Chapter 183 – The First Step. Registration.
*
There’s a reason I returned to the academy even though the semester hasn’t started yet.
I came back for two purposes.
One is to register as the student council president.
The application can happen anytime before the semester starts, but I have many enemies within the academy.
Especially, I’m completely at odds with the professors.
It’s highly likely that they will foam at the mouth and try to interfere with me.
[Those bastards are just the type to do that, huh?]
‘It’s the aholes, for sure.’
So, I chose this vacation period.
The professors are busy dumping all their work on the research students and chilling during this time.
Even the staff are making research students toil away, creating a perfect situation for me.
Almost all research students, except a select few on the edge of becoming professors, are on my side.
Still, just in case, I left a little insurance.
[Am I creating unnecessary trouble?]
‘It’s just insurance. It’s not like I’m going to suffer.’
I headed to the main building to register as a student council president.
However, what greeted me at the reception desk was…
“What the hell are you doing here?!”
It was Professor Pilyong.
The bald professor was showing his teeth and growling at me as soon as he saw me.
This situation was definitely not what I expected.
“F*ck, why is the professor here? Where are the research students?”
“Because of you, I can’t use the research students!”
From what I gathered, due to the Kim Shinwoo Law, they can no longer boss around the research students like before.
Now, every task they assign must come with pay, so it seems the professor came out himself to avoid that expense.
Even though it’s just minimum wage, Professor Pilyong was still trying to maintain face.
[The eyes of the surrounding staff are definitely not kind, huh?]
‘These f*ckers? They won’t understand until they lose their jobs, right?’
Certainly, because they can’t exploit research students anymore, the glances of the staff are intensely hostile.
There wasn’t a single person excluding an explicit display of animosity, whether they were sitting down working or passing by.
Moreover, although I’d seen it briefly before, the desk was now piled high with documents compared to when the research students were working.
It was clear they were using the research students while skimming off the night allowances.
[Are these even human beings?]
‘I really don’t know who’d come here.’
If Mujin saw this, he’d probably be thrilled thinking there were blood-sucking creatures all around.
Meanwhile, as I kept glancing around, Professor Pilyong lost it again.
“What the hell are you doing here?!”
Suddenly, a number popped up above Professor Pilyong’s head.
A look of confusion soon crossed his face.
“Is this fcking a*hole really trying to register as student council president?”
“Of course I came to register as the student council president. Since you’re bald, does that mean you have no ability?”
Professor Pilyong’s teeth gritted audibly.
As I handed him the envelope containing the documents needed for the student council registration, he immediately swatted it away with his hand.
He clearly had no intention of accepting it.
Professor Pilyong’s disdainful laugh followed.
“You think everything will go your way? The academy’s a joke!”
“Did I say the academy was a joke? I never thought that at all.”
“But you’re saying you want to run for student council president? If that’s not making a fool of the academy, then what is?!”
I calmly shot back at the furious Professor Pilyong.
“The only thing I look down on is you, professor.”
“Come here, you f*cking dog!!!”
Professor Pilyong stood up as his rage couldn’t be contained any longer.
I was so happy to see that.
I had made Professor Pilyong mad.
I could control his emotions.
[Only Neil Druckmann is coming to mind.]
‘That hobo from TLOU 2 for real.’
Meanwhile, Professor Pilyong pointed his finger at me and unleashed all his fury.
“I’ll make sure to rip you apart alive!”
“Professor.”
“Shut your mouth! You f*cking brat! For someone like you, I can surely kill you!”
Professor Pilyong barked in rage like a chihuahua overtaken by his emotions.
I scoffed at him.
“Don’t use such strong words; it makes you look weak.”
“F*ck you!!!”
They say when people run out of things to say, they just curse.
Seeing Professor Pilyong like that really made me believe it.
Now he was no longer responding to my words and was actually trying to tear up my submitted envelope.
Just then, a door opened behind us, and familiar footsteps echoed.
I felt like my insurance had appeared.
Of course, in his maddened state, Professor Pilyong had no idea who had just entered.
“If you tear that up, you’ll be in big trouble. There’s a recommendation letter in there as well.”
“Shut up! Which crazy idiot would write you a recommendation letter?!”
Hmph!
I heard a cough beside me.
The envelope was already half torn.
Preparations were complete.
I quickly turned my attention.
“Oh! Did the crazy idiot just arrive? Thanks to you, professor, I knew they’d be here.”
