The Support Ate it All-Chapter 571: Graduation Ceremony (1)

An excessive forced march is more likely to turn into poison.

That was why, now that finals were over, I’d stopped all the training I’d been doing every single day.

Still, it felt like a waste to do absolutely nothing, so I took Seo Ye-in with me and headed to the special training room.

With the mindset of stacking even one more handful of mana while resting.

“......”

Seo Ye-in was rolling around with her head on the Kim Ho Pillow.

For the past few days, she’d slept as much as she wanted until she was sick of it, so it wasn’t like she was short on sleep, but she seemed to genuinely enjoy killing time like this.

So I tossed out a comment.

“If I leave you alone, you’ll do this all day.”

“Good idea......”

“Should we just rest here during break too?”

“Should we......”

“I’m going to go follow Gyu-gyu Noona and come back.”

“......?”

Seo Ye-in’s half-lowered eyelids popped right open.

She stared straight at me and said,

“Go together.”

“If you go, you’ll get busy.”

It ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ was someone else’s house, so she couldn’t just sprawl around however she wanted.

And it wasn’t like I’d let her.

Seo Ye-in paused for about two seconds, then answered.

“......Go together.”

“Why do you want to go together?”

“......? Don’t know.”

“I thought you’d obviously say it was because of the Kim Ho Pillow.”

Seo Ye-in stared up at me blankly.

Then she gave a small shake of her head.

“......Different reason.”

“What is it?”

“......? Don’t know.”

“If you don’t know, who does?”

“......? Don’t know.”

Putting it together: the main reason wasn’t the Kim Ho Pillow, there was some other reason, but she didn’t really know what it was either.

It didn’t look like she was hiding it—she genuinely seemed not to know—so I decided not to press and just let it go.

I pulled out the communication orb.

“Anyway, we should tell the butler.”

“True.”

We needed to share and discuss our winter-break schedule with Hyeseong Group.

When I operated the orb, a few rings sounded, then Ahn Jeongmi appeared.

Miss, Mr. Kim Ho, have you been well.

“It’s been a while since I contacted you.”

We laid out what had happened in the meantime, including finals, and Ahn Jeongmi listened with an extremely satisfied look.

Then I got to the point.

“As I mentioned before, we plan to visit the Dang family during winter break.”

Yes, I remember.

Ahn Jeongmi nodded without hesitation.

And then Seo Ye-in tossed in a short line.

“I’m going too.”

......?

Even at the sudden declaration, Ahn Jeongmi’s response stayed calm and professional.

First, she tried to grasp the situation properly.

Are you saying you will be accompanying Mr. Kim Ho and Mr. Dang Gyu-young, Miss?

“Yeah.”

This time, could you please reconsider.

Ahn Jeongmi continued, worry on her face.

Recently, the Blood Cult’s movements have been far too bold. There is a high possibility they will not avoid clashing with the Dang family either.

The Dang family would have their own shelters prepared, but it wasn’t something you could be one hundred percent at ease about.

Even if the probability was low, if there was any chance the chairman’s granddaughter could be put in danger, of course she would try to stop it.

But Seo Ye-in’s stubbornness was no joke either.

“I’m going.”

Miss.

“I have an ultra-first kill move.”

That alone is not enough. Please think about it one more time.

Seo Ye-in went silent for a while, like she was truly thinking.

She slowly tilted her head to the side, then—

A lightbulb went off over her head.

“The butler comes too.”

Me....... you mean?

“Winter business trip.”

.......

Inside the orb, Ahn Jeongmi’s eyes moved like she was rapidly scanning something.

Like she was estimating her current workload and what was coming after.

If you were at team-lead level, even the basics were substantial, and if she stayed away for the entire winter break, how much would pile up by the time she returned?

It felt like cold sweat was about to run down Ahn Jeongmi’s forehead.

But there hadn’t been a choice to begin with.

If she was told to come, all she could do was come.

......I will prepare.

“Confirmed.”

We’d be seeing each other at the Dang family before long.

Given what this was about, I expected not just Ahn Jeongmi, but multiple handpicked elite guards to accompany us as well.

‘While she’s there, I should ask her to teach this kid some skills. That’d be perfect.’

I’d been feeling the lack on the movement-technique side for a while.

Satisfied, I nodded.

*****

Time flew by,

and before I knew it, it was the last day of the second semester.

A mix of emotions coexisted among the students.

They were excited for winter break, but they also had to be feeling regret that they wouldn’t be seeing so many familiar faces for a while.

Of course, with Lee Sudok in front of us right now, the classroom air only felt heavy.

It had been a year, so you’d think they would’ve gotten used to it, but a large portion were still intimidated by the killing intent of a human butcher.

Whether they were or not, Lee Sudok didn’t look like he cared in the slightest.

He swept his gaze around the room, then opened his mouth.

“Back at the start of this year, you were nothing but worms, but you’ve at least climbed up to the level of beasts now.”

.......

.......

It seemed like he’d meant it as praise in his own way, but there wasn’t a single student who accepted it happily.

Naturally, Lee Sudok didn’t care about that either and just said what he wanted to say.

“I told you before. I lost every placement exam in my first year too, and started from zero points. That means I was one fine worm.”

......!

“However, after pouring in ceaseless effort, as I advanced through the years, my rivals grew fewer and fewer, and now I stand here.”

As an A-rank hero,

surviving with pride.

On that point, the mood was that everyone acknowledged him.

To the point that a few students nodded without thinking.

Lee Sudok left us with final well-wishes.

