Chapter 332: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 332: No, I Said Let’s Just Enjoy the Festival Normally! (4)
“Is… is he dead?”
“No, he’s alive. I just put him to sleep.”
I had simply implanted a vivid image of his impending death and used demonic energy to create a hallucination, making him believe he had actually died.
Well, if left like this, his brain might rot or he might eventually die, but if you asked, ‘Is he dead?’ at this very moment, the answer would be no.
Of course, I didn’t spare him because I felt pity for the old man or because I was worried Aisha would regret it later.
“…Why? You should have just killed him. If you’re worried about it becoming a weakness, I’ll stand as a witness for you.”
Even she was saying that, and honestly, I wanted to kill him too.
But I didn’t really want to commit murder right in front of Ga-eul, and it would be a problem if the Honor Faction bastards noticed something was wrong and fled if I killed him now.
Oh, and there was one more very minor reason.
“…Aisha?”
“…Huh?”
It would ruin the mood of a touching family reunion if there was a corpse lying around.
“I’m sorry… Mommy is so sleepy… Just, just a little longer… I’ll hug you, my daughter…”
“M-Mother. Mom…! Mom…!”
…Wait, based on the dialogue alone, this sounds more like a bad ending than a touching reunion. Nothing went wrong and made the atmosphere turn cold, right?
“She seems fine. Her breathing is stable; I think she just fell asleep because of all the accumulated fatigue.”
I was honestly a bit scared when she closed her eyes like that, but after Ga-eul checked various things, she confirmed the woman had just fallen asleep.
I mean, honestly, demonic energy is one thing, but I’m still not confident in handling divine power, so I was a little nervous.
I was truly relieved that everything seemed to have worked out.
After some time had passed, Aisha, who had been sobbing for a while, looked back and forth between her parents lying there blankly and me before finally speaking.
“Um, excuse me.”
“You want to say thank you? I know. Repay me later.”
“No, I am grateful, obviously. I’ll repay that favor with my body later, so let’s leave that aside. I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious. Can I ask you something?”
“…Setting aside your usual jokes, what are you curious about?”
“It’s not a joke, though. Anyway. So-hyun, are you perhaps a god, or some kind of omnipotent being like that?”
“…What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”
“No, I mean, whenever there’s a problem, you just show up and—poof! You say things like, ‘You pathetic villain,’ and then you just snap your fingers and solve things that others wouldn’t be able to fix in a lifetime. Is it really that strange for me to think this way?”
“If I were the Creator, I wouldn’t have made the world this complicated.”
“Well, yeah. I know that. But still, for a ‘normal cadet,’ there are just too many strange things…”
“But I do know the Creator well, and I’ve committed so many sins.”
“…Pardon?”
“I have to pay the price for those sins together with her.”
“…Your expression is quite cool, So-hyun, but your pronunciation was weird, so I didn’t understand a word you said.”
…This damn filtering pops up to cause trouble every time I’m about to forget it exists.
Aisha seemed dissatisfied that she couldn’t hear what I said, but she seemed to decide it couldn’t be helped and let out a sigh of resignation.
“Anyway, it’s fine here now, so go quickly.”
“Huh?”
“That madman said it, didn’t he? That they were going to turn the Academy upside down, and that you’d be a victim too.”
“He did say that.”
“I know you’re staying by my side because you’re worried, but it would be a problem if you failed to stop something you could have stopped because of me, right? I’ll pull myself together after crying just a bit more and join you immediately…”
“This is a clone, though?”
“Yes, so… wait, what?”
“That… no, that villain bastard sprawled over there said it earlier. That since I don’t have multiple bodies, I wouldn’t be able to stop everything alone.”
Let’s ignore the fact that I almost accidentally called the villain bastard ‘your grandfather.’
Anyway, the villain said something like that, but from my perspective, it was nothing short of hilarious.
“Because I do have multiple bodies.”
I can’t solve it alone if incidents happen simultaneously?
“Tell him to stop bullshitting. Who does that pathetic villain think he is, judging people as he pleases? Does he think he’s something special?”
This level of forced hardship doesn’t even count as a struggle anymore.
In the first place, I had no intention of solving everything by myself.
The cliché of trying to hide an incident and then failing to handle it alone? I have no intention of committing such a blunder.
But that’s one thing, and regardless, the idea that I can’t handle simultaneous incidents because I only have one body is his delusion.
To put it simply, I have plenty of people to help me, and I have multiple bodies, so their plan was destined to fail from the start.
“I’ve already asked people who can help, and I’m doing everything I can do simultaneously.”
“…So-hyun, I think I’ve said this before, but do you know you’re kind of sexy when you’re like this?”
“…True. It’s kind of cool how it feels like everything is in the palm of your hand no matter how things turn out.”
Ga-eul, you don’t mean that I sound like I have eighth-grader syndrome, do you?
Anyway, just as I thought things were wrapped up on this side…
I spotted someone trying to sneak away through the bushes.
He looked like one of the guys who had threatened Master yesterday. What the hell was he doing here?
* * *
“Everyone! Hello! I am Cheon Mu-jin, the representative of Cheonhwa Group! The Academy festival has already entered its second day! It’s still early, just before lunch, but since the sales survey for each grade was completed yesterday, I’ve come to greet you like this!”
As his voice, infused with mana, echoed through the Academy, the eyes of the cadets and visitors naturally gathered on him.
After confirming he had enough attention, he gave a signal, and a hologram unfolded against the backdrop of the Academy sky.
The content itself was a simple graph summarizing the sales for each grade and class, but the technology used to display that simple graph was by no means negligible.
“As you can see, there are classes that have already recorded high sales in each grade. As a representative of a corporation, but also as a hero and your senior, I am very pleased to see everyone working so hard!”
