Ch.321321 – The Chairman’s Wicked Wisdom

“Are you really okay with this? There must be plenty of classmates at the Academy who care about you.”

In the senior class alone, there are easily more than ten students who could be counted.

Including the junior class, that number would at least double.

Even if the Hero dislikes Oknodie, many students are fond of her.

‘I suppose many students might have become afraid of Oknodie after what happened on the cruise ship and at the mansion.’

While that might be the general trend, conversely, those who care for her would have grown even more attached.

We need to protect her.

Let’s become a sanctuary for her heart.

Just as Oknodie helped us, we’ll help her too.

Sing already knows this.

Before everyone boarded the ship to leave, he had come looking for him after hearing that Sing would stay behind with Oknodie.

-Take care of the little mouse. Though he’s clever, he’s still a child. He needs a proper adult by his side.

-Make sure he doesn’t miss meals. He might starve himself while engaged in some strange game somewhere.

-The Chairman is the most dangerous person in the world. Please ensure Oknodie doesn’t become corrupted by him.

Son Ocheon, Isabelle, Giselle.

-Tell Oknodie that after we’re done playing at home, let’s play together during the second semester at the Academy too!

-Remind her not to forget Professor Sadaco’s lectures. I started attending because of Oknodie, and it’s unfair if only Titosoga and I have to listen.

Titosoga, Zhang.

-Tell her not to mind what those ungrateful people say. I’m always on Oknodie’s side.

-Please tell her not to worry about other students’ opinions. I, Arcadia, will always strive to host tea parties for our Ddi.

-Thanks to her good performance at the Academy, my organization released new bikini armor! Be sure to thank her!

Hestia, Arcadia, Yayoi.

-…Tell her I’ll give her northern rations when we meet again at the Academy.

-By the way, can I take this cruise ship? Gyahahat! I don’t know, so I’ll just take it for now. Tell her to let me know if she needs it later. I’ll let her use the cannons if she wants!

Irene, Zigoku.

-Once caught in the Foundation’s directives, there’s no escape. Tell her to be clear about her commitments.

-I’ll train hard during the rest of the break, so please ask her to check on me later.

Zaku, Morb.

-…Making me get caught in a trap item that turns people into statues. I’ll pay back this grudge thoroughly when the second semester starts, Sandcooker.

-Me!? No, that’s scary… Huh. You’ll burn all my hair if I don’t cast a petrification spell on Oknodie!? What did I do wrong!

Rozini, Sandcooker.

-Tell her not to even dream of running away while sitting in the Foundation. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to grow stronger.

-It’s frustrating, but I owe her from this cruise ship. Tell her I’d like a chance to repay the favor when the semester starts, as it’s uncomfortable to be indebted to an enemy.

Even Hero Ishtar and Saint Yufi.

He still clearly remembers all the requests everyone left for Oknodie.

Gift Academy is a place for Oknodie to return to.

As long as there are people who care for her.

But Oknodie doesn’t share the same perspective as him.

“My, haven’t you told your friend yet?”

A gentle voice accompanied by approaching footsteps.

Though they seem ordinary, they resonate with power like stepping on water.

The Chairman approaches with his characteristic smile.

As if he had been listening to this conversation.

At the perfect timing.

Could such convenient eavesdropping exist only in this moment?

Of course not.

During the past month, Sing wasn’t the only one who gained opportunities.

Oknodie had the same amount of time.

The time to achieve desired results exists equally for everyone.

Even for that Chairman.

“I was planning to tell him after breaking through the 49th floor and reaching the 50th floor today!”

“Now wouldn’t be bad either. Since the opportunity has come, why not share it with him? It would be pitiful if your dear friend felt left out.”

Confidence stemming from informational superiority.

I understand Oknodie’s intentions.

You wouldn’t know.

It doesn’t matter if I tell you now.

It’s too late to change anything at this point.

The Chairman’s voice and composure are clearly audible beyond his smile.

Sing realized.

His perspective was narrow once again.

Just like when he was confined to the 39th floor due to his lack of composure, this time he neglected Oknodie’s feelings while being fixated on his own growth.

He hadn’t thought about what schemes the Chairman might employ or how Oknodie might fall for them.

