How to Take Revenge as an Academy Scoundrel

Chapter 37. The Duke

‘Sigh… I just want to return to my original self…’

Kim Do-jin suddenly let out a deep sigh while lying on the bed.

Once again, Monday morning had arrived.

If he were in his original body, there would have been no reason to bother with school.

He would have long since avenged Cheon Sang-seok, and by now, he would be living grandly, having restored his honor. What a mess this was!

“Tsk…”

Of course, lamenting wouldn’t change a thing.

Kim Do-jin stretched, shaking off the drowsiness, and then got out of bed.

He quickly washed his face and prepared Winter’s meal before heading out to school.

“Ah, hello!”

It felt like he often ran into her on the way to school.

Kim Do-jin suddenly smiled brightly and raised a hand in greeting as Lim So-hee approached, continuing to walk.

“…”

How much time had passed?

As they walked quietly side by side, Lim So-hee suddenly spoke up as if she had just remembered something.

“You’re out late today. No student council duties?”

“Uh? Yeah. We take turns every three days.”

“Oh, I see… So you have student council duties again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We had it on Thursday.”

“Ah, then what about the patrol team composition…?”

Curious about something, Lim So-hee continued to ask various questions, and Kim Do-jin answered without much thought.

Before long, they arrived at the classroom.

– Creak.

Kim Do-jin opened the classroom door and stepped inside, his gaze naturally drifting to his desk partner, Lee Jin-ryul.

‘There must be others questioning my identity now, too.’

He thought this as he glanced over at Yoon Yu-na’s seat.

After all, she was one of the two who had seen Lee Jin-ryul’s true abilities.

But for some reason, Yoon Yu-na seemed more interested in him than in Jin-ryul.

‘What’s this about?’

In that moment, their eyes met, and Kim Do-jin flinched in surprise, but quickly turned away, pretending to be nonchalant.

‘This is something…’

Currently, Kim Do-jin’s plan was to quietly achieve good results in the ‘Arc’ while keeping a low profile.

Yet, for some reason, he felt himself entangled in a web of complications.

*Hiss…*

Kim Do-jin walked to his seat with a faint smirk, his steps heavy and deliberate.

He began to fidget with his smartphone, passing the time aimlessly.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, the classroom erupted into a buzz of whispers.

*What’s going on?*

Curiosity piqued, Kim Do-jin lifted his gaze and scanned the room, noticing that everyone’s attention was drawn to one side.

He followed their gaze.

“…Hmm?”

To his surprise, there stood Karla Arlen.

But why were all these people whispering about her?

*What’s this about?*

Kim Do-jin tilted his head, searching for something unusual about Karla Arlen.

If there was anything different about her today…

*Makeup?*

That was it. The absence of her usual bare face.

Karla Arlen, who typically roamed the halls without a trace of cosmetics, had inexplicably adorned herself today.

*So that’s it.*

Only now did Kim Do-jin grasp the reason behind the murmurs.

As evident from her usual appearance, Karla Arlen was still not adept at rendering even the objects she touched invisible.

She could manage a thin layer of lotion, making her skin appear transparent, but the heavier makeup she wore today floated around her like a garment.

The term “floating makeup” was often used, but in Karla Arlen’s case, it was quite literal.

Of course, to everyone but Kim Do-jin, it was merely a curious sight.

*No wonder they’re surprised. I can’t tell, but it must look like a mask is just hovering there. But… why the sudden change?*

With a puzzled expression, Kim Do-jin stared at Karla Arlen, who, ignoring the raucous attention, trudged to her seat.

Then, for some reason, she cast a fleeting glance back at him.

“……”

In that moment, Kim Do-jin’s face stiffened awkwardly.

It was not anything else, but the reason Carla Arlen’s makeup looked so strange, no matter how one gazed upon it.

‘A bit excessive…’

Her natural face was so beautiful that it was hard to ignore, and it seemed she had lived her life without makeup, only to suddenly learn and apply it, resulting in a rather clumsy technique.

It felt as if a youthful girl had been adorned with an over-the-top smoky eye.

‘Should I subtly tell her that her bare face is prettier? For everyone’s sake…’

In the midst of such serious contemplation, the classroom door creaked open, and a man strode in with purpose.

A slender figure, wearing round glasses, the man in his thirties was none other than Tak Jun-woo, the Arc instructor.

“Ah?”

It was unusual for Tak Jun-woo to appear instead of their homeroom instructor, Astrid Lindell, during the assembly.

Thus, the students tilted their heads in confusion, and Tak Jun-woo drew their attention, explaining the situation.

Astrid was absent due to personal matters, and he had come in her stead.

“Ah~”

The students nodded in understanding, but not one among them, Kim Do-jin, did.

