The Support Ate it All

Chapter 268: Disciplinary Action (5)

Han So-mi looked at me for a while before finally opening her mouth.

“Hey.”

“Mhmm?”

“What do you think about Cheon-hye?”

I had somewhat expected it, but as I thought, the topic of conversation was Song Cheon-hye.

To be honest, there wasn’t much else that connected Han So-mi and me.

I gave her an honest answer.

“We’re probably closer than just acquaintances. We took the mentoring program together.”

“You don’t dislike her?”

“Why would I? She works hard at what she does. What about her, though? What does she think of me?”

What does Song Cheon-hye think of me?

At that, Han So-mi tilted her head back and forth, as if she was sifting through her memories.

Then she pointed straight at me and declared,

“When it’s just the two of you, she gets angry a lot!”

“Isn’t that a bad thing?”

“No, no, Cheon-hye doesn’t get angry at other people. She only says what’s necessary; even when she’s upset, she just ignores it.”

“So you’re saying she treats people in a businesslike manner.”

“Right, businesslike!”

Han So-mi nodded her head rapidly as if the word was a perfect fit.

That does seem about right.

Looking back, there was quite a difference between how Song Cheon-hye treated Shin Byeong-cheol and how she treated me.

Shin Byeong-cheol was practically a walking rule violation machine, but I couldn’t recall seeing Song Cheon-hye openly express her emotions toward him.

Though there were times when she would scold him through a Hummingbird.

“Well, that makes sense, but what’s so great about her getting angry often?”

“Cheon-hye gets angry at me a lot too!”

“…I see.”

Now, I thought I had a good sense of what Han So-mi was trying to say.

Han So-mi = Song Cheon-hye’s friend = Song Cheon-hye gets angry often

Kim Ho = Song Cheon-hye gets angry often = Possible friend?

It seemed she believed this kind of syllogism made sense.

However, from my perspective, it seemed sloppy and overly simplistic so I couldn’t help but comment.

“Well, there could be all kinds of reasons for getting angry. She might just be mad because she doesn’t like me.”

“No, no, that’s not it.”

“Why not?”

“Just because!”

“Is it your intuition?”

“It’s my intuition!”

If her intuition told her so, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

This wasn’t a matter of logic, and it could very well be something only Han So-mi who had observed from the sidelines could sense.

So I decided to let it be and continued the conversation.

At this point, I started to guess why Han So-mi had brought up this topic.

“You’re saying I should get along with her, right?”

“……”

Han So-mi’s expression settled into a calm seriousness again.

Then, she looked off into the distance and spoke again.

“…You know, the disciplinary committee members don’t have many friends.”

“Well, yeah. That position makes it easy to be disliked.”

The main goal of the disciplinary committee was to guide students onto the right path and make sure they followed the school rules.

And conflicts arising from that were unavoidable.

Even during the recent ban wave, there must have been resistance from those whose prohibited items were confiscated.

And violations of school rules certainly aren’t limited to just that.

Students breaking into restricted areas like the depths of the dungeon building or the old school building, damaging school property, or dueling outside the arena…

These were just some of the school rules that got violated.

When the disciplinary committee caught students breaking these rules, it was inevitable that their relationships with those students would sour.

Of course, the students themselves probably realized they had broken the rules, but still…

People’s feelings don’t change that easily, do they?

Most would end up distancing themselves from the disciplinary committee without even realizing it.

Perhaps someone with a softer, more easygoing personality might still manage to make friends, even while being part of the disciplinary committee.

But expecting that from Song Cheon-hye who was strict, serious, and unyielding in every matter seemed impossible.

I turned to Han So-mi and asked her,

“She’s not close to the other disciplinary committee members either?”

“Mhmm, she’s not close to any of them.”

“What about Jo Byeok? He seems relatively normal.”

“He’s normal, but he doesn’t talk.”

“…I see.”

Well, if he didn’t talk, it wouldn’t be much fun to hang around him anyway.

I looked at Han So-mi and said,

“Anyway, I understand. Whether she gets along with others or not is up to her, but I’ll at least give it a shot.”

“Mhmm, mhmm! I’ll try talking to Cheon-hye too!”

Han So-mi nodded her head enthusiastically and her face lit up with a bright smile.

As I watched her, a sudden thought crossed my mind and I asked,

“By the way, doesn’t that mean you don’t have any friends either?”

“I don’t!”

Han So-mi replied with a cheeky laugh.

She always smiled so brightly, and her personality was lively and cheerful which made it easier for others to approach her. But she spent most of her time sticking to Song Cheon-hye.

Even if that was by her own choice, the fact remained that she didn’t have many friends either.

“You’re not exactly in a position to talk about others, are you?”

“Hehe.”

“Why don’t we take this opportunity to become friends too?”

“Sounds good! Let’s be friends!”

Han So-mi readily accepted my suggestion without hesitation.

That reminded me of another question, so I asked,

“What about Go Hyeon-woo? You’re in the same mentoring program, and you’ve sparred with him too.”

“……”

Suddenly, Han So-mi’s expression turned sour and she puffed out her cheeks like she was upset.

“He’s an idiot.”

“Why is that?”

“He’s just an idiot.”

What on earth did he do to provoke this kind of reaction from her?

I considered asking, but before I could open my mouth—

Buuuuung—

The sound of a motor came from behind us.

The source of the noise, of course, was Shin Byeong-cheol who had transformed his wooden boat into a motorboat.

“Wow, I finally caught up. How fast are you guys?”

“Oh, you’ve arrived.”

“Hey, isn’t wind magic basically cheating?”

“Let’s talk after you remove your motor, shall we?”

If we were playing fair, he should’ve been rowing from the start.

