Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 85 - Festival - Meeting (3)

Chapter 85 – Festival – Meeting (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The densely packed crowds filling the grounds were enough to make my tongue click.

The Academy had an area larger than most small cities. But today, there wasn’t a trace of spare space even across that vast expanse. The parade columns and the sea of people stretched wide enough to cover every angle of sight.

‘There are way too damn many…’

An enormous number of events had been compressed into a short span of three days. A festival where staggering scale and capital had been poured into each and every item. And among them, the one that served as the grand finale was the parade.

But a parade was still a parade. It wasn’t as if Hoakin Academy had anything especially unique; it was similar to the sort you saw at an ordinary amusement park.

Naturally, the scale and quality here were several times more impressive, but at least to my eyes, it all looked about the same. I had never been particularly moved by this kind of crowded event to begin with, and it had been a long time since I had enough childlike innocence left in me to cheer at people in mascot suits.

‘I never liked this stuff even when I was a kid.’

I watched the procession from a spot a little removed from the crowd.

Weapon had led the others in pestering me to squeeze into that mess, but it was already hot enough as it was, and I had no desire to sweat for no reason. Besides, I, Kang Geom-ma, was fairly tall and had good eyesight, so seeing from a distance was no great problem.

Since I stood my ground like an unmoving stone statue, the club members eventually plunged into the crowd without me. The sight of Weapon dashing off like a monkey had been particularly memorable.

‘It is flashy, though.’

Women dancing samba while draped in layers of golden ornaments. The gaudy floats carrying them gave off an almost majestic presence. They said those things had been made with both gold plating and pure gold, and I found myself thinking that if you sold just one of them, you’d probably had enough for retirement.

It was around the time I was idly watching the ladies’ heated dance moves.

Step, step.

Following the approaching footsteps, I turned my gaze. Ryozo was walking toward me with an expression like she felt sick to her stomach. With a pale face, she grumbled.

“Haa. I seriously can’t stand places with too many people.”

Before I knew it, Ryozo had come to stand beside me and began chewing on a sweet jelly bar. I only shifted my eyes slightly and looked at her.

‘Why did she send messages to the club members from my number?’

She was the one who had spoken in a tired tone about resting in the dorm, yet now she was the one going out of her way to suffer. I had thought she would be the most worn out from mental labor during this festival period, especially since she was someone who slept so much to begin with.

‘I seriously can never tell what this girl is thinking.’

I’d already spent two months with every club member except Hana senpai. Chloe, the yandere with the baby-bird-like impression. Speed Weapon, who looked like a delinquent but was really a gag character. In the game those two had almost no presence at all, but now they were the ones most deeply connected to me.

But oddly enough, I felt like I knew less about Ryozo, even though she was one of the main heroines, air-character traits or not. It was as if she intentionally kept her inner thoughts hidden.

And aside from that, even her frequent verbal sparring with Weapon felt like Ryozo was just accommodating him to an appropriate extent…

If you took away the title of the daughter of the Absolute Bow, I actually knew very little about Ryozo. Even her disposition changed a thousand ways depending on the situation.

‘This time too, I don’t really understand her intentions.’

What exactly was her purpose in summoning the club members while pretending to be me? It felt suspicious, but…

‘She must have her reasons.’

Separate from how irritating the method was, I trusted Ryozo’s brain. No matter the situation, she always did her part perfectly as the one who prevented things from turning into a frustrating mess. I decided not to jump to conclusions.

I stared fixedly at Ryozo’s profile. At some point she had already finished the jelly bar and was rinsing her mouth with bottled water.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve ever been alone with her.’

Perhaps because she sensed my gaze, Ryozo made a strange expression. She glanced up at me in quick peeks while fidgeting with her fingers. Then, with an offended little pout, she moved her lips.

“Why are you staring so much?”

Ryozo jutted out her lips and deliberately avoided my eyes. Her face even reddened as she pouted. It seemed that even she herself knew she didn’t exactly have the moral high ground in this matter.

‘This is a first too.’

Out of all the attitudes she had shown me so far, this was the most age-appropriate one. I let out a snort of laughter and shook my head. Ryozo looked at me with eyes carrying some subtle emotion, then abruptly whipped her head away.

