Chapter 89: Festival – Contract (7)

A day before the final exam.

After class, Ryozo gathered the club members, including me, in the Exploration Club classroom. Once everyone was present, Ryozo pulled out a stack of papers from her backpack.

“…Did you do all this in such a short time?”

I alternated my gaze between the documents and Ryozo, incredulous.

“Yes, but I only printed them out; I haven’t reviewed them yet. Now it’s time to check them.”

Shrugging, Ryozo responded casually. I frowned as I looked at the pile of documents again.

‘This isn’t just a list.’

It contained detailed personal data of employees, a comparative record of lists, and even suspicious movements of certain individuals. It was hard to believe she had prepared all this in less than two days.

‘I knew she could pull this off when she put her mind to it.’

Ryozo’s motivation, surely fueled by the promised reward, seemed to transform her into a completely different person. I wondered what kind of favor she would ask in return for this effort. An unsettling feeling crept over me, but I remembered she had said it wouldn’t be anything material.

“…Hey, President, is this really okay?”

Speedweapon, who was flipping through the papers, spoke with a hesitant tone.

“No matter how much the goal is to find infiltrated villains, this is practically a crime… And, Ryozo, seriously? Did you even write down how many times they went to the bathroom? What about their human rights?”

“It was already a crime the moment I hacked the system. Now you’re worried about that?”

“Hey! Even crimes have limits! This is way too much.”

“Sure, sure, the knight in shining armor has arrived to save the day.”

Ryozo replied sarcastically, making Speedweapon’s expression twist with indignation. I placed a hand on his shoulder and shook my head.

“Even the smallest bit of information can be useful.”

“Ugh, when you put it that way…”

I understood Speedweapon’s stance. From a moral perspective, what we were doing was wrong. But we didn’t have the time to beat around the bush.

‘Still, thanks to members like Speedweapon, we can stay within certain limits.’

To be honest, aside from him and me, the others’ sense of morality was somewhat… vague. Chloe, being a former assassin, was understandable. But Ryozo, with her cold pragmatism, also had a tendency to justify the means by the ends.

Senior Ha-na, for her part, peacefully enjoyed her books and tea, never intervening in dubious situations. She neither stopped them nor encouraged them—she simply observed with a mysterious smile while adjusting her glasses.

Looking at it objectively, the three girls in the club had personalities that were far from conventional. I patted Speedweapon on the back as a gesture of reassurance and spoke calmly.

“I’ll destroy all this information when we’re done. So don’t worry too much. Right, Ryozo?”

I gestured at her with my chin to confirm, and she nodded without hesitation. Finally, Speedweapon let out a sigh of relief. I smiled, satisfied.

“Anyway, as Ryozo has probably already told you, our Exploration Club will be working during the final exams to identify infiltrated villains. Any questions?”

“Me.”

Senior Ha-na suddenly raised her hand. Her glasses gleamed as she asked her question in a soft voice:

“Can I know where this information comes from?”

“……”

As soon as she finished her question, all eyes were on me.

‘She hit the one thing I wanted to avoid.’

I couldn’t reveal Choi Seol-Ah’s existence. Although she had lost her magical power, she was still a villain, and admitting I was working with her would require too much explanation.

Besides, Chloe had been quite calm lately, but if she found out I was working with an attractive villain like Choi Seol-Ah… well, I didn’t want to imagine what she would do with her pink knife.

I shot a quick glance at Chloe before speaking.

“I can’t say right now, Senior. But I can guarantee that it’s a reliable source.”

“Oh?”

‘Reliable’ was a somewhat misleading word, but after having taken the “Stallion Emblem” from Choi Seol-Ah, there was no way she would dare betray me. She knew exactly what would happen if she did.

“At some point, I’ll tell you who the source is. But now isn’t the right time.”

“Alright, that’s fine.”

Senior Ha-na nodded slowly. It was hard to read her intentions with her glasses obscuring her eyes. Sometimes she seemed like a model student, but at other times she acted with a playful, mischievous air.

‘Out of all the club members, she’s the hardest to read.’

Even Ryozo, although she didn’t show it, observed Ha-na with caution.

When my eyes met Ha-na’s, she smiled faintly and rested her chin on her hand. A sense of déjà vu washed over me.

‘Who does she remind me of…?’

I shook my head to dispel those thoughts. The atmosphere felt tense, as if everyone was waiting for me to speak again. They trusted me, and their gazes showed it.

I took a deep breath and spoke firmly.

“Then, I officially declare the first meeting of the Exploration Club open.”

***

“Huff…”

I let out a long sigh and wiped the drops of sweat that had formed on my forehead.

It was my first time leading a meeting like this, so I was a little nervous. However, it seemed the message had been conveyed correctly, as the club members were actively discussing the topics presented.

“Hey, hey, Ryozo. What do you think about this person? They weren’t on last month’s list, and their movements are pretty suspicious.”

“Mark everyone who seems suspicious.”

“Got it.”

Even Speedweapon, who had initially seemed hesitant, began participating enthusiastically, moving his pencil quickly across the paper. Unlike the previous days when he was studying for the written exams, his eyes now burned with determination.

‘There’s nothing more fun than doing something different during exam week.’

I observed the club members discussing from a safe distance. They were handling the intellectual work, so my role ended after explaining the key points. That was one of the privileges of being the club president.

At that moment, Chloe timidly approached and handed me a bottle of water.

