The Gacha Addict of the Academy

“…Did you find anything?”

The man, who had been thoroughly examining the documents, nodded in response to my question.

“…It’s them, isn’t it?”

“It seems that way.”

Genocide.

A group that worships those with powerful abilities as gods, while deeming anyone with what they consider “useless” abilities as less than human. Their name comes from the atrocities they commit—massacring those they deem unworthy.

And yet, they don’t hesitate to engage in kidnapping, torture, and inhumane experiments, all while claiming it’s for the progress of humanity—a completely deranged organization.

“Probably…”

“Yeah… it’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

Their patterns of behavior are simple: kill the weak. Yet, for their research, they use those they despise while disguising their actions as being for the greater good of humanity.

If they were truly as simple-minded as that, their organization would have crumbled long ago.

But they’ve managed to survive for hundreds of years, battling against heroes. They’re a massive organization, so vast that even the number of heroes isn’t enough to handle them alongside the constant threat of monsters.

“The attack during the first class session was probably their doing. Even though Genocide is behind it, breaking through the academy’s impenetrable defenses to disrupt the entrance ceremony seems unlikely. They must have exploited a gap in the defenses.”

“So, that means… it has to be…”

The academy’s barrier is fundamentally one-directional.

As strong as the defenses are against external threats, for them to have created a breach in the massive barrier crafted by sages, they would have been detected long ago.

That leaves only one possibility: someone infiltrated the academy and spent a long time subtly weakening the barrier.

To do that, they would need to be…

“An insider.”

“Who would’ve thought there’d actually be a traitor within the academy? What kind of place is this, anyway?”

Lee Cheon-kyung was visibly irritated.

He never imagined something like this would happen during his first day as a professor. If that were the extent of it, he could have dealt with it, but the fact that a student had been injured—and that the injured student had to do what he, the professor, should have done—only added to his frustration.

He felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude toward that student, one that mere words could never express.

“How’s that student doing?”

“…Fine, thankfully. It seems like they’re doing well.”

At first, it was just curiosity.

What could I say? That student was hard to ignore. Labeled as having a useless ability, not related to magic, they must have endured endless scorn and oppression, even being half-abandoned by their parents before arriving at the academy.

For most kids, enduring such abuse would strip away any desire to become a hero. They’d been so mistreated that they flinched at loud noises and lacked any confidence in themselves. It was hard to imagine just how difficult their life must have been to end up so timid.

And yet, they had risked their life to protect someone else.

Despite being battered and bruised, they stood their ground to shield a female student behind them. Even in that dire moment, the strength in their gaze had been unwavering, and that image lingered vividly in my mind.

“Truly… an extraordinary kid.”

It wasn’t flattery—they really were remarkable.

If I had been in their place…

Would I have been able to protect someone else? Even though I had grown stronger to protect others, I knew all too well that without strength, I couldn’t save anyone. I had learned that lesson painfully.

But she, even without magic, threw herself into harm’s way to save a fellow student.

Some might argue she must have had some kind of unique ability to act so decisively. Even if that were true, it wouldn’t diminish what she had done.

What could be seen as reckless bravado had, in the end, saved a life, proving it was courage.

“…You… No, that’s possible.”

“Huh? What?”

“Never mind. Anyway, I think I’ve got an idea of who it is. Hey, go buy some chicken.”

“Chicken? Seriously?”

What a hassle…

“Oh, come on. I worked hard, didn’t I? One chicken’s not too much to ask, right?”

“…Fine.”

To be fair, one chicken wasn’t much to repay his efforts.

It seemed the higher-ups wanted to sweep this incident under the rug. Since my movements as an academy student were restricted, I had personally asked him to investigate the matter for me.

Fortunately, Lee Cheon-kyung also had his suspicions about the situation. He accepted my request, likely motivated by a mix of guilt and frustration. As a professor, he felt responsible for failing to protect the students during the attack and for not having preemptively strengthened the defenses.

“Well… I’ll go get it.”

“Yeah. Might as well make it seasoned chicken.”

Seasoned chicken, of all things.

Why doesn’t the academy have a delivery system?

That thought crossed my mind. It wasn’t like walking this much was exhausting or anything, but it was undeniably annoying. Even that guy used to grumble about how the academy didn’t have a delivery option. Maybe they’d fix it if someone suggested it.

But knowing him, he’d find even making the suggestion too much of a hassle and would just adapt to life as it is.

Well, there was no point in thinking about it now, given I was already here.

Still, it was a bit infuriating to have to bring back exactly what he wanted.

If we hadn’t made any progress identifying the mastermind behind this, I would’ve left it at that.

Originally, I hadn’t planned to go this far.

Even though I aim to become a hero, I know exactly who I am and where I stand. I’m just an academy student. How many people would actually take me seriously if I said I wanted to take down monsters or Genocide?

Thankfully, I do have some connections, which is the only reason I can move behind the scenes like this.

Right now, we’re still trying to figure out who the traitor inside the academy is, but we haven’t identified anyone yet. Even with his expertise, it’s not easy to pinpoint the mole unless they make a move first.

For now, we’ve narrowed down the suspects and are waiting for one of them to take the bait.

The memory of her battered figure flashed through my mind—her tattered uniform, her body covered in blood, dust, and wounds as she clenched her teeth and endured.

In that moment, she seemed so much bigger than she actually was.

Even though she was a small girl I would have to look down at if I stood close to her, at that moment, she seemed larger than life.

Just like now…

Huh?

“…Luna?”

“…?”

At my call, a small girl walked into the room, glancing around curiously. When her eyes landed on me, she looked shocked, her mouth hanging open. I was just as surprised; meeting her here was the last thing I expected.

From what I’d seen of her eating habits, she didn’t seem like the type to eat chicken, especially after dinner. She couldn’t be buying it just for herself.

Now that I think about it, weren’t she and the other girls planning something earlier? I wanted to ask why she was here, but considering I’d only known her for three days, it still felt a bit awkward. Asking about trivial matters felt premature.

Besides, she seemed to avoid me for some reason, which made it even harder.

Has she never talked to a guy before?

She seemed uncomfortable around me, and while it made me feel a bit dejected, I had to admit it was understandable. From what I could tell, she didn’t have any friends. It made sense she might feel awkward around guys.

…But wasn’t this all just my imagination?

It was too soon to jump to conclusions. Maybe I’d done something to make her avoid me. I didn’t think so, but I couldn’t rule it out. Either way, I decided to tread carefully—I didn’t want to do anything that might push her further away.

I wanted to get to know her better.

…Come to think of it, had I even greeted her properly before?

Better start with that.

“Uh, hi…”

“…Hi.”

Luna raised her small hand to wave at me as she responded.

It was hard not to laugh—she was close enough that a wave wasn’t necessary.

Realizing this herself, she quickly lowered her hand, looking flustered.

Normally, she seemed timid, always watching others for cues. But now, though she was a bit embarrassed, she seemed more at ease. It was as if having someone familiar around gave her a sense of comfort, which oddly made me happy.

…Then again, maybe she’s just familiar with the staff at the chicken shop.

…

Was I overthinking things?

I didn’t want to come across as weird or embarrassing in front of her. For some reason, I felt strongly about that.

If I let this continue, I’d end up making a mistake, so I averted my gaze and pressed my fingers against my temple.

Get a grip, Kang Ji hyuk.