The Support Ate it All-Chapter 526: A Secret Meeting with the Disciplinary Committee Club

Just like the Principal said, it wasn’t long before we got contacted by Gwak Seungjae.

Since my identity had to be hidden from the disciplinary committee club as much as possible, he suggested meeting somewhere else if we could.

There was no reason we couldn’t, so we matched schedules and headed to the meeting spot.

Gwak Seungjae and Oh Sehun had arrived first and were waiting. When our eyes met, they bowed first.

“You came.”

“Hi, Seungjae?”

Dang Gyu-young replied with a light wave.

Then she abruptly perched herself in the seat across from them.

After that, I exchanged greetings with the two disciplinary committee members and sat down in an empty seat.

Oh Sehun looked at Dang Gyu-young.

“First, I want to say thank you. I honestly thought there was a good chance you’d refuse.”

“This is work too. No point getting emotional about it.”

“Sounds like the Principal spoke well on our behalf.”

“He gave me a lot of credit.” 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Dang Gyu-young grinned, and Oh Sehun’s narrow eyes drew into a gentle curve.

“Late as it is, but last time—you were impressive. I learned a lot too.”

“That’s not something you should be telling me.”

Dang Gyu-young flicked her eyes toward me.

Honestly, if the third temporary storage facility infiltration had proceeded as it was, we would’ve lost for sure.

I intervened, and the result flipped completely.

Gwak Seungjae faced me directly and spoke.

“I had a vague suspicion, but I never thought you’d really be Inferno Fist.”

“I do feel sorry for deceiving you seniors.”

“I’m not going to make an issue of it now. Especially since we’re on the same boat.”

He put an odd amount of emphasis on same boat.

Which made what followed obvious.

“Before we talk operations, may I ask? About that magic.”

“I trust you understand I can’t easily reveal the background of a skill.”

“Of course. If there’s something you want, say it.”

So he’d been thinking of a deal from the start.

Which meant he found [Caw?] genuinely troublesome.

If, at a critical moment, that wooden door got blocked again, they’d be facing a disaster like last time.

But despite Gwak Seungjae’s resolve, I answered in an offhand tone.

“I’ll just tell you.”

“...Unexpected. Paying up front.”

“You can interpret it as me saying I look forward to working with you.”

If I restricted information about [Caw?], this disciplinary committee operation would get hamstrung too.

Better to share what could be shared and make it easy for everyone.

Besides, the really important deal is separate anyway.

The Cube of Life.

I could always stack more demands on top when that time came.

Either way, from Gwak Seungjae’s perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

“Fine. Then I’ll ask. There’s a rumor it’s the dimensional crows’ magic.”

“It’s true.”

“As expected. Is it possible for someone else to learn it?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Then should I interpret that as ‘effectively impossible’?”

I smiled faintly.

“At least for the time being, there won’t be anyone besides me.”

Because the crafting difficulty was absurd.

Someday, Crow Tree Units Two and Three might get mass-produced—but right now, there was neither the budget nor the reason to invest in that.

Probably something I’d only think about way down the line... after I’d achieved world peace.

Maybe that was enough, because Gwak Seungjae nodded with visible relief.

Then he exchanged a look with Oh Sehun.

“We can proceed with Plan A.”

“Let’s do that.”

Dang Gyu-young asked with an interested expression.

“Looks like you prepared a lot?”

“We drafted multiple plans. We were going to decide after hearing Kim Ho’s answer.”

“Plan A means the best one, right?”

“At least in our assessment, it’s the most efficient.”

“Nice. That works for us too.”

Gwak Seungjae gave a brief briefing on Plan A.

“—That’s the basic framework. We’ll flesh it out through the PvP week and explain again.”

“Whatever.”

With that, the main purpose of today’s meeting was accomplished.

But for the disciplinary committee club, there was obviously one more piece of business left.

And it would be something important.

Oh Sehun opened his mouth with a soft smile at the corners of his lips.

“Can I ask one thing too?”

“What is it?”

Dang Gyu-young seemed to sense what was coming, but she played dumb as she asked back. Oh Sehun pulled out a document and spread it open.

