Lion’s Castle had hundreds of clubs, large and small, and the Club Earnings Ranking served to evaluate their performance, with the rankings having remained unchanged for several years.
Magic Tower, Thistle, Noble, Tactics, and Swordsmanship—those five so-called major clubs dominated the top rankings.
Yet today, an incident had occurred.
“Noble has slipped to sixth place.”
The Shooting Club, which had been in and out of the top ten, suddenly took second place in the rankings.
The whole school was abuzz.
In the office of the vice president of the Student Council.
“The ability of whoever dominated the Shooting Club behind the scenes is beyond imagination,” a boy murmured in a lazy voice. He sat with one arm draped over his headrest, and the gentle rustling of his robe as he waved his fan made for a relaxed atmosphere.
“I wonder how great they are to have enticed Jang Yeon-Ju into getting the Bow Saint to help and gaining the approval of the Gugang Group, earning such a high reward?”
There wasn’t a single word about the Bow Saint in the Shooting Club’s report. Rather, it simply contained a rough outline of the incident, the operation details, and the remuneration details. But Vice President Ban Hee-Yeol clearly understood the inside story; there was no chance that the Shooting Club had succeeded with their skills alone.
The one who defeated Roh Jun-Yeop within the rules of the Shooting Club and turned Baek Do-Jin into a mascot... Is it really Loren?Or is it...
Ban Hee-Yeol’s eyes changed as he recalled Kang Jae-Hyeok’s smug face.
“Why am I the only one working?” The girl in charge of general affairs, struggling under a pile of documents, couldn’t stand it any longer. “If you keep making fun of me, I’ll tell the president.”
“As a commoner, you wouldn’t know this, but aristocrats mustn’t skip tea time. I’m busy contemplating the well-being of our country. Please, allow me this time.”
“Sigh, you're so annoying.”
What a bold girl. Ban Hee-Yeol clicked his tongue and sat upright at his desk. “Had I known there would be someone like you on the Student Council, I would’ve just joined Noble.”
“Yeah, you would’ve been a good fit.”
“...This verbal abuse is too much.”
Noble was a gathering of aristocrats. It was a club with a much stricter membership requirement than the Student Council, where top talents could join regardless of blood. Still, he imagined those Noble members, who had been living leisurely without a care, would be panicking and causing a commotion about now.
The Shooting Club had lit a fire under their feet.
But the question was, could the Shooting Club cope with the constant competition moving forward? It wouldn’t be easy. The time would come when the one behind Baek Do-Jin would have to step up.
Things are going to get interesting.
Ban Hee-Yeol folded his fan and resumed his work.
“Jae-Hyeok, why are you in the teacher’s office? If you had any business, you should’ve called me. Why did you waste your precious time coming to such a shabby place?”
Inside the teacher’s office, the teachers who heard Kim Jin-Myeong’s words were puzzled.
I... don’t think I heard that right.
Huh? I must’ve misheard.
It seemed they were too tired and were hearing things.
By the time the teachers concluded as much and returned to their work, Jae-Hyeok was already asking Jin-Myeong for a favor.
“I want to escort Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals this weekend. Is it possible?”
“Uhh? That mission lasts the whole day. Jae-Hyeok, haven’t you been busy lately?”
Hanging out with the Shooting Club, creating a team, and so on—Kim Jin-Myeong knew Jae-Hyeok’s latest schedule quite well because Jae-Hyeok often called him with requests or questions about this and that.
Jae-Hyeok replied, “I decided to buy some potions, and I wanted to meet them in person to receive the goods and express my sincerity.”
“Why does a student of Lion’s Castle need to pay for potions? Do you need that many? Isn’t five enough? Ah, it isn’t? Then how about ten?”
“I’ve already bought them, so forget it.”
In part, Jae-Hyeok also wanted to meet the Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals employees whenever he got a chance. He wasn’t thinking of the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Rather, he just cherished the bonds he’d made; it was fun to practice the ceremonial drill together.
“Is that so... Okay, I got it. I’ll tell the administration, so do as you wish. However... ” Kim Jin-Myeong looked a bit embarrassed. “Jae-Hyeok, did you know there’s a student who usually acts as the escort for Jaegyeong?”
“Of course.” Originally, Jae-Hyeok had received the escort mission in place of a second-year student who had yet to return from another mission.
