The Desperate Heart Can Be Bought Cheaply - 1

The teachers called that man in. But tension lingered in their eyes. One young teacher glanced at another with a puzzled look.

"But... is there really any reason to be this scared about it?"

"Why?"

"We called him in last time too. No matter how I think about it... aren't we the ones in charge here? Those artifacts didn't seem all that impressive either—"

Wi Sunna, the principal, cut in to answer her. "The situation's different from back then. Or... thinking about it, even that time was pretty dicey."

"Pardon?"

"Well, you could see it that way. Why should we bend our school rules for some peddler's sob story? But even that common-sense argument changes depending on who you're dealing with."

Wi Sunna bit her lip hard. "Is that guy really just a 'peddler'?"

"...Pardon?"

"If it was just one or two, maybe. Some shady dealer trying to offload a leaked cheap artifact for quick cash... But that's not the case, is it?"

The investigation at the Academy had already confirmed over a hundred guns sold. In less than a month, he'd racked up sales worth over 100 million won. No one could call that a peddler's hustle without blushing.

"He's a big shot. Bigger than we think. Who knows who's backing him."

"Is... that such a big deal?"

"If we're just talking money, yeah."

Academy teachers weren't the type to be pushed around by mere "hundreds of millions." Considering the production costs of those guns, it was hard to believe he'd pocketed massive profits either.

"Still, those are artifacts. At least I don't know where they came from, and no one I know does either. They're definitely not from any registered workshop in Korea."

Only then did a few teachers grasp the gravity, staring at Wi Sunna in shock.

"A hundred items, plus custom bullets designed for those guns. Not drops or leaks. So then—"

"Does that mean a guild's behind it?"

"Guild, workshop, some unknown outfit—something's there."

But that man had carefully hidden it all and gotten the Academy to okay circulating his wares.

"The one who got involved in distribution... Roje, right?"

"...She was the one who reported it too. She was tearing into him like she wanted to kill him, then flipped like it was all part of the plan and started cooperating—"

"That's what I'm saying. What if all this was planned?"

She didn't want to suspect a student. But considering who An Roje's mother was, it was hard to imagine no capital was pulling strings behind the scenes.

"Thinking back... he was weirdly calm. Like he saw all this coming. The recording was airtight too..."

"But even so, what can he do? Don't we have the moral high ground in the end?"

Wi Sunna shook her head. "Suppose we didn't think this through and just unilaterally announced a 'rule change.'"

"Yeah..."

"He'd push back. 'You're clearly trying to stop me from selling my stuff.'"

"Realistically, we had no choice."

Banning "all artifact pistols" via rule change would screw over too many students. It had to be that firm, that aggressive, against those guns—unavoidably so.

"We send him off like that, and then his backers step in?"

"...!"

Changing school rules was the Academy's prerogative. But "banning a specific model without reason" could blow up if publicized. If a major guild or workshop used it as leverage to sic the press on the Academy...

"We might have to cough up something bigger next."

Wi Sunna bit her lip again. A workshop or guild could demand a "solution" from the Academy, trading "rights to sell those guns" for other concessions.

"So, what do we..."

"No choice. School's a school. We can't let him sell students a 'guaranteed no-expulsion' pass."

"Ah..."

"Play it as polite as possible, convince him. Guy loves recordings, right?"

"Yes."

"Assume it'll hit the community forums tomorrow. No harsh words. Got it?"

Recognizing the problem didn't fix it.

"Yes, Principal!"

In the end, all they could do was tremble and wait for his move.

"Excuse me. May I come in?"

And he arrived.

Guess they called me after all.

I'd figured I'd get caught eventually. And I'd prepared plenty for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this moment.

I strode confidently into the staff room.

"Ah, you're here? Isu, right?"

Unlike what I'd expected—no immediate pressure—the voice was surprisingly soft. But once I saw who was speaking so kindly, I had no choice but to tense up and bow deeply.

"An honor to meet you, Hunter Wi Sunna."

"No need for that..."

Wi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sunna. Even someone oblivious to the hunter world would know the name. The Academy principal stood before me.

"We called you in today because... the items you're distributing have become an issue."

"Did something happen?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that! It's just... some talk about students relying too much on those things."

This much I could handle. I'd braced for it.

"In that case..."

"For the expulsion exams coming up... we think we need to ban those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pistols."

So it came to this.

I already knew from Roje what went down in the last expulsion exam. Even without that, selling this many Gremlin Pistols made it predictable.

"That's why we wanted to discuss it with you first."

I was caught off guard. Not negatively—positively.

Do they really need to call me for this? It's your school rules. No need to consult—

I held my breath, analyzing.

Are they treating me as more important than they should? Really? Why?

Perplexing, but no time to puzzle it out. Couldn't just stand there silent.

I made my call. "Of course, do as you see fit."

"You understand?"

"The Academy has its rules."

I couldn't figure why they were being so deferential. Without knowing, I couldn't gauge how hard to push.

Opponent's Wi Sunna...

She was smiling now, but not because she liked me. To her, I was the guy who'd wrecked the Academy's expulsion exam. No reason to think well of me.

So, better to build goodwill than risk pushing for more.

Hm?

My phone rang.

"Sorry, should have silenced it. I'll just—"

Seeing the number, I bit my lip.

"Apologies, it's someone really important... I'll explain and hang up right away."

"No, we're not in a rush. Take your time."

"Sorry, excuse me—"

I knew full well how rude it was to take a call in front of the Academy principal. But with Lee Seoyeonn calling, I had no choice. Had to prioritize the bigger player.

Stepping out, I answered to her icy tone, feeling my blood freeze.

I rushed back, sat, and faced Wi Sunna again. "Sorry, someone I couldn't ignore called... Where were we?"

She smiled leisurely. "Rule change means banning your guns from expulsion exams. You okay with that?"

"Of course."

I nodded with a smile. "You called me right after exams ended, so no one buys on bad info. Thanks for the heads-up."

Even if these pistols weren't pricey from Academy parents' view, barring them from expulsion exams could've drawn backlash. Sure, less profit stung, but I'd made plenty. Pushing more was greed.

"Really grateful you understand. Need any support from us?"

"No, thank you for letting me know."

Wi Sunna carried as much infamy as her feats and fame. The dean's seat demanded it—no enemies, no survival. Still, no hostility toward me. Couldn't say why.

"We're the grateful ones. Let's grab a meal sometime."

"Call anytime, I'll come running."

I swapped numbers with Wi Sunna. An unexpected windfall. With this, no one at the Academy could bully me unfairly.

Entered tense, left with gains. Never planned to hawk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gremlin Pistols forever anyway.

Money's good for now. Time to coast a bit.

Time was on my side. Water shipments to [Wasteland 2] were ramping up, trade volume growing.

Capital's solid. Just need new routes...

I left the Academy with a faint smile, head high.

After he left, Wi Sunna wiped the fake smile from her face and sighed deeply. Sensing her foul mood, the teachers piped up one by one.

"That guy's too rude, isn't he?"

"We're talking Academy business, and he takes a call instead of hanging up—"

Wi Sunna slammed the desk. "Shut it. All of you."

Her sharp glare pinned them.

"Anyone catch who he was talking to?"

"Well..."

"Lee Seoyeonn. Loud and clear. He straight-up said it was her."

She bit her lip hard—hard enough to draw blood.