EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 1050: Tiger Trap (4)

The shadowy figure didn’t just stop at killing those they wanted to remove; they also shattered their honor.

Because of this, when the assassination attempt on Seong Guk-eon occurred, he suffered from ridiculous media manipulation.

In Plmago, when they couldn’t find a flaw in Seong Guk-eon, they erased him in the form of a disappearance.

The shadowy figure took pleasure in stealing joy from the public, creating conflicts, corrupting the righteous, and desecrating the dignity of those who remained uncorrupted.

‘This is the shadowy figure’s weapon. I need to act carefully.’

The manipulator mumbled curses while checking the devices in the hideout, and Kozuka Yashiro tried to hide his contempt.

Considering Kozuka Yashiro’s character, he likely didn’t want to associate with people like that or stay in such a place for too long.

The manipulator also didn’t seem to want anyone staying long in his lair.

The only reason they allowed me to stay here was probably due to the value I held for them.

Being able to come here without using force was a rare opportunity, so I carefully surveyed my surroundings.

‘Everywhere else has glass doors, but the innermost room has an iron door. That’s probably where the manipulator’s room is.’

Before reaching the iron door, the manipulator pointed to a room that was relatively less messy and had fewer devices.

Even so, it wasn’t really a room meant for hosting guests, but there were a few stools scattered around.

Kozuka Yashiro, seeing the stools covered in dust, covered his mouth and waved his palm to create a breeze.

He succeeded in clearing a little of the dust, but the state of the room was still terrible.

The manipulator, whether he cared about the dust or not, didn’t even bother checking the dirtiest stool before plopping down and staring into the hologram.

“Let’s sit. I want to offer ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) something to Yi-shin...”

“Do you think there’s something to offer?”

Kozuka Yashiro hadn’t even asked properly, but the manipulator snapped.

The manipulator looked even more annoyed than when we first met.

The reason for his bad mood was probably because of the troll he was dealing with.

It seems like it’s a common trait among trolls to get irritated over trivial reasons and take out their frustration on irrelevant targets.

Seeing the manipulator’s annoyance, I felt something tugging at my conscience.

‘The manipulator seems even less cooperative than I expected. Yet, they allowed me to stay here.’

It seemed like Gye I-dam was also contributing to stirring the manipulator’s annoyance, but for now, he didn’t seem to like having anyone in his space.

The filthy state of the room was proof of that.

If there were any subordinates who passed through this hideout, there should have been traces of their comings and goings, and the dust wouldn’t have piled up so much.

And if there were subordinates, they would have been tasked with cleaning, so the place wouldn’t have gotten this messy.

“Today’s been a lot, so the manipulator probably isn’t at ease. Please understand.”

Kozuka Yashiro apologized and tried to calm me down.

If I suddenly tried to storm out, saying I couldn’t trust someone like the manipulator, things would get complicated, so it was best to calm me down first.

Of course, I didn’t intend to leave here empty-handed.

“No, thank you for inviting me after helping me.”

I greeted him politely, and Kozuka Yashiro seemed relieved.

He then gently checked up on me, saying he had been worried because he hadn’t seen me or been able to contact me after the first round, but it seemed like his goal was more to dig into my whereabouts than to express concern.

‘“You seem healthy, I’m relieved. Have you been resting well?”’ was more of a question with the underlying meaning of, “Why haven’t you appeared in the matches? What happened?”

I decided not to lie.

“I couldn’t participate in the matches. It was a situation I couldn’t control.”

When I woke up, the match was already over, so it really was a situation beyond my control.

Kozuka Yashiro tried to dig deeper into what had happened, and I answered without hiding anything.

“Oh? Did you plan to participate in the second round?”

“Yes. Supporters are rare in the Korean team, and I can fight as a supporter too. If I had been able to participate, I would have been selected.”

“I see. But the fact that you weren’t seen in the arena means you must have needed a long rest, right?”

“I didn’t want to rest.”

I said it with a bit of frustration.

It was a bit frustrating that I had missed out due to sleeping, so there was no need for me to exaggerate my acting.

Kozuka Yashiro looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

“You had to rest, even though you didn’t want to?”

“Yes. I wanted to fight.”

“You didn’t want to rest, but you had to... Who made you rest?”

Kozuka Yashiro was waiting for the word ‘Hojo’ to come from my mouth.

I thought about how I could lie, and while I hesitated, Kozuka Yashiro added, with a knowing look, “If it’s too hard, you don’t have to say anything.”

I decided to use that.

With a grateful expression, I hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.

“I rested at the Chairman’s designated place. Until today.”

“Eungwang High’s Chairman?”

“Yes.”

Kozuka Yashiro said “Oh” and nodded, looking sympathetic, but I could see he was also satisfied, having heard what he wanted.

He interpreted what I said, mixing what he knew with what he wanted to believe.

As a result, he concluded that I wanted to participate but couldn’t because of Hojo.

“To end this situation, you need to gather some courage. Can you tell everyone tomorrow about what you experienced with Hojo in front of others?”

Well, I couldn’t tell everything, but I could tell someone.

