Song Cheon-hye’s arrow, having lost its target, turned toward me.
Of course, I was a tougher opponent than Hong Yeon-hwa, so her interrogation didn’t get anywhere.
In the end, Song Cheon-hye left in a huff to finish her patrol.
While I was taking some time to prepare for the next dungeon raid—
I received a summons from the principal.
It hasn’t been that long since we made the statue, and he’s already calling me again.
Still, since it wasn’t a bad thing to see him often, I headed over without complaint.
When I entered the principal’s office, I saw the principal, the vice principal, and Dang Gyu-young.
It seemed she had just arrived too, likely having been summoned like me.
The principal gestured toward the sofa.
“Let’s sit and talk. Want something to drink?”
“I’ll have some coffee.”
We sat facing each other and exchanged a few casual words.
Then, after taking a sip of his coffee, the principal got to the point.
“As you both know, there’s only a month left in the semester. Dang Gyu-young, you’ll be graduating.”
“……”
Sensing that the moment had come, Dang Gyu-young’s expression tensed slightly.
The principal continued.
“Just to confirm. Are your thoughts still the same as before?”
“Yes, I still want to stay here after graduation.”
“As expected. You want to stay close to Kim Ho, right?”
“Yes.”
At her prompt and decisive reply, the principal gave a nod.
“Then it’s best to find a job around here. Since you’ve been good at managing the club, you might be suited for admin work too, but realistically, I think the most stable choice would be joining the Guard.”
The Guard. Also known as the school’s security staff.
They’re the group responsible for the safety of the Dragon Slayer Academy and Dungeon Island.
Many graduates take the position, and since they value skill above all, it’s a safe and solid path, just as the principal said.
Dang Gyu-young seemed to agree and was about to accept right away, but I held her back for a moment and opened my mouth to speak.
“There’s something I’d like to say.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“I’d like her to join the Guard, but with a fair amount of autonomy guaranteed.”
“To what extent?”
“To the point where she can adjust her work hours as she sees fit.”
As expected, the principal’s face showed a troubled expression.
“Hey, that’s kind of a tall order, don’t you think? Being a Guard isn’t child’s play.”
“Precisely because it’s difficult, I’m making this request.”
“Let’s hear the reason first. Why go that far?”
“Dungeons. I plan to keep exploring them with her.”
There were still tons of dungeons left to clear, countless hidden pieces to collect, and many “Qyu-Undead” to bring along.
So rather than having Dang Gyu-young leave Dungeon Island, it would be far more efficient to have her stay and continue clearing dungeons together.
However, if Guard duties took precedence, even with a fully scheduled raid plan, she might not be able to join… hence the need to secure flexibility in advance.
The principal seemed to understand the logic, but he still scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“I could push it through if I really tried, but… it’d feel a bit wrong. It’s not fair to the Guard department either.”
“In that case, I’ll give up the reward I was promised back when we took down the Witch of Exhaustion.”
“Oh right, there was that.”
“It’d be a shame to just forget about it.”
During the Witch of Exhaustion raid, I had played a key role by using [Caw?] to block the escape route, which led to the successful takedown.
In return, I’d been promised a corresponding reward, but since I hadn’t needed it, I’d left it unclaimed until now.
“If I recall, the Sword Queen gave out an S-rank item back then.”
“S-She did, yes…”
“If you’re willing to offer something equivalent like an S-rank item, I’ll gratefully accept that.”
“Wow… I really got played here…”
The principal held his head in regret.
It seemed the words he had once said were now coming back to haunt him.
– The kid went through hell. Give him something nice.
– He was just a first-year, and he put his life on the line.
– Honestly, without that weird crow magic or whatever, we’d have lost her.
– I’m ready to give him something worthy.
Well, that seals the deal.
To grant my request, the principal would have to exercise a level of authority bordering on overreach. But even that would be better than coughing up an S-rank item.
Just then, the vice principal who had been quietly giving me exasperated looks the entire time finally spoke up.
“What if we guarantee her autonomy while assigning her a few specific tasks?”
“…Oh, right. That’s an option. Hold on a moment, you two.”
The principal asked for a moment, then began exchanging private words with the vice principal.
As the conversation went on, his expression gradually shifted to one of intrigue.
Eventually, he nodded and looked back at us.
“Dang Gyu-young.”
“Yes?”
Caught off guard by the completely unexpected suggestion, Dang Gyu-young’s eyes widened.
The principal gave a wry smile and continued.
“Sorry, I should’ve explained first. There’ve been a lot of incidents involving the first-years this year, which has raised some concerns.”
During midterms, the safety mechanisms of an artificial dungeon had been disabled, and berserk ogres driven mad by Blood Frenzy had rampaged, nearly causing a disaster.
On top of that, the Witch of Corruption had scattered Dark Ooblecks everywhere, causing a sharp rise in the danger level of the lower-level dungeons.
Something that’s happened once can always happen again. And now, with the Blood Cult and dragons running wild, the odds of another incident have only increased.
That’s why, the principal explained, voices of concern were being raised among the parents.