“You too—press on until the day you can do your share, and more than that. Then I’ll see you again next year.”

Then he threw a sharp glance my way once, and walked out of the classroom.

The students immediately fell into confusion and stared at each other.

Next year?

He said next year?

Why is next year coming up all of a sudden?

It was widely known that Lee Sudok’s contract with Dragonslayer Academy was for one year.

With that personality, after that, he would leave Dungeon Island without a shred of attachment.

But then, like a bolt from the blue, the word “next year” had come up.

‘Did he like teaching more than I expected?’

Or maybe there was something he still wanted to do.

I couldn’t tell exactly what he wanted right now, but someday, it would all come to light.

After the closing ceremony came the third-years’ graduation ceremony.

It wasn’t like there were only one or two upperclassmen whose faces I recognized, so we needed to exchange final goodbyes.

So we all moved toward the auditorium.

The very same place where the entrance ceremony had been held when we first arrived on Dungeon Island by train.

When we got there, the principal was in the middle of a long speech.

“Graduation does not mean an end, but a new beginning. Countless hardships will be waiting for you, but if you repeat patience and challenge, I have no doubt you will surely overcome them. Even when I had just received my diploma—”

Even though we’d arrived halfway through, it was enough to make you feel suffocated, so how much worse was it for the people who’d been listening the whole time?

In fact, a good number of third-years were sleeping with their mortarboards pulled down over their faces instead of their heads.

Fortunately, the previous hero’s wide-area sleep skill was blocked by the vice principal.

At a gesture that looked like pointing at a wristwatch, the principal wore a regretful expression but wrapped up the graduation address.

“—I sincerely congratulate you on your graduation.”

CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP—!

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted,

and the students escaped the auditorium like the tide going out, then gathered in little clusters to exchange congratulations again.

Since it was graduation, about half had family who came all the way to Dungeon Island, and about half didn’t.

With the outside atmosphere turning far more ominous than it had been during the tournament, high-ranking figures like magic-tower masters and guild leaders were probably mostly busy guarding their own factions.

Topaz Magic Tower, of course, was the former.

Maybe because there was an S-rank Thunder Lord, Father Song—the magic tower master—seemed relatively free to move around.

I had a secret meeting with Song Cheonho and Song Cheongi, father and son.

“I’ve been continuously hearing updates. They say Cheon-hye’s skill has been improving by the day.”

“She follows along better than I teach.”

“They say her grades are solid as well. I heard she served as team leader in finals and took first place.”

“It was a difficult role, so she worked hard.”

When I praised Song Cheon-hye with modesty, the corners of Father Song’s mouth lifted along with it.

There was no father alive who disliked praise for his daughter.

“Every time I think about it, it was the right choice to entrust her to you. I’ll be relying on you next year as well.”

“Understood.”

“What you want, you’ll be able to obtain soon.”

As compensation for teaching Song Cheon-hye, I was promised one item from the Thunder Lord’s inventory.

If I kept piling up results, an S-rank item would probably come flying my way before long.

Just then, Song Cheon-hye—who’d been wandering around—spotted us, so we ended the secret meeting here.

I gave a light farewell.

“Have a good break.”

“......You too.”

Song Cheon-hye glanced this way a few times, then turned her head and started talking with Father Song and Song Cheongi.

After that, I looked around the hall for other upperclassmen.

Kim Gapdu was surrounded by Martial Arts Club members, and the mood was like they were trying to hold him in place so he couldn’t go anywhere else.

In that state, a third-year member sent a signal.

“Bring it.”

In response, another member came rattling in, dragging some kind of cart.

When Kim Gapdu saw the thing covered in thick cloth, he asked,

“What is this?”

“Kim Gapdu, you worked hard acting as club president.”

“That’s nonsense. You’re the ones who worked hard.”

“Whatever. We prepared a small gift.”

“A gift? Why would you prepare a gift.”

“It’s too late. Look.”

Then the cloth was yanked off in one motion, revealing what was underneath, and Kim Gapdu’s face filled with shock.

“This is......!”

Its identity was a meticulously carved statue.

Kim Gapdu’s likeness, reproduced perfectly, with a little extra seasoning added on top.

One fist raised—exactly like a victor.

And on both sides, even beautiful women were posed with him.

It was called—

‘The Harem Champion Gapdu Statue.’

They said the Martial Arts Club members had pooled sponsorship money to move up the commission order, and fortunately it had been completed in time.

Judging by how every tiny detail felt alive, it didn’t look like Kangbyeol had rushed the job either.

Well, as an artisan, they’d seemed to have a stubborn streak too, so it wasn’t like they ever would.

“......”

After staring at the statue in silence for a long while, Kim Gapdu bowed his head deeply.

The Martial Arts Club members grinned and started teasing him.

Hey, are you crying? Crying?

It’s Sad Gapdu!

Why are you sniffling again?

“......I’m not crying. My shoelaces came loose.”

Kim Gapdu dropped to one knee, then undid perfectly-tied shoelaces and re-tied them.

The Martial Arts Club members were still grinning, but they shouted to each other.

You have to keep stuff like this! Let’s take a picture!

Everyone, gather up!

Hey! Hurry up and get over here! Seriously, look at that.

After that, they took their places in front of the Harem Champion Gapdu Statue and used a communication orb to record the meaningful moment.

Kim Gapdu looking up at the sky again, and the members teasing him again.

Gapdu, you’re crying again?

Your tear ducts are weak today. They’re just bursting.

“It’s not bursting. I was checking if it was going to rain.”

But the sky was perfectly clear, without a single cloud.