Recently, I had often had to eat dried persimmons, so if anyone asked, I could easily tell them that Hwang Jiho’s dried persimmon tea was very good.

I answered with sincere eyes.

“Yes, I can say it.”

“Such a courageous choice. Miro also said they would help you, right? Could we say it together?”

“Yes... Dokgo Miro doesn’t lie.”

Dokgo Miro would also tell the truth about the Hojo involvement if needed.

If Kozuka Yashiro asked about the snacks I got at Eunhui’s, I’d probably just tell him without hesitation.

Kozuka Yashiro was overjoyed, even though he didn’t know what Dokgo Miro might say.

“To reveal everything, it would be best to do it in front of a lot of people. That way, no external pressure can undo it.”

“In front of a lot of people?”

“I’ll gather reporters tomorrow. There are a lot of reporters coming to cover the final match, so I’ll be able to hold a press conference right away.”

Whether or not the Japanese team held a press conference tomorrow didn’t concern me, but if my name or Dokgo Miro’s name were included, things could get troublesome.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

To deal with that, I added a simple strategy.

I lowered my head slightly and stared at the dust scattered on the ground as I spoke.

“One of the reporters will probably pass the information on to Hojo.”

It would be impossible for Hojo not to have connections in the media.

If I were to ask for reporters to gather, there was a good chance that the news would reach Hwang Jiho through Hong Gyu-bin.

Kozuka Yashiro seemed to agree with my reasoning.

Once a rumor spreads, it’s hard to erase, but Hojo, who controls the Hwangmyung Group, could easily erase an unspreading rumor.

“Don’t worry. I’ll gather reporters under the pretext of the Japanese team making a major announcement. There are reporters in Korea who’ve been interested in our lady, and they’ve conducted interviews several times. We have many contacts.”

Kozuka Yashiro had already prepared the contacts and was consulting with me to finalize the message.

He finished composing a message that wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Kozuka Yashiro seemed pleased, saying the reporter team would likely be large since the last match was getting attention from the foreign press.

‘This move is nearly complete.’

Although neither I nor Dokgo Miro would face reporters, the press wouldn’t come away empty-handed.

Now that the foundation was nearly laid, there was still a problem.

It was with the manipulator.

The manipulator, in the meantime, was probably still arguing with Gye I-dam, muttering and typing something into the hologram screen.

From what I could see, it looked like the manipulator was trying to act cold and superior, but it didn’t look that way from where I stood.

Everything suddenly seemed pathetic when I imagined the person on the other side of the hologram screen being just as angry, manipulating the device.

Crack!

It seemed like the account that had been posting hate comments was suddenly blocked, as the manipulator cursed and threw the device.

Kozuka Yashiro immediately reacted, creating a wind to keep the device shards from flying, and I pretended to be surprised a moment later.

My reaction was just the kind of thing that looked good for venting the manipulator’s frustration, so, as intended, the manipulator started a confrontation with me.

“You’re going to face Hojo like this? You’re scared of something like this?”

“...I wasn’t scared.”

“Answer’s slow?”

I really wasn’t scared, but the delay was intentional.

I still didn’t know much about the manipulator’s information.

I needed to let him talk more to find out about his tendencies, the information he had, and his purpose.

The manipulator started raising his voice against me, who was giving him plenty of room to find faults, and Kozuka Yashiro passively tried to stop him.

The reason Kozuka Yashiro didn’t intervene properly was obvious.

He probably thought I would rely on him more if the manipulator, the antagonist, was right in front of me.

Pretending to be provoked, I countered.

“Then, can you face Hojo?”

“What?”

“Hojo is strong. That’s why I’m here. If Hojo came to fight right now, could you fight him? You wouldn’t last long if you’re not a direct descendant or heir, right?”

I could see him grinding his teeth beneath his hood.

As soon as I noticed that, the manipulator rushed forward and grabbed me by the collar.

I could have easily avoided it, but I didn’t.

I was prepared, but the sensation of my collar being wrinkled was unpleasant.

Kozuka Yashiro belatedly intervened.

“Wait! Don’t use violence!”

“I don’t need to throw punches against this kind of guy. You don’t always solve things with force. You can fight with words too! Even against someone who’s connected by blood!”

The manipulator kept rambling.

From the way he acted, it seemed like the manipulator was weak in terms of physical strength.

If he fought well at the level of the Hojo clan, the shadowy figure wouldn’t have let him post hate comments.

If we fought with full force right now, I might win.

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.

But like the manipulator said, fighting with just force wasn’t everything.

‘From his reaction, it seems like the manipulator is weak, and because of that, he has a complex. And with him mentioning “bloodline,” it’s likely he’s a descendant.’

Descendants can’t properly fight against true bloodline members.

Kim Shin-rok spent thousands of years tortured to find a way to fight the true bloodline.

Kim Shin-rok found a method called “Ability Link” but the manipulator chose the path of posting hate comments.

‘Then, what kind of descendant is the manipulator?’

I couldn’t guess based on his appearance alone.

I was still being held by the collar while trying to get more information from the manipulator when—

BEEP!

A sharp noise covered the hideout.

It was an intruder alarm.