Chapter 76 – Collusion (2)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Even though final exams were just around the corner, the cadets looked bright.

It was not, of course, because they liked taking exams, but because they were excited about the event that was soon to come.

Bang!

Weapon slapped the desk with his palm. The aftershock made Ryozo’s hand, which had been propping up her chin, slip.

“That startled me. Hey, what the hell are you doing slamming the desk all of a sudden!”

Ryozo glared at him fiercely. The other club members’ gazes also turned toward Weapon.

With a face steeped evenly in solemnity, gravity, and seriousness, Weapon lowered his voice heavily.

“…What should our travel club do during the festival?”

“Ah, damn it, don’t act all serious over something so trivial!”

“Hey, Saki. It’s not just any day, it’s the festival day of Hoakin Academy. If I don’t act serious on a day like this, then when would I?”

“You seriously need to fix that habit of flooring it over the dumbest things.”

That was right.

The reason the cadets were so fired up was the festival of Hoakin Academy.

It might seem like nothing more than a fair day, but it was a state-recognized holiday.

Because that was the day Balor Hoakin sealed Lycan away. Since it marked salvation and liberation from the demons’ invasion, in this world it carried something like the meaning of Liberation Day.

The scale and significance of the festival were tremendous. Figures one normally had no chance of seeing attended, blessed the cadets, and celebrated their future. Apparently it had been a tradition for seven hundred years since the academy’s founding.

The head of Chloe’s family, the strongest assassin known as the Old Man of the Mountain, Altair Auditore. Mao Lang, the next head of the neighboring country’s House Iron King, known as the Iron Legs. Even America’s pride, and the most likely next member of the Seven Stars, All Mute.

I could already vividly picture reporters with shining eyes hammering away at their keys. For a while, the front pages of every newspaper would be overflowing.

Unfortunately, the Absolute Bow and the Spear Saint did not attend. Those two were such major figures, and such busy people, that they did not show their faces easily.

Still, tradition was tradition, so they did send congratulatory addresses through representatives.

A public day that even a heavyweight who could manipulate an entire nation’s prime minister and the Hero Association could not ignore.

The day when light first shone upon humanity. A festive holiday that sang of the radiant future of hero candidates.

It was the kind of day no amount of grandiose description could quite do justice, but by now its meaning had faded considerably.

‘The bastards at the top are always the problem, no matter where you go.’

It was a day when nobles gathered in groups, formed connections, and built new networks. For the foolish whelps, it was the perfect chance to rub their palms before the high-ranking elite.

If the Hero of Origin and the Seven Disciples were to see it, they would probably smash open their coffin lids and rise in fury, calling it a national disgrace.

But what did it matter. No matter how much corruption and covert maneuvering ran rampant, such things were far outside the concern of teenagers.

For the young, it was simply a great event.

“Don’t you know things like this also count toward the club’s record? And if we make a big showing at a time like this, it’ll also save face for the Headmistress, who readily agreed to become our advisor.”

“You couldn’t come up with anything better than using the Headmistress as an excuse? Weapon, you just want to enjoy the festival!”

A cheerful back-and-forth went on between Ryozo and Weapon. When Ryozo spoke to Weapon, her way of speaking was far from elegant.

“A cadet who knows how to play is the one who can perform when it counts. I’ll handle all the annoying parts. For example… making posters and stuff?”

“That damn poster obsession, you son of a b…”

Ryozo let out an exclamation laced with a curse. Weapon kept wagging his tongue without a care. Beside them, Hana senpai was quietly sipping tea. I watched them in silence.

‘What a mess.’

Then Chloe, who had been quiet, spoke to me.

“Geom-ma, do you have plans on the festival day…?”

“Not really. Nothing in particular.”

Chloe fidgeted with her fingers. A faint blush spread across her cheeks.

“Th-then, um, if that’s the case, maybe that day with me…”

Bang!

The desk shook again. Pens and stacks of paper bounced high from the aftershock.

“I’ve got it! Let’s make a tasting-corner booth. The club president is incredible with a knife, right? We can use this chance to promote the club too. Like, if you travel with us, the club president will even cook things like this for you…”

“……”

Chloe shot Weapon a cold glare. Then she puffed her cheeks out and sharply turned her head away. The snort she let out was prickly.

