Namgung Il rubbed his eyes and looked at the person standing at the entrance again.
He looked again just in case, but as expected, the one waving her hand brightly over there was Cheon Hong-ryeon.
Namgung Il momentarily showed a look of dislike on his face.
'Why did that woman come here?'
Was she perhaps here to attend the next class?
Namgung Il thought so for a moment, but soon shook his head.
'The student council can attend classes as they please.'
To think that such a Cheon Hong-ryeon had come here to diligently attend class seemed a bit of a stretch.
If not, then why on earth was she here...
A ominous thought came to Namgung Il's mind for a moment, but he tried to ignore that fact and deny it.
Thud— Thud—.
Just then, Cheon Hong-ryeon began to move from the entrance.
'Wait, is that perhaps...'
Judging by the way she had waved her hand at him earlier, and by the direction she was now walking, the reason why Cheon Hong-ryeon had come here now seemed clear.
Her brisk gait, which seemed to reveal her personality as it was.
Cheon Hong-ryeon instantly approached Namgung Il and stopped in front of him.
"Hello."
Cheon Hong-ryeon came closer and greeted him once more.
Although it was a smile that would make male students' hearts flutter for a moment, Namgung Il was by no means bewitched by that smile.
"I-it's the student council president..."
"This is the first time I've seen her this close... she's so pretty."
The voices of some students who had already been bewitched by Cheon Hong-ryeon's smile were heard.
Well, he himself admitted that she was objectively pretty.
On top of that, since she had the halo of being the student council president, her beauty would seem several times greater to the students.
But since he had already been pricked by the sharp thorns hidden within that beauty, Namgung Il had no choice but to be more wary of the thorns within than the flower that was visible on the outside.
"...Hello."
Namgung Il greeted her as if he were reluctant.
What on earth was she plotting this time?
Only that thought existed in Namgung Il's head now.
"Huh?"
Just then, Cheon Hong-ryeon's gaze turned to Tang Wol-yeong, who was next to him.
Tang Wol-yeong, who was looking this way with eyes full of vigilance, as if she were looking at an enemy.
Although Cheon Hong-ryeon could of course feel that emotion, she smiled even more brightly and approached Tang Wol-yeong.
"Hello?"
"..."
"I haven't seen you before. What's your name?"
"...My name is Tang Wol-yeong."
"That's a pretty name. Are you perhaps in a relationship with Namgung Il?"
Cheon Hong-ryeon suddenly asked.
At the unexpected question, Tang Wol-yeong could not help but be flustered, and she thought about what to answer.
'What is my relationship with Young Master Namgung Il?'
To say they were friends... was a bit ambiguous.
Then just acquaintances? Still, she didn't want to say that.
Tang Wol-yeong maintained her silence for a moment and then asked Cheon Hong-ryeon in return.
"Then what is your relationship with Young Master Namgung Il?"
"Me? I'm in a relationship where I confessed to Namgung Il and was rejected."
"C-confessed!?"
At those words, Tang Wol-yeong was startled.
The same went for the other students around.
To think that that Cheon Hong-ryeon had confessed to Namgung Il, and what was even more unbelievable was that Namgung Il had rejected that confession.
"The student council president confessed to Namgung Il?"
"Confessed...? Is it the confession I know?"
"If I didn't hear wrong, I think I heard that Namgung Il rejected the student council president... Is he in his right mind?"
The sound of murmuring was heard from around.
Half of the voices were surprised at that remark, and the other half were voices criticizing Namgung Il.
Tang Wol-yeong, who had heard those words directly from the front, was frozen like a stone statue.
"...President, that's enough of a joke."
Just then, Namgung Il said with a sigh.
"When did you confess to me? If you say such a lie, a strange rumor will spread."
"A lie? I don't lie."
"...?"
"I asked you to join the student council, but you said you didn't want to."
Cheon Hong-ryeon said and had a playful smile on her lips.
That expression... it was certain that she had deliberately said it to cause a misunderstanding.
