I got into school for nothing - 316
I got into school for nothing (316)
Lesson 62. Transformation - 1
By the time Ban Yuwon’s party returned to Union Academy, the situation had already been resolved.
On the surface, nothing had changed at Union Academy.
Despite such a massive incident, everything was, quite unbelievably, perfectly intact, without a single alteration.
The academy buildings, the Tower, of course, and even the dimensional barriers that so many outsiders had breached.
“Yuwon!”
The moment Ban Yuwon stepped out of the spaceship—Lilyth—that had landed at the station, someone rushed towards him with a sharp shriek, and it was, naturally, Yumina.
No matter how hard she tried not to show her emotions, she couldn’t prevent her face from contorting.
“Yuwon, are you hurt? Tell your big sister what happened. That damned Xenon, did he—”
“I-I’m fine, Big Sister. I...”
He hesitated to say he was fine.
The memory of Dokgo Yeon sacrificing herself in his place, repeatedly murmuring "I'm fine," flooded his mind, making his heart sink heavily.
“Professor.”
To Yumina, who was clinging only to Ban Yuwon, seemingly oblivious to the others, Rucell subtly spoke in a low voice.
Only then did Yumina notice the other members, finally realizing Dokgo Yeon’s absence, and her gem-like eyes widened even further.
“Surely not, it can’t be...”
“It’s all my fault.”
Ban Yuwon suppressed the urge to let his emotions surge and scream, and with great difficulty, he continued to speak.
“I... wasn’t wise enough. I was arrogant, and I was careless. It was an opponent I absolutely shouldn’t have been like that with; I wasn't prepared. I didn’t even consider that I could die.”
But Yeon, only she, had fought, prepared for death from the very beginning.
She must have realized from the moment she faced Xenon as an enemy.
That unless reinforcements appeared, someone present would have to throw away their life to kill Xenon.
Knowing that Ban Yuwon was on the other side of the scales, Dokgo Yeon unhesitatingly offered herself.
In place of Ban Yuwon, who lacked a sense of crisis due to having defeated Constellations too easily, she acted at the most crucial moment.
At the most perfect timing to exchange her life for Xenon's.
Without hesitation, she threw away her life and took Xenon’s head.
It was a noble sacrifice that Ban Yuwon could never dare to imitate.
“Yuwon...”
“I’m sorry, but... I think I need to rest a bit now. I have a lot to tell you later, a whole lot.”
Ban Yuwon, who conveyed his intentions even while stumbling over his words, pulled away from her embrace and stumbled forward, but someone who had emerged from behind caught him.
It was Rucell.
“Rucell, I’m sorry, but I need to be alone right now...”
“No.”
Rucell said firmly, pulling his arm.
“You shouldn’t be alone right now, Master. You need to be with someone.”
“You...”
He suppressed the harsh words that almost escaped his lips.
He knew Rucell’s feelings for him all too well.
So, for her sake, he thought it would be better not to be with him right now.
However, Rucell didn’t seem to think so; she embraced Ban Yuwon with her ample bosom and comforted him.
“Let’s go to sleep. I’ll put you to sleep. Just sleep for now, and when you wake up, we can talk again. I’ll listen to everything.”
“...Okay.”
The kidnapping was instantaneous.
As Rucell took Ban Yuwon and returned to her room, those left behind could only stare blankly at their retreating figures.
“What... just happened?”
“I feel like the difference in our standing was just flaunted in my face. It’s irritating...”
Shatie muttered, dumbfounded, while Mira stomped her foot and grumbled.
Beside them, Asha quietly murmured.
“I... wanted to comfort him too.”
Everyone present probably sympathized with her words.
Yumina, who had been nodding along with Asha’s words, realized the students’ gazes were all on her and, flustered, said in a slightly raised voice.
“Well then, will you tell me what happened? From the very beginning, when you first went to Fairytale, in detail.”
* * *
The next day, Union Academy declared a temporary suspension of classes until the weekend.
As final exams were approaching, this was something unthinkable under normal circumstances. But no matter how well things had been handled, the incident itself had been too massive, so students needed time to compose themselves, while lecturers, associate professors, and professors needed time to clean up the aftermath.
More than anything, both Ulrike Prominence and Lusein Rown-Palomer Aquinas Ortima, the heirs of the Ten Great Families currently enrolled in the academy, were outside due to certain circumstances.
Time was also needed for both of them to safely conclude their 'family matters' and return.
“Mmm...”
Ban Yuwon woke up in the girls’ dormitory, in the room Rucell and Dokgo Yeon used.
Having cried like a child in Rucell’s arms all night, he felt incredibly embarrassed now that he had woken up and regained his senses—
“Did you sleep well?”
