I got into school for nothing - 321
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I got into school for nothing (321)
Lesson 63. 2 - 1
Now, Ban Yuwon finally understood why the head of the Melodia Family had been overly hostile towards him.
Ban Yuwon didn't think there was a need to drag an ancestor's battle down to their descendants, but if Aire wasn't a Dragonoid but a True Dragon, the situation changed significantly.
Ban Yuwon surmised that the battle between the True Dragons and his ancestor had likely ended in a mutual annihilation.
This meant there was a very high possibility that his ancestor was the one who had driven the True Dragons to the brink of extinction.
And Aire was the last True Dragon of this era, directly inheriting that lineage.
“Not a Dragonoid... a True Dragon? How?”
“At the end of a fierce battle with the Tower Lord, the True Dragons sensed their impending annihilation. Some crawled beneath that man, some divided their power into many fragments to create a new race called Dragonoids, and some resorted to cunning tricks just to survive themselves.”
Ban Yuwon felt he knew who the head of the Melodia Family's last words were referring to.
The one who, despite being a True Dragon, betrayed the dragons, kept his soul in a necklace under the pretense of eliminating them, persistently tormented his descendants, and ultimately tried to seize their body....
“Wait, don't tell me Asha, too?”
“She is no ordinary Dragonoid. She inherited the True Dragon's blood in its entirety, contracted with an artifact made of his blood, flesh, and bones, and ultimately even devoured the True Dragon's soul. She might become a new form of True Dragon.”
But what was important now wasn't her, the head of the Melodia Family redirected.
“When Aire was first born, those who bore her completely sealed her away, hiding her where the Tower Lord's eyes couldn't reach. They took measures for her to awaken and grow once it was safe, and selected excellent vassals to support and care for her.”
“...Vassals, you say.”
“The Melodia Family's resurgence was entirely orchestrated by the True Dragons. It was a feigned ignorance, but since the Tower Lord also disappeared after the final battle, the Melodia Family was able to survive and prosper. ...And then, Aire awakened.”
It was a realization that completely deflated him.
To think that two Dragonoids he knew were actually True Dragons—there was a limit to a joke.
Ban Yuwon sighed and asked.
“But you know, don't you? I have no intention of becoming hostile towards Aire just because she's a True Dragon, not a Dragonoid. There's no reason to—and more importantly, do you know our current relationship?”
“Fate is called fate because it cannot be defied.”
“The True Dragons' fate has already ended. Even Aire doesn't reveal that she's a True Dragon.”
“Can you guarantee that when she realizes her destiny, she will not become hostile towards you?”
This guy was more bothersome than he thought.
“I haven't even inherited the Tower of Babel yet. And besides, the events we recently experienced—do I have to explain all of that for you to be satisfied?”
“What I desire is the same as before. Swear an oath.”
Ban Yuwon recalled the time when the head of the Melodia Family had visited Camelot with Aire.
Even then, the family head had only retreated after Ban Yuwon promised not to harm Aire with Requiem, hadn't he?
He had thought the man was overly sensitive, but it wasn't impossible to understand if he considered that the man was merely a vassal serving a True Dragon, faithfully executing his duties.
“Previously, you swore not to harm Aire because she was a Dragonoid. However, that premise was flawed. She is a True Dragon, not a Dragonoid. Therefore, your oath has become void; prove your heart with a stronger, truer oath.”
It was an extremely tiring and rude demand.
Of course, Ban Yuwon had no intention whatsoever of harming Aire, but such a thing should not be extracted under duress from another.
Especially, wasn't it disrespectful to Aire for such an exchange to occur without her knowledge?
—Bang!
It seemed it was indeed disrespectful.
“Family Head.”
Aire burst through the office door as if to smash it to splinters.
He didn't know how much she had heard, but the look in her eyes was far from ordinary.
In contrast, the family head bowed his head to her with a calm expression.
“Lady Aire. ...Your magic has grown again. Congratulations.”
“I'm taking Yuwon with me.”
“But his oath is still... Very well.”
The family head, who had succumbed to Aire's intense gaze, shot a glare at Ban Yuwon behind her back as if to say this wasn't over. But when Aire noticed even that and her eyes flashed as if she was about to unleash a True Dragon death-beam, he flinched and averted his gaze.
“You don't need to listen to that man, Yuwon.”
