I got into school for nothing - Chapter 339
I got into school for nothing (339)
Lesson 67. Ten Great Families Meeting - 1
The news that the Ten Great Families were holding a meeting, although strictly confidential, began to spread by word-of-mouth throughout the Academy. This was because many students hailed from S-rank dimensions, and some even had connections to the Ten Great Families themselves.
The fact that Ban Yuwon was at the center of it all was utterly shocking even to students from S-rank dimensions—that is to say, those from the Special Class.
“It feels like the universe revolves around that senior.”
“He’s truly incredible. They say he’s from a world without mana? How did he become so strong?”
“Luisha-nim, Luisha-nim, aren’t you close with the President? Do you hear stories about his past from him, then? Huh?”
The tendency among Special Class students to look down on Ban Yuwon diminished with each passing year, and among them, the first-years who had witnessed Ban Yuwon’s welcoming address at this year’s entrance ceremony weren’t just not looking down on him, they had practically become his devotees.
It wasn't even his first year, when he had nothing; now, seeing him already involved with several of the Ten Great Families, it seemed inevitable that he would marry into one of them after graduating from the Academy.
No one would curse them for starting a little early!
“I heard that fifth-year Ulrike Prominence-nim also went on a date with the President in Ronica city arm-in-arm last Sunday.”
“Oh my, oh my, I heard something a little different! That none other than the Prominence Family Head was present at that very meeting!”
“Kyaaaak!”
“Luisha-nim, Luisha-nim! Then, will the President be marrying the Prominence Family Head?”
“Wouldn’t it be a joint marriage?!”
“Ehhhemmm.”
Luisha Ortima cleared her throat with a somewhat ambiguous tone, making her discomfort known to the chattering first-year, Class 1 girls, who were members of the Special Class, surrounding her.
To her friends, who had all abruptly stopped talking and quieted down, she offered a gentle smile and spoke.
“As far as I’ve heard, the only one whose marriage to him has been confirmed is Fairytale’s Fairy Princess.”
So, she was essentially telling them not to unnecessarily talk about other women, but unfortunately, upon hearing her words, the girls only grew more excited.
“Ah, Assistant Professor Mira!”
“I saw her in passing, and she was truly beautiful.”
“She graduated this year and immediately assumed the assistant professorship, right? Just how incredible must her abilities be to――.”
“Now that you mention it, Professor Shatie is also a graduate from this year, isn’t she?”
“But she’s a *full* professor?!”
“And besides, apparently, even she has a connection with the President...”
“Oh my!”
“Ahem!”
Luisha cleared her throat again.
“Anyway, it would probably be best not to let talk about the Ten Great Families’ meeting spread too widely. Understood?”
“Yes, of course!”
“We’ll be careful, Luisha-nim!”
But it only took a few days for such conversations to repeat themselves several times a day among the students, eventually spreading throughout the entire school.
Ultimately, preposterous rumors escalated and reproduced, suggesting that this meeting of the Ten Great Families was to discuss which family would claim Ban Yuwon, or that each family had decided to offer one direct female descendant as a concubine for Ban Yuwon.
“I wonder if Taejo Wang Geon felt like this too.”
Standing in the center of The Pit, which was filled with gears, Ban Yuwon gazed up at the massive monolith inscribed with the names of his loved ones and murmured softly.
—Death’s Pupil asks what kind of feeling it is.
“The feeling of wanting to abandon everything and run away.”
—Death’s Pupil scoffs, telling him not to lie when he has no intention of doing so.
“But it’s true.”
Ban Yuwon added, a wry smile, one that had become habitual over two years, playing on his lips.
“If only you were by my side, perhaps I might have.”
—Death’s Pupil covers her face, blushing, telling him not to spout such a transparent lie.
Even if she didn’t cover it, I wouldn’t be able to see it, so why bother covering it?
No, it’d really be nice if she showed her face already.
“Ah―― then let’s start right away.”
