I got into school for nothing - Chapter 212
I got into school for nothing (212)
Lesson 42. Image Change - 2
A colossal floating island stretched out endlessly above the clouds.
From the island's center, a towering spire reached skyward, extending endlessly as if oblivious to the heavens' bounds.
A perfect barrier, imperceptible even to ordinary individuals, emanated from the Tower, gently enshrouding the entirety of the floating island.
Union Academy, the interdimensional academy that nurtures the finest talents from across all dimensions.
By now, he couldn't deny feeling a certain ambivalence about that particular catchphrase....
Perhaps, the strongest emotion Ban Yuwon harbored for this place was one of yearning.
"Hoo..."
At Rucell's words, spoken with a giggle after she read his expression, Ban Yuwon wore a somewhat distant look.
"Given the sheer hell I endured on Earth because of Prominence and the Constellations, how could I not feel this way? Honestly, so much has changed that my home didn't even feel like home anymore."
"Ah, ahahaha..."
Simply having new elements thrust into his life was tiresome enough, yet how many more individuals had he met or become deeply entangled with during this break?
Furthermore, while Earth itself had undergone dimensional evolution, it was self-evident how arduous it had been to adapt to the changes in his sister and mother.
Especially with his sister, who had begun hurtling forward like a runaway train, he wondered what kind of relationship he was supposed to forge with her now...
With a splitting headache, Ban Yuwon sighed and retrieved his Mirror.
"First, let's have a meeting. Everyone should be here by now."
The venue was their usual doorless classroom.
As for the members... while he wasn't entirely opposed to including Mira and Shati, for now, he decided to gather only the Rebellion members.
After sending a message for them to gather quickly, he moved to the classroom with Rucell, and there, before his eyes, was Dokgo Yeon, clad in the black, long-sleeved martial attire (武服) characteristic of her hometown.
"Wow, Dokgo Yeon! Had a good break—"
"You're ready to die, I assume?"
Ban Yuwon, who had been approaching with sparkling eyes at the sight of his long-missed friend after a month and a half, froze solid at Dokgo Yeon's cold voice.
Now that he thought about it, he vaguely recalled playing a very trivial prank on her before they parted ways...
"Uh... Dokgo Yeon? You're not mad, are you?"
Watching Ban Yuwon, who had ceased his advance and was speaking cautiously, Dokgo Yeon curled the corners of her lips and smiled chillingly.
"Me? At you? Angry? Why?"
She's furious!
This woman was clearly angrier now than his sister had been when he secretly ate her expensive Japanese cup ice cream during summer vacation at age twelve!
How had he appeased his sister back then? He distinctly remembered acting ridiculously cute, something that didn't suit him at all...!
"Tell me, Ban Yuwon. Why should I be angry?"
"Uh, no, it's just that you *look* angry, so I merely asked if you were angry..."
Dokgo Yeon suddenly burst out laughing at the sight of Ban Yuwon, who, caught in what was colloquially known as the "Jang Geum Persimmon predicament" – unable to properly explain the reason due to the blatant obviousness of the situation – faltered, unable to even deploy his characteristic eloquence.
Dokgo Yeon smiling without malice was an exceedingly rare sight.
That made her seem even cuter, but Ban Yuwon, lacking the courage to say so directly, carefully backed away and spoke.
"Are you... over it?"
"No."
Dokgo Yeon, who had been smiling, instantly sobered up as if she had performed a Bian Lian mask change, and replied.
"It would be a shame to end your punishment immediately, so I merely thought it better to postpone it until after the meeting."
Terrifying!
Rucell stepped forward, half-shielding the intimidated Ban Yuwon, and dealt with Dokgo Yeon in his stead.
"No, Dokgo Yeon. No matter how much you missed Master, you can't torment him like that."
"Hearing your nonsense again after so long is rather welcome... Hmm?"
Dokgo Yeon, who had been casually retorting to Rucell as she always did before the break, suddenly narrowed her eyes.
Her cross-shaped pupils, shrunken tiny within her eyes, trembled as if unable to believe the reality before her.
