Chapter 40

Chapter 40: State Secret (1)

The week after the exam, the atmosphere in the lecture hall varied wildly from team to team.

With each team sitting in their own section, the contrast was all the more stark.

—Did you watch the Griffin Expedition yesterday?

—Yeah yeah. It was so good!

First, C-team, who'd earned the top score.

The kids on C-team wore smiles that never left their faces throughout the entire class.

The team dynamic was warm enough that during every break, they could be seen chatting with each other or hanging out together.

—I missed one thing. What were the notes about earlier?

—Here.

Next, B-team and D-team.

They hadn't bonded as closely as C-team, but the atmosphere wasn't exactly awkward either.

At the very least, there was a sense of team identity.

The problem was A-team, who'd received the lowest score.

Song Seokhwan.

Every single one of his teammates sat as far from him as possible, watching his mood.

—......

—......

Normally, this would have looked like one member being ostracized by the group—but the reality was the reverse.

Song Seokhwan was the one ostracizing his entire team.

It was an absurd way to put it, but that was exactly what was happening.

Even from a distance, a frigid current flowed around Song Seokhwan.

He was a lone predator that looked like it would bite anyone who approached.

"Why so sulky?"

"Piss off."

An Seri, who at least had some rapport with him, tried to make conversation—but got nothing but a cold reply.

"All this moping over one bad exam? You should be thinking about trying harder. Ruining the classroom mood isn't going to change anything."

"I said piss off."

"Yeah, yeah."

An Seri returned to her seat.

The murmuring of A-team's members drifted over from the distance.

—What are we going to do about our team?

—No idea. I'm scared......

This was a real problem.

If Song Seokhwan stayed like this, A-team was finished.

It was true that I was focusing my efforts on certain students, but as long as I bore the title of professor, I had no intention of neglecting the rest.

Every other student had an equal right to education.

That way they'd fill up my EXP too. That's a joke.

A check of my wristwatch told me the break was over.

***

After class, I called Song Seokhwan aside.

"Have a seat. Looks like you've got a lot on your mind."

Song Seokhwan complied without resistance. He sat in the front-row chair and crossed his legs.

"Not happy with your team?"

Song Seokhwan answered bluntly.

"No, sir. To put it plainly, they're all dead weight. Those idiots can't even understand Korean, let alone become Heroes."

"I see that's how you feel."

"And please don't give me that dumb line about how you can't choose your allies in the field. I'm the one who'll be inheriting Bisang Guild."

He wasn't wrong.

One might assume that leading any group was the same, but there was a clear difference between commanding elites and herding a ragtag party.

It wasn't a matter of which was harder or easier—they were fundamentally different animals.

For example, an elite squad would move in lockstep with nothing more than a brief signal, while an inexperienced party demanded extremely detailed orders from the commander.

"You're right."

"Excuse me?"

Song Seokhwan seemed surprised that I'd concede so easily.

His argument held water. The problem was that there was no solution.

How was I supposed to recruit new students who met Song Seokhwan's standards and build him a custom team?

So I called his bluff.

"If the course doesn't suit you, you're free to drop it."

"That's......"

"The course content was all disclosed in advance, and you signed up voluntarily. I have no intention of changing it."

Song Seokhwan's fists trembled.

"Understood."

He backed down more easily than I'd expected.

It would've been nice if he'd had a change of heart, but that wasn't it.

He'd simply given up.

In the end, nothing was resolved.

"You sure you don't want to try working with your teammates?"

"Don't meddle with my methods."

A response cold enough to count as a flat rejection.

Just as I was about to push a little further, an intruder appeared in the lecture hall.

"Well, well. Professor Cha, having a chat with Bisang's young master?"

"You are......"

A man with green-tinged hair in a faculty uniform.

Around his forties. A genial face.

The notable thing was the thick stack of documents in his left hand.

The identity of the man who'd addressed me so familiarly was—

"Who?"

I had no clue.

"Wh-what? You're pretending not to know me... It's Professor Yun Seongyeop!"

