Chapter 35

Chapter 35

This particular incident affected Seo Hyun-woo and Baek Seo-yeon far more directly than Kang Jin-ha.

Kang Jin-ha would only capture Kim Sung-tae; the casualties were going to occur regardless.

'The problem is Baek Seo-yeon. She does intervene, but she can't save a single person. Afterward, she's consumed by guilt and her personality turns even colder. Am I supposed to just leave this alone?'

Seo Hyun-woo had already drawn up a plan to make Baek Seo-yeon his ally.

If that one incident caused a change in Baek Seo-yeon, then everything he had accomplished so far would be completely wasted.

He had accepted the risks of variables, yet if he still couldn't secure Baek Seo-yeon, could there be any greater loss?

'Going through this incident doesn't make Baek Seo-yeon any stronger. Nor does it bring Kang Jin-ha and Baek Seo-yeon any closer. This time, I should intervene and save the students.'

After much deliberation, Seo Hyun-woo reached a conclusion and cleared the calendar from his monitor.

Saving the secretarial office's students wouldn't cause any major problems.

It wouldn't harm Kang Jin-ha, and he could preemptively eliminate the guilt that Baek Seo-yeon would carry.

'Honestly, there's a part of me that genuinely doesn't want the secretaries to die. They were unfamiliar at first, but I've grown attached by now. And they're not bad at their jobs, either.'

The secretaries assigned to the Student Council's dedicated secretarial office assisted the Student Council President and Vice Student Council President with their duties and handled various miscellaneous tasks.

Due to the nature of their work, they encountered the Vice Student Council President far more often than the Student Council President, so they naturally moved alongside Baek Seo-yeon.

That was why Baek Seo-yeon would feel a sense of camaraderie with the secretaries and carry such heavy guilt over their deaths.

'What Rebellion is trying to obtain from Miterich is the Barrier System's operating method and the students' personal information. The reason for the hostage crisis and the attack is to demonstrate the Rebellion's strength to the Hunter Committee.'

Currently, Rebellion was concealing its existence and operating covertly.

It was still in the preparatory stage; once it had secured more information and Awakened, it would publicize the name and existence of Rebellion.

Above all, Rebellion regarded the Hunter Committee, which directly controlled the Awakened, as an enemy that had to be destroyed.

'After Rebellion launches its full-scale attacks, it'll relocate its headquarters to China. It'll operate Korea as a branch, continuously recruiting Awakened and carrying out attacks both large and small.'

As a side note, in this world's setting, North Korea had been utterly devastated when a nuclear explosion triggered a chain reaction with stockpiled magic stones, annihilating the country entirely.

As a result, North Korea's territory was completely obliterated, and the Korean peninsula had become an island.

The magical beasts there hadn't sustained major damage, of course, but they were reportedly wiped out through the Hunter Committee's response.

'Once Kim Sung-tae is captured, only Yoo Si-eun and a few Security Department members will remain at Miterich. And as time passes, eventually only Yoo Si-eun will be left alone.'

Seo Hyun-woo examined the overall flow and searched for any potential variables.

What he would gain and what he would lose by saving the secretarial office's students.

He had to weigh it ceaselessly and refine the plan to minimize variables.

'No matter how many times I reconsider, nothing changes. Saving the secretarial office students is definitely.........'

Knock, knock.

At the sound of the knock, Seo Hyun-woo immediately turned his head toward the door.

The people who entered the Student Council President's office were almost always the same.

Occasionally a Department Head or a secretary from the secretarial office would come in, but that was not a common occurrence.

"You don't look well. Is something the matter?"

"......I suppose it shows. I just didn't sleep well."

Baek Seo-yeon stopped in front of the work desk and answered.

Her light purple eyes were hazy, and her expression was more strained than usual.

Could it be that yesterday's events had weighed on her mind and kept her from getting a good night's sleep?

"I feel like I learned a great deal yesterday. Your uncle took it seriously, and that's why."

"That wasn't a spar. He simply steamrolled you."

"In a real fight, excuses like that don't fly. To survive, I have to get stronger."

Seo Hyun-woo said the words without sincerity behind them, trying to put Baek Seo-yeon at ease.

Frankly, there was nothing he could claim to have learned.

All that lingered in his mind was the question of what would have happened had he made the wrong call.

"You still seem to have a lot on your mind, President. What were you thinking about?"

"About you."

"About me? What do you mean by......... Excuse me?"

Baek Seo-yeon furrowed her brow and immediately asked again.

Seo Hyun-woo met her gaze head-on, his expression unchanged.

The fact that he reacted like that only made her the flustered one.

"I was just thinking about how I'd manage the Student Council's work without you."

"......It would have been nice if you'd said that from the start."

Baek Seo-yeon answered nonchalantly and belatedly composed her expression.

She thought she'd felt her heart jolt for a brief moment.

Yesterday and lately in general, he had been making sudden remarks and gestures far too frequently.

"It just came to mind. I have no confidence in handling the work without you."

"There are plenty of people more capable than me."

"But there's no guarantee that person would come to my side."

Seo Hyun-woo stood up and put water on the coffee pot.

According to the original story, Baek Seo-yeon would graduate from Miterich even faster than he would.

Hadn't she given up her Vice Student Council President's position to chase after Kang Jin-ha, who had left Miterich?

"You aren't thinking of giving up the Student Council President's seat......... What do you mean by that?"

"I'm saying it because I think you might graduate before I do."

"That will never happen. Until I defeat you, President......."

Baek Seo-yeon suddenly stopped mid-sentence, struck by an oddness.

When she had first enrolled at Miterich, she had wanted to become Student Council President, but somewhere along the way, her thoughts had shifted to wanting to defeat Seo Hyun-woo.

