The vice president, who had been smiling, wiped the smile off his face as if he hadn't expected my answer, and looked at me with puzzled eyes.
I told the vice president again.
"Thank you for the offer, but I will decline it."
"Decline it? So you're saying you don't need the consent form?"
"No, that's not what I mean. What I want to say is... I want to make you a different offer."
"A different... offer?"
I took out my phone and called the number at the top of my recent call history. After two rings, a voice came through.
-Hello, I've answered.
"Han Seojun. Did you get it?"
-Yes, I'm waiting outside the door.
"Come in."
-Understood.
As soon as I ended the call and put the phone back in my pocket, the door to the club room we had entered opened, and Han Seojun walked in.
"Master, here it is."
Han Seojun placed two briefcases on the desk in front of me, bowed, and then left the room. The vice president, who had been staring blankly at Han Seojun, let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn't believe what was happening.
"Who... is that guy?"
"Is that important?"
I didn't even turn my eyes and unlocked the briefcase.
Inside the open briefcase were numerous files. I took a few out and spread them on the board game box, then looked at the vice president and started talking.
"The Board Game Club, a Bronze-level club located on the first floor of the club building. With the ten million credits you receive once a month, it's difficult to buy the board games that come out every year, so you've borrowed money from the Economics Club at interest rates close to loan sharking, and the debt has now grown to fifty million... Is that correct?"
"Wait, how did a freshman like you...?"
"Well, I know that's not the important part, right? Besides, there was talk of adjusting the basic support funds last year because there were no new members... You're really at the end of your rope, aren't you?"
"Ah, no, that's...!"
"Whatever, that's not really important. What's really important is why I'm telling you this."
I snapped my fingers and refocused on the content.
At that moment, the vice president seemed to realize something and glared at me with wide eyes.
"Are you... trying to buy the consent form?"
I grinned at his words.
"Exactly."
"Buying a consent form with money? That's just... ridiculous───."
"───Fifty million credits."
"What?"
Thud.
Rustle───!
The other briefcase opened, and something spilled out from inside.
Banknotes, banknotes, banknotes.
Each one that spread on the table was a stack of money.
The vice president, who couldn't understand the scene in front of him, just gaped and stammered.
"Wh, what...?"
"I want to make a proposal to the Board Game Club."
Not just any proposal,
An offer they can't refuse.
"And, by the way───."
I looked down at him with an indifferent expression and whispered softly.
"Don't even think about negotiating. If you don't accept this offer, I'll just go to another club."
There are ways to instill fear in people other than through violence.
Using the other person's situation and psychology to make them realize how big an opportunity this is, and making them understand what will happen if they miss this opportunity.
This was a method to make the other person fall into fear not through violence, but through the situation and atmosphere.
"───So, just the consent form?"
"Yes. And then you can take this briefcase and pay off your debt."
"───Just wait a moment. I'll bring it right away."
"Sure, I'll wait here patiently. No need to rush, senior."
After finishing the conversation with the Board Game Club vice president and returning to where the kids were, everyone was staring at me blankly.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
I'm sure I didn't make any mistakes, so why are they acting like this?
"Yu-jin, you're... nicer? scarier? than I thought."
"Boss, I almost fainted... You know, when you said you were going to buy the consent form with money, it was just... unbelievable."
The kids, who had been watching my method, each showed different reactions.
"At first, I thought you were just going to threaten them with money... But when I think about it, the Board Game Club isn't losing anything with this offer. Fifty million credits is a huge amount of money, isn't it? Can you really spend such a large sum of money?"
"───A large sum of money?"
Fifty million credits is roughly equivalent to fifty million won in Korean currency.
In the game, it usually costs about one hundred million credits to upgrade a piece of equipment, so I didn't feel any sense of loss after handing over an amount equivalent to fifty million won.
Most importantly...
"It's just spending a little pocket money, so it's fine."
"───What?"
If I think about my balance, this amount is really just pocket change.
