Chapter 83.1

Chapter 83 – Rule 27. The Leader Never Lowers His Guard (3)

A few days ago, in the Disciplinary Committee office.

‘This is Kim Yeon-hee…’

I reviewed Kim Yeon-hee’s documents on the computer. From her ID photo, it seemed she wore large, round glasses.

Her self-introduction was submitted as a document file, so her handwriting couldn’t be analyzed.

When she attended Hanyang Federal Academy, her grades were in the upper-middle tier.

Her Tier was estimated to be 4th, and her combat grades were high.

There was a note stating, ‘No issues with communication, but poor interpersonal relationships.’ It seemed she didn’t get along well with others.

‘If there’s a connection between her and the Head Principal…’

Kim Yeon-hee won the grand prize in a contest hosted by the Head Principal, earning Platinum Mileage.

Moreover, with my strong presence now established in the Academy City, a super-elite from Hanyang Federal Academy had joined the Disciplinary Committee at Ahsung High School.

Han Seo-jin’s purpose was to monitor Oh Baek-seo, and now Han Seo-jin was crystallized and imprisoned.

Given these circumstances, it was reasonable to be suspicious, as Yoon Tae-ho, the student council treasurer, suggested.

The problem was.

‘But would the Head Principal send someone so blatantly suspicious?’

The very fact that it seemed suspicious made it even more suspicious.

“Hmmm…”

What was this ominous feeling?

It felt like an unexpected current was targeting me, like things were about to get messily complicated.

‘Fine…’

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

‘I’ll scrutinize Kim Yeon-hee during the interview. For now, I need to focus on taking down the Head Principal.’

I was meticulously examining Moon Chae-won’s underground facility for evidence to expose the Head Principal’s crimes.

The primary goal was to force Lee Doo-hee to resign from her position as Head Principal.

I needed to dismantle the power structure that supported her to disrupt the chain of command.

‘But will the Head Principal really commit suicide this semester?’

In the original story, the Head Principal would commit suicide this semester.

Why?

‘Maybe it was Oh Baek-seo’s doing.’

In the original, Oh Baek-seo meticulously planned to assassinate the Head Principal and executed that plan in the second semester.

Thus, the Head Principal’s suicide was likely the result of Baek-seo’s actions. There were no other dramatic variables that came to mind besides Baek-seo.

‘And that plan…’

I recalled the ‘Head Principal Assassination Plan’ I saw at Baek-seo’s house.

Baek-seo had devised a plan to eliminate the Head Principal while avoiding the most powerful Spartoi, Seo Gang-jin.

Considering Baek-seo’s competence, it was a feasible assassination plan. However, it was now an obsolete plan.

But even if that plan had succeeded, a question remained.

‘Why did it become a suicide instead of an assassination?’

If everything went according to plan, the Head Principal should have died by Baek-seo’s hand.

However, in the original, the Head Principal had a serene expression when she committed suicide.

It was as if she welcomed death, having let go of everything.

Given the Head Principal’s actions so far, this psychological change was incomprehensible.

How could a person change so drastically in just one semester?

‘Anyway, I can’t be sure the Head Principal will commit suicide now.’

Therefore, I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario, where the Head Principal doesn’t commit suicide.

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

……

‘She seems nervous, but she speaks well.’

Currently.

The Disciplinary Committee’s new member interviews were proceeding smoothly.

Kim Yeon-hee, despite appearing nervous, answered the questions competently. I’d call it unremarkable.

However, she kept tapping her thigh.

‘Is that Morse code…?’

When interpreted as Morse code, it didn’t make sense. Was it just nerves?

I glanced at Oh Baek-seo. Her eyes were fixed on the documents. She didn’t seem interested in the applicants.

I worried she might ask irrelevant questions, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen.

‘Kim Yeon-hee is definitely going to pass.’

The transfer student Kim Yeon-hee had decent grades at Hanyang Federal Academy.

Her combat abilities were commendable, and there were no significant issues.

Her admission to the Disciplinary Committee was practically guaranteed.

Rejecting Kim Yeon-hee would be considered misconduct.

