EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 986: Welcome (6)

As the central automatic doors leading into the main hall of the restaurant closed, the voices of Hirano Seiji and Arihara Tomoaki were abruptly cut off.

Even though their silhouettes were still visible through the glass, the sound was completely blocked, indicating the soundproofing effect was quite effective.

‘It’s quiet. Given the stage for live music, it seems like they usually play background music here.’

I carefully surveyed my surroundings without using any abilities.

There was a faint presence within the restaurant, but there weren't many people, and no one was making any noise.

It seemed like Kozuka Yashiro had requested a quiet environment ahead of time.

It wasn't unusual for someone to rent out a restaurant and make various requests, but would a high school student really go this far just to meet with me?

Kozuka Yashiro, who had been walking ahead, turned and spoke to me.

"I’m afraid Arihara-kun seems to have misunderstood. I only reserved this place to avoid the noise, so please don’t mind it."

Her voice echoed well in the silent main hall of the restaurant.

‘It would be better to act a little tense here. There are some students fighting outside, and with the restaurant being like this, it might be strange if I don’t seem a bit on edge. But I shouldn’t appear too naive either.’

I wasn’t really nervous; after all, I was prepared, and thinking about the white tiger lurking somewhere made me feel oddly calm.

However, I needed to look competent enough to be useful, but also appear somewhat naïve and timid so that it didn’t seem like I was in control.

In chess, pretending to be passive and defensive, luring the opponent in, and then striking when the position is right is a common tactic.

I decided to act like I was "nervous but trying to hide it and behave politely."

"Thank you for your consideration. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Jo Yi-shin."

"You’re very polite. I’m Kozuka Yashiro."

As Kozuka Yashiro responded warmly, her gaze lingered a bit longer at the corner of my mouth.

Since I was pretending to be tense, my lips trembled slightly, and maybe sensing that, she softened her voice further.

"You must have had a tough time coming. I wish I could go to meet you, but the students aren’t used to living in Korea yet, so I couldn’t leave them."

"No, it’s fine. I’m just grateful you could spare some of your precious time."

I said that, but various thoughts crossed my mind.

Even though they were high school students representing a country, would they really be so insecure without a coach?

With their skills, they could likely escape from most trouble on their own.

Also, despite being in a foreign country, Korea and Japan aren’t that far apart, and most Japanese students are as fluent in Korean as Hirano Seiji.

If they were worried about the language barrier, they could always use a translation app on their devices or hire an interpreter.

‘It looks like you’re staying here not to offer support, but for surveillance. The Japanese coaching staff is divided, so I’m sure you wouldn’t be careless when it comes to the young lady.’

Moreover, the coaching staff wasn’t the only group with differing opinions—there was also a student like Arihara Tomoaki causing trouble, so it wouldn’t be easy to leave the scene.

Based on their actions today, it wouldn’t be surprising if they completely destroyed the top floor of the building once Kozuka Yashiro and the young lady were out of the way.

No, they would probably destroy specific decorations rather than an entire floor.

‘The decorations that were just broken didn’t fit the hotel’s atmosphere. They were probably brought in by the Japanese side. Arihara Tomoaki did say that he would break anything he saw, after all.’

Speaking of which, I noticed there were more mismatched decorations inside this restaurant.

Statues, scrolls, ceramic bowls, wooden incense burners and stands, and even lotus flower arrangements.

Before coming here, the hotel restaurant’s website gave the impression that it was a fusion restaurant focusing on modern aesthetics, but the décor made the place seem different.

"You seem quite nervous. Would you like to have something to eat? Since you’ve come all the way here, I’d like to treat you."

After sitting in a private room at the far end of the restaurant, Kozuka Yashiro casually offered food, but I wasn’t planning to eat anything.

Since I had already made a move on the restaurant's interior, there was no guarantee I wouldn’t handle the food the same way.

In fact, even if I had to swallow something right in front of me, I could always wrap it in my ability energy and later vomit it up, but I didn’t want to go through the hassle.

If I said I’d eaten already, they’d probably offer snacks or tea, so I decided to come up with another excuse.

"I’m sorry. When I’m nervous, I can’t eat or drink anything. I wasn’t like this before, but it’s gotten worse since I entered Eungwang High... There are times I have to force myself to eat..."

Of course, this was a complete lie.

The tigers often gave me food, and there were plenty of great restaurants around Eungwang High, so I would often buy snacks for the class or younger students, which naturally led me to eat a lot.

But there was no need for Kozuka Yashiro to know that.

The unnecessary comment about how I had to force myself to eat came from the possibility that they had a recorded scene of me eating and having fun with the kids.

The only food I had to force myself to eat was the medicine the old tiger pushed on me.

The thought of that medicine brought a pained expression to my face without me even trying.

"Oh dear, it seems like school life is quite tough for you. I heard from Hirano-kun that you have something you'd like to discuss regarding school matters."

Kozuka Yashiro looked at my face and expressed sympathy, but she didn’t press further.

She probably wasn’t planning to play games with the food from the start, but it was too early to judge.

