20. Newspaper Club Raid Incident 1
20. Newspaper Club Raid Incident 1
"You're going to terrorize the Newspaper Club?? Absolutely not!! Do you even know what kind of place that is?!"
Uncharacteristically, Liber grabbed my wrist.
He didn't know what I meant by a review bomb, so he must have thought I was literally going to blow the place up.
He hadn't even done this when I wrecked Lemnos's cronies in the hallway, or when I dueled Lemnos.
"I said 'terrorize' figuratively. I'm just going to file a complaint."
But thinking about it calmly, I had nothing to gain from causing a ruckus in the Newspaper Club either, so it was best to go as peacefully as possible.
That was the kind of presence the Newspaper Club held in the Academy.
They didn't rule directly like the Student Council, but they were a quiet powerhouse you shouldn't provoke—that was the Academy's Newspaper Club.
In the original story, the Newspaper Club played a vital role in foreshadowing major events.
They occasionally reported on the protagonist Hayden Parker's rampages, but they never did things like plastering fake news on the front page.
Someone had interfered with the Newspaper Club.
There weren't many people in the Academy who could manipulate the Newspaper Club like their own limbs.
The imperial family... or the Five Pillars, or a few professors, but professors usually didn't meddle because they had to watch out for the other professors.
That was because the position of Newspaper Club President was guaranteed by the Headmaster.
"Would the Newspaper Club even listen to a complaint?"
"I'll make them listen."
"See, see! You've got that 'I'll just make it happen' look in your eyes again!"
"They say the Newspaper Club is a dangerous place..!"
Liber and Emy joined forces to dissuade me from going to the Newspaper Club, but they couldn't stop me from going.
It was fine.
I was going because I had something solid to fall back on, too.
If the Newspaper Club responded cooperatively to dialogue, no disturbance would occur.
——————————————
I had expected it, but the Newspaper Club's reporting had exceptional influence.
"That's him? The one who supposedly cheated in the duel."
"He looks underhanded too."
"How could he show his face? I would've dropped out."
"They say Halflings are shameless, after all."
I was just walking toward the Newspaper Club office, but malicious gossip came from all directions.
Being too tall made you stand out, but being short like me also made you extremely conspicuous.
Negative emotions, on the verge of exploding, bubbled up from deep within my chest.
I had done well to come alone.
I was probably making a horrible expression again right now.
The Newspaper Club had two club rooms.
An office where they gathered information and wrote articles, and a printing press where they printed the completed newspapers.
The printing press used a huge printer, so it was in a completely different building.
The place I arrived at was the office where articles were written and the president's office was located.
"Is anyone here?"
Still, I came here to talk.
I suppressed my emotions and returned my expression to normal.
I hadn't come to raid the place, so I knocked on the door normally.
A moment later, the door of the Newspaper Club opened, and a tidy-looking man appeared.
"Who are you? Hmm... you a freshman?"
His clothes were tidy, but his appearance was shabby.
Judging by the faint dark circles under his bleary eyes, it seemed he hadn't slept properly last night.
At that moment, I caught an unintentional action from the man.
He had clearly opened the door and looked straight ahead, but then, because he couldn't see anyone, he subtly lowered his gaze downward.
It was a trivial action, but my irritation index ticked up slightly.
The man had done nothing wrong, but I just felt bad because of the accumulated stress on the way here.
My head knew it was natural and meant nothing, but right now, every single little action like that grated on my nerves.
"Applying to join the club? Then wait a bit. Clubs start from the third week. We're a bit busy right now."
Maybe because I came when he was tired, the man's voice was thick with annoyance.
Seeing the color of my brooch, the man seemed to think I had come to apply for membership.
The Newspaper Club was one of the popular clubs in the Academy.
But my purpose was anything but joining.
"Is the President in there?"
"Why are you looking for the President?"
Yeah, he looked sleepy, so he could mix some annoyance into his voice, sure.
Without showing it, I gestured toward the large door visible over the man's shoulder, and his expression twisted.
"I have business with the President, so could you just pass along a message?"
"The President isn't here, so go back."
"I know they're in there. If the President says no, I'll go back, so just tell them I'm here."
"This guy doesn't get it."
The man got angry and shoved my forehead.
If we had been similar in height, he would have shoved my shoulder, but because I was short, the easiest place for him to raise his hand was to shove my forehead.
-Ppajik
A vein bulged on my forehead.
But my hand didn't fly up immediately.
I didn't come here to fight, so let's endure this much.
I suppressed my anger and spoke politely once more.
"I told you to go away. The President doesn't have time to care about someone like you."
"Sunbae, I'm showing you respect right now, aren't I? We've just met for the first time. Don't you think you're being a bit too rude?"
"Look at this... a little shit talking back to his sunbae."
He shoved my forehead once more.
My head snapped back, then came forward again.
Let's endure it just this once more.
"Hey, what did you say? Being rude on first meeting? What class are you in? No, what kind of great family are you from to act like this?"
The newspaper club member shoved my forehead again.
"?"
But this time, it didn't move.