While not everyone, some waved their hands or applauded, showing a fairly favorable reaction toward him.
“However, I also feel a bit of regret. This is an event to pick the person who played the most active role in the Academy festival—should we really decide that based on mere sales?”
That was, until he suddenly tried to pull a ‘retreat-style’ plot twist.
Naturally, the classes already in the lead protested, while those at the bottom wondered what the hell he was doing.
In the first place, he was playing with words.
What he had originally said was, ‘I will give a prize to the class that records the highest sales,’ not that he would pick the team that played the most active role in the Academy festival.
“Ah, of course, I know! I’m not trying to back out now. The class that recorded the highest sales will, of course, receive the originally promised reward. I just thought that since we’re picking the best, we should make it a bit more exciting!”
By giving the impression that there was nothing to lose, he subtly made them think it might be worth listening to what he had to say.
And he was also trying to act as if the theme of ‘picking the best’ had been there from the beginning.
“From now on, through a very simple game, we won’t just pick one class! Just one cadet! We will pick exactly one cadet! The one person who will become the protagonist of this Leilan Academy Autumn Festival!”
Fundamentally, the people of this world are a bit extra and love events.
And since those who aspire to be heroes tend to have a strong desire for recognition and a competitive streak, this was quite enticing.
“…Thank you.”
In fact, the event that Cheon Mu-jin and my father had originally planned was not like this.
It was just a simple event where representatives were chosen from the top-ranking classes, and through an event, only one class would receive a better reward.
Because of that, it wasn’t confusing, it suited the festival well, and it was an event that could be finished safely.
However, the moment I explained the situation and asked, the two of them granted my request without any hesitation.
They had revised the plan into an event that was much more complex and dangerous—one where it wouldn’t be strange if a considerable ‘free-for-all’ broke out.
“Now, I’m glad everyone seems interested! Well then, since dragging this out any longer would be tasteless, let’s get straight into the explanation of the event!”
He declared with a smirk.
“It would be great if it were an event befitting an Academy festival. What we’ve prepared is exactly this.”
As he spoke, he scattered something like pieces of paper across the Academy.
Something designed like a wanted poster.
“The Villain Catching Festival. Doesn’t that sound like a perfect fit for an Academy festival?”
* * *
Meanwhile, while Cheon Mu-jin was subtly heightening the atmosphere of the Academy festival, a guest—no, a nuisance—had arrived at the Chairperson’s office.
An S-rank from the Hero Association’s Honor Faction, ranked 97th.
The man called the weakest S-rank.
Keras of Emptiness.
And even the heroes belonging to the unit he commanded.
Considering who they were surrounding, it wasn’t a very meaningful threat, but…
If it were a normal opponent, it could be seen as a sufficiently intimidating threat.
“…I hope I misheard you.”
And considering the content of what they called a ‘proposal’ to the Chairperson, it was clear they had no intention of maintaining a peaceful relationship with the Academy.
“No, I think you heard perfectly fine. You’re aware that the Association President’s faction, led by the President himself, has formed a team of young and popular heroes this time, right?”
She didn’t give a specific answer, but Keras continued to chatter away as if he hadn’t expected one in the first place.
“Due to certain circumstances, it’s problematic for us in the Honor Faction if the Association President’s image becomes too good.”
“Is the Honor Faction aiming for the next Association President’s seat?”
“…Hmm, well, you can think whatever you like.”
I see. It was exactly as Cadet Kang So-hyun had said.
“So, why are you trying to drag the Academy into your internal power struggle as you please?”
“Because the prestige of Leilan Academy will be helpful to us. And it seems there’s been some trouble with the Association President’s faction recently. We saw this as something we could exploit.”
“…And? Where did you learn a negotiation tactic that jumps straight to threats without any persuasion?”
“What is this if not persuasion? Furthermore, from a position where we could take it by force, not doing so is already enough of a courtesy.”
The way he chuckled as if something were so funny didn’t make him look like a hero at all, but he probably didn’t care about such things.
True to their name, the Honor Faction was not a group that particularly cared about honor.
“If you say you won’t cooperate with us, I’ll have no choice but to ruin this delightful festival. I’d have to reveal all the corruption in the Academy and the connections between Yuseong and Cheonhwa Groups that I’ve investigated, and then take over after punishing you all—but that’s not what I want either.”
“I assume those are forged evidences.”
“But the public will believe them. I hate to say it myself, but they’re well-made. Quite provocative, too.”
“…You people just can’t leave the Academy alone. No, setting aside your greed, does the Academy look like a place that can be so easily invaded?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? You’ve already lost many rights compared to last year. Even if it’s because many accidents happened unlike during the previous Chairperson’s time, isn’t it an undeniable fact that the Academy has weakened?”
“Fine. Since you claim that garbage proposal is an act of goodwill, I’ll give you a piece of advice out of goodwill as well.”
“What is it?”
“Get out of the Academy right now. If you do, you might be able to escape without any trouble.”
“…It seems you think I’m joking, but I’ve already stationed our team members as well as various villains inside the Academy. There are quite a lot of them, and since there are unknown ones mixed in, you won’t even be able to tell who is who.”
“…And?”
“The moment I give the signal, they’ll turn the Academy into a mess, and then adding negligence of security to your list of crimes will be no problem at all. Understand?”
“Are you done talking?”
“…You’ll regret this.”
“We’ll see. We’ll see which side ends up regretting it.”
Just before he could send the signal to those he had stationed, his face contorted with rage.
Waaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive cheer erupted from outside, and the signal of one of the villains he had stationed vanished.
“…What?”
“Didn’t I say you’d regret it?”
As the Chairperson looked at the flustered Keras, a bright smile was etched on her face.