Meanwhile, not far away, I noticed Song Cheon-hye’s boat.

Judging by her less-than-pleasant expression, she must have been rowing hard to keep up.

As our eyes met, I spoke.

“You didn’t have to rush, you know.”

“I have to keep pace with my party members.”

That’s what she said, but she lightly tapped her arm with her fist.

Since her class wasn’t even in the physical combat category like Han So-mi’s, rowing that hard must have guaranteed sore arm muscles for a while.

Perhaps because of that, she alternated sharp glares between Han So-mi and me.

In response, Han So-mi beamed brightly and said,

“We were sharing a secret conversation!”

“…What?”

Song Cheon-hye’s eyes widened in surprise.

She probably couldn’t imagine the two of us having a serious discussion.

“Wh-What kind of conversation?”

“A super important secret!”

Han So-mi was fully enjoying herself at this point.

How could she not enjoy returning the same frustration she had felt?

In contrast, Song Cheon-hye who was facing this kind of counterattack for the first time could only gape silently.

Just as she was about to say something, I glanced at the group and gave instructions.

“Continue the conversation after we’re done here. Let’s get ready.”

“…Understood.”

“Use the detector periodically and communicate.”

“Yes, I understand.”

When I turned to Shin Byeong-cheol for confirmation, he nodded as well.

“Of course, of course. I’ve got it all down. Detector, communication, check.”

Soon, the straight lake stretched out ahead of us and split into three forks.

This marked the beginning of the Trident Lake raid.

As planned during our briefing, we steered our boats accordingly.

Shin Byeong-cheol headed toward the right where puzzles would appear.

Song Cheon-hye took the left where clusters of monsters awaited.

Meanwhile, Han So-mi and I steered toward the center where the boss was located.

“Let’s move straight ahead.”

“Straight ahead!”

As we continued forward, a small island came into view.

It was a very small island, not even a few pyeong wide.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

I turned to Han So-mi.

“Let’s stop here.”

“Okay!”

We couldn’t go any further anyway.

Beyond the island, jagged rocks jutted out of the water, which made it impossible to continue without risking our small wooden boat capsizing or breaking apart.

So how were we supposed to overcome this obstacle?

The others would have to handle their parts well.

The Trident Lake was a cooperative dungeon, after all.

If Song Cheon-hye or Shin Byeong-cheol completed their tasks in their respective areas, the blocked path on our side would clear, and when we completed our task, the path on Song Cheon-hye or Shin Byeong-cheol’s side would open.

Since it was Song Cheon-hye’s turn now, I sent her a message.

“How’s it going? Can you handle it?”

Rumble! Crash! Boom!

– Yes, I think I’ll wrap it up soon.

Her response came back through the ceaseless lightning.

Her tone was calm, completely devoid of any sense of urgency. It seemed that being part of the disciplinary committee meant that even handling tasks for two people alone wasn’t much of a challenge for her.

Just as she had said, it wasn’t long before the situation on her side seemed to settle.

Ruuumble…

The entire area trembled as if an earthquake had struck and the countless rocks that had been blocking our path suddenly sank into the depths of the lake.

The way forward had opened.

Even so, we didn’t board the boat immediately but kept our eyes fixed on the lake.

“Get ready. It’s coming up soon.”

“Mhmm!”

The first boss was about to appear.

It was a giant catfish monster, and it bore a slight resemblance to Kim Gap-doo.

Anyway, we needed to defeat it to move forward and open Shin Byeong-cheol’s path.

With that, I planted the sapling firmly into the ground while Han So-mi unsheathed her sword and stood ready.

She was prepared for battle at any moment.

“……..”

“……..”

Yet, despite the passage of time, the lake remained eerily still.

Han So-mi tilted her head as she looked at me.

“Huh? Why isn’t it coming out?”

“…Good question. Hold on a second.”

I walked to the water’s edge, drove the sapling into the ground, and cast a Spiral Explosion downward.

Then a whirlpool formed violently in the water a short distance away.

Thud!

A dull sound echoed from beneath the surface.

I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes.

At this point, it should have shown itself.

The lack of any response suggested the possibility of a different explanation.

With that in mind, I immediately contacted Shin Byeong-cheol.

“Is your path clear?”

– Yeah, just now.

If it had just happened, that meant it occurred when Song Cheon-hye had wiped out the monster horde.

Normally, Shin Byeong-cheol’s path would only open after we had defeated the boss, but if that step had been skipped, then—

“Looks like the boss might already be taken care of.”

“Really?”

Han So-mi’s eyes widened in surprise as well.

The boss which should have been here had already been dealt with by something else.

And in a cooperative dungeon like this, leaving out just the boss was inefficient and not cost-effective.

So it was unlikely that a person was responsible for this.

Which meant, there was a big chance—

“A Dark Oobleck might have made its way in.”

“Mhmm.”

I contacted both Song Cheon-hye and Shin Byeong-cheol to share my hypothesis.

“So, from now on, let’s proceed more cautiously. If anything feels off, retreat immediately and keep communicating.”

– Yes, I will.

– Understood.

Next, I took out a detector from my inventory.

When I pressed the center button,

Beep!

The radar began spinning in circles on the screen.

I stared at it for a while, but nothing notable appeared.

Han So-mi tilted her head again.

“Nothing’s showing up?”

“Not yet.”

The detector could only sense Oobleck within a certain range; if it was too far away, it wouldn’t register.

This was why, even in previous dungeons, we had to scan multiple times before using an escape scroll.

And this dungeon was annoyingly linear in structure. Just because it wasn’t showing up now didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

In any case, we had only one option. I climbed into the wooden boat and said,

“Let’s go for now. We’ll know more as we move.”

“Mhmm!”

We slowly started to move forward across the lake.