Chapter 18 — A Prestigious Raider Family’s Youngest Son (2)

“Hello.”

With a smile on his face, JaeHyun carefully spoke to the security guard.

The reason was simple. To enter Millaes Academy, he had to get the permission of the guard at the entrance.

The memorable security guard with his grizzly white hair and messy beard was Park Ho-Cheol. He was, of course, a familiar face to JaeHyun.

“As a military establishment, Millaes Academy is off-limits to irrelevant parties. Please show me your ID.”

A proper response taken from the manual. But JaeHyun smiled while looking at Park Ho-Cheol’s familiar face.

‘Thankfully, Mr. Park Ho-Cheol is the one on duty. This should be simple.’

Normally, the security guards at Milles Academy changed once every two days.

The permission to enter was given based on the security personnel’s decision,
and of course, not everyone abided by the regulations.

As a rule, if there were people who were difficult to deal with, there were also those who were easy to deal with.

Park Ho-Cheol was the easiest to talk to amongst the security guards. JaeHyun knew he should be getting a pass from him without having to speak for too long.

With a law-abiding expression, JaeHyun bowed in greeting toward Park Ho-Cheol.

“Hello. I’m Min JaeHyun, a prospective student of Millaes Academy. I came because I wanted to have a tour of the academy…… Would that be alright?”

JaeHyun showed Park Ho-Cheol his Millaes entrance certificate with his smartphone. Park Ho-Cheol stroked his messy beard and then nodded his head.

“Aha, in that case, you’re more than welcome. Since I’ve checked your identification, you can comfortably look around. In the meantime, I‘ll give you a temporary pass, so please wait a moment.”

‘As expected, a cadet’s ID really is useful.’

After taking out a piece of paper the size of his palm, Park Ho-Cheol scribbled something on it with a pen. Turning his head and looking at it, JaeHyun saw that ‘Temporary Entrance Permit’ was written on it.

Park Ho-Cheol ripped the paper out and handed it to JaeHyun.

“You can look around for about 2 hours. Please keep track of the time, and if you need to stay longer, please come find me. You probably already know, but making noise or disturbing the other cadets is not allowed on campus.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After giving Park Ho-Cheol a deep bow, JaeHyun walked into the campus. Although it was a scene he was seeing for the first time since he graduated 7 years ago, it was not an unfamiliar sight.

Entering the light gray building, he saw the four classrooms used by the first-years.

There was a high possibility that Lee JaeSang was in one of those rooms if he was studying. It was because although Lee JaeSang wasn’t very talented, he was under the magic department and he didn’t like to fight.

Such a Lee JaeSang making use of the sparring hall at Millaes Academy was extremely rare.

‘…Anyway, is it ok for me to just open the door and go in?’

As JaeHyun was hesitating with his hand on the doorknob—

“Fuck! Look at this stuttering bastard. Are you scared? Why? Try to be cheeky like before!”

“Yeah! Fucking bastard. Come on!”

Questionable cursing came from inside the classroom. JaeHyun furrowed his brow.

If what he heard was accurate, the stutterer those people were talking about was Lee JaeSang.

‘The great Lee JaeSang was an outcast at Milles Academy in the past. There was a time he confessed to it on TV after all.’

JaeHyun nodded with a determined expression.

If it was just a little bit, it should be alright to make some noise.

Of course, he had promised Park Ho-Cheol not to be noisy, but it was beyond his control this time.

Drrrrrk!

JaeHyun quickly slammed the door open. The miserable sight in the room entered JaeHyun’s eyes.

“Heuk…… heuk……”

Inside was a boy with a small physique slumped on the floor, gasping for breath.

And sitting on top of him was Gangster 1 with eyebrows like seagull wings, with Gangsters 2 and 3 on each side egging him on.

Among them, the one who grabbed JaeHyun’s attention was the boy flat on the floor. Although he had been beaten bloody, he was hanging in there with a blank expression.

As if he was used to such things.

The corners of JaeHyun’s lips bent up until they resembled a crescent moon.

‘I found him. Lee JaeSang.’

<At that moment>

Seagull Eyebrows, who was sitting on top of Lee JaeSang and waving his fist, made eye contact with JaeHyun.

Seagull Eyebrows yelled fiercely.

“What do you want? Fuck. Why don’t you scram? Do you want a beating?”

At those words, JaeHyun smirked.

Even if she was a healer, JaeHyun had been sparring every day for the past few days with an S-rank raider. On top of that, before returning to the past, he had survived for 7 years in dungeons overrun with monsters.

Would that JaeHyun be afraid of some mere hoodlums?

Fuck no.

JaeHyun ignored Gangster 1’s words and moved his gaze to Lee JaeSang who was lying on the floor.

‘By the way. They have quite some guts. They dare to touch S-rank raider Lee JaeShin’s son?’

Of course, at the moment, Gangster 1, 2, and 3 probably didn’t know that Lee JaeSang was Lee JaeShin’s son. Lee JaeShin considered his youngest son as the black sheep of the family, after all.

However, no matter how big of a shame he considered him, Lee JaeSang was still his son. There was no way he would leave it be when he hears that his son was beat up somewhere.

If Lee JaeShin found out that those guys beat up Lee JaeSang, even after some time, he might cripple them at best — and kill them at worst.

If one became an S-rank raider, they were people beyond the reach of the country’s laws.

“But well, that’s your problem.”

JaeHyun said lightly as he took a few steps forward. Seagull Eyebrows shouted fiercely.

“Fuck! Didn’t you hear me tell you to scram?! Stop hanging around here, you shitty bastard!”

