I got into school for nothing - Chapter 236
I got into school for nothing (236)
Lesson 46. Union Founding Festival - 3
The Masked Ball was originally a competition more renowned for its special matches than its tournament.
The stakes for the special matches were never light, and the participating contenders were each utterly determined.
Their spirit was undeniably different from those who merely participated in the tournament to win simple prizes prepared by the Academy.
“So, Senior, what was the runner-up prize?”
Ban Yuwon’s question was met with a listless reply from Rika, the Head of External Affairs, who had just returned from the awards ceremony.
Rika and Begun’s pair had taken second place in the tournament that concluded just this afternoon.
The winners were a fourth-year couple from the Special Class, but even they weren't the strongest in the Special Class.
“If Graham and the President had teamed up, we could’ve beaten them.”
“I, Graham, have a wife waiting for me back home. It is an impossible task to partner with another woman when I have a wife.”
“Look at this stiff! Did Begun and I go out as a couple? No! It was just that there was no one else willing to go, so we had no choice! We went, enduring rising irritation!”
“Hmm, it was a performance befitting the Head of External Affairs.”
“But we only got second place...!”
If there hadn't been a restriction that the tournament pairs had to be male and female couples, Mira and Shatie would have teamed up and participated, but they couldn't violate the fundamental rules of the competition.
From the start, the Masked Ball tournament was an event for students to enjoy, so there was no need for such heated competition, but the Student Council and Noblesse needlessly engaged in a power struggle.
Ban Yuwon watched Rika, who was stomping her feet and fuming about being pushed around by Noblesse, with a wry smile. He took a step back from Rika and subtly asked Begun, who was standing beside him.
“So, are you going to use it?”
“What?”
“The hotel VIP membership.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Begun feigned horror and shook his head at Ban Yuwon’s words, but as his ties with these people had grown quite deep, Ban Yuwon could quite accurately read his true intentions.
“Even so, it’s something you both worked together to win; it would be a shame to pretend it never happened. The membership comes with so many amenities, like a buffet and a bar. Why don’t you two go and enjoy yourselves?”
“...Just go to a hotel to enjoy ourselves? The two of us? Wouldn’t that be... a bit much, like a couple?”
There were many things Ban Yuwon wanted to say to Begun, who had enthusiastically rampaged with Rika at the Masked Ball yet was now denying any suspicion of being a couple, but now was the time for kindness.
“Don’t overthink it. Just go enjoy yourselves as a celebration of your runner-up finish. It’s not like we have any Tower explorations this week, so you have plenty of free time.”
“Hmm, but next week is the midterm exam preparation period.”
“All the more reason to enjoy yourselves this week.”
“That’s... true. Alright, I understand.”
Begun, who had nodded as if convinced, approached Rika, who was still grumbling to Graham, and spoke to her.
Rika seemed startled by his words, but the faint, flushed expression on her face as she nodded indicated that she had secretly been hoping for it.
In this regard, Graham, who was perceptive in many ways, subtly retreated to allow the two to talk, then met Ban Yuwon’s eyes and winked.
“Heh, simple.”
“Ah, I was already tired enough because of the junior and Mira, and now you’ve added another couple to the Student Council.”
Ban Yuwon scoffed in response to Shatie, who had approached him from behind and whispered.
“I already thought those two would get together soon anyway. I just gave them a little push.”
“Isn’t it better for them to hesitate, misunderstand, and cry?”
“I thought you, President, would say something like that.”
It was just like her to sometimes utter lines true to her identity, as if to prove she was a demon.
Ban Yuwon chuckled and brushed off her remark, then glanced behind her and, feeling a sense of emptiness, asked.
“Where’s Mira?”
“She said she wouldn’t come because she didn’t want to see her junior getting along with another girl.”
“The Queen of Jealousy, then.”
The tournament awards ceremony was over, and the venue was now being cleaned up.
Everything, from the start of the tournament to the awards, was merely a prelude to adorn the special matches that were about to begin.
“So where’s that girl who’s monopolizing our Mira’s jealousy these days?”
“She’s holed up alone in the training room, saying she needs to concentrate. She’ll be here before the match starts.”
“Then what about your second partner?”
“Second? Ah, right.”
With all the Student Council executives gathered to cheer on Rika and Begun, who had competed in the tournament representing the Student Council, only one person was absent.
That was Aire, who would be Ban Yuwon’s partner in his second special match today.
