“Well… So, what story should I start with?”
It wasn’t enough to pick a place where there were few people, and only after setting a barrier to block the sound did Rev Dunkinson start talking.
“As I said earlier, I came to you for something related to the association.”
“Is it important?”
“What… can you see that I don’t know why you asked me to do that.”
He sips a sip of hot coffee and savors it.
“First of all, the Orge Academy here is, on the surface, an independent educational institution, but in reality, it is not so. Of course, there are a lot of places and interests intertwined. Especially… If it is an association, it is bound to become even more closely entangled.”
Saying so, he muttered in a muffled voice.
“And you know, I’m also entangled with your clan. As can be seen from the case of Shin Woo-seok, who came in a few days ago under the name of external advisor. Other than that, like the Ten Rivers or other guilds… .”
“So, it’s very embarrassing because you’re stuck in the middle right now, isn’t it?”
Rev Dunkinson snapped his fingers at my words.
“That’s right.”
In fact, if you think about it a little, you can figure it out.
Recently, the confrontation between the Ten Rivers, the World Tree, and the Association has become so blatant and harsh that even ordinary people can notice it.
But since yesterday, everything has turned around.
For a while, I wondered if public opinion would flow against this side, but at the same time as the actual conditions of the upbringing and association were revealed, things like the truth of the Minerva attack that we had been leaking little by little during that time were re-examined.
Unless you’re an idiot, you’d be able to recognize that you’ve been working here.
And, of course, Rev Dunkinson wasn’t stupid.
“Oh, and… I have to tell you this to talk any more.”
He let out a small sigh as he looked at Choi Hyun-woo, who was sitting by my side as if he was guarding me, who showed a rare hesitation.
“Are you going to keep it a secret too?”
Hyunwoo Choi nodded without answering.
Dunkinson quietly opened his mouth, whether that alone was enough of an answer.
“actually… The president of the Orge Academy here is my maternal grandfather.”
Saying so, he waved his hand as if not to be misunderstood.
“That does not mean that I have done anything wrong or that I have been benefited. Believe this.”
“Yes. believe.”
Rev Dunkinson was a man with the ability to get what he wanted without having to rely on that background.
He looked at me as if in a little surprise at my answer and nodded.
“Anyway, thanks to you, I know to some extent how the inside of the academy works. In fact, the reason I came to you today is also because of what my grandfather said.”
“Are you the chairman?”
“okay.”
He muttered as if he was genuinely in pain.
“As you said earlier, we are in a very awkward situation. The people on the top are going to explode in their heads right now because they openly confronted the association. Still, the association’s pressure to secretly stick to their side is going too far these days… .”
“Senior, I’m telling you just in case.”
“yes?”
“I can’t do anything. Because I’m not that strong.”
At that, he quickly waved his hand.
“Oh, no, no. something like that I misunderstood Jihyuk didn’t come here to ask you anything or to do that.”
“then… .”
“Are you still a student?”
He sniffed and sniffed.
“And this is an academy that teaches such students. But why would I ask you to do such a thing?”
Saying so, he pulled something out of his arms and held it to me.
“I’m here to give you this.”
“What is this?”
“It’s kind of a privilege.”
He swung the document towards me and said.
“Whatever you say, Jihyuk was lucky that you were seriously injured. So it was a lot easier to write.”
I glanced at him with a chuckle and a good smile and looked over what he had handed me, and I quietly expressed my feelings.
“… It says that you can legally miss class.”
“What? How great is that, what kind of premature ejaculation are you talking about?”
Rev Dunkinson mumbled that with an absurd look on his face.
“This is a kind of declaration that the Orge Academy will give you the first priority to protect and defend you right now, if anyone puts pressure on you.”
He blinked his eyes for a moment and continued explaining.
“Furthermore, if you think it is necessary according to your judgment, it is possible to refuse at any time, even during classes or schedules. First of all, since this place is designated as an extraterritorial jurisdiction, no matter where you come from the police or the prosecution, I can’t even touch you.”
As he spoke, he quietly nodded.
“… Having said that, it’s really the best premature ejaculation. Those are things that can be handled without any problems with attendance or grades. If I had it, I would have stayed in the dormitory until graduation and just slept.”
“But why are you doing this… .”
“Because anyone who sees it was looking for you. And so blatantly disgusting.”
He ruffled his hair roughly as if he had a headache.
“It’s Grandpa’s words. Fighting amongst themselves is good, but touching students is not acceptable. That’s why I wrote this early before it’s too late. Growing up with him, I was thinking the same thing.”
Rev Dunkinson looked at me with languid eyes, as always.
“I put a member of the upbringing team here with a promise to attack, and considering what they are doing along the way, I’m sure they will try again in the near future. Apparently, we have no choice but to be tied to the association the most, so if we put a lot of pressure on the stomach and talk about it in the name of linking activities, we have no choice but to do it.”
“Ah, so… .”
“Yeah, with this, no matter what they do, I can buy some time to deal with it. You have the best excuse that you are not in good shape, and even you are a clan of the World Tree.”
“… thank you.”
I bowed my head to him and thanked him for his favor.
Then he was silent for a moment and then opened his mouth quietly.
“It is a place that my grandfather raised me and my father tried to protect it even at the cost of his life. People who try to drag a place like this into a battlefield of strife in this way are also out of line here.”
“By the way, isn’t this clearly an act of excess?”
“right. You’ll probably get really pissed off about this later. But it doesn’t matter.”
He said it was nothing, but he could vaguely notice that it wasn’t the only thing.
But I just silently nodded as if I didn’t notice anything.
We all knew that I noticed, and that he also noticed what I noticed, but we didn’t dare say it.
“So, by any chance, if I end up with an ugly hair on the association because of this later, please take care of me later? Why, the last time something happened, you said you would accept it.”
