Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67
It was early Friday morning, in the Hall of Justice.
The reckless notion of a joint club was proceeding rather smoothly.
That was entirely thanks to Yu Hyeonjeong, the Student Council President, biting eagerly at the bait called Lee Eunho and stepping forward with enthusiasm. She had already distributed an internal official notice to the various departments on campus and had even secured declarations of participation from nearly a majority.
As I had said before, if not for her tendency to pursue excessively perfect results, Yu Hyeonjeong’s work was excellent.
Still, it weighed on me that I was using her.
Because in the original story, she was not chosen by Lee Eunho.
“Well, I already entered a different timeline from the original. No one can know what will happen later.”
In any case, after receiving Yu Hyeonjeong’s summons, I arrived at the Hall of Justice and waited for the elevator in the quiet atmosphere.
Today was a campus holiday, and it was still early enough that departmental activities had not begun.
Soon, the elevator arrived. I stepped inside and touched the floor where the classrooms were.
After a few seconds riding upward—
─The doors are opening.
As the announcement played and the doors slid open, my eyes met those of a cadet who had been waiting for the elevator.
“…Ah.”
“…”
It was Do Minyeong.
Why was she stopping by the Hall of Justice at this hour?
As far as I knew, she did not participate in any departmental activities besides the Student Council…
Had she come to see Yu Hyeonjeong, since they were both in the Student Council?
In that brief moment, several possibilities crossed my mind.
In truth, it was something I could have asked directly, but I had not spoken to her since the Spring Scholastic War.
It was not a matter of pride.
By the time I decided I should apologize after the incident ended, our relationship had already drifted far apart.
Do Minyeong treated me as though I were an extra who interfered with her studies.
Meaning, exactly the way she treated other cadets as well.
In the end, it was something I had brought upon myself, yet the relationship was not all that uncomfortable.
For good reason: Do Minyeong successfully transferred departments once the first semester ended.
After that, the Investigation Division, which already had little presence, was barely mentioned at all, and the narrative focus shifted completely to the Combat Division.
Of course, it was questionable whether the original story would remain intact once the second semester began, but from the second semester onward, Ji Seokhyeon of the Investigation Division would fall entirely out of the main narrative.
Naturally, I would have less need to come into contact with Do Minyeong, who would be under Lee Eunho’s protection in the Combat Division. And if a situation arose where I had to intervene, I could use Lee Eunho from behind the scenes just as I had been doing now.
She was not the perceptive type, so even if I revealed myself as a Phantom Thief, there would likely be no problem.
In any event, I intended to wait until Do Minyeong’s anger softened.
It was also a good opportunity to widen the distance between us.
“Go ahead.”
“Ah… okay.”
When I vacated the elevator, she promptly went down to the lower floor.
Watching the doors close firmly, I muttered softly.
“Tsk. But it seems less like she is angry and more like she is sulking.”
***
When the elevator doors opened, Do Minyeong headed for the vending machines in the first-floor lobby.
‘So you are not even going to say hello?’
Stomp, stomp.
A stride somewhat at odds with the dignity expected of a direct-line heir.
Reaching the machine, she unhesitatingly selected a carbonated coffee.
The very fuel that the cadet Ji Seokhyeon always kept in his mouth.
Do Minyeong downed it in one go, right there.
“Ugh, it tastes awful.”
Then she dropped the empty can, now stripped of all drink, onto the floor and immediately stomped on it.
CRUNCH-.
The can crumpled flat.
As she picked it back up, Do Minyeong suddenly thought it resembled her own situation.
The sense of kinship with herself, who had flattened her pride just to receive even a token apology…
‘If this was going to happen, I should have brought it up that day…’
In truth, she had come to the Hall of Justice on purpose.
Yesterday, through a conversation between Yu Hyeonjeong and Lee Eunho in the Student Council, she had learned the Mystery Club’s activity time. She had then waited in front of the elevator on purpose, intending to face Ji Seokhyeon alone.
Do Minyeong believed that if they ended up alone together under the guise of coincidence, their relationship might improve. But it had been a completely mistaken judgment.
All it did was prove that in their vague, ambiguous relationship—one formed between two people with miserable social ties—the one who had been relying more on the other was Do Minyeong herself.
‘No, it is not as if I need a friend anyway. If this relationship collapses, then it was only ever worth that much.’
A bit of rationalization, telling herself not to cling to it.
