Chapter 276
Chapter 276
~The next day at the Academy~
As usual, I was silently playing on my phone, killing time.
"Good morning!"
I glanced up at Jin-woo as he walked into the classroom with his usual over-the-top morning greeting, then turned back to my phone.
For some reason, he seemed more excited than usual, even though he'd been up pretty late last night.
I'm watching a new video of the Recipe Development Club, thinking that all things are possible.
"Cook. Cook. Cook."
I hear an annoying chuckle coming from the seat next to me.
When I glanced to the side, I saw the disgusting expression on his face that said "Ask me what happened to me?”
I sighed at the sight and looked at my phone again.
Suddenly, he grabs my arm.
"What's with that face? You looked like you were going to ask me what happened just now. Why didn't you ask me?!"
What the hell was that all about this morning…….?
I had to wonder, but I decided to ignore him again because I knew he'd probably yell at me again if I asked.
"Aren't you overreacting again today? Just lie down and go to sleep."
"Awww! That's not what it is, man. That's so awesome."
Young-jae, who was sitting in the front seat, walks over to us and slouches down.
"What's going on? Why is Jin-woo this excited since morning?"
"That's right! You're curious, right?"
"You've never been this over the top before, of course I'm curious."
“Oh, the class president too.”
Se-ah turns around and opens her mouth in disbelief.
“Don’t you remember that? We heard that kind of fuss not long ago, but it was actually about a game.”
"Do you have any idea how hard that game is?!"
"Only for you!"
As expected, they had another argument.
Now, I feel a sense of mental stability as I see them being as harmonious as usual.
"So, what happened that made you so excited?"
Young-jae finally asked the question.
Jin-woo's eyes shone for a moment.
"Oh, that's right. You know~ You know~"
After saying that, he quickly looked around.
When he realized that no one was paying attention to our conversation, Jin-woo gently stuck his head towards us and opened his mouth.
"Yesterday. I met Master Corleone……!"
"Eh?! Are you serious? Master Corleone……that, the master of the Corleone family?"
"That's right! I swear, I just met him yesterday for the first time……he almost killed me."
Look at this…….
He was talking about yesterday, too.
"By the way, the Bevalts are from Corleone, right?"
Young-jae mumbled, as if he had forgotten.
"My dad said I should go to some kind of ‘newbie training program' or something, and I was like, ‘Dad, what kind of mafia newbie training program is that?’"
It was clear to me that Antonio had made up the story to make him go.
"So I told him I wasn't going because I was a pain in the ass, so he said, ‘You better go if you don't want to die,' and I went anyway."
"Ack, cut to the chase, how you met him!?"
"That's all the buildup I needed! So I ended up going to the place my dad told me to go……and all of a sudden someone attacked me, and he was so damn strong, I was stretched out in an instant, and when I came to, I was hanging upside down in a torture chamber or something."
As the children listen to Jin-woo's story, their eyes begin to light up with interest.
"That's where I felt it. I realized that I was being held in a strange place……but I’m not the heir to the great Bevalts for no reason, and I was holding a razor blade in my mouth with the intention of taking one of them with me."
"What? A razor blade in your mouth? Why would you carry such a thing in your mouth?"
"For emergencies?"
He mumbles something like that, then takes the razor out of his mouth.
"Ew, gross."
"Dude, you should have an emergency weapon like this!"
……Jin-woo said, hiding the blade in his mouth again.
I know all about what happened next.
He grinned sheepishly as he told us about swinging the razor at me and how he thought the man was the villain, but it turned out to be me.
"I swear," he said, " ‘m the number one favorite of our master……."
First place?
The first place was the mercenary girl.
"Master just patted my shoulder and said, ‘Good job! You got your chance!' and I could just see the trust in his eyes, right?"
……No, I never said that, nor did I give him that look.
"Are you trying to be weird again?"
"Dude, seriously, have you ever seen my master?!"
"No. I’ve never seen him, but it seems like he's only giving Jin-woo a boost!”
"It's true, it's true that my master cares about me!"
"──Puff!"
Ah, I involuntarily laughed.
When I lifted my gaze, I saw the three people's eyes on me.
"Look, Eugene is laughing because he's funny!"
"Boss? ……Why are you laughing? Doesn't the boss believe me?"
"Oh, it's not funny, I'm trying to hold back a cough."
I'll admit, my excuses were pretty silly, even for me but what can I do? It was really funny.
“This body is now working with Master Corleone! There is only a solid road ahead!”
He said that to wrap up the story and he had a smug look on his face.
"So you're going to abandon Familia and stick with Master Corleone from now on?"
"Huh?"
"Jin-woo, I'm disappointed to hear that."
"Disappointed in what?"
"Jin-woo, thank you for everything."
"No, wait. Why are you suddenly talking like that?"
“I hope you are happy there too. The locker in the club room you used to use will be given to Kang Hyun."
"Boss!!!"
* * *
After confirming that it was exactly midnight, I stroked the mask on my face and entered the warehouse.
The trainees were lined up side by side as if they had been waiting for me.
Upon seeing me, they bowed their heads in unison, as if in synchronization.
"I see no one is missing."
Without saying a word, I walk slowly in front of them, scanning their faces.
The trainees stare at the ground in silence, looking nervous and stiff.
"We'll be seeing each other a lot, so why don't you introduce yourself, starting with……number two."
"Me, me first?"
Jin-woo looks up, confused at being called out of nowhere. But he quickly reads the mood and slowly opens his mouth.
"……I'm Jin-woo Bevalt of the Bevalt family. Please be nice to me."
"I'll do my best. Jin-woo Bevalt."
Next, I look at number three.
She was the highest scorer yesterday, and she was resourceful enough to take down the foolish Jin-woo in one fell swoop.
