The Support Ate it All-Chapter 524: Graduation Prep

Song Cheon-hye’s arrow, having lost its destination, flew at me instead.

“What was that? The thing on her neck.”

“If she didn’t say it herself, I can’t.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

“You’re giving up fast today?”

“It’s not like it ever works.”

Looks like she learned through experience.

Instead, she switched topics and tossed out a different question.

“Where’d you go these last few days?”

“A dungeon, obviously.”

“Then which dungeon?”

“Like I’m going to tell you.”

“Seriously. So petty.”

I shot a question back at the sulking Song Cheon-hye.

“Why are you so curious about other people’s dungeons?”

“Because it’s weird. Everything’s private except the practical evaluation replay.”

“It’s my livelihood. I have to ration it.”

For a split second, Song Cheon-hye’s eyes sharpened.

“...Is it an unapproved strategy run?”

“Let’s not go around accusing innocent people.”

“I can tell things. If your tail gets too long, you get caught.”

“Yeah. Good luck.”

When I waved with a smile, Song Cheon-hye clicked her tongue and stalked off to finish her patrol.

*****

While I was taking some time to prepare for the next dungeon run, I got summoned by the Principal.

‘He’s been calling me a lot lately.’

How long had it even been since the statue went up?

Not that seeing him often was a bad thing, so I headed over without complaint.

When I entered the principal’s office, I saw the Principal, the Vice Principal, and Dang Gyu-young.

Looks like he’d just been summoned and arrived too, same as me.

The Principal gestured toward the sofa.

“Let’s sit and talk. Want something to drink?”

“I’ll have coffee.”

We sat facing each other and traded a few lines of small talk.

Then the Principal took a sip of coffee and got to the point.

“As you know, this semester ends in a month. And Dang Gyu-young, you’re graduating.”

“......”

Dang Gyu-young’s face tensed like he’d realized the moment had finally come.

The Principal continued.

“I’m asking to confirm—are your thoughts the same as before?”

“Yes. I want to stay even after I graduate.”

“Figured. Ideally, you want to stay close to Kim Ho, too?”

“Yes.”

At the crisp answer, the Principal nodded.

“Then the best option is to land a job on this side. You’ve managed clubs well, so you’d probably fit administration too, but the safest bet is ‘Guards.’”

Guards—aka the security guys.

The staff group responsible for the security of Dragon Slayer Academy and the dungeon island.

Graduates often get hired there, and above all else they value skill, so just like the Principal said, it was the most straightforward choice.

Dang Gyu-young seemed to be thinking the same, about to accept right away—

But I stopped him for a moment and spoke up.

“There’s something I’d like to say.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“He can join the Guards, but I’d like you to guarantee a significant amount of autonomy.”

“How much?”

“Enough that he can adjust his work hours at will.”

Naturally, a troubled look crossed the Principal’s face.

“Hey, that’s tough, isn’t it? This isn’t a joke.”

“That’s why I’m asking.”

“Tell me the reason first. Why go that far?”

“The dungeon. We’re going to keep going down together.”

There were still piles of dungeons to clear, piles of Hidden Pieces to collect, and piles of Shadow Undead to bring back.

So rather than sending Dang Gyu-young off the island, it would be more efficient to keep him here and continue our runs.

But if Guard work took priority, there was a real chance that even with our schedule planned out, he wouldn’t be able to come in with us—so I wanted to secure his flexibility in advance.

The Principal seemed to understand the point, but he still looked awkward, scratching the back of his head.

“If I push it, it’ll probably go through, but... it feels off. I’d be doing the other side dirty.”

“Then I’ll give up what I was supposed to get back when we caught the Witch # Nоvеlight # of Depletion.”

“Huh? That was a thing?”

“It’s not the kind of thing you forget.”

During the Witch of Depletion raid, I’d played a decisive role by cutting off her escape route with [Caw?].

I’d been promised an appropriate reward, but since I hadn’t needed anything in particular, I’d saved it.

“If I remember right, the Sword Empress received Doll Snow Ginseng.”

“R-right. She did.”

“If you transfer an S-rank item to me as well, I’ll accept it gratefully.”

“Wow. I really stepped in it, didn’t I...”

The Principal clutched his head and sank into regret.

Like all the things he’d said back then were flashing through his mind.

The kid went through hell. Shouldn’t you give him something?

He’s only a first-year, and he risked his life.

And honestly, if not for that crow magic or whatever, we would’ve lost her.

I’m willing to do that much.

‘This one’s already decided.’

To accept my request, the Principal would have to throw his influence around to a near overreach, but it would still be cheaper than handing over an S-rank item.

Then the Vice Principal—who’d been glaring at him like he was pathetic—offered an idea.

“What if we guarantee autonomy while assigning him a few duties?”

“...Oh, right. That. Kids, hold on.”

After asking us to wait a moment, the Principal started exchanging a private voice transmission with the Vice Principal.

The longer the conversation went, the brighter the Principal’s face became.

Then he cleared his throat a few times and opened his mouth.

“Dang Gyu-young.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you be willing to re-enroll?”

“...What?”

It was such an unexpected suggestion that Dang Gyu-young’s eyes widened.

The Principal gave a wry smile and continued.

“Sorry. I didn’t explain well. There’ve been a lot of incidents with the first-years this year, so... concerns are coming up.”