But facing Rucell, who still held him in her embrace, wearing a benevolent, almost motherly smile, even that embarrassment vanished somewhere.
“Sorry, Rucell. Yesterday, I... was quite a mess, wasn’t I?”
“No, not at all. It was a big deal for everyone, wasn’t it...?”
“Thank you.”
“It’s my job to always be by your side, Master. But I’m happy if I was able to help.”
Rucell hugged Ban Yuwon tightly once more, then gently separated him from her embrace.
Then she cautiously opened her mouth and spoke.
“Will you... tell me? The story about Dokgo Yeon.”
“But in front of you, Yeon, no, another woman’s story...”
“I want to hear it. Because I also want to be cherished more by you, Master.”
Ban Yuwon knew well that those words were merely to comfort him.
But looking at Rucell, who gazed at him with clear, untroubled eyes, he realized anew how deeply he was loved by her, and what a great blessing it was.
“Then listen.”
“Gladly.”
How Ban Yuwon and Dokgo Yeon had interacted in the gap of time when Rucell was being charming with Ban Yuwon, and Asha was being difficult with him.
How attractive she was due to the gap between her terrifyingly strong martial prowess and her unexpected innocence.
How her eyes, usually so cold, changed so dynamically whenever her emotions shifted—
Listening to each of these stories, Rucell thought, ‘Isn’t Dokgo Yeon just a total vixen?’ But since it was also splash damage to herself, she decided not to dwell on it.
“So... Yeon stepping forward in my place was probably...”
As he spoke, he naturally couldn't avoid talking about Dokgo Yeon's final moments.
As his voice trailed off and became heavy with emotion, Rucell embraced him once more.
“It’s okay. It’s okay...”
“Yeon said the same thing. ‘It’s fine’... But I see now, when she said it was fine, she probably meant...”
It wasn't an excuse that she herself was fine.
Concerned that he would later recall that moment and grieve.
Her words were meant to comfort him, to tell him it was alright, and not to be hurt.
Tears flowed once more.
But he felt much better.
It was likely thanks to both Dokgo Yeon and Rucell, who had comforted him.
“Rucell, thank you.”
“You’ll save her, won’t you?”
The truth about the Constellations had already been shared with everyone.
The shocking revelation that the Tower of Babel might merely be an institution for creating Constellations, and that students were admitted to Union Academy not as gods, but as prospective Constellations.
But the pendant Ban Yuwon had personally obtained after facing the true form of the Follower of Ten Thousand Kalpas was, in fact, a student ID—this was more conclusive proof than anything else.
There was much to ponder about that, and many stories to hear from Yumina and Cellon—but that wasn't what was important now.
The fact that at Dokgo Yeon's final moment, her student ID had reacted to her, sublimating her, who was on the verge of death, into something transcendent beyond human.
That she hadn't vanished, but remained as a Constellation.
For now, that was enough.
“Of course I’ll save her.”
He still didn't know how to turn a Constellation back into a human, but that wasn't a problem.
He had even restored Cellon, a sealed Constellation, back to human form.
Wasn't he Ban Yuwon, who freely wielded all concepts and had already stepped into the realm of creation?
As long as she existed in this world in any form, he would surely reclaim her and restore her to her original self.
“So, help me, Rucell.”
“I’ll help you. Any time. Always.”
“Uh... so.”
Suddenly, while looking into Rucell’s unwavering eyes.
He recalled the conversation he’d had with Dokgo Yeon at the end.
Had he really, without any hesitation, confessed his love back to Dokgo Yeon?
But he hadn't said those words to Rucell and Mira, with whom he'd already had deep relationships.
At the time, he'd only had eyes for Dokgo Yeon. But looking back now, he felt incredibly sorry to the two of them.
“Rucell, uh... I l—,”
“No.”
However, just as Ban Yuwon was about to make his belated declaration of affection, Rucell shook her head, as if she already knew what he was going to say.
Rucell, who prevented his lips from opening by placing a finger over them, said with a pouty expression she hadn't even worn while listening to his stories about Dokgo Yeon.
“Not now.”
“...My apologies. I made a mistake.”
“It’s okay. I know your heart, Master. But I don’t want to hear words that are practically forced out by guilt.”
Where had the woman who had been gently embracing and comforting him just moments ago gone? Only a woman who piercingly stabbed at Ban Yuwon’s very core with her words remained.
She poked his chest with her finger, adding.
“Tell me later. For example... at night, in bed. While holding me lovingly and tightly. Then I’ll be very happy too.”
“Alright, I’ll remember that.”
He gave a wry smile and stroked Rucell’s head.
Rucell didn’t refuse that.
