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I got into school for nothing - 242

I got into school for nothing (242)

Lesson 47. Twist after Twist - 2

"Found this on the way."

"[No, I don't know what that is.]"

Ban Yumi's expression turned serious as she looked at the thin, black, semi-transparent rectangular plate floating above Ban Yuwon's hand.

Ban Yuwon shrugged and said,

"It's an Invitation to Prominence's Great Mansion, I told you. I sort of expected it, but that orb automatically shaped it into a visible form."

"[So what do you want me to do with it? Go visit, maybe get a cup of tea, and leave?]"

"Hey, put Anneri Dedota on the phone. Tell her to come out."

Perhaps unwilling to miss this chance to see her younger brother's face, even if only through the screen, Ban Yumi called for a timeout, furrowed her brow in thought for a long moment, then suddenly slapped her palm and exclaimed,

"[Ah! Does that mean we can just barge in whenever we want?]"

"It's a relief you figured it out, even if it's now."

"[H-hold on... if we have that, aren't we basically guaranteed a win?]"

"Do you think just getting into the mansion is enough to win, like some game of musical chairs? We need to aim for the right timing."

Ban Yuwon's eyes glinted sharply as he explained to his sister.

"Closely observe the movements of the Prominence Family, and establish sympathetic forces within the family for you in advance. Then, aim for a situation where a key individual, on par with the family head, is inside the mansion and as unprotected as possible. In that situation, it can definitely—be used effectively."

"[Hooooh...]"

As he was speaking with enthusiasm, Ban Yuwon suddenly looked up, feeling the gaze of a female leopard eyeing its prey.

"Sister?"

"[—Huh? What?]"

Ban Yumi, who had been staring at him with a strange noise, belatedly came to her senses and acted innocent.

Knowing full well that once she started playing innocent, she would never admit it even if it killed her, Ban Yuwon didn't press her further.

"Anyway, I'll send it, so keep it safe and use it."

"[How are you going to...]"

He activated his Giwon Sword.

Among the countless concepts devoured by the Giwon Sword, spatial control was a core concept for martial arts.

With Lilyth, who possessed the power to transcend dimensions, assisting, transmitting a small item directly in front of his sister, connected via the Union Net, was not a difficult task.

"[Insane...]"

Seeing the 'Invitation' floating before her eyes, Ban Yumi's eyes widened.

She dazedly clutched it, once again realizing her brother's absurd abilities.

Ban Yuwon smiled contentedly and bid her farewell.

"Well then, take care. I'll contact you again."

"[Hey, wait a second.]"

"Hm?"

He wondered if she was just grabbing him without anything to say, but Ban Yumi actually had a serious expression.

"[You said there were two wish tickets. What did you do with the other one? Like that Dokgo Yeon girl did, mutual non-interference?]"

"Mutual non-interference."

"[Yeah, that's it.]"

"No, it's different."

Ban Yumi's guess was reasonable, but Ban Yuwon shook his head.

For him, who manifested Authority by observing targets, the condition of not seeing Ulrike Prominence, a future enemy, was far too restrictive.

"I set the condition that she wouldn't 'lay hands' on me while I'm enrolled."

"[Huh? Huh...?]"

"In short, I made it so she can't touch me while I'm attending the Academy. Since she can't make me her team member anyway, she won't harm my party members anymore. And since there are no restrictions after graduation, she won't dare to take drastic actions, even just to avoid incurring my hatred."

"[So, in other words, you made her look forward to the future?]"

"And I'll crush her before graduation."

If she continued to act so foolishly, he'd let her. It was better for Ban Yuwon if Ulrike remained lost in her comfortable delusions. Simply judging her once in a special match wouldn't absolve her of her sins. He now looked forward to the moment he could sink his teeth into the neck of that foolish girl who took Ban Yuwon's smile as gentleness and laughed stupidly.

"[And you're just going to torment her like in some lewd doujinshi, right?]"

"I'm hanging up."

"[But you said she looks like me.]"

"Who taught you to change the subject every time I try to hang up?"

"[Quiet, I want to see your face!]"

Ah, this woman finally brazenly revealed her true intentions.

