Discipline 11. The Disciplinary Committee Leader Purges the Villains (1)

A man chewed through a living cultivated-loin among the wreckage of destroyed hologram robots.

A giant who stood well over 190 centimeters tall. A long-haired man with muscles that looked ready to burst. The area around him was littered with the traces of explosions.

Beside him, a petite female student in an upended hood stood quietly with her hands buried in her pockets. Side by side, they looked like a giant and a dwarf.

"Is that it for the test?"

The woman pulled the hood off her head and asked bluntly, addressing the man beyond the reinforced glass window. The holograms then flickered out, and the shapes of the robots vanished. Through the now-clear glass, the man's appearance was laid bare: a close-cropped sports cut, combat fatigues beneath a coat. Stitched onto the uniform was the logo of Anomia.

"Yep. Still worth watching. Lee Ji-su, Jang Ha-mun."

He let out a low chuckle.

"Now tell me, boss. You called us out of nowhere just to run a test on us? What's the real reason?"

When the woman, Lee Ji-su, asked this, the man in the combat fatigues—the leader of Anomia—answered not with words but by operating a remote. Beep. An image appeared on the glass.

It was a video that had recently gone famous across Shin-dorim as the Sword Master's sparring match. On screen, a male student in a black uniform was fighting a duel with a three-section staff wreathed in teal lightning.

Ji-su and the giant, Ha-mun, watched the footage in silence. Before long, the duel on screen came to an end. The figure left standing alone in the arena at the end was the boy in the black uniform—Ahn Woo-jin, the Disciplinary Committee Leader of Ahseong High School.

The leader paused the video.

"What about him?"

"We're taking him down."

Bewilderment spread across Ji-su's face.

"What!? Are you out of your mind...? That's the Ahseong High Disciplinary Committee Leader, isn't it? You're planning to poke a hornet's nest? There's no way the Disciplinary Committee will just sit still—!"

"This guy figured out our plans in advance and moved first. He was even able to monitor our movements covertly. And what happened? Didn't we lose our people by the truckload?"

The leader continued.

"A guy like this cannot be left alone."

"Honestly."

Ji-su snorted, as if the whole thing were absurd.

"So because we can't figure out how he caught on to our plans and kept us under watch, your answer is to just hit him head-on? Even if he's part of a hornet swarm perfectly capable of screwing us over completely?"

"Whether or not we ever learn his methods, my conclusion would've been the same. As long as someone this brilliant at information warfare is out to stop our plans, we have no choice but to fight."

"If he's that dangerous, has it ever occurred to you to just wait until his term as leader is up?"

The leader worked the remote again. A video appeared: the appointment ceremony of the 45th Disciplinary Committee Leader of Ahseong High. It was footage anyone could pull up on the school's official website.

On screen, Ahn Woo-jin was delivering a speech in a resolute tone, pledging to contribute to the preservation of peace.

"He's not a man of pretty words. He's the real thing. A guy this meticulous in his groundwork, with an actual track record of standing in Anomia's way—do you really believe he'll leave us alone until his term runs out?"

Ahn Woo-jin's determined eyes. His derisive voice. His aggressive speech. All of it, combined with the sheer excellence of the information warfare he had displayed, impressed upon the Anomia leader a heavy sense of danger.

"On top of that, this guy seized the position of Ahseong's Disciplinary Committee Leader even over the once-in-a-generation prodigy, Oh Baek-seo. Even Oh Baek-seo follows his orders like they came from the heavens. He may not outmatch her in raw force—which means he has to have some ability that lets him overwhelm her in every other arena."

More frightening than an enemy with visible strength is an enemy whose strength is unknown. The former has a clearly defined form, so countermeasures can be drawn up. With the latter, you can't even tell what kind of power they possess, so figuring out how to respond is a struggle in itself.

That was the difference between Oh Baek-seo and Ahn Woo-jin. It was why the leader of Anomia rated Ahn Woo-jin's abilities so unusually high.

Therefore—

"We strike him before he gets the chance to blind us and cut out our eyes. After that, we pull out and regroup before Oh Baek-seo can step in. No matter how strong the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader is, he's nothing more than a Tier 4. With you two alone—Tier 5—victory should be well within reach, and if we pile heavy firepower on top of that, we can handle any variable that arises."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Ji-su let out a sigh and then smirked.

