Chapter 278
When I returned to the manor, I ran into Alessia, who was already outside.
"Greetings, Master."
"Alessia, what are you doing at this hour?"
She was out despite it being quite late.
"I'm the one on duty for tonight's walk, so when I finished, I came out for some air, and here I am."
‘Lucky me.’ She murmurs and smiles brightly.
"I know, I haven't seen much of you lately since the academy opened."
Alessia is Jiyun’s maid.
She's been busy taking care of Jiyun, who will be entering elementary school next year.
"By the way, Master, what's that behind……?"
"Oh, a rat got in, so I caught it. Is my father or the intelligence officer home now?"
She shakes her head at my question.
"As far as I know, they're both out at the moment. Do you want me to call them?"
"No, that's fine. Oh, and the basement of the annex is empty, right?"
"Yep. It's probably empty right now."
"Perfect. Latte, can you move him down to the basement?"
"Sure."
At my command, Latte immediately took control of the rats and began to carry Kwak Jung-woo to the annex.
Alessia looked at me curiously.
"Is it something important? Can I help…….?"
I smiled lightly and held out my hand.
"No, it's nothing, just something fun. Latte will do."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Latte pats her chest proudly at my words.
Still, Alensia’s expression didn't ease.
"……I mean, sure, but you have to go to school tomorrow, so don't do it for too long."
"Okay. I will."
"Then I'll be off to bed, Master."
"Good night."
With that, I bid Alessia farewell, and slowly make my way to the annex, a place that holds fond memories of my deal with the Triad.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries with the man guarding the entrance, I head down to the basement, the musty air assaulting my nostrils in a way it never did upstairs.
As I walked down the concrete corridor, I could see Latte’s figure in the distance, her back to the iron door.
"Ah, Master, here we are!"
"Why are you sitting so far away?"
"Oh, it's the tradition! It's so far away that the screams can't be heard outside."
"……Isn't it?"
"Come on, inside!"
I followed her hand inside and saw Kwak Jung-woo in chains, tied in the air.
"How would you like to do it, Master, the traditional way or my way?"
She asked, sounding casually creepy.
I shook my head and removed the gloves from my hands, stuffing them into the cube.
“Honestly, I don’t want to see that horrible sight……Let’s leave it like this for now.”
"What? Let's leave it as it is? You said you didn't want it to be gruesome, so I got the water in the tub."
……I don't know why she put the water in the bathtub for that reason, but like I said, I wasn't planning to do anything spectacular in the first place.
He's been in the orphanage since he was a kid, so how much information can he have?
"It's more important that we got him and instead of prying information out of him, why don't we use him as a way to get to them?"
"What?”
Let me see……Surely, this was the number?
I dialed the number, I vaguely remembered.
-Yes. Hello?
A normal, middle-aged man's voice. Confirming that it was his voice, I got straight to the point.
"Director of National Intelligence. Hello."
-……You, who?
The tone sharpened in an instant.
Even though the voice is coming through a cell phone, there's a hint of wariness and hostility in it.
"I thought you had my number saved. Eugene Han Corleone, heir to the Corleone fortune."
-Eugene Han Corleone? What the hell……how the hell do you have my number?
Beyond the voice, I hear the tick-tick-tick of a lighter.
That meant he was still willing to talk more.
"You've been doing some interesting things lately, so let me send you a picture first."
Click.
A picture of Kwak Jung-woo hanging still was sent to the director.
There was only a moment of silence.
-Who is this?
The director's response was exactly what I expected.
"Kwak Jung-woo, age 21. He is an agent who was infiltrated into our orphanage by the National Intelligence Agency ten years ago…….You really don't know?"
-……No idea.
Very standard answer.
"Hmmm, I guess it's true that you forget things easily when you get older. Oh, well, why don't we make room for that?"
-What?
"You never know, maybe you'll remember if we talk face-to-face."
-Me? You? Why would I do that?
"Then why don't I come to you? I know where you live, so I could look for you on my end, but, oh, I don't know, maybe you have family there now?"
-……You fucking asshole, are you threatening me, the Director of National Intelligence?
"And you. What the fuck is this bullshit you're doing against Corleone?"
As usual, these guys won’t understand unless you speak loudly.
"Do you really think this is an ‘offer' because it sounds nice? Make room before this escalates. I'm ending this on my terms, but it won't end so easily if it reaches my father or godfather's ears. By the way, did you know he tried to take me hostage?"
-Once again, I don't know the guy in the photo──
"Does it matter? I'm pretty sure he tried to take me hostage, not someone else, but me, the heir to Corleone. Do you still think authenticity is important?
-…….
