I Got Into School For Nothing - 30
I Got Into School For Nothing (30)
Lesson 7. It’s Definitely Not Because I Like You - 5
The declaration by Ban Yuwon, which had shocked everyone in Class 11, finally settled down after a commotion that lasted over ten minutes.
Dokgo Yeon and Light's gazes, which seemed to view him as utter trash, were truly memorable.
Furthermore, it remained a mystery why, despite him having fully explained his reasons, he was told to "prepare himself" upon his return.
“Are you ready?”
“Y-yes, yesh!”
Meanwhile, from the moment Rucell heard the word "date," she had completely stiffened, merely nodding her head without offering any proper reaction.
When Ban Yuwon asked if she was alright, she only then, flustered, scurried back to the dormitory to change, a sight that was utterly adorable.
“Yes?”
And so, the clothes Rucell changed into were none other than her school uniform.
Of course, it was much better than the gym clothes she'd been wearing in the training room, but...
Considering various possibilities, Ban Yuwon realized that the question itself might be rude, so he simply offered this suggestion:
“First, let's go look for clothes that suit you.”
“I don't have money...”
“I'll buy them. Let's go.”
“H-hick.”
Ban Yuwon took Rucell's hand and activated his student ID card.
Originally, chanting the spell the Chancellor had taught him would transport them to a nearby external dungeon, but his diligent research into the student ID card had paid off; he could now slightly adjust the teleportation destination.
As a result.
“Kyaa...!”
“This way.”
It was now possible to travel directly into the city without passing through a dungeon.
They were transported to a suitably quiet alley, from which Ban Yuwon immediately pulled Rucell out and plunged into the bustling crowd on the street.
“Oh, I-I'm dizzy.”
“Well, there are a lot of people and a lot of buildings.”
“Ugh...”
Rucell, who had been stiff and rigid when Ban Yuwon first took her hand, clung tightly to his hand and pressed herself close to him, refusing to let go, once they arrived in the crowded area.
Her trembling, clinging form resembled a little puppy, which naturally brought a smile to his face.
“Achieving my goal should be easy.”
“Could something like this really... be possible? It’s not that I don’t want to...!”
“I think it’s entirely possible. Alright, I think there was a department store over there.”
Ronica, the free city located directly beneath the floating island of Union Academy, was unequivocally the greatest metropolis in the dimensional Union.
The city itself was immensely vast, boasting several distinct residential and commercial zones, and naturally, department stores of every kind.
Ban Yuwon had diligently explored the city since Monday, familiarizing himself with its geography, allowing him to guide Rucell without any hesitation.
As they were doing so.
“Ah...!”
“Hm? Do you want to eat that?”
“I do, but...”
“Then let’s go.”
Rucell’s gaze was fixed on a fried food stall nestled in a corner of the street.
If one were to be precise, it was closer to a croquette.
The main offerings were mixtures of potato-based dough (though strictly speaking, it wasn't quite potato) with meats like pork or shrimp (or something similar), coated in batter and deep-fried.
“Welcome!”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Uh...”
Rucell, whose movements had briefly halted at the sight of the diverse menu, soon chose a fried item with the unknown name "Elone".
He'd wondered if she felt apologetic about being treated, but since her choice was the most expensive, it didn't seem to be the case.
“Then, an Elone... and shrimp.”
“That’ll be 90 Ronias, customer.”
The shrimp cost 20 Ronias, and the Elone was 70.
He wondered what on earth could make two fried items of similar size so different in price, only to be told it was monster meat.
“They say it’s monster meat. Are you sure?”
“I like that.”
Rucell, who was diligently nodding, soon found the Elone fritter placed in her arms.
Ban Yuwon indirectly warned the merchant, who was blatantly ogling Rucell's ample chest, by subtly highlighting the flower brooch pinned to his own chest, then led her away from the stall.
They could have gone inside to eat, but surely the true charm of street food lay in buying individual items and enjoying them as one walked down the street.
“Ah, it’s delicious.”
Rucell, taking a bite of the fried food, made a happy expression and, extending the hand not holding the fritter, took Ban Yuwon's hand.
Then, realizing her own action, she startled, her eyes widening in surprise.
And then...
“B-Ban. Thank you, really. But...”
Her voice was cautious.
Ban Yuwon succeeded in reading the emotional concept of "Worry" that momentarily welled up within her.
That 'Worry' as in, 'to be concerned'.
“Will us getting closer really... help me control my abilities?”
Ban Yuwon mused that anyone unaware of the situation might hear this and think he was simply spouting excuses to try and pick up some naive girl.
