Chapter 75: Disciplinary Committee Club Room
The disciplinary committee president Oh Se-hoon was working even at this late hour.
A few members of the disciplinary committee were assisting with the paperwork by his side.
Among them was Song Cheon-hye who seemed unable to resist the lure of sleep any longer and was nodding off while standing.
When we suddenly emerged through the wooden door, she was jolted awake before straightening her posture and looking our way in surprise.
The attention of the other disciplinary committee members also shifted to us, but unlike Song Cheon-hye, they didnt seem particularly startled.
Perhaps they had grown accustomed to such incidents occurring frequently.
As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, Oh Se-hoon finished up his work and then slowly lifted his gaze from the documents.
Starting with Dang Gyu-young and the rest of the thief club members and moving on to Go Hyeon-woo and myself, he examined each of us in turn, eventually letting out a bitter smile as if he had figured it all out.
Even though he seemed to have a grasp of the situation, he proceeded to follow protocol by first addressing Kwak Seung-jae with a question.
Whats going on?
We found them near the undergrounds E floor and brought them here.
Is that so? Were they heading down?
They were on their way up.
The mention of them being on their way up implied that they had completed whatever business they had in the underground levels.
Oh Se-hoon silently exchanged glances with one of the second-year disciplinary committee members.
Without receiving any explicit instructions, the member understood the unspoken command at a glance and went out through the wooden door.
It seems hes going to check.
He was likely going to assess the dungeon that had been targeted and damaged that night.
If one of the dungeons was destroyed even though no bids were placed, it almost certainly meant we were responsible.
Having sent someone to investigate,
Oh Se-hoon then gestured towards the empty chairs with a gentle smile.
Lets sit down. Would you like something to drink?
Ill have honey water.
Ill take some cold water.
Dang Gyu-young casually took a seat and leaned back in the chair while Chae Da-bin sat next to her.
Kwak Seung-jae somehow procured a cup of coffee at some point and leaned against a corner with the cup in hand.
The first-year students seemed hesitant to order anything to drink, but Ive never been one to fuss over such matters.
I was particularly thirsty after engaging in a strenuous game of tag with the Black Death clan leader.
I leaned back in my chair in a manner similar to Dang Gyu-young and said,
Ill have honey water too.
The expressions of the disciplinary committee members momentarily shifted, perhaps surprised by my nonchalance even in front of the seniors.
The only one whose expression remained unchanged was Oh Se-hoon.
Thats because he had already had an encounter with me during the entrance ceremony. (TN: chapter 8)
After nodding his head indifferently, he also asked Shin Byeong-cheol and Go Hyeon-woo what they would like to drink.
Two honey waters and one cold water; what about you two?
Were fine, thanks.
It seemed they were determined to keep as low a profile as possible.
When Oh Se-hoon was about to get something to drink for himself, Song Cheon-hye quickly stepped in.
Ill get it.
Oh Se-hoon sat opposite us and slowly shifted his gaze between Dang Gyu-young and me before he asked the latter what came to his mind.
Did Kim Ho join the thieves club?
Hes playing hard to get. Why do you ask?
Im not sure if its just me, but you two seem to have a similar vibe when I look at you together.
Right? Dont we look alike? I told you I was right!
Dang Gyu-young got excited and tapped my shoulder as if to say,
See! Youre destined to join our club! Lets go fill out the application form later!
But I cut off the conversation with a cold and firm decision.
I plan to remain unaffiliated for the time being.
Right, its hard to switch once you join a club, so think it over carefully.
Oh Se-hoons smile grew a bit wider. Though I couldnt tell whether he was pleased with my cautiousness or by Dang Gyu-youngs expression of betrayal.
Song Cheon-hye quickly brought over two cups of honey water and one cup of cold water before placing them in front of us. With a displeased look on her face, she sharply set the cup of honey water in front of me, then turned and walked away briskly.
Oh Se-hoon poured himself a cup of coffee from his thermos, took a sip, and then got down to business.
Gyu-young, tell me. Why did you take the first years down to the underground level?
Oh, it was nothing special, just thought Id show our juniors around the underground.
You didnt go into a dungeon?
No, didnt go near them.
Dang Gyu-young lied smoothly without batting an eye.
Although everyone knew it was an obvious lie, there was no immediate way to prove it.
Oh Se-hoon then turned his questioning towards me with a similar inquiry.
Kim Ho, you do know that going down to the underground level is a violation of school rules, right?
Yes, I know.
Then why did you go down there?
I was just too curious about what it looked like. I couldnt help myself.
Lie number two, as obvious as the first.
Song Cheon-hye was dumbfounded and said, Huh!. Her face seemed to say, Seriously? Unbelievable!
In contrast, Oh Se-hoon nodded his head as if he found my answer understandable.
Its natural to be curious. But was it necessary to break the rules to satisfy that curiosity?
No, it wasnt. Im sorry.
Oh Se-hoon then turned back to Dang Gyu-young and spoke in a gentle scolding tone.
Gyu-young, you need to reflect. As a senior, its your responsibility to correct the juniors when theyre heading down the wrong path, not lead them astray, isnt it?
..
Dang Gyu-young looked to be slightly aggrieved by the accusation.
Although she had taken on the role of a guide, the origin of the whole situation traced back to me since I was the one who had made the request.
However, voicing such a grievance might only lead to misery for everyone involved, so she chose to feign ignorance instead.
Just then, the second-year student who had just left through Kwak Seung-jaes wooden doo came back from the underground level.