"Fine, fine. If you say we swing, we swing. So how do we lure him out?"

"We abduct the secretary. He's the most useless of the lot and the closest to the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader. Wait for a moment when he's out of sight of the police drones."

"Got it. Hunting the Disciplinary Committee Leader, huh.... If this works, our infamy is going to skyrocket. ...Actually sounds pretty fun."

And so Ji-su, alongside Ha-mun—who was growling out something like a beast, "Grrrr..."—resolved to follow the leader's orders as an executive of Anomia.

The secretary of the Ahseong High School Disciplinary Committee, Park Min-hyuk, had a hobby he couldn't confess to anyone.

Round glasses on his face, a raincoat wrapped tight around himself, he paid a visit to a figure shop. As if he'd just crossed the gates of heaven, a bright smile bloomed across his face. Even the smell of rubber wafting through the store struck him as positively fragrant.

Min-hyuk grinned as he gazed at the character figures lined up in the display cases. He picked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single box set out in the event section and bought it with money he'd scraped together from his part-time job.

At last, the newest figure of Iron-Blooded Girl Marina—the one he'd sworn to get his hands on before the month was out—was in Min-hyuk's possession. Tucking the box inside his raincoat and hugging it close to his chest, he stepped out of the store. Just imagining it sitting at the very center of the display shelf in his room was enough to pull a smile to his lips.

Dreading the possibility of running into someone who knew him, Min-hyuk took a route where he rarely crossed paths with acquaintances.

Before long—

THWACK!

"Ughk!"

A mana-wreathed iron club came crashing down on Min-hyuk.

The sky beyond the window was ash-gray.

The fresh pale-pink cherry blossoms, so recently in full bloom, had all been beaten down into the spring rain. According to the forecast, the whole week ahead was due to be gloomy and wet. Thank goodness we'd finished our cherry blossom viewing last week.

Spring rain, huh...

Reaching this time of year always stirred a certain thought in me.

"Leader, don't be shocked when you hear this. I, um, am starting my diet over again today!"

I tuned out Ha Ye-song's 1,420,216th diet declaration and kept thinking.

What is Anomia doing right now?

There had been the subway abduction incident on the first day of this semester. In the game, that incident was the catalyst that drew Anomia into full-scale conflict with the original protagonist, Lee Tae-sung—because Anomia sent executives after him to avenge the ruin of their plans.

"I mean it this time!? Stop ignoring me...!"

The problem was that in this reality, the person who'd resolved the subway incident was me. It followed naturally that I would be the target of Anomia's revenge.

And yet no trace of an Anomia executive had appeared anywhere around me. Not a single suspicious sign had been caught, either—despite the fact that it was well past the point when one should have shown up.

"Let's bet on it again this time! Hellooo? Leader?"

I was the leader of the Disciplinary Committee, ranked first in Ahseong's combat standings. It wouldn't be unreasonable for Anomia to regard me as an even greater threat than the original protagonist.

In other words—were they simply being more careful about how they approached me?

"Lea-aderrr...!?"

Of course, there was one alternative to this endless agonizing: strike Anomia first and be done with it.

One problem—the bastards moved their headquarters constantly. Pinning down their exact location was next to impossible. Even the hideout I'd wrung out of the bastards we'd arrested during the subway incident turned out to be completely empty by the time we raided it.

Besides, the game's map scale and the real city's scale were worlds apart. Outside of the places I knew well, my game knowledge was of little help.

"......"

So what was the best course of action, then?

"Leader?"

Just as I was deep in thought, someone gave my shoulder a light tap, accompanied by a soft, gentle voice.

It was Vice Leader Oh Baek-seo.

Baek-seo was looking at me with her usual warm smile.

"What is it?"

"What has you thinking so hard?"

"Just work stuff."

It wasn't a lie. Anomia were, after all, people the Disciplinary Committee had to bring in eventually.

"Where'd Ye-song go, by the way?"

Ye-song, who had been chattering away in front of me not a moment ago, had vanished at some point.

"She got a call from a friend in the Gourmet Club inviting her out for chicken, so she headed home. She figured you were focused on work and didn't want to interrupt, so she just left."

"Should've made that bet."

If I'd known her diet would collapse a mere few minutes in, I should have paused my thinking and taken that wager first.