It seemed that Cheon Hong-ryeon had not changed at all even after time had passed.
"The student council...?"
"That's right. Were you perhaps relieved?"
"...!"
As Cheon Hong-ryeon said that, Tang Wol-yeong's face turned red like a persimmon.
After that, Tang Wol-yeong, who hurriedly left the lecture hall.
Cheon Hong-ryeon was looking at her as if it were amusing.
"She's a cute kid. Is that kind of kid your type?"
"...That's enough of a joke, let's get to the point."
"..."
"What's your business with me?"
Namgung Il asked with a cold voice.
The two who were looking at each other in silence for a moment.
Cheon Hong-ryeon said to Namgung Il with a faint smile on her lips.
"Don't you want to work under me for a while?"
"If it's a recommendation to the student council, didn't I refuse last time?"
"Ah, of course, I do plan to put you in the student council someday, but I didn't come for that now."
"...?"
If it wasn't a recommendation to the student council, then what on earth was the intention of those words just now?
As Namgung Il was looking with a puzzled gaze, Cheon Hong-ryeon continued to speak.
"You know that the academy is in an uproar due to the recent appearance of a strange man, right?"
Of course, he knew.
Because the person who had defeated that strange man was none other than him.
Although it was officially known that Cha Yul-ryeong had subdued the strange man, Cha Yul-ryeong had just put a spoon on a table that had already been set.
"Yes, well... but why?"
"Because of that, the security inside and outside the academy has been strengthened lately."
"..."
"So the teachers have formed a patrol team and are going around at night, but we're a little short of manpower."
Even if all the teachers were mobilized, it would be difficult to patrol all the areas of the academy.
Since the academy was so large, it was difficult to even patrol the inner area, so wouldn't they be even more short of manpower if they were to patrol the outside as well?
As a countermeasure, Seo Shin-won had given one instruction to the student council.
"So the student council has also decided to supplement the manpower for the night patrol team."
"...?"
"Of course, not the outside, but only the internal patrol."
Namgung Il could now roughly understand what the situation was.
Although there was a certain degree of risk in the night patrol in a situation like this, if you were to compare, the internal patrol would be much safer than the outside.
So to overcome the manpower shortage, were they going to entrust the relatively safe internal patrol to the student council?
Since they were at a level to be part of the student council, they would basically have the skills of the top students, so Seo Shin-won would have entrusted it to them with confidence.
"Hmm... I roughly understand what you mean."
"..."
"But why me? I'm not in the student council."
"Even if we mobilize all the student council members, we're short of manpower. So the headmaster said it was okay for the student council president to arbitrarily put other students in the patrol team."
"...?"
"So you were honorably chosen for that."
Clap, clap, clap, clap—
"It's not just anyone. I'm specially picking only the students I think are skilled."
"..."
"So in other words, it means that only the students whose skills are recognized by the student council can enter the honorary patrol team."
Cheon Hong-ryeon continued to say, clapping her hands.
At that moment, the murmuring of the students was heard from around.
When he looked around slightly, everyone was looking this way with a look of envy.
"To be able to enter only if your skills are recognized by the student council... is there a more honorable thing than this?"
"I'm jealous... can't I enter? If you just pick me, I'm confident I'll work really hard."
"Should I try applying too?"
Namgung Il looked at that with a dumbfounded expression.
Bullshit. What honor?
Although it was called an honorary patrol team, it was no different from saying that he had been selected as a slave to work all night.
'Are they really thinking this is enviable with a straight face?'
Namgung Il thought so in his heart and looked at Cheon Hong-ryeon again.
At that moment, Cheon Hong-ryeon, who shrugged her shoulders and sent a look.
Do you feel these gazes of envy? As if Cheon Hong-ryeon were saying so with her eyes.
"..."
Seeing that, Namgung Il was even more dumbfounded.
If they were so envious, they should just do it themselves.
Namgung Il could willingly give up this honorable position to other students.
"You'll do it, right?"
"No."
Namgung Il immediately answered.
At that moment, a voice of astonishment was heard from around.