Forcibly suppressing the weakness that threatened to escape his lips, Ban Yuwon steadied his mind and thrust Myeol-yeom forward.
The sword had lost its balance after absorbing a large number of Severance and Annihilation concepts from the Tower this time, and Dokgo Yeon had offered to restore its balance by breathing her own Death into it.
Constellations, who had cultivated their power over long ages and possessed many contractors, had birthed numerous artifacts in this manner, so it wasn’t entirely surprising.
—Death’s Pupil begins pouring her power into the sword you are holding...
Of course, as a newly born constellation, she had the disadvantage of not possessing much power to wield.
However, she wasn’t creating an artifact from scratch, but merely adding a bit of power to an already completed item. Furthermore, to minimize power loss, Ban Yuwon had personally sought out the closest place to a Constellation, so there was no real problem.
—Death’s Pupil catches her breath, settling her power.
“Thank you. I think it’s good now.”
Ban Yuwon refined Myeol-yeom with his own power and then checked its information.
Myeol-yeom [Flame Demon Sword 4,500, Severance 1,300, Death 1,300, Annihilation 1,300, Annihilation (Burning) 600]
Originally, her Constellation’s Stigma, added by her Authority, should have also imbued the sword, but Ban Yuwon deliberately extracted it halfway, instead adding the concept of Annihilation (Burning) to preserve the sword’s identity.
It hadn’t been long since the sword was completed, yet its profundity had already jumped by another 1,000; if Cheonma were to see this sword, he would surely be quite surprised.
As the flames around the sword’s body deepened even further, and its aura became overwhelmingly powerful, he traced the blade of Myeol-yeom and muttered softly.
“If only I could fuse this with Requiem again...”
—Death’s Pupil scolds him, telling him to only wield weapons within a level he can handle.
“Alright, I get it, I get it.”
He glared at the monolith as if to slash it with his sword, then eventually withdrew the blade, sighed, and exited the Tower.
Today, he had another person to meet.
He entered the Academy’s main building, heading for the spiral staircase on the 6th floor.
As he spiraled up, his destination soon appeared before his eyes.
It was the research lab of Clio Hecate, Full Professor of Mysticism.
“Come in, I’ve been waiting.”
“Then I’ll enter.”
Clio Hecate welcomed him just as she had two years ago.
Her appearance, of course, was still the same mummified state as two years prior, but the purple eyes peeking through the bandages seemed even more faded than before, which was slightly eerie.
“Huhu, it’s merely a side effect of exerting my Authority. There’s no need for you to worry.”
“I heard you’re no longer in a position to influence your family.”
Fearing that he might be enchanted if he spoke with this woman for too long, Ban Yuwon decided to cut straight to the chase.
Clio Hecate offered him tea with a meaningful smile, then shrugged her shoulders.
“Even so, it’s possible for me to forcibly insert myself into that position. I’m worried. It seems you’re trying to rush things too impetuously――.”
“Is that a professor’s concern for a student? Or a comrade’s concern from a position hostile to the Ten Great Families? Or perhaps the Chancellor’s...?”
“I am not.”
Clio Hecate interrupted Ban Yuwon with a somewhat passionate tone. Ra=N0Bes
“I am not the Chancellor’s subordinate. Not once have I acted by his will since meeting you.”
“So, your goals merely align?”
“Surprisingly, there was a time in the past when I believed that, but not anymore.”
“If in the past?”
“It was when I trusted him and decided to entrust myself to Union.”
Clio Hecate suddenly unwound the bandages covering her face.
Smooth, seemingly natural brown skin, hair that rippled with the same purple as her eyes, and lips painted a violet hue.
What was revealed was the figure of a beauty so stunning it made one wonder why she had concealed herself for so long, but honestly, this was something he had expected ever since she had kept her appearance so tightly hidden.
More than that, Ban Yuwon was even more surprised to see the bandages that had covered her face widen greatly, spreading to envelop the entire room.
