Just like the Principal said, it wasn’t long before we got contacted by Gwak Seungjae.
Since my identity had to be hidden from the disciplinary committee club as much as possible, he suggested eting sowhere else if we could.
There was no reason we couldn’t, so we matched schedules and headed to the eting spot.
Gwak Seungjae and Oh Sehun had arrived first and were waiting. When our eyes t, they bowed first.
“You ca.”
“Hi, Seungjae?”
Dang Gyu-young replied with a light wave.
Then she abruptly perched herself in the seat across from them.
After that, I exchanged greetings with the two disciplinary committee mbers and sat down in an empty seat.
Oh Sehun looked at Dang Gyu-young.
“First, I want to say thank you. I honestly thought there was a good chance you’d refuse.”
“This is work too. No point getting emotional about it.”
“Sounds like the Principal spoke well on our behalf.”
“He gave a lot of credit.”
Dang Gyu-young grinned, and Oh Sehun’s narrow eyes drew into a gentle curve.
“Late as it is, but last ti—you were impressive. I learned a lot too.”
“That’s not sothing you should be telling .”
Dang Gyu-young flicked her eyes toward .
Honestly, if the third temporary storage facility infiltration had proceeded as it was, we would’ve lost for sure.
I intervened, and the result flipped completely.
Gwak Seungjae faced directly and spoke.
“I had a vague suspicion, but I never thought you’d really be Inferno Fist.”
“I do feel sorry for deceiving you seniors.”
“I’m not going to make an issue of it now. Especially since we’re on the sa boat.”
He put an odd amount of emphasis on sa boat.
Which made what followed obvious.
“Before we talk operations, may I ask? About that magic.”
“I trust you understand I can’t easily reveal the background of a skill.”
“Of course. If there’s sothing you want, say it.”
So he’d been thinking of a deal from the start.
Which ant he found [Caw?] genuinely troubleso.
If, at a critical mont, that wooden door got blocked again, they’d be facing a disaster like last ti.
But despite Gwak Seungjae’s resolve, I answered in an offhand tone.
“I’ll just tell you.”
“...Unexpected. Paying up front.”
“You can interpret it as saying I look forward to working with you.”
If I restricted information about [Caw?], this disciplinary committee operation would get hamstrung too.
Better to share what could be shared and make it easy for everyone.
Besides, the really important deal is separate anyway.
The Cube of Life.
I could always stack more demands on top when that ti ca.
Either way, from Gwak Seungjae’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.
“Fine. Then I’ll ask. There’s a rumor it’s the dinsional crows’ magic.”
“It’s true.”
“As expected. Is it possible for soone else to learn it?”
“It’s not impossible.”
“Then should I interpret that as ‘effectively impossible’?”
I smiled faintly.
“At least for the ti being, there won’t be anyone besides .”
Because the crafting difficulty was absurd.
Soday, Crow Tree Units Two and Three might get mass-produced—but right now, there was neither the budget nor the reason to invest in that.
Probably sothing I’d only think about way down the line... after I’d achieved world peace.
Maybe that was enough, because Gwak Seungjae nodded with visible relief.
Then he exchanged a look with Oh Sehun.
“We can proceed with Plan A.”
“Let’s do that.”
Dang Gyu-young asked with an interested expression.
“Looks like you prepared a lot?”
“We drafted multiple plans. We were going to decide after hearing Kim Ho’s answer.”
“Plan A ans the best one, right?”
“At least in our assessnt, it’s the most efficient.”
“Nice. That works for us too.”
Gwak Seungjae gave a brief briefing on Plan A.
“—That’s the basic frawork. We’ll flesh it out through the PvP week and explain again.”
“Whatever.”
With that, the main purpose of today’s eting was accomplished.
But for the disciplinary committee club, there was obviously one more piece of business left.
And it would be sothing important.
Oh Sehun opened his mouth with a soft smile at the corners of his lips.
“Can I ask one thing too?”
“What is it?”
Dang Gyu-young seed to sense what was coming, but she played dumb as she asked back. Oh Sehun pulled out a docunt and spread it open.
It was the list of banned items seized at this year’s Van Wave—among them, the ones stolen from the temporary storage facility, and the ones whose whereabouts had beco unknown.
