skimmed through the manual, one item caught my eye.

Oh… interesting.

Just as Armonia said, the rationale was spelled out in exactly those terms. It was a company rule designed to prevent people from getting distracted during night shifts or while patrolling critical zones.

Security work itself was hard and grueling, but the pay and benefits were better than most other departments (assistant instructors excluded). The dormitories were a prime example. Other departments often shared rooms — two or three to a unit — but security personnel got private single rooms. Sleep, at least, was guaranteed to be comfortable. The salary was on the high side too.

Precisely because the work was so important, the regulations were that strict. And the fact that this item appeared in the manager's manual meant I was expected to enforce it carefully. The manual even instructed me to report any workplace romance among security staff to upper management immediately. As an extreme example, it stated that dating a full instructor was also forbidden.

Ahh… looking at how long-winded this section is, it must actually be important.

The warning itself was a single line, but underneath it sprawled countless examples and justifications. That was how seriously they took it.

And as I read that very important fact, the corner of my mouth twitched.

The head of the snake… I love it!

I gathered the security officers heading out for night shift and delivered a thorough pep talk. Whether they considered it a pep talk was another matter entirely….

"As you all know, I need everyone sharp and focused on duty for the time being."

I didn't drag it out as long as yesterday — just enough to ask them to do their jobs well. Then, as a closer, I brought up something important.

"Ah, and since we have quite a few new faces, let me make this clear."

"…?"

Everyone pricked up their ears, wondering what was coming.

"The Hero Academy strictly prohibits workplace romance among security personnel. Absolute ban, regardless of department."

"…."

"So until a cadet or an instructor approaches you first, do not initiate conversation. Avoid any situation that could be misunderstood."

In other words: don't hit on people just because they're pretty or handsome. Then I delivered the most important fact of all.

"Should anyone be caught dating, I want you to know that I have the authority to terminate employment at my discretion."

Of course I didn't actually have that authority. Even as manager, I couldn't fire someone on the spot. But the core of the message was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what mattered.

Dating = fired.

The moment I said it, I looked straight at Go Chungshin — and I could roughly make out the panic on his face.

Yeah, you. I'm talking about you, you bastard~

I'd laid down the warning. For a while, at least, no one would be letting their eyes wander.

"I trust you all understand. That will be all. Good work out there."

Everyone heard my closing remarks and immediately headed for their posts. Watching Go Chungshin scurry away, I muttered to myself,

I really should have gotten a look at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her face….

The disappointing part was that I still hadn't identified the woman he'd met yesterday. They did seem to be dating, though….

He got caught slacking off yesterday. He's going to be careful for a while. And this kind of announcement is more effective when you make it early — drives the point home that it matters.

Not seeing the girlfriend's face was a shame, but honestly, watching Go Chungshin choke on his own leash was more fun anyway.

Well… I've got him on edge now. I'll find her eventually.

I shook off the thought and headed outside, humming to myself at the prospect of making Go Chungshin's life miserable.