Assembling the Core Four
I returned to my seat in the back row, and Jinwoo dragged his chair over right away.
"Boss, where've you been?"
"I proposed the club advisor position to Instructor Ji Suhyun."
"What? You actually asked her that? So, what'd she say? 'Get lost'?"
……What kind of monster does this guy have in his head for Ji Suhyun?
"She told me to bring three club founding consent forms by tomorrow. Then she'll take responsibility and push it through the student council review."
"What?! That crazy bitch actually said that?"
His sudden shout drew every eye in the room our way.
"……Maybe keep it down."
"Ah, sorry. So that crazy bitch really said if you bring three consent forms, she'll get it through student council?"
I nodded at his question.
"Whoa, for real. She's nuts. She probably said it thinking there's no way you'd pull it off."
"More like she figures if you can't even manage this, she doesn't need to bother with us. Instructor Ji Suhyun's a hardcore meritocrat."
"She's playing hard to get, huh."
Could put it that way, I guess. Not wrong, anyway, so I didn't correct him.
"So, to get three consent forms today, we gotta raid the Bronze, Silver, and Gold clubs. Think we can swing it?"
"If I couldn't handle that much, I wouldn't have even tried."
"Whoa…… Boss as expected."
I'd planned for three consent forms from the start, so grabbing them wouldn't be a big deal. The real issue……
was recruiting those two first.
Alright, time to move to the next phase.
I eyed the two who would soon be my comrades—no, the two I was about to make my comrades.
Then I stood and headed straight for Sea-a.
"Sea-a."
"Huh? Uh, Yujin?"
She looked pretty flustered, like she never expected me to talk to her. I could feel the class's eyes turning our way.
Nothing to hide, though.
"Sea-a, you thinking of joining a club?"
"A club? Yeah. I was planning on the Hunter Club……."
The Hunter Club was the one that booked dungeons using the academy's name and profited off the byproducts. I'd joined a few times playing Ranger, so vague memories lingered.
"Isn't the Hunter Club Platinum rank? Don't you need a separate exam to get in?"
"Of course I know that. That's why I was gonna take the test today."
She blinked innocently. Her spatial detection ability and the tricks she'd shown in sparring were essential for upcoming events, so I recalled her profile from the info.
She wanted into Hunter Club for the money, no doubt.
Hit that angle, then.
"I know a club that pays better. Interested?"
"……Huh? Better than Hunter Club?"
Money talk lit her eyes up instantly.
"Yeah. No entry exam, and bonuses scale with effort."
"A club like that exists? I researched, and nothing came up……."
"It doesn't. Yet."
"……Yet?"
"I'm starting one. Profits are huge."
"Wait, that question to the instructor earlier was about this?"
"Yeah. Ji Suhyun and I already talked it over. Bring three consent forms, and she'll handle advisor duties and push it through student council."
"The instructor said that?"
"Yep. So, here's my proposal."
Right after yesterday's sparring. If the smartphone alert was real, Sea-a was one who'd felt a sliver of fear toward me from that match.
That triggered my trait 【Heir to the Underworld】's sub-effect: [Offer They Can't Refuse].
[Offer They Can't Refuse] in effect
A quick check of the notification confirmed it: [Offer They Can't Refuse] active.
All that was left was to make the offer.
"Bring me three consent forms today, and join my club."
"Me?"
She rolled her eyes in flustered panic at the scout offer. I pressed the momentum, laying out terms that'd appeal to her.
"Hunter Club newbies make about 4 million credits a month, right?"
"Uh…… yeah."
"You know they take 50% for referral fees, gear rentals, and club funds?"
"50%?"
50% of 4 million credits monthly. Leaves 2 million—barely part-time wage for a normie.
Hunter Club was quasi-mercenary, loaded with restrictions. But that payoff for the grind? Hard to believe.
They hid it during recruitment. Once you signed, true colors showed. No quitting till semester's end, and newbies got scraps of info—classic info asymmetry exploit.
"Yeah. They skip that part recruiting, then screw you post-signature. Dirty bastards. Don't believe me?"
I pointed out the window.
"Go ask downstairs. They'll shut you down and chase you off for 'spreading lies'."
"W-wait. How do you know all this, Yujin?"
I'd gotten burned as a newbie in-game, but couldn't say that outright.
I pulled my prepared answer.
"Academy grad I know told me."
"……Someone you know."
"Yeah."
With her already told to verify outside if skeptical, she'd at least suspect I wasn't lying.
Time to seal it.
"5 million. Join my club, get 5 million credits."
"5…… 5 million credits?"
"Bonuses separate."
"B-bonuses too……?"
"What do you say? Tempted?"
She pondered, looking serious. But I knew she'd bitten completely.
"Y-you said three consent forms, right? Deal! If you really bring them, I'll join!"
She nodded like it was inevitable and offered her hand. I shook it firmly.
"Good."
"But don't clubs need at least four members? Me and you—that leaves two……."
"What? Five mil? Fiiiive million?! Boss! What about me? I get that too, right?"
Jinwoo, who'd been quietly spectating, exploded at the number.
"……That's three with this guy."
"Ah…… So that's why Jinwoo's calling you Boss. Who's the fourth?"
"The last one? I'll ask now."
I moved to the desk of Kim Young-je, seated right in front of Sea-a.
"Glasses."
"……'Glasses'? I'm class rep too, y'know. Call me that."
He muttered with a sigh.
"Fine, Class Rep. You heard everything, no recap. Join the club I'm starting?"
"Filling four spots right away? You're in a rush."
"Ji Suhyun wants three forms by tomorrow, like you heard. Thoughts?"
"Sorry, no club plans. I'm───."
"Aiming for student council. Explains the class rep run."
Not like I'd deduced it from his campaign. Game knowledge: he always joined student council.
His goal? Always one thing.
Power. Power to find his person. Power to access his info.
That's why Kim Young-je always targeted student council.
And the info he sought? Always one thing.
"You're looking for your master's whereabouts, right?"
"What?"
He shot up from his seat.
"How do you know that?"
"……Does it matter?"
Info not even in Calione's secretary intel.
But I knew.
Kim Young-je: dungeon orphan, family lost to a dungeon.
The one who took him in and raised him? His missing master.
"The mage known as Rainbow Conductor. Arcobaleno. She's trapped in a dungeon now."
I stated it flatly.
"……What?"
"One labeled impossible to clear. Sealed in Dante's Inferno (La Divina)."
"Dante's Inferno……? Master's there?"
His eyes wavered. I pushed.
"Don't believe it? No proof? Sure, word alone's hard to swallow. I get it. But I promise this."
Bzzz── Bzzz──
My smartphone vibrated wildly in my left hand.
"Not one lie in my words."
My gut said it: he's listening seriously now.
"Your enemy will be mine. Your friend, mine. Why? I don't abandon family."
Bzzz── Bzzz── Bzzz──
The phone went berserk. [Offer They Can't Refuse] applying.
"Join my club, and I'll join your lonely hell."
Bzzz── Bzzz── Bzzz──
"Join my club, Kim Young-je."
Bzzz──
"I'll stand with you."
Bzzz─
Vibrations stopped. He opened his eyes slowly, meeting mine.
"Master once said true friends treat each other like family. And you're saying friends are family like it's obvious."
He grabbed my hand firmly.
"Yujin. I trust you."
"Excellent choice."
With that, all four club members secured.