Back Alley Negotiations
The first plan had been to hail a taxi and scout the course from the ground. I'd even told the rest of the team that was what we'd do. But not long after we left the cafe, I felt a hand on my shoulder. When I turned around, Cheon Mari was signaling me.
“What?”
“Hold on. Can you come with me for a bit?”
She glanced quickly at the other two team members. It was clear she didn't want to reveal anything here. I nodded in understanding and immediately walked over to Shannon and the Power Mage girl.
“Hey, would it be okay if Mari and I stepped away for a moment?”
“Now?”
“Where are you going?”
Their gazes were indifferent. It wasn't suspicion—just pure curiosity about our destination.
“Ah, it's a bit of a personal matter. It'll only take a minute. Could you wait here for us?”
I kept glancing between the two of them, trying to convey that it was nothing serious, just something personal, and that they should let us go without making a fuss. Shannon scratched the back of her head, looking utterly innocent and completely clueless.
“Then maybe I could come alo—”
“Yes! Go right ahead! We'll wait right here!”
The Power Mage girl, her face slightly flushed, answered quickly. Shannon's words were completely drowned out. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, the Power Mage girl shook her head vigorously at her, as if to say this was a rather intimate personal issue and she shouldn't pry any further.
It wasn't actually anything like that, but if she was going to go that far, it worked in our favor.
“Um… then, you two go ahead!”
And so, Cheon Mari and I headed toward a dimly lit back alley. Before entering, I glanced sideways and saw the two remaining teammates whispering to each other. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but it looked incredibly secretive. I caught one last glimpse of Shannon's face turning slightly red before following Mari deeper between the buildings, into the heart of the shadows.
It was around then that I realized even a cutting-edge city like this had such filthy corners.
“Kang Sian, you were the one who suggested calling a taxi earlier, right?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Well, I've been thinking. It might be better to use a separate car instead of a taxi.”
“A separate car?”
“The one the attendants were driving. It would be cheaper and much safer.”
She had a point. The 64-kilometer distance would take about an hour by car. Making multiple round trips by taxi would rack up a serious fare. Plus, if we drove ourselves, there was no risk of our plans leaking to some random third party. Unlike taxi drivers, who could easily spill everything.
“Hmm… you're right.”
“See? Then let's go with this right—”
“But are there still any Nartika vehicles left here?”
“Huh?”
“I thought they sold all of them.”
On the day we finished moving all our luggage and cleaning up, the attendants had returned home and the cars had been sold—or so I'd believed. It made sense; Nartika's overseas operations weren't overwhelmingly large. Even though the American branch was massive, they didn't have enough manpower or assets stationed in Puerto Rico to justify keeping vehicles here. If she had left people and resources behind, it would have been a huge waste.
“Ah~ Actually, we're in the middle of expanding the U.S. branch. As part of that, we're setting up a store in Arecibo too.”
“A branch? A potion shop? Or a bank?”
“Both, but… the potion shop takes priority for now. We even reassigned some of the attendants and a few cars there.”
“…? Wait, we're just borrowing a car for this job, right?”
“Well… if the opportunity arises, I was thinking of having them secretly scout the course a bit.”
The remaining staff in Puerto Rico would be used to support our work. Whether now or later, that was essentially what it meant.
“But don't make the investigation too obvious. It wouldn't do any good if those two found out.”
I understood immediately. I told her it would be better to do exactly as she said.
“Then~”
“But did we really need to come all the way to a back alley just to talk about this?”
Couldn't we have just discussed it out in the open? It didn't seem like something that needed to be hidden this thoroughly.
“What good would come from advertising that I have a lot of money? Besides, I hate gold diggers.”
“Gold diggers?”
“You know, those kids who think they'll get chosen by some prince or princess.”
“Ah, you mean Gold Diggers?”
In Korean terms, they were like flower snakes—people who tried to use others' affection to gain money and status. Even at the academy, a place full of people, there were plenty of them. Naturally, Cheon Mari's concern wasn't entirely unreasonable.
“Yeah, those guys.”
“I don't think that'll mean much.”
“Huh?”
If there was a problem, her worry was pointless. Even if they didn't get caught using two cars and secretly conducting additional investigations, it would still signal an impending crisis. A quick look into it would reveal the truth. The students and staff at this academy were extremely interested in each other's backgrounds.