As if he were pushing against a wall, his hand wouldn't budge at all, and the newspaper club member made a strange expression.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
I heard that in times like these, it was good to lighten the mood with a funny story.
"Sunbae, do you know what it is when you pick up a branch on the road?"
"What nonsense are you spouting."
-Udeudeuk
The sunbae's arm that had been resting on my forehead broke like a twig.
"Huh..?"
His arm, limp and drained of strength—it wasn't just cracked or slightly broken, but truly bent and dangling like a snapped tree branch.
"You... what is this...!! My... arm??"
Seemingly unable to comprehend the situation, the newspaper club member looked back and forth between his arm and me.
It seemed the atmosphere still hadn't lightened.
Let's try to loosen the mood again with a funny story.
"Sunbae, do you know what the funniest tooth in the world is?"
"My... my arm.. my arm... I don't... I don't know that!!!"
-Tukwang!!!!
The body of the bleary-eyed newspaper club member flew fiercely into the air and slammed into the desk behind him.
Silence fell over the office.
The newspaper club members looked back and forth between the wrecked desk and me.
"It's a fun-tooth (Fun Tooth)."
Nobody reacted to my carefully prepared shitty joke.
Since this world didn't have Hanja, they wouldn't understand it even if I explained.
"Hmm, as expected, no one laughed. That's normal."
It wasn't even meant to be funny.
"It's a raid!!!"
"T-take defensive positions!!"
Only then did a newspaper club member who grasped the situation shout, and the members sitting at their desks all scrambled to their feet and moved hurriedly.
Hidden somewhere, they each grabbed a weapon and clustered together, using desks as shields.
But just four of them, four wearing short cloaks, remained seated as if they intended to observe the situation.
"You... do you know where you are, to be doing this!!"
"I have no business with the rest of you. I'll just see the President over there and be on my way. Got it?"
"The President?! You bastard, are you aiming for the President!!!"
"No, I said I just want to talk."
When I mentioned the President, the person who seemed to be the most senior among the newspaper club members stepped forward.
"Urggh..! Attacking the Newspaper Club... how do you plan to deal with the consequences!!"
"The Newspaper Club attacked first."
"What? Oh, I get it. You're the rumored Halfling, aren't you? You should be quietly packing your bags...!"
At the newspaper club member's gesture, the four men who had been sitting in the corner, not in front of the desks, stood up.
The men wearing short cloaks all had something heavy strapped to their waists.
"They're members of the Swordsmanship Research Club! If you cause this kind of disturbance, don't think you'll leave with your body intact!!!"
"Wow, coming into enemy territory all alone... you've got some romance in you. Hey, want to join the Swordsmanship Research Club?"
"You guys, I'm reporting you to the President. Cut the idle chatter!!"
The Swordsmanship Research Club members were grinning, seemingly pleased that I had boldly walked into the Newspaper Club alone.
"Just don't kill him. Cutting off a limb or two is fine!"
"Oh dear, it's come to this. Let's make this easy, easy."
When the newspaper club member barked at them, the Swordsmanship Research Club members, who had been dawdling, began to move in earnest.
The Swordsmanship Research Club members, rising from each corner, skillfully closed the distance.
Those were trained movements.
It seemed they were aiming for a quick suppression with a pincer attack.
I would be at a disadvantage if surrounded.
As I dodged the Swordsmanship Research Club members gradually closing in, my gaze fixed on one of them.
'That sword would be perfect.'
I'd strike first.
"Huh?!"
When I appeared right in front of him without any preparatory movement, the Swordsmanship Club member panicked.
His reaction was delayed.
-Kwang!!
An uppercut, launched with a solid stomp on the ground, sent the Swordsmanship Club member flying through the air just the same.
The Swordsmanship Club member flew backward spectacularly, hit the wall once, and collapsed.
"The Halfling drew a sword!!!"
The other Swordsmanship Research Club members shouted, tense.
A long sword was now grasped in my empty hand.
That was because I had drawn the long sword the Swordsmanship Club member had at his waist as I threw the uppercut.
The reason I attacked that member first in the first place was that, at a glance, he carried a long sword of a length that seemed the most familiar to my hand.
The newspaper club members might not get it, but I had to face the Swordsmanship Research Club members with swords.
Holding the long sword, I took a familiar stance.
A low stance with the sword tilted toward the floor, it was the Snake Stance.
"Tell the President to come out here!!! Did they think they'd be fine after writing an article like this!!!!"
"""Haaaaaaaat!!"""
The three surrounding me rushed in at once.
Letting them target my most defenseless back makes you an amateur; I had to break through this encirclement first.
-Seogeok!
"Aack!!!"
Avoiding the linear thrust of the Swordsmanship Club member who came at me first by dodging to the side, I slashed the ankle of his stepping foot—his left one—with my long sword.
In one fluid, continuous motion, I sent one guy packing.
It was something I had just realized, but these guys seemed to have almost no experience fighting someone as small as me.
Since they had to keep their center of gravity lower than usual, I could feel their techniques coming in sloppy.
It was a phenomenon often seen in new recruits.
It was unpleasant, but an advantage was an advantage, so I'd exploit it as much as possible.