I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 20

The playground of Seoul Hero Academy.

Already, it was bustling like a festival with numerous club booths set up to recruit new students.

"Come one, come all! If you want a romantic academy life, it has to be the baseball club, right? Come get some consultation!"

"True romance comes from cards! Welcome to the Duel Club!"

"The Fencing Club is conducting new student tests! Come take a look!"

"Wow, there are so many clubs. Huh? What even is the Duel Club?"

"Right... Wow! There's even a mock stock investment club!"

"Why are there so many clubs?"

The three of them were busy looking around, passing through the spaces between the club booths.

Perhaps they were all freshmen. Amazed by the booths and club recruitment activities around them, they stopped in their tracks when I halted.

"Jinwoo, are you ready?"

"Huh? Of course. But, are you sure we can really do this? I mean, I trust you, Boss, but... Honestly, I'm a bit nervous."

Jinwoo, who had been loosening up his shoulders and neck, looked at me suspiciously.

Since leaving the International Trade Club, I had only asked Jinwoo to do one thing.

To join the Fund Investment Club, show some interest, and then act like a troublemaker.

"Anyway, we'll all intervene midway, so there's no problem."

"You better be right... If you abandon me, I'll curse you for life."

"......Just hurry up and go."

"I'm going because I trust you, Boss!"

With those words, Jinwoo walked straight toward the target club booth. I decided to watch him while naturally keeping my distance.

"Welcome! This is the Fund Investment Club! Are you interested in fund investments?"

Perhaps because this club focused more on practical work compared to other activity-based clubs.

The man greeted Jinwoo with a bright smile, as their booth was even less popular than the others.

Jinwoo looked slightly surprised by the unexpectedly warm welcome. He glanced at me, cleared his throat, and then looked at the man seriously.

"No, I'm not interested."

"What?"

Whether it was because Jinwoo had come but said he wasn't interested, or because he had spoken in an informal tone, the confused manager stared at Jinwoo with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Ah, no. Are you not a freshman?"

The man, perhaps thinking he had misunderstood due to Jinwoo's overly confident attitude, shook his head to regain his composure and asked politely again.

But Jinwoo simply continued to faithfully carry out his assigned role.

"I'm a freshman."

"Oh, really? Hahaha! But... why are you speaking informally to someone you just met?"

Finally, after hearing again that Jinwoo was a freshman, the man frowned as if he were upset, glaring at Jinwoo.

"Why? If you don't like it, you do it too."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Perhaps realizing that the atmosphere was getting tense, the club members who had been nearby began to gather. Still, Jinwoo showed no fear, glaring right back at the man in front of him.

I thought to myself that I had made the right choice in giving this task to him.

"Haa... Fine. There are plenty of crazy people in this academy."

Perhaps remembering that there were other club booths and freshmen nearby, the man refrained from getting angry and tried to talk to Jinwoo.

But that wasn't what we wanted.

"So, why did you come to our club booth if you're not interested?"

To this, Jinwoo responded indifferently, as if it were no big deal.

"I heard this place makes some money."

"Indeed, since we're a trading club, we do pay a bit better than others. Did you come because you heard that?"

"Then you must have a lot of money. Hand it over."

"What?"

"I said, hand it over."

"Ha! Are you serious? Do you think the Gold Club is some kind of allowance-giving machine?"

The atmosphere was getting increasingly hostile. Jinwoo, realizing that the situation was changing, looked at me.

'Hurry! Up! And! Help! Me!'

Jinwoo, mouthing words in my direction, silently asked for help.

It was more entertaining than I expected, so I wanted to watch a bit longer, but the atmosphere had already been set. I decided to head toward where Jinwoo was.

"So, club exploration time turns into freshman harassment? This must be the academy's Gold Club."

"What? Who are you?"

Perhaps due to the already tense atmosphere, the man greeted me informally despite it being our first meeting.

"I'm a friend of that guy over there."

"What? That crazy guy is your friend? Why would you even be friends with someone like that?"

"Well, why are you speaking informally to me, someone you just met?"

"......What?"

"If you're going to call me crazy for speaking informally, then... can I call you crazy too, Senior?"

The way to piss someone off? It's not that difficult. When someone is already fuming, simply repeating their own words back to them can make them feel humiliated and angry.

And indeed, the face of the guy in front of me started turning red in real time.

"Who the hell are you guys?"

"Can't you tell by the color of our name tags? We're freshmen."

"It's not that I don't know that. I'm asking why you're causing trouble at our club booth."

Hoo, so they were still curious about why we were doing this?

As expected of Gold Club members, they seemed to maintain a certain level of composure.

However, I thought this environment was sufficient. I walked straight up to the guy and said,

"I don't know about that. All I saw were seniors trying to use violence against freshmen."

"You little──."

"Are you planning to hit me? If you hit a freshman here, not only you, but your entire club will be in trouble."

