I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 23

"Is the food at the academy always this delicious? I feel like I've eaten until I'm about to burst!"

Walking out after finishing the meal in the dining room.

Kim Seah strokes her satisfied stomach and smiles brightly.

"Why eat so desperately when you'll be eating this food from now on anyway?"

Jinwoo teases Seah with a mischievous smile upon seeing her, and Seah glares at him sharply.

"And you, saying you need to eat dessert to break even, just ate cake!"

"But that's the tastiest thing, what can I do about it!"

The two suddenly start bickering.

It seemed fortunate that they had become close quickly, having followed me around and gone through various things today.

"President, as you instructed, I've uploaded the ledger of the 'Fund Investment Club' to the school's community. They're already talking about suing or killing us, it's no joke."

Youngje reported on the tasks I had requested before the sparring and burst into a chuckle.

"When I asked the kids from the other class during lunch, it seems all the freshmen who were supposed to join today have canceled their membership. You know what the atmosphere there is like...?"

"Of course."

Even without saying it, I could roughly guess.

At this rate, the 'Fund Investment Club' would have to pay a massive compensation, and they would be branded as a club that has a history of embezzling investors' money.

And the club members who couldn't handle this kind of scrutiny would start leaving one by one, leaving only the club president to take all the responsibility.

In other words, the 'Fund Investment Club' was as good as finished.

"I never thought it was possible to dismantle a Gold Club in a single day. Where did you get the ledger with the corruption?"

It was a natural question to have.

The 'ledger' containing their corruption played the biggest role in this situation.

"Through connections."

"Connections?"

"Yeah, it wasn't difficult."

Dirty money inevitably ends up coming into the back alleys for laundering.

In that process, it was an unavoidable step to go through our Calione.

"But, Glasses. Why are you suddenly calling me President?"

"...I told you, it's Youngje. Was that what you were curious about?"

When I nodded at his question, he spoke as if it were nothing.

"Because I knew it was going to happen for sure."

"Hm?"

"After hearing your plan, I was certain the club would be formed. At this rate, you'll soon be the club president, so I started calling you President in advance."

"...I see."

In other words, he completely trusted me. Seeing Youngje like that, my lips curled up unintentionally.

"Well, being called President doesn't sound too bad."

As I turned and started walking toward another place, Youngje's voice came from behind.

"President. The classroom is over there?"

"I have somewhere to stop by."

"Somewhere to stop by? Oh."

Youngje soon realized that the direction I was heading was toward the Club Hall and nodded.

"The President is really busy."

"Got to get used to it."

Leaving the three people gradually getting further behind, I arrived at the Club Office and headed straight to the 4th floor where Lee Haru and the 'International Trade Club' were located.

The employees bowed to me as I arrived at the office without any hindrance.

"Is the President inside?"

I asked the bowing employees, and one of them spoke up.

"The President is having a meal inside. She said to guide you in as soon as Han Yoojin arrives, so you can go in now."

It seemed they had expected me to come during lunchtime.

Following the employee's guidance, I entered the President's office and saw Lee Haru sitting at the desk, eating a sandwich while diligently approving documents.

"Seems like you're very busy."

As I closed the door and approached Lee Haru, she carefully swallowed the sandwich she was chewing and spoke.

"Yes, I received information that many clubs that had contracts with the 'Fund Investment Club' before lunchtime defected, so I apologize for not being able to greet you properly. I'll finish up as quickly as possible."

"Take your time, it's fine."

"Thank you for your consideration."

After briefly bowing to me, she started diligently chewing her sandwich again while looking through the documents.

Her eyes scanned the documents without a hint of wavering, and her cheeks were puffed up, moving constantly.

As I blankly watched her work, she soon swallowed the last bite of her sandwich and stood up.

"Phew. Sorry for making you wait so long."

"Hm? You finished quicker than I expected."

"Thanks to your consideration."

Lee Haru thanked me and sat politely across from me.

As I crossed my legs and sat still, Lee Haru unfolded the paper she was holding and started talking.

"The documents submitted against the 'Fund Investment Club' are currently under review by the Student Council. It seems other clubs are eyeing the weakened 'Fund Investment Club,' but since we've already applied for the club competition, there's no chance of it being taken by another club."

"That means their downfall is inevitable."

"Correct. If everything goes according to plan, the club competition will be announced today, and at the same time, the 'Fund Investment Club' will admit defeat and be absorbed by our side."

In other words, the situation was as good as settled.

"You've worked hard."

