Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy - Chapter 207



206 – Student Council President Election_10

Inside the 6th election office, a room that is neither large nor small.

A small sound, ‘thud’, rang in my ears.

It was the sound of a teacup being placed on a saucer.

“You have something important to say?”

At the same time, Tachibana Rie, sitting across from me, stared at me with a very relaxed expression.

“This is a story about the student body president election.”

“Is this about the election?”

“Yes, is there a student you have in mind for the vice president?”

“Well, more than that, does that have anything to do with the election?”

Tachibana Rie tilted her head.

He had an expression on his face like he had no idea what I was trying to say.

‘That’s funny.’

There was no way I couldn’t have guessed why you had come here.

No, even if he couldn’t do it, he wasn’t some idiot, and it didn’t make sense for him to not understand when I gave him a hint.

However, Tachibana Rie just showed an expression that said she had no idea.

The reason for appearing like that was simple.

Because I knew what I was going to say, because I was sure that I had the upper hand, so it meant that I should bow down and come in first.

In other words, it’s a request, not a suggestion.

Since we have only exchanged a few words so far, you might think that it is a mistake.

It was clear when I saw him express his doubts, look away as if he was not interested, and not say anything for a while.

“Oh, I’ve gone around in circles a bit. Let me get straight to the point. Ms. Rie, how about unifying your candidacies with me?”

If you really came here to trade, you’ll have to go around and around and fight.

I didn’t come here for that purpose, so I didn’t intend to waste time.

If you want to play petty games or establish a superior-subordinate relationship, just tell them to do as they please.

From the beginning, unification was just an excuse.

I would never do it, but I could at least pretend to do it to deceive you.

The goal is lies and truth.

It was to confirm the true identity of the woman named Tachibana Rie.

‘Because there are things that cannot be seen in words.’

There were times when I had to see it with my own eyes, even if it was an unnatural and forced encounter.

“Unification of candidates…”

Tachibana Rie trailed off for a moment.

“I know it’s a sudden suggestion. But, surprisingly enough, Rie-san’s pledge and mine are so in line, don’t they? So I thought we could just go along on good terms without having to fight.”

Even so, the results of the first public opinion poll at the beginning of the election were clearly overwhelming, but they were not completely hopeless numbers, and if efforts were made, a rebound could be expected.

But then they suddenly say let’s unify?

‘You’ll feel like there’s something there.’

So I came up with a suitable excuse.

I still had my doubts, but it was better than nothing.

Haven’t I been managing my image positively there?

‘Nobody knows the truth.’

Anyway, if Tachibana Rie could make her own decisions and take action, she could have listened to the story even if she ultimately refused.

Even though we are enemies, we share the same goals, so we have come to this conclusion.

And this was a deal that was beneficial to Tachibana Rie as well.

If unification were to occur, the approval rating would be 49 percent.

The results of the opinion poll may not be entirely accurate, though.

To win this, all 234 people had to work together to achieve an exact tie.

In other words, it is almost impossible.

Park Yul-cheon won’t be a problem, but Lee Won-jun and Xiaolong aren’t in a position to be under anyone.

The two have similar approval ratings, but since there is only one vice-chairman position, there was no way for proper unification to take place.

Therefore, if unification between me and Rie Tachibana were to occur, it would be as if my election was already decided.

Of course, you can do business with other people besides me.

There was a big difference between her making the recommendation directly and me bowing down first and going in.

“Do you share the same meaning?”

Tachibana Rie’s mouth, which had been silent for a long time, opened.

“you’re right.”

I nodded, seeing as there was no reason to deny it.

“So you want to make a deal?”

“You could say that too.”

But there was no need to be precise.

“Then, the position you want is obviously that of Vice President, right?”

“Isn’t that the best seat?”

Their eyes meet.

I measured Tachibana, and Tachibana measured me.

Breathing, facial expressions, actions.

Besides, both artificial and non-artificial things were the standards for judging each other.

‘That’s fun.’

Unless you’re a highly trained special agent, there’s a difference between telling the truth and lying.

As the daughter of the Duke of Donggun, she was skilled.

That was all.