Did she want to become the Student Council President, or did she simply want to beat Seo Hyun-woo?

"Something wrong? Why did you trail off?"

"......Oh, what I mean is, until I defeat you, President, there's no chance I'll graduate first."

"Your determination is as strong as ever. So what brings you here today?"

Seo Hyun-woo set two teacups on the table and sat down on the sofa.

Baek Seo-yeon followed and sat on the sofa, answering immediately.

"Have you reviewed the official document regarding the Scarlet Dragon King's visit?"

"I have. It didn't seem like there was anything in particular for us to do."

"It's the Transformation Department Head who's the concern, rather than us."

"Ah, so you're worried because of the Transformation Department Head?"

Seo Hyun-woo sipped his tea and accepted Baek Seo-yeon's reasoning.

It was probably Min Ha-young's usual conduct that left her unable to trust the girl.

It wasn't that Min Ha-young failed to fulfill her duties as Department Head, but she did occasionally make careless mistakes.

Minor mistakes were something he and Baek Seo-yeon could let slide, but they couldn't afford to show such a side in front of a Setinos Hunter.

"The Transformation Department Head is far too flippant in her words and actions. She's not entirely lacking a sense of responsibility for her work, but there are shortcomings that show through. On top of that, even when she's corrected, it only sticks for a short while before the fundamental issues resurface. If this were a workplace instead of the Student Council, she'd be fired immediately."

"......Firing someone isn't that easy."

"I'm speaking figuratively. The Form Department Head does her work properly, so why is the Transformation Department Head so full of holes?"

"It's not that bad, but she does make mistakes more often than the other Department Heads."

Seo Hyun-woo let out a wry laugh and looked at Baek Seo-yeon.

Her expression was as consistent as ever, but she seemed to be showing the slightest hint of hostility.

It was probably a mix of work-related concerns and personal feelings.

"If the Transformation Department Head makes a mistake in front of the Scarlet Dragon King, not only will the Chancellor but even the chairman be furious."

"But it would be fairly difficult for a mistake to happen, wouldn't it? We'll be attending that event alongside the Transformation Department Head. Besides, the Scarlet Dragon King is only coming to offer some advice. He won't be assigning anything special."

Seo Hyun-woo had already reviewed the details of the Scarlet Dragon King's visit.

At the chairman's request, the Scarlet Dragon King was simply visiting the Transformation Department to provide consultation on feral instinct control.

Moreover, since Min Ha-young herself was aware of her position as Department Head, she would prepare at least the necessary minimum.

"Then are you planning to just sit back and watch the Transformation Department Head?"

"Of course I can't do that. We'll need to conduct thorough preliminary checks to make sure she can't make any mistakes. That's the job you and I have to do."

"......Understood. I'll begin preparations accordingly."

Baek Seo-yeon belatedly felt a sense of relief and lifted her teacup.

Seo Hyun-woo was about to say something to Baek Seo-yeon but then turned his head.

There would be no real point in telling her ahead of time.

'Is there a place to hide in the secretarial office? If there isn't, I'll need to reveal myself at the right moment......... I should identify Kang Jin-ha's location in advance, too.'

***

Inside the Student Council's dedicated secretarial office.

The secretarial office had a total of three students working as Managing Members.

They had been selected purely to assist with Student Council duties, regardless of combat ability.

In other words, since skill wasn't a factor, they had to pass an assessment of administrative competency along with background checks covering criminal history and various personal investigations.

In some ways, it was arguably harder than becoming a Managing Member of any other department.

'I've siphoned off the students' personal information through the Security Office and Security Department. But there's no way to find out the Barrier System's operating method.'

Kim Sung-tae, a secretary in the Student Council's dedicated secretarial office, let out a long sigh and took his hand off the mouse.

Currently, Kim Sung-tae had infiltrated Miterich to carry out a mission handed down by Rebellion.

The members stationed in the Security Office had already been neutralized, and only the members who had become Security Department members and Kim Sung-tae himself remained at Miterich.

'Even the Security Office couldn't extract the Barrier System's operating method. The Security Department probably can't either. So the Barrier System really is managed separately by the chairman or the Chancellor?'

Kim Sung-tae shut off the computer and pulled out the USB.

He felt there was nothing more to be gained at this point.

He had identified the personal information of nearly every student up to Managing Member level, but personnel files for Team Leader rank and above were inaccessible due to security clearances.

'The Student Council President or Vice Student Council President might have access to all the personal files. In that case.........'

"......Why are you holding a USB?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Kim Sung-tae whipped his head around.

One of his colleagues from the secretarial office had appeared and was looking down at him.

He had let his guard down for a moment and been caught by a coworker.

"I wish you hadn't seen that."

"Don't tell me you've been stealing classified Student Council information?"

"I'm sorry. I have to kill you."

Kim Sung-tae uttered the brief words and moved quickly.

They had not been close, but they were essentially workplace colleagues doing the same job.

However, the mission came first, and he could not afford to be swayed by worthless mercy.

"You......... Mmph!"

Kim Sung-tae clamped one hand over the student's mouth and brought a honed dagger to bear.

He had intended to kill the student on the spot, but a flicker of hesitation surfaced.

The secretary was frozen in terror, unable to move a muscle.

"......I can't do this after all. Goodbye."

"Mmmmph!"

"You should stop. Nothing changes either way."

At that moment, the secretarial office door opened and someone stepped inside.

Kim Sung-tae quickly repositioned behind the secretary and pressed the dagger to the secretary's neck.

The instant he identified the newcomer, Kim Sung-tae drew a sharp breath in bewilderment.

"How is the President here......."

"Is there somewhere I'm not allowed to go? Let the secretary go. You don't want to die at my hands just yet, do you?"