But after dropping the can she had just picked up, Do Minyeong stomped on it hard and muttered,
“Ji Seokhyeon, you petty bastard…!”
***
By the time I arrived at the classroom, everyone involved had already gathered.
Lee Eunho, Cha Yeri, and the outsider Yu Hyeonjeong.
Yun Jeongseop did not attend, apparently busy.
“As per the opinion raised last time, I did not send an official notice to the Superpowered Sports Department. Even so, several departments came first and expressed their intention to participate.”
Yu Hyeonjeong’s voice delivered the situation with precise enunciation.
“If the sports department participates, it would help in many ways, but then it would not be the Autumn Arts War anymore. It would become a Scholastic War. Even if not immediately, they will argue to schedule matches as part of the festival. So I intend to discuss that point with the Vice Principal.”
“…I see. Since the Bureau is trying to shrink the academy league, they might see this as a breakthrough.”
Lee Eunho stroked his chin, agreeing with Yu Hyeonjeong.
I glanced at him, then naturally asked Yu Hyeonjeong,
“How is the Principal’s approval coming along?”
“Not yet. The two of them do not have a particularly good relationship… The Vice Principal wants to gather a clearer justification first. That is why we are trying to gain support from the departments at Hero Prep.”
If things followed the original story, they would obtain Kim Shinwoo’s approval without much difficulty.
I had asked just in case, but it was not something worth worrying about.
Seeing me nod, Yu Hyeonjeong continued.
“The reason I called you today is to visit and persuade the departments that did not respond to the official notice. The Theater Department, the Engineering Department, and the Art Department.”
“…”
Wait. Three departments?
In the original story, it had been two.
The Theater Department and the Engineering Department.
Yu Hyeonjeong had persuaded the Engineering Department, and Lee Eunho and Cha Yeri had persuaded the Theater Department.
But now, the Art Department had suddenly appeared…
This, too, had to be a change in the progression.
A divergence that began from the moment Lee Eunho did not regress.
“Actually, I already assigned one place each before Cadet Ji Seokhyeon arrived. So we do not necessarily have to go together, but…”
Yu Hyeonjeong’s voice trailed off.
Judging by the way she was watching, Lee Eunho seemed to want to move together.
Of course, accommodating that was not difficult.
But… my right to choose had already been taken away.
By a devoted reader.
Title: The Canvas Behind the Scenes
Cast: Ji Seokhyeon, Cha Yeri, Gong Minwu, Jeong Harin
Failure: Decrease in status
It was an Extra Episode unlike the ones before.
The title field, which had always been marked as “None,” was now filled in, and the reward had changed into a penalty upon failure.
Above all, that title was something I had never recorded.
Considering that the episode titles had matched the original story’s subtitles until now, it was an oddly alien change.
I had to assume the devoted reader had deliberately crafted this episode in earnest.
A new writer for the extra parts that the original author had not touched, perhaps.
…It left a bad taste in my mouth.
If I did not choose the Art Department in accordance with the name “Canvas,” I would immediately fail the episode and suffer a decrease in status.
I did not know which status would drop or by how much, but if my agility fell, it would be disastrous.
With no other choice, I resigned myself.
“…I will go to the Art Department.”
“Ah, the Art Department… All right.”
Yu Hyeonjeong looked disappointed, as expected.
Cha Yeri, beside her, also wore a displeased expression.
I could understand her reaction.
For Cha Yeri, who was cautious about being publicly entangled with me, it was bound to feel unpleasant.
Still, was she not being a little too openly hostile…?
Trying to placate her, I continued,
“Anyway, the Art Department’s advisor is Instructor Jeong Harin from the Investigation Division, right? It is not time for departmental activities yet, so we can visit her laboratory here in the Hall of Justice.”
“Oh, so the advisor is an investigation instructor.”
Cha Yeri slightly parted her lips and nodded lightly, as though she truly had not known.
Knowing what lay beneath that, all I could do was let out a hollow laugh.
Once things were roughly settled, Yu Hyeonjeong spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.
“Then let us move right away. Given the nature of this matter, the sooner the better.”
***
The Hall of Justice, the main building of the Investigation Division. The laboratory of Investigation Instructor Jeong Harin.
This place carried a very different atmosphere from the laboratory of Magic Instructor Kim Seulhee.
If that place felt like a library, this one felt like the setting of a detective novel.
