episode_0008

“Your face is quite flushed. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“Oh, no. Not at all.”

“Hmm… I see. By any chance, have you seen a male student who looks like this?”

“No, I haven’t? I-I don’t know…?”

“Hmm… I see. But here’s the thing. Do you happen to see another pair of shoes under your feet? Are you hiding someone?”

“Darn it.”

Indeed. With such a clumsy attempt at hiding, it was impossible to deceive the keenly perceptive awakened individuals.

Moreover, weren’t these girls promising elites among the awakened, having entered the elite course at the National Hunter Academy?

“My friends and I are just playing hide-and-seek.”

“Playing hide-and-seek when you’re over 20 years old?”

“Do adults have a rule that says they can’t play hide-and-seek?”

“…I can’t believe this. Just tell me honestly. Are you hiding that male student here?”

“Nope. Got any proof?”

“Proof? Here’s your proof if I lift up this skirt!”

“Stop!! You…! What grade are you in? Even if you’re a senior, can you lift a girl’s skirt like this? What grade and class are you in? Show me your name. Are you a first-year student based on your white nametag? So, you’re not even an official member of the student council yet? Do you think you can join the student council if you get into trouble with me?”

Her lifted skirt came to a halt.

Fortunately, I hadn’t been completely exposed yet.

Perhaps the girl with pink hair used some kind of telekinetic ability similar to psychokinesis to stop it.

“T-That’s… Ugh… B-But still, if you’re hiding that male student here…!”

As the girl with pink hair and the prospective student council member were about to engage in a heated argument,

A radio transmission rang out from a walkie-talkie held by another prospective student council member.

“–Crackle. Two suspicious female students and a male student found near the northwest gate. Currently resisting search. Need reinforcements. The enemy is strong, and we can’t handle them alone. Over. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. Understood. This is Ice Woman. All forces guarding each gate except for the northwest gate, move there immediately. Repeating. This is Ice Woman. All forces except those guarding each gate, assemble at the northwest gate for reinforcement. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. This is Dormitory Patrol. We’ll depart shortly. Over. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. Hurry, we need you to come quickly. We might lose them. Over. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. This is Campus Patrol Team 1. We’re heading out now. Hold on a little longer. Crackle–”

The radio transmissions continued urgently.

Amidst this, there was a radio transmission looking for our side.

Judging by the voice, it was the long-haired female student council teacher with the code name Ice Woman.

“–Crackle. Campus Patrol Team 3? Why isn’t the radio working? Respond. There’s no report of movement on your end. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. This is Campus Patrol Team 3. We received the radio transmission. Message received. Over. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. Are you currently moving towards the northwest gate? Crackle–”

“–Crackle. N-No, we’re not. Over. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. Move quickly. What are you doing? You’re the closest to the northwest gate. And from now on, you don’t need to say ‘Over’ while ending your message. This is a two-way communication device like a phone, different from the old walkie-talkies where you had to press a button to speak. Crackle– Crackle. The sound quality may be poor. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. U-Understood. W-Well, we… Crackle–”

“–Crackle. What? What are you saying? Clearly and distinctly explain so I can understand. Crackle–”

“–Crackle. T-There are suspicious individuals here too… Crackle–”

“–Crackle. Is backup still far away? Hurry up!! Crackle–”

“Chichik. School patrol team 3. Immediately support the northwest gate. It’s an order. Go support immediately. Chichik.”

“Chichik. Got it, I’ll depart right away. Chichik.”

As if resigned to their fate, two female students from the Holy Order headed towards the northwestern gate.

I had to seize the opportunity presented by Cheonjaeilwoo to avert the crisis.

Just as I let out a sigh of relief,

The girl with pink hair lifted her skirt slightly and moved, then looked at me with a bright smile as she stood outside her skirt.

Impressed by her cute demeanor, I remarked, “Phew~ You got lucky.”

“Haha. Listen, junior troublemaker. There’s no such thing as luck in this world.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It’s just different outcomes of inevitable events. We only label it ‘luck’ because we can’t perceive or calculate everything accurately. Just like you.”

She stated decisively as if it wasn’t luck but something else.

Her way of speaking seemed as though she intended it…

“Hmm? Could it be?”

“Did you deliberately cause the disturbance at the northwest gate?”

“Ho… You’re not just a simpleton after all, are you?”

She patted my head as if approvingly.

Accepting her gesture, I was curious about her identity.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jina, leader of the top delinquent circle in our academy.”

“A delinquent circle?”

“Yes. We’re a revolutionary circle aiming to abolish the dirty old traditions scattered throughout the academy, which glorify outdated customs, in order to reform Hunter Academy’s practices. However, the Holy Order and Student Council brats simply call us delinquents.”

“Oh, I see.”

“They said the Holy Order brats have been chasing someone since the first day of school, so we decided to join in… and they were chasing you.”

“…?”