“If you and a few members of the Guard were to blend in among the first-years, we think you’d be able to respond more flexibly if any sudden situations arose.”
“……”
“Of course, we’d do our best to accommodate you. As long as you follow the academic calendar, syncing up with Kim Ho shouldn’t be an issue either.”
After mulling it over for a moment, Dang Gyu-young asked,
“May I ask what you plan to do about appearances?”
It wouldn’t be a problem with new first-years, but it’d be a serious issue if any second- or third-years recognized her as the famed “Senior Dang Gyu-young”.
To that, the vice principal responded,
“We plan to provide a recognition blocking item.”
Apparently, they had something even stronger than the [Totem of Mimicry (A)] I once used.
With that level of disguise, she’d easily pass for a clueless, wide-eyed freshman chick.
Dang Gyu-young glanced at me to gauge my opinion, and I gave her a nod.
Not a bad deal at all.
Right after graduation, she would be officially employed at the Dragon Slayer Academy as a Guard, while also going through the enrollment process as a new first-year student.
Then she would attend school while keeping her identity hidden, only revealing her true abilities in emergency situations.
How she spent the rest of her time would be entirely up to her.
Soon, Dang Gyu-young made her decision.
“I’ll do it.”
“Great. We’ll talk more about the re-enrollment details once things are finalized… As for the Guard position….there’s still one issue left. Actually, that’s part of why I called you here.”
The principal wore a face that said he wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up.
Then, seemingly deciding to just rip off the band-aid, he spoke bluntly.
“You’re the president of the Thieves Club, right? From what I hear, you pulled off some pretty wild stuff this year.”
“……”
In the first and second raids on the temporary storage facilities, she’d selectively looted only the most valuable items, tucking them neatly into the Life Cube.
The black market event had wrapped up as a major success.
And in the grand finale, the third temporary storage raid, she had pulled off a record-breaking heist, successfully cleaning out three out of the four distributed vaults.
The problem was that it was record-breaking… in the worst possible way. Even someone as thick-skinned as Dang Gyu-young had to read the room a little.
The principal, however, spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“We’re not saying you have to return anything now, but we can’t exactly ignore that track record. It could be considered a disqualifying factor when applying for the Guard.”
Making the president of the Thieves Club into a campus security officer?
It’d be like putting a cat in charge of guarding fish.
Even if she had no intention of misbehaving, others would always look at her with suspicion.
Of course, bringing this up meant the principal already had a solution in mind.
So Dang Gyu-young cautiously asked,
“What would you like me to do?”
“You started it, so it’s only right that you see it through to the end.”
“You mean… help out the Disciplinary Committee?”
“That’s right. It’d go a long way in improving your image. The more successful you are, the better.”
Listening to all this, I had a question and decided to ask.
“I thought the Guards were going to handle that part?”
“We were going to, but Kwak Seung-jae refused. Said it would defeat the purpose if teachers got involved.”
This time, the infiltration of the temporary storage would go smoothly, but the Disciplinary Committee’s reputation would remain in ruins.
The more they were looked down on, the more challenges they’d face next year and the year after that.
And it’s not like they could rely on the teachers every time. Student affairs had to be handled by students.
“So instead, he pointed to you guys.”
“‘Us’?”
“Yeah, including you, Kim Ho. He knew you were the Inferno Fist too.”
Well, neither Oh Se-hun nor Kwak Seung-jae were ones to take things lightly.
They must’ve heard about how I had nullified space magic in the Witch of Exhaustion raid with a single “Caw?”
With a spell trigger that bizarre and an effect that dramatic, they probably remembered “Caw?” neutralizing Kwak Seung-jae’s wooden door.
That guy was Inferno Fist. And that guy was me.
So they knew all along and just left me alone.
Because using me like this was more beneficial to them.
What if I refused here?
They’d barge in and drag me out on the spot.
I wasn’t afraid of getting penalty points, but I didn’t want to waste time dealing with disciplinary action.
Still, it felt like a waste to just accept it as-is.
“I’m willing to lend a hand. After all, it’s to help Dang Gyu-young, too.”
“…But?”
The principal’s brow furrowed, already sensing something was off.
Maybe his understanding of the Kim Ho language had improved after getting burned so many times.
“But I’d like to add a condition.”
“I knew it, I knew it.”
“It’s nothing difficult.”
“Fine, fine. What is it?”
I gestured toward Dang Gyu-young with my eyes and said,
“If there’s a necromancer grimoire among the prohibited items, I’d like to receive one as payment.”
“A necromancer grimoire, huh. What are you going to use it for?”
“I’m planning to expand the slots.”
After explaining the details of how I intended to use it, the principal seemed to confer briefly with the vice principal and then made a counteroffer.
“Let’s decide based on how well you handle things. Sound fair?”
“Sounds good.”
“Anything else?”
“One more thing.”
I clenched my fist in front of everyone.
Dark crimson flames flared up briefly, then died down.
“Now that everything’s out in the open, I’d like to use it freely. As you can see, I don’t even get penalized for it.”
“……!?”
The principal and the vice principal looked at each other.
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