Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

“Baekho, surely you’ve been wandering around here this whole time while we were doing newspaper club activities? Someone might say it’s typical of Class 0.”

“Who could see me?”

“Judging by your psi-wave state, it seems you were just wandering about casually, but even if you rule out me or the teacher, anyone with eyes on the level of Cheondongha or Joo Suhyuk could easily have spotted you.”

“They weren’t there.”

While moving toward the silver clinic, the two tigers bickered noisily about whatever trivial subject came to mind.

Thinking about how effortlessly they jabbered like that, yet at Plum High they couldn’t manage a single decent conversation, felt stifling.

“Jo Eui-shin finds you exasperating.”

“What? No, Jo Eui-shin is cursing you with his eyes right now, stop talking nonsense.”

There was no need to explain—Hwang Ji-ho interpreted my meaning for me.

By the time we reached the silver clinic, I ignored their petty chatter and focused on our next move.

I also heard the white tiger mutter to Hwang Ji-ho something like “Jo Eui-shin considers your words trivial,” but I didn’t react.

Hwang Ji-ho looked as if his frustration was building, but when he saw Seodol already there, his expression darkened further.

“This is Jo Eui-shin’s building, right? It’s nice. I’ve always liked Hwang-ho’s sense of style. Of course, decorating the Neuru ambassador’s outfit is my job.”

“You start using honorifics the moment you look displeased... Once you’re done here, be gone.”

Seodol sounded elated enough to use honorifics, yet his face looked far from well. His coat and shoes were flawless, not a speck of dust or crease, but his face bore injuries.

The tigers scowled at his battered appearance.

Having lived wild, Seodol—even offering to take in a lone student as an ambassador—must have gone to great lengths to fend off the demons’ gaze. It was absurd.

In my view, at least.

“Jo Eui-shin, look at this first.”

Seodol sent a holographic file folder in front of me.

Thinking it might be the manual tied to the “Third Eye” countermeasures, I was about to check it when Hwang Ji-ho moved first.

Opening the hologram, Hwang Ji-ho sighed.

The folder contained a catalog of Neuru’s seasonal outfits bearing the Neuru logo. Each garment featured a few black sequins that gave it the impression of a night sky—instantly reminiscent of some “Unknown Supernova Edition.”

“Seodol, who do you think called you here to show them this nonsense?”

“It’s important for my motivation, you see? Jo Eui-shin, pick the outfit you like. I’ve got the materials ready and some fittings already made, so if we tweak it now, I can complete one set within an hour and have someone wear it.”

“You plan to waste an hour of my time? You made a deal with Jo Eui-shin. Choose whether to honor it or not.”

“I’ve prepared the deal materials. Jo Eui-shin is now the bona fide ambassador of Neuru! The issue is the incentive to use what I’ve prepared.”

As Seodol spoke excitedly, the white tiger stepped in front of me, and Hwang Ji-ho clicked his tongue.

They judged Seodol beyond reasoning. He babbled on, but it seemed he had found a way to handle the Third Eye. That method, however, didn’t look simple.

‘Maybe Seodol’s gone mad, but he might really have his reasons.’

Just then, someone appeared who could resolve that question.

The central entrance of the silver clinic opened, and Ungnyeo entered, escorted by Jeokho. Linking arms affectionately, they walked as if they were the only two people in the world. Jeokho bared his teeth at Seodol.

“I noticed a strange smell as we walked in—Seodol, were you here?”

“I sprayed the new perfume Neuru plans to release. What do you think? I’m thinking of emphasizing the middle notes here, adjusting the fragrance ratios, and naming it ‘Supernova Scent.’ I’m planning to combine a cocoa accord inspired by the chocolate named after Jo Eui-shin.”

“Do not soil Jo Eui-shin with the scent of rodents.”

So Seodol’s perfume came with that plan. The fragrance itself wasn’t bad, but since I’d never use it, I didn’t care.

Though the tigers openly showed their disgust, Ungnyeo and Seodol exchanged opinions and discussed their creations. Ungnyeo’s words were easy to understand and quick to grasp.

‘The demons use the same radio waves humans use for communication to power the Third Eye. When communications go down, their eyes can’t work. Seodol’s cufflinks glowed when they detected the power to use the Eye in the ether.’

Seodol’s explanation, on the other hand, was hard to follow.

‘So to smash that hateful Third Eye and break their true vision at the same time, you have to reverse the flow—but the ambassador... you went off on a tangent again.’

Seodol babbled, probably from stress after all his research. In truth, he always spoke like a madman. But Ungnyeo, who’d lived among the Eight Fallen Immortals for millennia, seemed used to dealing with lunatics. She hid her displeasure behind her fan while nodding and asking follow-up questions.

Jeokho, the doting husband standing beside her, was displeased that Ungnyeo was even conversing with someone like Seodol, yet he admired that she fully understood this madman’s words.

“Even talking like that, you understand—Ungnyeo’s wisdom and heart are so vast and deep that I can hardly fathom them.”