“We lost the third one, and in the first one, Kim Ho broke through the encirclent and got away. But in the second one, we wiped them out perfectly—and there were still a lot of holes.”
Dang Gyu-young flipped through the pages as if it had nothing to do with her.
“Mhm, mhm. Yeah, you’re right? [Book of Chaos], a few skill books, accessories...”
“Would you tell us how you did it?”
“Well, it’s not impossible. I’m graduating anyway, and Kim Ho says he’s not planning to keep milking it.”
“That’s good news.”
“But... I an, it’s kind of weird to do it for free, right?”
“What would you like us to do?”
Instead of answering directly, Dang Gyu-young lifted the corner of her lips and tossed it out like an aside.
“Dam-bi ca by yesterday, actually.”
“Hwang Dam-bi. Archery Club’s deputy vice president, right?”
“You know her. They asked sothing similar too... and I’m getting quite a lot from them.”
More accurately, she’d shaken them down for a whole pile, but phrasing was everything.
Oh Sehun’s narrow eyes curved softly.
“That’s awkward. I’d like to match it if possible, but I’m not confident I can beat two ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) clubs competing.”
“Don’t worry about that. I didn’t bring it up to start a bidding war.”
“Then what’s your intent?”
“There’s no rule that says you can only sell to one side. If we’re doing it, we should cash out big.”
Oh Sehun slowly set both hands on the table and interlaced his fingers.
“Then let’s hear it. Your terms.”
“Simple. A banned item.”
“One of the ones we seize this ti?”
“Yeah. If there’s a necromancer magic to in there, I’ll take that.”
“That’s a difficult request. Even as the disciplinary committee chief, I can’t just remove items at will.”
It was the reaction I expected, so Dang Gyu-young shot back imdiately.
“Oh, by the way, I’m getting sothing similar from the Principal too. aning a necromancer item isn’t a huge issue.”
“Then it’s a different story, but... do you really need two?”
“The more the better.”
“And if there isn’t one?”
If there wasn’t what she wanted among the seized items?
Dang Gyu-young just shrugged like it was nothing.
“Then the deal falls through, obviously.”
“And you’ll still proceed with them?”
“Yeah.”
Whether our deal with the disciplinary committee worked out or not, the Archery Club and the Black Blade faction would still go into the temporary storage facility infiltration holding the Cube of Life.
Naturally, the disciplinary committee wasn’t going to be happy about that, and Oh Sehun spoke like he was gently scolding her.
“Gyu-young, I don’t think that’s a great call. Even if profit matters, do we really need to make things harder?”
“If your trust is shaking already, that won’t do. We’re on your side. At least this ti.”
“Looks like we worried for nothing. Still, if you’re okay with it, I’d like you to prove it to us.”
aning: give them a basis that our deal with the other side wouldn’t cause major disruption to this operation.
Since that part had already been settled with , Dang Gyu-young answered without hesitation.
“We’ll tell them the thod. Whether they’ll ever get a chance to use it, though.”
“So you’re saying we arrest them before they can.”
“Exactly. You’re confident too, aren’t you?”
The disciplinary committee had been looked down on lately, but their real strength hadn’t disappeared.
During the third temporary storage facility infiltration, even with the Thieves’ Club and the Martial Arts Club allied together, they’d been badly outmatched.
So even if the Black Blade faction and the Archery Club allied up, the outco wouldn’t suddenly flip dramatically.
Oh Sehun pressed again.
“Of course, I believe our kids will do well. But shouldn’t we plan for the one-in-a-million case?”
If they let one or two slip through and the banned items got stolen—what then?
Dang Gyu-young lightly shook the docunt and replied.
“If anything goes missing, we take responsibility. And we’ll share the thod too.”
“You know we can’t give you the banned item then, right?”
“Then it’s not a deal. It’s responsibility.”
Of course it won’t co to that, Dang Gyu-young added.
Then she winked at , since we’d already coordinated on this in advance.
Oh Sehun thought for a mont, then said,
“Doesn’t look like there’s any reason to refuse.”
“Don’t ‘intentionally’ let it get breached.”
