I Become a Mafia in the Academy

Chapter 12

The sparring between Kim Seah and Kim Youngje ended, and the subsequent sparring matches were all similar.

Battles between moderately talented individuals.

Certainly, watching the sparring was enjoyable enough to understand why each one caught Ji Soohyun's interest.

Except for one guy.

Choi Kanghyun.

The guy who arrived at the classroom right after me, who had flown in by helicopter yesterday.

He showcased an ingenious strategy by splashing seawater from a bucket onto his opponent's face, blocking their nose to force a surrender.

His unique armament, the trident, only served as a staff in this scenario.

His sparring match ended in just one minute.

Is it because he's blessed by the sea?

While I was contemplating the dungeons we would tackle later and thinking about recruiting him eventually, the instructor clapped his hands to draw our attention.

"You all worked hard sparring since this morning. Today is also the second day of the orientation, and a day where I can use my discretion, so let's end the class here. Class dismissed. Go back home and review today's sparring."

This aspect seems good.

An instructor who ends class early if you just do your job properly. If this were a regular school, he'd definitely be a popular teacher.

At Ji Soohyun's announcement of the end of class, the students start to rise one by one and prepare to head home.

As I was about to contact Han Seojun to head home, I suddenly remembered Jinwoo lying in the infirmary.

"......But I should probably stop by."

Since he's someone I plan to recruit into my organization, it would be beneficial as a boss to boost his favorability beforehand. So, I decided to postpone contacting Han Seojun and head to the infirmary.

But...... where is the infirmary?

I wanted to ask Ji Soohyun, but he had already left before the students. Looking around, I couldn't get a sense of it.

It seems inevitable that there's a difference between the terrain I know in the game and the real terrain, which is why I'm confused.

So, while I was standing blankly in the hallway, contemplating.

"Hey, are you lost?"

Someone approached me and spoke.

"......?"

Wait, why is this person appearing now?

Sharp eyes, long black hair, and a black name tag on her neat academy uniform.

She looked very similar to someone in my memory.

"......Her?"

Perhaps sensing my confusion, she tilted her head and called out to me.

"Oh, I'm not lost...... I'm looking for the infirmary."

We're meeting for the first time. Since she's like a senior I'm meeting for the first time, I responded politely.

Then, she suddenly burst into laughter.

"Isn't that usually called being lost? The infirmary is down the left corridor."

"......Thank you."

"No need to thank me. It's my duty as a student council member. You look like a freshman. Did someone get hurt?"

"It's not me, but someone I know got hurt, so I'm going."

"Is that so? I hope you find it easily. Take care not to get lost again. Goodbye."

With that, she continued on her original path.

......What's happening here? I didn't expect to meet a member of the student council so soon after enrolling.

Since we're freshmen and meeting for the first time, it passed without incident......

"I hope we meet as late as possible."

Since I don't know what kind of relationship we'll have in the future, I didn't want to meet her again.

Leaving the now-gone figure behind, I walked in the direction she pointed out, and soon the room labeled 'infirmary' came into view.

Usually, the infirmary would be a small room with one nurse waiting......

But this is the Seoul Hero Academy, boasting Asia's top facilities.

Unlike a typical school infirmary, it was equipped with professional equipment, as if a real hospital ward had been transplanted here.

As I entered the infirmary and looked around, I saw Jinwoo lying on a bed, fiddling with his smartphone.

"Wow, you're really good at this. Is this the divine moving? Huh? It's not hitting, right? Weaving~ Moving~ Weaving~"

Seeing him giggle while playing with his smartphone, it seemed he had fully recovered.

"Ha."

Seeing him so excited without realizing the class had ended made me chuckle.

Perhaps hearing my laughter, his eyes met mine as he looked up from his smartphone.

"H-Hiik!"

He jumped back against the bed wall as if he had seen a ghost.

"Why, why again!"

He was trembling and making strange noises even though I hadn't done anything.

"Didn't we agree before the sparring?"

"Huh? What!"

"Club."

"......Club? Oh, ten million credits! Did you come because of that?"

I nodded in response to his question.

The period for freshmen to establish new clubs starts tomorrow and lasts about a week, so it was essential to get a definite answer in advance.

"Since I won the sparring, you'll join my club, right?"

"......Since I lost, I have no choice. Ah......! My ten million credits!"

Surprisingly, he accepted the outcome of the match quite calmly. Thankfully, he wasn't the type to deny the result.

"With ten million credits, I could have gotten all the skins......"

Is this just being petty?

"......It was money meant for club activities from the start. It's welfare funds for the club, so everyone can use it, so don't be too sad."

Upon hearing my explanation, Jinwoo looked up at me with a start.

"What? You're just going to use ten million credits for club activities? Without any skimming?"

Is that such a surprising thing?

"I have plenty of money, so there's no need for me to take it. Plus, I plan to give out bonuses based on club members' performance, so you don't need to worry about not getting any money."

"B-Bonuses?! Then it's a deal! My father always told me that the boss you should follow should be rich and strong. You qualify. How about I call you 'Boss' from now on? Boss?"

His eyes sparkled with respect as soon as the talk of money came up.

In one corner of my vision, [Trait: Baby Boss] activated, indicating that he was genuinely feeling respect for me at the moment.