“Oh ho.”
My insurance request.
The chairman, of course.
Only then did Professor Pilyong’s vision seem to clear up a bit, and he checked who had come in.
As soon as he spotted the chairman, Professor Pilyong’s face turned pale.
A cautious question slipped out of his mouth.
“J-Just to confirm, is Chairman’s recommendation letter really in there?”
Professor Pilyong’s eyes began to tremble.
The hand that had been about to tear the envelope froze in place.
With a blank expression, the chairman began to speak calmly toward the flustered Professor Pilyong.
“As Shinwoo said, my recommendation letter is indeed in that envelope.”
“……Huh?”
“But tearing it apart like that is quite a feat, isn’t it?”
It seemed unbelievable, as Professor Pilyong let out a high-pitched whine.
To the now slightly deranged Professor Pilyong, the chairman flashed a cold smile.
“If you keep doing this, it might just cost you your position as chairman. Where will you go then?”
“N-No! Not at all!”
“What should I do? There are a lot of promising candidates wanting to take your professor position these days.”
“I will accept any punishment! Please spare me!”
Professor Pilyong quickly began to bow his head.
He looked so pathetic compared to his earlier attitude towards me.
Even the staff members who’d been casting hostile glares my way were now avoiding my sight.
[Be strong when you’re strong, be weak when you’re weak, huh?]
‘Right now, I’m the strong one, you f*ckers.’
I threw a look of disdain at the staff.
Meanwhile, the chairman smiled faintly at Professor Pilyong.
“I’ll let it slide with a salary reduction.”
“J-Just a moment!”
Professor Pilyong clung to the chairman in desperation.
Originally, male obsession was a tag that wouldn’t work in Nopia, but that didn’t matter to Professor Pilyong.
“P-Please spare me just the salary cut! If this continues, I’ll only be able to have three meals a day!”
Professor Pilyong desperately tried to avoid the salary cut.
Of course.
“If you had hair on your head, then the salary cut wouldn’t apply.”
“……”
Not that it did anything for him.
The moment the chairman left, Professor Pilyong’s face looked like a death row inmate.
I laughed at the miserable sight of Professor Pilyong.
“Make sure to register well. Then maybe you’ll grow some hair.”
“F*cking aaaaaaaah!!!!!!”
With Professor Pilyong’s wail echoing behind me, I left the main building with a happy smile.
As soon as I stepped out, I saw the chairman and his secretary.
The chairman chuckled at me.
“Do your best. You have to pass the position of chief to me soon, you know.”
“Of course. As long as you stay alive till the end of this novel.”
“…Shinwoo, please be careful with your words.”
The chairman smiled casually while his secretary looked flustered.
Regardless, I wrapped up the greeting simply and moved away from them.
Of course, this wasn’t the end.
As soon as I thought I’d slipped out of their sights, I enhanced my legs with magical power.
The place I was moving to was near where the chairman and secretary had just been.
I quickly concealed myself and began to eavesdrop on their conversation.
From a distance, I could see the flustered expression of the secretary and the relaxed demeanor of the chairman.
They had interrupted my entrance, but without needing any context, I already caught key details in their conversation.
“Chairman, are you really okay? That student is a mad dog. He’s uncontrollable.”
“Don’t worry. Once I wrap up my term as chief, I can dispose of that mad dog.”
“What do you mean?”
The secretary expressed his confusion to the chairman.
Then the chairman stroked his chin and continued.
“Simply put, I can block his graduation. Using the power of the academy, of course.”
“What if the power of the academy is lost? What if unforeseen accidents happen?”
“In that case, we can impose massive compensation for any accidents that occur, and there won’t be a problem.”
“……It might be better off just committing suicide.”
With that, their conversation came to an end as they disappeared.
The chairman chuckled, while the secretary wore a somewhat complicated expression.
I was never in danger of being caught, but after worrying about what could happen, my piece finally spoke up after they left.
[What’s going on? Are all these folks just trying to stab me in the back in this novel?]
‘If I’ve come this far with over 180 chapters, they should start realizing they’re surrounded by idiots.’
[……Does that include this body?]
‘Not yet.’
In any case, I didn’t consider myself on their side.
What kind of place is this academy, to begin with?
It’s a den full of backstabbers, trying to trick you like those in Leaf Village.
So I need to be prepared.
The best way to screw everyone over splendidly.
That’s why there’s still more to do.
It’s time for the next stage.
*
