I Became the Terminally Ill Character in My Friend’s Academy Novel – Chapter 38

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Breaking News. Reilan Academy’s Vindication.

Reilan Academy, having its defense record broken this year by allowing a terrorist attack, disappointing many, and raising doubts about its status as the best academy due to an incident caused by an internal professor, has begun to regain its lost honor by perfectly thwarting a terrorist attack yesterday with prior intelligence.

The Chairman nodded as she read the morning news article.

“Good, this is well-written. It’s all thanks to Cadet Kang So-hyun.”

“Officially, I didn’t do anything.”

“Of course.”

I only had two requests when I gave the information about the terrorist attack to the Chairman.

First, to conceal all information about me and officially state that the terrorist attack was prevented through intelligence secretly obtained by the Chairman.

Second, to pretend that a terrorist attack actually occurred to catch one of the traitors within the academy.

I thought she might refuse the second request because of the potential risks, but the Chairman readily accepted.

-“Make a mistake? Who? Me?” she had said.

Well, she had reason to be confident.

“Well, some are saying that it could have been dangerous, and some are questioning how a cadet caught another traitor, but it’s a small minority, and I think we’ve sufficiently recovered our image.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“By the way, do you really not want anything? I understand that it has to be kept secret, but considering what you did, I can still reward you, not as the academy’s representative, but in my own personal capacity.”

It seemed like the Chairman’s goodwill towards me had increased considerably due to my previous build-up and this incident.

She was looking at me as if I were a treasure, her eyes practically sparkling.

“I don’t need anything, so just keep this a secret.”

But I didn’t really need anything.

To be precise, I did want something, but it wasn’t something I could obtain through power or money, and I had my own way of getting it.

However, the Chairman’s expression seemed displeased with my answer.

“Are you usually not greedy?”

“No? I’m not that kind of person.”

“If you were a greedy student, you would have tried to make a deal with me using that information.”

Well, that might be true, but I was a transmigrator.

I had plenty of excuses prepared to convince the Chairman.

Here we go, Chairman. Are you ready?

“That’s what amateurs would do. But that would ruin the precious trust that I worked so hard to earn from you.”

“Oh?”

“I’m building up goodwill so you can’t refuse me when I really need your help. So don’t take this too favorably.”

“Do people usually say that kind of thing themselves?”

“Yes, because what I’m going to ask you isn’t something you would dislike.”

I thought it was a decent answer, but the Chairman was still looking at me with a slightly pitying gaze.

“I wonder, do you not understand the value of what you’ve done, or are you just naturally kind?”

This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I was hoping she would be interested and say, “I look forward to your request,” but she was looking at me with an expression similar to Professor Cathy’s.

Chairman, there seemed to be a misunderstanding here. I wasn’t a pushover like Professor Cathy.

“Cadet Kang So-hyun, I won’t be disappointed in you just because you asked me for a favor. Of course, as long as it’s not something unreasonable.”

I knew that.

The Chairman was playful with those she was interested in, but she was also incredibly generous.

She was probably more interested in me than even Lilac in the original story, so she would likely grant most of my requests.

But I didn’t really need her help right now.

I had finally dealt with the annoying early villains, so there wouldn’t be any major incidents for now, and I had my own reasons for wanting to personally deal with the remaining traitor inside the academy.

Well, I could ask her for the elixirs I had been saving up for the future…

“Oh, did you think of something you want?”

Although I said I didn’t need anything, I could, in truth, tell that she would be disappointed if I asked for elixirs when she had such high expectations of me.

It was unlikely, but it would be a shame if she lost interest in me just because of that.

“No, I’ll call you later if I think of something.”

She looked slightly disappointed at my words, but then nodded her head.

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The Chairman sighed softly as she watched Kang So-hyun’s retreating figure.

“Why is that child so wary?”

She wanted to give him something, both because he had helped her this time and because she liked his personality, but he wouldn’t accept anything.

Since he was weak, she was going to give him some good elixirs if he asked for medicine, and she was also willing to give him a nice artifact if he asked for something age-appropriate.

But the boy had rejected her goodwill, almost to the point of being rude.

Was there a reason?

“Hmm, this is tricky.”

If she hadn’t promised her dear Cathy, she would have secretly investigated him further, but the promise made it difficult for her to gauge him.

“No, wait, maybe he’s wary precisely because he noticed that about me.”

She was aware of her hedonistic and impulsive tendencies.

Since he knew a bit about the future, perhaps he had seen a future where they clashed?

“Hmm, I doubt it.”

He was the most interesting student she had met in recent years.

She wouldn’t lose interest in him just because he asked for a gift.

“No, wait, maybe he’s actually planning to ask me for a big favor.”

If he truly understood her personality, perhaps he was trying to live up to her expectations.

“Then I can look forward to it.”

-I will save the heroes.

She had initially thought it was just youthful bravado, but seeing his actions so far, she felt like she could expect something from him.

“I wonder what this student, with his bold ambition of saving heroes, will show me next.”

She looked at the documents she had to review while anticipating his next move.

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I had already decided what to do next.

I was going to kill the last remaining traitor inside the academy.

To be precise, I couldn’t kill him in my current state, so I was going to do some preparations to deal with him.

He wasn’t an early villain like Choi In-ho or Jin Kyung-tae, and he also had a role to play in the story, but leaving him alone would make things too complicated.

Considering the future incidents, eliminating him early wouldn’t be a big problem.

