TRPM 276

chapter 276

When I went to the teachers’ office, there were not only kids from our class but also many students from other classes.

Other teachers were dealing with their own students.

As I watched, our homeroom teacher, Son Ji-hye, noticed us entering the office and asked:

“Could it be that there’s a thief in our class too?”

“Looks like it’s the same with the other classes as well,” I replied.

Ms. Son nodded at my words.

“What’s missing?”

“Notebooks. The ones in the lockers are safe, but…”

“Alright. So our class is the same,” she said.

I didn’t know exactly who had stolen the notebooks, but whoever did it was impressive. Even if it were a petty theft, it would be hard to overlook—but stealing notebooks from the entire first grade?

‘And they didn’t take valuables, just notebooks… What could their purpose possibly be?’

Stealing nothing but students’ notebooks…

“Anyone who had their notebook stolen, write your name here. The teachers will check the CCTV.”

That’s what she said. Our school had CCTV cameras in the hallways and every classroom, so checking the footage would quickly reveal the thief.

‘That’s why I didn’t bother using psychometry in the classroom.’

With CCTV alone, the culprit could be identified. Judging from how they messed up the classrooms while stealing, the footage would definitely make it easy to catch them. With that in mind, I left the office.

As I stepped out, Lee Doo-min, Elliot, and Jin Cheon-ha spoke up:

“Who would do something like this?”
“Maybe they wanted to study using someone else’s notebook?”
“If that were the case, they’d only take Kang Ga-ram’s notebook. No need to grab everyone else’s.”

These three had kept their notebooks in their lockers, so theirs weren’t stolen. The ones who did lose their notebooks were writing their names in the office and would join later.

“Whatever their purpose is, we can’t just let this slide.”

This wasn’t going to be a simple case of theft punishment. At the very least, it wouldn’t end with a suspension or expulsion. Some might argue that expelling someone just for stealing a notebook is harsh, but the school wouldn’t take it lightly.

‘The problem isn’t just other students—Kim Eun-yeon, Lee Ha-eun, and Elena’s notebooks being stolen is the biggest issue.’

First, Kim Eun-yeon. Her notebook contained drawings depicting potion-making processes. Her notebook wasn’t something you could call ordinary. Lee Ha-eun’s notebook was the same. I had burned the pages I told her to, but it still contained traces of her hypnosis magic circles. Some individuals have the ability to restore the original form of such notebooks, so if her notebook fell into the wrong hands, someone could gain access to her hypnosis magic.

Finally, Elena…

‘… Not just anyone, but someone who rummaged through a member of the British royal family’s belongings and stole a notebook…’

In her case, the contents might not be problematic, but the owner certainly is. The school knew Elena’s identity, so they couldn’t let it slide quietly.

“Enough about that. Want to go play soccer?”

“… You want to play soccer when the school’s in chaos?”

“So what? Whoever the thief is will be caught soon anyway.”

That’s true, I guess.

“I’ll ask the other classes too.”
“Oh, so you’re playing then?”
“Yeah, yeah…”

Considering the current chaos, not many would want to play soccer… That was my mistake.

“Let’s form our teams!”
“… Wait, are all the players already here?”
“Yeah. Seems like the other classes were getting ready to play too.”

It took only about five minutes for everyone who wanted to play soccer to gather on the field.

… I hadn’t realized our school had so many soccer fanatics.

‘… Come to think of it, even before I returned, there were always lots of people obsessed with soccer, basketball, or card games.’

Especially when card games suddenly became popular, almost every conflict was resolved with them. … And I was one of those obsessed with card games too.

‘… Why did I do that…?’

Thinking that, I grabbed the whistle, flags, and soccer ball. I was taking the whistle and flags because I was the referee. If I played, it would throw off the balance. Plus, as a referee, I could spot if someone used aura, magic, or any other ability, keeping the game purely physical.

“Who wants to be the goalkeeper?”
“Ah, I don’t want to… But I guess I should?”

While thinking this, teams were set, and players picked their positions. Once everyone had a spot, I checked the time and placed the ball at the center of the field.

“Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Whenever you want.”
“Alright then…”

Peep…!

I raised and lowered the flag and blew the whistle. I didn’t blow with all my strength; with my lung capacity, it might have blown the whistle apart. Not joking—it could have really happened. But I did blow it loud enough for everyone on the field to hear.

Bang…!

The game began. I watched from a distance, performing my duties as referee.

‘If we finish in about 50 minutes, that should be fine.’

For a while, I was able to forget about the notebook thief.

[Hook… microphone test… Ah, ah. All first-year students must gather in the auditorium by 12:30. Repeating, all first-year students must gather in the auditorium by 12:30.]

That is, until this announcement came.

“What? Suddenly?”
“Ah, maybe they caught the thief? That’s why they’re calling the first years.”
“Still, calling us during lunch…”

The kids playing soccer grumbled but started organizing vests and heading to the locker rooms. I washed the whistle in the sink, organized my things, took a quick shower, changed, and headed to the auditorium.

‘… Why are they gathering the students? If they caught the thief, calling the police would be enough.’

When I arrived, a few students were being held by teachers at the front of the auditorium. Those must be the culprits.

‘I expected it wouldn’t be a solo act…’

It’s impossible to raid every first-year classroom alone in such a short time. Those kids…

‘The most delinquent students in our school.’

Even so, they weren’t bullies. At worst, they skipped class and went to PC bangs. From what I knew, they hadn’t committed any real crimes. Until yesterday.

‘First time committing a crime, and it’s this big…’

I sighed, looking at them. Did they think they wouldn’t get caught? Or that even if they did, the punishment wouldn’t be severe?

‘Why steal notebooks in the first place?’

I took a seat, and other first-year students trickled into the auditorium, noticing the suspected thieves.

“What? It was them?”
“I didn’t expect they’d go this far…”

Others recognized the students too and muttered as they took their seats. When it reached 12:30,

‘A fair number haven’t come yet.’

Some may have been off-campus for lunch or hadn’t heard the announcement. The teachers didn’t even check attendance.

[We will now discuss this incident. Those who didn’t come will be informed by classmates. Let’s start.]

The head teacher of the grade, clearly angry, began explaining the incident.

The culprits apparently needed money. They often skipped classes and went to PC bangs, spending lots of money. Normally, awakened students could earn money by clearing dungeons, but these kids hadn’t yet qualified for dungeon certification, so they had no way to make money that way.

‘They couldn’t have mugged other students either…’

Without dungeon certification, they weren’t particularly strong. While thinking about how to make money…

[These students confessed that they committed this theft after hearing a broker say they’d buy first-year students’ notebooks at high prices.]

“…?”

I felt something was off. Sell the notebooks at a high price… why? Other students murmured the same.

[We don’t know why, but brokers apparently buy students’ belongings like this these days. Don’t fall for it. If you meet a broker, report immediately to the police or a teacher.]

As the announcement ended, police officers entered the auditorium. The teachers handed over the captured students.

“W-Wait, teachers…!”
“But we didn’t hurt anyone! We just needed money…!”
“It’s just notebooks! No need to go to the police…!”

Only then did the students realize the seriousness of their actions. The teachers and police didn’t heed their pleas.

‘… Wait.’

If the reason for stealing the notebooks was the broker wanting to buy them at high prices… does that mean they actually sold them?

‘… They couldn’t have, right?’

The theft happened at lunchtime, and they were caught during lunch—no time to sell.

[Finally, these are the notebooks they stole. When your name is called, come up and retrieve them.]

Luckily, the notebooks hadn’t ended up with the broker. The head teacher began returning them to the students.

But…

‘There’s a pervert near the school coveting students’ notebooks…?’

A pervert would probably target gym uniforms instead, but I decided not to think about that. The important point is that a broker is likely near the school. With that in mind, I retrieved my doll from the pocket dimension and decided to patrol around the school.

“Geon-woo, that just now…”
“I’m going to patrol.”

If luck was on my side, I might spot the broker immediately.