“Ungnyeo’s immunity to such crude talk is thanks to you, Jeokho.”

“I use only polite words before Ungnyeo.”

Not that polite words necessarily equal civilized ones. Even Seodol, speaking in honorifics, was annoying everyone present.

At last, their discussion ended. Ungnyeo looked at the card Seodol held out, then closed her eyes and pondered. Watching her get lost in thought, I noticed she had the same habit as Jeokho. But Ungnyeo soon opened her eyes.

“Seodol has found the answer he wanted. Using this method, you can not only block their eyes but counterattack as well.”

“Counterattack too? You mean we can locate those using the Eye?”

“More than that. You can pinpoint their location and launch a counterstrike.”

Seodol’s hard work—though lacking in enthusiasm—had paid off over a long period. For Ungnyeo to declare it so confidently, it had to be a tremendous method.

Yet Ungnyeo’s expression remained sombre. It wasn’t because Seodol was there—there were still lingering concerns.

“But to use this, you must pay a considerable price.”

“Price?”

Ungnyeo stared at Seodol and the card for a long time. For millennia, she had studied the balance of wealth and life on scales she called “the weight of fortune and life.” She had long gauged the cost and power required for any endeavor.

“Seodol’s power alone is insufficient. If he tries to use this by himself, he won’t achieve the desired effect.”

“What if the tiger clan’s power is added?”

“You’d have to expend a significant portion of your strength. The demons invested ages observing humanity. Finally, as communications developed in the human world, they gained the results of that long obsession. To sever it completely, you need equivalent force.”

“Equivalent force....”

Ungnyeo’s words carried more weight than expected. After all, a legion of demons had labored long to secure and use the Third Eye. It was strange to imagine a perfect severance falling easily.

Though Seodol himself couldn’t wield it, discovering a means to shatter that Eye was remarkable in itself.

“If you cut off communications, the Eye is blocked. But that applies only in the human realm. Once Demonification progresses, even without communications, they’ll be able to use the Eye.”

Just as Hwang Ji-ho said. Combining what we’d learned from Plum High and Gwak Kyung-gu’s replay scenario, there was evidence the demons used the Eye even when communications were down.

We could detect the Eye’s existence but couldn’t stop it. There were limits to deceiving them with smoke and mirrors. They see every battlefield through that Eye—no matter how much false information you spread, it’s useless.

‘So Seodol kept talking about motivation. He must have intended to pour his own power in once properly incentivized. But according to Ungnyeo, even Seodol’s sacrifice wouldn’t suffice.’

Still, there was a solution—a contingency I’d been verifying and stacking up for moments like this. It was what I’d considered every time I watched a Demon Realm scenario on the screen.

“There’s no need to worry.”

“Baekho?”

The gaze suddenly shifted to the white tiger, then came straight back to me.

“Jo Eui-shin has a plan.”

“What? So in the end, you’re just dumping it on Jo Eui-shin?”

“I agree with Jeokho. Preposterous.”

Despite Jeokho and Hwang Ji-ho’s chiding, the white tiger brazenly looked only at me.

I asked Ungnyeo.

“Could you explain how to use that card?”

“It’s simple. You need immense power. It can’t be divided into multiple activations. The moment they realize you have an offensive means, their evasion and countermeasures are unpredictable.”

“Then it’s possible.”

At my confident assertion, Seodol grinned so broadly it seemed to offend him.

“Jo Eui-shin...! You’d go this far for me!”

It was hardly for Seodol’s sake, yet fortunately Jeokho quickly snapped at him in honorifics that bit like curses: “Stop your nonsense.”

A method I could use even in my absence. A means the enemy could never anticipate. A power with the symbolism and awe to match the demons’ centuries of obsession. A few risks remained, but I’d covered those in advance.

“I have a proposal.”

At that, Seodol’s eyes widened.

“When did you persuade them and get this into your hands?”

“You’re one of them yourself. As proof, you spent hours pouring your strength into that ambassador nonsense.”

Hwang Ji-ho’s words left Seodol speechless. His eyes and mouth twisted into an unsightly grin, as if struck by inspiration. I pretended not to notice.

Well past the end of school, a shuttle bound for Gangwon Province departed from Eun Gwang High.

The shuttle’s surface bore the grand Huangmyung logo. Though it moved at speeds barely visible to the naked eye, observers watched intently.

“The tiger clan is on the move.”

“They’re heading for Gangwon.”

“They’re moving overtly. Could someone have noticed?”

“Sung Guk-eon, allied with the tiger clan, is meeting local notables in Gangwon. Rumor has it he plans to found a party. Could it be related?”

“There’s more to it. Don’t forget that man is a descendant of Seong Hyeong-u.”

In the shadows, demons watched the shuttle through the Third Eye. Before long, the vehicle arrived and its doors opened.

Jo Eui-shin descended with his head bowed. He endured the humiliation, lips bitten, and wore handcuffs designed to block psi-waves.

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