I Entered an Academy in a Ruined Game

Chapter 75 : Hwang Yong-jae (2)

"What? Why are you coming here?"

Hwang Ji-su frowned upon discovering me heading toward the interview room with Hwang Yong-jae.

'She must have just met with him.'

Just from her irritated and indignant expression, I could roughly guess what kind of conversation they had inside.

"Your father called for me."

"...What? Why?"

"I heard it was about a scholarship. Thanks to that, I'm going to miss my exercise routine once."

"Ah. Really."

I stopped Ji-su, who was about to turn around with extreme annoyance.

"It's fine. Let it go."

"What do you mean let it go? Do you actually want to receive a scholarship from that man?"

"Well. From my position, there's no need to refuse a scholarship offer."

"...!"

Ji-su's expression softened slightly as she recalled my position as an orphan.

"...Someone like you could aim for an academic scholarship too."

"Of course that's true, but there are many places where money needs to go."

"Still."

Ji-su, with a complicated expression, lowered her voice to warn me.

"My father is dangerous."

I nodded calmly, guessing what she was warning me about.

"I know."

"!"

Hwang Yong-jae's ability that he kept hidden from the public.

But for me who knew about it, it wasn't a problem.

"I don't think there will be anything for you to worry about."

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Knock knock.

"Excuse me."

As Su-hyeon opened the door after knocking twice, Hwang Yong-jae stood up from his seat to welcome him.

"Oh! Are you Su-hyeon? I've heard a lot about you."

"Thank you."

"Haha! 'Thank you,' he says. Such a good phrase."

Despite entering his middle age, Hwang Yong-jae, who wrapped his upright and well-developed physique in a suit, showed a dignity that seemed casual yet unapproachable.

"Well. I hope I haven't taken away your time? I apologize."

"It was my training time."

Despite Su-hyeon's somewhat bold words, Hwang Yong-jae wasn't flustered at all and burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry about that! Will you forgive my rudeness for suddenly scheduling a meeting?"

"It's alright."

Chief of Staff Kim Jin-hyung's brow twitched slightly at Su-hyeon's attitude, which didn't seem tense, didn't cross the line of being considered disrespectful, and answered calmly.

"Good. Please sit down. I won't take too much of your time."

"Alright."

Sitting in the seat of honor, Hwang Yong-jae asked Su-hyeon with a smile that disguised goodwill and favor.

"So. I've heard that Su-hyeon was quite active during the Ma-in attack incident. And I heard you recently won against the Hell Hound and Ammut during the performance evaluation?"

"You know the details well."

"Haha. I'm a bit of an obsessive parent."

Hwang Yong-jae laughed.

"Isn't that right, Director Kim?"

"Yes. Chairman has a great interest in young lady's education."

"Hmm, I'm just a doting father."

Hwang Yong-jae laughed good-naturedly.

"I heard you're quite close with our Ji-su."

"Not close enough to say we're especially close."

"Huh, wouldn't Ji-su be disappointed to hear that?"

"Is that so?"

"Of course! There's no need to be so reserved just because you're in front of a friend's father."

"Your gaze is a bit scary, Chairman."

"Hahaha! Did I get caught? I'm just curious because you're my daughter's male friend!"

Though Hwang Yong-jae, who guffawed at Chief Kim Jin-hyung's joke, appeared at a glance to be an unpretentious father who didn't care about authority.

Su-hyeon showed no agitation or interest in his behavior.

'That is a monster who climbed onto a bloody throne by manipulating astronomical amounts of money and desire at his whim.'

Since not a single gesture or remark was without intention.

To Su-hyeon, who knew what their relationship was usually like, it only appeared as a nonchalant act.

'This kid. Quite composed. What's with those calm eyes?'

Chief Kim Jin-hyung's eyes gazed deeply at Su-hyeon as if trying to penetrate him.

'But there's no way to counter the Chairman's ability.'

Hwang Yong-jae's eyes had the ability to see 'others' desires' in color.

