Chapter 36 : Head of the Academic Class
On the desk in the room, piles of documents were stacked here and there.
"...Quite a lot."
A middle-aged man muttered as he looked through the documents.
All the documents here were admission applications for the Flying Dragon Academy this year.
A huge amount of applications at a glance.
The middle-aged man's gaze was now quite displeased with that fact.
Swoosh—
Just then, the middle-aged man's gaze turned to the man standing nearby.
"I'm sure I ordered you to be selective and receive the applications on the last day."
"That... I did as you instructed, Head."
"And still this much?"
Hearing the man's words, the middle-aged man, Cha Yul-ryeong, had a face that showed he couldn't understand at all.
If he had done as he had instructed, there was no way this much of an application would be piled up here.
Since a considerable number of applicants flocked to the Flying Dragon Academy every year, Cha Yul-ryeong had taken a measure from the registration stage for this year's entrance exam, unlike before.
"Ma Dongpal and Ak Simin, what on earth did those brats do?"
As Namgung Il had expected, it was the Flying Dragon Academy, Cha Yul-ryeong's instruction, that had placed Ma Dongpal at that entrance.
To conduct a censorship like that on the last day when the most people flocked.
Let those with some skill pass and not let those who don't. That was the instruction Cha Yul-ryeong had given to those two.
"Ma Dongpal has fallen."
"What?"
"When I went to the entrance later, he was being beaten up by people."
"..."
"Ak Simin... he said he did his best, but I don't know for sure."
Hah—
Hearing that, Cha Yul-ryeong let out a deep sigh.
'If I had known, I shouldn't have entrusted the work to the brats from the Vermilion Bird class.'
Still, since they were third-year students, he had thought they would be useful to some extent.
But to think they would be beaten up by mere applicants and obediently open the entrance.
There was no greater disgrace to the academy than this.
"It can't be helped. Still, this is a considerable reduction compared to last year..."
It was then.
The sound of footsteps grew louder from outside the door, and someone roughly opened the door and came in.
"Cha Yul-ryeong!"
The man who came in shouted in a loud voice without any warning.
Cha Yul-ryeong looked at him with an expressionless face.
Soon, the man who had come in walked right up to Cha Yul-ryeong's nose.
"What on earth is this?"
"..."
"Why did you take our Vermilion Bird class students without permission and make them do a dangerous job!"
"...Calm down first, Head Ho."
The name of the man who had barged into the room without any warning was Ho Jeong-won.
In terms of rank within the Flying Dragon Academy, he was a head of an academic class, which could be said to be the same as Cha Yul-ryeong.
However, Cha Yul-ryeong was the head of the Azure Dragon class, and Ho Jeong-won was the head of the Vermilion Bird class.
"Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down now?"
"..."
"Our student came back all beaten up. And it turns out that the cause was a job you ordered without my permission. Tell me why I should calm down here."
Ho Jeong-won was on the verge of rushing at Cha Yul-ryeong at any moment.
After all, since Cha Yul-ryeong had done such a thing without the permission of him, the head of the Vermilion Bird class, he couldn't help but be angry.
Moreover, since Ma Dongpal was now receiving treatment after being beaten up like a dog on a hot day, Ho Jeong-won was even more angry about this incident.
"It was your students who answered that they would do it."
"...What?"
"When I said I would give them extra points, they readily accepted."
When Cha Yul-ryeong said that, Ho Jeong-won's impression became even more grim than before.
Of course, it might have been those two who had answered that they would do it first, but in any case, wasn't it a fact that Cha Yul-ryeong had exposed his students to danger?
If he had known this fact in advance, he would never have allowed those two to do such a thing.
"You must have known what would happen if you controlled the entrance like that."
"..."
"And yet you made my students do such a thing. Am I wrong?"
"No, I didn't expect it."
"...?"
"They were too weak than I expected. To think they couldn't even block that..."
Screech—
It was then.
A sword coming out of its sheath with a sharp sound.
The sword that Ho Jeong-won was holding was now aimed precisely at Cha Yul-ryeong's neck.
