I got into school for nothing - Chapter 207
I got into school for nothing (207)
Lesson 41. Paper Please - 2
It seemed like an heir of one of the Ten Great Families was moving against Ban Yuwon, but then the Constellation lending power to that heir noticed Ban Yumi's existence and tried to erase everything on Earth except her. Even now, trying to sort it out, it's just a mess where I can't quite grasp what happened.
Now, looking back calmly after the battle, nothing had actually been resolved, but the rewards themselves were truly sweet.
[Core]
Life 940, Wonshin 801, Won-gi 725, Soul 985
[Martial Arts]
Yugi 300, Gwoeyeonggong 305, Giwon Sword 1,150
[Liberal Arts]
[Skills]
Riding 200, Chamber Arts 120, Super Strength 250, Elemental Magic 500, Photon Magic 300, Curse 250
[Innate Abilities]
All-Reading Eye 320, All-Hearing Ear 320, All-Speaking Lips 320, Judgment 280, Domination 120, Constellation's Stigma 110, Soul Flame 50, Mutation 70, Rebellion 35, Vajra 40, Crimson Flame 120
As all his retainers had returned, each having secured a mountain of concepts, even after he yielded a significant amount of those concepts to them, the depth of all concepts Ban Yuwon possessed deepened once again.
In particular, the deepening of his Elemental Magic to a depth of 500 due to awakening Crimson Flame was a significant gain.
Compared to before the vacation, he had almost doubled his growth; now, even if he sealed away his Authority of Language and only operated as an Elemental Mage, he would undoubtedly rank overwhelmingly high among first-year students.
‘Then... among the concepts I gained today, there are only two I cannot absorb into my body: Synthesis and Meteor.’
He embedded all the Synthesis concepts, with a depth of 30, into his Code Core, while the similarly gathered Meteor concepts had a separate use.
“Lilyth, eat.”
[Me? This? Why?]
To Lilyth, who retorted as if she couldn't imagine it, Ban Yuwon grinned and replied.
“This Meteor probably contains the concept of the Relic you desired.”
[Could that Relic have truly been an asteroid, not just in size?!]
Lilyth, utterly astonished by the Relic's unimaginable true nature, diligently flew over, sucked up the concept he offered, and then retreated into the Inventory, saying it would take some time to digest.
With that, the settlement was complete.
If this had been the Tower, having defeated a Constellation's Incarnation, the Tower itself would have stepped forward to provide a reward. The absence of such a reward, however, left a lingering sense of disappointment, making him feel that even he had gone astray.
“Then, let's go to Earth now.”
[How?]
Kiira's thoroughly irritated voice echoed in his mind.
She had been attempting to enter the atmosphere in her Phoenix form for a while, but it seemed she was being bounced back by an invisible barrier.
Even to Ban Yuwon's eyes, he could see the concept of the barrier covering Earth's surface, intricately intertwined with various detailed concepts forming its interior.
Combining and interpreting them...
“You said it was expelling aliens?”
“Yes. And I was expelled too.”
Ban Yumi replied, her face a mask of confusion, unsure what expression to make.
Having grown up on Earth all this time, how could her feelings not be complex when she was suddenly ejected from it, labeled an alien?
—*Slik*
“I can pass.”
“...You can.”
And what's more, her younger brother, Ban Yuwon, was passing through the barrier without a hitch!
Reflecting on everything that had happened to her today, and Kang Eunyoung's attitude, she had more or less guessed, but... this was the moment it was truly confirmed as fact.
“Urgh...!”
Ban Yumi looked at Ban Yuwon with an indescribably strange expression, then, unable to bear it any longer, turned away.
Ban Yuwon let out a soft sigh at the sight of his sister, who was, in many ways, too much to handle, then turned his head to the others and spoke.
“Still, I don't think it's impossible for all of you to enter Earth.”
“As expected of Master Yuwon!”
“Ha.”
