Academy's Delinquent in Charge, Chapter 37
The special class students, having finished their lessons, did not head home but gathered in cozy clusters, animatedly discussing Baek Iljin.
The incident during the sparring match just moments ago had given them a fresh shock. Not a single one of them had expected Ji Taegyeong to lose.
But when the results came in, they completely defied expectations. It wasn't merely a victory—it was perfect domination.
Strange speculations and wild rumors about Baek Iljin spread like wildfire among the students.
They ranged from stories about his combat prowess—whether martial arts was his specialty or magic was.
To tales of his romantic entanglements and relationships with women.
Even his origins—claims that he was the direct disciple of a reclusive master, or that demonic blood ran in his veins.
But Baek Iljin himself showed no reaction to their whispering. Perhaps because of this, the wild rumors within the special class were gradually accepted as fact.
Then, someone spoke up.
“Come to think of it, will Ji Taegyeong be alright?”
“Don't worry, Professor Cheonsu Sinui is in the infirmary.”
“And he probably wasn't hurt as badly as he looks?”
“Exactly. The professor stepped in, so nothing too serious happened.”
Saying this, they stole glances at Baek Iljin. But he seemed deaf to their muttering, sitting still and deep in thought.
Hwangbo Cheolsu shot the whispering students a look before sitting down beside Baek Iljin.
“Iljin, what are you thinking so hard about? Class is over—let's head home.”
Baek Iljin looked up at Hwangbo Cheolsu. Then he asked what had been on his mind.
“Charles, did I go too far?”
At the sudden question, Hwangbo Cheolsu let out a hum and stroked his chin.
“There was a bit of that. He looked somewhat pitiful.”
“Pitiful, you say...”
If even Hwangbo Cheolsu thought so, there was a high chance he had done wrong. Baek Iljin nodded. However, that didn't mean he intended to change his behavior immediately.
‘I know it in my head, but I don't truly understand it yet.’
Being swayed by the words of others when he couldn't feel anything himself was not the proper way to learn emotions.
Yet there was only one reason he asked for others' opinions. He was curious what feelings others experienced when performing such actions.
‘Truly, it is something I know yet cannot comprehend.’
Baek Iljin rose, his thoughts complete. However, Hwangbo Sujeong was nowhere to be seen near Hwangbo Cheolsu.
“I see. But where did Sujeong go?”
“Ah, Crystal said she was joining some club and left early.”
“Club...?”
When Baek Iljin tilted his head in puzzlement, Hwangbo Cheolsu continued.
“I think she said something about a baking and pastry club...”
“Baking and pastry? There's a club for that?”
“Yeah, they make bread, cookies, and candy.”
“Aren't clubs supposed to be places for fighting?”
The image of clubs imprinted on Baek Iljin was that of martial organizations like Blue Rose or the Bloodshed Guild, so the idea of a baking club sounded foreign to him.
“Well, the major clubs are usually like that, but there are plenty of other clubs besides those.”
“I see.”
Then someone cautiously glanced around and approached them. It was Yeo Jawon, who had exchanged blows with Baek Iljin in the class president selection sparring match.
She extended her hand the moment she approached. Baek Iljin reflexively grasped it and shook it.
“Nice to see you, Baek Iljin!”
“Senior Yeo Jawon?”
“Do you have a moment right now?”
Instead of answering, Baek Iljin turned to Hwangbo Cheolsu. Catching his eye, Hwangbo Cheolsu nodded.
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“I'll be direct. Baek Iljin, do you have a club you're interested in?”
Why would she ask about a club all of a sudden? Puzzled, Baek Iljin shook his head.
“I don't.”
“Perfect. Then would you like to join our club?”
As she spoke, Yeo Jawon held something out. It was a club flyer bearing the name “Jeongmudan.”
The elaborately decorated flyer listed the history of Jeongmudan and the various benefits of joining.
‘It has been around for over a hundred years.’
Baek Iljin was inwardly surprised by its lengthy history. After skimming the flyer's contents, he asked quietly,
“Are you asking me to join Jeongmudan?”
“Yes, that's right. It's awkward to say this myself, but our club is quite renowned at the academy.”
“I see.”
Yeo Jawon added,
“We were founded on the principle of using martial arts righteously.”
“Is that so.”
“For your reference, we are the oldest club at the academy. You know what that means, right?”
Indeed, as the oldest club in the academy, Jeongmudan attracted many students hoping to leverage academic connections with its alumni.
Hwangbo Cheolsu, who had been listening blankly, reflexively blurted,
“...Output.”
“Exactly. You know your stuff, Hwangbo Cheolsu.”
Pride filled Yeo Jawon's face as she spoke. She also handed a flyer to Hwangbo Cheolsu, who was standing idly nearby.
“If Baek Iljin joins, I'll even write a special recommendation letter for you, Hwangbo Cheolsu.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu waved his hands in dismay, looking troubled.
“I come from one of the Five Great Families, so...”
Yeo Jawon scrunched up her face oddly before relaxing it. Laughing as if she'd heard something absurd, she countered,
“These days, who cares about the Five Great Families or the Six Great Sects?”
“Huh? But the Five Great Sects and Six Great Families don't really...”
“Those are things only freshmen care about. Once you've spent some time at the academy, you stop worrying about such things.”
Indeed, Jeongmudan counted not only martial artists but also magicians, magic swordsmen, and alchemists among its members.
Hwangbo Cheolsu smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
“I-I see. Still, I'm not interested in clubs yet.”
“I have no intention of joining yet either.”
Hwangbo Cheolsu refused the offer first. Baek Iljin followed suit, declining the recruitment proposal with the same words.