"Sasha, Sasha Pivoakova."
She didn't add much else.
At the same time, a system window pops up in front of me.
<Character Guide>
[Name: Sasha Pivoakova]
[Affiliation: None ]
[Age: 18 years old]
[Specialties: Shooting, Acting, Systema, Sixth sense]
TLN: System= Russian martial arts.
[Description: A girl who lost her family at a young age to a Russian gang. To survive as an orphan, she joined a mercenary organization and learned combat skills. She was recruited by Vito Corleone, who saw her potential in Russia.]
"Hoho."
Apparently she was brought here by my father himself, not anyone else.
"I'll take care of you, Sasha."
"Thank you."
But her affiliation is marked as ‘None', so she's not completely loyal to Corleone yet.
‘I'll take good care of you.’
I smile beneath my mask at the sight of a gemstone I haven't seen in a long time.
Let's see…….
The other two were from the orphanage run by Corleone, and one of them was a bit of an oddity.
<Character Guide>
[Name: Kwak Jung-woo]
[Affiliation: National Intelligence Service]
[Age: 21 years old]
[Specialty: Acting, Shooting, Invisibility]
[Description: A person raised by the National Intelligence Service for infiltration, he entered an orphanage run by Corleone to become a regular member of the organization.]
‘Interesting.’
I never thought there would be a spy among the children raised in the orphanage.
"You. What's your name?"
"……. I'm Han Yunho."
Not Kwak Jung-woo, but Han Yunho? Is that the alias he was given at the orphanage?
“Yes, Han Yunho. I'm counting on you."
Well, I guess I should take advantage of this situation.
"Mickey."
TLN: Latte alias.
"Yes, Master."
She bows her head in response to my words.
"Close the warehouse door, don't let a single rat escape."
"……Yes, sir."
Thump-!
At her gesture, the rats waiting around the perimeter move, and the door slams shut in an instant.
The warehouse instantly became a closed place.
She then leisurely sits down in the chair that had been prepared for her.
"What I am about to command you to do is not false or staged, so listen carefully."
The four of them are taken aback by the suddenness of my words, but they immediately nod in agreement.
Now, let me give you your first quest.
"I've been informed that one of you is a member of the National Intelligence Agency. Find him and kneel before me. You have five minutes……."
The expressions of the four changed instantly at this casual statement.
The first to speak up was another trainee from the orphanage, Sang-ho.
"You mean there's a mole among us?"
"You're right, you have four minutes and 40 seconds left."
As I rested my chin and stayed still, Latte sneakily approached me.
"Master. You're telling me there's a mole from the National Intelligence Agency among us?"
"Yes."
"They're all vetted people……Is that possible?"
“Regardless of whether it is possible or not, what can you do with something that is true? Let’s see what they can find.”
"And you know about it?"
"Secret."
I smiled and turned back to the four children.
It's a reverse mafia game, where you have to find the non-mafia among the mafia.
It's funny because it's a pun, but the three of them don't look amused at all.
The only one who seemed to be smiling was……Jin-woo.
"It seems like what master said is true, so why don't you tell me one by one why you're not a mole?"
The first to speak was Kwak Jung-woo, alias Han Yunho.
He wanted to reduce suspicion by setting the tone from the start.
Jin-woo was the next to speak.
"My father is the Don of the Bevalt family, how can it be me?"
The other children look puzzled at the obviousness of his opening statement, but they quickly nod in agreement.
There was no way his son could be a spy when his father was the highest ranking officer under Corleone.
Sang-ho is the next to speak.
"……I grew up in an orphanage run by Corleone from the age of five. I have no reason to betray Corleone."
Kwak Jung-woo, who was standing next to him, also raised his hand.
"I also grew up with Sang-ho since I was around 10 years old. Sang-ho is the best witness."
Sasha is now the only one who hasn't spoken.
All three eyes turn to Sasha.
"You said Sasha, do you have any reason why we should believe you?"
Kwak Jung-woo uses the word ‘we' instead of ‘us', deliberately creating an air of exclusion.
"How long have you been involved with Corleone?"
He asks in an interrogative tone, as if she's already beyond suspicion.
"I'm……."
She hesitates to answer.
"My relationship with……Don Corleone is only a few months old."
Is it because I'm watching?
Seeing her give up on telling a lie and answer with the truth, Kwak Jung-woo smiles.
"I think we have our answer.”
"……I'm not a spy."
"But we certainly aren't. The others have been with Corleone for decades, how could there be a mole among us?"
As he said that, Kwak Jung-woo looked at Sang-ho and Jin-woo.
"Let's subdue her first, it's easy to get her to talk."
Sang-ho nodded and drew a dagger from his scabbard, and as he did so, Sasha drew her own dagger and pointed it at the two of them.
It was a close call.
Then.
"Listen, listen, listen."
Jin-woo, who had been silent until now, blocked Sasha's path and looked at Jung-ho and Kwak Jung-woo.
"Because I'm an expert in mafia games, you know?"
With that, Jin-woo points his dagger at Kwak Jung-woo.
"I think you're the mole, asshole."
Kwak Jung-woo exclaims, confused by Jin-woo's sudden statement.
"What do you mean, I'm the mole! I've been with Corleone for decades. On what basis──"
"Well, in the original mafia game, it's a rule that the talkative asshole is the culprit, among other things……."
──It's impossible that a beauty like this is a spy for the National Intelligence Agency.
"What kind of nonsense is that──?”
"Oh, I don't know! It's just a hunch, asshole! Let's have a fight! He who wins is justice. Don't you know?!"
"Are you really crazy……?"
In the end, the warehouse was instantly thrown into chaos when two people from the orphanage aimed daggers at each other.
The corners of my mouth turned up at the sight.
Yes, this is Jin-woo Bevalt.