I Became a Mafia in the Academy
chapter-263

Chapter 263

In an instant, the room went cold as the word “Corleone” came out of nowhere.

I slowly looked up to see his expression and his eyes were wide, as if he was equally surprised.

“What does that mean…….?”

“You’re right, I never thought I’d see Corleone Jr. here.”

As he said so, he offered his hand and said with a light expression.

“These are all my people here, so don’t worry too much. By the way, how’s Don? I didn’t get a chance to say hello to him last year.”

At the faintest hint of a smile on his face, the situation began to organize itself in my head.

‘He must know my father. If he’s asking how he’s doing, it’s not a casual relationship……..’

He must be an acquaintance of my father’s.

As I thought this, the old man took a step forward and extended his hand to Mr. Jang.

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Jang.”

“Well, it’s good to know that the student you’re introducing me to is Corleone Junior.”

This time he looked at the old man and nodded, and I felt a cold sweat break out.

I can’t believe the congressman I’m meeting with today is an acquaintance of my father’s…….

No, it’s only natural because the Corleone family has long since taken root in Korea.

My father is not called the Emperor of the Foreigner Area for nothing.

“I never thought you would know my apprentice, Mr. Jang. Surely, a man of Vito Corleone’s stature deserves to know you.”

“Yes, Don has helped me a few times in the past, so this is fate.”

He smiles broadly, looking back and forth between me and the old man, the look of a politician ripe for the picking.

“Have a seat, I’ve ordered food, it should be out soon.”

“Of course…….Eugene, you should sit down too.”

“Yes, sir.”

The hot soup was served not long after we sat down.

As the food was placed in front of everyone, Kwak Chun-sik picked up his cutlery, followed by the others, but then,

“So, Senator, for what kind of villain did you call us all the way to Yeouido to ask for a favor? You’re not going to tell us strange stories over a meal, are you?”

The old man wants to know the story before he eats.

If he didn’t like the story, he would leave the restaurant.

As if to reassure him not to worry, Mr. Jang took a drink of water and made eye contact with the old man.

“I dare to ask you, a hero of Korea, a strange favor, but I only came to see you because it is difficult for the government to do anything about it.”

As he said that, he glanced toward the aide sitting next to him.

“That.”

“Yes, sir.”

A single envelope was pulled out of the briefcase.

Senator Jang took it and handed it to the old man.

“It’s a dossier with the target’s information. I wouldn’t recommend looking at it at the dinner table, lest you get squeamish.”

“Heh, you’re worried about that?”

As if it didn’t matter, the old man ripped open the envelope and began to examine the contents.

“Hmph……let’s see….. heh……?”

The old man’s expression changed from moment to moment.

He looked at the documents with a frown, then a serious expression……and finally let out a laugh of disbelief and handed them to me.

“You mean to tell me that this guy is in Korea right now? What the hell is he doing here?”

“That’s something we’re trying to figure out, but……haven’t gotten any clear information yet.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“You’ll have to see for yourself.”

And the papers finally slid into my hands.

[Villain Name: ARSONIST]

[Believed to have been smuggled into Korea by an interdimensional wizard three days ago]

[Last seen in the disputed territory between India and Pakistan, where he is believed to be responsible for the Great Fire]

[India-Pakistan Great Fire – 81 dead. 284 injured]

[Source photo]

[He is currently wanted internationally and is believed to have come to Korea, where they are most recently known to be active, in order to gain access to the Villain Alliance.]

“……Arsonist, you mean he’s in South Korea now?”

Senator Jang nods in response to my question.

“Yes. He specializes in indiscriminate arson, targeting civilians and awakened alike. The incident in India even happened while he was being chased by the police……I’ve come to ask you to do this because I don’t know what he’ll do if we don’t move quickly.”

Having said that, he bowed his head deeply.

“Please. For the sake of the country and its citizens, please help.”

After a moment of silence the old man spoke first.

“Let’s put our cutlery away. The soup must be getting cold.”

Hmph.

“Mmm. This place has good soup. It’s best to do it the way it’s always been done.”

The old man announces that he will accept the request while Mr. Jang and his aide respond by raising the corners of their mouths.

‘Arsonist…….’

I pick up my cutlery and take a sip of soup.

‘What events have happened in Korea?’

My memory is hazy but one thing is for sure.

‘This place is good.’

Apparently, lawmakers like a neat house with neat soup.

* * *

On the way back from the meeting with Congressman Jang Jin-yong.

“Where are we going?”

In a car with no idea where we were headed, I looked at the old man.

“You’re asking the obvious. I’m going to get information.”

“Information?”

“Yes. There are a couple of guys who know their way around here. I’m on my way to meet them now.”

The elongated buildings begin to dwindle in number, replaced by older, more run-down buildings.

Where is this place?

“Isn’t this……Jongno?”

“Yes, it’s a neighborhood of formerly prominent people, and we’re going to…….”

He points to an old building beyond the driver’s window.

“There it is.”

‘Sewoon Shopping Street.’

A place where, if you had the materials, you could build a tank as well as missiles.

In real life, of course, it was a joking idiom, but not here in CS.

“Sewoon Shopping Street. You’ve heard of it, right?”

“Yes, but this is my first time here.”

It was actually a munitions factory, making equipment for the early Awakened, back in the dawn of the dungeon outbreak.

“The technicians here really make anything,” he says, “weapons for the Awakened, fake passports and IDs. So when someone sneaks into Korea, they have to go through here~”

He’s a fugitive hunted all over the world, and he has no connections, so you’d think he’d have to come through here.

