Chapter 545: The Disciplinary Committee Wants You

The benefits of recruiting me were numerous.

With Han So-mi stepping down at the end of this year, there’s now a vacancy. And with my skills, I more than qualify to fill it.

Even just considering the prohibited skills I know, I’m already on par with second-years or higher.

Plus, I still have plenty of room to grow.

Having [Caw?] on the same side would also eliminate a major source of anxiety for Kwak Seung-jae.

On top of that, since I can even block the enemy’s spatial magic, the risk of letting someone escape would drop significantly.

Not to mention, I know about several hidden pieces, including the [Cube of Life], so it’s no surprise they’d want to recruit me no matter what.

Dang Gyu-young, aware of these advantages too, frowned and cut into the conversation, seemingly displeased with how things were going.

“Hey, you’re making a recruitment offer here?”

“I believe you’ve also attempted to recruit him multiple times yourself.”

“And you’re still going through with it knowing that?”

Kwak Seung-jae responded politely.

“I figured making the offer openly would cause less resentment than doing it in private. You two are clearly very close, so word would have reached you anyway.”

“…You’re not wrong.”

At the phrase “very close”, Dang Gyu-young raised an eyebrow.

She seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Kwak Seung-jae continued.

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring this up now, while the opportunity presents itself? And if I may speak honestly—”

“Honestly?”

“You’ll be graduating soon, so you’ll naturally be less involved in club activities. We’re hoping you’ll allow us this chance.”

“..….”

Dang Gyu-young looked like she was dying to say, “Wrong, I’m re-enrolling right after,” but managed to hold herself back.

Instead, she replied with a touch of restraint.

“I get that you’re trying to be considerate. Still, a recruitment pitch like this is a bit sudden.”

“There have been internal discussions about it for a while. There just aren’t many candidates who meet the criteria.”

After all, the baseline requirement is exceptional skill. On top of that, the candidate should either not belong to any group or be willing to prioritize the Disciplinary Committee over their current affiliation.

And, of course, they must not have any serious disqualifying factors.

At that, Dang Gyu-young gave me a strange look and motioned subtly in my direction.

“Hold on a moment. You’re saying he has no disqualifying factors?”

How many times had we raided the temporary storage site together? How many times had we gone down to the underground levels?

As if expecting her to bring that up, Kwak Seung-jae answered smoothly.

“It’s true he’s violated school rules, but we’ve determined there’s no issue with his character. His involvement with the Thieves Club was for the purpose of obtaining prohibited items, wasn’t it?”

“So you’re saying you can trust him with this?”

Isn’t that like putting a cat in charge of guarding fish?

Wondering what on earth they were thinking, Dang Gyu-young looked over at Oh Se-hoon. But he only smiled warmly in response.

A sign that they’d already discussed this among themselves.

Kwak Seung-jae replied.

“It’s not an issue. And to be precise, it’s not about entrusting…it’s about transferring authority.”

“……!”

“There may be exceptions depending on the item, but for most cases, the next Disciplinary Committee president will have the discretion to allow it.”

“There’s bound to be talk about favoritism.”

“We’ll have to accept that risk. Recruiting the Inferno Fist is worth it.”

Giving up a few prohibited items in exchange for everything they’d gain. It was a trade that clearly favored them.

Kwak Seung-jae looked me straight in the eye.

“If there’s anything else you want, we’re open to negotiation. What do you say?”

“I appreciate the generous offer.”

“…But you’re turning it down, I take it.”

“Yes. Being tied down limits my freedom, so I’d rather avoid joining any group.”

No matter what they put on the table, I stood to gain more by moving independently. Why bind myself unnecessarily?

Perhaps expecting rejection from the start, Kwak Seung-jae showed no sign of disappointment.

Still, he left the door open.

“The Disciplinary Committee will always welcome you. If you change your mind down the line, let’s talk again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And if I may say one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Regardless of whether I join, I believe we can continue cooperating whenever needed.”

“Like this time, you mean.”

“Just like this time.”

And just like this time, payment could come in the form of a prohibited item.

Kwak Seung-jae echoed my own words right back at me.

“…Very well. I’ll remember that.”

***

Next, we headed to the principal’s office.

There was still a deal left to finalize on this end as well.

We’d been promised a necromancer grimoire if we successfully defended the temporary storage site.

The principal, apparently already informed not just of the outcome but also of the deal made with Kwak Seung-jae and Oh Se-hoon, let out a wry chuckle when he saw me.

“You really are something else. How did you manage to squeeze out one more thing from all that?”

“If there’s something to gain, I’m taking it. World peace is at stake, after all.”

“You’ve got an answer for everything. Every excuse somehow ends in world peace.”

At that, Dang Gyu-young placed a hand on my shoulder.

“He’s always like this. With everything.”

Like calling a senior who’s graduated over 200 times a “living fossil”, maybe?

I ignored the comment and steered the conversation back on track.

“Anyway, you’re giving it to us, right?”

“Of course. A deal’s a deal. But—”

The principal pulled out a purplish book as he continued.

“If possible, I’d like to see it in action. It’s not that I don’t trust you….it’s just better to be sure. And I admit, I’m a little curious too.”

“That’s fine with me.”

If I could earn some trust here, it might make it easier to ask for similar things later on.

It’s not like this is a super secret hidden piece anyway.

Besides, necromancer-type skills require a slot skill to use in the first place, so it’s not very versatile.

The odds of someone copying it were practically zero, and there was little to no downside for us.

So I casually signaled to Dang Gyu-young, and she began activating the hidden piece exactly the way I’d taught her.