Kim Jin-Myeong nodded and explained, “Well, he came back a long time ago. Based on his personality, he won’t like the idea of giving up his weekend mission, and he might not share the rewards with you.”
"That’s understandable. That’s how it should be.”
Jae-Hyeok was an aristocrat. He had no intention of taking away someone else’s livelihood. Besides, Jae-Hyeok could sympathize with him, as he was also in the process of building himself a way to earn both money and academic credits while balancing his Shooting Club- and team activities.
“Thank you for your understanding. He’s a good kid, so I’m sure you will get along.” Kim Jin-Myeong smiled, relieved by Jae-Hyeok’s answer.
He completely forgot that the boy in front of him was like a force of nature when it came to causing incidents.
Jae-Hyeok went to the main gate to greet the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals. There, he encountered a boy with an unusual appearance.
Are his eyes open or closed? Jae-Hyeok stared at the boy’s curved, smiling eyes.
“You must be first-year Kang Jae-Hyeok. I heard about you from Kim Jin-Myeong.”
The boy approached and offered his hand for a handshake.
“I am Song Se-Yeong, a second-year student.”
Jae-Hyeok’s expression hardened as they shook hands. He could feel Song Se-Yeong squeezing hard while still smiling.
Veins bulged on Song Se-Yeong's temple as if he was using his full strength.
“This is my little warning to you. A greedy junior who covets his senior’s livelihood wouldn’t listen if I spoke kindly.”
“I never asked for the rewards, I just wanted to accompany you. What livelihood do I covet?”
“That’s obvious. You want a connection to Jaegyeong, a big company.” Song Se-Yeong finished shaking hands and said calmly. “But Jaegyeong isn’t that easy to deal with. Don’t expect them to welcome you again this time.”
Song Se-Yeong had worked with Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals for several months. He predicted that they wouldn’t welcome a freshman who had accompanied them once and probably caused an inconvenience.
Just then, some figures emerged from the gate beyond the main entrance.
Song Se-Yeong controlled his facial expression and regained his smile while continuing to warn Jae-Hyeok, “You’re an aristocrat, and Kim Jin-Myeong’s situation is bad these days so he might’ve been easily persuaded, but the real world isn’t so easy. I hope you take this opportunity to abandon the illusion that everything will go your way.”
“Is Teacher’s situation bad?”
“You aristocrats specialize in using the information effortlessly obtained through your servants. No need to feign ignorance so disgustingly.”
“Hmph. It’s also a characteristic of the aristocracy to shut up only when it’s unfavorable to speak.”
People could be seen coming through the school gate.
Soon, a crowd of dozens of people arrived at the main entrance—they were the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals who visited Lion’s Castle each week to collect herbs.
Song Se-Yeong had devoted himself to them for a long time and built up a relationship, so he greeted them happily.
“Welcome. I’ll be taking care of you again this week... ”
“Ah, it is nice to see you, Se-Yeong... Hey, that’s Jae-Hyeok over there, right?”
“Oh, it is! Student Kang Jae-Hyeok! How have you been?”
“You’ve become more handsome in the time I haven’t seen you.”
“Hey, I’ve been practicing that drill a lot! Please check later to see if I’ve done a good job.”
Song Se-Yeong’s eyes widened—although his eyes were so narrow that his pupils remained half-covered. Even so, it was easy to see how surprised he was. Well... I guess he’s Kim Jin-Myeong’s prized student, so he can’t be that bad of a person, right?
Jae-Hyeok scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he responded to the greetings of the Jaegyeong staff members.
“Young Master Jae-Hyeok!”
Cho Seong-Hyeon, the son of the chairman of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals, ran up to Jae-Hyeok with a big smile and hugged him.
At this point, Song Se-Yeong’s mouth dropped open.
Although he knew Cho Seong-Hyeon was an unusually kind and gentle person for someone of his status, he’d never seen Cho Seong-Hyeon hug others without hesitation.
And that wasn’t the end of it.
“Why did you risk danger and come here again?” Jae-Hyeok scolded Cho Seong-Hyeon, who was older than him.
“I wanted to meet you.”
“Sigh. I have no words.”
Song Se-Yeong thought, So that’s how it is... As expected, this world is all about identity for people like them...