He giggled as if joking and burst into laughter with a light attitude.
“Then I will go. Listen carefully to class.”
As we walked with a slow gait, he waved helplessly towards us.
Choi Hyun-woo, who looked at him without saying a word, suddenly let out a sigh and said:
“My head hurts, it’s an adult job.”
“That’s right. This kind of headache is not my specialty.”
At those words, Choi Hyun-woo suddenly burst out laughing.
“Jihyuk, isn’t your specialty in women’s relationships?”
“… … .”
When I looked at him like he was puzzled, he made a face as if he was wondering what the problem was, and lifted his phone.
“I still got a text from Sooyoung.”
“Oh yeah? What is Sooyoung?”
“They said the class was just over, and they came with Yeseul. Yuna says she’s a little late because of something?”
Having said that, he gulped and chewed on the ice as usual.
As he said, Han Soo-young and Jin Ye-seul arrived shortly thereafter, and there was an unexpected person beside them.
“Senior Yeon-kyung?”
“Hairong.”
The person who came with me was none other than the lecturer.
“Wow, Jihyuk, your complexion has improved a lot? When I saw it back then, it was nothing like a mountain mortuary… Ugh, this guy’s mouth is bangjeong, bangjeong.”
She smiled broadly and slapped her in the mouth instead of saying hello.
“I met you earlier. Jihyuk is looking for you.”
Kang Kang-kyung had only one reason to look for me.
She nodded and handed me the paper bag she was holding.
“Come on, this one.”
“What is this?”
“Check it out for yourself. Yeeun sent it.”
I opened the envelope handed to her and checked the inside.
I picked up what was inside and pulled it out.
“Is it a blanket?”
The blanket inside was quite high-quality, enough to be recognized even by a slight touch.
“I also have a scarf. The weather suddenly turns cold around this time. Then you should be careful not to catch a cold.”
Seok-kyung said so and nodded her head.
“Why don’t you check it out properly? Because he asked me over and over again… Yeeun is also really like a child in a useless place she sent herself? It’s not what he sent, but what I sent. Who the hell would believe that?”
As I touched the scarf at the grumbled words of Kyung Hee Kang, I could feel something inside.
“… … .”
That was the real purpose.
Naturally, I put the blanket inside the bag and organized it.
“I’m sorry for making you come all the way here, senpai. And thank you so much. I will contact you later to thank the owner as well.”
“Hey, why are you so sorry? I feel much better than that, so I’m really happy, Jihyuk-ah.”
“Thanks for your concern.”
“Uh… Well.”
She pouted and pursed her lips.
“I think it’s because other people were more concerned about me than I did.”
Saying that, she looked at Han Soo-young and Jin Ye-seul alternately with a smile.
“What… over there.”
Then she muttered quietly as she glanced at one place.
“Somehow, I think I did something wrong.”
* * *
“I’m sorry, can you hold on a little longer? I’ll release it to a wider area soon.”
Lee Yu-na was holding a small fishbowl and an envelope with various items in her arms.
In the fishbowl, the fish Yoo Ji-hyeok was raising were squeaking and swimming.
These were the things Yoo Ji-hyeok left behind when he hurriedly left for Minerva’s subjugation.
As soon as the subjugation was over, he fell in serious condition and was taken to the hospital, and in the process, he took important things, but the things he didn’t take care of had just arrived.
“… … .”
And among them was a blanket that she bought impulsively on her way home from outside.
By this time, she was well aware from the bitter memories of the past that the weather would suddenly get chilly for a few days.
Although Yoo Ji-hyeok has been recovering at an alarming rate recently, that does not change the fact that he is a patient who still needs treatment.
It was clear that the cold wind would not be good for him as a patient.
“But what did you buy this for?”
Even if she thought about it herself, she couldn’t understand it at all.
It’s about a blanket. You just need to get it in moderation. Why did you even have to pay to buy a new one?
It wasn’t a luxury item or something enchanted, it was just an ordinary ready-made item.
No, the world tree clan… For Yoo Ji-hyeok, a member of his family, it would be just cheap.
It was something she bought with a big heart for herself.
“… If you don’t like it, I’ll write it.”
Lee Yu-na, who had been muttering like that, was able to arrive at the place she had heard from Choi Hyun-woo in a short time.
And as soon as she saw Yoo Ji-hyuk holding a blanket, she quickly hid herself without realizing it.
It was so impulsive that he couldn’t even figure it out himself.
Even moving her magical powers to hide her presence was so natural and flowing, she muttered quietly.
“… why?”
Why the hell are you hiding?
Before that, it was… .
What Jihyuk was holding was obviously a blanket… .
“… … .”
Lee Yu-na looked down at the blanket she had brought without saying a word.
It was the prettiest and warmest thing that he had carefully picked out and brought, but looking back, he looked so shabby that it could not be compared with the one he had just been holding.
“… … .”
She simply looked down at the blanket without a word.
Then, quietly, he transferred it into the envelope of his belongings.
* * *
“It looks better than I thought.”
Lee Myung-jun, who was waiting for someone, said so as soon as he saw the person who had arrived.
“okay? Then I’m happy.”
And Alice Blesbuck, a red-haired woman who arrived late, smiled playfully.
Lee Myung-jun could easily read the fatigue, fear, and anxiety that could not be erased from her face.
“Let’s go to our guild first. And after resting there for a few days… .”
“no.”
Alice Blesbuck shook her head.
“There are people I need to meet first.”
Alice Blesbuck smiled weakly.
“Ryle and Jihyuk. We need to meet these two.”
She said, blinking hard.
“I have to meet you and tell you everything.”
She closed her eyes as she exhaled a deep breath.
“Before it’s too late, everything.”