Ban Yuwon stared with a dumbfounded expression, but she acted as if she hadn't said anything and continued.

"[Answer me obediently. Who's prettier, her or me?]"

"Seriously, you're persistent."

Only after Ban Yuwon meekly answered that his sister was prettier did she hang up, seemingly satisfied.

He shuddered and turned his head, only to find As Light, who had approached nearby, looking at him with a sulky expression.

"Why are you looking like that again?"

"Because we're finally in the same space, but you're doing other things..."

"Sorry, As Light, but you've changed so much so fast that I can't adapt, so let's cut back on lines like that for a while."

"Pffft..."

As Light's feminization—no, 'optimization'—which began the moment her necklace shattered, accelerated after she obtained the True Dragon Sword. Now, her face was overwhelmingly slender and beautiful compared to before the break. Her sturdy male physique had also transformed into a delicate, smooth, curvaceous female body, to the point where no one could mistake her for a man anymore.

At the latest, by tomorrow morning, or even tonight, the optimization would be complete. Even now, it was difficult to look directly at her, and he was even a little afraid of what she would become once the optimization finished.

What As Light was currently wearing was a night dress borrowed from Rucell. It was truly a desirable sight, but in another sense, undesirable.

"Perhaps I really should get a separate dorm room."

"Ah, no. I'll get kicked out."

Indeed, that would be the case. In the long history of Union Academy, there was no precedent of mistakenly assigning a dorm room to a female student by judging her as a male student. In such a situation, what would happen if As Light suddenly came forward and declared she was actually a woman? Would Union Academy meekly admit their mistake and assign As Light a new room? Of course not. It would be fortunate if they didn't expel her.

"Y-Yuwon... do you... dislike sharing a room with me...?"

"Aah—I mean, I can't handle it..."

Watching As Light look up at him with teary eyes and ask, Ban Yuwon wondered if he, too, should change professions to an exorcist, like Rucell or Aire.

"I know I did wrong, I'll make it up to you, so please don't hate me. Yuwon, you are my..."

"I know, I get it. I won't exorcise. I won't, so calm down."

Right now, just managing his advancing relationship with Dokgo Yeon was overwhelming enough. Truth be told, if he considered 'progress,' he had made more with As Light, but that was that, and this was this. Well, As Light's chronic problem was becoming difficult when the Holy Sword was involved, but now that it was resolved, her 'difficulty level' was effectively the lowest. She was easy to deal with even without his Myriad Poison Eye for now, so he would just handle her moderately for a while...

'Your ability, it's really most effective when you're charming women, isn't it?'

Suddenly recalling Dokgo Yeon's words, Ban Yuwon's complexion turned pale. What in the world was he doing, coming all the way to Union Academy? A new wave of confusion regarding his values washed over him. Why was he even ranking 'difficulty' again? Was he insane?

"Y-Yuwon! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine."

Ban Yuwon, who had gathered his thoughts by patting his cheek, stretched out a hand to stop As Light from approaching and said,

"Anyway, it's different now. We should each be conscious of being a man and a woman, and be careful not to make any mistakes."

"Mistakes..."

As Light's cheeks flushed. He knew what she was imagining without even needing to use his Authority. But with her appearance changed, every reaction he had anticipated now came as a critical hit.

"Anyway, that's how it is. There's also the Club vs. Club Special Tournament tomorrow, so get a good night's sleep tonight."

"...Ah."

"Hm?"

As Ban Yuwon turned to leave, determined to review his future school life, As Light's voice stopped him.

"Calling Dokgo Yeon by her first name, how did that happen?"

"That—"

Ban Yuwon, who had hesitated whether to talk about his date with Dokgo Yeon, ultimately kept silent. He had thought about it after being pointed out by several people, but indeed, Dokgo Yeon's presence was special to him. Perhaps he simply didn't want to talk about her casually...

Of course, that didn't mean Rucell and Mira's presences were light, not at all, but it was also true that he felt a special, unexplainable emotion towards Dokgo Yeon that couldn't be described by just that.

"But I became friends with you first..."

