I got into school for nothing - Chapter 144
I got into school for nothing (144)
Lesson 29. The Truth Will Eventually Be Revealed - 4
"It is an honor that you've come all this way, Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong. However, we still have Student Council matters to attend to. If you have any urgent business with us, might you wait a moment...?"
Shatie, the Student Council President, uncharacteristically offered a polite smile while addressing the rude middle-aged man who had abruptly appeared during their Student Council duties.
However, Lyu Cheolmyeong, seething with anger, vehemently waved a hand, cutting off Shatie's words as if the Student Council's circumstances were utterly irrelevant.
"Student Council President, you must be aware of the unpleasant rumors circulating about me recently, no?"
"Rumors, you say?"
"I am speaking of the persistent, sordid, and utterly preposterous rumors connecting me to those first-year... Special Admissions students."
Of course, Shatie was well aware of them.
Initially, students were simply astonished that Ban Yuwon had truly awakened his Or during Lyu Cheolmyeong's lecture, but...
Once the circumstances of that awakening became known, and several professors publicly issued warnings to Lyu Cheolmyeong, it was subtly rumored among students that Ban Yuwon had awakened his Or simply due to his exceptional talent, and that Lyu Cheolmyeong had, in fact, been openly harassing students he disliked under the pretense of education.
Naturally, many students who hoped to gain favor with Lyu Cheolmyeong, an authority on Or, especially the Special Class students who benefited from his pure-blood ideology, flatly denied it, claiming it was merely educational guidance. But such efforts were as futile as trying to cover the sky with one's palm.
Once ignited, the rumors incessantly expanded and reproduced, centering around the intranet, spreading to an uncontrollable extent.
'But why is he bringing this up to us now? He was the one who practically admitted defeat first. If you're caught pulling despicable stunts, you ought to endure this much criticism.'
While thinking this internally, Shatie maintained her poker face. Lyu Cheolmyeong's brow twitched as he spoke.
"Those malicious rumors have spread throughout the Academy, to the point where they now threaten my honor as a professor."
"There are always those who speak out of turn, oblivious to their own standing. Even if we've gathered the foremost talents of all dimensions, they are still emotionally immature. I hope you can be magnanimous, Professor..."
_Thump!_ Lyu Cheolmyeong slammed his hand on Shatie's desk and declared.
"I suspect the Student Council is involved in the amplification and reproduction of these rumors."
At his absurd accusation, Shatie thought to herself.
'How did this bastard know? We were just about to exploit his weakness to thoroughly shift the academy's atmosphere, and he noticed it immediately!'
"You are mistaken, Professor Lyu Cheolmyeong."
"If it truly is a misunderstanding, then you can cooperate in suppressing these rumors, Student Council President?"
"I apologize, Professor, but our Student Council does not have the authority to control the intranet. That authority belongs solely to the Chancellor..."
―"Listen, Student Council President, I am no fool."
Lyu Cheolmyeong's voice pierced directly into Shatie's mind.
The man's voice, thick with a viscous heat, seemed to cling directly to her brain, sending shivers down her spine.
Shatie suppressed the urge to drop her poker face and silently stared at him.
―"I am well aware that the Student Council is currently rallying students from lower-ranked dimensions and stirring up trouble. And I, who always oppressed those wretches, must have been excellent prey for you, wouldn't you agree?"
"Again, I believe there's a misunderstanding, Professor. We merely wish for all students to receive fair treatment and develop equally within the Academy. We have no intention of slandering you."
"So, you intend to stick to that story until the end?"
"No matter what you say, Professor, what is not, is not, and what cannot be done, cannot be done."
"Student Council President――."
"Instead."
Lyu Cheolmyeong's sharp gaze flew towards Shatie, who had interrupted him, but she did not lose her composure.
Her demonic eyes sparkled brilliantly, emitting mana.
"I do know the cleanest way to eliminate baseless rumors, however."
Lyu Cheolmyeong's unilateral turn had ended, and Shatie's turn had finally begun.
"What...?"
"I will assist you. If only to prove the Student Council's innocence."
She hadn't expected Lyu Cheolmyeong to approach them first like this.
She and Mira were already preparing a trap to mess with him.
She couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
She intended to seize him firmly and tear him apart.
"Your words have suddenly changed. Just a moment ago, you said it couldn't be done, didn't you?"
Lyu Cheolmyeong, feeling as if he were truly bewitched by a demon, instinctively stepped back.
