08. Bad Friend
08. Bad Friend
"What? You wanna fight right now?"
The moment he arrived at school, he ran into Rihana.
She spotted Sihwan and the group following him, then growled roughly as she approached.
Her reaction was probably because of the escorts.
The five-member bodyguard unit led by Yoo Eun-hye consisted of one Noblesse and four Outer Races members.
This morning, when he first saw them, he thought they were just Outer Races, but it turned out they were slave soldiers of slave status.
And the ones accompanying him to the academy today were the bodyguard leader Yoo Eun-hye and an unnamed Beastkin member.
Since he was openly parading around with a Beastkin slave, it was natural for Rihana, a Beastkin herself, to be furious.
"What the hell, all of a sudden."
Of course, Sihwan had no clue about those details.
He wasn't interested from the start.
"You see the thing behind you and still say that?"
"So what? You in heat or something?"
"What?"
Even though he sensed this was a bit different from her usual snippy attitude, Sihwan kept up his same tone.
A sentence that showed zero consideration for the other person.
Just as Rihana's anger was about to peak, Yoo Eun-hye, who had been standing slightly behind Sihwan, stepped forward.
"A Beastkin, huh."
"......So what? Just because you're Noblesse, I should shut up and crawl away like some Outer Race bitch?"
She flinched for a moment after her race was identified at a glance, but she didn't back down.
If it had been a human, most would have backed off on their own. As expected, only humans could turn a blind eye to the pain of their own kind.
"You've misunderstood. The young master is simply receiving escorts sent by the family—he has no ulterior motives."
"Escorts?"
"Oh. That's why you're pissed? If you've got a problem, take it up with the Yu Family, not me. I clearly told them not to follow."
Only then did Sihwan catch on, pointing his thumb at the Beastkin escort.
The one pointed out quietly bowed her head.
"As I said earlier, that's an order I can't accept. My top priority is protecting the young master."
"You heard her? Super annoying. Says she's gonna watch me 24/7."
"It's protection."
"Yeah, that's what you call it."
"It's protection."
"No wonder she's from the Yu Family—talks like a total stiff. You go to stiff-talk academy or something? Stiff-talk school."
"No such academy exists."
"I'm just saying..."
A woman even stiffer and more humorless than Yu Ina.
Sihwan sighed at the aura that screamed pure soldier and nothing else.
"Anyway, aren't you using a Beastkin as a slave right now? And parading her in front of me like it's no big deal."
"So what do you want me to do? You gonna steal her? Buy her yourself then."
"......."
Rihana ground her teeth.
She knew there was nothing she could do.
Beastkin were classified as 'Outer Races,' and countless Outer Races were bought and sold as slaves.
The grim fact was that buying and selling slaves wasn't illegal at all.
Even for the 'Advanced Races,' as long as there was a valid reason, it was legally fine to buy and sell slaves.
Of course, for 'Advanced Races,' openly using slaves could get you beaten to a pulp by other 'Advanced Races' who saw it, so they usually kept it under wraps.
But the fact that it was legally okay was hugely important.
There was no way to acquire one except through power or money.
"Watch your back at night."
In the end, that's all Rihana could say.
As she whirled around to leave—Hwik!—Sihwan grabbed her.
"Hey. Wait a sec."
"Why? Did my bullshit piss you off all of a sudden?"
As she turned back to glare at Sihwan,
"You wanna escort my store after graduation? How's 100 gold salary?"
"......What?"
Totally out of left field.
"I gotta tear down the canteen and build a shop in the city, but I can't leave human slaves to run it alone. And I can't go myself either. Ellie's already in, at least."
"When did I say that?!"
"Ha...."
It was so ridiculous he could only snort.
"100 gold a month ain't bad, right? Three times what you get as a trainee. I can negotiate if you want. Salary negotiation's employee rights, after all."
"You... didn't you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah, I heard."
"Then you don't get it?"
She stepped closer.
Her face twisted fiercely, but even so, her pretty features loomed right up close.
"You don't know what 'watch your back at night' means?"
"I do, but you're no threat to me. Makes it pointless."
"Ha...."
Yup, classic Ryu Si-hwan.
A real talent for boiling people's blood.
In Yu Ina's words, a shining aggro skill.
As Rihana got even angrier, Yoo Eun-hye and Bari stepped in front of her.
"That's far enough. We won't tolerate any more."
"Back off. I'm talking to him."
"We refuse."
"Rihana-ssi? Step back for now. You're way too worked up, even to me."
"Fucking duo of bullshit... no, trio. Pissing me off."
She glared at Sihwan for a moment, spat on the ground, and turned away.
He could feel the aura of rage emanating from her retreating back.
"We've made an enemy. Switching to three-person escort detail from now on."
"No need, I said. And she's not really an enemy. Bet she'll be chatting me up all smiley next time."
"In my judgment, it's necessary."
"No...."
Eun-hye ignored Sihwan's words.
She wasn't dispatched on paper or as a slave, so it was only natural.
She was simply following the family orders to protect Sihwan.