"You've grown stronger, how...? I thought your growth from the special activities was so immense that you would stagnate for a while."
"I fought against a large number of suitable enemies. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to grow this strong if Master hadn't imbued me with power...♡"
"Rucell, let's not use such cringeworthy expressions every time."
There was no change in Rucell's and Ban Yuwon's attitudes, but Dokgo Yeon simply couldn't remain calm.
Of course, the fact that Rucell's potential was absurd was something Dokgo Yeon herself had realized first, before anyone else.
That was why, even when she awakened her Divine Beast blood and her rank instantly soared after the special activities in Rucell's dimension, she had been able to accept it without resistance.
However, this time was different.
For her, who had already unleashed all her potential, to grow in such a stair-climbing leap once again... if this were Murim, those old-fashioned righteous sect elders, ever eager to pick a fight, would surely have tried to subjugate her, framing it with all sorts of false accusations like dark sorcery or soul-devouring techniques.
"It's all thanks to... Ban Yuwon."
Dokgo Yeon hadn't opened her Mirror once while she was in her home dimension.
That was partly to abide by the Shin-gyo's laws, but even more so because she feared being caught by stray thoughts if she opened her Mirror unnecessarily.
Therefore, she was still unaware of how many significant events Ban Yuwon had gone through during the break.
It was also proof that no particular problems had occurred in her dimension during that time.
"I'll tell you the details when we're alone tonight. I'm too shy right now."
"That's not even a shy story! Don't speak so suggestively!"
"Ahahaha, Master, you're so adorable."
When Ban Yuwon couldn't hold back and yelled, Rucell giggled with delight, as if she had been waiting for that reaction.
Dokgo Yeon looked at the two of them with a dubious expression.
They were clearly having a conversation as a group of three, so why did she suddenly feel excluded?
"Everyone, something terrible has happened!"
It was at that moment that Yumina appeared in the center of the classroom.
"Professor!"
Normally, Yumina would have responded several times more warmly to Ban Yuwon's greeting, drawing cold reactions from Rucell and Dokgo Yeon, but now she had no time for such pleasantries.
Bang! Yumina exclaimed, banging on a nearby table.
"Student Light has applied to withdraw from the team!"
"Ah...!"
As Rucell let out a short gasp, Dokgo Yeon gritted her teeth and turned around.
"That fool finally did it."
"Hold on, Dokgo Yeon."
Ban Yuwon held back Dokgo Yeon, who was gripping the scabbard at her waist and rising from her seat as if she were about to go find Light and beat them up immediately.
However, Dokgo Yeon widened her cross-shaped pupils significantly and glared fiercely at him.
"Ban Yuwon, no matter if it's you, I cannot tolerate you protecting Light any further. If the conclusion drawn from climbing the Tower together during the past semester is such an abrupt withdrawal announcement, then that cowardly wench, I will immediately—!"
"It might be because of me."
"What did you say...?"
At Ban Yuwon's words, Dokgo Yeon, as if she would finally resort to violence against him even, lifted her sword still in its scabbard, and Rucell grabbed her.
"You really haven't looked at your Mirror all this time, have you? At least check the messages from Yuwon."
"Mirror...?"
Dokgo Yeon made an expression like, "Oh right, there was something like that," and pulled out her Mirror.
A few minutes later, after reading all the contents, Dokgo Yeon's expression turned very peculiar.
"To think you'd get a stalker in an S-rank dimension. Ban Yuwon, just what kind of man are you...?"
"My apologies, it's because I'm too charming... Wait! That was just a joke to try and lighten the mood, really!"
Ban Yuwon, who ended up with a large bump on his head, decided not to joke with Dokgo Yeon for a while and opened his mouth to redirect the conversation.
"So, Professor, how did you respond?"
"I tried to reassure her that we could handle the dimension invasion issue, so she shouldn't worry, but... Student Light said she wanted to obtain the authority for Solo Exploration, regardless of that problem. I just finished a face-to-face consultation with her, and... it was a bit strange."
Recalling what had just happened, Yumina's beautiful brows furrowed.