As Anneri clasped her hands together in admiration, a young man beside her, his clothes tattered from rushing into battle against the Orc Fleet, grumbled.
“Honestly, listening to this is just too much. Sister, I didn't know you could say things like that?”
“Rookie, don't interrupt my romance project, just be quiet.”
“Romance project? That's failed, so just close up shop quickly and focus on your main job as a mercenary.”
Ban Yuwon ignored the bickering dimension mercenaries and analyzed the barrier.
It seemed to completely reject any life forms originating from outside Earth, but considering that he and his retainers could enter and exit without issue, the restriction didn't seem too complex.
“Then what about Rucell?”
“It seems impossible. It's not that I can't resist it with my Authority, but a much greater backlash will soon follow...”
“So, even being a retainer isn't enough to enter?”
“How is such a thing even possible?”
In the meantime, Anneri, having returned after putting the rookie in his place, examined the barrier with an intrigued expression.
As a dimension mercenary, she must have traveled across many dimensions and planets, seen and heard a great deal, but this case, like Earth's, seemed to be her first.
“Of course, there are cases where the inhabitants of a dimension combine their strength to create a barrier. To prevent invasions from other dimensions or disasters like Orc Waves. But they are rarely perfect, and usually consumable, requiring constant energy replenishment. But this one...”
Anneri, after tapping the barrier, nodded with conviction.
“It has no flaws anywhere, and the barrier is as strong as if it's continuously supplied with energy from somewhere. Is it truly a dimension that has just undergone dimensional evolution? Even an S-rank dimension couldn't do something like this. Unless it's Union itself...”
“This is the dimension I was born in, after all.”
“That's right! As expected of Master Yuwon!”
Alright, let's not ask for this person's opinion going forward.
Nevertheless, thanks to her, he gained an unexpected hint.
That was: Earth was similar to Union.
Thinking about it, as Anneri said, a newly dimensionally evolved Earth shouldn't have the power to create such a barrier.
According to his mother's and sister's testimonies, the Status Window also said it was expelling aliens, so it's safe to assume Union is involved in some way.
‘I said it jokingly to Anneri, but perhaps it really is something related to me.’
Considering that the Tower of Babel, an Earth Relic, is in Union, there's ample possibility that Union and Earth are connected.
If so... Ban Yuwon meticulously wove the thought that had just come to him into a language concept and imprinted it onto a piece of paper.
Handing the paper, brimming with Mana, to Rucell, she nodded and plunged into the atmosphere.
And she passed through safely.
“Wha...?”
“?!”
It was amusing to see everyone who witnessed it freeze in surprise.
As Ban Yuwon called Rucell back, everyone approached with expressions that suggested they wanted to say something, but he first left them be and checked the paper he'd received back from Rucell.
He was checking the consumption of concepts.
“Hmm... this should last about a week, I suppose.”
“How did you do that?”
Kiira, having released her Authority, approached him, intensely excited, and thrust her face close to his.
Ban Yuwon gently pushed away her, who looked as if she might try to kiss him on impulse, and replied.
“I issued a permit of stay.”
“...Like a visa?”
“Yes, that.”
“Can't you issue permanent residency?”
“That's impossible for now; I still lack the Authority.”
“What Authority?!”
Kang Eunyoung interrupted the two's nonsensical conversation.
“No, anyway, if we can enter Earth, that's enough. We should at least say goodbye to your father...”
“Goodbye?”
“Yes, a farewell.”
Kang Eunyoung smiled bitterly and said.
“We were always fugitives, you see. The long reprieve has finally come to an end.”
* * *
Afterward, Ban Yuwon and Ban Yumi heard everything from their mother regarding her origins and Ban Yumi's true identity.
Most of it was information they had already heard from Kiira, but there were new things they learned.
Such as their mother, a guard knight of the Prominence Family, was originally from a branch family, or that she was actually a fairly close relative of Kiira's.