"Shall we wrap things up and head home?"

Baek-seo asked as she cleared the empty cup from my desk.

We did have a rare moment of downtime. On days like this, going home early and resting properly was the right call. Never mind that it was already far too late to be calling this hour "early."

"Sure."

We finished tidying up the paperwork. Somewhere in the middle of it, Baek-seo asked:

"Leader, do you happen to have an umbrella?"

"Yeah, I've got one."

Ever since I'd come down with the flu, I'd grown obsessive about packing an umbrella. Heightened vigilance, you could call it.

The flu had cleared up completely, of course.

"If you have two, could I borrow one?"

"I've only got the one. Besides, there are always a few umbrellas the kids forgot and left behind. Just borrow one of those... hmm?"

What's this?

There wasn't a single umbrella in the stand except mine. There were always a few ownerless umbrellas stuck in there. Where had they all gone?

"I think the kids have all been taking theirs home lately, what with the rain."

"Still, you'd expect at least one or two to be left over...?"

"They probably grab one, then leave it at home."

Somehow, that didn't feel right. But the situation in front of me was so clear-cut that I had no choice but to think as Baek-seo said.

"If you need one, I'll grab one from the classroom. There should be a few spare umbrellas in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our homeroom."

"It's the hour when no one's in the classrooms, isn't it? Borrowing other people's things without their permission is unbecoming conduct for a member of the Disciplinary Committee, you know."

"?"

Baek-seo shot back the rebuttal with a smiling face. Crisp, fluent delivery. Before I knew it, the words had died in my throat.

"......"

Stroking my chin, I considered it.

Come to think of it, she had a point. There was no logical counterargument.

We left the committee room and headed for the entrance. A fine, persistent drizzle was still falling.

I opened my umbrella—and Baek-seo slipped soundlessly under it beside me.

"Excuse me, then."

"Uh? Uh, sure."

Baek-seo smiled brightly. Her shoulder pressed against mine, and a pleasant fragrance cut through the smell of wet earth and soaked into my senses.

An unexpected tension sprang up inside me. I'd been so preoccupied with Anomia that I hadn't given the slightest thought to the fact that I'd be sharing an umbrella with Baek-seo....

Wait. Isn't this that thing couples do? Or people on the verge?

Sharing an umbrella with a woman—for the first time since Kim Dal-bi, ages ago—so the slip had gone right past me.

As we began walking together, my mouth went inexplicably dry. My whole body felt like it was stiffening up.

If passing students caught sight of us like this, it could easily spark some wildly off-base misunderstanding. It was small comfort that it was late and the rain had sent most students home early—but the creeping unease was unavoidable.

It's not like I can hand her the umbrella and walk off alone, and buying one at the convenience store feels like a waste of money...

Getting home as quietly and discreetly as possible was clearly the best option.

Shwaaaa. The rain drummed loudly. This was a proper downpour.

"......"

Thud. Thud. My arm kept bumping into Baek-seo's. With only one umbrella between us, physical contact was impossible to avoid. But when I subtly put some distance between us, my shoulder slid out from under the cover and got thoroughly drenched.

"Leader."

"What?"

Baek-seo's soft voice rang gently through the noise of the rain.

"Worried people might think we're a couple?"

"!"

A flush of heat—my head jerked despite myself. The question cut straight through my psychology like a stiletto. I'd thought I was keeping a perfect poker face.

Had it shown? Or was she simply voicing the very doubt I might have been nursing?

Either way, I answered, feigning outward calm.

"Hardly a sight befitting the Disciplinary Committee Leader and Vice Leader. You said you didn't have an umbrella, so it just worked out this way."

"I don't really mind. Even if we get misunderstood."

"I mind...."

Baek-seo radiated far too much brilliance to have an image that could be damaged by something like this. Me, on the other hand—the dignity of my position as leader stood to take a real hit.

"Hehe."

Baek-seo let out a quiet laugh, then sidled closer to me and wrapped her fingers around the handle just above the hand I'd already taken hold of. Then she tilted the umbrella toward my side.

Her shoulder began to soak instead of mine.

I should've bought a bigger umbrella.

She was looking out for me. When it came to considering others, Baek-seo never conceded an inch.

Left with no choice, I had to walk pressed close against her. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the only way we'd each keep the rain off.