By now, his mind must be replaying the terrorist attack by the Villainous Alliance earlier in the semester.
Given the way my father looked then, even the Director wouldn't be able to do much about it…and as expected, I heard a sigh from the other end of the line.
-Time and place to be determined by us.
"Sure. Oh, and remember to save my number this time."
As I hang up the phone with that, I see Latte looking over at me, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.
"……What are you doing?"
"Did you really call the Director of National Intelligence?"
"And?"
"How the hell did you get that number, anyway?"
"Uh……just?"
I didn't know what to say, so I just said it.
For some reason, Latte started to tear up.
"If you had a source other than me, I……feel like I've been cheated."
"Huh?"
"I thought I was your only source of information……!"
You're going to cry over something like that?
"Calm down, you're my only source."
"Don't……I don't even have the number of the Director of Intelligence……."
"No, you're collecting intelligence for the Academy, you might not know anything else, but that's the most important thing to me anyway."
"……really?"
"Yep. Well, you're always there for me, so you should know."
I panicked, trying to get her to stop crying.
"Ugh."
Suddenly, she covers her mouth and ducks her head.
…… Huh?
"Kidding. Just kidding, you're still weak to women's tears."
"What?"
Giggling, Latte looked at me, wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled brightly.
"Under no circumstances should you be weakened by a woman's tears, Master. This is a tip from me, your source."
"……ha."
She was kidding.
“Latte, starting tomorrow, Cielo Notturno will receive double the number of customers.”
"Eek?! Why?!"
"You'll have to ask your tears."
"C'mon……."
No matter how you slice it, this was just too much to play with, ugh.
* * *
The contact date from the National Intelligence Agency was tomorrow night at 9pm.
The location was a Korean restaurant in downtown Seoul.
"Look how they're trying to work it in."
The place was actually an undercover restaurant used by the NIS for meetings with important people, and it was also a place filled with cameras and recorders everywhere.
Not surprising, given their nature.
After all, that's what they were.
The National Intelligence Service is the most powerful intelligence agency in the South Korean government.
It was also an organization that only worked for the "national interest" of the country and not the president.
Initially, the NIS route would seem to say that over 80% of quests are state quests.
"What the fuck is wrong with him this morning?"
Jin-woo walked in with his shoulders up to his head, walking like a model.
Se-ah, who was sitting in the front seat, sighed in annoyance, and Young-jae chuckled in amusement.
"Good morning~!"
With a flourish of his arms, he spun around and sat up in his seat.
"Ah, the beautiful world. How colorful and beautiful it is."
Se-ah was the first to comment on the oddity of his crossed-legged posture.
"What, did you have a good day yesterday? Did your master give you any compliments?"
"Mmhmhmhmh, I actually caught a spy who entered Corleone – right in front of him! Haha!"
I asked him what was wrong, and he said it was because of yesterday's events.
No, I caught the mole, so why is he so happy?
"Good morning, Jin-woo. You're noisy as usual."
This time, the newest member of our club, Kang Hyun, joins in, and before I know it, there are four people around me.
"What the hell?! How dare you scold me for receiving Master Corleone’s affection!"
He’s never been my favorite, but he seems to think he is, so I'll keep quiet.
"Then, Jin-woo, are you going to abandon our Familia and go to Corleone?"
"Huh?"
Se-ah suddenly asks Jin-woo a powerful question.
His eyes widen enormously and he turns to me.
"That's for sure. Jin-woo calls me boss, so what happens if he calls the heir to Corleone boss?”
I ask with a chuckle.
It was a great opportunity to see what he's really thinking.
Jin-woo stares at me and Se-ah as if at a loss for words.
"Uh……you mean……?"
"Wow. I see you can't answer right away. Eugene, why don't you just fire him? Kang Hyun came in anyway. Fire him!"
"No! Don't say that to me! Do you think I'm going to abandon the boss I've been working with all these years?!"
Oh, you would choose me?
"Then you're abandoning the Corleone heir?"
"Not that……one! For God's sake, you'll always be Boss Number One to me!"
With that shout, I kicked the guy who was charging at me, sending his body flying into the classroom wall.
"Hehe……."
Like a frog being blown away by a typhoon, he sticks to the wall with a smile on his face.
At the same time, the front door of the classroom opens, and seeing Jin-woo laughing ‘hehehe' against the wall, Ji-hyun sighs as if it's no big deal and throws the attendance book on the table.
"Jin-woo Bevalt. Quickly take your seat."
"Neng……."
Another peaceful morning at the academy and even in the midst of such a mundane story, I didn't miss the tension.
It felt like a prelude to the ‘war' in the afternoon.
‘After all, I'm bringing ‘him' to the table today, right?’
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