Looking at the antique arrangement of furniture, I almost felt as though I ought to go to a bustling street and buy a hunting cap immediately.
“I already checked the official notice distributed by the Student Council. It seems you are planning something on quite a large scale.”
Jeong Harin served tea to Cha Yeri and me, then took out chocolate cookies from the refrigerator.
Even at a glance, the cookies wrapped in luxurious packaging looked temptingly splendid.
As soon as I took a bite, they melted in my mouth with the unmistakable sensation of saying, I am an expensive dessert.
“I was actually preparing a reply to the notice. Refusing without any reason felt discourteous, so I was busy dressing it up with plenty of flattering language.”
“Does that mean the Art Department intends to refuse?”
At Cha Yeri’s question, Jeong Harin offered an awkward smile.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
I asked,
“May I ask the reason?”
“It is not anything grand. The Art Department is already preparing a separate exhibition with another academy.”
The joint club’s primary purpose was exchange with other academies.
As Jeong Harin said, it was a plan that offered little benefit to the Art Department.
And as if to prove she was a former investigator, she had preemptively removed the very grounds we could have used to persuade her.
Cha Yeri seemed to realize that as well, tilting her teacup to her lips with perfect naturalness.
The look on her face said she had nothing to add and wanted me to do the persuading…
Well, I did intend to handle the persuasion anyway, but in truth, my mind was full of questions about this situation rather than any persuasive angle.
The Extra Episode, namely.
In this episode, there was one more character who had not appeared yet.
Gong Minwu.
If I persuaded Jeong Harin without ever encountering him, what would change?
To begin with, was persuasion even the real objective of this episode?
No matter how much I agonized, I could not reach any certainty.
All I could do was focus on what was in front of me.
I pulled a tissue from the table and carefully brushed the cookie crumbs from my hand.
“Is there not another reason your reply was delayed?”
“Pardon?”
“You have a clear reason to refuse. So it feels strange that you say it was delayed because you were adding flattering language. For example… you might be weighing matters between the Principal and the Vice Principal.”
“…”
“If that is the case, it is not a bad judgment. If you refuse and the joint club is established anyway, you would fall out of Vice Principal Park Cheolyeong’s favor. But if you hastily express willingness to participate, it would bother you that Principal Kim Shinwoo has not given any answer yet.”
I watched Jeong Harin’s reaction.
She smiled, as though she found it quite interesting.
“I will offer no comment. In any case, I have just expressed my refusal.”
“That sounds like persuasion would be pointless.”
“I do think well of Cadet Ji Seokhyeon, who always shines his eyes with passion during criminal psychology lectures, but this decision is not one made by Investigation Instructor Jeong Harin. It is a decision made by me as the Art Department’s advisor.”
A stubborn stance.
I began to suspect she was the sort of person who could not be persuaded.
From her very characterization, Jeong Harin was conceived as the opposite of Yun Jeongseop.
Perhaps because of that, rather than delaying decisions like Yun Jeongseop, she often trusted her immediate judgment and carried it through.
A personality that cut cleanly, so to speak.
From the receiving end, she was like a fortress of iron.
I parted my lips to continue.
But then her smartwatch vibrated.
From what I could glimpse, it seemed to be a message from an Art Department member…
“I am sorry, but it would be best to end this here. It seems something happened in the clubroom, so I have to hurry over.”
A problem in the clubroom?
Was this the introduction to the episode…?
Shamelessly, I asked,
“Is it about Gong Minwu?”
“Yes, but how did you know?”
“Ah, he is the only cadet I know there. I just… guessed, pretending familiarity.”
Gong Minwu was an Art Department member.
Despite his appearance, he had a strong interest in art.
More precisely, it was his only hobby.
And moreover, it was the only outlet through which he could escape the pressure directed at him.
Until moments ago, the episode had felt completely opaque, but watching events unfold, I began to see the rough context.
“That is unexpected. To think Cadet Gong Minwu and Cadet Ji Seokhyeon are acquainted…”
“But what happened to him?”
Jeong Harin checked the message again and answered.
“It seems that someone secretly ruined the work that Cadet Gong Minwu was going to submit to the exhibition.”
“…”
It was a shocking report.
To lay hands on the property of Gong Minwu, who stood with Lee Eunho in dividing Hero Prep’s forces…
Compared to the previous episodes, it was a small incident, yet I had already become seriously immersed in this uncanny case.
“Just what kind of lunatic would do that?”