But it was the truth. He was sincere.
Ban Yuwon had been contemplating whether the condition for interfering with another person's internal code was "how well one knew the other person."
This was because granting concepts to his family, including his sister, had been incredibly easy, yet with Rucell, even imparting a tiny, simple concept proved impossible.
Of course, the same applied to Dokgo Yeon and Light.
Given this, directly injecting negative concepts into an enemy's body to defeat them would be an exceedingly difficult task.
‘Perhaps it's simply unusable against opponents stronger than me...’
However, he didn't believe his ability was that simple.
Indeed, until recently, he hadn't been able to properly read the concepts of his Class 11 classmates, including Rucell.
But what about now? The longer he spent with them, the deeper their emotional exchanges, the more clearly he could observe the internal concepts within their bodies.
In Rucell's case, he could even read her momentarily shifting emotional concepts, couldn't he?
...Though it was a change achieved simply by buying her some food.
‘Even if the condition for using my Authority isn't about getting close to someone, but observing them for a long time, there's no better method than the one I've chosen now.’
More than anything, his own instincts, as the master of the Authority, were telling him so.
If he wanted to directly alter someone's internal code, thoroughly understanding that person and building a deep relationship was the best approach.
“Of course, it might not be the case.”
“Ah...”
But Ban Yuwon chose not to voice his thoughts.
He figured this way, he could get closer to her more naturally.
“Still, if I can get closer to you, I consider it a gain. Oh, and if you don't like it, tell me now.”
“No!”
At Ban Yuwon's unexpected words, Rucell's hair bristled (it actually stood on end), and she shook her head vigorously.
“I don’t dislike it, not at all.”
“That’s a relief then.”
“It’s just that I’m... well, I’m not a very interesting person. And I’m not as approachable as Dokgo Yeon... or Light.”
Light aside, Dokgo Yeon, approachable?
Is something wrong with her head?
As Ban Yuwon shot her a truly bewildered look, Rucell offered a wry smile and spoke.
“Relatively speaking, yes. To me, she's just a terrifying person... but she really likes Ban.”
“That's not 'liking,' that's 'wanting to possess.' And it's more like wanting to possess a sharp sword or a sturdy shield.”
“...H-hehe.”
The moment Ban Yuwon spoke with such heartfelt sincerity, it seemed that some of the tension in Rucell's shoulders inexplicably eased.
It wasn't his imagination. Her previously somewhat tense expression had relaxed, showing a considerably more comfortable demeanor.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I was a little relieved.”
“About what?”
Ban Yuwon, unable to comprehend why such a topic would arise at this moment, tilted his head in confusion.
He'd always known that understanding a woman's heart was the most difficult thing in the world, but this was a top-tier case even among those.
“I thought you were someone who knew everything... but it seems you’re not. You seemed similar to me...”
“Hey, wait a minute. I feel like I just got insulted in a very roundabout way.”
“I’ll try my best.”
What would that make me then?
What does that make me!
“I want to get closer to Ban, too... like those two.”
“Hearing that, I’m starting to get uneasy.”
While he genuinely wanted to get closer to Rucell, he preferred to decline the 'like those two' part.
However, Rucell, who seemed to have already sorted things out within herself, pulled him by the hand with a resolute expression.
“Let’s go. I want to see the clothes.”
“Damn it... alright, let’s go.”
Although the direction had shifted slightly from his initial thoughts, the atmosphere was certainly not bad.
Ban Yuwon, holding her hand amicably, headed towards the department store.
And then he encountered a problem he had never even imagined.
“Seriously, it’s not like I’m some kind of pervert.”
“Well, the clothes that suit me... are only those kinds.”
About two hours had passed since they entered the department store’s clothing section.
The sales clerks, taken aback the moment they saw Rucell, diligently struggled to maintain their composure and find clothes that fit her, but most of what they found either excessively emphasized her chest by tightly cinching the area beneath it, or were simply too revealing.
“How about just a plain dress or something?”
“If I wear a loose-fitting dress like that, I look much too fat.”
“My bad.”
To think that Rucell, with proportions that seemed to garner the envy of all women in the world, also faced such difficulties.
If she dressed normally, she looked heavier, and if she tried to accentuate her figure, her chest was inevitably emphasized.
Normally, there would be a way to gloss over it, but she was anything but normal.
Ban Yuwon realized why she captured people's gazes so easily, even just wearing her school uniform.
“It’s alright. I like all the clothes.”
Rucell said to Ban Yuwon, who was seriously starting to worry that he might be labeled a lecher just for buying her clothes.