And who the hell is that?

I looked at Song Seokhwan, wondering if he might know the guy, but the kid had already turned away.

The man who'd introduced himself as Yun Seongyeop began bouncing around, launching into an enthusiastic self-promotion plea for recognition.

"We met on inauguration day! Why are you pretending you don't know me?"

Inauguration? Ah.

Now that he mentioned it, the face was vaguely familiar.

The senior professor I'd seen on the first day.

The one who'd suggested a welcome party and introduced Lee Yeeun.

"Oh, it's been a while."

I had no fond memories of this man.

I made no effort to hide my displeasure as I greeted him.

Yun Seongyeop got huffy for a moment, then quickly recovered his composure and said,

"Heh. Listen here, Professor Cha. You can keep that up for now, but not much longer. Before you know it, the whole world will learn the truth!"

"Oh. Sure."

I couldn't care less about any "truth."

I tried to go around Yun Seongyeop, but the next thing he said stopped me in my tracks.

"Professor Cha—no. Professor, my ass. I'm going to expose you to the entire world for the fraud you are! You fake professor!"

Fraud? Fake professor?

None of this made any sense.

My expression turned ice-cold.

"Are you addressing me?"

"You bet! I'm going to let the whole world know you're a fraud! Look forward to it!"

Yun Seongyeop spouted off whatever he pleased and left.

The next day, I found out what he'd been scheming.

"Professor Cha Eunwoo, please cooperate with our investigation."

Uninvited guests stormed into my office.

On their chests, they wore badges identifying them as Hero Association personnel.

They were staff dispatched from the Hero Association.

Lee Yeeun, who'd been in the office with me, stepped between us.

She threw her arms wide, as if to shield me.

"Who are you people? What investigation?"

"We are with the Korean Hero Association. Please cooperate."

"Professor Cha Eunwoo is currently under suspicion of research paper fabrication."

I didn't know what this was about, but one thing was certain—there was nothing to gain from antagonizing these people.

I gestured for Lee Yeeun to stand down.

She resisted, but when she saw my resolve wouldn't bend, she finally raised the white flag.

The Association staff handed me papers.

"These are materials filed through an anonymous tipster. Please take a look."

Lee Yeeun and I reviewed the documents they'd provided.

There was a lot of content, but the gist was simple.

All of my papers were fabricated, and therefore my master's and doctoral degrees had been fraudulently obtained.

The source of the materials was the Grand Library—the repository that housed every academic paper in Korea. It was a place that couldn't be accessed through normal channels.

Lee Yeeun muttered in disbelief.

"Hold on... Isn't the Grand Library a place that rigorously protects the identities of registered individuals? And it's operated by the Association, no less."

The Association staff, clearly embarrassed, offered a feeble excuse.

"Well... it was hacked......"

"Are you serious? Then the data itself was obtained illegally, so it shouldn't be valid!"

Lee Yeeun latched onto the opening and wouldn't let go.

Even as the Association staff squirmed at the blow to their credibility, they pressed on with their prepared response.

"The law was amended several years ago to make exceptions for Awakened-related crimes."

"When an Awakened person commits a crime with deliberate intent, conventional investigation methods are often insufficient."

"What kind of... what kind of insane law is that? And what if the person turns out to be innocent?"

Lee Yeeun fumed, but the Association staff deftly deflected.

"We're sorry, but that's outside our jurisdiction."

"The law was enacted by the National Assembly, so......"

"Professor, please say something!"

My teaching assistant argued valiantly on my behalf, but I regrettably had nothing to offer.

I didn't know how I'd become a professor.

The doctoral degree, the master's degree—they'd just been there when I woke up inside the game.

No amount of pressing would produce answers from someone who knew nothing.

That said, I did have a pretty good idea of who was behind this.

Yun Seongyeop.

And Jeon Taejin, pulling strings behind him.

So this was what he'd meant by "fake professor."

"Let me ask one thing. You said this was filed by an anonymous tipster, correct?"

"Hm? Oh, yes."

