Chapter 261: Wow! It’s the Second Semester! (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 261: Wow! It’s the Second Semester! (3)
After the internal meeting ended, Chairperson Leilan didn’t even have a moment to rest before she was receiving new guests in her office.
The scramble for prospects and the interview requests from reporters, which usually began at the end of the first-semester ranking tournament, had been repeatedly delayed due to a string of incidents.
The backlash of those delays had come crashing down all at once the moment the major crisis ended. This year’s freshmen were particularly buzzworthy, so she couldn’t put it off any longer.
If she dragged it out further, some of the more radical types might have started hunting down the cadets personally.
So, figuring she might as well get it over with as quickly as possible since it was unavoidable, she had set the stage.
But, unexpectedly, things had become quite a nuisance.
Normally, the protocol was for the Association representatives to negotiate first, followed by private heroes from guilds not affiliated with the Association or scouts from the Hunter side.
Finally, the reporters would conduct their interviews. That was the custom.
But the entire board had been flipped because of this one crazy man.
“…Just what do you think you’re doing?”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. Just a bit of consideration to save the busy Chairperson some time.”
Flashy blonde hair and blue eyes.
He was a handsome man who would make any woman’s heart flutter, but his strangely cocky attitude was nothing short of unpleasant.
He was a top-tier powerhouse among the Association’s heroes—an S-rank hero, one of fewer than a hundred in the entire world.
He was one of the star heroes the Association pushed openly, and his title was none other than ‘Flash.’
He was also the culprit who had sent the guild and hunter representatives to the hospital by force before these negotiations even began.
The Association’s intentions were clear from the moment they put a guy like this at the negotiating table, but she hadn’t expected him to be this reckless.
“I’m asking what’s the meaning of this outrage.”
“I told you, it’s consideration. The ones the guilds and hunters sent this time were all unqualified, so I sent them back. There was a small physical altercation in the process, but they threw the first punch, you know?”
“I’m sure you provoked them first.”
“Hey, those guys need to learn some patience. This is a superhuman society. Power isn’t the absolute value, but shouldn’t they at least have it through their heads that power is a vital element?”
Leilan wanted to clutch her throbbing head, but she couldn’t show weakness in front of the reporters he had dragged in without permission.
That was likely part of his calculation.
Despite his frivolous attitude, he had the temperament of a fox.
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. I apologize. But anyway, all the other scouts have left, leaving only me. It would be rude to keep the reporters waiting, wouldn’t it? It’s a waste of your time, Chairperson, and a waste of theirs. Right?”
He let out a cackle as if seeking agreement, then smirked and got to the point.
“The Association’s proposal to the Academy is simple. Grant the Association the right of first refusal for negotiations, and ‘preferably,’ we’d like to take the top three students from the first-year class. It’s not that difficult, is it?”
It was difficult. Even if she conceded the right of first refusal, the implications of his words certainly didn’t end there.
The gist was this:
‘Give us the most useful ones, and we’ll let you keep the leftovers.’
…Until last year, these people wouldn’t have dared to show such an attitude.
The way they had been eyeing the Academy’s independent rights and meddling in various affairs lately wasn’t just because of the incidents that had occurred.
“Ah, honestly, I feel bad for you, Chairperson. You’re a new Chairperson, so it’s stupid to expect the same level of management as your predecessor right away, isn’t it? But from the Association’s perspective, it doesn’t look that way.”
…You brat. Do you have any idea how many years I’ve been the Chairperson?
The fact that she repeatedly took the position of Chairperson by changing her appearance was something known to the Association’s high-ranking officials and her close associates within the Academy.
“It’s a fact that the Academy has been noisy lately, and people are questioning the Chairperson’s qualifications.”
He was intentionally spouting provocative nonsense in front of the reporters.
No weapons were being drawn, but the battlefield where they fought over interests and qualifications had already begun.
The card he played was ‘the incompetence of the new Chairperson.’ Not satisfied with attaching an inspector to the Academy, they were trying to tighten their grip even further. That seemed to be the plan, but it wouldn’t be that easy.