"Boss...... Do as you please. But aren't you the successor of the Vivaldi Family? As the successor of a mafia organization, shouldn't you have enough pocket money? Why are you so obsessed with money?"

It was a genuine question.

The Vivaldi Family, to which Jinwoo belongs, is an organization under the Calione. They should have enough financial power, so why is Jinwoo so obsessed with money?

"My family, how should I put it...... It's an atmosphere where you're supposed to earn your own money. So, in high school, I lived off school lunches or by robbing strange guys who came to take over the school...... But this is an academy. It seems like it would be hard to do the same thing here."

Was this the truth behind what Kim Seah told me?

Living off robbing guys who came to take over the school? It was beyond belief.

"......That must have been tough."

"Right? So, what exactly does our club do? You're saying we'll make money from club activities?"

"The club? It's not a difficult activity. In fact, it's a club formed for a good cause."

"Huh?"

Since Jinwoo had already agreed to join our club.

It wasn't difficult to explain what we would be doing at the academy.

"We will be a club that protects other clubs."

"......A club that protects clubs?"

"Yes, a club that protects clubs. Do you know anything about club activities at the academy?"

With a slight hope, I asked Jinwoo.

"Nothing."

"......I had a feeling. As expected. Let me explain briefly then. Clubs at the academy operate on the logic of power. And only the strong clubs survive."

It's both a characteristic and the essence of the Hero Academy.

Power.

The power to protect everyone. The power to protect citizens.

That's why club activities at the academy have become a matter of power dynamics.

"Only strong clubs survive? It feels different from what I thought clubs were about......?"

"That's only natural."

This place is 'Hero Academy,' not a regular school.

It's a place that nurtures heroes to save the future world, not regular students.

"Here, at Hero Academy, it's allowed. After all, we are the people who will head to a battlefield where the logic of power prevails."

That's why I found an opportunity in this club system.

"And we will exploit the loopholes in that system."

We collect a certain amount of protection fee from weak clubs and protect them from strong clubs.

And through the 'Club Wars' that occur in the process, we elevate the rank of our club.

Only by becoming the best club and gaining more powerful authority than others can we see the conquest of the academy.

"Exploit the system? What, like hacking? Something like that?"

The guy who suddenly brings up a topic completely unrelated to the conversation.

No matter how you look at it, he seems to not understand properly.

Since I would have to repeat the ultimate goal in front of the club members later anyway, I chuckled and shook my head.

"We'll talk about that after the club is formed."

"Ah, that makes me even more curious. Can't you just tell me?"

"Since it's something we'll have to discuss again later, just wait a bit."

"......Wow. You stop talking mid-sentence. You're a real jerk. So, to summarize what you've said so far, we protect other clubs and collect protection fees, right?"

"You listened well."

"But isn't this what the mafia does? It's pretty similar to what my father does."

As expected of a son from a mafia family.

He quickly realizes that our club system is inspired by mafia activities.

"If you say so, you can see it that way. Even in the Foreign Area, isn't it run similarly?"

"That's true, but... You know that, right?"

Jinwoo's eyes narrow at my response.

"Protecting means ultimately protecting from other plunderers, but we can only protect if we are stronger than those plunderers, right?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"......I also know that in the Foreign Area, such a system operates thanks to the overwhelming power of the Calione Family compared to other organizations."

"Then."

"So, you're saying you'll create a club that's overwhelmingly stronger than other clubs at the academy?"

"Finally, you get it."

"......Do you think that's feasible?"

"Is there anything impossible?"

"No matter what──."

"Trust me."

"──Huh?"

"I will definitely show you the sight of our club reaching the top."

Unlike the light tone until now, I speak to him with gravity in my voice.

"I'll make sure you can see the view from the top of the academy, standing by my side. So──"

──trust me.

I look into his eyes and speak with strength.

Believe in my skills, the skills that once brought you down in an instant.

At this moment, I am not Yoojin Han Calione.

Because I was a player who had saved the world several times, plunged it into chaos, and achieved most of the existing achievements, ranking second in CS, I was confident.

That I could do it.

And I reached out to Jinwoo, who was still sitting on the bed, listening to my story blankly.

"If you join me, the possibilities are ample."

Jinwoo has talent.

Jinwoo has a background.

And I am more confident than anyone in this world at raising such a character to grow.

Because it's something I've done dozens, hundreds of times.

"Doesn't it pique your interest?"

And my intuition, having watched him closely for a short time──

I was sure he would take my hand.

"Ha, ha ha! Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!"

As soon as my story ended, Jinwoo started laughing, shaking.

As if he couldn't hold back his laughter, he was twisting his body and even tearing up.

"Ha ha, ha! What an unrealistic story."

"......Is it?"

"Is that why? I like it!"

Slowly stopping his laughter, Jinwoo wipes his tears and stands up.

"Standing at the top of the academy? Me? Ha ha ha! If that happens, my father, who nags me every day, will be shocked enough to fall over. Alright. I'll do as you say."

Finally, Jinwoo grabbed my hand.

"Good."

Truly.

"Jinwoo Vivaldi. I will take you to the top of Hero Academy. I would like you to help me reach the top."

"......The goal is too high? It sounds troublesome, but it could be fun."

"Definitely, it will be fun."

At my response, he smiles and gives my hand a brief shake.

"Alright. Deal."

"Deal."

Thus, Jinwoo Vivaldi became the first member of the organization I would create.