EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 819: Countermeasure (2)

Midnight, Central District Parking Lot.

I thought it would take some time before meeting with Seong Guk-eon due to his schedule, but as soon as I made the suggestion, an appointment was immediately set.

Seong Guk-eon suggested meeting at night and requested I come out to greet him.

Not long after, an air sedan carrying Seong Guk-eon arrived.

"Did you wait? Sorry for making you come out at this late hour."

"It's fine. It’s only natural to come out to greet you."

"Come on, get in. Let's talk before we move."

The fact that he insisted I get in seemed to indicate that he had something to discuss regarding the replay.

Although there was no sign of anyone in the parking lot at this hour, it would be safer to talk inside the car, where soundproofing and counter-surveillance measures were in place.

‘So, the reason he asked me to come earlier than the time agreed with Cheon Dong-ha was because of this.’

I wondered if he would hand over a document detailing the information about the replay that Jeon Moo-young had experienced.

It would be best to ask questions after reviewing the document and clarifying the details.

But when I looked at Jeon Moo-young, he only greeted me without handing anything over.

‘...Why is he being quiet?’

Seong Guk-eon, who had been silently looking at me, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Haha! You look completely clueless about why I called you, huh?"

Was he not going to talk about the replay matter?

What could the Formor demon clan have done this time?

I tried to think of any incidents related to Seong Guk-eon directly or indirectly, but couldn’t find an answer.

When I asked again if it was about the replay, Seong Guk-eon replied:

"That's not entirely wrong, but it's a little different. Did you think I was a cold-hearted senior who doesn’t know how to express gratitude to my benefactor?"

I had never thought of Seong Guk-eon as cold-hearted.

Whether through Plmago or seeing him directly in this world, Seong Guk-eon was a deeply affectionate and loyal person.

But now he was referring to someone as his benefactor?

While I was thinking about what connection Seong Guk-eon’s benefactor had with this situation, a large hand tightly gripped my shoulder.

I instinctively looked up at the owner of the hand, Seong Guk-eon.

"Back then, I couldn’t even properly express my thanks. Yi-shin, thank you."

What was he talking about suddenly?

Was he thanking me for providing information through the replay?

Thanking a junior who had pushed him into a nightmare to get the information—Seong Guk-eon’s generosity was remarkable.

When I conveyed that there was no reason to be thanked for something done to gather information, Seong Guk-eon shook his head.

"I'm not thanking you for doing the replay. I’m thanking you for everything you’ve done up until now."

Seong Guk-eon began explaining step by step, as though talking to a child.

He started by recalling the events during the tutorial with the nameless supporting character, expressing gratitude for everything.

The torrent of thanks made me feel dizzy.

I tried to redirect my thoughts elsewhere, but every time I did, Seong Guk-eon tightened his grip on my shoulder, bringing me back to the present.

Seong Guk-eon spoke as if he had figured everything out, even things unrelated to him, even things that hadn’t been revealed to the public.

‘Did he compare the differences between the replay and now and figure everything out? Some of it seems to be just guesses, but seeing my reactions, he must have confirmed them as facts.’

A person with a brain as excellent as Seong Guk-eon’s, along with his sharp memory and information gathering abilities, probably gained a tremendous amount of information from the replay.

Just when I was about to admire Seong Guk-eon, he suddenly slapped me on the back with a loud “bang!”

It didn’t hurt much, but it distracted me from my thoughts.

"In the replay, there was a congressman I was keeping an eye on for bad reasons. I investigated someone who wasn't part of the political world, and found out they were connected to the Illusory Dream Gate."

Hearing about the Illusory Dream Gate, a bad premonition washed over me.

"So, the Red Wall Thief was my junior! That's why the thief Neon suddenly asked about Red Wall Thief during the auction."

Ah... so Seong Guk-eon had figured out that word too.

The masked figure, Ong Gil-dong, who attended the auction wearing a swan mask, had spoken that word when he saw the crow mask.

That day, since I was with Seong Guk-eon, I ended up witnessing it firsthand.

Fortunately, before the conversation could drag on, Seong Guk-eon made a flashy entrance, going to break the glass along with the sound of raindrops.

"I did think you might be an accomplice to the Red Wall Thief, but you’re not the type to push that dangerous task onto others. From what I see of you and the Hojok, it looks like at that point you hadn’t yet received their help. To do that on your own, impressive."

"I never expected the Red Wall Thief to be this young. There were no high school students among the candidates I thought might be the Red Wall Thief."

My mind went blank.

It would have been much better to just receive a simple thank you.

Now, every time I use the replay with others, should I expect that that word will be exposed?

Seong Guk-eon laughed pleasantly.

"It’s my job to listen to everyone. But I’ve been trapped by prejudice for a long time, ignoring the True Family, their descendants, and people close to them. And the result of that continuous ignoring became part of the replay."

Though the thank-yous and mentions of that word felt awkward and undeserved, Seong Guk-eon’s words about his broader worldview were most welcome.

It seemed Seong Guk-eon had let go of his prejudice against the True Family through his relationship with Kim Shin-rok.

I thought the thanks should be directed toward Kim Shin-rok.

"Haha! No matter how much you deny it, it’s all thanks to you, Yi-shin. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to know that teacher was one of the descendants. I wouldn’t have known the true intentions of Teacher Yong Je-geon either."