“I’m afraid that’s not something I can give a definitive answer on. The qualifications of the Academy Chairperson? As always, the Academy has overcome threats and proven itself. In the most recent incident, the Academy’s professors and cadets were more active than the Association’s heroes, weren’t they?”
“Now, let’s get the facts straight, Chairperson. It wasn’t the Academy that acted; it was a single cadet. If it weren’t for that cadet, would the Academy have been able to respond so quickly?”
“That is…”
“In the first place, it was a cadet who suppressed the terrorists at the entrance ceremony, a cadet who rescued the kidnapped professor, and a cadet who predicted the demon invasion. Just what has the Academy proven? Incredible luck? Or a liberal school spirit that relies on its cadets? Oh, if it’s the latter, then I guess you’ve succeeded.”
…He was going all out. He had deliberately brought up recent events, likely intending to make the reporters write articles favorable to the Association.
At the same time, it was a warning that if she didn’t listen to him, he might ‘accidentally’ leak information about that cadet.
That damn brat.
“That’s the Association’s opinion.”
“What?”
“Personally, I don’t want to be at odds with the Academy, but there’s no need for me to bully you just because the old farts at the Association want to.”
“…I assume you want something in return.”
“Wow, you make it sound like some kind of black-market deal. How could an S-rank hero, the hope of the nation, do such a thing in front of reporters?”
He gave a slimy smile.
“I just want to go on a blind date. If you set me up just once with the person I’ve had my eye on for a long time, I’ll put in a good word with the Association elders.”
“…You.”
“How has Professor Cathy been lately? Honestly, it’s a waste for her to rot away at the Academy already. So, I’d like to take her off your hands.”
In that moment.
For the first time, she almost lost her reason.
But she had to endure it because that was exactly what he wanted.
She wanted to rip apart the mouth that dared to insult her precious friend, but she knew the reporters would pour out sensational articles the moment she did.
The Association would use that to burrow even deeper into the Academy.
“Haha, wipe that look off your face, Chairperson. Anyone would think I asked her to pour me drinks. I said a blind date. A blind date! Isn’t it an honor for an A-rank hero to meet an S-rank? Professor Cathy is in her prime, so who knows, she might even like it.”
He was probably talking big because he didn’t know how strong Cathy had become recently, but it still wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
Should she just flip the table, reputation be damned?
She suddenly wished a villain would appear out of nowhere and crack this guy’s skull open.
If that happened, she was prepared to let that villain go just this once.
“Oh, or the Chairperson’s beauty isn’t bad either, so perhaps…”
Fine, rather than targeting someone who’s already taken, just come at me. I don’t have a lover, and the person I like is…
— I won’t let you die as you please.
No, Mask, why are you appearing now? Get out of my head…!
Creeak.
But as she indulged in a brief delusion, his words strangely trailed off.
…No way. She had only closed her eyes for a moment while sighing; what kind of accident could have happened?
The sound of the door opening just now must have been a coincidence.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Me?”
…Why did it sound like Cadet Kang So-hyun’s voice?
She wanted to escape reality, but more than that, she was curious about what had happened. The moment she opened her eyes, the sight that met her was truly provocative and satisfying.
“Why do you need to know, you little shit?”
Kang So-hyun, who had grabbed Flash’s hair from behind, pulled his head back with a grin and then used the momentum to slam his face into the table.
“Pwahahaha!!!”
With a loud crack, fragments of the split desk flew everywhere. His insane laughter and the clicking of camera shutters echoed through the room.
We’re screwed.
But honestly, it felt pretty refreshing.
“You pathetic bastard~ Who do you think you are, messing with our professors? You’re nothing.”
No, but it’s a problem because it’s a little too refreshing, Cadet Kang So-hyun.
I wanted a villain to crack his skull, I didn’t want a cadet to grind his face into the furniture…!!!
* * *
When I let go of his hair, Flash calmly stood up and looked at me.
I had slammed him down pretty hard, but surprisingly, his face was perfectly fine.
“…Cadet Kang So-hyun?”
“Oh, you know me? I’m honored. An S-rank actually recognizes my face.”