“Still, please reconsider...”
Yeo Jawon, about to insist further, saw Baek Iljin's resolute expression, smacked her lips, and withdrew. Then she bowed her head slightly.
“If you change your mind, please contact me anytime.”
“Understood.”
As Yeo Jawon moved away, other club members rushed to recruit Baek Iljin.
“Wait your turn, I got here first! Baek Iljin, we're an acting club! Ack, don't push!”
“You wait your turn.”
Before long, Baek Iljin's pockets were stuffed with various flyers. Hwangbo Cheolsu's pockets were no different.
Only after receiving every last club flyer did Hwangbo Cheolsu finally catch his breath, grumbling under his breath as he walked out the door.
“Ugh... I'm exhausted. Everyone's really enthusiastic about club promotions.”
“Tell me about it.”
As they walked and talked, they soon arrived at the entrance to the dormitory where Hwangbo Cheolsu lived.
Dragging his feet up the dormitory stairs, Hwangbo Cheolsu grabbed the door and waved goodbye.
“Iljin, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
* * *
Professor Carris's Research Lab, First-Year Basic Magic Studies.
Carris entered his private research lab after class, sighed at the mountain of paperwork, and collapsed into his chair.
“I'm exhausted.”
The papers on his desk were documents Carris had retrieved from the main family's underground warehouse at Lobenain. They were enough to make him sick just looking at them.
“I could use some strong coffee.”
Rubbing his eyes, Carris grabbed the armrest and twisted to stretch. At that moment, the armrest swiveled, sending papers flying everywhere.
“Argh, nothing's going right!”
Flutter—
Amid the scattered papers, a single photograph fell to the floor.
‘What is this?’
Carris picked it up. The photo was blurred, its contents impossible to make out.
‘Encryption magic...?’
Snap—
Carris snapped his fingers and cast a decryption spell. But the encryption magic didn't budge.
No matter how many times he tried, the result was the same.
“Damn it.”
Giving up on decryption magic, Carris channeled mana into his right eye. Gradually, his right eye turned blue.
Insight Eye.
The authority granted only to the direct line of the Lobenain family manifested through his eye.
The encryption had withstood Carris's decryption magic, but it could not evade the Insight Eye. Finally, the photo's contents were revealed.
Carris's eyes widened. The photo was a wanted poster delivered from Telos to the Lobenain family.
‘What the hell...!’
A man's face was printed in black and white, and below it was written his identity.
[Target for Elimination - Heavenly Demon, Cheon Subaek]
[Difficulty: Special]
‘The Heavenly Demon...’
As far as he knew, the Heavenly Demon had died two hundred years ago at the combined hands of the Martial God and Pietro. Since then, neither the Heavenly Demon nor the Heavenly Demon Cult had ever reappeared.
‘Ridiculous.’
The Heavenly Demon had vanished after a span of activity so minor it hadn't warranted a single paragraph in the history books. How could he possibly be connected to Telos, an organization that had been active for less than a hundred years?
‘And this face...’
The face of the Heavenly Demon, which he should have been seeing for the first time, was unmistakably familiar.
‘He looks like that kid.’
‘Resembles’? No, they could have been cast from the same mold.
If there was any difference, it was that the Heavenly Demon in the photo was smiling brightly, whereas the kid he knew was always expressionless.
‘That kid never fails to surprise people.’
First, he needed to properly understand the relationship between Telos and the Heavenly Demon. With his current knowledge, there was no way to learn more.
Carris clutched his head and groaned in frustration.
‘Should I go to the library?’
Carris shook his head. There was no guarantee he'd find the information there, and even if he did, he'd probably be an eighty-year-old man by the time he finished searching.
‘I should ask someone who'd know.’
Carris considered people around him who would know their history.
‘Hmm, the history professor is away on business, Armut is just someone I don't want to ask, I can't go to the headmaster... Ah!’
A person suddenly came to mind, and Carris headed for the faculty lounge.
* * *
In the academy faculty lounge, Samajin was smoking a cigarette and drinking a cup of strongly brewed coffee.
Just then, Carris entered carrying macarons.
Carris waved enthusiastically upon seeing Samajin. Then he handed him a macaron.
“Oh, Professor Samajin. Long time no see.”
“Yes, it has been a very long time—we saw each other yesterday, after all.”
Carris giggled, picked up Samajin's coffee from beside him, and gulped it down. Samajin's brows furrowed, but he didn't say a word.
Carris scrunched up his face, coughed violently, and spat the coffee out onto the floor.
“Ugh—Professor Samajin, this isn't coffee, it's practically like eating shit.”
“It's coffee with eight extra shots. When you're smoking, this is the only way to drink it.”
Carris made a bitter face and sat down beside Samajin. Then he held out his fingers and said,
“Give me one too.”
“Aren't you a non-smoker?”
“True, but I feel like having one today.”
The cigarette from Samajin was lit. Gray smoke filled his lungs before being exhaled again.
The smoke he exhaled filled the lounge. Carris stared blankly at the smoke, then suddenly spoke.
“Hoo—Professor Samajin, may I ask you something?”
Samajin looked at Carris. Without his usual playfulness, he looked quite serious.
“Do I need to answer honestly?”
“Yes.”
Samajin looked at Carris, who had suddenly turned serious, and pushed up his rimless glasses. It was his habit when something weighed on his mind.
Having finished deliberating, Samajin nodded as if he had no choice and said,
“Yes, Professor Carris. Go ahead. I'll answer anything within my knowledge.”
“Do you know of the Heavenly Demon?”