“I’m already used to such gazes anyway... And Ban can rest easy too.”
“Hearing that makes me feel like I’m being treated like an idiot, but... alright, let’s go with these.”
Ban Yuwon selected about five or six outfits that Rucell liked, leaving out the overly revealing ones, and paid.
The total came to 50,000 Ronias.
That was when Rucell became flustered.
“It’s expensive!”
“No, it’s not expensive! So don’t try to take them off!”
She was wearing the blouse and skirt she liked best among the clothes bought today, and she was so flustered she even debated whether to take them off right there.
“But that’s enough money to buy 714 Elone fritters!”
“It’s fine, this much is just a gift I can easily give a friend. ...You’re surprisingly quick with calculations, aren’t you?”
“Still, this is too much... Do you want something more from me?”
Rucell wore a questioning expression, as if thinking, "Ban couldn't possibly be like that."
Ban Yuwon took the bag filled with beautiful clothes from the clerk, stored it directly in his inventory, and winked at her.
“If you’re really feeling burdened, just think of it as an advance on your channel’s profit share.”
“...Huh?”
Ban Yuwon informed her that his video channel would soon generate profits, which he planned to distribute among them in appropriate proportions.
Of course, since Ban Yuwon handled everything from filming and editing to uploading and channel management, his share would be around half, but given how the channel was currently performing, even if the remaining half were split among three, it would still be a considerable sum.
“You mean... you can actually make money from something like that?”
“Of course, you can. Traffic is money. Even if you just put one advertisement on a video, the countless people watching that ad increase the video’s value.”
“Ban, you’re an alchemist...! Creating gold from nothing!”
She didn't seem to fully grasp his explanation, but regardless, Rucell was utterly amazed by Ban Yuwon!
For some reason, after hearing that, she seemed even more delighted than when she received the clothes, and Ban Yuwon, shaking his head and thinking that a woman’s heart was truly unfathomable, took her hand.
“Alright, let’s go get something to eat now.”
“Yes!”
It was at that moment.
Ban Yuwon noticed the concept of emotion, overflowing from within her, gradually protruding outwards.
The golden string of characters, engraved with the emotions of "Pleasure" and "Joy," both signifying delight.
He tentatively reached out, and sure enough, they were drawn into his hand.
It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck above his head.
“Ban...?”
“Hm? Ah. It’s nothing.”
Muttering evasively to the curious Rucell, he quickly transferred them to his Code Core, lest they disappear.
The concepts stored in the Code Core did not disappear.
Ban Yuwon felt as though he had finally found his way.
* * *
It was truly an enjoyable date.
Rucell, already beautiful, now properly dressed, captured people's attention wherever she went, but seeing Ban Yuwon, who had become quite a celebrity in the city over the past few days, by her side, most people instinctively averted their gazes.
After their meal, they went to look for clothes for Ban Yuwon, and thanks to Rucell's excellent sense of style, Ban Yuwon was also able to find several casual outfits he liked.
In the process, encountering a few subscribers from his external channel in person and being asked for autographs also felt quite pleasant.
Of course, Rucell was perplexed here too.
“How do these people know us?”
“The number of subscribers on our external channel has increased quite a bit. Of course, considering the scale of this world, we’ve met an unusually large number of them, so right now... uh...”
Ban Yuwon, opening his mirror to check the channel anew, was struck speechless.
He was certain that when he uploaded the video yesterday, it hadn't even reached 50,000, but now it was approaching a million.
“What is this?”
“Why? Did something go wrong? It’s alright, Ban is still growing, so it’s fine to fail...”
“...It’s a massive hit.”
What’s more, when he refreshed the channel, it had definitively surpassed a million subscribers.
Furthermore, the trending "First Exploration" episode was already nearing five million views.
Thanks to that, interest had spilled over to all the other videos he had uploaded so far, racking up views ranging from hundreds of thousands to several millions.
“It looks like your clothes have already paid for themselves, and then some.”
“Wow...!”
Rucell’s eyes, as she gazed at Ban Yuwon, sparkled brightly.
It was as if her eyes held hearts within them.
Her honest reaction to capitalism was so profound that it almost made him feel embarrassed.
“An overflowing, capable male...!”
For a moment, Ban Yuwon doubted his own ears.
“What did you just say?”
“Oh, I was thinking you’re a capable man!”
Right.
I must have misheard, right?
Ban Yuwon laughed heartily, exchanging smiles with her.
He merely told himself that the "Desire" overflowing from Rucell was something he had simply misperceived.
...Though he had, for now, collected all of it.
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