He silently communicated with Oh Se-hoon by using the [Transmission] skill that allowed the words that came out of his mouth to be heard by only the target.
Oh Se-hoon didnt bother to conceal the information he received.
I had it checked, and there are no unauthorized raids in the underground dungeons tonight.
All the dungeons that had been destroyed tonight had been officially bid on and raided.
And every raid had been duly recorded in the replay logs.
Of course, they werent fools.
What they had confirmed in the underground were only the destroyed dungeons, which meant those that had been completely conquered.
They were also aware of the possibility that we might have used an emergency escape midway through our raid.
However, pinpointing which dungeon we might have used it in was impossible, so in the end, there was no concrete evidence to hold against us.
Based solely on suspicions, they couldnt further interrogate or detain us in that state.
Knowing this, both Dang Gyu-young and I had willingly followed them to the disciplinary club room.
After all, the level of punishment for stepping into the underground level itself is not high.
Kim Ho, since you did go down to the underground E level, thats a demerit point for you. And,
Oh Se-hoons narrowed slit-like eyes seemed to flash with a sharp light momentarily.
If youre hiding anything from us, nows the time to come clean. Whether its demerit points or disciplinary action, Ill do my best to reduce it as much as I can. If you dont tell us and we find out on our own, the punishment will be more severe. Think carefully.
The carrot and the stick.
If we confessed to secretly raiding a dungeon, the president of the disciplinary committee would use his authority to minimize the punishment as much as possible.
On the other hand, if we kept hiding it and were discovered later, the punishment would be more severe.
Moreover, the investigative capabilities of the disciplinary committee were quite remarkable and, in some respects, even relentless which led to a high rate of post-incident apprehensions.
Of course, my answer was already decided.
I will never tell.
Had we tackled a mere F or E-rank dungeon, it might have been wiser to come clean.
But the place we entered tonight was the depths.
It was a place where the highest level of disciplinary action was unconditionally imposed even if you merely approached it.
It is a disciplinary bomb no matter what, so remaining silent and standing firm seemed the best course of action.
I had the confidence to hide it until the end.
For that reason, I gave a nonchalant answer.
Theres nothing were hiding.
Are you sure about that?
Yes, senior-nim.
Oh Se-hoon also checked with Shin Byung-chul and Go Hyeon-woo, but those two were as sharp as they come.
I had given such a definite answer, so there was no way they would contradict me.
Oh Se-hoon nodded his head in acknowledgment.
Then, Ill mark each of you with one demerit point. Be more careful in the future and you may go.
***
After Kim Ho, Go Hyeon-woo and the members of the thieves club had each received a demerit point and left,
Tranquility once again settled in the disciplinary committee club.
Oh Se-hoon returned to his work with a warm smile, and the other members of the disciplinary committee began to assist him with his tasks.
Song Cheon-hye attempted to blend in naturally with them, but Kwak Seung-jae put down his coffee cup and called her out.
Song Cheon-hye.
Yes, senior-nim.
Tell me, what do you think?
It was common knowledge that Dang Gyu-young and Kim Ho had spun an obvious lie.
However, the key was pinpointing exactly which aspects of their story felt off.
It was important to develop the ability to identify these discrepancies.
After taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Song Cheon-hye responded.
First off, the combination was too flashy. If it was just about exploring the underground level, Shin Byung-cheol or senior Chae Da-bin would have sufficed. There was no need for president Dang Gyu-young to get involved.
You saw right through it.
I deduce that the three of them teaming up means a high probability of attempting to breach a dungeon, and likely a high-level one.
Kwak Seung-jae nodded his head in agreement.
With those three, even the depths is possible.
As you might recall from the duel we observed, Kim Ho is skilled enough to achieve a perfect game against president Mok Jong-hwas golem, and Go Hyeon-woo is currently maintaining a top ten ranking in the first-year strategy battles.
Song Cheon-hye furrowed her brows thoughtfully.
But I looked at Go Hyeon-woo just now and it seemed like he had sustained some internal injuries. For someone of his caliber to be injured means
It means they tackled a dungeon of considerable difficulty.
Somewhere between D and C rank, though theres a slim chance it could even be B rank.
So, narrowing the investigation to dungeons between D rank and B rank might reveal traces they left behind.
Yet even after Song Cheon-hye had finished her deduction, Kwak Seung-jae continued to look at her expectantly.
It seemed he was hoping for more, but that was all Song Cheon-hye could think of at the moment.
She cautiously asked,
Please enlighten me if Ive missed anything.
When you were giving them honey water earlier.
?
Did you check Kim Hos hands?
!!
Song Cheon-hyes expression hardened.
From her point of view, she was somewhat displeased with giving Kim Ho and his group something to drink, because she felt they were very shameless in asking for honey water and the like after being dragged in to receive demerit points.
As a result, she quickly turned away as soon as she had set down the honey water and failed to take a closer look at Kim Hos hands.
Meanwhile, it seemed Kwak Seung-jae had been observing everything from behind.
There was a very faint burn mark on his right hand.
If thats the case!
However, as if understanding what Song Cheon-hye was thinking, Kwak Seung-jae slowly shook his head.
No. Its difficult to connect this to previous events. Wasnt it clean when you checked?
Thats true.
But one thing is certain now.
The burn had not been there long.
Whether Kim Ho used [Inferno Fist] or some other fire magic.
They must have left a trace in the dungeon they entered and exited today.
And the moment someone enters that dungeon,
That will be the moment to catch them by the tail.
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