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I got into school for nothing - Chapter 341

Lesson 67. Ten Great Families Meeting - 3

If Ban Yuwon's Authority had one singular strength, it was his ability to approach it from an entirely different perspective than the abilities wielded by countless others.

For example, Clio Hecate, who for some reason—though he roughly understood the cause—had been forced to conceal herself by tightly binding herself with bandages containing the Authority of Concealment, could now easily free herself from those very bandages that had constrained her.

She merely needed to transfer the power contained within the bandages to her physical body, or failing that, to some other object she carried, to establish the concealment field.

To others, this wasn't merely a change in artifacts; it was akin to a fundamental alteration of an Authority, a miracle impossible for anyone but a god. Yet, for Ban Yuwon, it was merely shifting a concept and making a slight adjustment.

“See for yourself.”

Clio declared, a dazzling smile playing on her lips.

“Hasn't one valid reason for me to serve you already been proven?”

“Well, if you're happy with it, then it's fine.”

It was, in truth, a bit comical for him to continue using honorifics with her, who, outwardly, seemed like an older sister a few years his senior, especially after accepting her as his vassal.

Yumina? ...Not only was she not a vassal, but he was restraining himself from speaking informally to her, sensing that far too much would happen the moment he did.

She was a being like a warm spring day, yet the affection she harbored for Ban Yuwon felt impossibly heavy....

“The bandages? Are you going to cast them off now?”

“Of course not. The fact that I have become yours...”

She paused there, then Clio Hecate, a satisfied expression on her face, touched her chest and gave a meaningful smile.

“It is best that it remains hidden from everyone for now. If possible, it's better to hide several knives where they cannot be seen.”

“To antagonize the Chancellor?”

“Not just that, no.”

Clio glanced at him sideways, her eyes crinkling in a smile.

At that, Ban Yuwon realized she had a certain grasp of things he hadn't even voiced.

He had been somewhat relieved that she didn't know about Aire, but it seemed she was aware of the organization trying to revive the True Dragon.

“Then let's conclude our meeting here for today. I've already told you what you need to do at the gathering, so I'll see you there on that day.”

“Hmph.”

He suspected that her reason for warning him about the dangers of the meeting was simply to ensure her smooth allegiance to Ban Yuwon, but since he had suffered no loss, he decided to play along with her words.

Just before he, scoffing, exited the room, Clio suddenly spoke again, "Ah."

Her face was slightly flushed.

“Should you, perchance, miss me before then, I shall leave my window open at night, so please don't hesitate to come as often as you like.”

“......”

[I'm not sure who's missing whom... But that's our master for you. The skills honed on various battlefields certainly don't disappear.]

‘Be quiet.’

By the time he was leaving the spiral staircase, the presence of his contracted Constellation had also returned.

Ban Yuwon, feeling a pang of unnecessary guilt that she might be bothered by what had transpired with Clio, was about to explain first, but Dokgo Yeon seemed to have already anticipated it.

—Death's Pupil says that it already accepted your destiny a long time ago.

she sent a message.

...Destiny? What is my destiny?!

* * *

Two years ago, after an incident that tarnished the honor of Union Academy.

Union's defenses grew even stronger; while the academy's exterior might be one thing, its interior was now laced with countless detection and interception spells, to the point where no one would dare attempt an act of terror.

It was only natural that the procedures for entering and exiting the floating island where the academy was located had become considerably stricter.

The reason this hadn't been implemented sooner wasn't due to the Chancellor's incompetence, but rather the strong opposition from higher-ranking dimension students, particularly those from the Ten Great Families.

While there were various reasons, the primary argument was that the academy was infringing upon their rightful authority and freedom.

After the incident two years ago, the Chancellor ruthlessly strengthened security, and since there had been casualties among students and professors, even the Ten Great Families had to step back... or so went the superficial reason.

Now, looking at it from Ban Yuwon's perspective, didn't the timing of the security reinforcement feel remarkably perfect?

“Then I will conclude the lecture. Everyone, don't get too excited about this year's first special activity, and please be careful on your way.”

Beyond the large window in the classroom, while he glared at the Tower of Babel majestically revealing its grand form, the Thursday afternoon lecture came to an end.

The professor was doing his best to pay attention to the students, but most of them seemed to have their minds elsewhere and didn't even respond properly.

One of Union's characteristics was that, despite there being no shortage of theory-based lectures, most of them were ignored by many students.

In reality, each of these theories was crucial for climbing the Tower, so the more a student ignored theory lectures, the more likely they were to stumble at the Tower's lower levels.

Ban Yuwon, of course, had never lost his top rank in any theoretical subject since his admission, so he was equally favored by all professors, except for someone like Cantone, who openly disliked him.

“Well then, I'll be going first.”

Amidst this, Ban Yuwon, the only one to make eye contact with the professor and bid him farewell, turned to his companions and spoke.

Asha, who had been focused on Lusein Ortima, sitting in a corner of the classroom and exuding a dark aura throughout the lecture, was startled and grabbed him.

“Are you going somewhere again today?”

“With Professor Yumina. It seems she wants to stop by the Spring Shrine in Ronica before we leave.”

“Ah.”

“Hmph, just the two of you?”

Aire scoffed.

Ban Yuwon liked Aire, but sometimes he missed the innocent Aire from their first year, who was dedicated solely to magic and revered Yumina...

“Have a good trip, Master. I hope this becomes a meaningful experience for them too.”