A characteristic that wasn't particularly impressive for combat, but.

If the owner of those eyes was Hwang Yong-jae, the head of the chaebol group B&S, the story was completely different.

'Understanding others' desires. There's probably no ability more advantageous for business. Given the right circumstances, he's a figure who could topple all the chaebols above him and climb higher.'

Su-hyeon, who calmly received Kim Jin-hyung's gaze, thought.

'It's no different with his own daughter. Hwang Yong-jae understands Ji-su's desires and anger better than anyone. That's what makes him even more vicious.'

Wiiing!

Hwang Yong-jae's snake-like eyes scanned Su-hyeon, who was quietly maintaining silence, up and down.

But.

['Clear as a Mirror' ability defends against mental interference!]

['Clear as a Mirror' proficiency has increased!]

"...?"

For the first time today.

Hwang Yong-jae's pupils shook greatly with confusion.

'...What?'

He tried activating his ability once more, but.

['Clear as a Mirror' ability defends against mental interference!]

['Clear as a Mirror' proficiency has increased!]

Only the status message appearing in Su-hyeon's eyes indicated that his attempt had failed.

'...My ability doesn't work?'

For Hwang Yong-jae, seeing what a person's desires were had always been an easy task, no matter whom he met.

If it was a martial artist, the desire for martial arts would be visible; if a criminal, the longing for money; if a politician, the longing for power; if someone blinded by revenge, the longing for vengeance.

'...But what is this kid?'

Literally, nothing was visible, like calm water.

But he wasn't naive enough to ask what was happening here.

"Mmm. Su-hyeon is quite composed."

"It's my natural disposition."

"Haha. Is that so?"

Hwang Yong-jae changed the topic as if nothing had happened.

"Let's get to the main point then. Regarding Su-hyeon's scholarship..."

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"I'll take my leave now."

"Today was a very enjoyable meeting! I'll be watching you, Su-hyeon."

"Thank you."

After enduring Hwang Yong-jae's hand patting his shoulder three times, Su-hyeon bowed his head and stepped back.

'That gentleman. His mood must be quite sour now.'

Whether curiosity or wariness would be greater was still something to be observed.

'Probably curiosity is still greater for now.'

As Su-hyeon was walking with such thoughts, he saw Assistant Jo Jin-myeong approaching from the opposite direction.

"Hello."

"Haha, Cadet Jeong Su-hyeon. It's been a while."

Jo Jin-myeong.

The informant who leaked internal information during the Ma-in attack and created a crack in the barrier to allow enemy infiltration.

But he was still performing his duties as an assistant without any suspicion.

Moreover, even from the Sword of Belphegor's side, they considered Jo Jin-myeong, who had successfully completed his mission, to have value for utilization and did not make any significant moves against him.

So his expression contained more composure than before.

"Aren't you taking walks these days?"

Jo Jin-myeong, who had been quite anxious due to the delay in his deadline because of Su-hyeon's interference, asked subtly.

"No. There's no need anymore."

"!"

Jo Jin-myeong's friendly smile wavered slightly at Su-hyeon's answer that implied he knew something.

"Ah, is that so?"

"Yes. I've started going elsewhere."

"I see. I thought I hadn't seen you because my time schedule changed."

Su-hyeon gave Jo Jin-myeong a cursory glance with expressionless eyes.

'What kind of eyes does this kid have...'

Jo Jin-myeong flinched at the emotionless and deep eyes.

'I'll let you live for now.'

Su-hyeon slightly nodded his head, deeply suppressing his killing intent.

"Then, goodbye."

The existence of a spy to spread disinformation.

A necessary existence for Su-hyeon's plan.

"Director Kim."

"Yes, Chairman."

"What do you think?"

Kim Jin-hyung, who had been quietly looking at the door after Su-hyeon left, answered.

"Quite impressive. I almost thought he might be lying about his age."

"Lying about his age?"