"As the congressman said, I agree. I too, would have followed the replay just like you did."

Without me saying anything, they both spoke as if they could read my mind.

Even so, it bothered me to hear such words after showing them the nightmare.

Seong Guk-eon comforted me, as if trying to soothe my thoughts.

"Yi-shin, I think I understand why you have the ability to use the replay."

Seong Guk-eon removed his hand from my shoulder as if he had finished saying what he needed to.

"That nightmare is something that could never start as long as you’re here. So, the one who should have the ability to show that nightmare is, of course, you."

Whether or not I was worthy was secondary, but as Seong Guk-eon said, I would continue to come up with plans to prevent that nightmare from becoming reality.

In Front of the Student Council Building.

I arrived exactly at the time I had agreed with Cheon Dong-ha.

I had worried that I might be late, but it was just a false alarm.

‘It felt long, but it hasn’t been much time.’

Since I wasn’t participating in the conversation but just passively listening to the words being poured out, it felt longer than it actually was.

When Cheon Dong-ha saw us, he opened the door to the Student Council building and invited us inside.

"It looks like the secret society continued even in your time, senior."

"I left it to the juniors, believing they would solve the puzzle one day."

"In the end, it wasn’t the student council or the student leadership who solved the puzzle."

Although Seong Guk-eon and Cheon Dong-ha hadn’t been talking for long, they were conversing comfortably.

At first, Cheon Dong-ha seemed to recall the terrible mental attacks from the former head of the Korean branch, his face complicated, but it seemed like he had accepted that they were different individuals as they conversed.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

"We can’t leave the invasion of other worlds to the juniors. We’ll do it ourselves."

"It brings back memories. We cleared it together a few times when we were in school."

Seong Guk-eon and Jeon Moo-young handled the boss room breakthrough.

Like seasoned players, their speed was incredibly fast.

Their coordination and teamwork were so perfect that Cheon Dong-ha couldn’t help but praise them.

Thanks to their efforts, they arrived at the boss room earlier than usual.

"Finally, I’ll be seeing this room with my own eyes."

Though I had already been briefed on what was behind the door, it seemed Seong Guk-eon wanted to see it for himself.

With an eager expression, Seong Guk-eon placed his hand on the door.

Vroom...!

With a mechanical sound, the door opened.

Light poured out from the door, gradually solidifying into the figure of the former head of the Korean branch.

Although the differences in their appearance were noticeable when Seong Guk-eon and the former head faced each other, they were eerily similar.

Seong Guk-eon greeted him with a bright voice.

"Grandfather, it’s a pleasure to meet you."

[Has my grandchild come again? That’s the child I saw in the memories of another grandchild.]

"Haha! The way you’re calling me a child, you must be the AI of my grandfather."

The two of them were so alike that it was uncomfortable to watch, but neither seemed bothered by it.

Seong Guk-eon seemed happy to meet his grandfather, and his smile never faded.

"I have many questions. It took me a long time to get here following the clues you left behind."

[Is that so? If you want to get the clues, you’ll have to pass the test. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re my grandchild.]

"I know. You didn’t go easy on Si-wan either. I don’t need special treatment."

It didn’t quite feel like a conversation between a grandfather and grandson meeting for the first time, but it felt natural between the two of them.

Jeon Moo-young smiled wryly as he watched them.

"I was going to take the test first, but I don’t think the congressman would let me."

As expected, Seong Guk-eon didn’t give in and proceeded with the test from the former head of the Korean branch.

Considering Seong Guk-eon’s strong will, there was no need to worry.

It seemed likely he’d achieve the fastest record.

As expected, Seong Guk-eon passed the test quickly.

He didn’t seem fatigued at all after finishing the test.

"That was fast..."

Cheon Dong-ha, who had struggled through the strategies, sighed in amazement.

Though Seong Guk-eon was impressive, the delay in Cheon Dong-ha’s strategies was likely due to the synergy between the abilities rather than Seong Guk-eon’s sheer brilliance.

‘And there might be another reason why Seong Guk-eon was able to clear it so quickly.’

After completing the test, the former head of the Korean branch didn’t immediately show up.

Instead, a strange noise filled the entire boss room.

Jeon Moo-young noticed the noise and spoke.

"It’s a symptom that occurs when the simulator causes a calculation error. They’re running the debugging program to address it."

"It’s probably because the time period in my memory is tangled up. When they recalibrate and realize my memories were affected by the abilities, it will return to normal."

It seemed that the former head of the Korean branch had read Seong Guk-eon’s replay while causing a mental attack, which likely caused the error.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem like a serious issue, as the noise gradually faded.

Seong Guk-eon, deep in thought, watched the situation carefully.

‘Looks like he learned something while sparring with the former head of the Korean branch.’

When the noise subsided, the former head of the Korean branch finally reappeared.

Seong Guk-eon immediately asked his question.

"Was the attack I experienced an implementation of your Gwangrim?"

[Yes.]

The former head of the Korean branch answered a beat too late.

Was the residual effect of the calculation error still lingering?

Seong Guk-eon asked again, taking his time.

"Since you’ve read my memories, you don’t need to explain the details. Why did they use your Gwangrim?"

It seemed that Seong Guk-eon’s rapid clearance was partly due to his prior experience with similar abilities.

The powers used by the Red Wall Thief and the twins seemed connected to the former head’s Gwangrim.