“The Tower.”
“...The Tower?”
“She said she went in because she needs large-scale adjustments to unleash her power just enough without revealing her true identity. The Tower is the best place to go wild without causing damage outside.”
“Is there anyone who still doesn’t know her identity?”
“It’s like a magical girl. Everyone usually pretends not to know, even though they do, right?”
Soon after, the arena was cleared, and for some reason, even more spectators filled the stands than during the tournament finals.
Not only Academy students but also all the guests visiting Union Academy were flocking in, as if they had been waiting for this very moment.
If there hadn’t been a space-expansion spell cast, this many people wouldn’t have been able to fit inside.
“Then, the Masked Ball special matches, where students compete for honor, shall now begin. First match: Ban Yuwon & Dokgo Yeon pair versus Lusein Rown-Palomer Aquinas Ortima & Ulrike Prominence pair.”
“Their names are still ridiculously long.”
He sent a message to Dokgo Yeon and stood up.
The next moment, Dokgo Yeon, her face covered from the bridge of her nose to her forehead by a pure white mask, appeared beside him.
“What, you learned how to teleport using your student ID too?”
“I merely walked quickly.”
“My bad.”
Unable to resist Dokgo Yeon’s urging gaze any longer, he too hastily pulled out his mask and put it on.
A mask identical in structure to Dokgo Yeon’s, but stained pitch black.
“Matching couple outfits. Though the images are opposite.”
“That’s what makes it cool.”
“Yeah, it seems Mira was right not to come after all.”
“Hmph.”
Dokgo Yeon, dismissing Shatie’s multi-layered remark with a single scoff, leapt down into the arena.
“I know both your abilities, but be careful, Junior Yuwon. The Ten Great Families aren’t called the Ten Great Families for nothing.”
“I know. But thank you for your concern.”
I’ll totally crush them and be back.
With that brief declaration, Ban Yuwon followed Dokgo Yeon, leaping down and landing in the arena.
The hall erupted at their provocative entrance, and as always, the dignitaries from higher dimensions fumed.
Ban Yuwon considered drawing his sword and striking a pose but flinched under Dokgo Yeon’s glare, which seemed to read his thoughts perfectly from beside him, and stood straight.
A little later than them, Lusein Ortima and Ulrike Prominence rose from the waiting area and walked into the arena.
Unlike Ban Yuwon’s matching masked pair, Lusein Ortima and Ulrike Prominence each wore extravagant masks bearing their family’s insignia, completely disregarding the mask’s original purpose of concealing identity, truly befitting a Ten Great Family.
“Ooooh... To think we’d actually witness the descendants of two Ten Great Families joining forces.”
“Both those families got thoroughly humiliated by a mere brat from a lower dimension, so why bother maintaining airs now? It’s fortunate that even these so-called successors seem to have set aside a bit of their pride.”
“If they lose this time, it’ll truly be laughable.”
“Perhaps the standing of their families might actually be overturned... Interesting, truly interesting.”
The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew heated with the appearance of the two successors of the Ten Great Families: Ortima and Prominence.
As the events involving Ban Yuwon and Rebellion during the first semester and vacation were known across all dimensions, the perception of them wasn't exactly positive.
While both individuals certainly had their own objectives for this special match, setting those aside, it had become a contest where neither could back down, both for their family's image and their own positions as successors.
“Hah...”
Lusein Ortima, wearing an extravagant mask that covered his face and an ornate robe ill-suited for vigorous movement, fixed his gaze on Ban Yuwon and clicked his tongue.
“The fool who doesn’t know his place has finally made it here.”
“Anyone hearing that would think we fought through fierce competition to get here, you know.”
“Competition? Who is there that could compete with me? I merely came to punish a lowlife who has forgotten their place and presumptuously raised their head, and to open her eyes.”
In truth, Ban Yuwon hadn’t yet fully grasped why the tournament and special matches were held separately, but Ortima was now demonstrating the reason.
For the esteemed members of the Ten Great Families, the very act of struggling to determine superiority was against their nature!
Indeed, even the pair representing Noblesse in the tournament would not have participated if they hadn't had the explicit goal of defeating the Student Council.
Participating in the tournament was, for them, a kind of penalty game.
“I will be your opponent.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Completely fed up with Ortima’s arrogance, Ban Yuwon gave up on replying and drew his sword. Ortima, seemingly thinking he looked his coolest, then turned to Ulrike and declared.