"As if she were a different person... Her tone of voice was also strange. I thought she was growing out her hair until the end of the first semester, but she suddenly cut it short. It was as if... she was strongly asserting that she was a man."
"No matter how much she acts, no one in this Academy would actually think that wench is a man."
"No, that's a bit of an overstatement, though."
Ban Yuwon, who calmly retorted to Dokgo Yeon's prejudiced declaration, tilted his head and spoke.
"Isn't it just an image change? Everyone does that after summer vacation, you know. Suddenly dyeing their hair, getting piercings, or pretending to be adults as if they'd experienced something special during the summer break. When in reality, they've done absolutely nothing."
"Do such things happen often, Yuwon?"
"Yeah, it's a phenomenon that mainly occurs from the second year of middle school to the second year of high school. Considering her mental age, I'd say Light is probably around that stage."
"You might as well just insult her openly."
This time, Dokgo Yeon snorted and retorted.
Ban Yuwon replied with an aggrieved expression.
"But there's no one in this Academy who doesn't know Light is an idiot, is there?"
"Master, even so... that might not be an exaggeration."
"Do you all perhaps intensely dislike Student Light?"
As Yumina narrowed her eyes and spoke amidst the torrent of blatant criticisms pouring from the three, Ban Yuwon laughed heartily and denied it.
"It's an expression of affection, an expression of affection."
"Please don't tease her excessively. Perhaps Student Light's decision to leave the team is related to your attitudes, you know."
"No, I don't think that's it."
Ban Yuwon flatly denied it.
"Actually, ever since I heard your story, Professor, something occurred to me."
"What a coincidence, the same goes for me."
"Me too."
The three faced Yumina, their smiles completely gone.
Just as Ban Yuwon was about to speak on behalf of the three, Yumina flinched.
"Professor?"
"Ah, I got a message on my Mirror. It's probably not important, so keep talking."
However, Yumina's Mirror vibrated several more times in succession, and eventually, even Ban Yuwon's Mirror began to vibrate.
Ban Yuwon, who had excused himself and checked his Mirror, wore a strange expression.
"Someone's asking for entry permission. ...Aire."
"Student Aire?"
Yumina, who had checked her own Mirror and made an expression similar to Ban Yuwon's, still snapped her fingers.
The next moment, Aire appeared inside the classroom.
Sky-blue fluttering hair, calm silver eyes—a beautiful girl who truly presented a mysterious appearance.
If one were to argue over which student in this Academy was the most beautiful, there would be many strong candidates like Rucell, Mira, and others, but if one were to argue over who was the most noble, many would likely raise their hands for Aire.
"Oh my, Student Aire. How did you get in?"
"I manipulated the coordinates of the spatial displacement magic engraved on my student ID."
Aire, who calmly replied to Yumina's genuinely surprised question, turned her gaze to Ban Yuwon and spoke.
"As for a hint, I obtained it in the first semester."
"Hehe, indeed, no one can match your drive for improvement. So, Student Aire, what brings you all the way here yourself?"
"I found some data after searching through ancient texts in my hometown, and I wanted to tell you about it."
Aire approached Ban Yuwon and leaned her face close.
Rucell and Dokgo Yeon, who had reflexively stepped forward from either side to block her, hesitated when they saw her stop at a dangerously close distance.
Aire gave the two of them a look of exasperation, then spoke to Ban Yuwon.
"Still popular, I see."
"So what kind of data is it? Research material for our second-semester thesis?"
"A sword."
Ban Yuwon, who had tilted his head, thinking it was unfamiliar data for someone majoring in magic to bring up, then instinctively knew what sword she was talking about and his expression hardened.
"As Light's sword."
But there was one questionable point.
Why was information about Light's sword, which was from a D-rank dimension, recorded in an ancient text from Aire's dimension?
"After I saw it, it strangely popped into my head, and I wondered why, but now I know. Because it's the sword we must be most wary of."
Adding that she finally understood why Light couldn't grow as a Dragonoid, Aire spoke.
"That is the Dragon-Slaying Sword (龍殺劍)."
No.
Why would a Dragonoid like that carry a Dragon-Slaying Sword?!
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