After finishing my conversation with Jin-woo and returning home, I was checking my status window and weapons to prepare for tomorrow's event when I sensed someone outside my door and heard a knock.
"Yujin, can I come in?"
Father's voice.
I couldn't understand why Father would come at this hour, but I couldn't just say no like a moody middle schooler.
"Yes, it's fine."
I quickly composed myself from the sudden visit and sat neatly on the bed as I replied to Father.
"Alright, then I'll come in."
Father, with a cigar in his mouth and wearing a black overcoat and a fedora, entered the room.
From his attire, it seemed he was about to go out somewhere.
"Where are you going?"
"Well, I heard that the hideout of the remaining Blunti family members has been discovered."
Father shrugged and sat in the chair opposite the bed, wearing an expression of helplessness.
The Foreign Area, a place where the government's influence barely reaches due to past events.
In reality, the security here is maintained by the Carione Family.
"You must be busy."
"Of course. Since the government doesn't reach the Foreign Area, I have to work hard."
Father, with a gentle smile, patted my head.
The rough and hard hand on my head didn't feel too bad.
"By the way, Father, you met the heir of the Bifal Family today, right? I heard that Antonio's son is attending the academy and seems to be in the same class as you."
"Really? That must have been reported to you right away. Naturally, I nodded while gently pushing Father's hand away.
"Yes, that's how it turned out. We even had a sparring match today."
Father's eyes widened at my words.
"Oh, really? What was the result?"
"…The sparring match ended in less than three seconds after I pulled the trigger. It was so one-sided that Instructor Ji-soo-hyun said he wanted to see a match without my unique weapon next time."
"Hahaha! That's just like Ji-soo-hyun."
Taking advantage of the mention of Instructor Ji-soo-hyun, I decided to ask Father about something I had been thinking about at the academy.
"Father… may I ask what your relationship with Instructor Ji-soo-hyun is? I heard he calls you 'uncle.'"
"Hmm? That boy? Well… if you ask about our relationship, we clashed several times before he became a teacher at the academy. That's all there is to it."
"Ah…"
I knew from the game that Ji-soo-hyun had eradicated many criminals during his hero activities, but I never imagined he had clashed with Father.
"By the way, Father, why are you here in my room…?"
"Oh, right. I have something to give you."
Father, saying this, fumbled in his pocket and handed me something.
"Since you've completely taken care of the Blunti Family, you deserve a reward for your successful mission."
Father handed me a colorful cube that looked ordinary.
"…What is this?"
"You can't carry that heavy gun around every day, can you? So I prepared this subspace artifact for you. Do you like it?"
A subspace artifact.
It seemed familiar, and then I realized it was one of the inventory items I had seen in the game.
"Each space in the cube is about 1cm³, so you can use a total of 6.4m³ of space."
Father handed me the cube, and as soon as it touched my hand, information on how to use it was input into my mind.
A 64-space inventory appeared before my eyes.
I tried putting a pillow next to me into the inventory, and it took up 8 spaces and disappeared inside.
"How is it?"
Father smiled, looking at me with curiosity.
"Yes, I really… really like it."
"Haha! I thought you would. I heard you can adjust its size, and most people wear it around their neck."
Saying this, Father handed me a necklace that seemed to match the cube.
It appeared that the cube could be shrunk and hung from the necklace.
"I'll use it well."
"Good, since you like it, I'm happy too."
My smartphone buzzed. It seemed the item information had arrived.
"Hmm? Did you get a message from a friend?"
"Yes, it seems so."
And then the phone buzzed again.
This time, the source of the vibration was Father's pocket.
"…I also got a message, so I'll be going now."
Father, saying this, walked towards the door.
"Be careful."
"Thanks."
After Father left the room, I took out my smartphone and checked the new alert.
[You have obtained a new item!]
[Name: Four-Dimensional Cube]
[Grade: Relic]
[Type: Item]
[Description: An artifact created by the Cube Workshop, a master of 'cubes.' The cube consists of 64 spaces, each about 10cm³, allowing you to store items in a total of 6.4m³ of subspace.
An option has been added to adjust the size of the cube for the user's convenience.]
"…So it was a Cube Workshop item after all."
The Cube Workshop was a high-end brand that appeared several times in the game.
If it was a Cube Workshop item, it would be quite expensive, and a subspace relic would be hard to obtain even with a lot of money. I couldn't even imagine how much it cost.
