[Finance Department]
Kim Na-hyun, the chief clerk of the Finance Department, had come to work to process the broken equipment and supplies damaged in an explosion during an experiment in the magic research building.
Before the winter break, he had finished all the necessary work, but now he was humbly accepting the unexpected work, becoming an excellent member of society.
Kim Na-hyun, who had skillfully caused himself to come to work, took off his coat, which he had hung on his chair, intending to return home as soon as possible. All that was left was to check that there were no devices turned on and then return to the comfort of his home.
'I'm sure it was there...'
Kim Na-hyun took off his coat and hung it back on his chair, turning on the computer that had been asleep.
When the bright light on the screen came on, he swallowed his saliva and rolled his eyes at the person sitting across from him.
A man with a strangely designed pair of glasses covering half his face, a white-haired girl perched on his neck like a fairy, and a woman with a chilly expression, as if to match the season, staring at him.
'Why is the Executor here...!!'
Kim Na-hyun had turned off the heating because he was about to leave work, but now he was genuinely tempted to cry as his back was drenched in cold sweat.
"Uh, what… is your business here?"
He gathered his courage and asked the people in front of him, hoping to leave this place as soon as possible.
The man, Baek Woo-jin, showed him the ring on his left hand.
'...A ring?'
Kim Na-hyun's gaze was drawn to the obviously unusual ring.
"Are you a professor?"
"Yes."
"Oh... I mean…"
Kim Na-hyun was momentarily stunned by the deep, mature voice, and he clapped his hand over his mouth, blinking rapidly.
'I've never seen a black ring before.'
He had been preparing for the upcoming ring-snatching contest, so he was curious about the existence of the black ring he was now seeing.
After all, the rings registered at Arena Academy were divided into four levels, including the founder, and there was no black ring among them.
'It doesn't seem like a lie...'
If the man had come alone, he might have been more suspicious. After all, anyone who entered the Academy was considered a verified individual.
However, just because someone was verified didn't mean they were sane. Especially the magic professors.
They were the kind of people who would do crazy things and put on shows to secure their budgets, and Kim Na-hyun had been fooled a few times and scolded by his boss.
So, Kim Na-hyun suspected that the man in front of him was a magic professor who had changed his face with magic, if it wasn't for the presence of Claire Vin Asin behind him. After all who would dare to impersonate the monster who could take down a double-digit ranker with her fists.
"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but since you're not registered in the computer system, can I just quickly verify the authenticity of the ring you're wearing?"
At Kim Na-hyun's request, Baek Woo-jin took off the ring on his index finger and handed it to him.
"Thank you. It'll only take a minute, so please wait..."
He held the shiny black ring in his hand and walked over to his boss's desk. Then, he skillfully opened the safe behind it and took out a small machine.
The rings worn by the professors had unique magical codes. The machine he took out of the safe was used to identify those codes.
"Ugh~!!"
The downside was that the machine was ridiculously large and heavy, having been made at the same time as the Academy's founding.
'Let's see… Put this here… and press this button...'
-Ding.
The device lit up with a blue light, indicating that the ring was officially registered with the Academy.
Kim Na-hyun pushed the ridiculously heavy device back into the safe and returned to his seat. He politely handed the ring back to its owner and said,
"You really are a professor... So, what brings you here...?"
Baek Woo-jin put the ring back on his finger and replied,
"It seems that the money that should have been paid out was not properly distributed."
"Oh... I see."
Of course, he would have come to the Finance Department for money-related matters.
"Do you have the contract with you? As I mentioned earlier, you're not registered in the computer system."
Kim Na-hyun assumed that the man in front of him was a newly recruited professor scouted by the founder. And that the damn Faculty of Arts had overlooked him.
But his guess was completely refuted as soon as Baek Woo-jin opened his mouth.
"No. It should be registered in the system. Someone intentionally hid it."
"...What?"
What kind of crazy person would do such a thing...? Was it a new form of suicide?
Kim Na-hyun was stunned, and Baek Woo-jin continued without paying him any mind.
"Tell the boss to make sure not a penny is missing by tomorrow."
"Boss... Are you kidding me?"
Kim Na-hyun was startled by the cold voice of a woman behind him and turned to face her.
An icy-looking woman with an expression colder than ice itself.