“By the way, why did you, a former male servant in the old tradition of the male volunteer corps, even enter as a special case during the morning meal on the opening day of the entrance ceremony?”

“At first, I thought you were just a perverted weirdo. Sometimes I heard there are guys obsessed with vaginas and semen like common perverted barbarians. But strangely, you rebelled against the Holy Order.”

“I thought if they approached you, you’d gladly open your legs and offer your manhood. I expected you to be like that. But instead, you resisted even when taken to the punishment room, fleeing from the Holy Order… running away from them.”

“…Could it be that you, like us, are a warrior imbued with the spirit of revolution, confronting and dismantling such traditions head-on…??!”

“What nonsense is this? You’re making a big fuss all by yourself. I’m just a regular guy trying to enjoy the world within the game.”

“If my thoughts are correct… we will protect and hide you until the end in our revolutionary circle. But if you’re just a perverted guy, we’ll treat you accordingly. So, what’s your opinion?”

“I… I…”

I wasn’t foolish enough to confess the truth so naively.

“I… I agree! I too was a pure-hearted revolutionary warrior!

Finally, someone recognizes my true value…!”

“Indeed…! My eyes didn’t deceive me…! Hahaha! Euhahahat!”

“Ehehehe. Euhiihiihi!”

“Cough. Cough. Laughing is good, but why are you laughing so grovelingly and sinisterly? It’s almost like a third-rate extra villain laughing. We’re not third-rate villains. We’re a group fighting for justice, a revolutionary group.”

“What? Laughter? Maybe it’s just because I’m a man?”

“No, it sounds more like the laughter of a third-rate female villain.”

“Ah, is this a world where gender roles are reversed? This laughter sounds like the voice of a third-rate female villain…

Tsk! What’s wrong with my laughter!”

“I-I see… I’ll try to fix it.”

“Then let’s move. The time has come for the Saintly Sisters to catch on to my undercover operation. This way. Comrade Revolutionary.”

Guided by the pink-haired beauty, I moved into some underground facility hidden within the academy.

I was surprised to find such a space within the academy and once again astonished by its vast and deep dimensions.

“Sis! You’re bringing an outsider into our secret hideout! Even though you’re the leader… that’s just…”

Deep within the secret underground space.

I found myself lost in the maze, unsure of my whereabouts.

In any case, as I ventured deeper underground, I encountered several members of the Teaching Misfits Circle.

Among them, a very pretty girl with sky-blue hair glared at me disapprovingly.

With my hair similar in color to hers, I must have appeared distasteful to her as well.

It seemed that this aversion to the blue spectrum of hair colors was due to the Saintly Sisters’ influence.

Strangely, it seemed difficult to get along with those with blue-toned hair.

“Oh, this guy is no longer an outsider. He’s a comrade revolutionary like us.”

“But doesn’t he look weak and easily breakable?

If he gets caught by the Saintly Sisters or the Student Council, he’ll spill everything in less than an hour!”

“You fool. It won’t take me an hour to crack under torture. I’ll spill everything in less than a second.”

As a foreign soldier once said, enduring torture was a concept reserved for fools who had never experienced it.

Before even starting the torture, I had already spilled all the information effortlessly.

The purpose of torture, after all, was to extract information unless the other party was a hardcore sadist.

If everything was revealed before the torture began, there would be no reason to continue.

I read somewhere that torture was considered a form of labor.

“Jieun! Don’t spew such insulting words at this comrade revolutionary!

He has willingly thrown himself into the fight to eradicate the vices of our academy, embracing the same ideals and beliefs as us, a comrade sharing our ideology and aspirations.

Don’t you understand his noble intentions? How could someone like that spill everything in just an hour?

He is the one chosen to uphold our oath to carry the secret until death.”

“Damn it. That’s not true. I’ll just spill everything. Why endure torture until death? Are you crazy?”

The Teaching Misfits Circle, self-proclaimed Revolution Circle, debated over my position and status.

Driven by their belief in noble ideals, persuasion was non-negotiable. Otherwise, resistance and war were the outcomes.

Fortunately, under the exceptional leadership of the pink-haired leader, one by one succumbed to her persuasion.

Even the sky-blue-haired beauty, who resisted her logic until the end, eventually acquiesced to watching over me.

“It seems everyone is now in agreement. Kim Dojin, Comrade Revolutionary.

You are now part of us. As a fellow revolutionary, we hope you will show a process and outcome that we can be proud of.”

“Y-yes…”

“Let’s wrap this up for now. Jieun, Vice Leader.

We hope you will introduce our comrade to our hideout personally.

Engage in conversation, clear up misunderstandings, and build trust.”

“Understood, Leader.”

Following the guidance of the sky-blue-haired girl, I was led through the intricacies of the secret hideout.

As we explored every nook and cranny, she entered a secluded area and surveyed the surroundings.

Approaching me, she grabbed my collar.