Chapter 49: Club (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49: Club (2)
“Oh, come to think of it, we should probably find a faculty advisor for the club. We have written exams next week, so it wouldn't hurt to prepare in advance.”
Now that the club name was decided, Ryozo muttered as if she had just remembered, right before they were about to head back to their respective classes.
“True. Professors will be busy grading right after the exams anyway. It wouldn't hurt to ask early. So, Saki, do you have a professor in mind?”
“Hmm, let’s see. No one really comes to mind. It’s been a while since I’ve actually sat through a lecture properly.”
Saki Ryozo shrugged nonchalantly. Weapon looked at her with an exasperated expression. Ryozo pulled out some yanggaeng and started chewing.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of losing the top spot in these midterms either.”
“…….”
Weapon’s lips twitched, but he couldn't find a retort. His pride was stung, but he seemed to begrudgingly accept her words. Chloe looked back and forth between the two as if it were none of her business.
“Anyway, whatever. If anyone thinks of a professor, let me know. Once we find someone to be the advisor, I’ll draft a proposal so we can submit it immediately.”
Weapon scratched his chin listlessly and continued.
“Just so you know, only those at the professor level or higher can be club advisors, so tell me if you think of anyone in that range.”
There was a clear hierarchy among the staff at the Academy. To use a Korean analogy, the instructors responsible for leading, guiding, and training the cadets were like middle or high school teachers.
The professors at Joaquin Academy, however, weren't much different from those in Korea. They lectured the cadets and conducted research in their private labs, living harmoniously(?) with their graduate students.
Since opening a club was usually treated like a study group with a strong academic purpose, professors were the ones who took on the role of advisors. It was likely a way for them to scout their next batch of slaves.
“…As far as I know, Professor Guk Seiton from the Ethics Department is already advising another club, so he’s out… and Professor Ganma Yujiro from the Humanities Department stays cooped up in his lab, so he’s almost impossible to see…”
Weapon muttered while stroking his chin. Chloe, who had been listening, spoke up in a slightly nasal voice.
“Then how about the professor from the Department of Blessing? His lectures are popular, and he’s very kind.”
“Ah, Professor Damian. But he’s so busy that he probably won't be able to do it. Honestly, there’s no one better than him, though.”
Weapon smacked his lips in regret.
Out of over five hundred staff members, there were only about thirty professors. If you only counted those in charge of the first-year students, that number dropped to ten.
Taking everything into account, there wasn't anyone suitable to take on the task of founding a club.
Since this was the world’s top academy, they surely did more than just teach classes on campus.
“…They say they encourage club activities, but what kind of system is this?”
“That’s just how adults do things.”
Ryozo simply shrugged.
“Sword Demon, do you have anyone in mind?”
Anyone in mind…
I listed the faces I could remember in my head and crossed them off one by one. As I was organizing the names, an exclamation mark popped up above my head.
“It just has to be someone at the professor level ‘or higher,’ right?”
When I asked casually, Weapon tilted his head and answered.
“Right. But there’s almost no one above the faculty level within the Academy.”
“It’s not like there’s no one, right?”
Saying that, I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Ryozo, who had just finished her yanggaeng, asked.
“Who are you calling?”
“The Principal’s office.”
* * *
“Goddammit!”
Cladi von Beimharck, one of the five members of the Joaquin Council of Elders. He gnashed his teeth, his rising fury exploding into a fit of curses.
Cladi bit the cap off a glass bottle and poured the contents into a glass filled with ice. Before the glass was even half full, he downed the liquid.
Gulp.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and then—
Pffft!
A transparent liquid erupted from his mouth like a fountain. Instantly, the faint scent of alcohol began to drift through the office.
The liquid, mixed with saliva, trickled down Cladi's chin. He stared down at the glass with a dazed expression.
“…Alcohol?”
Judging by the taste, it wasn't just any alcohol. It was the ‘Royal Scotch 28 Year Old Black Label Edition’ that Cladi himself had painstakingly acquired through an auction six months ago.
It was a top-shelf liquor costing billions per bottle. Why was the alcohol that should have been in his private wine rack inside this glass bottle?
A brief moment of confusion passed, and then thick veins bulged on Cladi's wrinkled temples.