"We must prevent even a 1% chance before it happens."
"Why not just lock me in my room then?"
"If it's dangerous, we should."
"......."
Sihwan was finally speechless.
+++
Yeonseo was receiving reports as usual today.
The entrance exams were proceeding smoothly. The official class divisions would start in just a few days.
But there were issues to resolve first: the previous batch wiped out on the 11th Floor Incident, Jin Seong-hyeon's death as a Noblesse, and—though it might seem minor—the trainee representative from this batch being a 'human' and the vice rep a 'Beastkin.'
"The Committee is making an issue of this and dispatching a 3rd Rank Commissioner. She'll arrive today."
"......."
"And the head of the Jin Family says she'll visit soon too."
"......."
"And—,"
"More?"
"The Genesis Guild Leader, Highness the Vice Guild Master, and Red Flame's PR director are all visiting today too."
"What the hell day is it today?"
A pretty long curse slipped from her refined lips.
She mouthed it silently so no one could hear, but even that had the steward breaking out in cold sweat.
"The 3rd Rank Commissioner—it's that bitch again, right?"
"No roster was sent, but... she's probably included."
"Argh! Why does that fucking bitch keep getting tangled up with me? So annoying."
"......W-Well, she's most likely to grill us relentlessly on Jin Seong-hyeon's death, and might chew us out on the trainee rep as a side issue."
"What am I supposed to do about that? Her son went out and got himself killed, and the trainees suck so bad they lost to a human—that's on me?"
"......."
The steward had nothing to say.
No, best to say nothing in situations like this.
After venting her rage for a while, she took a deep breath and calmed down.
Her heated head cooled, and the top priority action came to mind.
"That human Ryu Si-hwan—he's at the academy right now, right?"
"Yes. In the classroom."
"If he runs into those bitches for no reason, who knows what shit he'll pull—get him out now."
"W-Where... should I say...?"
Ryu Si-hwan was crashing at Yu Ina's mansion.
And that mansion was inside the academy.
"Shove him in an inn or wherever—even if you have to pay!"
"Y-Yes! Right away—,"
Kwang!
"Hi hi, bitch~ Hold it right there~."
Just as the steward was about to carry out the order, the office door burst open roughly, and a group stormed in.
Leading them was a woman with silver hair shimmering red, striding in majestically, followed by five women.
All dressed in black suits.
The only difference was the gold badge on the leader's jacket.
She marched right in, plopped down on the sofa without permission.
Then crossed her legs arrogantly—like Sihwan himself.
"Wah~ It's been ages, right? You don't look happy to see me at all~ Hohoho."
"......Not happy—why'd you come?"
"What, you think I came 'cause I wanted to? Seeing your face pisses me off so much~."
She smiled brightly while clawing at Yeonseo's nerves—made her wanna slap her.
But she couldn't.
As a 3rd Rank Commissioner of the Noblesse Committee, she wasn't as high as Supreme Committee members, but she was still an official.
At least on the surface, she outranked Ha Yeon-seo, who ran businesses, real estate, and the academy.
"You should've just kept quiet~ Then I wouldn't have to come even if I didn't wanna~."
"Fucking landed on your ass, huh. Obvious you pulled strings to barge in."
"Oh my! Can't use such foul language! You gotta be a model for the Tower!"
"Ha."
Yeonseo stood with a rotten expression and sat on the opposite sofa.
The woman grinning like a sunflower versus Ha Yeonseo's shit-eating face.
"Then I'll go prepare tea."
As the steward tried to escape the suffocating tension, the silver-haired woman who had been grinning froze her face.
"Hey, didn't you hear? I said hold it."
"......."
Click.
One of the women who barged in quietly closed the door.
"Just stand over there quietly. Don't be annoying."
"......Yes."
The steward slunk to the corner with a stiff face, while the woman beamed again.
Disgusted, Yeonseo cursed inwardly.
"So, what brings the noble commissioner to this humble place?"
"Oh my, has our Yeonseo regressed to infancy? Or amnesia? So young and already... sob."
She put on an infuriating act, even dabbing at fake tears.
No actual tears came out, of course.
"I'll~ explain it~ step by step~ so even anyone can understand! Don't worry. Got it?"
Crack.
Already wanna curse.
"What's this about—,"
What are you guys?
Step back. Can't enter now.
Move. I need to borrow money.
Step back—,
I said move. Who the fuck are you to block me?
We'll force through.
No, wa—,
Kwang!
The door shattered and flew in.
Along with it, a suited woman sprawled out.
"How dare you!"
"Young master? This is... a bit..."
A hint of fluster finally cracked Eun-hye's perpetual blank face.
"Blocking my way? Wanna die?"
Sihwan ignored the shocked faces and headed straight for Yeonseo on the sofa.
"Hey, train your people properly. Why block me? You told me to come sign the contract today."
He vented his complaints and casually sat across from her like it was nothing.
But there was some woman he'd never seen beside her.
"Huh?"
Her face was dyed with even more bewilderment than Eun-hye's.
"Who the hell are you."