“Well, I expected it. But the Prominence Family is one where internal strife is practically its history, so there's no need to get close to them now, is there? Or should I call you auntie?”
“This current appearance is just a disguise to live on Earth, and in truth, if we go by generational rank, you're higher, Kiira.”
“...Let's be close from now on. We're both fugitives, after all.”
“Your change of attitude is quite something.”
In the process, they also learned in detail about the Prominence Family's status and power twenty years ago, but the more they learned, the more they realized what an absurd opponent they were.
“At least for now, due to the Constellation's rampage, it will be difficult for them to make a significant move. If we're to leave Earth, now is the opportune time.”
“Since the will of the Prominence Family and the will of their patron Constellation are clashing, they'll need to reconcile their opinions for a while.”
“Indeed, it makes sense now why the Prominence Family's movements have been strange these past few years. If we connect the Crimson Spear's movements to that...”
For some reason, Kang Eunyoung had even Anneri join them, and at that moment, Ban Yuwon could see through his mother's intentions.
Meanwhile, Ban Yumi remained silent throughout the grand narrative.
Ban Yuwon, guessing her feelings, couldn't bring himself to ask anything, but Kang Eunyoung was different.
“Daughter, what will you do now?”
“You said I wasn't your daughter.”
“What nonsense is that? I raised you for twenty years, of course you're my daughter.”
“Even so...”
Ban Yumi hesitated, glancing nervously between Kang Eunyoung and Ban Yuwon.
Kang Eunyoung chuckled, then approached her and hugged her tightly.
“Ah...”
“Don't worry too much about everything, Yumi. Just focus on what you want to do. Mom will cheer you on as always.”
“Mom...”
Ban Yumi's eyes welled up with tears as she embraced Kang Eunyoung.
Although they weren't linked by blood, the two were undeniably mother and daughter.
...If only it had ended like that, it would have been a good finale.
Naturally, reality wasn't so simple.
Ban Yumi, having stopped crying, asked Kang Eunyoung with sparkling eyes.
“Can I really do everything I want?”
“Of course. I was always your guard knight, after all.”
“Then... then there are two things I want.”
Not just one, but two.
However, the two soon began conversing only between themselves, even employing their Authorities, so Ban Yuwon couldn't discern what it was they wanted.
If he couldn't know, then he couldn't know.
“Miss Anneri, I'd like to commission a long-term request; would that be possible?”
“For Master Yuwon's mother, of course! If I hadn't been prepared for that, I wouldn't have intruded on this meeting in the first place.”
“That, you'll naturally include me, won't you?”
And after their conversation ended, as expected, Kang Eunyoung commissioned Anneri.
Of course, he couldn't hear the specifics of the commission, but he could roughly guess.
Especially seeing Kiira also involved, as if it were a matter of course.
Who could have possibly predicted that they would unite in such a manner?
“Recapturing the throne of the Ten Great Families... things have really escalated, haven't they?”
Rucell said with a worried expression, watching the three women (plus one servant with a deeply furrowed brow) converse.
Ban Yuwon, his face taking on the expression of a vampire with a stake through his heart, turned to Rucell.
“Rucell, I was painstakingly pretending not to know, so don't just blurt it out so casually.”
“Since you'll help anyway, I thought it might be better to stop avoiding reality quickly.”
Ever since completing her awakening, Rucell's intuition had become unnecessarily sharp.
Furthermore, his reason for avoiding reality wasn't just *that*!
“This kid is trying to climb over my head more and more.”
“Ouch.”
Ban Yuwon pulled Rucell into his embrace and tugged her cheek, administering a disciplinary measure that was somewhere between a reward and a punishment.
...
...
...Ah.
Then, he suddenly realized that the gazes of the people discussing the ‘long-term request’ were now fixed on them.
Among them, Ban Yumi's gaze was the most frightening.
For now, he decided to obediently issue the visas.
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