“…I think I smell alcohol. Isn’t today the first day of the new semester?”
“Hero Drink isn’t alcohol, so it’s fine, you moron. Besides, cadets are treated as adults, so there’s no problem with drinking.”
“That’s only when you can control your intoxication as a superhuman. Are you in any position to talk when you can’t even do that?”
“Who says I can’t control it?”
“Then I can assume this action was your own conscious will, committed without the influence of alcohol?”
“Yeah, I did it because I wanted to. Why? Isn’t this way more sophisticated than the low-life blackmail you were doing earlier? We’re superhumans. Then we should use our fists. Why play pathetic politics in a superhuman society?”
“Cadet Kang So-hyun…! Stop! Right now…!”
“Ha. Pathetic.”
The guy spat out a laugh and glared at me, but I didn’t look away and met his gaze.
Wow, this guy has really grown up. Daring to glare at me.
You were a villain who used to crawl on the floor begging me to spare your life.
Ah, that was before the regression, wasn’t it?
“Hand.”
The moment I pointed it out, the shoulder of the guy who was about to draw his hand flinched.
“If you pull it out, we’re starting, okay?”
Well, I’ve provoked you this much; are you going to pull it out? You coward. Can you really pull it out this time? In a place with so many people?
Actually, it wouldn’t be bad if he did.
If I crushed him, the Association would keep their heads down for a while.
However, he began to show a side of himself that didn’t deviate from my expectations in the slightest.
“Haha! Well, this is certainly bold! Yeah, hero cadets these days have been lacking this kind of spirit!”
Pretending to be magnanimous.
It was a look you often put on to hide the fact that you were terrified.
Approaching me with a boisterous laugh, he hid his expression well and made a gesture with both hands raised as if to back off.
“Yeah, I like it too. Survival of the fittest. It’s more effective and clearer than flapping your gums all day. I think it’s an essential element for a superhuman. But aren’t you a bit too overconfident for a mere first-year top student? Hmm? Junior.”
“Getting cold feet?”
“…What?”
“Why is your tongue so long? Don’t leave; let’s settle this right now. I’m confident.”
After this much provocation, it would be worth a shot, but he endured once again and began acting as if conscious of the cameras.
“How could I hit a cadet? I’ll let the first blow slide out of the kindness of a senior’s heart, so make sure to greet me when you see me from now on.”
Having finished his ‘cool guy’ act, he let out a smirk of ridicule toward the Chairperson.
“I’ve seen the reality of the Academy’s cadet education. As expected of the Chairperson. I look forward to the future of these cadets. To think a cadet like this is the top student. The Academy is really going to hell.”
The reporters turned their cameras and began pouring out questions.
Asking if what he said was true, and if I was really the top student.
This guy, acting all cool while still trying to crush his opponent with his tongue—some habits never die.
But you know what, you bastard?
Between you and me, who do you think has more to lose in an information war?
The reporters are only chewing us out right now because we look more delicious, but you should know they’re not on your side, you hack.
“Ah, right. No matter how much the Academy goes to hell, could it ever be as bad as the Association?”
“What?”
“I believe the Association President took another mistress recently. Wasn’t she a minor and a celebrity, not even a superhuman?”
“…Shit.”
The guy’s emotions were laid bare on his face.
How the hell do I know that? Who knows? How do I know?
“Oh, and you too. Isn’t it a bit pathetic how you tell every woman you meet that she’s the only one for you and that only someone of her caliber is worthy of you?”
The handsome man’s face began to turn pale.
By now, it should be obvious even without saying it, but this guy is a coward who only fights safe battles. He must be wondering what he’ll do if I actually have evidence.
“If you’ve lost, just admit it and crawl away pathetically. You moron.”
Ah, that felt good.
The questions of the excited reporters and the sound of clicking cameras blended perfectly with the face of the stupid bastard who couldn’t run away because of his position.
And perhaps moved by my refreshing revenge, the tearful Chairperson and my friends who arrived late with horrified faces rounded out the scene.
“Hahahaha!”
It was truly a magnificent start to the second semester.