‘Hmm…’

For Kim Do-jin, whose relationship with Astrid was not merely that of teacher and student, he pondered while stroking his chin.

‘Absent due to personal matters?’

He was in the midst of discerning whether Astrid Lindell had betrayed him or not.

If she were not a traitor, he could pull her back to his side as before, which would be a tremendous asset in navigating the challenges ahead.

Thus, he had intended to investigate Astrid Lindell more thoroughly, but with the sudden news of her absence due to personal reasons, his curiosity was piqued.

‘She seemed so dedicated to her role as an Arc instructor; what could have happened all of a sudden?’

Kim Do-jin resolved to take more time to learn about Astrid Lindell and turned his gaze back to Tak Jun-woo.

“Well then, shall I briefly explain today’s agenda?”

With that, Tak Jun-woo began to speak, his characteristic gentle smile lighting up his face, and the students listened with bright expressions.

As one could roughly guess from their demeanor, the reputation of Tak Jun-woo’s character was exceedingly good.

However, behind that seemingly amiable face lay a significant secret.

He was, in fact, a spy for a clandestine organization known as the Levathain.

* * *

In a house somewhere in Madagascar, Africa.

“Ha….”

A petite girl sat helplessly in a chair, her face twisted in disappointment.

To the casual observer, she appeared to be no more than ten years old, yet the truth was that Astrid Lindell was twenty-five.

‘Was it all just false information after all…?’

This morning, Astrid had received a piece of information that compelled her to take leave and fly all the way to Madagascar.

But alas, that information had proven to be a lie.

“Damn it….”

Astrid Lindell struggled to suppress her disappointment, having harbored such high hopes.

Yet, this was not the time to wallow in despair.

‘Who on earth leaked such information?’

The tidbit she had acquired was a clue regarding the whereabouts of Kim Do-jin, who had been presumed dead for seven years, and that fact carried significant implications.

‘Surely, I must be the only one who believes the captain is still alive. But if someone leaked this information… was I the target?’

If that were the case, who could have orchestrated such a scheme, and for what purpose?

‘…Could it be that they intended to draw me away from the Ark?’

Astrid Lindell, an S-rank Awakened, was not only an instructor at the Ark but also a formidable force meant to protect it in times of crisis.

If someone were planning an attack on the Ark, luring Astrid away in this manner could indeed be a clever strategy.

However, the Ark was the Ark.

As the world’s premier institution for training Awakened individuals, its defenses were formidable, and even with Astrid Lindell absent, it would take a considerable force to breach its security.

At this moment, where could there possibly be a villainous organization large enough to target the Ark?

At least, none existed that Astrid was aware of.

Among the organizations that had surfaced, none posed a real threat.

“I hope it’s just a misunderstanding….”

Astrid Lindell sent a message to bolster defenses in case of an emergency, then fell back into her thoughts.

‘But who exactly is the one who leaked this information?’

The reason Astrid had abruptly abandoned her duties as an instructor to rush here was indeed tied to the information regarding Kim Do-jin.

Yet, had that information been unreliable, she would not have come rushing in such a frenzy.

Astrid believed she knew Kim Do-jin better than anyone.

Yet, the fact that she had been deceived by such covert information suggested that it contained elements she had not anticipated.

‘They seem to understand my relationship with the captain well enough to predict my actions, and they know quite a bit about his personal matters too…’

Astrid speculated that the individual who leaked this information must have been someone who had earned considerable trust from the captain in the past.

‘Surely not…’

In that fleeting moment, several figures flickered through Astrid Lindell’s mind, yet the evidence to suspect them was far too scant.

Whoever it was, the reason for such a deed eluded her grasp completely…

‘For now, it seems they have no intention of harming me…’

Astrid Lindell gnawed at her lip, lost in confusion.

Yet, on the other hand, she felt a flicker of relief at the revelation of even a hint regarding Kim Do-jin.

Could it be that this person truly held knowledge about Kim Do-jin and had let slip a fragment of it?

‘A lie intertwined with truth… Good. I must track this one down.’

With that resolve, Astrid Lindell rose from her chair, her expression lightened.

She intended to leave this empty house behind.

But then, at that moment—

– Beep beep beep beep!

A loud emergency alarm blared from the smartwatch strapped to her wrist.

“What the—!”

The alarm signified that ‘Ark’ had already been breached by a mysterious group of awakened ones.

– Thud!

Startled, Astrid Lindell sprang into action, her mind racing.

‘Has Ark’s defenses truly been compromised?’

It seemed the identity of the one who had leaked this false information was beyond her expectations.

To extract herself and target ‘Ark’…

Doubt about their identity and motives deepened with each passing moment.

‘The reasons to pursue this one have just multiplied.’

Having been rendered powerless by the long search for Kim Do-jin, Astrid Lindell’s gaze ignited with a long-lost fervor.