But, given Father's reputation and the Carione Family's wealth, it probably wasn't a significant expense.
Ultimately, it was a very useful item for me.
Just as I was organizing my inventory by putting 'Tommy of Al Capone' and other items into the cube Father gave me, there was another knock at the door.
"It's Han Seo-joon. Can I come in?"
It seemed Han Seo-joon, whom I had called before Father came, had been waiting for him to leave.
"Sure, come in."
After finishing organizing the cube, I spoke to the outside, and Han Seo-joon cautiously opened the door and entered the room.
As soon as I saw his face, I immediately told him the reason I had called him here.
"Han Seo-joon, I need the power of the Information Office."
"…The Information Office?"
"Yes, Kim Se-a, Kim Young-je, and Ji-soo-hyun. Use the Information Office to gather information on these three people and report back to me. The deadline is… by tomorrow morning. Is that possible?"
"…If I use the Information Office without permission, Mr. Ji…"
"I am the heir of the Carione Family, currently undergoing successor training. I have the right to use the Information Office, don't I?"
"…I'll report back by tomorrow."
"Thanks, I'll leave it to you."
Han Seo-joon bowed his head and immediately left the room.
He was originally from the National Intelligence Agency and was an insider planted in the Carione Family.
I should have told Father about his identity and let him handle it, but I thought it would be more beneficial to keep him close and gradually train him to be my subordinate.
He was also a key card to take the life of the National Intelligence Agency in the future.
Of course, that was a matter for the distant future.
* * *
"Boss~ you're here?"
As I arrived at the Hero Academy, Jin-woo, who was already there, waved his hand and greeted me happily.
"…Can you be a bit quieter?"
"Huh? Why?"
Why not.
If I focused a little, I could hear the murmurs around me.
'Did that thug just call Yujin 'Boss'?'
'Did he lose the sparring match yesterday and become his subordinate?'
Some unpleasant conversations were going on.
"I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from calling me 'Boss' so loudly."
"Alright? Well, I can lower my voice… So, are you ready to recruit club members?"
Jin-woo's words reminded me of what happened this morning.
The updated character entries for Kim Se-a and Kim Young-je, which I received from the Information Office.
The ability to accept external information in the character entries was a great help in this situation.
"Of course."
"Good. That's a relief. So, what about the club advisor?"
"Huh?"
"The club advisor. A teacher who will oversee the club. You weren't planning to start a club just among students, were you?"
"For the advisor, I can ask Instructor Ji-soo-hyun, can't I?"
"Are you crazy? Do you think that woman will be a club advisor?"
Jin-woo waved his hands, saying it was absurd.
"Even though I've only seen her for two days, the Instructor Ji-soo-hyun I know isn't the type to do that."
"Is that so?"
In a normal situation, that might be a reasonable thought.
But I had already thought of ways to persuade Instructor Ji-soo-hyun, so there was no need to explain them in detail here.
"First, let's do the morning roll call and then talk about it at lunch. I'll handle the matter with Instructor Ji-soo-hyun."
"…Alright? If the Boss says so, I won't stop you… Oh, is there anything I can help with?"
"Just stay out of it."
"Alright, that's sweet."
After replying, the guy returned to his seat. Finally alone, I turned on my smartphone and scanned the character entries.
[Name: Kim Se-a]
[Affiliation: Republic of Korea, Academy]
[Age: 19]
[Specialty: Exceptional in spatial magic and spatial perception]
[Family: 1 younger sister, 1 younger brother, both parents deceased]
[Description: She is raising two younger siblings alone. Her father was a hero who used spatial abilities and died during a vigilante activity. She grew up without incident thanks to the support of the Hero Association until she became an adult, but after turning 18, she no longer received support, leading to a financially difficult situation.]
[Name: Kim Young-je]
[Affiliation: Republic of Korea, Academy]
[Age: 19]
[Specialty: Possesses a genius-level talent in elemental magic and is exceptionally intelligent]
[Family: Single]
[Description: He had a normal school life in middle school but his magical talent exploded in high school. He is currently living in the academy dormitory and entered as a scholarship student. He has had several contacts with Carione-affiliated intelligence agencies and is looking for someone.]
While organizing the information from the Information Office and the <Character Entry> in my mind, trying to figure out how to approach them, the classroom door opened and Instructor Ji-soo-hyun entered with a smile.
"Well, it's definitely easier to count the number of students in a small class. Alright, let's start the third day of the academy."