Even after the press conference ended, Min Jeong-gap did not rest.
He was presiding over a eting attended by the Execution Force, police, and academy Instructors and assistants to discuss follow-up asures and responses to this situation.
"Indeed, the most likely candidate that cos to mind is that place."
The investigation commissioner dispatched from the Execution Force said.
"The Sword of Belphegor."
Lee Ho-seung, who was attending the eting as a key witness, said.
"There are many suspicious circumstances in various aspects."
Since there were Execution Force seniors older than himself, Lee Ho-seung was using honorifics, unlike his usual manner.
"Their obsession with the academy and the ans of surprise attack also have many points reminiscent of them."
"But at present, there's plenty of room to view this as speculation."
The police investigation commissioner said.
"First, none of their mbers or associates were found at the scene. Also, there's no circumstantial evidence that an organization called MK-1 is a subordinate organization of the Sword of Belphegor or that they had a cooperative relationship."
"Of course that's true, but we don't know everything that happens between underworld forces, do we? How and when the two organizations might have made contact is sothing we cannot know."
"In any case."
Vice Principal Gong Gi-jeong, who had been listening quietly, said.
"It's clear that both sides' perspectives are currently in the realm of 'it could be so.' It's not a situation where definitive physical evidence can be presented."
However:
"It's true that among our Instructors, we suspect the Sword of Belphegor the most. Instructor Kim Cheol-han?"
"Yes."
Instructor Kim Cheol-han stood from his seat.
"Instructor Kim is the very person who directly experienced the situation at the scene. Why do you suspect the Sword of Belphegor is behind them?"
"In my opinion, the most compelling reason is the way they were all handled after failure—mass suicide."
"Hmm."
Even the skeptics nodded at this.
"Indeed."
"The Ma-in I witnessed commit suicide, Yeom Sehwa, killed herself with a face that seed to be resisting sothing. I couldn't get the impression that it was a suicide based on firm conviction."
"That's right. But the most questionable point is, if they are really behind this, why didn't they co directly this ti and instead sent another organization?"
"I'm still confused about that part as well."
Kim Cheol-han said.
"Perhaps it was an attack to divert our attention? I'm also thinking that the true purpose might be elsewhere."
"What could that purpose be..."
"It could truly be that the mastermind is a different organization. It might be a strategy of killing with borrowed knife, using our hands to remove an organization that bothers them."
"Hmm. If that were the case, wouldn't they have deliberately left more definitive evidence?"
"That possibility is also hard to ignore."
"...We're not getting any answers."
Principal Min Jeong-gap, who had been listening quietly to the discussion, said.
"But regardless of which opinion everyone here supports, it's also clear that it's premature to provide definitive grounds to jump to conclusions at this stage."
"As the principal says."
"First, we need to investigate with all possibilities open. More importantly."
Min Jeong-gap looked around at the gathering with a stern face and asked.
"Shouldn't we be discussing one more important matter?"
"What are you referring to?"
"Instructor Lee Ho-seung."
At Min Jeong-gap's call, Instructor Oh Chang-seong stood up.
"Yes."
"Would Instructor Lee please tell us?"
"Yes, I will."
Lee Ho-seung addressed the academy's Instructors and assistants.
"Let
be clear, it would be impossible to discover the location of the island without an insider's cooperation."
"...!"
"Are you suggesting...?"
"Yes. I believe there is a spy. And that spy is most likely hiding among our academy's Instructors and assistants."
"!"
As the academy itself directly raised suspicions that were difficult to voice, a strange light appeared in the investigation commissioners' eyes.
"...!"
"..."
Unsettling glances of suspicion were exchanged among the Instructors and assistants.
"Our academy has no intention of dealing with this matter solely through internal investigation."
Vice Principal Gong Gi-jeong declared, looking around at the gathering.
"Therefore, we plan to actively cooperate with the Execution Force and police investigation commissioners to conduct an investigation, so I ask for the full cooperation of all relevant parties here."
"Understood."
"We will do so."
Among them:
'Damn it.'
Jo Jin-myeong, who had been maintaining silent, felt his spine getting soaked with cold sweat.
??????°??☆????°??????
I headed to the principal's office for my second interview with him.