It was the list of banned items seized at this year’s Van Wave—among them, the ones stolen from the temporary storage facility, and the ones whose whereabouts had become unknown.

“We lost the third one, and in the first one, Kim Ho broke through the encirclement and got away. But in the second one, we wiped them out perfectly—and there were still a lot of holes.”

Dang Gyu-young flipped through the pages as if it had nothing to do with her.

“Mhm, mhm. Yeah, you’re right? [Book of Chaos], a few skill books, accessories...”

“Would you tell us how you did it?”

“Well, it’s not impossible. I’m graduating anyway, and Kim Ho says he’s not planning to keep milking it.”

“That’s good news.”

“But... I mean, it’s kind of weird to do it for free, right?”

“What would you like us to do?”

Instead of answering directly, Dang Gyu-young lifted the corner of her lips and tossed it out like an aside.

“Dam-bi came by yesterday, actually.”

“Hwang Dam-bi. Archery Club’s deputy vice president, right?”

“You know her. They asked something similar too... and I’m getting quite a lot from them.”

More accurately, she’d shaken them down for a whole pile, but phrasing was everything.

Oh Sehun’s narrow eyes curved softly.

“That’s awkward. I’d like to match it if possible, but I’m not confident I can beat two ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) clubs competing.”

“Don’t worry about that. I didn’t bring it up to start a bidding war.”

“Then what’s your intent?”

“There’s no rule that says you can only sell to one side. If we’re doing it, we should cash out big.”

Oh Sehun slowly set both hands on the table and interlaced his fingers.

“Then let’s hear it. Your terms.”

“Simple. A banned item.”

“One of the ones we seize this time?”

“Yeah. If there’s a necromancer magic tome in there, I’ll take that.”

“That’s a difficult request. Even as the disciplinary committee chief, I can’t just remove items at will.”

It was the reaction I expected, so Dang Gyu-young shot back immediately.

“Oh, by the way, I’m getting something similar from the Principal too. Meaning a necromancer item isn’t a huge issue.”

“Then it’s a different story, but... do you really need two?”

“The more the better.”

“And if there isn’t one?”

If there wasn’t what she wanted among the seized items?

Dang Gyu-young just shrugged like it was nothing.

“Then the deal falls through, obviously.”

“And you’ll still proceed with them?”

“Yeah.”

Whether our deal with the disciplinary committee worked out or not, the Archery Club and the Black Blade faction would still go into the temporary storage facility infiltration holding the Cube of Life.

Naturally, the disciplinary committee wasn’t going to be happy about that, and Oh Sehun spoke like he was gently scolding her.

“Gyu-young, I don’t think that’s a great call. Even if profit matters, do we really need to make things harder?”

“If your trust is shaking already, that won’t do. We’re on your side. At least this time.”

“Looks like we worried for nothing. Still, if you’re okay with it, I’d like you to prove it to us.”

Meaning: give them a basis that our deal with the other side wouldn’t cause major disruption to this operation.

Since that part had already been settled with me, Dang Gyu-young answered without hesitation.

“We’ll tell them the method. Whether they’ll ever get a chance to use it, though.”

“So you’re saying we arrest them before they can.”

“Exactly. You’re confident too, aren’t you?”

The disciplinary committee had been looked down on lately, but their real strength hadn’t disappeared.

During the third temporary storage facility infiltration, even with the Thieves’ Club and the Martial Arts Club allied together, they’d been badly outmatched.

So even if the Black Blade faction and the Archery Club allied up, the outcome wouldn’t suddenly flip dramatically.

Oh Sehun pressed again.

“Of course, I believe our kids will do well. But shouldn’t we plan for the one-in-a-million case?”

If they let one or two slip through and the banned items got stolen—what then?

Dang Gyu-young lightly shook the document and replied.

“If anything goes missing, we take responsibility. And we’ll share the method too.”

“You know we can’t give you the banned item then, right?”

“Then it’s not a deal. It’s responsibility.”

Of course it won’t come to that, Dang Gyu-young added.

Then she winked at me, since we’d already coordinated on this in advance.

Oh Sehun thought for a moment, then said,

“Doesn’t look like there’s any reason to refuse.”

“Don’t ‘intentionally’ let it get breached.”