Baek-seo's elbow came to rest naturally atop my arm. We drew even closer. Without meaning to, my elbow ended up grazing just beneath her armpit, and a soft, embarrassing warmth brushed against me more than once. She gave no sign of having noticed.

She simply kept up her usual kindly smile and quickened her steps.

Then, at some point, I belatedly realized we hadn't exchanged a single word in a while. I hadn't even noticed the awkwardness—I'd been too busy being nervous.

"I think I've figured one thing out."

At last, Baek-seo's lips parted in a whisper.

"What's that?"

"Why two people sharing an umbrella gets mistaken for a couple."

"?"

Why would she bring that up now? I couldn't read her intentions at all—Baek-seo's face was always veiled in that gentle smile of hers.

Though... maybe she was feeling something similar to me. After all, this situation was plenty nerve-wracking in its own right....

"That's..."

Just as I was about to cobble together some kind of answer—

Vvvvv.

My smartphone buzzed in my uniform pocket.

"One sec."

My brain was struggling to produce a reply anyway, so I decided to check my phone and buy myself some thinking time, naturally enough. I pulled it out.

A text message had arrived from the secretary, Park Min-hyuk.

"......?"

The message contained a photo of Park Min-hyuk, bloodied and writhing on the ground.

My steps stopped dead.

"Leader?"

Baek-seo stopped too and looked up at me, her face a question.

Messages followed one after another.

Location data, and then text.

"Baek-seo."

"Yeah?"

"I've got somewhere to be."

No particular thoughts came to me. My head had simply gone cold.

A high-rise building towered on the outskirts of Academy City.

Ordinarily it wore the appearance of an abandoned construction site, as if work had been halted in its final stages—but its interior was in perfect order. Today, however, combat drones and turrets had been installed around the building, and armed members of Anomia stood guard. The main entrance in particular was packed with concentrated forces.

A massing of troops. An overt defensive posture.

This was the building where the secretary, Park Min-hyuk, had been taken. The name carved above the main entrance read Grey Star.

Meanwhile, in a certain office—the leader of Anomia, dressed in combat fatigues beneath a high-grade overcoat, had both feet propped up on the desk and was nursing a glass of whiskey.

Drone footage had confirmed the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader heading for Grey Star alone. All that remained now was to finish the man with Anomia's full assault and slip away before Oh Baek-seo could intervene.

There was a real chance Ahn Woo-jin had called for reinforcements. For the moment, no unusual movement had been observed inside Ahseong—but if Ahn Woo-jin had roused his people, a Disciplinary Committee with its mobilization quietly complete might well come looking for Grey Star.

Even shouldering that risk, Ahn Woo-jin absolutely had to be dealt with. Such was the danger the Anomia leader judged him to be in the arena of information warfare.

Preparations for a retreat, in case of the worst, were already in place. Even if the Disciplinary Committee mobilized, they would have to advance from a distance—his forces would have ample time to escape. That was precisely why the outskirt building, Grey Star, had been chosen as the battlefield.

Besides—wasn't it about time Ahn Woo-jin paid the price for messing with Anomia?

So the leader thought, letting a sneer curl his lips.

Vvvv.

The desk phone on the table vibrated. The caller ID read Grey Star's control room.

The leader picked up.

"Has the Ahseong Disciplinary Committee Leader arrived?"

— Y-yes, he's here...!

Why was the voice trembling?

The leader set the question aside and continued in a voice threaded with laughter.

"As I told you—he's not sneaking around looking for a way into the building, is he? Amusing. If he's seen that kind of force, he wouldn't possibly do something as suicidal as walking in through the front door alone."

— That's the thing... he came in through the front door.

"...What?"

The leader's brow furrowed.

"That can't be right...?"

However strong Ahn Woo-jin was, he was, in the end, a strongman confined to the 4th Tier. Having seen the forces arrayed at Grey Star, he would obviously have made the elementary judgment that a frontal fight was off the table. A single Tier 4 punching through that many soldiers was impossible.

There's no way he's such a fool who doesn't know his own place that he can't even manage that much common sense...

And then—

— Boss!

The control room subordinate reported urgently.

— M-most of the front gate force is wiped out! He's not even registering as an opponent...!

The leader's eyes flew wide open.