I got into school for nothing - Chapter 210
I got into school for nothing (210)
Lesson 41. Paper Please - 5
With about two weeks left of vacation.
A message arrived from Yumina.
[Yumina – It doesn’t look like this will be easy.]
[Yumina – Unlike Rusein Ortima, Ulrike Prominence wears a rather convincing mask even at the Academy. You might find it hard to believe, given what you’ve been through, but... conveniently, after the Constellation went berserk, the Young Family Head’s personal motives were quietly buried.]
[Me – Why did things turn out like that? By any measure, the order of events is completely reversed.]
[Yumina – Judgments about events one hasn't personally experienced are usually based on the most visible information. It’s especially easy to make a wrong judgment when the core information of the incident is concealed.]
The most visible information was, of course, the meteor shower caused by the berserk Constellation.
Outwardly, the Prominence Family asserted the legitimacy of those currently ruling the household, making Ban Yumi’s escape with a knight escort and her subsequent life on Earth absolutely information that could never be revealed.
The Constellation had gone berserk precisely because of Ban Yumi, yet the core information was completely missing, so how could anyone properly judge the situation?
[Me – Then what does everyone else think happened?]
[Yumina – There’s one more piece of exposed information, isn’t there? The news that a barrier was erected around Earth.]
Ban Yuwon slapped his forehead.
[Me – I see. So it’s generally believed that Earth is a special planet, and the Constellation targeted it, tried to make a move, and failed?]
[Yumina – Exactly. Thanks to that, Earth is under scrutiny... In that sense, I think your sister’s decision to leave Earth was a good one.]
[Me – Considering the barrier could disappear at any time, well, yes, that’s true.]
In reality, unless something truly exceptional happened, the barrier wouldn’t disappear, and staying on Earth would actually be the safest option for Ban Yumi.
The Prominence Family must be in a difficult position right about now.
At first, they must have wanted to handle things quietly, but the Young Family Head not only blew things up because of one man, but their sponsoring Constellation even went berserk along with it.
[Yumina – Still, it’s a good thing for us. If the animosity grows, in the worst case, the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas might break ties with the Prominence Family. Then, no matter how powerful Ulrike Prominence is, she won't be able to run rampant as she pleases.]
[Me – It’s fortunate, then, that they targeted our dimension first.]
[Yumina – Not exactly.]
Not exactly?
What do you mean?
Could it be that the other dimensions where the Rebellion members reside have already suffered invasions similar to Earth’s?
The instant Ban Yuwon, having quickly formed a judgment, was about to send a message, Yumina sent one even faster.
[Yumina – Don’t worry, everyone is safe.]
[Yumina – Our members helped out. No.2 and No.9 did.]
[Me – So that’s where those people were rushing off to without even saying hello.]
If it were those two monsters, protecting an entire dimension on their own would likely be no trouble at all.
He wanted to ask Yumina which dimension they hailed from, but she probably wouldn’t know either.
[Me – As long as no major problems arise during the rest of the vacation, it’s fine. As I said... once school starts, I’ll personally settle things with that woman.]
[Yumina – That’s why I told you it won’t be that easy.]
[Me – Do you have a plan in mind?]
[Yumina – We’ll use the school festival.]
There it is!
The school event that, despite diverging from every existing educational institution in terms of curriculum and founding purpose, somehow still tried to cosplay as a perfectly normal school, creating a bizarre sense of incongruity!
[Yumina – The Union Academy Founders’ Festival hosts various events, but the most famous one is the masquerade ball.]
[Me – Wait, my eyes aren't deceiving me, are they?]
[Yumina – Actually, it’s only a masquerade ball in name; in reality, it’s a match where a pair of a man and a woman compete against another team.]
[Me – There’s neither a mask nor a ball in that!]
[Yumina – The mask is a metaphorical expression. It means you should judge based purely on skill, not on the opponent’s background.]
I see.
He still couldn't understand why "ball" was attached to the name, but he grasped that it carried a rather plausible meaning.
[Yumina – Ah, but according to the tournament rules, you do have to wear a mask. Though you won’t be able to conceal your identity with it.]
[Me – What a perfect example of the tail wagging the dog... So? What’s the significance of this masquerade ball?]
[Yumina – Actually, this tournament also has a special match where you can challenge a designated opponent.]
[Me – There’s a limit to how much the tail can wag the dog!]
All those grand-sounding words, only for it to end with a designated challenge? What the hell is there to conceal then?!
[Yumina – If you win against your opponent here, you can make one ‘request.’ It’s a magical contract that absolutely cannot be broken. I imagine it’s a rule specifically established to prevent students from causing unnecessarily large disturbances by fighting within the Academy.]
[Me – So I can legally restrict her movements... But wait? Surely being challenged doesn’t mean you’re forced to participate, does it? Is there any guarantee she’ll agree to it?]
[Yumina – Are you perhaps misunderstanding something? The fact that I can make a request if I win means that if I lose, I have to accept the opposite. From her perspective, won’t it look like you’re deliberately jumping right into her hands?]
Of course, Ban Yuwon had already guessed as much.
Yet, his question remained.
[Me – This isn’t me showing off, but trying to be as objective as possible... She’ll be able to see my skills growing in real-time from the videos uploaded to the Rebellion channel, so won’t she get scared and back off?]
[Yumina – She’s the one who crashed an Orc Wave into Earth, isn’t she?]
[Me – Indeed.]
[Yumina – Also, for the special match, you have to compete in pairs. If it’s Ulrike Prominence, not only she herself but her partner will also be incredibly strong.]
[Me – Wow...]
For some reason, he could already picture who her partner would be.
And depending on who she paired with, things could get even more troublesome.