“Still, he's the head of one of the Ten Great Families and your protector.”
“Yuwon, listen to me.”
Pulling him out, Aire gripped his hand firmly.
“You are my equal. But that man is not.”
“I appreciate you saying that, but...”
“My words are not light. Believe me.”
Declaring it once more, Aire intertwined her fingers with his.
Indeed, her attitude had clearly changed at some point.
He vaguely thought that perhaps the blood of the True Dragon was awakening within her, and as he did, she clung closer to him and spoke.
“How many days can you stay? There are a few famous spots I want to show you.”
“Hmm.”
Originally, he had planned to finish his business and leave immediately.
Especially now, after hearing unexpected things from the family head, he felt more inclined to focus on his tasks rather than laugh and play around...
But facing Aire, who was looking up at him with wide, round eyes, it felt like a disaster would erupt if he said he was done with his business and leaving now.
“...Three days. Three days should be fine, I suppose.”
“Yuwon...!”
Aire, realizing he had considered her feelings, smiled brightly and clung to him.
This one and that one, their affection was simply too heavy.
He truly had no more room left to accept it—
However, at the same moment he had such thoughts, Ban Yuwon despised himself for the fleeting idea, 'If she truly is a True Dragon, shouldn't I make her an ally by seducing her myself?'
“Yuwon?”
“Yes, Aire.”
“I'm fine.”
Could she possibly have read the thought that had flashed through his mind, though she wasn't even a possessor of the same Authority as him? A shiver ran down Ban Yuwon's spine as he looked at her and asked.
“What?”
“Everything.”
Aire smiled, her gaze sending him emotions that clearly transcended the realm of mere friendship.
She pulled his arm into an embrace and led him outside.
Misty and Leixu, who had unexpectedly joined them on this short trip to Melodia, waited and greeted them with wide eyes. But it seemed Aire, now in her hometown and enjoying a "hometown buff," had no intention of holding back her affection for Ban Yuwon, prominently emphasizing her arm linked with his as if to show off.
“Let's go.”
“You, you, you...!”
“Ah... I had a beautiful dream for a moment...”
The three days passed quickly.
It was more enjoyable than he expected, and though it might sound strange, it was also useful.
Melodia, an S-rank dimension that had developed under the True Dragons' influence, still harbored various linguistic concepts that Ban Yuwon had never encountered before. In particular, his proper exposure to Melodia's unique spatial transfer magic significantly boosted his already advanced spatial control ability.
[Having gained a deep understanding of space, the depth of Giwon Sword has reached 1,500.]
After clashing with constellations and then with Zenon, the depth of Giwon Sword, which had reached 1,400, instantly surged by 100 to become 1,500.
To put it in system terms, it was Level 150—an undisputed realm equivalent to a transcendent being.
...And it was also the level Dokgo Yeon was presumed to have reached in the past.
“Are you leaving already?”
“I'll see you at Union once the semester starts.”
Aire clutched his sleeve, as if unwilling to let him go, but Ban Yuwon had already spent a lot of time for her, so he couldn't concede any further.
Misty, who had been with them all this time, waved him off from behind, urging him to hurry up and leave.
If Aire caught her doing that, she'd be hated again. Was she truly thoughtless, or was jealousy rendering her mind innocently blank...?
“You must be safe.”
“I'm not going to die.”
“But you're going to get scolded, aren't you?”
“Ah—Asha told you.”
Aire, whom he had just managed to gently separate from him, took another step and hugged him again.
He tried to say it was fine and pull away, but Aire, who had restrained both his arms, puckered her lips and stole a kiss from his.
It was an overwhelming force he dared not resist.
“Good, now I'm tied with Asha.”
“Aire, you—”
“Sorry, I'm a dragon, you see.”
Completely ignoring the dumbfounded Misty and Leixu, Aire whispered into Ban Yuwon's ear.
“I can't wait patiently. I have to do things my way. Because I'm certain you're the only one worthy of being my partner.”
“I'm sorry, Aire, but right now I...”
“I know. It's fine.”
Aire smiled faintly and let him go.
“I'm going to approach you regardless. Just don't avoid me.”
* * *
“—She sent the coordinates herself. But... are you truly okay with this?”
“Of course.”
Ban Yuwon, having left Melodia aboard Lilyth's space-splintering spaceship and entered the dimension wall, was communicating with Yumina.