Kang Jae-Hyeok and Cho Seong-Hyeon were treating each other comfortably as if they had been friends for ten years, whereas his relationship with Cho Seong-Hyeon hadn’t reached that level even after months.
Kang Jae-Hyeok and Cho Seong-Hyeon’s relationship sent a clear message: You were born into an ordinary family with no money or power. You can struggle all your life and not fit in with us. Song
Song Se-Yeong thought, It’s okay.I never cared about associating with you people in the first place. All he needed from them was his reward for the mission. As for relationships, he was happy with people like Kim Jin-Myeong, who recognized his worth without prejudice. That was enough.
Thinking of this, Song Se-Yeong’s focus returned to money. Yes, that was all he needed. It was a luxury to feel sad over Cho Seong-Hyeon’s less familiar attitude toward him.
Calming his heart, he regained his sales smile and said, “Time is time, so we should leave soon.”
“Heh, we have plenty of time today.”
“?” The employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals had to travel from now until late at night to gather all the necessary herbs. Yet they had plenty of time?
“Right, right. With Jae-Hyeok, we have plenty of time.”
“Can we do some training with the ceremonial drill in between?”
Song Se-Yeong thought, Does this kid Jae-Hyeok have a buff Skill that increases movement speed? And why do they keep talking about some ceremonial drill? He clicked his tongue and looked back at Jae-Hyeok.
“Well, since that’s the case, Jae-Hyeok should take the lead.”
It would take a lot of mental energy to sustain a buff Skill for so many people, but that was Kang Jae-Hyeok’s choice to make. As far as Song Se-Yeong was concerned, it wouldn’t hurt to shorten the mission time.
Jae-Hyeok obediently took the lead.
But he didn’t use any buff Skills. Jae-Hyeok’s stride was ordinary, and the employees of Jaegyeong Pharmaceuticals followed him without any questions.
What’s so fast about this...
Huh? Song Se-Yeong tilted his head.
Jae-Hyeok had been moving up a steep path when he stopped and cut across to arrive at the base of a cliff.
Does this guy not even know the way? Song Se-Yeong wasn’t in the mood to laugh; this could adversely affect Kim Jin-Myeong’s performance evaluation, as he would be held responsible for introducing a student who didn’t even know the way.
“I think he’s just nervous. He is still a freshman, so please forgive him... ”
Song Se-Yeong hurried to defuse the situation, only to pause in the middle.
“Se-Yeong, aren’t you going up?”
The staff members had begun climbing the cliff without hesitation. Even the typically unruly team leaders were following Jae-Hyeok without comment.
They’ll even obey an aristocrat’s words without question?
Song Se-Yeong couldn’t suppress his resentment, and seeing Jae-Hyeok in the lead, he gritted his teeth and climbed while activating a Skill. If he had to climb, then he would beat Jae-Hyeok to the top. He wanted to win against him in at least this.
After a period of climbing, a sweaty Song Se-Yeong reached the top of the cliff.
“Haha! I won... Huh?”
He was singing with joy when he suddenly froze. The swamp just below the cliff and the forest beyond it were quite familiar. Looking closely, it was one of the herb-gathering points.
“How did you know this shortcut?”
This wasn’t a path that a freshman who’d only been in school for a few months should know. After all, it was a path that even he hadn’t known despite studying at Lion’s Castle for over a year and familiarizing himself with the geography.
The intelligence network of an aristocrat even trampled on his efforts of more than a year?
Song Se-Yeong was starting to feel a frustration that went beyond resentment when Jae-Hyeok explained, “I trained every day while looking at the roads.”
In contrast to his own ragged breathing, it was then that Song Se-Yeong noticed Jae-Hyeok’s breathing was calm.
His words didn’t seem like a lie.
Maybe... maybe he was the one guilty of looking at Jae-Hyeok with prejudice? Song Se-Yeong suddenly realized this, and the way he looked at Jae-Hyeok changed.
“By the way, why aren’t you going?”
Jae-Hyeok kicked him in the ass fullforce.
At the same time, in a professor’s office.
“Ah, I was worried you would never come back.”
Someone saw Cho Seong-Hyeon’s name in the gate-entry record and laughed grimly.
The sight of tamed monsters laughing with their master in a dark room was bizarre.