The Calione family is one of the top families in the underworld worldwide, so my account balance is more than abundant.
Moreover, the fifty million credits I used this time is only a small part of the amount I received from my father after dealing with the Blunti family, so it's debatable whether my wealth has actually decreased.
The kids, who had no idea about this, just stared at me blankly, not understanding what I was saying.
"Freshman."
The vice president approached me with a document envelope in his hand, seemingly finished with the consent form.
"Here, this is the Bronze Club consent form you mentioned."
"You did it faster than I expected. Thank you."
After receiving the document envelope from him, I naturally passed it to Jin-woo.
"Seeing you spend so much money to get the consent form from a Bronze Club... You must be serious about this, right?"
"Yes, exactly as you think."
The vice president chuckled at my answer.
"Never thought I'd see a freshman setting up a club again. Although I have nothing to say about giving you the consent form this way... Now that you have our club's consent form, do your best."
The vice president extended his hand to me with a sincere voice.
"You don't need to worry."
With this, everything on this side is done.
Leaving the Board Game Club behind, we headed straight for the first floor of the club building, where the lobby was.
"I didn't expect to get the Bronze consent form so easily... How do you plan to get the Silver Club consent form?"
Yeong-je, who immediately asked about the next schedule.
Since it took less than an hour to get the consent form from the Board Game Club, we still had plenty of time, so I slowly walked and said,
"The Silver Club will be even easier."
"Huh?"
"Just wait and see."
The Silver Club, our next destination, had its club room on the fourth floor of the club building.
"Wow, the upper floors are definitely different from the lower ones. This place is so clean, it's almost shining?"
Jin-woo was the first to step out of the elevator and look around.
"Boss, what club is this? Since we've already tackled the Board Game Club... Is it the Archery Club or the Shooting Club or something like that?"
"No, it's not that grand... I'm going to a club that does business."
"Business club?"
As soon as we stepped out of the elevator and turned the corner to the right, a luxurious black door appeared. Next to it was a sign that read [International Trade Club].
"International Trade Club? What do they do here?"
"I've heard of it before!"
Kim Se-a raised her hand, seemingly having heard about the club.
"A club that delivers overseas products that can't be found in the academy or nearby markets through their own channels! They can get anything as long as you pay them, right?"
"Huh? Boss, how did you know that? And how did you know about it?"
"They pay quite well here, so I looked into it."
Jin-woo was surprised by Kim Se-a's unexpected knowledge. Seeing their friendly interaction, I smiled and said,
"They can get most things, as long as they're not too special."
As Kim Se-a said, the [International Trade Club] was a place that could get anything as long as you paid them, acting as a kind of trading request center.
In the game, they played the role of a store available within the academy, and there was one fact that you naturally learned as you followed the academy's route.
"Let's not waste time and go in."
"Huh? Just like this?!"
Kim Se-a was taken aback by my sudden action of opening the door without any preparation.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, a large space with an office-like atmosphere and cold air from the air conditioner greeted us.
No, a cold atmosphere greeted us.
"───What is it? It's not club opening time yet."
Is she indirectly telling us to leave?
"We're not here to buy anything."
"Huh? Then why are you here?"
"I'm here to meet the president of the International Trade Club."
"What? Hold on, you look like a freshman from your name tag... Hey, do you even know what this place is? Is our president some kind of dog that comes running when you call?"
"He's not a dog."
"What?"
I smiled at the flustered kid and made a gesture as if I were ringing a bell.
"Hey, look at me for a moment?"
"What are you trying to───."
"Ring, ring."
The woman, who had been scolding an employee, pushed her aside and approached us, making a bell sound.
The woman, wearing a modified student uniform that resembled a black suit, approached me with a blank expression, making a bell sound.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"───Huh?"
A beautiful woman with her hair tied back, revealing a white collar.
She stepped in front of the flustered employee, bowed to me, and spoke calmly.
"I, Iharu, the president of the International Trade Club, am here to see you, Master."