Chapter 148: Drug Incident at the Academy (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: Drug Incident at the Academy (3)
Dawn had already passed, and the sun was beginning to rise. A young girl, who had been toiling away in front of her PC without a wink of sleep, finally finished her task. She stood up and stretched her aching limbs.
“Ugh…! It’s finally over!”
The girl was none other than Kim Ga-eul.
Not only had she spent all of Sunday glued to her computer, but she had also stayed up until Monday morning to finally achieve her goal.
And what was that goal?
After extensive coordination with the cafe staff and members, she had finally managed to completely overhaul the rules of the fan cafe she had created.
As the founder, she technically had the authority to shut the place down entirely. However, she knew that if she closed this one, another would simply spring up in its place. She figured it was better to hold the reins herself, even if it was exhausting.
Now that I’ve blocked the unauthorized sharing of photos and made sure personal information isn’t floating around, So-hyun won’t be mad at me, right?
“Ah, but he really is sharp. How did he know I was the one who made it?”
She admitted she had acted a bit suspicious because of her guilty conscience, but none of the other kids had noticed. How on earth did he manage to pin it on her and stare her down like that?
That look in his eyes, clearly laced with annoyance, had unmistakably said:
‘Watch yourself.’
How could anyone have ever thought to call a guy like that a “loser”? Were they insane?
As she absentmindedly recalled his eyes, a shiver ran down her spine.
“Ah, here I go again…”
She loved it when he smiled or even when he scowled, but what she was currently obsessed with was his indifferent face—the way he looked when he gazed at someone with total apathy.
The combination of his sharp gaze and those crimson eyes gave him a magnetic, almost magical pull when he wordlessly scanned a crowd.
Ah, I shouldn’t…
She opened one of the photo files she had secretly saved before deleting the rest. It was a picture taken by one of the members, capturing him with a chillingly expressionless face.
It felt as if the eyes in the photo were looking directly at her, making her body tremble strangely.
I really shouldn’t. I haven’t slept at all; if I start doing this on Monday morning, I’ll be a wreck for the rest of the day.
Despite those thoughts, her hands moved honestly to satisfy her desires.
Ding~
If it hadn’t been for the notification that a new post had been uploaded to the cafe, she probably would have been late for school today.
“Whew, that was close.”
The new post was a rumor uploaded to the gossip category.
“…What’s this? Your talent gets stronger just by taking a drug? If something like that existed, why would anyone bother working hard?”
She dismissed it as a ridiculous tabloid rumor, yet the sentence “Consultation is free” strangely caught her eye.
She was weak when it came to combat.
A lingering sense of inferiority—the feeling that she couldn’t stay by his side for long because of her weakness—made it impossible for her to ignore the post.
If I could really get stronger just by taking a drug… if I could fight proudly by his side…
Would he give me a little praise…?
Driven by that desire, she eventually wrote down the link provided in the post.
* * *
“So, what do you think?”
I was genuinely startled by the bombshell Ga-eul dropped first thing in the morning.
She had gathered information from the link, found out how they exchanged the drugs, and even compiled a list of meeting locations to show us.
She was probably interested and wanted to go, but was too scared, so she came to me for “consultation.”
“…A drug that makes you stronger just by taking it? Oh, you mean a drug that would turn my talent into complete garbage?”
“Huh?! No! It wouldn’t make someone as strong as you, So-hyun!”
I had cracked a joke to calm my racing heart, but Ga-eul reacted even more intensely.
Well, I guess it makes sense. Thinking about it, this was exactly the kind of thing Ga-eul would be interested in. She was strangely sensitive about being weak.
I suppose the silver lining was that she came to consult me before trying to get the drugs on her own or getting caught up in an incident.
That was a close one.
If I hadn’t cleared the air with her at the ball, I might have ended up seeing a “Drug Addict Ga-eul” ending, and the story would have spiraled into a dark tragedy again.
“Hey, don’t get interested in stuff like this. It’s an obvious scam. It looks dangerous, too.”
“Hehe, I guess so, right? I just thought if I got stronger, I could fight on the front lines with you and the others, So-hyun.”
Seeing her smile so brightly actually hurt my heart a little. No matter how much I wanted to give her a “fortuitous encounter,” her basic combat potential was so low that there was almost no chance of her excelling in battle.