* * *
In the Principal’s office, a doll that had appeared on the wide table looked at Yumina and spoke.
—Yes, he refused.
A battered doll with one arm torn off, eyes bulging, and a prosthetic leg.
Although it was merely a doll, the Principal usually manifested his psychological or physical state through it... so he was probably quite tired and exhausted in reality.
Why wouldn't he be?
Having dealt with and annihilated pirate groups that had grown for thousands of years, and having confronted all the rampaging Constellations that escaped the Tower and put them back.
However, Yumina, standing before the doll, found him utterly detestable.
“Have you forgotten human feelings, teacher? That child won’t just rush over because you call him right now.”
—Indeed, such spirit is necessary for an heir.
The doll lifted the long staff in its hand and tapped it on the table.
Over the Principal’s spacious desk, dozens of holograms shimmered into view, alternating and illuminating various parts of Union Academy.
—The academy’s restoration seems to be mostly complete.
“The exterior, you already took care of that yourself, teacher. ...Many of the materials stocked in the warehouse have disappeared, so you’ll need to replenish them.”
—Now you, too, must assist in that work. As the Vice-Principal.
At the doll's words, Yumina couldn't help but sigh.
The Principal found it highly encouraging that Yumina had learned to wield Starlight even without a Constellation.
Moreover, since Xenon had gone rogue, defying the Principal’s will, and ultimately met his end at the hands of the students, it was perfectly natural to place Yumina in the conveniently vacant Vice-Principal position.
However, Yumina honestly didn't feel entirely comfortable with this position.
To rise to a position of responsibility in Union Academy meant that she, too, had to contribute to the order overseen by the Principal—and she couldn't even dare to imagine how that fact would be received by Ban Yuwon, who was suffering, sacrificed by that very Principal's intentions.
“I really don’t want to do it... I don’t want Ban Yuwon to hate me...”
—For the day that child will become a ruler, we have a duty to manage and develop the Tower more perfectly.
“Will Ban Yuwon want that?”
—That child’s current psychological state will not affect the predetermined future.
No, it's useless. I've known it for hundreds of years, but still, I can't have a conversation with the teacher.
Sighing softly, she finally pulled out her trump card.
“Ban Yuwon already knows. That you, teacher, knew of Xenon’s schemes and still neglected them. No, that’s already complicity, isn’t it?”
—It is for that child’s sake. It’s about time he understood how the Tower operates—and time to stop playing childish games.
Yumina ground her teeth.
“Student Dokgo Yeon was also my student. That child’s life was never something trivial to be sacrificed for someone else’s mental growth!”
—It is not trivial. Constellations are necessary beings for the Tower’s maintenance. They exert influence over many dimensions on behalf of the Tower, deepening the connection between dimensions and the Tower.
Every year at Union Academy, there are those who disappear without graduating.
Children with exceptional talent, who would have had glorious futures awaiting them if only they had graduated.
The Tower evaluates them, scores them, and selects suitable individuals—making them its messengers, or rather, Constellations.
Constellations are transcendent beings, but they didn't transcend on their own; they were merely forced into positions prepared by the Tower's will.
Thus, for Constellations, the Tower is nothing more than a prison.
The group that desperately organized to escape it—Exodus, the Great Escape—ultimately failed to achieve its goal and all perished.
—They are sacred administrators of dimensions, beings destined to ascend to a glorious position when everything eventually unites. To have reached that position as merely a first-year student—though adaptation and training will be necessary—is astonishing, magnificent, and truly blessed.
“...Teacher, I truly hate this.”
You even took the Starlight Player from me like that.
Holding her life hostage so I couldn't even resent you.
You made me move according to your will.
—Cellon.
“Don’t call me by that name.”
It was the name her real family called her in a now-destroyed world.
A name no one had called her since she received the name Yumina from the Principal, who brought her to Union.
It was also a pet name allowed only to the Starlight Player.
“I’m leaving. If you hurt Ban Yuwon any more, I truly won’t forgive you, teacher. Truly.”
—I have no intention of harming him. I merely intend to make him the most brilliant being in the universe, the new ruler of a unified world—
—Thud.
Yumina, unable to listen to the Principal’s nonsense any longer, closed the door and left.
The doll, left alone, stood blankly for a moment, but soon, one of its perfectly attached prosthetic legs popped off and rolled on the floor.
—I am weary.
—That child is mine.
Eyes.
Eyes opened and glared from all directions, as if to devour the doll.
The Principal scoffed and retorted.
—Observer of All Things... How dare a mere servant covet its master?
—You, too, secretly wish for that.
—...I am weary.
The Principal murmured again and cut off his connection with the doll.
Soon all the eyes closed, and the Principal’s office regained its peace.
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