“You’re seriously dense as hell.”

Ryozo muttered quietly amid the busy background noise. Normally I wouldn’t have heard it, but my sharpened senses didn’t miss it.

‘Dense?’

Thinking back over everything she had done so far, Ryozo wasn’t someone who said things carelessly. There had to be some hidden meaning in those words. And the same went for borrowing my number to gather the club members. Deliberately hardening my expression, I asked back.

“Why? What’s going on?”

At that question, Ryozo’s shoulders twitched. Apparently she hadn’t realized I had heard her.

“…You heard that?”

She looked up at me with a stunned face. I abruptly grabbed her by the shoulder and asked again. Finger-shaped creases formed in the shoulder of her top.

“What’s going on? Did you notice some kind of strange sign or something?”

“Uh, uh, uh?”

Ryozo stammered in visible confusion. Her pupils spun in circles like whirlpools. It was an extremely unnatural reaction.

I tightened my grip on her shoulder a little more. Then Ryozo finally let out a few words in a voice so faint it was barely audible.

“It hurts.”

“Huh? What was that? I couldn’t hear you that time.”

Ryozo shoved me hard with both hands. She was so strong that I nearly lost my balance for a moment. After scowling once, she glared at me.

“Then what, if someone grabbed your shoulder that hard, you think it wouldn’t hurt?! And how can you be this dense and still have ears that sharp?!”

I stared at Ryozo in bafflement. My concern for her seemed ridiculous now, given how fierce her eyes were. Frowning, I spoke.

“I’m making a fuss because I was worried about you, and this is what I get.”

“……”

Ryozo blinked. Then, in the very next moment, her face turned red. And then she lowered her head all the way.

‘What is she even trying to do?’

I clicked my tongue. At my reaction, Ryozo’s lips trembled faintly.

“…Are you mad?”

It was a cautious voice. Since I was used to hearing only her sharp, decisive way of speaking, it felt incredibly unfamiliar.

‘Was I too stern?’

Scratching my cheek, I shook my head to say no. Only then did the troubled look on Ryozo’s face begin to ease.

As I watched her, a question suddenly came to mind. Since we were rarely alone together, this was the perfect chance to clear up my curiosity.

“By the way, Ryozo.”

“Hm?”

“This is kind of sudden, but.”

At my firm tone, a flicker ran through Ryozo’s eyes.

She swallowed and waited for what I would say next. I cleared my throat and continued.

“Are you dating Weapon by any chance?”

“…What?”

Ryozo’s kick came flying at my shin immediately.

I twisted only my torso slightly and let it pass. It was a movement well within my expectations.

Whoosh.

Ryozo’s toes struck nothing but empty air. Losing her balance from the recoil of the kick, she dropped to the ground with a plop. Maybe she had landed especially hard on her butt, because she reached a hand to her waist.

‘So I was right.’

There was a saying that a strong denial was a strong affirmation. When it came to young men and women, even if it looked like they were always hitting and fighting, that too could be a kind of expression of affection.

Of course, I had never dated even once in either my previous life or this one… but I still knew the basics.

‘Damn it, now I feel bitter for no reason.’

Even so, Ryozo glared at me and shouted.

“You, you, you! Do you seriously think that’s something you should say?! Me, date a monkey bastard like that?!”

Her voice shook violently with all kinds of emotions mixed together. I merely shrugged once and turned my back on Ryozo.

“Hey, Kang Geom-ma! Where are you going!”

Her shrill shout stabbed into my back, but I ignored it on purpose. As club president, perhaps it was only proper for me to tacitly overlook romance within the club.

“Hey!”

* * *

At the same time, on the outskirts of Hoakin Academy.

A man and a woman walked along a street where the commotion had died down somewhat. All Mute, wearing a baseball cap pulled low and casual clothes, and her manager Cain. Only the sound of their footsteps sank into the dirt road.

“Ellie, how long are you going to stay here…?”

Sweat that had started at Cain’s forehead ran down the bridge of his nose. It was hot, yes, but more than that, he was growing increasingly anxious. He tapped the wristwatch on his arm at All Mute.