“Hey, do you have to be on the front lines to be a hero? Ga-eul, don’t pay any attention to these rumors~”
Ha-ni laughed, trying to comfort Ga-eul.
“It’s a bit of a shame, but since So-hyun seems to hate it, I’ll give up on the idea~”
“Good choice, Ga-eul.”
Lilac, who had been listening quietly, also seemed to find the existence of the drug quite distasteful.
Wait, now that I think about it, thanks to Ga-eul, the others naturally found out about the drug. I was worried about how to bring it up.
Plus, Ha-ni and the professor had witnessed a suspected drug user yesterday, hadn’t they?
Since one of the targets these bastards are after is me, I just need to make sure the others don’t get hurt during the ranking tournament.
If I show them the danger by fighting a berserk drug user, the kids will move to suppress the drugs even if I tell them not to.
As I stared at her while lost in thought, Ga-eul blushed as if she were embarrassed.
“I get it. I’ll never do anything dangerous like that, so don’t worry.”
Why does our Ga-eul look so pretty today?
Thanks to her, it looked like things would proceed smoothly.
* * *
“Hey, fuck, shouldn’t we back out now?”
“Shut up, you idiot. This stuff doesn’t show up on drug tests. There’s no evidence, so what are they gonna do? Are you seriously getting cold feet just because some rookie caused a stupid accident?”
“Who’s getting cold feet? I’m just saying we should play it safe.”
To be honest, his desire not to poke the hornet’s nest could be seen as cowardice. However, due to the typical bravado of youth and the atmosphere of their delinquent circle—where they pretended to be doing something grand—he couldn’t back out and simply nodded.
“Ugh, you loser. That’s why your talent is so pathetic. It’s because you’ve never been screwed over by the world like I have. This is an opportunity, I’m telling you. I subtly asked the higher-ups who supply the drugs, and they were pleased.”
The way he bragged about having slightly better abilities than the other failing students wasn’t pleasant to watch, but none of them spoke up.
Part of it was because he was the only one who could source the drugs, and part of it was the thought that only a guy like him would be happy to sit in the position of “President” of a delinquent circle—a role everyone else avoided because they’d have to take the fall if things went south.
“They said they’d give us this much just for naturally leaking the drugs into the Academy. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even offer to scout us later.”
Not everyone there was serious about being a thug, but that’s the nature of delinquent circles. The strange thrill of doing something forbidden, combined with the sense of belonging to a group, creates the illusion that they’ve become someone important.
When profits far beyond what they could earn as pocket money fall into their hands, rational judgment becomes irrelevant.
These boys, for whom it wasn’t too late to turn back, were already intoxicated by the delusion that their lives had hit rock bottom, and they were stepping onto the wrong path.
And the possibilities trampled by such delusions became nourishment for a demon, allowing it to grow in power.
All for the day its master would descend upon the world.
The demon was collecting the possibilities wasted by the lazy in their sloth, at a price that couldn’t even be compared to mere drugs.
The demon’s plan was proceeding smoothly.
Normally, it would have continued to go smoothly.
However, there was one thing even the demon hadn’t noticed.
Even before the world was distorted by the miracle of regression, the demon’s plan had been crushed by the hands of a single boy.
By the hands of a black-haired devil who, as he died, screamed, “You’re more of a demon than I am!”
* * *
“Everyone, tomorrow is finally the end-of-semester ranking tournament. I’ve explained it before, but I’d like to go over it again just in case.”
Standing at the podium, the professor briefly explained the differences between the previous ranking tournament and this one.
Well, there wasn’t actually that much of a difference.
Unlike before, where matches were determined by grades, each cadet now had “challenge rights” and could choose who they wanted to fight.
The higher the rank and the worse the matchup of the opponent you defeated, the more points you were awarded. Conversely, if you only fought those weaker than you, your points would actually decrease.
Each person has three challenge rights, and including the challenges they receive from others, a cadet must fight at least five times.
If the numbers don’t match up, the professors intervene like before.
It’s a ridiculously complicated system.
My current rank was 227th among the first years, which was a significant jump, but since I was still in the middle of the pack, I normally wouldn’t be targeted that much.
However, tomorrow, I’ll probably be swarmed with “requests for handshakes.”
