I knew well the reason why Baek Seo moved next door.

It was to protect me.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of overprotection.

It felt as if he knew exactly what threat was targeting me.

Despite his intense desire to protect me, Baek Seo left without telling me, even though he would be away for several days.

It was a suspicious move.

At that time, I was seriously injured after fighting with Moon Chae-yeon, following fights with Kim Dal-bi and Han Seo-jin among the six sinners.

It was easy to guess what kind of worries Baek Seo might have had at this timing.

In other words.

What if Baek Seo decided to take down Moon Chae-yeon, or remove a greater threat? What if he intended to act alone?

‘He probably thought I would definitely stop him if he told me in advance.’

I could guess the reason why Baek Seo left without a word.

Of course, there was no solid evidence. It was purely a hunch.

‘The question of why Baek Seo is trying to act alone without borrowing the power of the disciplinary committee remains unresolved.’

So... I could only hope that my guess was wrong.

I tried to contact Baek Seo two more times, but the call did not go through.

[ An Woo-jin : Where are you? ]

There was no reply.

“Hoo….”

After several space leaps.

As I emerged from the rift created in the air, a dark house came into view. It was Baek Seo’s house.

Not knowing where Baek Seo had gone, I came here grasping at straws.

‘He strongly opposed me coming here, didn’t he?’

It felt inappropriate to invade his privacy, but I could apologize later.

For now, there were other priorities.

Click.

I turned on the light and looked around.

‘... It’s clean.’

It was a neat and ordinary room, to the point where I couldn’t understand why he was reluctant to let me in.

It might be an excessive thought, but I even glimpsed an obsessive cleaning habit.

“?”

A flower on the desk caught my eye.

A peony in a water bottle. It was withered.

The flower had dried and become a dry flower.

─ ‘Do you know the language of the purple peony?’

Last semester, while preparing for the midterm exam.

Baek Seo’s question about my peony amulet came to mind.

‘I thought the question felt unnatural.’

Now I seemed to understand why Baek Seo asked about the language of the purple peony.

Perhaps this withered peony was also originally purple.

‘The language of the purple peony is… anger.’

I couldn’t understand why he kept the peony like this.

I looked around again.

“Hmm?”

A strange sense of emptiness emanated from the direction of the bookshelf.

Upon closer inspection, there was an unnatural finishing line on the flooring under the bookshelf.

I used my unique ability to set coordinates on the opposite side of the bookshelf.

Crack.

A rift was created.

‘The coordinates are set...? It usually doesn’t work if there’s no space on the other side?’

This meant there was space behind the bookshelf.

I immediately leaped through the space.

“......?”

I lightly generated electricity with my fingers and looked around. When I saw the light switch, I turned it on.

The light flickered weakly before illuminating fully.

My eyes widened.

“What…?”

Neatly stored lethal weapons. A row of combat magical tools.

As I moved my head along the weapons, something even more surprising filled my view.

“......”

A mind map and all sorts of information covering one wall.

It was all about Principal Lee Doo-hee.

I stood in front of the information-covered wall and quietly examined the contents.

My emotions gradually cooled down over time.

‘I expected it…, but it was true.’

My brows furrowed.

Eventually, my speculation turned into certainty.

Recalling the magical engraving on Baek Seo’s arm.

She had been an elite agent, a Spartoi, a hunting dog of the Principal.

Although she seemed to have gained freedom from the Principal for some reason, the cause was unknown.

Also, judging by the mind map, I was sure. Baek Seo’s current goal was to assassinate the Principal.

The motive seemed to be... revenge.

‘So that’s why.’

I seemed to understand why Baek Seo had been overly protective of me, and why she disappeared in the original work.

It all made sense.

If Baek Seo had left alone, I could understand why she didn’t need the power of the disciplinary committee.

Because the opponent was the Principal.

It was better to move alone discreetly rather than attracting attention with the insufficient power of the disciplinary committee.

In the original work, Baek Seo would have carried out her plan.

And judging by the fact that Baek Seo could not be found after the Principal’s suicide, it seemed she had met an unfortunate event during the execution of her plan.

She likely didn’t leave Neo Seoul. It would only lead to a hellish place where survival was difficult.

Moving to another place blessed by the Golden Sheep was also impractical.

Surviving until then… it was nearly impossible unless you were a Goliath.

‘One gun is missing.’

Among the slots where firearms were fitted according to their shapes, one slot was empty. Baek Seo must have taken it.

