The Support Ate it All-Chapter 324: What Is the Password

The principal’s office door was half-open.

Still, it wouldn’t have been polite to just walk in, so I raised a hand and knocked lightly.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Mm~”

The response that came back was half-hearted at best.

I took it as permission and stepped inside the office.

Then, as I slowly looked around,

This is unbelievable.

The neat and elegant principal’s office I remembered was nowhere to be found. Instead, what lay before me was a complete pigsty.

The books that had once been neatly arranged on the shelves were now piled up haphazardly, forming random towers all over the place. Near the table, empty cans and bottles were lined up in a row.

Perhaps out of a last shred of conscience, the random trash had at least been gathered in one spot and crumpled together like a ball.

And at the center of all this chaos, the principal himself sat slouched in his chair. He looked even more disheveled than usual as he lazily waved a hand in greeting.

“You’re here. The room’s a bit messy, huh?”

“The vice principal asked me to deliver a message.”

“What did she say?”

“She told you to clean up.”

But the principal didn’t even blink. As if he had heard this plenty of times before.

“I’ll do it later. Right now, I’m just enjoying myself~”

It seemed that the vice principal usually acted as some sort of control mechanism for him. But with her currently away supervising the final exams, that restraint was gone.

So he had taken this rare chance to indulge, making up for all the times he had been kept in check.

Is this some kind of rebound effect?

Still, this was going way too far.

It was obvious what would happen once the vice principal returned.

But that wasn’t my concern. I had no reason to get involved, so I decided to just wrap up my business and leave.

“What did you call me for?”

“Oh, that.”

The principal straightened up and looked at me as he asked,

“What are you doing over summer break?”

“Before I answer, may I ask why you’re asking?”

“If you’re going somewhere, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”

He quickly added,

“Oh, but don’t feel pressured. If you don’t want to do it after hearing me out, you don’t have to.”

If that was the case, I had no reason not to answer.

It wasn’t something I needed to keep secret in the first place.

“I’m going to Hye-seong Group with a friend, then attending the second mentoring session.”

“Who was it again? Seo Ye-in? That student?”

“That’s right.”

The fact that Seo Ye-in was the heiress of Hye-seong Group was something anyone could find out with a little research.

Since she was someone in my close circle, they had probably looked into it even more thoroughly.

They must have already suspected that I would be visiting Hye-seong Group.

Calling me in was likely just for final confirmation.

The questions continued.

“What are you planning to do there?”

“Just hanging out.”

That’s what I said, but I actually had a clear goal.

I needed to get permission to take Seo Ye-in into the underground floors.

However, telling the principal that outright would basically be like declaring, “I’m going to break school rules, and I’m taking someone with me!”

So I had no choice but to be vague.

Of course, I would be having fun as well, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

The principal stroked his chin before asking another question.

“You’ll at least see the chairman while you’re there, right?”

“Most likely.”

After all, they were the ones who had suggested meeting in the first place.

At that, the principal rummaged through his inner pocket and pulled out something small.

“Give this to him for me.”

The object floated up gently and landed precisely in my hand.

It was a wooden box, about the size of a cigarette pack, sealed so tightly that there wasn’t even a visible gap.

It was also engraved with layers of intricate tiny inscriptions, making it clear that a great deal of effort had gone into its security.

I looked down at the box and asked,

“Delivering it isn’t a problem, but… are you sure you want to entrust this to me?”

What I was really asking was whether it wouldn’t be safer to hand it over to a faculty member or someone from Hye-seong Group instead.

No matter how many unorthodox skills and traits I had learned, I still fell short compared to actual graduates.

However, the principal simply gestured toward the wooden box with an indifferent expression.

“I’m entrusting it to you precisely because it’s you. I’ve placed a few useful spells on it, aside from the security measures.”

If anything happened along the way, the spells would activate on their own and protect me.

Of course, the Hye-seong Group wasn’t careless, so the chances of an incident were slim. But having extra safeguards was never a bad thing.

Especially when those safeguards had been set by a former Hero. They were bound to be incredibly powerful.

I bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

“And besides, you’re not entirely unrelated to this matter.”

So that’s why he was leaving everything to me.

If there was a common link between a former Hero, the chairman of Hye-seong Group, and me…

“It must be the Monarch thing.”

“You catch on quick. You’ll get the details when you’re there.”

“Understood.”

I stored the wooden box in my inventory.

***

Leaving the principal’s office, I returned to the dormitory.

When I looked around my room, a thought crossed my mind.

Why does this place feel so unfamiliar?

The reason was obvious.

I had always spent most of my time in the mana training room, and recently, I’d been staying out for days at a time due to dungeon raids and final exams.

Lying down on my bed for the first time in a while, I let myself rest.

At some point, I drifted off…. until a message woke me up.

[Dang Gyu-young: (Woof! Fox emoji)]

[Dang Gyu-young: Finals over?]

[Kim Ho: (Woof! Fox emoji)]

[Kim Ho: Yeah, I’m done.]

[Dang Gyu-young: Come out for a bit.]

[Kim Ho: Where?]

[Dang Gyu-young: Swordsmanship club.]

The meeting place was a bit unexpected, but I had a hunch.

She’s probably with Senior Jegal So-so.

With that thought in mind, I left the dormitory and made my way over.

The swordsmanship club room was quieter than usual, likely because many students were still in the middle of their final exams.

That meant Dang Gyu-young and Jegal So-so wouldn’t have to worry about any interruptions.

Stopping in front of the vice president’s office, I knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

A shadow peeked out from the gap in the door before quickly retreating. This was followed by a familiar voice.