“Uh, Kang Geom-Ma, good work. Here you go.”

“Oh, thanks. I was thirsty.”

“N-No problem…”

I drank the water while glancing at Chloe. Her expression was somewhat downcast, as if she were feeling discouraged. I looked at Chloe and then at the other club members.

‘Ah, I see what’s going on.’

I spoke to her calmly.

“Don’t worry so much, Chloe.”

“Yes?”

I swallowed the last sip of water and continued speaking.

“Ryozo and Speedweapon enjoy this kind of thing. They love this kind of mental work.”

“But still…”

“Chloe, you can do things they can’t. If you hadn’t been there during the Buffalo Dungeon or the festival, the club wouldn’t have been able to function properly.”

She was an extremely valuable member. If it hadn’t been for Chloe in the Buffalo Dungeon, things would have likely ended in far more chaos.

‘Thanks to Chloe, we were able to cleanly handle the suspicious employee at the dungeon’s entrance.’

Her sharp sense for detecting presences and her combat skills remained invaluable resources.

“R-Really?”

“Of course.”

Chloe’s face instantly brightened, and she looked at me with eyes shining with excitement.

“If Geom-Ma says so…! I’ll do my best from now on!”

She clenched her fists firmly, full of determination. I nodded approvingly. Then, with her face slightly flushed, Chloe murmured something softly.

“…For this test… I wish I could be on the same team as Geom-Ma…”

Right at that moment.

Rollin~♪

A notification tone sounded, and I pulled out my phone. The other members also checked their devices simultaneously.

===

[The members of Cadet ‘Kang Geom-Ma’s final exam team for the first semester of 2034 are as follows.]

◉ Please note that third-year cadets have been excluded from this exam, conducted jointly by all grades, due to entrance tests.

⎯⎯⌜Team Members⌟⎯⎯

San Ha-na – Standard Class (2nd Year)

Kang Geom-Ma – Wolf Class (1st Year)

⎯⎯⌜Team Leader⌟⎯⎯

… …

… …

As I scrolled down the screen, my eyebrows began to twitch slightly.

“Ah, damn it.”

I let out a curse, my expression stunned.

⎯⎯⌜Team Leader⌟⎯⎯

Rachel of Muira – Star Class (1st Year)

[※ Once assigned, teams cannot be modified.]

I’d been placed on the team with the last person I wanted to be with.

***

Before the club meeting had fully ended, Kang Geom-Ma excused himself, claiming he was tired.

Chloe stared at the spot where he had been sitting before speaking.

“Geom-Ma didn’t look good… He seems really worried about this test.”

Speedweapon, who was next to her, nodded in agreement.

“And it makes sense. His team leader is Rachel. The president’s probably going to end up exhausted again.”

“…With that bitch… I mean, that blonde fox…”

Chloe’s eyes filled with palpable venom.

She gritted her teeth as she remembered Rachel’s face. That shameless girl who drooled every time she looked at Kang Geom-Ma. Not to mention her curvaceous and voluptuous figure, like that of a wild horse.

Chloe lowered her gaze and gently touched her chest. She frowned and then shook her head.

‘Geom-Ma said he likes small breasts.’

A brief silence fell. A complex and subtle atmosphere enveloped the classroom.

Speedweapon broke the awkward tension with a nervous laugh.

“Well, they worked together during the midterm exam. I’m sure they’ll do fine this time too. Plus, Senior Ha-na is on the same team. What could go wrong? Also, worrying about the president is probably the most pointless thing in the world.”

“…That’s true.”

Chloe shifted her gaze to San Ha-na. Her eyes were filled with mixed emotions.

San Ha-na responded with a soft smile.

“Don’t worry, Chloe. I’ll make sure he doesn’t lose focus.”

Only then did Chloe let out a small sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Ryozo, who had been intensely reviewing documents, slightly furrowed her brow before speaking in a low voice.

“Since the president left, let’s wrap things up here for today. The exams start tomorrow. I need to prepare in the dorm, so let’s disband the meeting.”

“Wait, wait! Ryozo, you study for exams too?”

Speedweapon widened his eyes in surprise. Ryozo looked at him with an expression of disbelief, not even bothering to respond.

At her reaction, Speedweapon scratched his neck awkwardly before starting to gather his things. One by one, Chloe and San Ha-na also began organizing their belongings.

“Good luck on tomorrow’s written exam, everyone!”

“G-Good luck!”

Speedweapon waved enthusiastically as he left the classroom. Chloe, on the other hand, gave a formal bow to the other members before leaving. In the end, only Ryozo and San Ha-na remained in the Exploration Club’s classroom.

“……”

Ryozo fixed her gaze on San Ha-na’s glasses. Arms crossed, her sharp eyes radiated an intense aura. The lenses of San Ha-na’s glasses reflected the reddish light of the sunset. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two.

“Well, I’ll be going too.”

Under Ryozo’s cold gaze, San Ha-na tried to leave.

“Senior Ha-na.”

“Yes?”

But Ryozo’s voice stopped her. San Ha-na smiled naturally as she responded.

“Is there something else you need?”

“……”

Ryozo clicked her tongue softly before lifting her gaze with determination.

“…Who are you, really?”

San Ha-na tilted her head slightly, her expression puzzled. A question mark almost seemed to float above her head.

Ryozo tapped lightly on the documents on the table with her index finger and spoke.

“Why does your name appear on the academy’s employee list?”