Chapter 22: Foolish judgement.

Ding Dong

The bell rang, signaling the end of class and the start of break time.

-Thud Thud Thud

From a distance, Jung Eun-seo came running toward me.

“What on earth was that earlier?”

I looked at Jung Eun-seo, pondering her question.

‘What happened earlier?’

After a moment’s thought, the recent event came to mind. It seemed she was asking about the incident where I shot Moon Cheol-woong’s foot with my gun. So I answered honestly, but only so she could hear it.

“He was blatantly disrespecting me, so I just put him in his place.”

With a look of surprise, she quietly replied.

“Even so, doing that on your first day in Class F draws too much attention. Given that your reputation at the school isn’t exactly stellar, I think it’s best to keep a low profile. We’ve already made enemies with Yoo Hee-yeon and her associated followers, haven’t we?”

“That’s why I did it moderately. Since I pretended to stumble while attacking, some might even think it was an accident.”

Jung Eun-seo shook her head and advised me.

“Still, it would be better to exercise a little more caution from now on. At the very least, within Class F, we need to form our own faction. Though, of course, we’ll need to steer clear of anyone associated with Yoo Hee-yeon.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Understood.”

She nodded as well, then leaned in close to ask another question.

“By the way, how should we address each other? How old are you?”

“I’m 21.”

“Then you’re older than me; I’m 20. I’ll stick to formal language, so feel free to speak informally to me. Talking too formally makes it feel like I’m talking to a complete stranger.”

The Academy doesn’t admit students strictly by age. As long as one is an adult, even someone 23 or 24 years old could join as a first-year. Thus, it wasn’t unusual to encounter age gaps among first-years.

“Got it.”

Honestly, using formal language was uncomfortable for me as well, especially since I already knew Jung Eun-seo was 20. I had simply been waiting for the right moment to switch to informal speech after the first time I used formal language.

“So, was that all you came to say?”

Given her urgent expression, I thought she had something important to discuss. But since she didn’t bring up anything else, I was a bit confused. After a pause, she finally spoke up.

“I heard there’s a convenience store in the Academy… Do you know where it is?”

“Ah…”

Judging by her reaction, it seemed like she wanted to visit the convenience store inside the Academy. Since enrolling, she’d been too focused on her inheritance hunt to attend the Academy regularly, so she was probably curious about the campus facilities and didn’t know where everything was. I gestured for her to follow me.

“The convenience store is down there. Let’s go together.”

-Step Step-

As we walked down the path together, I noticed people around us glancing in our direction.

-Murmur-

I could hear them murmuring, and I could make out some of the conversations.

“That’s Lee Hyun-seung…”

“Recently with Yoo Hee-yeon…”

“Class F…”

“Gunslinger…”

They seemed to be talking about the altercation I had with Yoo Hee-yeon in the central area. I expected some gossip, given how public the fight was. Fortunately, there weren’t as many rumors in Class F as I had anticipated.

The factions forming now mainly consisted of members from high-ranking classes like A and B. Yoo Hee-yeon’s

followers did have a presence in Class F, but the core of her loyalists was in the higher-ranking circles, where loyalty

to her was evidently stronger.

‘Well… It’s annoying hearing all this murmuring, but there’s not much I can do about it.’

Pretending not to notice the people whispering around us, I began explaining the convenience store to Jung Eun-seo.

“All the items on the shelves are available for purchase, and if you can’t find what you want, you can order it. Some items might take a few days to arrive, so if you need anything specific, it’s best to order it in advance.”

Jung Eun-seo gazed around the store with curiosity, then asked me.

“What’s the tastiest thing here?”

“Are you talking about food?”

When I asked, she nodded. Honestly, her reaction caught me off guard. Given her parents’ guild’s wealth, I figured she’d already tasted every kind of fine food and wouldn’t be interested in the cheap stuff sold here.

‘I’ve only had things like ham buns and snacks from here.’

The food I’d eaten from the Academy’s convenience store wasn’t particularly tasty or nutritious. Since I rarely had an appetite, I just ate enough to fill my stomach.

‘Besides, the cafeteria meals are decent enough without having to rely on the convenience store.’

The Academy’s cafeteria serves high-quality meals every lunchtime, so there’s no real need to snack here. I only came

to the convenience store occasionally, like when I missed lunch while reading in the library or when I stayed late at

the Academy.