I already neutralized Choi In-ho and Jin Kyung-tae, and he probably didn’t have any other subordinates he could use right now since I had dealt with the barrier-using villain he used as a lackey in the early stages as well.

And I had something to gain from him personally, so now was the perfect time.

Anyway, I was preparing to acquire what I needed.

“Welcome. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to come so soon. Should I be grateful?”

When I arrived at the clubroom Cheon Yoo-hak told me about, five students, including him, were looking at me.

I had never met any of them except Cheon Yoo-hak and Joo-ri, but they were all familiar faces.

Two with favorable gazes, two indifferent, and one hostile.

That was better than I expected.

Honestly, I thought everyone here except Cheon Yoo-hak would hate me.

“So, I assume you’re interested in joining our club?”

“Of course, that’s why I’m here.”

“Haha, welcome to the hunting club, Silver Bullet.”

Oh, shit.

Even though I knew the name, it still made me cringe.

“Best Sword Under Heaven” was a questionable club name, but “Silver Bullet” was a perfect name to remind me that these guys hadn’t fully outgrown their chuunibyou phase.

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I like it. Silver bullets. Piercing through monsters.”

“See, Joo-ri? I told you he wouldn’t like it.”

“…You don’t like it that much?”

Wow. I thought Cheon Yoo-hak was the culprit since it wasn’t in the settings book, but the true criminal was someone else.

Sorry, Yoo-hak. I was prejudiced.

“Then should we have gone with ‘Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme,’ or ‘Supreme Club,’ like Jae-hee suggested?”

Damn it, Yoo-hak, I wasn’t sorry at all. They were all equally bad, but Silver Bullet was the least bad of them all.

…Or not? Depending on your taste, “Supreme Club” might be better?

“We’re planning to go hunting this weekend. Are you interested in joining? Participation is optional, but I’d like you to join at least once every three times.”

“Of course, I’ll join.”

“Okay, then…”

“But where are you guys hunting?”

“This bastard, while Yoo-hak is talking…”

The big guy, who had been glaring at me, finally thought he had found an opportunity and stepped forward, but Cheon Yoo-hak casually raised his hand and stopped him.

“Do you have a good suggestion?”

“Are you interested in dungeons?”

“Hey, do you think just anyone can enter a dungeon?”

The big guy interrupted me again, but Cheon Yoo-hak nodded, encouraging me to continue.

“If you ‘accidentally’ enter an unregistered dungeon, you can clear it for survival, right?”

“You’re talking as if you know the location of an unregistered dungeon.”

As I smiled and nodded, everyone except Cheon Yoo-hak looked at me suspiciously.

Had these guys been living under a rock?

“If that’s true, it’s a very attractive offer, but I have to confirm it. What do you want in return for that information?”

“Nothing much. Just let me choose one of the dungeon clear rewards first.”

“This bastard, I’ve had enough…!”

“Woo Jae-hee.”

“Hey, Yoo-hak, you’re the club leader, so the dungeon rewards should obviously…!”

“Do I have to tell you to shut up?”

“Ugh…!”

“I’m sorry, continue. Do you also know the approximate size and difficulty of the dungeon?”

“I know it roughly. It’s reliable information, so you can trust me.”

“We only have seven members, including you, since we don’t have any achievements yet. Do you think we can clear it?”

“Easily.”

Actually, the final boss might be a bit difficult, but I could handle that, so it wasn’t a problem.

“Okay, then our first activity will be a dungeon clear.”

“Yoo-hak! Are you really going to trust this guy’s words!?”

“Why not? If we can really clear a dungeon, it’s a good achievement. The academy will recognize it and give us points.”

“What if this bastard’s lying!?”

“What do I gain from lying?”

“You’re close to Lilac. How do we know you’re not trying to sabotage Yoo-hak and let Lilac take the lead?”

Not only Cheon Yoo-hak, but even Joo-ri frowned at his words.

Well, this was a bit unfair. I even gave up the Barrier Villain to Yoo-hak so he wouldn’t fall behind Lilac, and this guy was making a fuss without knowing anything.

“Hey, Woo Jae-hee, I told you not to mention Lilac since we just made up.”

“Woo Jae-hee, I’m starting to regret accepting you into the team. I was going to overlook your personality if you had the skills, but you shouldn’t cross the line.”

“Seriously, why are you both only picking on me…!”

He seemed upset that his friends weren’t on his side.

It must have felt like a newcomer was pushing him out.

Well, he was only 17, so it was understandable.

“Honestly, I don’t even like having a weakling like this in the club.”

But would Cheon Yoo-hak forgive him!?

“Woo Jae-hee.”

He flinched, as if realizing he had gone too far, but after glancing at Joo-ri, he doubled down.

Aha, I see.

It seemed like he wasn’t here out of loyalty to Cheon Yoo-hak like the others.

Yes, it was the age where you wanted to show off in front of the person you liked.

I could step aside if he didn’t like me, but I needed their help this time.

“Hey, then how about a bet?”

“A bet…?”

He looked at me suspiciously, perhaps surprised that I suggested a bet when everyone was glaring at him.

“Yes, a bet.”

Ah, Jae-hee, remember this.

Half of those who suggest a bet are scammers.

It was a valuable life lesson, so please cherish this opportunity.

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T/N – F*ck, we have a freaking Gojo over here! Also, the MC really does overthink things way too much.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.