“Sorry, Cain. But before leaving, I really wanted to confirm this one thing.”

“Sheesh.”

Cain only shook his head from side to side, thinking inwardly of the person she had taken such an interest in.

‘That first-year cadet.’

Black hair so rare he had almost never seen it, and a sharp jawline. A boy who gave off an extraordinary atmosphere even at a glance.

Of course, compared to the performance the boy had shown in front of the public the other day, his appearance was ultimately the least important thing.

Cain smiled bitterly. Mao Lang, who could at least be compared to All Mute, the one he supported, had been defeated by a mere cadet. And in a single exchange at that.

Since Mao Lang had been a rival over the Seven-Star Hero title, it was certainly good news for the American side. But paradoxically, an even more sudden and more threatening figure had been born.

‘Kang Geom-ma.’

The hottest topic among every hero guild and agency over the past two days.

In the modern era, guilds and agencies cast covetous eyes not at heroes with overwhelming might, but at those whose star quality stood out more.

The reason was simple. The logic of capital.

In the present day, heroes also played the role of entertainers in a sense, and the country that made the best use of that fact was America.

Even the reason they had created the separate term `hero` was part of that. The costumes and nicknames that could emphasize character identity were no different.

‘The Sashimi Sword Saint, huh.’

It was a half-joking nickname that had started from a single article, but in terms of identity alone, it could not have been better. A kitchen knife no bigger than chopsticks as his weapon, truly rare black hair, and in addition to that, innate talent.

A promising prospect with both uniqueness and skill in equal measure. In that moment, a thought suddenly flashed across Cain’s mind.

‘…No way.’

“Ellie, are you trying to get in some preliminary groundwork with that cadet Kang Geom-ma?”

“I-I’m not doing that. There’s really just something I need to confirm.”

All Mute answered as she lowered her head slightly. Cain only let out a low groan and firmly kept his mouth shut.

‘Right, it may not be exactly proper, but you can’t let a talent like that slip away.’

Cain nodded to himself in silence. True, he would need American citizenship, but one push from the main agency would be enough to handle that procedure.

‘Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.’

The corners of Cain’s mouth curled up slightly.

‘Even so, there really isn’t much time left before the flight.’

Coordinating and managing the schedule was the manager’s job. No matter how desirable a prospect he was, what mattered right now was All Mute’s schedule.

At last, the two of them reached the booth where Kang Geom-ma had been selling kimchi jjigae. All Mute pulled the brim of her cap down a little lower.

“Huh, what? There’s no one here?”

When Cain said that, All Mute also narrowed her eyes and looked inside the booth. Only the lingering scent of kimchi jjigae pushed into her nose; there was no sign of anyone there.

“I think they probably went to watch the parade.”

“……”

After confirming that no one was there, All Mute took off her cap with an irritated face. Her bright orange hair swayed over her shoulders.

“Ah, right. The time.”

Cain checked the clock again. At the same time, he spoke in a hurried tone.

“Ellie, let’s come look for that Kang Geom-ma guy another time and leave for today first. It really is cutting it close, you know?”

In contrast to Cain, who was hurrying her, All Mute replied indifferently.

“But the Academy has a subspace portal anyway, right? Can’t we just use that to go to the next destination?”

“Hey! Do you even know how much money it costs to get an aircraft off the ground? If we take the subspace portal, are we just supposed to leave the private plane sitting in Korea by itself?! That’s all the people’s tax money, tax money!”

When Cain burst out as if scolding her, All Mute pressed a hand to her temple and mulled over his words.

“…If it’s the people’s tax money, then I guess we don’t have a choice.”

“Right, good thinking. Let’s come back next time when we have time.”

All Mute pulled the baseball cap low over her head again. She was the one who stepped forward first.

“Let’s go, Cain.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Cain muttered inwardly.

‘It’s an agency-owned private plane, so how would taxes have anything to do with it, idiot.’

It was the sort of lie only possible because she was someone devoted solely to her main work and distant from worldly matters.

But in the end, he had succeeded in persuading her, so Cain quietly eased a small bit of guilt inside himself.