“We won’t.”

The operation’s basic goal was to protect the banned items, but restoring the disciplinary committee’s prestige was just as important.

To do that, they needed to execute the operation as close to perfectly as possible.

Intentionally letting it get breached?

Even if they profited in our deal, it was a loss in the bigger picture.

Especially considering their future relationship with me.

Both Gwak Seungjae and Oh Sehun were quick thinkers, so they’d surely reached the same conclusion.

Dang Gyu-young looked between them and asked,

“Sounds like we’re mostly done talking now, and we just wait until Van Wave, right?”

“Right. I’ll contact you again then.”

“Okay, good work!”

Even if we’d temporarily joined hands, we weren’t close enough to laugh and chatter like friends, so we got up and left right away.

*****

Now that our consultation with the disciplinary committee club was done, we decided to focus on our own work for the rest of the raid week.

Dang Gyu-young’s task was to join Paeng Milyeong’s expedition team, raid deep-floor dungeons, and clear her [Hardship] quest.

And I was going to take Hong Yeon-hwa and Seo Ye-in to see the crows.

While I was at it, I’d also grind AquaFlame’s rank in an ice-themed dungeon.

But before that, I figured I should secure some trade material, so I headed toward the Sculpture Club.

—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—

From far away, I heard a steady, rhythmic pounding.

The closer I got to the clubroom, the louder it became.

Busy again today.

Thinking I should grab what I came for and get out without bothering her, I knocked on the door.

—CLANG—

For a moment it seemed like the pounding stopped, and then a familiar voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

“Hello.”

“Knew it’d be you.”

Kang Byeol set down her chisel and hammer for a moment, walked to the side of the clubroom, and chugged a drink in one shot.

Then she pointed at me with the empty bottle.

“Hey. Next time, just come in.”

“Is that okay?”

“If you knock, it’s more distracting.”

“Why not just leave the door open?”

“Then it’s loud. I’ll leave the stuff over there, so just take it and go.”

When I looked at “over there,” sure enough—two completed statues were sitting there.

One was similar to the crow statue she’d made before, but she’d removed the wing-spreading function and leaned harder into the artistic side.

The other was a miniature version of the Principal’s statue.

When you had too many similar art pieces, their value dropped, so she’d deliberately varied them.

I stored them in my Inventory, and Kang Byeol picked up her hammer and chisel again as she asked,

“That it for this year?”

“For this year, yes.”

“Tell me what you want me to make next year in advance. I’ll work on it in bits.”

So she’d fully accepted her duty as sculpture slave.

With plenty of materials, she’d probably crank out five or six more.

—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—

Watching her back as she returned to work, I suddenly noticed a half-finished statue.

That looks kind of familiar.

Even though the outline wasn’t clear yet, it looked like a toad face was emerging.

My curiosity got out of control, and I broke my vow not to bother her.

“Senior?”

“What now.”

“Is that a request from the Martial Arts Club?”

“Yeah. They’re second in sponsorship.”

“I thought you’d do the Swordsmanship Club first.”

“They said it’s not urgent.”

They’d apparently yielded, saying they didn’t mind being pushed back a bit.

On the other hand, the Martial Arts Club had asked her to finish it within this year if possible.

Kang Byeol pointed her hammer at one corner of the workbench.

“There’s a rough draft over there. If you’re curious, look.”

When I walked over, I saw a clumsy sketch.

Kim Gap-doo, raising a fist in a victor’s pose.

Beautiful women were arranged on either side.

The original subtitle had been “Champion Gap-doo,” but someone had drawn two thick strike-through lines and changed it to “Harem Gap-doo.”

—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—

While hammering, Kang Byeol said,

“Guess their president’s got a lot of people behind him. Honestly, the sponsorship amount wasn’t even that big at the club level.”

“What rank were they originally?”

“Like eighth? But apparently the members chipped in to push it up to second.”

Looks like they’d even emptied their own pockets just to move their order up as far as possible.

—CLANG, CLANG, CLANG—

I stared at the statue slowly taking shape.

Harem Gap-doo, Champion Gap-doo—what did it matter.

Either way, it would be a meaningful gift for Kim Gap-doo.