Although I am not highly trained, I am not inexperienced and it was not difficult for me to find subtle gaps.

Information was accumulated in the brain through the eyes.

With the information I’ve gathered so far and the conversations I’ve had face-to-face, things have become a little clearer.

“Not a bad suggestion.”

How long did it take to reach a decision?

Tachibana Rie gave a brief smile.

It was a sign of positivity.

“But I have many doubts.”

It was a natural progression.

No matter how plausible the cause or the managed image, only the ignorant of the ways of the world will fall for it.

No, it was clear that even ordinary people wouldn’t believe it until the contract was signed.

But she is not just any ordinary person.

That is, I was someone who had seen countless sword-fighting performances called politics since birth.

To dispel her suspicions, a contract was essential, but more than that, more than just trustworthy evidence was needed.

“It’s a natural suspicion. So I’ll give you everything.”

Heavy rainfall

He took out a USB from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and pushed it.

“What is this…?”

“It’s my weakness.”

That’s a lie.

However, it contained some plausible information.

From noble mtl dot com

“If even one of the contents in there were to leak out, I would not be able to show my face in the election. No, I might not be able to be in the Academy.”

But you can’t call a lie a lie.

Inflate.

To believe a lie as truth.

“It’s a weakness…”

Tachibana Rie’s eyes turned to the USB.

And after looking at it for a moment, he looked at me again.

It seemed that no amount of evidence could win her trust.

“And I will immediately withdraw my candidacy.”

It’s something that obviously needs to be done for unification.

If you were planning something, you would have to make excuses to put it off.

“…”

Silence fell.

Even his initially relaxed expression seemed to be loosening up a lot.

It seemed like he was constantly deciding what to do about this.

“I don’t think there’s any need for you to withdraw your candidacy right now.”

How much time has passed like that?

Tachibana Rie opened her mouth and a positive signal came out.

“That means…”

“It means that it’s the first day from today.”

So it became clear.

Tachibana Rie…

**

The place where Lee Seong-hyeon left.

Tachibana Rie stirred the black tea in her teacup with a teaspoon, lost in thought for a moment.

That was also because of the unification of candidates proposed by Lee Seong-hyeon.

‘─Please do it.’

It was also because of what the pink-haired Yukina Ishihara had said before the election, when she had come to visit and made threats.

“I don’t know.”

The intention can be roughly guessed.

The last puzzle was solved thanks to Lee Seong-hyeon’s suggestion just now.

That must be why I told you to do that at the end.

Then he…

But if that’s the case, there wouldn’t be a problem if we started normally from the beginning, so I wonder if it’s really necessary to go back like this.

That would be the case, since Lee Seong-hyeon and Ishihara Yukina seemed to be on pretty good terms.

“What is the reason?”

But what I didn’t understand was the reason.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no reason for this to happen.

If Pink Hair does as she says, wouldn’t it be better not to interfere?

It’s not like the two of us are plotting to play around with this.

The worries have become longer.

“Mr. Tachibana.”

How long have you been worrying about this?

A thick voice came from behind.

Tachibana Rie stopped her hands and turned her head in the direction from which the sound came.

Then, a man in black ninja clothing who had never been in this room before fell to the ground.

“Oh, it’s you. How was your business trip?”

“Thanks to your concern, I was able to finish it safely.”

“That’s fortunate.”

The end of a proper conversation.

The man took several documents out of his bosom, placed them on the desk, and stepped back.

Tachibana Rie picked up the documents and read through their contents.

“Huh.”

And how long has it been since I read the document?

Tachibana Rie’s gaze stopped at the bottom of the document.

“Is this true?”

“The Eastern Alliance is our territory.”

That’s right.

I don’t know about information from other countries, but when it comes to the information power of the Donggun Alliance, no intelligence agency can surpass theirs.

So, that means there’s a 99% chance that this is true.

Of course, there was also a small chance that it wasn’t true, so I couldn’t be completely sure.

Still, to that extent, I could be somewhat certain.

“okay.”

And if this is true…

“It’s pretty interesting.”

Tachibana Rie put down the document with a very relaxed expression.

“They’re all dead.”

The bottom of the document was filled with numerous names and the word 死 next to them.