Chapter 69.1

Chapter 69 – Rule 24. The Leader Pursues to the End (6)

“Leader?”

The window opened. Ha Yesong poked her head out and looked up at me.

Other officers were also at the window with Yesong.

“Leader, that…?”

The officers seemed surprised to see the lower goblin in my hand.

Ignoring them, I continued the conversation with the lower goblin.

“Moon Chae-won’s hideout?”

[Yes! Captured! Got taken down by the White Man!]

The lower goblin flailed its tiny arms.

‘The White Man… it must be him.’

There was only one person who fit that description, connected to the Head Principal and capable of defeating Oh Baek-seo.

Seo Gang-jin, the strongest among the Spartoi.

From what I saw in the mind map, Baek-seo had been keeping a close eye on Gang-jin.

It was obvious that the moment Gang-jin got involved, the plan would go awry. In the game analogy, Gang-jin was like the Grim Reaper who would always defeat the player or a mine that triggers a game over upon contact.

In other words, if Baek-seo was taken down by Gang-jin…

It meant my bad premonition had come true.

“Tell me where the hideout is.”

[Moon Chae-won’s hideout is in the jurisdiction of Mayeon High!]

“Mayeon High jurisdiction?”

[Uh, yes…! I don’t know the exact location!]

“……”

Minhyuk poked his head out of the window. His face was filled with fear.

“N-no matter how you look at it, it seems like a trap…! That’s a goblin, right!? One of the Six Sinners’! You can’t trust it, Leader!”

Could it be a trap?

“Well.”

I was inclined to think otherwise.

The jurisdiction of Mayeon High, like other major academy jurisdictions, was quite extensive. If they intended to lure me into a trap, would they have given such a vague answer?

Why would Kim Dalbi bother sending a lower goblin to tell such a lie?

It was a highly unnatural situation.

It indicated that there were underlying interests I was unaware of behind this incident.

‘Even if it’s a trap, I have no choice.’

There was no way to find Baek-seo’s whereabouts at the moment.

I couldn’t afford to reject it, even if it was a trap.

After all, I had the ability to teleport. I could escape if things went wrong.

[Alright! I’ve said everything, mission complete!]

Having said everything, the lower goblin stretched its arms upward in apparent delight.

Soon, its body began to turn to smoke from the feet up. It was leaving since it had completed Kim Dalbi’s orders.

“Just one more question. Why did Kim Dalbi send you?”

[I don’t really know…! Said to take Oh Baek-seo.]

“What? Wait…!”

The lower goblin completely turned to smoke and slipped out of my hand.

A goblin with no combat purpose couldn’t be caught anyway. How could I do anything about it disappearing?

The night breeze brushed my skin.

Soon, a single question surfaced in my mind.

‘Does Kim Dalbi want Oh Baek-seo to be safe?’

Whether it was out of good intentions or bad.

It seemed Dalbi didn’t want Baek-seo to come to harm.

‘I don’t know.’

I couldn’t guess the reason at all.

I decided to set aside the question that I couldn’t answer no matter how much I pondered it.

“Did you hear that?”

Squatting down and holding onto the window frame, I asked the officers.

“Yes… Can we trust that?”

Yesong asked with a bewildered expression.

“I’m going, even if it’s a trap. If something happens, I’ll just escape… Hmm?”

At that moment, I sensed movement below.

The officers and I turned our heads downward.

We saw students installing an air cushion.

“Huh, senior!”

A girl greeted me cheerfully while waving her hand. It was Lee Se-Ah, who always walked around with her eyes half-closed.

Looking closely, the students setting up the air cushion seemed to be from the Volunteer Department.

“Heh heh…! Are you, the Disciplinary Committee Leader, contemplating something drastic?”

“Hee hee…! If you have any troubles, we’d be happy to counsel you…!”

“Kikik…! Go ahead and jump, senior? If you’re confident you can still reach the afterlife even with our sturdy air cushion! Come on, let’s duel!”

What are they… doing here?

Bzzz.

My smartphone suddenly vibrated.

Seeing Se-Ah fiddling with her smartphone, it seemed she was the one who sent the text.

I checked it immediately.

[Lee Se-Ah: Senior~ We came to stop your suicide!]

[Lee Se-Ah: But I think I saw something strange]

[An Woo-jin: It’s nothing]

[Lee Se-Ah: It looked like something though?]

[Lee Se-Ah: Anyway, we can talk about that later]

[Lee Se-Ah: Are you perhaps looking for Oh Baek-seo, the Vice Leader?]

All my hairs stood on end.

‘What…?’

How did she know?

‘Did she guess from my state?’

I recalled that Se-Ah had said she informed the officers about finding me.

I didn’t know how she found me, but anyway.

Up until recently, I had been in a terrible state, and Baek-seo hadn’t been with me for days.

Se-Ah could have easily guessed it.

She boasted enough information-gathering skills to find me.

[An Woo-jin: You’ve been monitoring me all along]

[Lee Se-Ah: Not surprising, lol]

[Lee Se-Ah: We’re stalkers to each other, right?]

[Lee Se-Ah: I really like this relationship, hehe]

[An Woo-jin: …]

[Lee Se-Ah: I’ll send the kids back]

[Lee Se-Ah: Want to discuss it with me?]

—

—

—

“Emergency air cushion~. It boasts excellent performance. I usually carry suicide prevention tools. You never know when you’ll meet someone with strange thoughts, right? I didn’t expect that someone to be you, senior. Life’s full of surprises!”

“……”

“Perhaps you’re moved by the junior who cared even for your life?”

“No.”

In the Disciplinary Committee office.

I served tea after bringing Se-Ah in. The other Volunteer Department students were sent back by Se-Ah.

The Disciplinary Committee officers watched Se-Ah quietly. Except for Yoo Doha, none of them showed signs of caution.

“She’s like a doll… No wonder Leader’s eyes…”

“Ouch!”

Minhyuk chopped Yesong on the back of her head when she started spouting nonsense.

“Have some tact…!”

“What did I do…!”

Yesong and Minhyuk bickered quietly.

Se-Ah watched the two and smiled brightly.

“Thank you. You’re beautiful too, senior.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You’re pretty.”

“Hmm… Heheh. Well, you’re stating the obvious…”

Se-Ah’s nonsensical talk made Yesong smile sheepishly, as she was weak to compliments.

To me, she looked like she had a clueless expression.

“……”

“……”

Minhyuk and Doha looked at Yesong in disbelief.

“So, you saw me at the window and ran over?”

I asked as I sat down across from Se-Ah, leaning back in my chair with my arms crossed.

“Yes. We finished our night volunteering and were having an after-party in our clubroom. Our room is right across from here, so we had a good view.”

“Did I really look like I was going to jump?”

“You haven’t been yourself lately, right? Someone as perfect as the Disciplinary Committee Leader suddenly falling apart like that… How could we not suspect something?”

She had a point…

“And I noticed Vice Leader Oh Baek-seo wasn’t around. So I wondered if something serious happened between you two.”

“Leader.”