"Uh, I, I'm sorry..."
"..."
Claire glared at him for a moment and then continued.
"After you're done with the professor's business, tell the boss to contact me."
"Yes? Yes, yes. I'll, I'll definitely do that."
Kim Na-hyun nodded like a broken doll, and Claire glared at him for a moment before turning to follow Baek Woo-jin out of the Finance Department.
A few minutes after she left,
"Damn..."
Kim Na-hyun wiped the cold sweat from his back and slumped into his chair. Then, he manipulated the smart watch on his wrist.
[Kim Sung-won – Bald Captain]
-Our love is Chu~♥
A girl group song that didn't suit his age played, and.
-Hey, what's up? What happened?
The hoarse voice of a middle-aged man, along with the sound of waves, filled the Finance Department.
Kim Na-hyun asked the boss, who was probably out fishing at some sea,
"Boss. Is there a professor with a black ring―"
-Cough, cough…!! What color?!
At the boss's bewildered question from the smart watch, Kim Na-hyun nodded.
'Damn baldy...'
.
.
.
In the brightly lit study,
"Bbaek-woo-woo-zee..."
The white blob had eaten her fill for dinner and was now dozing off on my lap, scribbling my name in her notebook with crooked letters.
A desk and chair for Baek Hana would be delivered by the temple tomorrow, so this was the last time she would sit on my lap like this.
I had been watching her for a while, but eventually, I raised my right hand.
"Aah!!"
"I told you twice not to hold it like that."
I had reminded her during dinner as well, but she just wouldn't change the way she held the pencil.
"But… I'm more comfortable this way."
The little girl leaned against my chest and looked up at me, tilting her head slightly.
"...It's because you're not used to it."
"Heung."
I took the pencil from her and put it back in her hand.
She pouted and stuck out her soft cheeks, but soon bent over her desk again and continued writing.
'Still, her memory is excellent.'
I had taught her the letters just an hour ago, but she had already memorized them all. But why was she only writing my name over and over...?
Still, since she was practicing writing voluntarily, I didn't point it out.
'Now, I wonder...'
I was curious how things would turn out over there.
A black ring that wasn't registered in the computer system.
It could be assumed that the ring's existence had naturally disappeared along with the destruction of its owner's soul, but before this body was mine, I was a player.
At the moment when the final boss, Emptiness, awakens.
At that very moment, one of the symbols of Arena Academy, the barrier, disappears. And the intruders swarm in.
The black ring becomes known to the world through one of the intruders.
The owner's identity is cleanly erased, but the ring's existence is clearly recorded in the Academy.
In every cycle, Emptiness awakens on the same day, and the destruction of the Academy's barrier is also an event that occurs in every cycle.
'So, the culprit will be the same.'
The reason was never revealed, but the culprit was always the same person.
Kim Sung-won, the chief of the Finance Department.
Due to his position, Kim Sung-won was one of the few recurring characters in the changing settings.
He was meticulous and particular, but he was never a corrupt individual.
That was why I had declined Claire's offer to actively help resolve the issue.
'Kim Sung-won should be useful.'
By the time Baek Hana enrolls, I'll have naturally integrated my existence into the Academy.
That way, I won't have to waste time wandering around the Academy, introducing myself to the students. I can devote that time entirely to Baek Hana's education.
'But I am curious.'
What was the purpose of the concealment?
Where was the money that should have been paid out used?
Learning unknown information was a process that even this emotionless body found slightly enjoyable.
Twook.
As she wrote, Baek Hana started dozing off, her head eventually resting on my chest.
I rolled the pencil that had fallen to one corner of the notebook and closed the notebook, which was filled with my name.
Then, I picked up the small girl, who had spent most of the day perched on my neck and was now dozing off, and carried her to the bedroom.
I laid her on the bed, her mouth slightly open.
I lay down next to her, my sleeve still in her grasp, and moved my magic.
One of the items we had bought at the mart floated up and landed in my hand. I gently brought it to her small mouth.
"Uung..."
Fortunately, she didn't reject it and took it into her mouth, chewing on her cheeks before settling down.
A pink pacifier, bought for the little girl who had been drooling into my clothes and making my chest damp with her saliva in the morning.
'...It should be fine for a few days.'