Chapter 116.1

Chapter 116 – Rule 31: The Leader Restores Order in Academy City (18)

Silence hung in the air.

Eventually.

─ Hahaha… Hahahaha…!

From the other end of the smartphone, it was as if Se-Ah had heard a funny joke.

─ Hahahahahaha!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!

Her cheerful laughter pierced Woo-jin’s ears and sank into his chest.

─ Wow! You’re spot on, senior! How could you be so accurate?! Haha!! Yes, correct answer!

Se-Ah’s voice sounded like that of a magician who’d just pulled off a trick, excited and enthusiastic.

To Woo-jin, that laughter was both shocking and repulsive.

The Head Principal’s goal was to hand over the city of Neo Seoul to Se-Ah.

She trained formidable subordinates to do the dirty work, eliminated insurgents through illegal means, and destroyed all traces.

She abused her power.

Bit by bit, she funneled Neo Seoul’s ambiguous elements, including the Black Market and the hidden forces she secretly accumulated, into Se-Ah and her Do-hwa Group.

Finally, she would give Se-Ah the practical power to completely control Neo Seoul itself.

It didn’t matter what name the Head Principal saved Se-Ah under in her contacts.

Afflicted with dementia, the Head Principal had saved Se-Ah’s contact as ‘1215’ simply to remember her birthday every year and pass something onto her.

Each year, Se-Ah’s birthday gifts were step-by-step materials needed to consume Neo Seoul.

The reason.

What was the reason?

Woo-jin recalled his knowledge from the original storyline.

In the original, Se-Ah, the members of the Do-hwa Group, and the entire organization perished. After that, the Head Principal committed suicide—a clear and undeniable suicide.

It was likely that the true culprit was Oh Baek-seo, who was supposed to have disappeared this semester.

Baek-seo, who had been closely investigating the Head Principal, must have uncovered the plan between the Head Principal and Se-Ah and identified Se-Ah and the Do-hwa Group as the plan’s core.

Thus, she secretly assassinated them all.

The Head Principal, devastated by the loss of Se-Ah, took her own life.

In short, the Head Principal’s driving force was probably…

‘Love.’

That precious emotion.

‘The Head Principal… was in love with Se-Ah as her daughter, wasn’t she?’

The Head Principal lost her reason to live because of Baek-seo.

Just as the Six Sinners found a reason to live and cherished it…

The Head Principal had also decided that her reason for living was her daughter.

She loved her.

She loved her daughter so deeply.

That’s why Se-Ah exploited the Head Principal’s maternal love.

Se-Ah needed her.

To place this city under her rule and build what she called a ‘better world.’

Creak.

Suddenly, the door to the Head Principal’s office opened, and a beautiful girl with long black hair stepped inside.

Wearing the uniform of Ahsung High School, the same school as Woo-jin.

Her thinly opened eyes shone like rubies, and her lips curled into a fox-like smile.

“So I told you before, didn’t I? I want to create a better world.”

She—Lee Se-Ah—looked at Woo-jin and spoke.

Woo-jin lowered the smartphone from his ear and stared at Se-Ah, his eyes filled with a mix of shock and cold resolve.

The Head Principal was visibly stunned.

“My… daughter….”

“Oh my~. You look terrible, Mother.”

“You shouldn’t have come here… Not yet….”

Se-Ah turned to the Head Principal, her expression playful, and placed her finger to her lips.

“Mother, would you kindly keep your mouth shut?”

The Head Principal swallowed her breath and fell silent.

Se-Ah smiled sweetly and looked back at Woo-jin.

Woo-jin was certain.

Se-Ah intended to become a necessary evil, to dominate Neo Seoul and create a utopia where everyone could be happy.

She was an altruist who genuinely wished for the suffering of as many people as possible to vanish.

Therefore, she turned a blind eye to the countless sacrifices made by the Head Principal.

Woo-jin’s thoughts briefly turned to Goliath.

Did he know this truth when he claimed he would watch and judge what was right?

Enough.

Such thoughts weren’t worth considering.

What mattered now was his own choice.

Could he accept Se-Ah?

Se-Ah’s smile faded slightly.

“Senior, I want to create a world where even one more person can be happy. Please, help me.”
“……”

Woo-jin narrowed his eyes, glaring at Se-Ah.

“Why?”

“Because I believe it’s the right thing to do. Do I need some grand motivation for that?”

Her words were genuine.

But could the current sacrifices truly be justified as ‘opportunity costs’ for a future utopia?

Woo-jin remembered the sight of Baek-seo dying, of Dalbi collapsing after confessing her love.

Just like them, countless children were painfully sacrificed to nurture powerful individuals.

What meaning could a future utopia hold for children who were denied happiness and destroyed?

A fundamentally flawed process could not lead to a beautiful result.

What’s broken is broken.

It needed to be replaced.

“Truly… the world is so cruel….”

Woo-jin sighed, his voice tinged with a mix of weariness and resignation.

Se-Ah’s smile vanished.

“This might sound sudden, but… I also liked having you as my junior. Honestly, I liked you. I knew you truly wanted to help people. Even though you seemed like a sneaky snake, I still thought you were a good person.”

“Please don’t say things like that now. Before you start regretting it.”

“But!!”

Woo-jin raised his voice, cutting Se-Ah off.

“What are you?!”