“Yeah. Why don’t you quickly fuck off?”

“Do you want to die with this guy?”

Gangsters 2 and 3 added from the side as they considered Seagull Eyebrows’s mood.

“Do you guys know who that guy you’re beating up is?
…Well, there’s no way you would. You’re just ruffians.”

Seagull Eyebrows furrowed his brow deeply. The eyebrows were now almost a unibrow.

“Fuck… Shitty bastard…!”

The gangsters became furious at JaeHyun’s unexpected rough answer. Seagull Eyebrows’s face creased into a fierce expression. He then let go of Lee JaeSang’s collar and stomped toward JaeHyun.

He grabbed JaeHyun by the collar and put some force into his grip.

“Do you want to die?”

“Ha… Why are there so many situations where people grab me by the collar nowadays?”

Seagull Eyebrows tried to put more force into the hand gripping JaeHyun by the collar to push him back.

However—

‘Huh?’

He had put all his strength into his hands and tried to shake JaeHyun, but JaeHyun didn’t move at all. That’s when Seagull Eyebrows realized that something was wrong.

JaeHyun smirked and asked toward Lee JaeSang who was lying on the floor.

“These bastards. They don’t seem to be your friends. Would it be alright to beat them up a bit?”

“St-Stop! We were wrong! Keuheuk!”

“Fuck. Ah! It hurts… Stop hitting me!”

Pow! Bam!

The sound of something being hit at regular intervals rang in the classroom.

“Ack! Please stop…”

JaeHyun suddenly grabbed Seagull Eyebrows, who was yelling, by the chin and whispered.

“Be quiet. The sound is escaping outside. Will you take responsibility if you ruin my hopeful chances at a joyful academy life?”

“Heuheuk!”

The three gangsters who couldn’t make a sound due to fear were beaten up for around 10 more minutes before they knelt in front of Lee JaeSang and apologized.

They were now lying on the classroom floor and only blinking their eyes.

‘In that state, they probably won’t be able to stand up anytime soon, will they?’

JaeHyun left the gangsters without a care and approached the trembling Lee JaeSang.

“Hello. Senior Lee JaeSang. I’m correct, right? I came to find you due to a request.”

“I-I-I-I-I-If it’s a request… No way?! I-I-I-I-I’m sorry, b-but I don’t have any money!”

Lee JaeSang stuttered and yelled out toward the approaching JaeHyun from where he was slumped on the floor. JaeHyun scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression.

‘Huh? He seems to have a huge misunderstanding… welp. It doesn’t matter.’

With how easy his movements were, it seemed that he might have beat them up too much.

JaeHyun decided not to care about it. Anyway, he had come looking for Lee JaeSang to ask him to make the pill, and he could get rid of the misunderstanding as they interacted.

But Lee JaeSang thought differently.

‘H-H-H-He wouldn’t beat me up like that too, would he?!’

Lee JaeSang’s teeth clacked together with terror. He had more trouble speaking than normal.

‘I-I need to escape!’

JaeHyun arrived in front of Lee JaeSang and spoke blandly.

“Should we go outside first?”

JaeHyun was smiling brightly, but to Lee JaeSang, it was no different from a scene in a horror movie.

Didn’t they say that it was scarier when a handsome actor took on the role of a villain?

JaeHyun gave off exactly that kind of feeling. He looked as pretty as a girl, but something about his face gave off a feeling of terror!

“…Y-Yeah.”

Lee JaeSang could only answer lifelessly with teary eyes.

It was the only method.

Even if he tried to escape, he’d only get caught, and he hadn’t been hit just yet.

Just yet.

Just yet…

On the other hand, JaeHyun nodded in satisfaction at Lee JaeSang’s answer.

“Let’s go, then.”

Lee JaeSang followed behind JaeHyun while shaking all over. He gathered every ounce of courage he had and asked JaeHyun.

“B-B-B-But who a-a-are you?”

“I’m Min JaeHyun. I’m a junior that is about to enroll in Millaes Academy soon.”

***

<A moment later>

JaeHyun and Lee JaeSang moved to a bench located close to Millaes’s school gate. It had an ebony-colored roof, but it was a place others did not come to very often.

JaeHyun had chosen this place on purpose. Since the information regarding the 《 Mana Enhancement Pill 》they were about to talk about was from the future.

Fortunately, he didn’t feel the presence of anyone around them.

It was because school had ended for all cadets and they had already moved to another building to make use of special equipment.

There was a moment of silence. It seemed he calmed down a little as Lee JaeSang asked first.

“I-I-I-I-I don’t know who you are, but… d-did you come because my d-dad asked you to?”

“No…? How would I know who your father is, Senior?”

JaeHyun said very surreptitiously.

JaeHyun was surprised at how great his own acting skills were.

Lee JaeSang asked again with a slightly stiff expression.

“Th-Th-Th-Then why did y-y-you come looking for me?”

“I wanted to ask you to make a pill for me.”

“P-Pill?”

“Yes. I would like to commission you to a certain pill for me. I also plan to procure all the ingredients and equipment necessary as well. My conditions won’t be too bad for you.”

At JaeHyun’s words, Lee JaeSang seemed to be very confused. To think that an incoming student who he wasn’t related to in any way suddenly came and asked him to brew a pill.

But JaeHyun’s next words were even more shocking.

“I know that you want to be an alchemist. And if you want, I can help you a bit.”

Lee JaeSang froze with a shocked expression on his face. At this moment, only a single question clearly went through his mind.

How does Min JaeHyun know that I want to be an alchemist?