"Then if I'm found innocent—what happens to the tipster?"

"They'll be prosecuted under the Class 1 Information and Communications Security Act. The offense of tampering with the Grand Library carries an extremely severe penalty."

It didn't quite hit me viscerally, but at the very least, I understood it meant the end of one's career as a professor.

In other words, Yun Seongyeop had wagered both their professorships in a battle of mutual destruction.

Betting on Jeon Taejin, who stood behind him.

"Do as you please."

I didn't know what exactly Jeon Taejin had cooked up.

But I had something to rely on as well.

The warning I'd received from Jo Seongung not long ago.

Jo Seongung had clearly said Jeon Taejin would self-destruct.

There was no way Jeon Taejin had orchestrated Jo Seongung's words to preemptively block my counterattack.

A prideful Sword Saint who despised underhanded tactics would never do Jeon Taejin that kind of favor.

"Then we'll conduct a brief investigation."

The Association staff busied themselves.

But the investigation didn't last long.

The Chancellor summoned all of us.

***

Florian Central Faculty Conference Room.

A low murmur filled the space.

An emergency meeting had been convened at Chancellor Ryu Jeonga's behest.

The sudden summons had the room abuzz.

—What's this all about?

—Knowing our wise Chancellor, there must be a reason.

But no one voiced a complaint.

Chancellor Ryu Jeonga.

Every Hero who'd passed through Florian revered the Witch who'd defended the Korean peninsula for 150 years.

No one questioned her judgment.

If Ryu Jeonga called an emergency meeting, there was absolutely a reason for it.

—What's the purpose of this assembly?

—Apparently there's a professor engaged in misconduct.

—Good grief......

Only professors and above could table motions in an emergency meeting, but anyone affiliated with the Academy was free to enter the conference room.

Of course, hardly any student wanted to sit through a dull meeting with nothing to gain.

The exceptions were the parties directly involved in the meeting's subject.

—Do you think the Professor will be okay?

—This can't be good, can it?

—......

About fifteen students who attended Cha Eunwoo's course—the central figure of this meeting—had gathered in a corner of the conference room.

Cha Eunwoo was fairly popular among students.

More for his looks than his lectures or personality, if we were being honest.

Seo Dayun spoke with a worried expression.

"Seri... do you think he'll be alright?"

"Of course. Him, fabricating papers? What a load of bullshit."

Other students had come out of concern for Cha Eunwoo, but An Seri's thoughts lay elsewhere.

That man was leagues beyond the dime-a-dozen professors that littered the Academy.

A genius, in every sense of the word.

Why would someone like that stoop to fabricating papers?

The reason An Seri had come was simple curiosity.

Why this laughable farce was unfolding and why the Professor was under attack.

Some distance away, Baek Seolhwa sat in another section.

Park Seohu was beside her.

—Hey, that's Park Seohu and Baek Seolhwa over there. Are they close?

—They're both Sword Department. Birds of a feather.

—Wow, what a good-looking pair.

—I've never seen Park Seohu in person before.

The students' gazes toward Park Seohu were akin to staring at a celebrity.

Song Seokhwan, Baek Seolhwa, and An Seri had become familiar faces after a month, but almost no student had ever had the chance to meet Park Seohu.

The professors took notice of him as well.

—So that boy is the one......

—Indeed, he exudes an extraordinary aura.

—I heard Professor Jo Seongung came out of seclusion because of Park Seohu?

—Korea's future looks bright.

BOOM— BOOM— BOOM—

Drums sounded across the clamorous conference room.

Everyone present knew what they signified.

—She's here.

—At last......

The inner door of the conference room swung open.

Three figures in hanbok emerged from within, and the man at the front announced,

"Everyone, rise and pay your respects to the Chancellor!"

In unison, the entire room bent at the waist in a deep bow.

The young girl who'd come through waved her hand dismissively.

"I've told you, stop doing that. Enough—everyone, raise your heads."

The Chancellor of Florian Academy, Ryu Jeonga, had arrived.