"..."
Even though a sword was aimed at his neck, Cha Yul-ryeong had a calm expression.
Seeing that, Ho Jeong-won said in a low voice.
"If you keep running that mouth of yours so carelessly, your neck will fly off."
"...Can you handle it?"
"..."
"It's better not to do something you can't handle, Ho Jeong-won."
The momentum of the two was very tense, as if they would not yield to each other even a little.
It was a touch-and-go situation that could explode at any moment.
Just then, another person's voice was heard from the entrance.
"What are you doing now?"
At that moment, the gazes of the two turned to one place at once.
Seo Shinwon, who was looking at the two with a firm expression from the entrance, who knows when he had come here.
Even the two who had been emitting a murderous aura until just now could no longer act like that in front of Seo Shinwon.
"P-president!"
"It would be better to put that back for now."
"...!"
When Seo Shinwon said that, Ho Jeong-won hurriedly put the sword he was holding back into its sheath.
And a moment of silence followed.
Seo Shinwon looked at the two alternately and then opened his mouth.
"What were you people, who are teachers, doing here?"
"..."
"Especially Head Ho, you get excited too easily. Didn't I warn you from before that it's your advantage but also your disadvantage?"
"B-but, President!"
Since it was in front of Seo Shinwon, Ho Jeong-won would have just been quiet if possible.
But this situation was so clearly Cha Yul-ryeong's fault.
Ho Jeong-won pointed at Cha Yul-ryeong with his finger and stated his grievance.
"Head Cha took out the students of the Vermilion Bird class without my permission and ended up hurting them!"
"I know."
"...You knew? What on earth do you mean by that?"
"I was the one who entrusted that job."
When Seo Shinwon said that, Ho Jeong-won couldn't help but be surprised.
On the other hand, Cha Yul-ryeong maintained a calm expression.
Seo Shinwon turned his gaze to Cha Yul-ryeong and continued to open his mouth.
"I'm sure I entrusted this entrance exam to you. But I never meant for you to handle it in this way."
"..."
"Not only did you control the number of people so that they couldn't even register, but you also hurt a student. What happened, Head Cha?"
"...This is all for the academy."
After a long silence, Cha Yul-ryeong answered.
"Every year, a huge number of applicants flock to the Flying Dragon Academy."
"..."
"Accordingly, it is becoming more and more difficult to select talented people. In such a situation, I thought that in order to select talented people who are more suitable for the Flying Dragon Academy, we must select them thoroughly from the registration stage."
What Cha Yul-ryeong was saying was by no means wrong.
Because the number of people who could enter the Flying Dragon Academy was always limited compared to the number of people who increased every year.
If they had selected only students with a certain level of qualification from the registration stage, they might have been able to select students more conveniently in the later exams.
However.
"Receive applications for one more day tomorrow."
"...!"
"Of course, don't limit the number of people on that day like today."
Seo Shinwon immediately ordered Cha Yul-ryeong.
At that moment, Cha Yul-ryeong's eyes widened noticeably.
Even Cha Yul-ryeong, who had not shown much emotion on his face until now, was quite flustered by the order just now.
"Wh-what do you mean by that!"
"The Flying Dragon Academy is a place that is open to all students. So your method is not suitable for our academy."
"...Do you mean that we should accept all students who are not qualified?"
"Whether they are qualified or not can be judged through the exam. So don't unilaterally judge and deprive students of that opportunity."
"..."
Cha Yul-ryeong did not answer and maintained his silence.
No matter how much he had been given the authority, the real power in the Flying Dragon Academy was, after all, Seo Shinwon.
So he had no choice but to follow those words.
In the end, Cha Yul-ryeong forced himself to open his mouth and answer.
"...I understand."
When Cha Yul-ryeong answered, Seo Shinwon's gaze moved to Ho Jeong-won.
"And I will take responsibility for the injury of the Vermilion Bird class student and make sure there are no aftereffects."
"..."
"So would you forgive Head Cha for acting like that?"