She flipped quickly through the grimoire, then tore out one specific page.

With that page in hand, she summoned the Qyu-Lab Director.

The shadow at her feet stretched out and transformed into a man in a lab coat.

He accepted the grimoire with utmost respect and began munching on it.

At the same time, Dang Gyu-young gathered shadow energy into her hand.

The page she’d torn out crumbled softly and was gradually absorbed.

“….”

The principal looked unsure whether this was actually how it was supposed to work, but he didn’t interrupt.

Soon, both necromancer grimoires disappeared into the bellies of the Qyu-Lab Director.

Dang Gyu-young then shared the skill information.

▷ Shadow Extraction [2/4]

1. Lab Director (A)

2. Shadow Lord (A)

3. (None)

4. (None)

The principal spoke with a somewhat dazed expression.

“…It actually works.”

“Would we lie about something like this?”

“Well, I suppose there’d be nothing to gain even if you did. In that case, let’s consider this matter settled.”

The principal turned his head to face Dang Gyu-young.

“Student Dang Gyu-young, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“How did it feel working together with the disciplinary committee this time?”

“……?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Dang Gyu-young stiffened and fell into thought.

Sensing her reaction, the principal smiled and waved his hand lightly.

“Don’t overthink it. Just tell me honestly how you felt.”

“…I’ve always been on the side that steals, but becoming the one who protects instead felt refreshing, and it also helped me understand things better.”

“I see. Hmm.”

The principal nodded slowly.

It seemed to be an answer he was fairly satisfied with.

Soon, he continued in a subtly casual tone.

“If you don’t feel too much resistance, I was thinking maybe you could re-enroll next year and join the disciplinary committee.”

“…What?”

Dang Gyu-young blinked.

“I know it sounds sudden. Still, in many ways, the conditions line up well.”

Skill?

Even among third-years, there were hardly any who could match her.

She would have to seal her shadow skills in public after re-enrolling, but even then, she’d still be more than capable of beating all the first-years.

Affiliation?

She couldn’t join the thief club anyway.

They were members who had shared the same space for years, so there was a high risk her identity would be exposed.

Wouldn’t it be a problem if they didn’t notice, though?

Me, who used to be the club president, becoming the youngest member?

Shin Byeong-cheol as my senior?

It was doubtful whether Dang Gyu-young’s temperament could endure that.

Rather than being pushed around as the youngest, she’d probably choose not to join at all.

Compared to me, she had plenty of disqualifying factors, but this was a special case, so those could be set aside.

The academic office would likely prepare things so she could make a clean fresh start.

After thinking for a moment, Dang Gyu-young answered with a serious expression.

“Thank you for the offer, but taking on the disciplinary committee as well would be too much of a burden.”

“Figures. If the schedules overlap, that would cause problems again.”

The biggest reason she chose to re-enroll instead of simply getting a job as a guard after graduation was to secure more free time and tackle the underground levels with me.

Joining the disciplinary committee would have been like putting shackles on herself, so she turned it down.

The principal seemed to understand those circumstances as well and didn’t press the issue.

“I just brought it up in case. Don’t feel burdened by it. If by any chance you change your mind, let me know in advance. As you know, first-year disciplinary committee members start with train patrols.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, and think about what alias you’ll use too. It should be something you like.”

“……!”

Dang Gyu-young fell into the deepest bout of deliberation she’d had all day.

***

Soon, we wrapped up our conversation with the principal and left our seats.

As we walked side by side in step, Dang Gyu-young let out a dry laugh and spoke.

“Crazy, isn’t it? Telling both of us to join the disciplinary committee.”

“Should we just close our eyes and go in together?”

Dang Gyu-young asked back, tempted.

“And then what?”

“We tear it down from the inside.”

“And give Seung-jae a good smack on the back of the head too?”

“That doesn’t sound bad either.”

We looked at each other and grinned.

Of course, what we’d just said was over 90 percent a joke.

Since there wasn’t much to gain from the disciplinary committee, we had no intention of joining at all.

Dang Gyu-young spoke again.

“What about the alias? I’ll be using it for one or two years, right? If I stay until you graduate.”

“Some people change theirs once a week.”

Since the topic had come up, I sent messages to the promising Black Faction rookies, Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam.

Judging by aliases like Jang Sam/Wang Pil, Jang Cheol-soo/Wang Min-soo, and Jan Go/Wang Gon, their naming sense was awful, but they were veterans in this area, so maybe I’d get some inspiration.

[Kim Ho: Hey guys]

[Kim Ho: What aliases are you using these days?]

[Jang Moo-geuk: Jang Cheon-dong.]

[Wang Cheon-sam: Wang Bok-sam.]

“…….”

Completely useless.

Judging by how confident he looked, it seemed he wasn’t even aware there was a problem.

Dang Gyu-young peeked at the messages and said seriously,

“I want to pick one properly and stick with it.”

“Can’t argue with that. Especially after seeing those.”

“Mhmm. Let’s take this seriously.”

“Are you thinking of going with something completely new, or just tweaking the current one a bit?”

Dang Gyu-young looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

“…Should I just keep ‘Qyu’?”

“Alright, one syllable’s decided. Now let’s figure out the family name.”

If you mess up the surname, you end up with something like Park Qyu or Dongbang Qyu, which sounds ridiculous, so we had to be careful.

It was best to avoid noble or prestigious surnames too.

“How about Dokgo Qyu? Or Seomun Qyu?”

“I said let’s take this seriously.”

We spent quite a while putting our heads together, trying to come up with something.