During midterms, the safety devices on the artificial dungeon had been disabled, and ogres injected with the Bloodburst Corps had rampaged—one step from a major disaster.

On top of that, the Witch of Corruption had been scattering Dark Ubleks around, sharply raising the danger level of the underground dungeons.

Once something happens, it can always happen again—and with the Blood Cult and dragons starting to run wild, the odds were only higher.

That was the Principal’s explanation: parents were starting to voice fears.

“If Dang Gyu-young and the Guards are among the first-years, it feels like we can respond more flexibly if something unexpected happens.”

“......”

“Of course, we’ll accommodate you as much as possible. You’ll just need to move according to the academic schedule—wouldn’t that make it easier to match up with Kim Ho, too?”

Dang Gyu-young weighed a few things, then asked,

“What will you do about the appearance issue?”

Freshmen were one thing, but if anyone among next year’s second- and third-years recognized “Senior Dang Gyu-young,” it would be a problem.

The Vice Principal answered.

“We’ll provide a recognition-inhibiting item.”

He said they had something even stronger than the [Mimicry Totem (A)] I’d used.

If it was that strong, Dang Gyu-young would probably look like a perfectly innocent freshman chick.

Dang Gyu-young glanced at me to ask what I thought, and I nodded.

‘Not a bad deal.’

Right after graduation, he gets hired by Dragon Slayer Academy as a Guard—while also completing re-enrollment procedures as a freshman.

He attends school while hiding his identity, and only displays his ability in emergencies.

The rest of the time, he’s free to do whatever he wants.

Dang Gyu-young made his decision.

“I’ll do it.”

“Good. We’ll talk again once the re-enrollment side gets fleshed out... and about the Guards—there’s one problem left. That’s also why I called you.”

The Principal wore a face like he was thinking, ‘How do I even say this?’

Then, like he’d decided to stop caring, he said it bluntly.

“You’re the Thieves’ Club president, right? I heard you really cleaned house this year.”

“......”

During the first and second temporary storage facility infiltrations, he’d stuffed only the high-value goods into the Cube of Life and walked out.

The Black Market ended successfully, too.

And in the third temporary storage facility infiltration—the big one—he’d set an all-time record by stripping three out of the four split facilities completely bare.

‘The problem is, it’s an all-time record in the worst way.’

Dang Gyu-young seemed to think similarly—rarely, he was watching the room.

Meanwhile, the Principal spoke like it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’m not saying you have to spit it all back up now, but we can’t ignore your track record. It could disqualify you when you apply for the Guards.”

Putting the Thieves’ Club president on campus security?

That was like putting a cat in charge of the fish.

Even if he had no intention of doing anything, people would always look at Dang Gyu-young through tinted glasses.

Of course, the fact that the Principal brought it up meant he already had a solution ready.

So Dang Gyu-young asked carefully.

“What should I do?”

“You started it, so you should be the one to finish it.”

“You mean... help the disciplinary committee club?”

“I think it’ll help your image a lot. The more successful you are, the more it helps.”

As I listened, a question came to mind.

“I thought the Guards were stepping in.”

“We were going to, but Gwak Seungjae refused. He said it wouldn’t mean anything if the teachers helped.”

This time, the temporary storage facility infiltration would be handled easily—but the disciplinary committee club’s authority would stay fallen.

The more they got looked down on, the more they’d be challenged next year, and the year after that.

And it wasn’t like they could keep begging staff for help every time—student issues needed to be resolved at the student level.

“So he pointed at you instead.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. You too, Kim Ho. He even knows you’re Inferno Fist.”

Well, Oh Sehun and Gwak Seungjae weren’t shallow thinkers.

The fact that I’d used [Caw?] during the Witch of Depletion raid was common knowledge.

The trigger word was strange and the effect was outrageous, so the connection to the [Caw?] that had nullified Gwak Seungjae’s wooden door would’ve been obvious.

The one who used it was Inferno Fist.

And that was me.

‘So he knew everything and let it slide.’

He must’ve decided it was more profitable to use me like this.

If I refused here?

‘They’d storm in and drag me off right away.’

Demerit points didn’t scare me, but I didn’t want to waste time on disciplinary procedures.

Still, just accepting it outright felt a little unfair.

“I’m willing to help. It’s also to support Dang Gyu-young.”

“......And?”

The Principal’s brow tightened like he’d already caught the suspicious scent.

Guess after getting played so often, he’d improved his Kim Ho language skills.

“And I want to attach a condition.”

“I knew it. I knew it.”

“It’s not difficult.”

“Yeah, yeah. What is it?”

I gestured toward Dang Gyu-young.

“If there’s a necromancer magic tome among the banned items, I’d like to receive one as compensation.”

“Necromancer... Dang Gyu-young uses it, right?”

“Yes.”

“What exactly are you using it for?”

“To increase slots.”

When I explained how we’d use it, the Principal briefly consulted the Vice Principal, then counteroffered.

“Let’s decide after we see how you do. How about it?”

“Sounds good.”

“Anything else?”

“One more.”

I clenched my fist and lifted it.

From within, dark crimson flames roared—then died down.

“Since I’m already exposed, I can just use it openly now, right? I don’t even get penalized.”

“...!?”

The Principal and Vice Principal looked at each other.