Perhaps having read a little of his complex thoughts, As Light pouted and mumbled. Even the benevolent Ban Yuwon couldn't help but interject this time.

"But you've only been digging yourself into a hole for the past month."

"I know, I know! I'm sorry, it's all my fault!"

As Light, who had made apologizing a habit after repeating it all day, lowered her head and blurted out,

"Asha..."

"Hm?"

"My name."

She murmured softly, then, realizing something was missing, added,

"My real name."

"Your real name?"

"The name you found for me."

Though he hadn't known it until now, that is. Instead of saying something tactless, Ban Yuwon spoke the words she wished to hear.

"I look forward to our future, Asha."

"Ugh, that sounds like you're saying it wasn't good until now... but still."

Even while half-pretending to cry, As Light—no, Asha—nodded repeatedly.

"I look forward to our future too. ...Thank you for granting my wish."

"It's nothing, really."

The wish ticket that had been staked on Ban Yuwon and Asha's special match was left floating in the air when her problem was resolved during the match. So Ban Yuwon proposed a wish that was humiliating enough to satisfy all listeners, yet held a special meaning for Asha herself. That was, 'She must always wear women's clothing during her enrollment period.' Knowing how the Academy would react if her gender was revealed, he cleverly found a way for her to act freely within the Academy without explicitly mentioning her gender. From an outsider's perspective, they might think Ban Yuwon gave a ruthless and humiliating punishment to a team member who defied him, but for Asha, who had to live half her life in a form she didn't desire, it was, with a slight exaggeration, akin to salvation.

"Well then, sleep well, Asha."

"You sleep well too, Yuwon. ...Thank you, truly."

That night, Ban Yuwon couldn't get proper sleep due to the incessant gaze from Asha, who lay in the bed next to him. He even wondered if she might do something unnecessary if he closed his eyes. At this point, he could finally understand why Rucell had been so frantic to 'get at' Asha when all the day's events had concluded and they were disbanding.

'Deal with her moderately? What a load of crap.'

Ban Yuwon belatedly realized that the relationships formed between him and the others had an accelerator, but no brakes. Ah, he had no choice but to admit it now. It seemed the slowly unfolding drama had finally entered its third act.

* * *

The next morning.

"Hey, junior. Let's have a serious talk, you and I."

In front of the medium-sized spaceship prepared for the Club vs. Club Special Tournament, Stonemason spoke to Ban Yuwon with a serious expression.

"If someone's that pretty, even if they're a guy, it's okay... Don't you think so?"

Ban Yuwon didn't answer him, instead gesturing to the club members nearby and shouting,

"Someone quickly come pick up this rolling rock here~."

"Leave it to us!"

"No, wait! Hey! Isn't it okay to at least let me have a private talk with that awful junior who's confusing my values?! Isn't it?! More importantly, how did his bone structure change?!"

"Ah, just kick him away, guys. He's heavy."

"Ack! Aaaargh!"

Watching several club members kick Stonemason into the spaceship, Ban Yuwon sighed softly.

Turning around, he saw Asha in a flowing dress, perfectly executing her mission of cross-dressing with Rucell's help. Now possessing a physique that didn't lose out to Rucell's, she was currently engaged in a staring contest with Dokgo Yeon.

"Dokgo Yeon, you didn't happen to put on makeup, did you? I seem to recall someone I know saying something about abandoning womanhood..."

"And you, makeup and a dress suit you very well. Especially considering how imposing you were yesterday, without comparison."

"Why are you two so eager to pick fights with each other?"

"We're actually trying to reconcile, in our own way."

Rucell, approaching with a wide smile, explained on their behalf. Thinking that women truly were incomprehensible if that was reconciliation, Ban Yuwon shook his head.

"Yuwon, are you really going to be okay?"

Yumina, who had approached him, following Rucell, held Ban Yuwon's hand with a worried expression.

He smiled sweetly and squeezed her hand back.

"Don't worry too much, I'm perfectly prepared."

The Club vs. Club Special Tournament, which could be said to be the grand finale of the Union Founding Festival. In this tournament, unfolding on the stage of an abandoned dimension, the time had finally come to straighten out the club's discipline.