“I have to go see her myself.”
“—...Right. Sis, that side of Yuwon truly is...”
Yumina, who had stammered, unable to find her words, soon awkwardly laughed it off, saying it was nothing, and sent him the coordinates of the private dimension.
“Then I'll see you when the semester starts, Sis.”
“—You could come sooner, though. If the dorms are closed, you can stay in my room...”
“Now is the time for effort.”
As he subtly rejected Yumina's bold and shameless suggestion, she puffed out her cheeks and grumbled.
“—Until when? If you keep up this tension, you'll burn out.”
“I'm fine, I won't burn out. At least not until I meet Yeon.”
“—...I'm jealous.”
He deliberately didn't react to her grumbling, which was clearly directed at someone other than himself.
Just then, Lilyth found the coordinates and began dashing through the dimension wall, causing the communication to become unstable.
“Then have a good break, Sis.”
“—Mhm, you too, Yuwon. You must be safe.”
“I told you, I'm not going to die.”
He ended the communication with a bitter smile.
“Hoo,” exhaling a deep sigh, he raised his head, and his eyes fell upon a naked pervert, a sight he had grown somewhat accustomed to.
For a moment, it felt as if the man had opened his eyes and was staring at Ban Yuwon inside the spaceship, but that couldn't be true.
That naked man was likely a being from the distant past, or perhaps the future.
[We've arrived, Master. It seems the distance from the S-rank dimension was closer than I thought?]
Just then, Lilyth reported as she broke through the dimension wall.
Ban Yuwon nodded, feeling his thoughts align with reality.
“It must be the origin of all Murim dimensions. Naturally, a high-density mana close to an S-rank dimension would be flowing here. Especially considering Cheonma's power...”
Was this not Cheonma, who, even while controlling a doppelganger, casually toyed with the Demon King of the Diabolo dimension, a ruler who boasted formidable strength among A-rank dimensions?
In terms of raw strength alone, even the heads of the Ten Great Families wouldn't be a match.
Indeed.
This was Cheonma's homeland.
And at the same time, Dokgo Yeon's homeland.
[Wow, this is...]
As they sliced through space, Lilyth let out a strange exclamation.
Throughout space, and in various parts of the approaching planet, there were sections gouged out and blackened as if eaten by worms.
A bizarre sight, as if someone had plugged a dying dimension midway, halting its flow.
To Ban Yuwon, it felt like a reprieve from death.
“I suppose I should say it's as expected...”
“—That is correct.”
It wasn't through the spaceship's communication network, yet a voice flew directly into his mind.
A highly advanced technique, incomparable to the mental transmission he had learned and used from Dokgo Yeon, Ban Yuwon knew well who the owner of this voice was.
“—The Tower coveted this dimension and sought to swallow it whole. But I resisted, and eventually, this world persisted at the cost of half of itself being torn away. Though even this cannot last forever.”
“...”
“—We tried to protect Murim by severing all connections with the outside, but that was an impossible task from the start. My daughter sought the answer outside, and she met you.”
He didn't continue.
Sensing the atmosphere, Lilyth silently advanced and soon entered the planet's atmosphere. From that moment, a massive gravitational pull, acting on the entire spaceship, rapidly dragged them towards a certain location on the ground.
He neither knew how this was possible, nor was he confident he could understand even if someone explained it.
He simply watched the rapidly passing landscape below, feeling a profound sense of emotion.
[There are so many strong individuals... Indeed, to survive in a world so broken, one couldn't endure without strength.]
“Though it's truly sad that even amidst all this, they still fight and compete among themselves.”
How much further did they go? When they reached a mountain range that seemed to pierce the sky, the spaceship abruptly halted in mid-air.
Lilyth slowly descended.
Deep within the mountain range, on a wide ground adorned with splendid pavilions, she settled her body.
The open ground, which would have originally been used for many people to gather and train, was now completely empty, with only a single person waiting there.
A beautiful woman with long, straight hair as black as ebony, and skin as pale and white as snow.
Leopard ears and a tail, swaying languidly, proving her beastly origin.
It was someone Dokgo Yeon had mentioned before.
“I've been waiting for you, Deputy Commander.”
As Ban Yuwon disembarked from the spaceship, she bowed deeply to greet him and spoke.
But wait a moment, what did she just call me?
“The Leader awaits. Please, come with me.”
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