"Praise is too much for me; I just added my spoon to the feast you prepared."

Lee Haru spoke with her usual humble attitude and bowed deeply.

And then, an awkward silence flowed.

"So... what do you think about the proposal I made?"

I cautiously brought up the reason I had come to see Lee Haru, which I had hesitated to mention directly.

At that, Lee Haru turned her eyes from the documents toward me.

"Are you referring to the confession you made earlier today?"

"...Are you still going on with that joke from then?"

"I was told by other club members to try joking around a bit more."

Even so...

Such a joke was deadly to me, one step at a time.

Really... I was glad to have the [Trait: Hitman].

"Sometimes, it might be good for the Young Master to throw out a joke. There's research that says an emotionless leader finds it hard to gain the trust of their teammates."

There's research like that...?

Where on earth do they research such things?

"At the Seoul Hero Academy Psychology Club."

"...Then it's worth considering."

If it's the result of research from that club full of crazy people, it must be true.

It seemed worth taking into account.

"So, why are you dodging my question and changing the subject?"

Lee Haru's body froze upon receiving my question.

Her pupils began to tremble intensely, and the paper in her hand started to rustle.

"Th, that is... because..."

"Hm?"

Her voice was so faint that I couldn't hear it properly.

Realizing I hadn't heard her, she bowed deeply again.

Then, in a slightly louder voice than before, she spoke.

"Isn't it embarrassing... to be asked to become someone's person...?"

"What?"

Her unexpected reaction made my body flinch.

Her body started trembling, and when she looked up, her eyes were narrowed as if she had been holding back a laugh, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"This, too, was a joke."

"...If you keep this up, you'll really scare me."

"It's a relief that this joke worked a little."

It felt strange to see her smiling often, unlike when I first saw her.

Had she ever shown such a variety of expressions in the game? I'm sure she was always a character who received customers with an expressionless face...

"Young Master?"

Who would think that this is the same Lee Haru, seeing her like this?

A smile came to my face naturally. Then, Lee Haru suddenly turned her head sharply.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"...Young Master can make jokes too, I see."

"Jokes?"

"...There are things like that."

Why is she suddenly acting like this?

Did I do something wrong? While pondering how to react, I was thinking.

"Then, I will answer the question you asked earlier."

Was it because we returned to the main topic?

Lee Haru, who changed her expression to a business-like one, stood up and knelt on one knee in front of me.

"Lee Haru of the Inomiya Group. I pledged my loyalty to Calione in the past, and I do so now."

But, she started to say.

"Now, I wish to pledge my loyalty to the eldest son and the only successor of Calione in front of me, Yoojin Han Calione. Please, will you accept it?"

A formal declaration of family.

There was no need for words to her loyalty. I just had to quietly extend my hand.

Feeling my hand approaching her, Lee Haru quietly kissed the 'Successor's Ring' given to me by my father.

"Lee Haru, your enemies will become my enemies. Those who try to harm you will be erased by my hand."

And, the price for being with me was not that great.

"You just need to build a new friendship with me. How about it, isn't it a good deal compared to the price?"

After finishing all the talks, she slowly lifted her head and looked at my face.

"Really, the joke was a bit too much."

"Then, I'm glad."

"As the Young Master said, the 'International Trade Club' and I will be with the Young Master."

When I turned over the hand I had extended to show the palm, she naturally grabbed my hand and stood up.

Then, she turned her head to check the current time.

"It seems there's some time left, would you like to have some tea?"

"Tea..."

There was still quite some time left before the start of the liberal arts class.

Now that I could relax a bit, I was about to have a casual chat with Lee Haru when an image resembling an envelope began to blink in the corner of my vision.

"Young Master?"

"Just a moment."

As I thought about opening the envelope in the corner of my vision, the content of the message appeared before my eyes.

[Instructor Ji Soohyun: Club evaluation finished. Come to the faculty office immediately.]

How long has it been since I said I was going to the student council, and the results are already out?

I had doubts, but Ji Soohyun was not someone who would joke about such things.

"I'm sorry, but let's have tea next time. Something urgent has come up."

"Something urgent... is it?"

For a moment, I thought I saw her eyes tremble.

"Then, we will have to postpone it. The 'International Trade Club' will always await the Young Master's visit."

As I stood up, Lee Haru bowed towards me. I quickly made my way to the academy's main building where the faculty office is located, leaving her behind.

"What exactly did the student council do to have the evaluation results come out so quickly?"

I began to feel a sense of unease.