No, he hadn’t even cared.

His own growth was more important than Oknodie’s circumstances.

That shouldn’t have been the case.

Everyone had asked him to relay messages.

They had asked him to convey their feelings.

If he had tried harder, would Oknodie have felt more attached to the Academy?

It was too late for regrets now.

“Then I’ll tell you! The conversation I had with Papa.”

Oknodie began to explain what had resulted from the Chairman’s approach—an approach that Sing had missed, that he had allowed in exchange for his own growth.

* * *

“Do I really have to return to the Academy?”

Papa’s question was quite interesting.

“We could stay together at the Foundation and you could learn many things. Your bag has much to be filled. The Foundation can fill it with rare treasures that the Academy won’t provide.”

“I can fill it by myself!”

“If you don’t need the Foundation, then you don’t need the Academy either, right?”

“Hmm~ That’s true, but~”

“Is there something bothering you?”

“If I neglect Academy life, I’ll end up facing an unfortunate future!”

An unfortunate future.

A bad ending.

No matter how successful Papa might be, there are no exceptions.

The world has various regional events.

And perhaps world events after that.

For powerless civilians, endings don’t even reach that far—they end in personal tragedies.

But for those with sufficient power, their broader vision reveals larger tragedies within their reach.

What kind of anxiety and fear the current world exists in, how a player’s careless or inadequate Academy life leads to certain results.

What endings await the main NPCs who maintained close relationships with the player.

“I don’t want to hear news about my friends living difficult lives!”

“My, you value friendship more than I thought. Youth indeed cannot exist without friendship. But mere anxiety isn’t enough. You must have some predicted future in mind?”

“Yes!”

Should I tell him?

Tell an NPC about future events?

But Papa has provided numerous extremely difficult-to-obtain foods.

Considering the saved time and the advanced collection item stat bonuses, this level of spoiler is nothing.

I’ve already shared plenty of information through ‘exchanges’ anyway.

Adding a cup of water to a basin already full won’t make much difference.

“In the first year’s second semester, unpredictable events occur at the Academy, mainly caused by one of the <Criminal Organizations> that infiltrated!”

“Oh? Organizations?”

“Sometimes the <Beastkin Revival Movement> becomes active and tries to forcibly isolate facilities during field trips, looking for opportunities to cause mass casualties among first-years, and sometimes the <Mein Organization> becomes active and secretly kills students one by one!”

Chatter, chatter.

As I explained each unfair pattern that would occur in the second semester, Papa nodded.

“Then let’s do this. I’ll use the Foundation’s power to suppress other organizations’ activities.”

“Events that are meant to happen will still happen! If you try to prevent them clumsily, incidents will occur earlier or result in greater disasters.”

Even Hestia, the Chapter 1 boss, had an early rampage unfair pattern.

In Chapter 2, you never know which organization will trigger unfairness, so trying to cover all bases always results in being blindsided from unexpected directions.

Perhaps I should just return to the Academy to prevent unfairness and ensure my friends don’t suddenly die?

“I see. Simply suppressing isn’t always the best approach. If they’re determined to cause trouble, something will happen regardless. How about this then?”

As my heart was leaning toward returning to the Academy, Papa made a truly surprising proposal.

“The Foundation will cause an incident instead.”

“What?”

“If we cause an incident significant enough to make other organizations cautious about getting caught, they won’t bother with minor disturbances.”

“Wow…! I never thought of that strategy! But what kind of incident would you cause?”

“Hmm. To make the Academy consider it a major incident and make other organizations cautious enough to back off, we should probably do this much.”

The Chairman’s smile deepened.

“A murder case.”

“Gasp!”

“As long as your friends don’t die, it’s fine, right? Instead of uncontrollable variables harming your acquaintances, a controlled, intentional murder eliminates unnecessary waste.”

What do you think?

Papa asking so kindly couldn’t have looked more impressive.

“I completely agree!”

“Then you don’t need to return to the Academy immediately for the second semester?”

“Nope!”

“Hehe. I’m glad. I have so many things I want to do with my daughter.”

I’m so fortunate to have such a competent random Papa.

Sometimes this kind of Papa might be good too!

I’m even starting to like the Foundation that Papa runs.