There were rankings of new students by wealth. Rankings of current students by fame. Lists showing which heirs had enrolled. Lists indicating which prestigious families people came from. Interestingly, these materials were compiled using information whose sources were impossible to trace. It was probably some faculty member who had been leaking it for a long time without getting caught.
A thoroughly rotten academy. The so-called pillars of the free world pulling this kind of crap in a bad situation—how could a regressor avoid defeat? It was one of those bitter realities that grew more sour the closer we got to the game's timeline.
“Do you know there's a list of Palaestra Academy entrants floating around on the internet?”
“Entrants… list…?”
“Yeah, the one that roughly ranks who's rich, who's insanely skilled, that sort of thing.”
“Wait, really? There was something like that? I've never heard of it.”
Her expression was one of genuine shock. Of course, that meant Cheon Mari would inevitably rank extremely high. No matter how much she tried to hide her wealth, she was still the heir to a major corporation and the granddaughter of a chaebol family. On top of that, with Nartika's recent explosive growth, she might even place higher than expected.
“I guarantee you'll be at the very top.”
“Ah… damn it…”
All kinds of men would swarm around her. They'd try every gaslighting tactic imaginable to win her over and get a piece of the pie. And since her hardware was SSS-rank, they'd be even more motivated. They probably wouldn't even notice that her software was like radioactive waste floating in a shining sea.
Any man who succeeded in seducing Cheon Mari would rush straight into marriage for his own personal glory. Completely unaware that what he'd taken was the gate to hell, or that he'd sacrificed himself for the world.
It was truly pathetic, pitiful, and utterly hopeless—but what could you do? That was life. Since my own future would never involve anything like that no matter what, I fully intended to show up at her wedding and personally blow a booby trumpet for the happy couple.
“Congratulations on reserving your spot in the popular crowd.”
“You son of a bitch.”
While Cheon Mari had to worry about all this, my official assets were only average at best. Most of my wealth was tied up in investment firms, and what I'd set aside wasn't much. Even if someone had ulterior motives, I wasn't particularly famous. Low fame. In many ways, it was a relief.
“Sigh… By the way, where did you get this kind of information?”
“I gathered it myself. Unlike you.”
“Ugh, this is insane. At this rate, I might have to replace all my information collectors.”
"Bold statement. Honestly, I think the real problem is this regressor right here…”
As I spoke, I poked Cheon Mari's cheek. It was a small act of revenge against her for dragging me to such a shady place without any proper information. Since I was obviously just teasing, she should have let it slide.
But Mari seemed genuinely pissed. She grabbed my head.
“Hey, Kang Sian. You've been getting pretty cocky lately, haven't you?”
“Look at you acting all serious.”
My attitude didn't soften, and the situation didn't last long. Our discussion, which had been overflowing with friendship and harmony, ended with fists flying. We clawed at each other. We rolled on the ground. We groped every part of each other's bodies. We bit down hard. We landed counter after counter. It was a real fight over 'absolutely nothing.'
After twelve years, the pattern was exactly the same as always.
How much time had passed after that? The two of us, now complete wrecks, staggered out of the alley. Of course, we didn't walk out properly. Cheon Mari was carrying me in a princess hold. It was only natural after I'd carried her on Christmas Eve.
As soon as we emerged from the alley, the rest of our team, who had been waiting, rushed over. They wore expressions of pure shock. Then their eyes narrowed as they noticed the bite mark on Cheon Mari's neck and the lipstick stain shaped like lips on my shirt.
“You two… seem to have been pretty… intense…”
“Huh?”
The mood had turned incredibly awkward, and their gazes were strange in every possible way. Perhaps because of that, the conversation didn't continue. I had to hurriedly explain what we'd actually discussed to clear things up.
* * *
Anyway, we reached an agreement. For the remaining time, we flew through the sky and examined the course. We recorded everything from beginning to end and took various shots of any points that looked important. We also landed discreetly to check any unfinished structures hidden in the forest.
The information we gathered was genuinely shocking. I rubbed my face, unable to comprehend what I was seeing.
'What the hell are these academy bastards thinking?'
They're doing this even before the entrance ceremony? This is insane.