Shatie gave a wry smile and shook her head.
"There is nothing the Student Council, as an organization, can do. However, I, personally, have a way to assist you, Professor."
"You, personally, Student Council President? I find that difficult to believe."
Why would she? He knew perfectly well she didn't think highly of him.
Lyu Cheolmyeong's suspicious gaze swept over Shatie's entire body.
Enduring the unbearable disgust she felt from his lingering gaze, particularly on her face and chest, Shatie spoke again.
"However... if I do prove helpful, might I expect a small token of appreciation then?"
"So, you did have another motive? I don't know what you want from me, but I have no intention of simply granting it..."
"Actually, I'm interested in the Adjunct Professor Recommendation you possess."
Lyu Cheolmyeong's brow twitched upon hearing that.
"You, of all people, could become an Adjunct Professor without much difficulty, even without a recommendation."
"Of course, I could, but..."
As Shatie trailed off, Lyu Cheolmyeong understood her unspoken meaning and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, you intend to play a power game with that ridiculous recommendation slip, do you? Fine, do as you please."
Lyu Cheolmyeong was greatly displeased, but with that, he understood Shatie's reason for offering her help.
If she had a clear desire, there was no reason not to trust her.
That was why Shatie had told such a flimsy lie.
Solely to make Lyu Cheolmyeong believe her!
'What good would a recommendation from a man about to disappear from the academy even do?'
She scoffed internally, her eyes gleaming.
Lyu Cheolmyeong, unwilling to simply nod at Shatie's suggestion, threatened her.
"But I still haven't heard your proposed method. Giving up the recommendation is not difficult, but it will only happen if the results are certain."
"Of course, Professor. The recommendation is merely a bonus. As long as you remain a professor, you are a person worthy of all students' respect and admiration."
"...Hmph, very well. Then let's hear it."
Even though he felt something unsettling in Shatie's words, Lyu Cheolmyeong decided to follow her proposed method.
After all, Shatie was a student, and he was a professor.
There was a vast difference in their standing.
If this fellow dared to try and trick him, he could use that as leverage to demand even more...
―And Shatie's 'Constraint' and Mira's 'Curse' were abilities specifically designed to exploit such casual and complacent perceptions, thereby lowering the opponent's standing.
* * *
The 'Lyu Cheolmyeong Incompetence Theory' that had been circulating throughout the Academy completely vanished exactly two days later.
Someone somewhere on the intranet was still badmouthing Lyu Cheolmyeong, but the response was sparse.
Even that soon disappeared.
The reason lay with Lyu Cheolmyeong himself.
"Ah, good morning, Professor."
"Yes, good morning. ...Student."
"―Yes, yes, sir!"
"Professor!"
"Good morning!"
"Yes, students."
It was unlikely that anything about Lyu Cheolmyeong had dramatically changed in just a few days.
However, students who encountered him directly instinctively bowed their heads to him, a perfectly natural phenomenon that stemmed not from Lyu Cheolmyeong's oppression or overbearing presence.
Simply put, it was dignity.
The dignity that made a professor truly a professor.
'Influence over others... is that a type of charisma?'
This was the conclusion Ban Yuwon reached while observing Lyu Cheolmyeong from a distance, having obediently followed Shatie and Mira's advice that it would be best not to confront him directly for a while.
'Oddly, the concepts related to charisma only amplify when he deals with students. Perhaps that's the power of the Constraint?'
Perhaps it was a Constraint that allowed Lyu Cheolmyeong, as a 'professor,' to exert overwhelming influence when dealing with 'students'.
No matter what baseless rumors circulated about Lyu Cheolmyeong, students who actually saw him were overwhelmed, daring not to speak ill of him behind his back.
The professors also noticed it, but since they felt nothing unusual from Lyu Cheolmyeong when confronting him, they couldn't say anything either.
'Even observing indirectly through Tikke's lens, it's having some slight effect on me. For others who can't directly perceive concepts, it must be overwhelming.'
It was clear that the magic Shatie and Mira had painstakingly prepared had been activated on Lyu Cheolmyeong.
But so what? Wouldn't this merely enhance Lyu Cheolmyeong's standing within the Academy?
Since every student who faced Lyu Cheolmyeong was overwhelmed and their spirits broken, hadn't Lyu Cheolmyeong simply achieved what he wanted from Shatie?
...He, of course, did not fall for such a preposterous illusion.
He already had a rough idea of how Constraints and Curses operated.