"Yes. The caution in his behavior, the composure that doesn't reveal his inner thoughts, and a certain calmness that's completely different from rudeness or arrogance. It doesn't seem like a demeanor a boy that age would show."

"Hmm. That's true. Where did this kid roll in from?"

"I felt that he might be hiding far more secrets than I had thought."

"Interesting. Very interesting indeed."

Hwang Yong-jae laughed, but his eyes weren't laughing at all.

"Weren't there particularly no elements in the past actions reported by Director Kim that could show such brilliance?"

"...I apologize."

"You should be sorry. Either that friend is that meticulous, or Director Kim's investigation was sloppy, one of the two."

"I'll investigate again."

"Ah. That's not necessary."

Hwang Yong-jae waved his hand.

"I don't think anything will come up even if we look into it again, anyway."

"......"

"But Director Kim."

"Yes, Chairman."

"How long has it been since my ability didn't work?"

"......"

Clear as a Mirror.

For Hwang Yong-jae, who had no way of knowing about Su-hyeon's skill, it was very intriguing what kind of technique Su-hyeon had used.

"A person whose desires can't be read. It's strange, very strange."

He suddenly asked, turning to Chief Kim Jin-hyung.

"What would Director Kim do if faced with such an opponent?"

"...I would first observe and infer their purpose through their actions."

"Right. That would be the next best option."

"I'll keep a close eye."

At this moment.

In Hwang Yong-jae's registry of names, the existence called Su-hyeon rose to a slightly higher position.

"Then Chairman, regarding Su-hyeon's scholarship..."

"Oh, that? Give it, give it. At the highest amount."

"I'll arrange it."

That amount was.

More than all the money Su-hyeon had earned in his entire life until now.

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"Kyaaaaa!"

"Aaaaaagh!"

From the center of the round table in the "Catacomb," where distant, faint screams filled with demonic nature and pain could be heard, a man spoke.

"In the end, the ambush that day must be considered a substantial failure."

At his words, everyone crossed their arms without particular objection.

"Although the name 'Sword of Belphegor' has become fairly well-known because of this incident, we failed to cause the social confusion we wanted."

"They framed it quite well."

The Vampire Queen said.

"They know how to touch the emotions of the public. Mourning and anger for those who were sacrificed, expectations for the future pillars who showed heroic activities. They throw out such bait well."

"Even rotten, it's still a croaker fish," the man said, and.

"Hey, our operation failed from the start, so isn't this expected? Just imagine if we had slit the throats of a few instructors and hung all the cadets after killing them. Could it have been covered up like this?"

The skinhead said, putting his feet on the table.

"Tsk, tsk, is that something the responsible party for that operation should say?"

At the words of the old man in a robe, the skinhead snorted.

"Huh! Do you think things would have been different if you had gone?"

"Of course. We sent trash like you because we thought that alone would be sufficient."

The skinhead's thick eyebrows wriggled like caterpillars at the words of the boy who was sitting with his eyes closed.

"This fucker talks quite provocatively?"

"If it bothers you that much, why don't you try something?"

"Stop it, both of you."

The man sitting in the center restrained them both.

"I'm tired of you fighting with the same words all month."

"Right. Let's have some constructive conversations, boys."

At the Vampire Queen's words, the Executioner, who had become one-eyed, muttered while rubbing above his eye patch.

"Damn bastards. Next time I'll definitely execute Kim Cheol-han and Jeong Su-hyeon, those two."

"Will that be possible? You couldn't catch them this time either."

The Executioner responded irritably to the old man in the robe.

"Shut up. I've become stronger. I'll definitely kill them next time."

"Don't get fixated on peripheral matters. What's important isn't catching such small fry."

The man sitting in the center said.

"These types are just a tiny part of the grand plan set up by Him. And His will never goes astray."

When the name 'Him' was mentioned, even the casual Ma-in didn't dare say anything and just listened to the man's words.

"Listen. The next target has already been decided."

At the man's words, everyone's mouths split into grins.

"We will go to Nastrond."