The place was already filled with numerous club booths set up to recruit new students, creating a festival-like atmosphere.
"Hey! If you want a romantic academy life, it's got to be the baseball club! Come and consult!"
"True romance comes from cards! Welcome to the Duel Club!"
"The swordsmanship club is conducting a new student test! Come and watch!"
"Wow, there are so many clubs. Huh? What's the Duel Club?"
"Yeah... Wow! There's even a mock stock investment club!"
"What kind of clubs are there so many of?"
The three of them, busy looking around as they walked between the club booths, seemed to be new students. They were looking around curiously at the booths and club recruitment activities when I stopped, and they all stopped in their tracks.
"Jin-woo, are you ready?"
"Huh? Of course. But, is it really okay to do this? Even if I trust the boss... I'm honestly scared."
Jin-woo, who was loosening up his shoulders and neck, looked at me with a doubtful expression.
After leaving the International Trade Club, the only thing I asked Jin-woo to do was to join the Fund Investment Club, show interest, and act like a troublemaker.
"Since we'll all be intervening in the middle, it's fine."
"Really... If you abandon me, I'll curse you for life?"
"......Just go quickly."
"Really, I'm going because I trust the boss!"
With those words, Jin-woo walked straight to the target club booth. I decided to keep a natural distance and watch over him.
"Welcome! This is the Fund Investment Club! Are you interested in fund investment?"
Unlike other clubs that focus on activities, this club focuses on practical skills, which might be why it was less popular. A man greeted the approaching person with a bright smile.
Jin-woo, slightly surprised by the welcoming atmosphere, glanced at me, cleared his throat, and looked at the man with a serious expression.
"No, I'm not interested."
"Excuse me?"
The manager, either confused by Jin-woo's attitude of coming and then saying he wasn't interested, or by his abrupt informal speech, looked at Jin-woo with wide eyes.
"What?"
"Ah, no. Are you not a new student?"
The man, perhaps thinking he might have misunderstood, shook his head, regained his composure, and asked again kindly.
But Jin-woo steadfastly played his role.
"I am a new student."
"Y-You are? Hahaha! But... why are you speaking informally to me?"
The man, finally realizing Jin-woo was a new student, frowned and glared at him.
"Why? If it bothers you, you can do it too."
"Are you crazy?"
Realizing the situation was getting tense, the club members who were nearby started to gather, but Jin-woo glared at the man without showing any fear.
Indeed, I thought I made the right choice by assigning this task to him.
"Ha... Fine. Is this academy full of crazy people?"
Remembering the other club booths and new students around, the man tried to avoid getting angry and attempted to talk to Jin-woo.
But that's not what we want.
"So, why did you come to our club booth when you're not interested?"
Jin-woo replied nonchalantly.
"Because I heard this place makes money."
"True, since we're a trade club, we do pay a bit more than others. Did you come because you heard that?"
"Then you must have a lot of money. Give me some."
"What?"
"Give me the money."
"Ha! Are you really crazy? Do you think the Gold Club is a place to give you pocket money?"
The atmosphere was getting more hostile. Jin-woo, realizing the change, looked at me.
'Hur! ry! He! lp! Me!'
Jin-woo mouthed for help. Although it was more entertaining than I expected, the atmosphere was already set, so I decided to move towards Jin-woo.
"From club exploration time to assaulting new students, this must be the Gold Club of the academy, right?"
"What? Who are you?"
Perhaps because of the already tense atmosphere, the man greeted me informally, unlike when he first met Jin-woo.
"I'm that guy's friend."
"What? That crazy guy is your friend? Why would you be friends with such a lunatic?"
"But, why are you speaking informally to me?"
"......What?"
"If you call someone crazy for speaking informally, can I call you crazy too?"
How to completely infuriate someone? It's not that difficult. Just repeat what they said back to them while they're already angry, and you can make them feel humiliated and furious.
And indeed, the man's face in front of me started to turn red.
"What are you guys doing?"
"Can't you tell from the badge color? We're new students."
"I'm not asking that. I'm asking why you're causing trouble at our club booth."
Hmm, so you're still curious about why we're doing this?
As a member of the Gold Club, you seem to maintain a certain level of composure.
But I thought this environment was sufficient, so I approached the man and said,
"I don't know. All I saw was seniors trying to use violence against new students."
"This brat──"
"Are you going to hit me? If you hit a new student here, not only you but your entire club will be in trouble."
As I said this, I noticed a crowd had gathered nearby.
In a situation where new students and other club members were watching, assaulting a new student who had been in the academy for less than a week?
I can guarantee that not only the man but also the Fund Investment Club would suffer.
So, I gave him a way out.
"Since you can't use violence anyway, why don't you just stop here? After all, you're not at our level."
"......Are you saying you want to die?"
"That's an interesting interpretation. ...Do you think you have the skills to do that, senior?"
"This brat──!! Do you know who you're making an enemy of?"
So, you're finally realizing who we are?
That's what I wanted.
"Then, do you know who this guy is?"
"What?"
I naturally placed my hand on Jin-woo's shoulder and looked at the Fund Investment Club members surrounding us.
"This guy is the successor of the Vivaldi Family under Calione. Can you handle it?"
"Cal, Calione?"
"This guy is related to Calione?"
The surroundings became chaotic as soon as I mentioned Calione. Jin-woo, standing next to me, was also surprised and looked at me.
"B, Boss! It's embarrassing to say that openly..."
"It's not like we came in hiding. I need to show them what it means to have a real name when they're just selling their club names."
This should reduce the hostility towards Jin-woo. My next move was to shift that hostility towards me.
"Of course, you can't lynch my friend, who is part of Calione. I understand. So... let's settle this between me and you, seniors."
"What?"
The man frowned at my offer to take full responsibility.
"A new student is asking seniors for a sparring match to learn. Will you help?"
The academy rule that a senior must accept a sparring request from a junior, which I used in the game to discipline characters I didn't like, was often used by seniors to bully juniors.
While the community users believed the academy created this rule to allow juniors to challenge seniors at any time, the reality was that it was mostly used by seniors to bully juniors.
Indeed, the expressions of the men stiffened when I made the request.
"Where did you hear such nonsense? It's not that easy..."
"Even if you do, you're just empty shells who sit around and play with money."
"What?"
"Did you hear that? It doesn't matter if you heard it or not..."
Seeing their pitiful state, I smiled and provoked them.
"Scared?"
Finally, the man's face twisted.
"Damn new student... Hey, follow me to the sparring arena."
The man, clearly angry, was about to untie his tie when another member stopped him.
"Hey, calm down! What sparring with a new student?"
"Right now, that brat is openly challenging us!"
"Even so, there are people around──"
"So, let's do it in the sparring arena! It doesn't matter if we fight there, right?!"
And here, to draw in the others, I added,
"I don't mind if you all come at me. It'll be the same anyway."
"......Arrogant brat."
The blood of Calione started to boil.
[Lineage: Calione] recognized everyone in front of me as enemies.
"Follow me, new student. I'll give you what you want."
The man, apparently deciding to fight me, started walking towards the sparring arena with a few others, leaving a few to guard the booth.
Jin-woo, seeing this, looked at me with a determined expression.
"Boss, don't worry. I'll fight with you."
Saying this, Jin-woo put his hand on the sword sheath at his waist.
"I, I'll help too!"
"Since it's our club president's matter, we should help too."
Se-ah and Young-je, who also declared they would fight with the Fund Investment Club, were truly touching...
"No, no. The sparring will proceed as planned, just me."
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Huh?"
From the beginning, I intended to handle this fight