Was he in his right mind to answer like that? The students could not believe Namgung Il's answer.
But Cheon Hong-ryeon had a rather calm face, as if she had already predicted that Namgung Il would answer like that.
"Are you really going to refuse?"
"Yes."
"Ah, come to think of it, I didn't tell you this."
"...?"
"I'm thinking of granting about thirty merit points if you help this time. Will this change your mind a little?"
Thirty merit points. Of course, it was by no means a low-level reward.
Hadn't he desperately wandered around the academy from the morning to get twenty merit points in the past?
If he had heard it at that time, he would have accepted it with a bow, but unfortunately, it was not now.
'Does she think I'm crazy about merit points?'
At that time, he had gone through that trouble because of the bet with Hwang Dong-jae.
But now there was no such bet, and he was not in a situation where he needed merit points.
Although he could contribute to the honor of the Vermilion Bird Class if he received merit points, he did not want to devote himself to the class to the point of giving up his sleep.
'I won't be swayed by your power this time.'
Putting everything else aside, Namgung Il disliked this point the most.
Cheon Hong-ryeon's detestable scheme of trying to make him move to her liking by using merit points as bait.
No matter how much she was the student council president, Namgung Il wanted to clearly show Cheon Hong-ryeon that she could not do everything as she pleased.
"Still, I..."
It was then.
Just as he was about to express his refusal. Namgung Il had a thought for a moment and swallowed his words in the middle.
"...?"
Seeing that, Cheon Hong-ryeon, who tilted her head.
Soon, Namgung Il, who had been silent, opened his mouth again.
"...Alright."
"Does that mean you'll do it?"
"Yes."
"You've thought well."
Cheon Hong-ryeon smiled and nodded her head with satisfaction.
"Then come to the central area at midnight today."
After saying that, Cheon Hong-ryeon immediately left the lecture hall.
Namgung Il, who was silently watching her.
Just then, Gwangcheon and Jeong Hyeon-yeong, who had been watching this scene from a distance, came closer.
"That's surprising, I didn't know you would accept that."
"That's right."
As soon as they came closer, the two said.
Unlike the other students, it seemed that the two also had a similar thought to Namgung Il.
If not, they might have thought that Namgung Il would not accept such a troublesome thing given his personality.
"Well, my mind just changed a little."
"..."
"But I'm more surprised by you, Gwangcheon."
"What is it?"
As Namgung Il suddenly said that, Gwangcheon tilted his head with a puzzled expression.
"You're crazy about women, but you didn't react at all when you saw the student council president."
Of course, it wasn't that Gwangcheon reacted to all women.
Surprisingly, his taste was firm. Although his face was also a face, it seemed he valued other parts more.
In that sense, Cheon Hong-ryeon would be a perfect match for Gwangcheon's ideal type.
That Gwangcheon would not have restrained his instincts just because she was the student council president, and Namgung Il was a little curious if there was another reason.
"Crazy about women? Please just say I'm honest with myself."
"Well, whatever. But what's the real reason?"
"Are you curious why I didn't hit on the student council president?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
Gwangcheon swallowed his saliva and was lost in thought.
Was this question something to think about that much?
Well, for Gwangcheon, who was faithful to his instincts, it might be an important issue.
"...I don't know either."
"...?"
"The student council president is beautiful and has a great body. But somehow... I'm not attracted to her."
Gwangcheon said with a serious expression.
Just by looking at his expression, it seemed he was discussing a huge matter, but it was a very light topic.
'This brat also knows it instinctively.'
Wouldn't Gwangcheon also know that getting involved with Cheon Hong-ryeon would be tiring?
Since he was a brat who was very faithful to his instincts, his body might be reacting on its own.
"You've thought well. If you get involved for no reason, there will be nothing but tiring things."
"Then in that sense, your sister..."
"...What?"
Didn't he feel that he would die if he said that?
Whether Gwangcheon's instincts were sharp or dull, seeing this now, it seemed that a lot of research was needed.
(End of Chapter)