Weapon scratched his chin awkwardly. He wore the expression of someone who had no idea what he had done wrong.

Maybe he understood women’s hearts even less than I did, and I had never even been in a relationship.

Weapon stole glances at Chloe.

Her mouth was puckered in a pout. Faced with the difficult problem of not knowing what to do, Weapon let out a small sigh.

It felt as though cold water had been thrown over the blazing enthusiasm in the room.

‘Still, Weapon’s the kind of guy who always puts the club first.’

The club was lively thanks to Weapon taking it upon himself to be the mood maker. Maybe that was why his tone had grown lighter lately, but…

If it had not been for Weapon, I would never have had the confidence to lead this collection of people with such strong individual personalities. I uncrossed my arms. As a fellow male, now was the time to lend him some support.

“I don’t think Weapon’s idea of setting up a booth is bad.”

A flicker of surprise rose on Ryozo’s face. Starting with her, the other club members’ eyes gathered on me. Weapon looked as though the bridge of his nose had stung. The way he rubbed it with the back of his hand was uncomfortable to watch.

“What, so you were interested in an authoritarian event like this too, Geom-ma? Why, are you trying to advertise yourself to the important people while you’re at it?”

Ryozo’s brow narrowed in displeasure.

An authoritarian event? Hearing that from the person here most intimately connected with authority was truly ironic.

“It’s not so much that I have a purpose in mind, but once vacation starts we’ll probably be running all over the place because of dungeon subjugations, so before that we don’t really have any club activities at all.”

Distrust still lingered in Ryozo’s eyes. As though trying to gauge my true intention, she narrowed them slightly. I gave two small coughs and continued.

“And there aren’t many days left when we’ll still be able to enjoy a festival like this…”

The moment I realized what I was saying, I shoved the words back down my throat. Ryozo’s brows arched in full confusion.

“Not many left? What does that mean?”

“……”

An unconscious slip had almost carried me all the way to the Second Human-Demon War three years from now.

I normally never made mistakes like this, but it seemed I had grown far too comfortable with the club members.

“……”

“Why? What do you mean there won’t be many days left to enjoy the festival? Geom-ma, do you know something the rest of us don’t?”

The longer my silence stretched, the higher Ryozo’s eyebrows climbed. She was the type who missed not even the tiniest fragment of intent. That was probably the foundation of her sharp insight, but as a companion it was exhausting.

“I mean, final exams aren’t that far off anymore, right? That’s what I meant.”

“Hmm.”

Ryozo stared at me with narrowed eyes. Then, as though she had lost interest, she pulled out a stick of yokan and began nibbling on it.

“So do you have any idea for the booth yet?”

“Not really.”

“Or are you actually planning to sell food, like Weapon said? You’re the only one here who knows how to cook, Geom-ma.”

Now that she said it, she had a point. Since I could only handle sashimi for about fifty seconds, there was no way I could manage everything alone.

As far as I knew, Weapon could not even get the water right for cup noodles. Ryozo replaced most of her meals with yokan. I suddenly asked Chloe and Hana senpai.

“Chloe, Hana senpai, can either of you cook at all?”

“Uh, I can do fried rice or fried eggs, at least…”

“I don’t really eat rice. I can pour balsamic dressing over a salad, maybe? Would that count as cooking?”

“……”

Ryozo looked at me as though to say, see? Munch, munch. The way she chewed her yokan was irritating.

I let out a low murmur and thought it over. As the club president, I had already drawn the knife. Letting it end in vague indecision would hurt my pride.

To be honest, a festival was something I had never properly enjoyed in my life. Since I had entered the front lines of society at seventeen, I had never had the chance to indulge in that sort of romantic experience.

The reason I had gone out of my way to enjoy the mass-produced mobile game Miracle’s Blessing M stemmed from the same cause. I had never shown it outwardly, but I must have been longing for a life like this all along.

‘And besides.’

I looked around at the faces of the club members. Other than Saki, they all wore smiles full of anticipation and excitement at the corners of their mouths. But because I knew the future, I could not simply smile the way they did.