“Senior Prominence, as I mentioned before, you just need to hold her off for a moment.”
“Hehe, that’s fine, but... it wouldn’t particularly matter if I were to defeat that girl, would it?”
“...Of course.”
Hearing Ulrike’s confident declaration, Ban Yuwon flashed a triumphant smile and whispered to Dokgo Yeon.
“Yeon, we’ve won!”
“I’m concentrating right now, so don’t jinx it and act so giddy.”
“Disgusting, mongrel. Get away from her.”
The Ortima pair was steadily building up flags, so much so that no one could do it better even if instructed.
Dokgo Yeon, her fists clenching as if to weep at Ortima’s sticky gaze fixed upon her, turned to Ban Yuwon and expressed her desire to fight him, but surprisingly, Ban Yuwon shook his head.
“I need to show that I’m suitable as your partner.”
“Is that so? ...Hmph, then I’ll hold back just this once.”
No matter how much she wore a mask, the satisfied smile blooming on her lips couldn’t be hidden.
Having witnessed the two of them being affectionate from close proximity, Ortima and Ulrike, who each held feelings for them, had their eyes stained crimson as if they had used a Berserk skill.
“As a provocation, it was excellent.”
“Hah... This is really annoying, more and more insignificant girls keep showing up...”
“That’s enough for pre-match greetings. Both sides, retreat behind the designated line.”
While a mere adjunct professor had overseen the tournament, surprisingly, the one serving as supervisor and referee for this special match was Xenon, the Vice Chancellor of the Academy.
Perhaps it was because the participants in the special matches were generally stronger than those in the tournament... No, why was there a tournament in the first place?
As the highly agitated contenders seemed to regain their composure at Xenon’s calm, heavy voice and positioned themselves at the designated spots, he spoke again.
“Then, as soon as the signal is given, the special match will commence.”
The number 3 appeared in the air.
It changed to 2.
Then to 1.
Becoming 0, it vanished like a phantom, and at that very moment.
“Burn to ashes, leaving nothing behind!”
The highly agitated Ulrike Prominence opened fire first.
Ban Yuwon, who had intended to block it with his Authority, clicked his tongue and retreated upon seeing dozens of steel orbs bursting forth beyond the flames.
There was no choice but to trust Dokgo Yeon’s abilities and leave Ulrike to her!
Now was the time to face Ortima’s successor, who was pushing his Domination Authority to its limits, concentrating all his magic on that one person.
“Kneel!”
Steel orbs, blocking every direction, surged toward him.
Thanks to Dokgo Yeon having picked up one of them before, he knew their mechanism, but the formidable magical power contained within each orb was enough to make one gasp.
Countering each one individually would be foolish, so then...
“Severance!”
He swung the Executioner’s Longsword, severing all the threads of Authority connecting Ortima and the steel orbs he controlled.
To his surprise, the steel orbs that had been rushing him from all directions, caught on trajectories they shouldn't have touched, all plummeted to the ground.
“A trick I haven’t seen before.”
“It’s a special service. Aren’t you grateful?”
“But... if that’s all you have, you can’t defeat me!”
—Wooooong.
Lusein Ortima’s Authority wouldn’t be so easily obstructed.
Seeing the steel orbs that had lost control and scattered everywhere regain their power and rush him once more, Ban Yuwon prepared to unleash his own trump card, ready to face him—.
—Thud.
“...Kah, ack.”
The crimson flames, which had been boiling as if to engulf the arena, vanished in an instant.
Ban Yuwon and Ortima, who had each been gauging their opponent’s moves by unleashing fragments of their Authority, widened their eyes and looked back at Ulrike.
There, they saw Ulrike, already unconscious and fallen, and Dokgo Yeon, standing with her foot on Ulrike’s head.
“Yeon...”
“Ah. You can take your time, Won.”
Dokgo Yeon, who had finished off her opponent without even drawing her short sword, pulled the mask off the unconscious Ulrike’s face, crumpled it, and smiled.
“I’ll be watching your performance from here.”
“...”
“...”
Could it be that Dokgo Yeon could have just thrashed both Ortima and Ulrike by herself?
The thought fleetingly crossed Ban Yuwon’s mind, but seeing Dokgo Yeon, who was anticipating his performance, he pressed his lips together and turned towards Ortima.
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