The atmosphere was strangely excited.
Ha-ni, in particular, was fired up, declaring that she would take down both Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak this time. The other two also seemed to have their competitive spirits ignited, provocatively telling her to give it her best shot. It felt very much like a scene out of a youth drama.
Which means…
I need to catch and crush those druggie bastards as quickly as possible.
Having finished her explanation, the professor looked toward me with sparkling eyes.
“If you’re still worried about sparring with other cadets, even if it means giving up some points, feel free to request a spar with the faculty!”
No, Professor, please don’t appeal to me like that while all the other students are watching.
Actually, ever since I was accepted as her partner, rumors had already spread throughout the school, but still, it was a bit much.
…I hope some crazy guys blinded by jealousy don’t challenge me to a ranking match. That would be a real pain.
Anyway, I thought today’s homeroom was over.
Suddenly.
“Lilac-ssi! If I win in this ranking tournament, will you go out with me?!”
…Until a completely unexpected new character appeared at a totally unforeseen moment, threatening to make Lee Yu-na’s blood boil.
Wait, that’s weird. Wasn’t I just being all serious about crushing the druggies?
How did the story just “Academy Drift” like this?
With platinum-blonde hair, eyes that sparkled like a manga character’s, and a miraculous hairstyle known as “ringlet curls” or “drill hair,” she approached Lilac with the rhythmic click-clack of her heels.
This event hadn’t happened in the original story or even before the regression, but unfortunately, I knew exactly who that woman was.
She was one of the people I really didn’t want to meet, but if we’re talking about connections from before the regression, she was certainly one.
“Uh, excuse me, but have we met somewhere before?”
No, Lilac. She only looks at three things when she looks at a man.
Face, ability, and height.
“We haven’t. But does that matter? The fact that you are someone who suits me, and the fact that I find you quite to my liking—what more is necessary?!”
…Love isn’t a one-way street, you dimwit. How has she not changed at all even after the regression?
Cheon Yu-hak also seemed to recognize her, as he subtly looked away and started pretending he didn’t know her.
One of South Korea’s 5 Great Groups.
Following the leader, Cheonhwa Group, and the runner-up, Yuseong Group, she was the granddaughter of the chairman of the third-ranked AG Group. She was also a woman who had been something of a subordinate of mine before the regression—and someone who had frustrated me to no end.
Aisha Livias had arrived.
…By the way, she is absolutely obsessed with men.
No, but seriously, why the hell are you showing up now?
“Hey, who do you think you are?”
The pink chihuahua, sensing her territory was being invaded, stood up and blocked her path, but Aisha didn’t even spare Yu-na a glance.
“Of course, I understand that my proposal might feel sudden! That is why I waited for the ranking tournament—to use a duel as a way to show you what kind of person I am, and because I needed a proper justification! O! Ho! Ho! Ho!”
…Damn, I never thought I’d hear that laugh again.
“I asked who you are. Why are you hitting on Lilac?”
“…Hitting on him? What have you been on about? How unrefined. I am not ‘hitting’ on him. The one who will be doing the ‘hitting’—or rather, falling for me—is Lilac-ssi.”
“…What?”
I could see it. The thread of Lee Yu-na’s patience snapping. I could practically hear the twang as it broke.
Yu-na lifted her leg.
She was probably planning to stomp on the girl’s foot, but Aisha just laughed and didn’t budge.
She didn’t need to avoid it.
“Oh my, did you just try to stomp on me? It’s alright. It didn’t hurt at all, so I shall forgive you. However, I do wonder if someone as unrefined as you is truly a match for such a gentleman.”
“…You.”
Mana Armor.
It was a C-rank talent, which wasn’t particularly high on its own, but having consumed elixirs and spirit medicines since childhood thanks to her family’s wealth, her defensive power was quite decent.
While most of the class, excluding Lilac and Yu-na, were watching this sudden morning soap opera with sparkling eyes, I couldn’t join them.
Because just now, when she blocked Yu-na’s attack…
The mana armor she had wrapped around her shoes was glowing purple.
…Why is that idiot involved in this too?
It was a situation far too precarious to simply sit back and enjoy as the late arrival of a sub-heroine.
…Well, I guess an Academy story needs to be at least this chaotic.