“Who the hell did this?!”
A wild rage deepened in Cladi's eyes. He irritably wiped his mouth with a gold-embroidered handkerchief.
Then, overcome by a wave of exhaustion, he sank deep into the sofa and muttered blankly.
“…Father.”
Limon von Beimharck. Cladi’s own father, a man known to the world as the Mad Tiger, one of the Seven Stars.
However, his father had passed away forty years ago during the subjugation of the 6th Corps Commander, Basmon.
The public praised him as a noble hero, but contrary to the public's acclaim, young Cladi’s heart had become deeply twisted.
Furthermore, the assassination plots directed at Cladi to seize the Beimharck family immediately after his father’s death had accelerated his corruption.
He harbored poison in his heart. He turned the assassination orders back on those who sent them, massacring his own relatives and tightening the discipline that had wavered in his father’s absence.
And finally, at the young age of thirty, he managed to seize the honor of becoming an Elder of Joaquin Academy.
However, the heart that had turned black in his youth had already mutated into an anti-humanitarian ideology. To guide the foolish masses and firmly maintain an absolute elitist system—Cladi accepted this as his destiny.
To lead the ignorant public and the lowly subjects, a common enemy was needed. Fortunately, humanity had a massive enemy in the form of the demons, which allowed him to secure the legitimacy of his power.
But variables always appear without warning.
Leon von Reinhardt.
The future Hero chosen by the heavens, the only one to manifest the ‘Miracle Blessing,’ the power to subjugate the Demon King. Cladi felt a great sense of crisis at his appearance.
Of course, since the gap in power between humans and Majin was vast, the possibility of Leon von Reinhardt subjugating the Demon King was close to zero.
Nevertheless, there was Balor Joaquin, the Hero of the Origin, who had single-handedly sealed the worst and most vicious demon, the 1st Corps Commander Lycan, despite being a mere human.
Because that legend was a very real precedent, Cladi couldn't help but be deeply unsettled.
‘That must never be allowed to happen.’
Just as he made up his mind, someone visited him with an offer he couldn't refuse.
—I’ll help you take care of that pathetic Hero candidate, Elder!
A mere female instructor. Normally, she wouldn't even dare speak to him. The difference in status between himself, an Elder, and a lowly instructor was that distinct.
But the moment he met her eyes, which burned with a cold light, it was etched into his very bones who was superior and who was inferior.
A half-human, half-demon. A villain.
A human who had made a direct contract with a Corps Commander-level Majin. A breed that had entirely abandoned their humanity in exchange for magic power.
Cladi let out a long sigh. His stomach churned at the memory of the female instructor’s face.
“…As if that brat Leon wasn't enough of a headache, things are getting even more tangled because of that lowly special admission student.”
He had ordered an assassination through the Council of Elders, but the Auditore family had stated they wouldn't proceed unless the reason was clear.
They said they would follow the verification process since it was the opinion of the Academy’s Council of Elders, but it was bound to be sluggish.
It wasn't Cladi’s style to rely solely on a gloomy family of assassins who were bound by formality and refused to take bribes.
On the other hand, being pushed around by that villainous female instructor was also beneath his dignity. Considering he had been slapped by her before, he wanted to tear her apart a thousand times over.
‘That bitch.’
If he was going to crush someone, he would do it thoroughly. Cladi had more than enough power and wealth for that.
After swirling the ice for a long time, he downed the strong liquor.
“I’ll have to make sure that lowly brat is dealt with first.”
Cladi spun the rotary dial of the telephone with his finger. A short dial tone rang in his ear, and the other party picked up almost immediately.
—Yes, Elder Cladi von Beimharck.
“Assemble the Undertakers.”
Cladi moved only his wrist, making the sound of swirling ice audible to the person on the phone.
* * *
A morning with a humid early summer breeze.
Before the morning assembly began, I went to the Academy’s administration office.
I hadn't yet filled the five-member requirement for founding a club, but since the written exams were next week, I planned to submit the proposal first.
The interior was decorated with antique wooden furniture and had a ceiling somewhat high for an office. The employees were each sipping a cup of coffee.
‘Do office workers just live with coffee in their mouths?’
I looked up slightly to check the department signs.