“Password.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“You can’t come in without it.”

There she goes again with her antics.

Since I had no reason to ruin the mood, I decided to play along.

“I can think of more than a few passwords. Give me a hint.”

“Alright. The password is someone’s nickname.”

“Whose?”

“A senior who treats you really really well and gives you anything you ask for.”

“…Kim Gap-doo?”

Thud!

Something smacked against the office door.

“Wrong!”

“This isn’t easy. Give me another hint.”

“Fine. That senior even went into a dungeon with you. You fought side by side and risked your lives.”

“That’s definitely Kim Gap-doo.”

Thud!

Another loud thud hit the door, followed by a familiar voice shouting.

“Hey! You’re doing that on purpose!”

“Come on, I’m not wrong. Give me a different hint, then.”

“….…”

A brief silence followed before the familiar voice spoke again.

“You’ve even hung out in that senior’s room before!”

“This narrows it down a bit. But how can you just say that out loud? You don’t even know who else might be outside.”

“Shut up! Password!”

Then, a shadow suddenly poked out through the gap in the door and began a countdown. It even scribbled words in between.

[5]

[If you get it wrong]

[4]

[this time too,]

[3]

[I’ll really be upset.]

[2]

Guess it was time to stop messing around.

I said in an exaggerated tone of realization,

“I got it! The answer is…!”

“The answer is?”

“Qyu-Qyu.”

The door immediately swung open, and Dang Gyu-young reached out with both hands.

Then she grabbed my cheeks and stretched them out to the sides.

“Oh, you’re having fun, huh? Teasing me?”

“You started it first, noona.”

“Still, you should’ve had the sense to get it right in one go!”

“But senior Gap-doo fits the hint too!”

We continued bickering back and forth as we entered the office, where Jegal So-so greeted me with a warm smile and a wave.

“Hi, Kim Ho. You worked hard on your finals.”

“Hello, senior.”

I gave a slight bow, and Jegal So-so’s face took on a mischievous expression.

“I have a nickname too, you know~”

“Senior is senior.”

“That makes us sound so distant. Can’t you call me noona?”

“That’s fine.”

“Great! From today, it’s noona.”

And just like that, Jegal So-so and I reached an agreement.

Watching us, Dang Gyu-young looked displeased. Probably because it had taken me forever to start calling her noona.

When she noticed her glare, Jegal So-so swiftly led me to a table.

“Sit here.”

Laid out on the table was a feast. Not just the boneless chicken and tteokbokki we’d had at Dang Gyu-young’s place before, but an assortment of snacks piled high.

It looked like they’d gathered for a small afterparty.

We chatted as we devoured the food.

Jegal So-so spoke with a hint of admiration.

“I heard you scored over 5,000 points? They say it’s the highest record for a first-year ever.”

“I put in some effort.”

The two in front of me had also participated in the Witch of Corruption subjugation battle and were well aware of my abilities, so I saw no need to feign humility.

Jegal So-so asked another question.

“I heard you also had a run-in with the Black Faction guys.”

“The Black Faction?”

At Dang Gyu-young’s puzzled look, Jegal So-so gave a brief explanation.

“You know, because of the Black Death dungeon issue, Mak Dae-woong and he ended up clashing.”

“They’re still holding a grudge over that? Seriously, they just don’t let things go.”

Dang Gyu-young frowned, but I simply waved a hand.

“It’s fine. If they keep coming to me on their own, it actually works in my favor.”

The reason I was leaving the Black Faction alone was that it was more beneficial this way.

Thanks to Sa Gong-wook’s group showing up again this time, I had managed to secure additional items and cheese boxes.

Sooner or later, I would have to settle things with them.

But since it wasn’t exactly a pleasant topic, I decided to shift the conversation slightly.

“You both did well on your finals, right?”

“Of course.”

As a club president and vice president, they were probably among the top-ranked students in their grade.

But then Jegal So-so gestured toward Dang Gyu-young.

“By the way, Qyu improved a lot.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm, the results were better than we expected.”

At that moment, my eyes met Dang Gyu-young’s, and I silently asked with a look.

– Did you clear it? The Hardship quest.

– Of course.

Dang Gyu-young grinned confidently.

It seemed she had successfully cleared Stage 2 of [Harship], just as I had instructed.

If that was the case, then she must have improved during her training, and there would have been rewards from the Hardship quest itself as well. Achieving a higher score than expected made sense.

Jegal So-so noticed something about our exchange and narrowed her eyes.

“Hey, Young Monarch, did you do something to Qyu?”

“Mhmm, Young Monarch. What did you do to me?”

Despite knowing everything, Dang Gyu-young still joined the Sho-Qyu joint attack to put on an act.

“Hurry up and tell us, Young Monarch!”

“That’s right, Young Monarch! Spit it out!”

***

After the gathering, we stepped out of the swordsmanship clubroom to find that night had already fallen.

Instead of parting ways immediately, Dang Gyu-young and I decided to take a walk together.

As we strolled side by side, she asked,

“I cleared it pretty fast, huh? Stage 2.”

“You did. I thought, at the earliest, you’d finish after finals.”

She had finished Stage 1 a few days ahead of schedule, and now, it was the same with Stage 2.

It meant that, despite how she appeared on the surface, Dang Gyu-young was taking the Hardship quest seriously and putting in an immense amount of effort behind the scenes.

“Should I go straight to Stage 3?”

“Wait just a little longer.”

The break lasted about two months, and the cooldown period for Hardship was six days.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

Using it on just one person would be far too inefficient.

“I plan to bring in a few more people.”