Looking around further, I noticed a trash can. The end of a piece of paper was sticking out from under the lid.

I opened the trash can and saw a crumpled piece of paper. I took it out and checked it.

“……!”

I gasped.

The paper was Baek Seo’s withdrawal application.

[ Reason for withdrawal ] ─ Due to personal reasons, I am withdrawing, but I will return soon.

The phrase ‘I will return soon’ was written.

Baek Seo could have taken a short leave of absence.

It seemed she was planning to leave the school for a while for reasons unrelated to the disciplinary committee or the academy curriculum.

However, seeing that she had not submitted the withdrawal application and threw it away in the trash.

She might have experienced some change of mind and resolved to come back soon.

Moreover, if I had seen the withdrawal application, the outcome would have been obvious.

I would have definitely tried to find out what was wrong and naturally set out to help Baek Seo.

Baek Seo probably expected that too.

“......”

The approval section for the disciplinary committee head and the student council was empty.

Anyway, even if this withdrawal application had been submitted, I would have rejected it.

It wasn’t that she wanted to withdraw; she had no choice.

I put the paper back in the trash can.

I had no intention of feeling disheartened. I immediately began to carefully examine the mind map Baek Seo had organized.

“Kid.”

Eventually, I heard a woman’s voice from behind.

It was Golden Sheep.

“…You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?” “Roughly.”

I didn’t question why she didn’t tell me. It was obvious I would be in danger.

To Golden Sheep, the priority was me. There was no reason to protect Baek Seo.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

Golden Sheep said.

“Baek Seo is like a cheesecake precariously balanced on a pair of chopsticks. It was all fine because you were supporting her. But with you being targeted by the Principal’s henchmen, could she have stayed sane?”

Golden Sheep clicked her tongue.

“Besides, she’s a kid who’s stained her hands with a lot of human blood. It’s more comfortable for her to move alone.” “Yeah, I know. I think so too….” “Don’t look for Baek Seo.”

Golden Sheep cut off my answer and spoke firmly.

There was frost in her voice.

“You’re not in a position to do anything right now. If you don’t want to die in vain, stay still.”

I knew it was a warning.

Facing the Principal with my current state was absurd.

The reason I aimed to become the head of the disciplinary committee was to deal with the six sinners one by one.

Given the possibility that the six sinners, except Goliath, were on the Principal’s side, and that even the strongest Spartoi was the Principal’s subordinate.

It was easy to foresee a future where not only I but the entire disciplinary committee would be buried if we all stepped forward.

But…, it was too harsh a sight before my eyes to stay still.

I had fully grasped the contents of the mind map.

I speculated about Baek Seo’s potential actions and thought together with my game knowledge.

Suddenly, the memory of tirelessly searching for the missing Kim Dal-bi, wearing out the soles of my shoes, overlapped with this moment.

I couldn’t just sit still.

“If I don’t die, it’s fine.”

I turned around and started walking.

My heart had cooled astonishingly.

At this moment, I felt like I wouldn’t be afraid of anyone.

Shoo-shaa.

A dark alley. The rain was soaking Baek Seo and Kim Dal-bi.

Dal-bi leaned against the wall, looking at the grim reaper before her.

A person holding a white wheel sword in one hand and a silenced pistol in the other. Dressed in black to blend into the darkness. It was Baek Seo.

Baek Seo looked the same as in her past hunting dog days. There was no trace of mercy in her eyes.

Dal-bi spoke with a struggling smile.

“You know….”

Puh-sook!

The blade of the white wheel sword, imbued with magical power, pierced Dal-bi’s thigh.

“Ugh…!”

As sudden, excruciating pain surged, Dal-bi bit her lip to stifle her scream. Blood trickled down her bitten lips, mixing with the rain.

Baek Seo put weight on the white wheel sword that pierced Dal-bi’s thigh and stepped on Dal-bi’s ankle.

If Dal-bi resisted even slightly, the white wheel sword would cut through her body.

If she made any loud noise, a bullet would pierce her neck.

“You annoyed me.”

Baek Seo’s cold voice flowed with the sound of rain.

“It seems unforgivable that you tried to touch Woo-jin.” “Really…? That’s good….”

Dal-bi’s body trembled from the cold as her body temperature dropped.

Having lost a lot of blood and being soaked by the cold rain.

Even so, a faint smile curved on Dal-bi’s lips.

“Me too. I guess you’ve been bothering me too….”

Dal-bi honestly expressed her feelings.

But she didn’t say why.