He instantly recognized the concept.
“This is... Hidden.”
“Correct. Two years ago, you wouldn’t have recognized it. You’ve truly progressed a great deal.”
“Wait a minute.”
“Your tone just changed, didn’t it?”
Before Ban Yuwon could point it out, Clio Hecate removed her robe and quietly prostrated herself before him.
He couldn’t grasp the sudden turn of events and tried to help her up, but she bowed even lower and spoke.
“A humble descendant of a retainer greets the Tower Lord.”
“Ah――.”
Ban Yuwon froze his hand, which had been reaching to help her up, mid-air.
“Descendant of a retainer.”
“Tower Lord.”
These were words that proved the hypothesis he had been contemplating for a while now.
“So, you are...?”
“Yes. I am a descendant of the retainers created by your ancestor, the Tower Lord.”
And Clio Hecate irrevocably confirmed it.
Ban Yuwon let out a deep sigh and said.
“No, please get up first. It’s a bit overwhelming.”
“I am your servant. There is no need for you to feel overwhelmed.”
“It’s overwhelming because you weren’t like this before, and now you suddenly are.”
“That is because if you had realized my existence earlier, you would have missed many opportunities, so I concealed my true identity and my family’s hidden history.”
“Professor Hecate――.”
“Call me Rio, please. It’s an endearment I only allow those close to me to use.”
The moment he heard those words, what flashed through Ban Yuwon’s mind was the face of his older sister, who had exclaimed in shock just last Sunday, “No way, already 50%?!”
No, at this rate, regardless of Ban Yuwon’s own intentions, wasn’t he truly on track to hit 50%?!
“Alright, then, Rio.”
“I am extremely pleased. It’s been 800 years since I was called that.”
Unlike Yumina, Rio showed no hesitation in mentioning her age.
Her confidence was such that it made even Ban Yuwon wonder if 800 years really wasn’t that long.
Ban Yuwon took a sip of the tea placed before him and spoke again.
“Anyway, please get up. It’s uncomfortable with you bowing like that.”
“If you command it, I shall comply.”
Rio stood up and sat in a chair.
Ban Yuwon felt the bandages that covered the room twitching in various places, and although he wanted to ask why she normally went around completely swathed in bandages, he suppressed the urge for now.
“Do all members of your family know? That is, that your family is connected to the Tower Lord?”
“If you’re asking specifically about the Hecate Family, then yes. Our family has been skilled in mysticism since ancient times, and mysticism is the thread that connects the past and the present as one.”
That Clio Hecate was proficient in mysticism was evident just by her being a professor in the Mysticism Department.
In fact, if Ban Yuwon hadn’t had a firm intention to major in the Artifact Creation Department, he might have chosen the Mysticism Department to cultivate the concept of mysticism, which comprised a large part of his own conceptual understanding.
“What do you mean, ‘limited to the Hecate Family’?”
“In the case of other Ten Great Families, many have already forgotten that fact. The Ortima, who dared to covet the Tower Lord’s lineage, even discarded their past names and put forth grotesque ones to act as rulers—they are a prime example.”
Ban Yuwon, having just heard another incredibly shocking piece of information, clutched his dizzying head.
No, of course, he had thought their abilities were similar before, but...
So, broadly speaking, does that mean he’s related by blood to that bastard, Lusein Ortima?!
Yet, if you delve into the details, their abilities are absolutely not the same?!
“They lack legitimacy, which is why they couldn’t fully inherit the Authority. They are incomplete, unlike my Master, who stands before me.”
“Call me something different.”
“If that is your wish, then with reverence for the Master of All Things, I dare call you Divine Master――.”
“Let’s stick to names.”
“Yuwon-nim.”
Rio, smiling sweetly, continued.
“If you proceed like this, Yuwon-nim, you will be assassinated at the Ten Great Families’ meeting. Just as the past Tower Lord was stabbed in the back and murdered by his own vassals.”
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