'Already a second visit before the final exams are even over.'
It was sothing impossible without accumulating a considerable amount of achievent points.
'Showing enough growth to defeat Chu Jinhong at this point was only possible from the extrely late runs of the ga.'
The Tachypsychia Mode gained through strengthening Eye Power.
Without that mode, even with [Liberation], it would be difficult to counter Chu Jinhong.
'Is this the first ti I've defeated him head-on without cheesing?'
If I hadn't awakened the Eye Power skill early using the skill points I received upon entering the ga, gathering that many points wouldn't have been easy.
'Because nothing changes if I just follow the previous runs.'
From now on, I had to consider that developnts diverging from my mories might occur.
'That's what I wanted.'
There was no fear.
Rather, I even felt anticipation for the new developnts.
I was walking with these thoughts.
"Ah!"
Min Hae-na, who was coming out of the principal's office, widened her eyes upon seeing .
"So you're Su-hyeon!"
Min Hae-na smiled brightly.
"Hello."
"Hi!"
A tall height of about 173cm with a healthy build, and a face that looked younger and more innocent than might be expected—sowhat at odds with her physique.
This person was the principal's granddaughter and the strongest among the second-years, often ntioned on par with Seo Jun-seong even before enrollnt.
"This is the first ti we're talking face to face, right?"
"That's right."
Min Hae-na probably rembered
from the morning roll call incident right after enrollnt.
'She must have been paying quite a bit of attention since then.'
"But sohow you don't seem unfamiliar? I've heard your na until my ears grew calluses."
"Sa here."
"Hmm, at first when I heard you fought with a classmate, I thought you might be an arrogant kid. But the stories I heard afterwards were completely different from my preconceptions."
Min Hae-na looked straight into my eyes and smiled.
"Your eyes are indeed righteous and clear. Just as Grandfather said."
"You flatter ."
"Hehe. I'll be looking forward to it."
"To what?"
"The final exams. Oh, perhaps you don't know yet?"
'She ans that.'
"I do know."
If I can secure the top spot in the final exams:
I would earn the right to challenge Min Hae-na, the overwhelming top student of the second year and the student council president.
So I looked straight at Min Hae-na and said:
"I'll see you again soon."
"It seems you had a little chat with Hae-na?"
That was Principal Min Jeong-gap's first words as he saw .
"Yes."
"Haha. That kid seems to be quite curious about you. She was very impressed when she heard about this incident."
He chuckled heartily and offered
a seat.
"Please, sit down. You like coffee, right?"
"Yes."
"So do I. During my active duty days, the mont of warming myself with instant coffee was my only pleasure."
I took a sip of the coffee he personally brewed.
"The aroma is really good. And the body is rich."
"Hahaha, that makes
happy."
Min Jeong-gap leaned back against his chair with a pleased face.
"To be honest, I'm quite tired. I haven't been able to sleep since the day before yesterday."
"You should take care of your health."
"I'm still robust for another 10 years, so no need to worry."
The principal smiled gently.
"The reason I called you like this is because I wanted to specially comnd and honor you."
"You an a comndation."
"Yes, since you don't like wearing dals, I should at least give you a certificate, shouldn't I?"
"I didn't do it expecting such things."
"Of course I know that. But as the principal, I even feel dizzy thinking about how far this situation might have escalated without your efforts."
As the principal said:
If Chu Jinhong had been allowed to run wild there, and if they had been caught unprepared by the surprise attack and lost the initiative, the academy would have had to suffer the humiliation of getting the cadets back through negotiations with the Ma-in and letting them leave safely.
'In that case, they might have received a shower of tomatoes and eggs at the press conference.'
Such an image of him, a hero, would have given people even greater anxiety.
'Hwang Won-jae. Indeed a vicious bastard.'
Just as Vietnam adopted its grand strategy against the United States during the war:
He understood well how a minority should face a majority, and how to create internal fractures.
"Another pleasing thing is that cadets who were directly or indirectly influenced by you showed remarkable improvent. Winning one-on-one against Ma-in? This is truly amazing."
"Saying it's my influence is too much praise, but everyone really fought well."
"Well, there's no need to be too modest."
He smiled as if he knew everything.