With no better option, I recommended the most enjoyable item I’d tried.

“The best thing I’ve had here is the ‘Elf’s Ham Bun.'”

I handed her a bun with an elf illustration on the packaging. She looked at me curiously and asked.

“Why does it have that name? Does it actually contain… elf ingredients or something?”

“Of course not.”

Seeing her perplexed expression, I explained.

“They just call it that because of the elf illustration on the wrapper. Were you expecting them to put elf wings in a ham bun or something?”

Embarrassed, she coughed and replied.

“Well… if there’s an image like that, it’s easy to misunderstand! So, how do I buy this? Do I just pay with a card?”

Although the Broad Academy is equipped with an online payment system, the convenience store here only accepts cash.

“You can’t use a card here. You’ll need cash. Do you have any?”

She fumbled through her pockets and pulled out several cards.

“I’ve got plenty of cards, but no cash.”

“Sigh… Fine, I’ll buy it for you.”

I sighed, reaching into my pocket.

‘Wait, what?’

My wallet was gone. I could’ve sworn I’d put it in my pocket.

‘I double-checked everything before coming here this morning. Did I drop it somewhere?’

Every morning before leaving home, I have a habit of verifying that I’ve packed everything I need. So the chances of me forgetting my wallet were low.

‘Did it fall out somewhere? Damn…’

My wallet held my Academy ID card, a considerable amount of cash, and several other cards. Losing the cash wasn’t the worst part, but getting replacements for my ID and cards would be a real hassle.

Noticing my puzzled expression, Jung Eun-seo tilted her head and asked.

“Is something wrong?”

I looked at her and replied.

“Yeah, my wallet’s gone.”

As I spoke nonchalantly, she became alarmed.

“Your wallet is missing? Shouldn’t we look for it? Let’s retrace our steps and check the path we took.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Watching her reaction, I found myself a bit surprised.

‘She’s usually not one to make such a fuss.’

Normally, Jung Eun-seo has a cold and rational personality. She’s not the type to act this innocently or lightheartedly. Her behavior felt so different from how I’d seen her in the game.

‘Well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.’

If she had acted cold as usual, working together would’ve been awkward. But now, with her chatting like this, all I had to do was respond appropriately, making it much more comfortable to walk alongside her.

-Step Step-

Retracing my steps back through the path I’d taken to the convenience store, I searched all around, hoping to find my wallet.

“I’ll go check over there, just in case,” Jung Eun-seo offered, heading toward a corner in case my wallet had ended up in a hidden spot. I kept walking, scanning every inch around me.

‘Come on… just show up already. Getting a card reissued would be such a hassle.’

Just then, someone approached from the opposite direction and, without warning, gave my shoulder a deliberate shove as they passed by.

-Thunk!-

‘What the…?’

I turned to see what was going on, only to find Moon Cheol-woong standing behind me, staring my way. Not surprisingly, he immediately started hurling accusations my way.

“Can’t you watch where you’re going? Or were you about to pull some excuse like last time, pretending it was an accident?”

His voice dripped with hostility as he glared at me. I glanced around.

‘A-Class, B-Class, and even C-Class students are all watching.’

Earlier, when I’d stomped on Moon Cheol-woong’s foot in the F-Class, only F-Class students were around, and it wasn’t enough to be considered a real conflict. Back then, it could’ve easily passed as me tripping over his foot and him getting hurt by sheer bad luck. But now, he was openly pushing me around, making it clear to everyone watching that he was spoiling for a fight. Trying to defuse the situation, I spoke calmly.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were there. Let’s just let it go, alright?”

He smirked, looking down at me with a condescending grin.

“Sure, just watch where you’re going next time.”

Then, he pulled a wallet out of his pocket, took a few bills out, and shoved them into my hand.

“Consider this your hush money. Go buy yourself a snack or something, got it?”

‘Wait… is that…?’

I recognized it instantly. A black wallet, embossed with a swirl pattern in the center. No doubt about it — it was mine.

In a low voice, I asked him, “Hey, where did you get that wallet?”

He sneered, replying mockingly.

“What? It’s mine. Got a problem with that?”

He waved the wallet in front of me, taunting me. His smug response all but confirmed it. This was my wallet. He must’ve swiped it back in class when I tripped and stomped on his leg.

I looked at him coldly, my voice so low only he could hear.

“Stop playing games… unless you want to end up dead.”