…Faculty personnel, payroll and pension management, accounting/bookkeeping, taxes, and so on… I scanned several signs as I walked past.
“Found it.”
I found the club department at the very back of the administration office. I strode toward it.
Perhaps because all the employees hadn't arrived yet, only one person was at the desk. A female employee with chubby cheeks. Fatigue was deeply etched into her face.
“I’m here regarding the creation of a club.”
When I said that, the employee quickly scanned me from head to toe with half-closed eyelids. It was likely a habit formed from working at an academy attended by the children of the elite.
Her gaze paused for a moment on my name tag, and then she let out a heavy sigh.
Then, before I could even hold out the club registration papers, she looked up coldly and spoke with her thick lips.
“Ha, look, I’m sorry, but the club president has to come and apply in person.”
“I am the president.”
“You?”
The employee smirked, one corner of her mouth twitching as if it were absurd. It seemed to be because of my status as a special admission student.
‘But seriously.’
How could someone who was an employee of an educational institution show such a blatant attitude based solely on a student’s status? I felt something rising to the back of my throat, and veins popped on my temples.
“Look, as long as the procedure is followed, the club should be founded. Just process the application.”
When I spoke in a cold voice, the employee flinched for a moment. However, she soon wiped away her surprised expression and began to snap at me sharply.
“Excuse me, Speci— I mean, first-year student. To apply for a club, you need a faculty advisor. And… from what I can see, it doesn't look like there’s anyone who would be willing to be the advisor for this club.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Did you not understand me? Honestly, do you think there’s even one professor in this academy who would advise a club created by a special admission student? Good grief, if your background is like that, you should at least have some tact.”
I guess some things never change. Because of people like this, who are completely soaked in elitism, even the little affection I had for the Academy was about to vanish.
Part of me wanted to pull out my favorite means of communication from my coat, but doing that without discretion would just make me a criminal.
However, I was someone who had been in the food service industry for nearly twenty years.
I had dealt with countless disgusting types of people, so I knew the best way to handle someone steeped in elitism like this.
It was to save my words. Someone who babbles and threatens needs to be suppressed with a heavy silence. Even so, my itching hand secretly searched for my sashimi sword.
I stared down at the employee, both hands shoved deep into my pockets.
To cut or not to cut, that is the question.
The employee, who had been running her mouth, suddenly flinched and her shoulders trembled slightly. But just as she was about to raise her voice even louder—
Rollin’ Rollin⎯♪ Rollin⎯♬ Hey⎯!!!
A sudden ringtone went off. Since the only sound in the administration office had been the employee’s screeching, the ringtone sounded exceptionally loud.
I pulled out my phone. The employee turned red as if she were appalled. I ignored her completely and answered the call.
“Ah, hello. I’m at the administration office right now to register a club—.”
“Oh my, oh my, look at him. The audacity. Student, do you know where you are, taking a call…?”
The female employee snapped, her eyes wide.
“—Ah, you’re right in front, so you’re coming over? That’s fine with me.”
I glared coldly at her and continued.
“Yes, then I’ll see you soon.”
After ending the call, I spoke in a frigid tone.
“As long as the advisor is confirmed, just follow the procedure. They’re coming here now anyway.”
“Hey! Who do you think you are, being so rude?! Just how big is your backing? Good grief, I can't believe this. Hey, I’m— do you know? I’m the cousin of a close acquaintance of the Principal! If I tell her, one special admission student like you could—!”
When I heard that and let out a smirk, she began to curse at me with a twisted mouth. She pointed her finger at me repeatedly. The eyes of everyone around us were drawn to the scene.
Her hypocrisy was fully stripped away. Right, this is how it should be.
“Shh, you’re being too loud.”
I whispered shortly into her ear. Using honorifics for someone like this was a waste.
“Wh-what?”
Slam!
At that moment, the door to the administration office swung wide open.
The eyes of the office staff instantly turned toward the door.
For a few seconds, they stood there with blank faces as if they couldn't process what they were seeing, and then they all stood up at once. I smiled faintly at the sight.
“About the club advisor.”
I said, pointing behind me with my thumb.
“Say hello. It’s her.”
Click, clack. The sound of elegant heels echoed lowly.