‘This is the last festival we’ll be able to spend at the academy.’

By the time we entered our second year, the demons would begin feeling threatened by Leon, the next Hero.

They would refrain from stepping directly onto the front lines and would instead release magical beasts to harm him.

It was also around that time that the mood of the story gradually became more serious. Events like festivals and vacations would, almost by reflex, be abolished.

This festival was the last event my club members and I would spend together. Thinking that, I felt a heavy knot settle in my chest.

“What are you thinking about with such a sad expression?”

Hana senpai, who had set down her teacup, asked me. Through her lenses I could glimpse her long eyelashes. At a glance alone, her eyes were graceful.

“You look as if you’re thinking of this festival as the last one.”

This woman. Could she read my thoughts? She slightly raised both her glasses and the corner of her mouth.

“Do you remember what I said when I joined the travel club?”

“Uh, what was it again?”

She smiled faintly and raised her teacup again.

“If you don’t remember, then forget it.”

* * *

“So after all that, we’re still doing cooking?”

Ryozo let out a heavy sigh with a frown.

Even after the long meeting, we had ultimately circled all the way back to the starting point.

In truth, it was difficult for a small club like ours to make a big move. Many ideas had been tossed around, but in the end there was one simplest and most universal option.

“No, I told you, I’ve never gotten my hands wet for kitchen work! And Weapon can’t even get the water right for cup ramen. You want us to cook? And if we’re doing this as a club, then it should be something we all do together. As it is, Geom-ma, this is just going to turn into you taking the whole load by yourself!”

I had worked in the food service industry for nearly twenty years.

Because of that, it was not entirely impossible for me to handle all the orders by myself. And it was not as though the only knife I could not use was a stubby kitchen knife; there were other knives I could handle.

The machete I had bought to prepare for the deserted-island survival training.

Of course, it would look a little ridiculous, but I had a principle I had always stuck to.

‘Experts don’t blame their tools.’

Still, as Ryozo said, if it turned into a one-man show with only me doing everything, the meaning of doing it together would fade.

“Hey, hey, you don’t trust your club president? He’s obviously saying this because he’s got a plan.”

Weapon said with a grin. Hana senpai and Chloe also nodded in agreement.

With the atmosphere turning that way, even Ryozo softened her previously rigid stance.

“Haah, fine, fine, I get it. So what are we making?”

At Ryozo’s question, I shrugged.

“Kimchi stew.”

The festival, if compared to Earth, was basically Liberation Day.

I intended to use this chance to spread Korean cuisine far and wide and did my small patriotic part.

* * *

Time kept flowing onward.

Only two days remained until the festival. The club members were busy with preparations.

Chloe supported me with things like frying eggs, Speed Weapon handled procedural matters, and meticulous Hana senpai reviewed logistics and ingredients.

Even Ryozo, who had spent so much time snapping at us, helped quietly. Her role was poster production and promotion.

After overpowering Weapon, who had stubbornly insisted on doing it himself, by force(?) she had taken charge of it.

Since I had to exert myself on the day itself, there was not much work assigned to me beforehand.

“…Everyone’s way better at this than I expected.”

They were all so quick on the uptake that I found myself wondering whether every teenager in this world was like this.

Or perhaps it was because we had once already learned to work together back at Korean Sushi.

Thanks to that, I unexpectedly found myself with some spare time.

Step, step.

I crossed the hallway of the professors’ building. Now that both the academy and the cadets had their attention focused on the festival.

With difficulty, I carved out the time to seek out a certain person. Before long, I came to a stop in front of a door with a nameplate hanging on it and knocked lightly.

Knock, knock.

“This is Kang Geom-ma.”

The door opened.

“Ah! Please come in, Cadet Kang Geom-ma.”

Professor Damian, dressed neatly in a white coat, welcomed me. I gave him a short bow and stepped into the office.

The professor pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit. In his other hand he was holding a coffee pot.

“I was just in the middle of brewing some tea, so your timing is perfect.”

Clink.

“It’s black tea brought directly from Russia. The aroma is absolutely exquisite.”

With a bright smile, the professor offered me Russian black tea.