Became the Academy Romantic Phantom Thief chapter 163

163 – Undeserved Love

“Cut in two?”

What Blanca is trying to say is probably not that the underground space is physically split in two.

The members split into two. In other words, it would mean that a faction was formed.

“But… From the outside, it looked fine.”

I didn’t quite understand. Looking back at the underground scene we had just seen, it was hard to see that there was a problem.

If I had to say anything strange, at most it was that Drake’s expression wasn’t good.

“Because the hero has returned. Everyone is happy right now, but the truth is, it feels like it’s slowly rotting from the depths.”

“What was it that split you in two?”

For factions to arise, of course, there must be a reason behind them.

The first reason that comes to mind is probably because someone is greedy for power.

“Lee Yoo-ra… Do you remember what we heard here last time?”

“Yes. Mr. Drake is too… He said he seemed preoccupied with the other side.”

Using phantom thieves as a means rather than a goal. It was a fact that could easily be grasped by paying a little attention to Drake’s words and actions.

“That was the problem. Others noticed one by one.”

Blanca let out a deep sigh.

“More and more people are suspicious of Drake.”

She listened to her story and made a careful decision. Is this really an element that would benefit me now?

At first glance, it sounded pretty good. I felt like I could bring Drake out of his position if I exploited the gap between them.

However, the opposite case must also be considered. There is a good chance that Drake will use this situation as an opportunity to further solidify his power. He seeks out the hostile forces openly antagonizing him and turns them into his own full-fledged organization.

The most important thing right now is who is the center of the anti-Drake forces.

“Did Mr. Blanca also stand on the other side?”

Considering the attitude she showed a while ago, there was nothing strange about her being attached to that side.

Rather, it was understandable that Blanca was the head of the anti-Drake faction, because she was sincere about her phantom thief.

At my question, Blanca shook her head with a wry smile.

“Baby. Don’t you see me as such a mean b*tch? Anyway, I have no intention of betraying her friends.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that…”

“Okay. What is betrayal at a mere social gathering? We’re not even a great organization.”

I’d probably agree with her, but the current thief followers were already too big to classify as a simple social gathering.

The underground space, which at first seemed overly large, was filled with people and almost bursting with people when I saw it today.

Considering that meetings like this are held every day, I couldn’t even guess how many people would step in even once.

The phantom thief followers have already had considerable influence, and of course the power struggle within them was not something to be taken lightly.

Think of it as a zealot who would sacrifice his life for the phantom thief. At that moment, a dangerous force that may stagger the country itself is born.

“The executives, including me, are still maintaining as much neutrality as possible. Because the moment we take sides, there will be no turning back.”

This is a wise choice. No matter which camp you are in here, if you rashly soak your body, you will inevitably incur the antipathy of the other side.

The best way would be to somehow come up with an appeasement plan to bring the factions back together before they get worse. It’s such an ideal solution that it’s almost impossible in reality.

Yulia, who was listening to her story, asked a question.

“Are you aware of this situation, Mr. Drake?”

“Of course I know. So I guess I’m the only one with a lot of worries. At first, I was able to just move on to a different level of inclination, but as time goes on, it feels like it’s getting more and more extreme.”

“Ah…”

It was only then that I was able to roughly guess what the meaningful conversations I had heard recently meant.

It seems that all the stories that things are changing drastically and that the atmosphere is unusual are all referring to the current situation.

After listening to the story, I was able to understand the situation to some extent, but I still had no idea how to use it.

“Fortunately, thanks to the return of the hero yesterday, the atmosphere has eased a lot.”

“I see. In the end, it’s because we like the hero the same.”

I stared at Yulia in response that was so natural.

I never thought that even Yulia would call the phantom thief a hero. Now she felt completely corrupted as a follower of the phantom thief, so it was quite complicated.

“Then the first step is to find the ringleader.”

If you don’t intend to leave it as it is, whether it’s by talking out and reaching an agreement or kicking it out of the organization with a hard line, the first priority is to find out the ringleader who created the faction.

Since the size of their followers is larger than expected, it may be quite difficult to find if you are determined to hide in the crowd.

“Of course, we want to do that too, but it’s not as easy as we thought. Can’t you just call everyone together and tell them to come out? If that happens, it’s like officially acknowledging that there is a faction.”

“There’s no way I would have come out voluntarily if I said that in the first place.”

Unless there is clear physical evidence, no matter how suspicious it is, there is no way to do anything if the opponent grabs it.

“It is certain that someone is stirring up public opinion behind the scenes, but I have no idea how to find out.”

“It’s a method…”

After thinking about it for a while, I came up with a good idea and suggested it to Blanca.

“How about this?”

“Huh? Is there any good way?”

“I am infiltrating the opposing faction myself.”

She listens to my strategy and shows her interest.

“Is that possible?”

“Unlike Blanca, I don’t know her face well. If I pretend to be dissatisfied with Drake, the other side will most likely contact me first.”

“Of course it is, but it would be difficult to meet the instigator all at once.”

“That’s it, just go up slowly. Besides, since I’m close with Mr. Blanca, wouldn’t the other side try to use it if I leaked that fact?”

Yulia spoke softly, slightly squinting her eyes.

“Certainly, if she spreads false information that her sister is dissatisfied with Mr. Drake, the other party may approach her, but… On the contrary, there is a possibility of avoiding it because I do not want to get involved with the executives.”

“Anything is better than standing still, right?”

In the end, neither of them came up with a better idea than my proposal, so my plan went through without incident.

Good. If he made good use of this opportunity, he seemed to be able to defeat Drake more easily than he thought.

It’s a bit awkward to be a faction formed because I love phantom thieves, but anyway, there was a faction with antipathy to Drake within the organization, and there was no reason not to use it.

“Then from now on, we must trust ourselves and wait.”

“Mr. Blanca. May I ask you one question?”

“Why are you talking so loudly? Are you thinking of going out with me?”

I also asked her straight-forward to her usual way of telling her obscenity.

“If you had to choose between Drake and Raven, who would you choose?”

“···What kind of question is that? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Because you never know. There is no way that this will always be resolved peacefully.”

Blanca answered with her hard tone.

“Your question is wrong. The faction that was created now is people who like the hero, not the hero. If you’re going to compare like that, wouldn’t it be right that the leader of the faction should be the hero?”

Um. I’m not the ringleader, but I’m going to be a part of it from now on.

Her mouth itched, wondering if she would just reveal it, but since she wasn’t confident enough to deal with the aftermath, she decided to hold it in for now.

“Then what if I had to choose just one of the two for a simple comparison?”

“Baby. Are you jealous? So that’s why you’re asking questions like this. Right?”

I wondered if such a story would come out even in this situation, but I roughly nodded my head, wanting to hear the answer.

“Yes. So tell me.”

“I told you the other day. To me, the unconditional hero comes first.”

Why? Such a question came out of nowhere.

Yulia, I think you can do that. At the art gallery, she heard the story of why she became interested in Raven.

So, is that kind of inside story hidden from Blanca too? To be honest, I could barely understand it with only one person, but it felt a bit difficult when there were two of us.

Suddenly, out of pure curiosity, I spit out one more question.

“What would you do if you actually met the phantom thief?”

“That’s right, as soon as we met…”

The ensuing 10 minutes of endless talk was filled with so many horrifying and shocking things that I couldn’t even remember.

I seriously reconsidered the existing strategy to reveal myself underground.