“But I thought people who do that kind of work didn’t give out their clients’ information because security is everything.”

“Of course they don’t. It’s their livelihood, so why would they give it away?”

“Well?”

“You’re so naive. Don’t you know there are a couple of other guys who make fake passports? You can ask someone else, after all, the circle goes around, and everyone knows.”

“You mean ask ……a competitor?”

“That’s right! He gets the money, and he discredits the competition. Two birds with one stone.”

But there was still something I didn’t understand.

“In that case, isn’t it inevitable that the business district will eventually collapse? After all, who would go to a place where there are rumors of gossip, and there will be feuds among the shops?”

“That’s simple, isn’t it?”

Kwak Chun-sik chuckles as he says that.

“After all, even if they fight until they’re sick of each other, they always come back together.”

“Ah.”

“Well, besides, a man who comes all the way here to create an identity can’t go anywhere else, can he?”

In the end, it didn’t matter. Down here, skill comes first.

Isn’t this why adults told us to learn skills when we were young?

And the last thing he said was…….

“Okay, we’re here. Let’s get off.”

While we were talking, we arrived.

As we pulled into the parking lot, the smell of the old building hit my nose.

“They say rivers and mountains change after 10 years, but this place never changes.”

The old man said but I know the only thing that hasn’t changed here is the outside.

Even though it looks like a crumbling building from the outside, once you step inside, you’ll see…….

“Hehe, they are still nurturing the city from within.”

The true Sewoon Shopping Street is revealed.

It was a huge space in a converted basement, lined with numerous shops, each with their own signage.

Yes…… In the game, it was also called the Citadel.

Chiiiiiii─

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pungent aroma of steel and welding wafted around me along with the pungent odor of unknown chemicals that continued to waft out.

“Surely……this is the way?”

He walked ahead on a path that was complicated even at first glance.

I slowly follow behind him, taking in the sights around me.

“This is the right place to put it, you idiot!”

“If you put a magic stone in there, it’ll explode!”

“This looks like it’s going to cost a fortune. How much have you been looking for?”

The atmosphere is just like in the game.

After walking through a maze of labyrinthine streets, I arrived at a shop with a sign that read, “This Western Key Dojo”.

“Hey, Mr. Lee!”

“Huh? No, look who it is, old man, hehehe!”

I followed Kwak Chun-sik to the shop, where an old man wearing glasses was painstakingly sharpening keys.

From the looks of it, he seemed to be older than the old man, but as I watched them talk to each other, it seemed like Kwak Chun-sik was older.

“What brings you to such a shabby place?”

“Alas, I had some errands nearby, so I stopped by. Have you heard any rumors lately?”

“Rumors?”

“Like, for example, that someone asked for a name…….”

‘Asked for a name.’

It’s a slang term for getting a new ID or passport, and it’s the only one that makes sense here.

“Someone asking for a name? Um……I’m pretty sure there was, but can you give me a second?”

After a brief pause, he opened a drawer and pulled out a tattered notebook, wiping his index finger with saliva.

“Let’s see……name……name……name……ah, there was some foreigner at Mr. Choi’s over there yesterday who asked me to make up a name for him.”

“Really? At Choi’s?”

“Yes, he came to ask for it yesterday, so he should come to pick it up today or tomorrow.”

…… What kind of a place is this, recording guests at someone else’s place?

Well, I guess it’s their way of survival, but it would be pretty creepy to be in their shoes.

In other words, people from other stores are also recording the movements of me and the old man who is here now.

“Hmm?”

I made eye contact with the old man.

“By the way, is this the little one you’ve been hiding? I didn’t hear that you had a grandson.”

“You’re just dying to get beaten up again, aren’t you? You’re still talking nonsense.”

The old man approached me with a look in his eyes as if he’s seen something interesting and Kwak Chun-sik throws up his hands and bursts into laughter.

“He’s not my grandson, he’s my disciple, my direct student.”

“Ho-ho. Your disciple?”

He turns to me, looking even more intrigued by the old man’s answer.

“I think I know what you’re worried about, student, but you shouldn’t worry too much.”

“……?”

“The people that reside here may be abnormal and insane, but they are not ungrateful bastards.”

As I blinked at the incomprehensible words, the old man smiled, showing his gold teeth.

“Most of them are grateful to him, so who the hell would spy on him?”

Apparently, this place was also associated with Mr. Kwak in the past.

This was something I had never heard before, but somehow I learned something new.

“Listen to the old man, and if you have any problems, come to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I will.”

I nodded, as there was no harm in knowing this place.

“Then what would you like to do, old man, would you like some tea while you wait?”

He turned around again and looked at Mr. Kwak, who was deep in thought but he shook his head.

“No, thank you. I think we should get moving.”

With that, Mr. Kwak placed something on the old man’s desk instead.

“You’re getting old, you know. Take care of yourself, man.”

“I’ll live a long time, hehehe.”

The old man walks out of the store.

“Hey, old man, what did you give him just now?”

“Huh? You mean that thing from earlier? Nothing much, just some elixirs from the Budokan. You can’t get this kind of information for free and at his age, I’d rather have elixirs than money.”

“Ah…….”

“Now that we’ve decided where he’ll come, let’s do a little research nearby. Judging by the fact that this old man’s knees are slightly sore…….”

──I think he’ll be here soon.

The villain, Arsonist, that is.

And at the same time.

“Ah!”

I remembered an incident involving him.