“We won’t.”
The operation’s basic goal was to protect the banned items, but restoring the disciplinary committee’s prestige was just as important.
To do that, they needed to execute the operation as close to perfectly as possible.
Intentionally letting it get breached?
Even if they profited in our deal, it was a loss in the bigger picture.
Especially considering their future relationship with .
Both Gwak Seungjae and Oh Sehun were quick thinkers, so they’d surely reached the sa conclusion.
Dang Gyu-young looked between them and asked,
“Sounds like we’re mostly done talking now, and we just wait until Van Wave, right?”
“Right. I’ll contact you again then.”
“Okay, good work!”
Even if we’d temporarily joined hands, we weren’t close enough to laugh and chatter like friends, so we got up and left right away.
*****
Now that our consultation with the disciplinary committee club was done, we decided to focus on our own work for the rest of the raid week.
Dang Gyu-young’s task was to join Paeng Milyeong’s expedition team, raid deep-floor dungeons, and clear her [Hardship] quest.
And I was going to take Hong Yeon-hwa and Seo Ye-in to see the crows.
While I was at it, I’d also grind AquaFla’s rank in an ice-thed dungeon.
But before that, I figured I should secure so trade material, so I headed toward the Sculpture Club.
—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—
From far away, I heard a steady, rhythmic pounding.
The closer I got to the clubroom, the louder it beca.
Busy again today.
Thinking I should grab what I ca for and get out without bothering her, I knocked on the door.
—CLANG—
For a mont it seed like the pounding stopped, and then a familiar voice ca from inside.
“Co in.”
“Hello.”
“Knew it’d be you.”
Kang Byeol set down her chisel and hamr for a mont, walked to the side of the clubroom, and chugged a drink in one shot.
Then she pointed at with the empty bottle.
“Hey. Next ti, just co in.”
“Is that okay?”
“If you knock, it’s more distracting.”
“Why not just leave the door open?”
“Then it’s loud. I’ll leave the stuff over there, so just take it and go.”
When I looked at “over there,” sure enough—two completed statues were sitting there.
One was similar to the crow statue she’d made before, but she’d removed the wing-spreading function and leaned harder into the artistic side.
The other was a miniature version of the Principal’s statue.
When you had too many similar art pieces, their value dropped, so she’d deliberately varied them.
I stored them in my Inventory, and Kang Byeol picked up her hamr and chisel again as she asked,
“That it for this year?”
“For this year, yes.”
“Tell what you want to make next year in advance. I’ll work on it in bits.”
So she’d fully accepted her duty as sculpture slave.
With plenty of materials, she’d probably crank out five or six more.
—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—
Watching her back as she returned to work, I suddenly noticed a half-finished statue.
That looks kind of familiar.
Even though the outline wasn’t clear yet, it looked like a toad face was erging.
My curiosity got out of control, and I broke my vow not to bother her.
“Senior?”
“What now.”
“Is that a request from the Martial Arts Club?”
“Yeah. They’re second in sponsorship.”
“I thought you’d do the Swordsmanship Club first.”
“They said it’s not urgent.”
They’d apparently yielded, saying they didn’t mind being pushed back a bit.
On the other hand, the Martial Arts Club had asked her to finish it within this year if possible.
Kang Byeol pointed her hamr at one corner of the workbench.
“There’s a rough draft over there. If you’re curious, look.”
When I walked over, I saw a clumsy sketch.
Kim Gap-doo, raising a fist in a victor’s pose.
Beautiful won were arranged on either side.
The original subtitle had been “Champion Gap-doo,” but soone had drawn two thick strike-through lines and changed it to “Harem Gap-doo.”
—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—
While hamring, Kang Byeol said,
“Guess their president’s got a lot of people behind him. Honestly, the sponsorship amount wasn’t even that big at the club level.”
“What rank were they originally?”
“Like eighth? But apparently the mbers chipped in to push it up to second.”
Looks like they’d even emptied their own pockets just to move their order up as far as possible.
—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—
I stared at the statue slowly taking shape.
Harem Gap-doo, Champion Gap-doo—what did it matter.
Either way, it would be a aningful gift for Kim Gap-doo.
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