[Yumina – So, until then, I hope you won’t provoke her too much if you encounter her at school. If you just win at the masquerade ball, you won’t have to worry about the Prominence Family anymore.]
[Me – I’m not sure it’ll go that smoothly...]
Even without seeing her face, it was abundantly clear that Yumina was wary of the power of the Ten Great Families.
If even she, who possessed power Ban Yuwon couldn’t even imagine, reacted this way, then his intention to directly provoke or trap Ulrike Prominence at school was certainly a truly dangerous endeavor...
‘Even so.’
He couldn’t just sit idly by, trusting in some strange event like a masquerade ball.
He couldn't do anything that would worry Yumina... but he should still do everything he possibly could at school.
After their conversation about the Prominence Family ended, and after giving vague answers to Yumina’s incessant questions about whether he was living a wholesome life during vacation, Ban Yuwon tucked The Mirror away and sighed, heading towards the training room inside the mansion.
—Whoosh!
“You’re keeping up well, My Lady!”
“Stop calling me ‘My Lady’!”
A few days prior, once the executives’ leveling was complete, Ban Yumi had begun her own special training.
More precisely, it was special training by her mother, Kang Eunyoung, who was a former Prominence knight escort, and Kiira McBride, a collateral member of the family and a special forces operative.
This was the ultimate personalized education: learning swordsmanship from her mother and the family’s unique fire-wielding techniques from Kiira.
Perhaps it was because she was the legitimate heir of one of those esteemed Ten Great Families, but once she began proper training, Ban Yumi’s growth rate was truly astonishing.
“Then what should I call you? Ah, perhaps not My Lady, but rather—”
“I’ll really kill you.”
However, despite her rapid progress, she was still no match for Kiira, who had yet to reveal her full abilities.
Kiira pushed her so fiercely, it almost seemed like she was taking revenge for being outranked by Ban Yumi on Earth while concealing her true power.
Whatever the reason, Ban Yumi’s growth accelerated thanks to it, so everyone else just let them be, not interfering.
Noticing Ban Yuwon’s entrance, Kang Eunyoung, who had been watching Kiira and Ban Yumi’s spar, turned around and smiled warmly.
“Yuwon, you’re here?”
“Yeah.”
Seeing his mother, youthful in a comfortable tracksuit with a wooden sword slung across her back, Ban Yuwon felt a pang of nostalgia.
Though it was from his distant childhood, his mother’s influence was significant in Ban Yumi first picking up a sword.
Back then, he'd merely accepted his mother's words about having practiced kendo as a child, but looking back now, he wondered if it hadn't been her own unique form of early education.
“Mom, your hair has turned completely red.”
“I can’t hide it once the mana circulation begins. Does it suit me?”
“It’s not just your hair that’s red, though.”
Naturally, Kang Eunyoung, hailing from the same Prominence Family as Kiira, had altered not only her hair but also some of her physical features while living in Korea and posing as a Korean.
His mother, who had once appeared entirely East Asian, now bore a resemblance to Kiira with her Caucasian features. It made him wonder if his own distinct mixed-race characteristics might have been largely due to his mother’s influence.
“What’s wrong? Do I still look strange?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Actually, your son has a trauma related to red hair, so objective judgment is impossible for him.”
“Ah, Yuwon!”
No sooner had he spoken than Kiira, the very person who had given him that trauma, spotted him and fluttered over like a butterfly.
However, her attempt to embrace him from behind was blocked by a crimson flame that lashed out like a whip right behind her.
Ban Yumi, whose hair and features, just like her mother’s, had begun to reveal the distinctive traits of the Prominence Family, bared her teeth fiercely and spoke.
“Don’t flirt with my brother.”
“My Lady, you’re not even trying to hide your brother complex anymore.”
“I just don’t like seeing such disgusting displays right before my eyes, that’s all.”
“Not enviable displays, perhaps?”
“――Die!”
The two quickly resumed their spar.
With Kiira constantly spurring his sister’s motivation like that, her growth was bound to be fast...
But beside Ban Yuwon, who was making such a cold, analytical observation, Kang Eunyoung was smiling contentedly.
“Kiira is truly kind.”
“Mom, I really don’t understand your criteria for judging people.”
“They were initially adversaries, so it’s already commendable that she’s making a consistent effort to get close to Yumi, don’t you think?”
If that was an effort to get close, Ban Yuwon thought he could become sworn brothers with Rusein Ortima, but he decided not to say it aloud.
“Anyway, we’re doing quite well, so don’t worry too much, son.”
“Was it that obvious?”
“Of course, doesn’t a mother know her son’s heart?”
‘But it seems you don’t know much about your daughter,’ he thought.
And if she did know everything about her daughter, that would be frightening in its own way.
“Mom... are you really okay?”
“Of course, I am.”
Ban Yuwon had thought that his mother’s desire to conceal his sister’s identity wasn’t solely for Ban Yumi’s safety, but also influenced by her lingering attachment to her own peaceful, ordinary life.
However, in her eyes as she looked at Ban Yuwon, there was no longer any trace of such weak emotions as lingering regret or hesitation.
By shedding the false persona she had created on Earth, she had completely abandoned even the lingering attachments she had formed there.
“It would have been good to live forgetting everything until I died, but it’s too late now, isn’t it? So now, I must return. As a knight of the Prominence Family.”
“...If that’s what you think, Mom, then so be it.”
With a bang, the training room door burst open.
His father, draped head to toe in relics from the storage, appeared and declared with a valiant expression.
“Honey, let me come with you!”
“First, please deal with that idiot.”
“Mm.”
Mother and son simultaneously pressed hands to their foreheads, sighing.
The long-yet-short vacation was drawing to a close.
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