“…I’ve heard enough. Any final words?”

Each applicant responded one by one.

One made an extreme statement about tearing criminals apart.

Another talked about bringing justice or giving their best effort.

Then it was Kim Yeon-hee’s turn.

“I…”

Kim Yeon-hee took a deep breath and spoke.

“I want to become a Disciplinary Committee member who can apprehend any criminal and make them pay for their crimes. Please select me.”

Her eyes were filled with determination.

A calmness that wasn’t present before shone on her face.

“……”

I quietly observed Kim Yeon-hee.

‘Somehow…’

There was no particular suspicion, but.

There was a strangely familiar feeling.

It was hard to pinpoint the source of this incongruity.

Time passed, and the interview ended without any issues.

I organized the documents and stretched my shoulders. After exchanging farewells with the interviewers and seeing them off, only Baek-seo and I remained in the interview room.

Baek-seo packed the organized documents into a briefcase.

“Good job, Leader.”

“You too.”

“Let’s keep it up tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow… Yeah.”

There would be more interviews tomorrow.

‘It’s daunting…’

I felt like throwing up…

On the other hand, Baek-seo looked relaxed.

“Are you heading straight to the training ground?”

“That’s the plan. What about you?”

“I’m going straight home. I want to rest today.”

Actually, she shouldn’t be relaxed.

Baek-seo must be exhausted too.
She just wasn’t showing it.

It couldn’t be helped… Baek-seo had been helping with the personnel tasks I had brought in.

“Alright. Be careful on your way home. Should I get some snacks for later?”

Baek-seo shook her head with a nasal sound.

“Eating at night is hard to resist.”

“Ah.”

I understood.

Baek-seo was a woman.

One who was dating me.

She must be concerned about her weight…

No, wait.

“…Are you talking about snacks?”

“Huh? Who knows?”

“?”

Baek-seo tilted her head and smiled mischievously.

“See you later then.”

“Uh? Oh…”

Before I could ask, she left the room.

……

Training ground.

As usual, I was honing my unique ability.

I realized that the penalty period had been significantly extended. Thanks to this, I could train without burden and sweat profusely.

Even though Geumyang rolled around on the floor eating snacks, she approached me like a ghost and held my hand just before the penalty kicked in.

“Phew…”

I caught my breath and wiped my sweat, waiting for the penalty to subside.

I asked Geumyang.

“You mentioned last time that you might be able to drop a meteor from space, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“If that’s possible… Instead of that method, why not open a rift near the enemy and use the environment on the other side of the rift to attack? Like using the deep sea environment.”

Geumyang shook her head.

“That’s not possible. The environment on the other side of the rift stabilizes within the wormhole. If that were possible, I would have taught you long ago.”

So, the wormhole acted as a stabilizer.

“No matter how extreme the environment, whether it’s absolute zero or extreme heat, it’s the same. Even if you created a rift between here and the sun, as long as you don’t cross the rift, it doesn’t matter.”

“The sun too…? The wormhole is that powerful?”

“You didn’t realize how incredible the wormhole was?”

Geumyang raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

My eyes widened.

“How would I know if you didn’t tell me…?”

“Alright. Let me explain.”

Geumyang stepped in front of me, extending her right index finger and forming a fist with her left hand.

“Connecting disparate spaces defies the laws of this world, creating a distortion in space-time. If you were to travel directly through the rift without the wormhole?”

Geumyang started to move her right index finger toward her left fist, then folded her right index finger.

“Whether it’s your body or an object, it would be completely disintegrated. You’d have to withstand tremendous energy and unimaginable speed. You can’t endure that.”

“Hm…”

“Moreover, for the spatial transfer to succeed, whatever travels through the rift must be perfectly reconstituted at the destination. While a single atom might work, anything visibly large wouldn’t.”

In other words, you’d die.

Geumyang extended her right index finger again.

“Furthermore, space is intrinsically linked with time. ‘Space-time’ is a continuum. Even if the transfer succeeds, temporal anomalies will occur. The consequences of this are ‘unknown.’”

Geumyang attached her right index finger to her left fist and then rapidly bent her right index finger.