"As I said before, you have the qualities of a leader. And it's clear that they've already blood to a considerable level."
But, Min Jeong-gap continued:
"It's excellent to help your comrades and move forward together. But sotis, it's not bad to give your back to those comrades and depend on them."
"......"
"No matter how steel-like a person is, they're not actually steel. One cannot be strong alone by existing in isolation."
'Indeed.'
Min Jeong-gap's words made
nod deeply.
'Edge of Gate isn't a structure that can be cleared by getting strong alone.'
That's why I'm helping these nad characters grow together like this.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Well, it's just an old man's nagging. I believe you'll do well."
??????°??☆????°??????
Several more days passed after that.
The cadets returned to their daily lives, carrying the weight of those who died in the line of duty, but also burying it.
Just as flowers bloom in places where typhoons have passed, vitality gradually returned to the cadets' faces.
The season moving from spring toward sumr even gave the cadets a strange excitent.
And that was the sa for Lee Yu-jin.
Clang clang!
As always, Lee Yu-jin, who was sparring with Su-hyeon today, was steadily pressing him.
However:
'Ah!'
Clang!
Lee Yu-jin's body was slightly lifted by the sword that struck upward from below.
When Su-hyeon tried to trip her by taking advantage of the gap, Lee Yu-jin quickly withdrew her leg to recover her balance and stepped back.
It was clearly a sign that her response tactics were improving day by day.
But this ti, even that response was according to Su-hyeon's intention.
'Oh no!'
Su-hyeon's thrust, breaking through the montary gap when her attention was focused on the lower body, stopped right in front of Lee Yu-jin's eyes.
"I win this ti."
"...I lost."
Lee Yu-jin readily admitted defeat.
'Now it's really a fifty-fifty fight when we duel sword against sword without characteristics. It's been quite a while since I couldn't hold back.'
'Moreover, if we use characteristics, now I'm at a disadvantage.'
Extraordinary dynamic vision, reflexes that could keep up with even Chu Jinhong's speed.
Mana shield and sword energy.
And even a doping technique that montarily increases physical abilities trendously.
"Su-hyeon is really getting stronger quickly."
"Sa goes for you."
"Really?"
"Of course. Catching Yang Inbeom is the biggest proof."
As Su-hyeon said:
Her forr self wouldn't have been able to defeat that Ma-in.
'Fast, with untad wild movents, and a characteristic that was as tricky as mine.'
Yang Inbeom was quite a strong opponent.
But he was no match for Lee Yu-jin.
'It's not just .'
Everyone showed remarkable growth in a short ti.
Hwang Ji-su also overwhelmingly dominated a Ma-in using strange swordsmanship.
Seo Jun-seong captured MK-1's second-in-command.
Hong In-hyeon, Choi Mina, and Kim A-yun not only won against the Ma-in they faced, but Kwon Seung-yeon and Han Soyul also crushed the Were-Mole with a combined attack.
'They said they were Ma-in rated from minimum C
to maximum B-.'
It was certainly unusual to have so many first-year cadets with this level of skill.
The current first-years were already being called a golden generation by the Instructors.
'Perhaps if we went back to the entrance exam now, quite a few cadets wouldn't be pathetically defeated by Instructor Oh Chang-seong wearing restraints.'
But the man in front of her made all that growth pale in comparison.
'I don't even know how strong the current Su-hyeon has beco.'
"Lee Yu-jin. Let's start again."
Su-hyeon picked up the practice sword again, saying he had rested enough.
"......"
Lee Yu-jin looked at Su-hyeon sulkily.
"?"
There was sothing that had been bothering her for a while.
'Su-hyeon has never once called
Yu-jin.'
It wasn't just with her.
Kwon Seung-yeon, Hwang Ji-su, Kim A-yun:
Even male friends like Nam Tae-hoon or Hong In-hyeon, he always called them with their family na.
"There's a problem."
"Hmm?"
Su-hyeon tilted his head.
"What? Are you hurt? Is your wrist ligant damaged?"
Lee Yu-jin's expression soured as she saw Su-hyeon's response, which in his own way was sincerely concerned.
"Idiot."
"...?"
Su-hyeon, who couldn't understand what was going on, tilted his head in confusion.
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