Chapter 123

Chapter 123

They stop dead in their tracks at the mention of school rules.

“First graders memorize school rules......No, you mean they knew we were coming and were preparing in advance?”

Uh-huh. No. I’ve memorized everything I’m going to use against you.

Do they realize that I’ve been through the Academy many more times than they have?

Jin-woo reaches for the papers in frustration, as if he doesn’t like the way things are going.

“You guys just came in like lightning and fried beans. What kind of domineering behavior is this, running someone else’s club?”

At first glance, Seo Yeon-soo frowns at the number of papers.

“What is this?”

“Nothing. Aren’t these the papers the seniors asked me to bring, the confirmation and proof of club funding?”

“Bring me.......”

At Seo Yeon-soo’s words, one of the other male seniors approaches Jin-woo and takes the documents from him.

Then she looks at the contents.

“Zero expenses? Are you kidding me?”

“You mean we fiddled with the paperwork, and now you’re making it out to be a prank with no proof, so our president must be a little shitty. Why? Did he ask you to peck at us?”

Cringe. I felt a shallow shiver run down my spine, and a handful of fear.

He’d hit the nail on the head.

“The......Student Council audits are conducted fairly. We don’t do more or less because of anyone’s feelings.”

A passerby from the Financial Accountability Office laughed at the idea of an audit based on a report.

“So there’s no reason to go after our club, which has been fair, compliant, and has provided everything we need for the audit?”

Poof.

I can hear his teeth grinding.

“Jin-woo.”

“Yes.”

“The guests are leaving. See them off and sprinkle some salt on them.”

“Why don’t you all leave now? How are our clients supposed to come if you block the hallway like this?”

With no rules, no paperwork, and not a speck of dust to grab onto, there was nothing they could do.

Whether they realized it or not, they turned around several times when we pointed it out.

“Oh, and before we go, the seniors there.”

The auditors stop in their tracks as I continue down the hall.

“Looks like there are a few Ares Club members in the mix. Say hello to the president for me.”

This confirmed my suspicions.

The student council president, Ray Pendragon, had noticed the disappearance of Vivian’s spring, and he was pointing his finger at me.

How on earth did he get me as a suspect when he had no reason to suspect me?

Sure, I had all the CCTV footage from the garden, and I knew there were no witnesses in the area.

Is that all there is to it? I even scattered some of the villain’s remains in Vivian’s lake after the attack to make it look like they were responsible.

Was it because I sided with the Dean and said something that antagonized the Association?

No, he’d stab him in the back, but I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who’d stick his neck out for the Association.

So, by sabotaging his plans in the Student Council?

Well, there was no way he could ever suspect me of that.

‘So it’s just for show?’

Perhaps, if there’s a chance, he thinks I’ve already drank from Vivian’s fountain, since I’m only a freshman and unusually strong?

It was most likely this way.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

“Hui~ Hui~”

When I told them to sprinkle salt on the empty spot they left, I left Jin-woo, who was sprinkling Himalayan pink salt, behind and returned to my office to gather the kids working out in the training room.

Their faces were serious, as if they realized that what had just happened was no laughing matter.

“They’re probably going to be a pain in the ass for a while, pressuring us and bothering us in all sorts of ways.”

They’re going to try to stop us from moving up the ranks, and they’re going to call us out on everything we do.

This could have been pretty devastating for us as a bronze club.

So.

“I’ll build my own wall tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s right, I know, because the president ordered it during the meeting, and it’s related to what we’re about to talk about.”

Is it related?

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently, your speech the other day really upset the president, and he wanted to keep you in line.”

“You mean a check?”

I ask, and she points at me.

“Your behavior. I mean, you’re a little unconventional, even for you, the way you started a club freshman year and pushed seniors around. It’s a lot like our current president, Ray Pendragon. You know what I mean?”

“Crush it while it’s a sprout because I might take over the student council, is that what you mean?”

“Nipping it in the bud, I think that’s going too far and......like I said, a check. A check because you didn’t accept the offer to join the student council.”

I expected it, but it’s still funnier to hear it out loud.

“So, you’re here to warn me?”

“No. Not a warning, an offer.”

“You want me to join the student council now. Like I said, I’m not going to join the student council-”

And then unbelievable words escaped her lips.

“──Why don’t you work with me to get Ray Pendragon dismissed?”

“......Yes?”

For a moment, my brain froze.

“Let’s get the student council president......out of office. Did I hear that right?”

“Yep. That’s right.”

She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face at the suggestion of a de facto coup.

“Is this some kind of entrapment investigation or something?”

“Of course not. I’m very serious.”

“For all your seriousness, you have a playful expression on your face.”

“I have a pretty smile. Can you say I’m a beauty queen?”

......It’s clear from the way she talks that she’s not joking or trying to trick me.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened in games before. In CS, there was an Academy Coup event.

The problem was that the triggers for it were very complicated and difficult.

Off the top of my head, I can think of “enter the academy as a senior,” “join the student council,” and I wasn’t in any of them.

“Why are you suggesting this to me?”

I asked.

Why are you offering me these things?

Because from her point of view, she could have lost her position as vice president of the academy, and her family back home could have been affected.

And now she’s proposing this to me, someone she hasn’t even established trust with yet?

I couldn’t believe it.

“Junior, do you really not know how many organizations in the academy have presidents similar to or equal to you?”

“The presidents of......the Diamond clubs, and a few of the Platinum clubs, as well as a few of the non-moving students.”

“Okay, so how many of them have a close relationship with our president?”

“I’d say most of them have an amicable relationship with the student council.”

“Exactly, but I consider them to be in the same class as you. It’s natural for me to assume that you’re the most trustworthy, since you’re more outspoken than the others.”

Clearly, we were the only club that had taken such a hostile stance towards the student council.

But why did she send me this proposal in a pattern I had never seen before?

As I stare at her with unresolved suspicion, she sighs and continues her story.

“Half personal grudge, half greed? Of course, if you help me, I’ll take care of you so you don’t feel bad.”

“What do you mean, take care?”

“One of the treasures the president is hiding, and the alliance with the student council that I will create. How about that, doesn’t that sound tempting?”

The latter, yes, but.......

“You mean the treasure the president is hiding?”

She nodded at my question, then looked around cautiously before covering her mouth with her palm and speaking quietly.

“That......is Vivian’s fountain of youth. Do you know that?”

“What?”

I asked, already knowing about it.