'I can even tell which situations that guy's Constraint will activate in. He really used his head well, perhaps because he's a demon.'
Lyu Cheolmyeong, who had fallen for it so absurdly easily, could truly be called a fool.
Someone like Cantone, who he believed had manipulated everything from behind the scenes during the series of events in the first semester, wouldn't have fallen for Shatie's scheme so easily.
Given that Cantone had allowed Lyu Cheolmyeong to end up like this, it seemed he had completely cut ties with him.
"Ugh, this is really annoying. To have to see him like that for the rest of the semester."
Rucell, who was peering into Tikke's lens beside Ban Yuwon, spoke with rare irritation.
It was unusual for her to react so intensely to another person, the reason being that her brief time taking his lecture had truly been the worst.
"Hmm."
Dokgo Yeon also wore a displeased expression, though not as intense as Rucell's.
"At this rate, the morale of the Special Admissions students, which had just revived, will die down again."
"They were getting a bit too conceited, actually. To build a solid foundation, it's better to quietly work hard rather than flaunt it too much. ...At least for now."
It was a step back for two steps forward, he supposed.
Ban Yuwon added briefly, then turned and looked around.
"Where's Light? Did he go off to play with Eire again?"
"No, he's fighting Livi in our training room."
Ban Yuwon's expression soured at Rucell's immediate reply.
It wasn't Light's actions that bothered him.
It was Rucell's choice of name that bothered him.
"Rucell, do you really have to call it that?"
"But it's cute."
"What good is just a cute name..."
Ban Yuwon and Dokgo Yeon stared at Rucell, who was praising her naming as perfect, with similar expressions.
"I think 'Geumdong (金動),' meaning 'moving metal,' would be a much better name."
"I don't think so either. Besides, it gives away its true nature immediately."
"Ugh...!"
Ban Yuwon, who had mercilessly shot down Dokgo Yeon's idea (he received a few jabs to the shoulder from a pouting Dokgo Yeon, who was displeased by his overly quick rejection), nodded after attempting to resonate with the one Rucell had named 'Livi,' and spoke.
"Let's go train too. My pride won't allow me to slack off while Light is working so hard."
"But we're entering the Tower again tomorrow, so don't overdo it."
"Yes, we should."
"You're not planning to secretly drag Ban Yuwon out to an external city again while saying that, are you?"
"...Ehehe."
"What do you mean, 'Ehehe,' 'Ehehe'...!"
Except for a few ominous signs appearing in various places, the 10th week of the Academy passed very smoothly and uneventfully.
This was also true for the Tower ascent, which resumed on Friday, as they successfully broke through the 65th floor without anyone in the party being Lost during the exploration that lasted until Sunday.
The absence of dramatic events often implied an absence of dramatic development, so Ban Yuwon was unsure whether he should be happy about this, but...
It was true that everyone in Rebellion, including himself, and furthermore, all the Special Admissions students belonging to the Union Journey Club, were rapidly developing.
"...What? You met the President during a Solo Exploration?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd caught up, but then a Joint Quest suddenly popped up, allowing us to communicate. I thought it was a first, but apparently, it's happened a few times before."
However, there were those who were developing remarkably faster than everyone else, none other than Student Council President Shatie and Public Relations Head Mira.
The two, who had been clearing the Tower at a pace comparable to fourth and fifth-year elites even during Solo Exploration, were now unexpectedly bound together by a Joint Quest within the Tower, allowing them to cooperate and further accelerate their growth.
"Then doesn't that negate the meaning of Solo Exploration?"
"Once the Joint Quest is over, we'll disband again. ...Besides, this is a good opportunity."
Mira, who had come to inform him of this surprising news, spoke with an eerie smile.
"This isn't the time to stubbornly insist on Solo Exploration or anything of the sort. It's time to grow as much as possible in preparation for the upcoming decisive battle. We'll show them the true power of Team Fairydevil."
Fairy and Devil united, hence Team Fairydevil, he supposed.
While Ban Yuwon was grateful for Mira and Shatie's efforts for Rebellion, he also felt a slight impatience, as if they alone were progressing too quickly.
Even knowing he was a first-year and they were third-years, he couldn't help but feel that way.
When would he finally complete his swordsmanship and evolve his Hyunsingong?
He, too, needed a dramatic change...
――And the change he yearned for finally arrived, albeit barely, on Tuesday of the 12th week.
Solo Exploration of the Tower had finally become possible again.
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