As I said that, I looked around and noticed the crowd that had already gathered nearby.

In front of the freshmen and other club members' watchful eyes, would they really assault a freshman who had only been enrolled for less than a week?

I guarantee that not only the guy, but also the entire Fund Investment Club he belonged to would face consequences.

Therefore, I offered him a way out of this situation.

"Since you can't use violence anyway, why don't you stop here? You're not at a level where you can deal with us, right?"

"......Are you saying you want to die, in a roundabout way?"

"That's interesting to hear. Do you think your skills are up to that?"

"You little──!! Do you even know who you're messing with?!"

So, it was going to come to this, was it?

But this was exactly what I wanted.

"Then, do you all know who this guy is and are still acting like this?"

"What?"

I naturally placed my hand on Jinwoo's shoulder as I looked around at the Fund Investment Club members surrounding us.

"This guy is the successor of the Vivaldi Family under Calione. Can you handle that?"

"Ca, Calione?"

"That guy is related to Calione?"

The moment I mentioned Calione, the atmosphere around us became chaotic.

Even Jinwoo, who was standing next to me, looked surprised as he stared at me.

"Bo, Boss! Saying that outright is embarrassing..."

"It's not like we were hiding it when we came in. We need to show these guys, who only care about their club's reputation, what a real name is worth."

With this, the animosity toward Jinwoo should have decreased. My next move was to redirect that animosity toward myself.

"Of course, none of you seniors can afford to lynch my friend from Calione. I understand. So... let's settle this between me and you, Seniors."

"What?"

The guy frowned at my statement, implying I would take full responsibility.

"I'm a freshman asking for a lesson through a sparring match with my seniors. Will you help me?"

According to the academy's rules, a junior asking a senior for a lesson through sparring must be accepted.

It was a rule that had been exploited in games to punish disliked characters, and it was often used by troublemakers in the academy to commit insubordination.

Of course, according to community users, it was clear that the academy had created this rule to allow juniors to challenge seniors whenever they wanted.

In reality, as I asked for guidance, their expressions stiffened.

"H, where did you hear such a strange thing? That's not so easy......."

"No, even so, you're just a bunch of empty shells playing with money while sitting around."

"What?"

"Ah, did you hear that? It doesn't matter since I said it for you to hear anyway......."

Seeing their pitiful expressions, I provoked them further with a sneer while looking at them.

"Scared?"

Finally, the guy's face contorted in anger.

"Damn freshman....... Hey, you, come with me to the sparring ground right now."

Whether out of anger, he loosened his tie as he spoke, and another member standing nearby tried to calm him down.

"Hey, hey! Calm down! What kind of sparring is this with a freshman!"

"Right now, that punk is outright asking for a fight!"

"Even so, there are people watching around us───."

"That's why we'll fight in the sparring ground! Anyway, fighting there doesn't matter, right?!"

And with that, I added one more statement to draw in the others.

"Even if all of you come at me together, I don't care. In the end, it's all the same."

"......What an arrogant brat."

The blood of Calione started to heat up.

It meant that [Bloodline: Calione] had recognized everyone in front of me as enemies.

"Follow me, freshman. I'll give you the fight you're asking for."

In the end, it seemed they decided to spar with me, as four of them, leaving only a few behind to guard the booth, started walking toward the sparring ground.

Upon seeing this, Jinwoo looked at me with a determined expression.

"Boss, don't worry too much. For now, I'll fight alongside you."

As he said this, Jinwoo placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"I, I'll help too!"

"Since this involves our club president, it's only right that we help."

Following this, even Seah and Youngje declared their intention to fight alongside the Fund Investment Club, which was truly a touching display, but.......

"What are you talking about? The sparring will proceed as planned, with me alone."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

From the very beginning, I had planned to finish this fight alone.

"No, Boss. Are you really going to face those four alone?"

"I know Yoojin is strong, but they're seniors! And there are four of them?!"

"We'll be fine, really, so don't worry too much."

......Are they really worried about me?

Come to think of it, the kids didn't know that I was the Young Master of Calione, nor that I had already executed control over an organization.

Ah, if we all fight together, it'll just be a hindrance.......

If I fought with these rookies, who have no experience fighting together, it would only get in the way.

First, let's put it nicely.

"I appreciate your concern, but...... I really can handle this alone. If you're that worried, you can stop the sparring if you think I'm in danger."

Anyway, when sparring in the sparring ground, usually an instructor is present as an observer.

In this case, the advisor instructor of the Fund Investment Club would likely be the observer. So.......

"Here's what we'll do. Seah, can you call Instructor Ji Soohyun to the sparring ground?"

"What? Instructor Ji Soohyun?"

"Given the time, she's probably resting in the office. If she refuses, just say we've already secured two consent forms."

After hearing my words, Kim Seah made a meaningful expression.

"Um... Do you really think Instructor Ji Soohyun will come for that reason?"

"Definitely."