Hearing that, Ho Jeong-won slightly turned his gaze and looked at Cha Yul-ryeong.
If he had his way, he wanted to hear an apology directly from that brat's mouth, but since Seo Shinwon had said so, he could no longer drag this matter on.
"...I understand."
"Thank you."
"..."
"Head Cha."
Before leaving the room, Seo Shinwon called for Cha Yul-ryeong one last time.
"Although I think the method was a little clumsy, I know well your heart for the academy."
"..."
"Also, you are a person with sufficient ability. So I will continue to entrust this entrance exam to you."
"...Yes, I understand."
Hearing the answer, Seo Shinwon finally left the room.
A moment later, Ho Jeong-won looked at Cha Yul-ryeong with a displeased gaze.
He was about to leave the room as well, but he felt that his mind would not be clear if he didn't say a word to Cha Yul-ryeong before that.
"Be careful in the future."
"..."
"If something like this happens again, I won't just let it go."
Although Ho Jeong-won warned him, Cha Yul-ryeong did not answer.
Seeing that, Ho Jeong-won left the room.
The man who had been here from the beginning had been holding his breath until now and was cautiously watching Cha Yul-ryeong's expression.
"H-head...?"
At that moment, the man couldn't say anything.
That murderous expression that clearly showed he was in a very bad mood.
Since he felt that the sparks would fly to him for no reason, the man quietly returned to his seat and tried his best not to make eye contact with Cha Yul-ryeong.
"An academy that is open to all students... wrong. So very wrong."
A sense of displeasure was felt in his voice.
Cha Yul-ryeong looked at the entrance where Seo Shinwon had left and continued to mutter for a while.
* * *
Kuh—
Yeonghwa tilted her cup and let out a sigh like an old man.
Namgung Il looked at her from the opposite side with a pathetic expression.
As if she had already forgotten that she had thrown up on the street just this afternoon, Yeonghwa was tilting her cup during dinner in the evening as well.
"Just one bottle. No more than that."
"Hehe, I know."
"..."
It seemed she had answered like that yesterday as well.
Anyway, he would make sure she didn't drink more than that one bottle today.
"The side drink you have with your meal is the most delicious."
"..."
"But still, it seems a little lacking..."
Yeonghwa muttered and glanced at Namgung Il.
Yeonghwa's wish was felt in her gaze even if she didn't say anything.
But Namgung Il answered in a firm voice.
"No. If I make you liquor, you'll just drink it all at once again."
"No way! How can I drink all that precious liquor at once?"
"I'd rather believe Namgung Ji. Anyway, I have no intention of making liquor for a while."
"Th-that's..."
Yeonghwa bowed her head in frustration.
'How can she drink better than my master?'
No, that wasn't drinking well, but drinking without a plan.
His master also drank a lot, but he controlled his drinking so that it wouldn't interfere with his daily life.
But in Yeonghwa's case, it could be said that she was just pouring it into her mouth.
They say a late bloomer is scary... Since the first liquor she had drunk was also the one he had made, it seemed she was running wild like this now.
'Master... Come to think of it, I wonder how the Beggars' Sect is doing now.'
He had died in the battle with the Blood Demon without even preparing a proper successor.
The Beggars' Sect must have been in considerable chaos after that.
Still, the remaining brats would be leading the Beggars' Sect well on their own, but as a person who had once been the leader of the Beggars' Sect, he couldn't help but be concerned about the current state of the Beggars' Sect.
"How dare a beggar try to come in here!"
It was then.
Someone's shout was heard from the entrance of the inn.
Namgung Il was drawn to the sound and his gaze naturally went that way.
'A beggar?'
Namgung Il reacted to that word without realizing it.
No matter how he looked now, his roots were, after all, a beggar.
But of course, that shout was not directed at Namgung Il, and Namgung Il's gaze turned to the real beggar standing at the entrance.
'That brat is...'
The knot on the belt that the beggar was wearing.
One knot, two knots, three knots... eight knots?
The current disciple of the Beggars' Sect leader, just like him in the past, was standing there.
(End of Chapter)