However, it would be more accurate to say that she overheard Hirano Seiji’s conversation rather than being told by him.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, as she must have heard the conversation.

"I’m not sure where to begin," I said, looking as though I carried the weight of the world.

The more I spoke, the more my flaws would show, so I planned to only give her the bait she wanted.

"Every hardship and thought has a beginning and an end. For now, let’s look at the end first. What’s the most recent thing troubling you?"

Kozuka Yashiro, with the sunlight behind her, spoke gently.

Her expression and voice were so flawless that if I had arrived here without knowing anything, I might have gotten the impression that she was kind and considerate.

If I were truly in a difficult situation, would talking to someone like her give me some peace of mind?

I relaxed my expression a little and answered.

"I’ve heard some rumors I didn’t want to."

I had suggested to Gye I-dam to spread those rumors, but since they were rumors I didn’t want, this wasn’t a lie.

Even though I hadn’t elaborated on the details, Kozuka Yashiro immediately understood which rumors I was referring to.

"Are you talking about the rumor regarding the conflict between you, the vice president, and one of the top students?"

"Has that rumor spread to the Japanese team as well?"

"We’ve been gathering a lot of information about the Korean students for the upcoming exchange event. It was an unfortunate rumor."

Kozuka Yashiro spoke gently, but if I were actually suffering from that rumor, it would be frustrating to know that it had spread even abroad.

If she truly cared about helping me, she should have been more careful with her words.

It seemed like Kozuka Yashiro was subtly fueling my anxiety, intending to offer me a plausible solution or reassuring words to win me over.

"What do you think about that rumor?"

"...It’s difficult dealing with rumors like that."

"It’s hard to extinguish rumors. But if we know the source, I can help you."

Kozuka Yashiro seemed to be hoping I would inadvertently reveal something that could be used against Ahn Da-in.

However, I wasn’t about to say anything that could be used against her, especially when it could be recorded.

I pretended to hesitate, staying silent for a while.

Kozuka Yashiro wasn’t in a rush and patiently waited for me.

After a long silence, I spoke.

"It’s hard to answer."

"Is the difficulty in answering related to your troubles?"

"...Yes."

I said something that someone under pressure from the Hwangmyeong Group might say.

If I had to fear one of the two, anyone would choose to fear the Hwangmyeong Group.

To an outsider, it might seem like I was consulting her because I was troubled, but in reality, it looked like I was silenced by the fear of potential consequences from Hwangmyeong Group.

In other words, if Kozuka Yashiro wanted a different answer from me here, she would have to show me some power that would ensure no consequences for me.

"Then shall we start with something easier? Let’s go back to the beginning of your troubles and thoughts."

Kozuka Yashiro smiled faintly.

It didn’t seem like she was planning to show her hand so easily.

I nodded as if I had relaxed, trying to shift the conversation away from a difficult topic.

"I think your troubles started with the unfortunate accident that happened to your family before you enrolled."

The moment I heard the word ‘family,’ my head spun.

It felt like someone was digging into a wound that had only just stopped bleeding.

Kozuka Yashiro didn’t stop there; she continued to twist the knife.

"How unfortunate. If that accident hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t have ended up alone, and you wouldn’t have been dragged into the tiger’s den."

"...The tiger’s den?"

"Yes, your move to the 0th class was decided in the tiger’s den, wasn’t it?"

It was true that Hwang Myeong-ho, the director, had been involved in my placement in the 0th class, and I had let something slip through Hirano Seiji.

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So, it was true that the decision had been made in the "tiger’s den," but the problem was in the metaphor.

Kozuka Yashiro seemed to be fully aware of the Hojo family’s influence.

"I hate the smell of tigers. That’s why when I arrived at Eungwang, I was taken aback. The number of higher beings is few, but the atmosphere was suffocating. That’s why I paid a lot of attention to the accommodation."

When she mentioned the smell, I couldn’t help but focus on my sense of smell.

It felt like the sweetness in the air around Kozuka Yashiro was intensifying.

While I was distracted by her mentioning family, I noticed the incense had been lit.

The dizziness wasn’t just because of her mention of family.

The more I inhaled the scent, the more disoriented I became.

I hadn’t noticed the ability energy while the incense was burning, but now it seemed to be carefully probing my mind.

Through all this, Kozuka Yashiro’s ability energy remained completely calm.

Normally, when things like this happened, there would be slight fluctuations in the ability energy, but she appeared as serene as when I first met her.

My consciousness grew more and more hazy.

"You’ve been through a lot, so you must be exhausted, right? But you can’t fall asleep yet. I have a lot I want to hear from you."

I wasn’t planning to sleep, nor did I feel sleepy, but Kozuka Yashiro’s voice began to sound softer.

The discomfort I initially felt from her voice started to fade, but that didn’t feel like a good sign.

It was time to raise my own ability energy to fight back, but I didn’t do that.

I was confident that the situation would improve even if I didn’t intervene.

Clash!

The sound of something breaking snapped me back to clarity.

The glass in front of me cracked, and the wind blew through, dispersing the scent.

Although I still couldn’t see anything or feel any presence, I knew it was Baek Ho-gun’s doing.