“Well, honestly, I have no idea. I just hope they don't get angry.”

As he finished greeting the members and was leaving the classroom, his eyes met Lusein, who stood tall like a guardian king.

After they nodded at each other and he passed by, he heard the Rebellion members whispering from behind, "Just as expected."

Whatever they were thinking, he didn't want to affirm it, so he decided to ignore them completely.

“Yuwon!”

Yumina was waiting for him on a bench in the flower garden, a place renowned as Union Academy's sole healing spot, and greeted him with a bright smile.

Several couples enjoying their youth at the academy saw the scene and whispered, "Did you see that?", "Professor Yumina... informal speech?!", "They're not even trying to hide it." But Ban Yuwon, with a poker face, smiled and approached her.

“You look beautiful today.”

“Thank you. Yuwon is as cool as ever too.”

It seemed the position of Vice-Chancellor had, in exchange for granting Yumina immense pride, entirely confiscated her sense of shame.

No, in fact, it probably wasn't just because of that.

She had always been one to act cautiously, mindful of others, even when it seemed she wasn't, but the seal of Stella, the contracted Constellation 'Starlight Player' with whom she was bound, had greatly influenced this.

That must have been a trauma.

But that had been resolved by Ban Yuwon, and Stella, not only fully recovered her power as a Constellation, but could even move like a human, as a clone containing half of her true form's power.

It was a blessing in disguise, and that fact clearly gave Yumina great courage.

The courage to ignore the Chancellor and everything else, and act according to her own will.

“Shall we look at these flowers here for a bit? Actually, your big sister planted all of them.”

So, she could link her arm through his right in front of the students and bury her head in his shoulder.

Naturally, the students' attention only grew, but.

After an undeniable colossal scandal had erupted last week, Ban Yuwon, who had no energy left to even try to manage it, decided to obediently go along with her wishes.

“You might have seen them last week. These are flowers that only grow in our world, you see.”

“I think I saw a few. However, I couldn't reach the Spring's Domain back then...”

“That's a shame. The priests we're going to meet today were mostly cute little kids back then. Except for a few teachers, that is.”

On Yumina's face, a smile blossomed that looked as if it was expressing unblemished happiness through laughter.

As they strolled through the flower garden together, the flowers swaying in the breeze turned their heads towards them and, as if welcoming them, exhaled an even deeper fragrance.

Her Authority, which governed all vegetation and flowers, was thus naturally manifested even without her actively exerting power.

...With such an immense Authority, it was only natural that she would be connected to the Ten Great Families.

Ban Yuwon, shaking his head at such thoughts, suddenly had a question arise and asked her.

“Did the Chancellor authorize this flower garden?”

“...He did.”

There must have been something she was thinking about when he said that, and Yumina nodded, a somewhat complex smile on her lips.

“When I was little, even before I was admitted to Union Academy. I was scared of this place. Only adults were around, and a unique fervor, typical of those pursuing grand ambitions, dominated the atmosphere.”

“Now that you mention it, definitely.”

Hearing that, didn't it make him even more curious about Yumina's appearance as a child...!

“I wanted to go to the Spring Shrine that was built in Ronica. After all, it was a much more familiar environment than Union Academy. I think I told my teacher that too.”

“Ah.”

“Then my teacher, looking very troubled... eventually permitted the creation of this flower garden in Union. Together with Stella, who was my private tutor at the time, I brought flower seeds from the Spring Shrine and diligently planted them. Back then, I never imagined it would turn out like this...”

Yumina's eyes narrowed, and the corners of her eyes trembled faintly.

As if reflecting her mood, even the surrounding flowers bowed their heads and fell silent.

But Ban Yuwon, listening to her words, was recalling what Clio had said yesterday.

‘If not that... perhaps even that monster had a shred of humanity left in him. The descendant of a Ten Great Family who survived from the S-10 dimension, the Garden of Four Seasons, which was annihilated by the Tower's will for integration—. It seems he had quite a bit of interaction with that ancestor.’

The vassals who betrayed their master, the Tower Lord, and the vassals who stood by, and the Chancellor who protected the Tower until the end, devoting his loyalty.

Nevertheless, the ancestor from the S-10 dimension who continued to interact with the Chancellor...

What must the Chancellor have thought, watching the Tower he protected 'integrate' the S-10 dimension?

He, who had shown no interest in countless other dimensions, had specifically saved Yumina, the last descendant of a Ten Great Family, and the Spring Shrine where she lived, moving them to Union.

Was it simply because Yumina's potential was immense?

“Let's go to the shrine.”

Yumina suddenly lifted her head and said.

tightening her grip on Ban Yuwon's arm.

“I have to brag about our Yuwon to the priests.”

“What are you going to brag about?”

“Uh?! W-well...”

When he chimed in, anticipating Yumina's attempt to change the subject, she became very flustered and whispered softly.

“M-my boyfriend...”

—Death's Pupil clicked its tongue and said that a person claiming to be a teacher was truly an eyesore.

Strictly speaking, Dokgo Yeon, who taught Ban Yuwon martial arts, could also be considered a teacher, but he didn't want to be disliked, so he decided to stay quiet.

As a bonus, the concerns Ban Yuwon had before visiting the shrine materialized in the exact opposite way.

“You two truly make a wonderful couple!”

“Congratulations!”

When Yumina arrived at the shrine, arm-in-arm with him, seemingly to show off their relationship, the priests welcomed them by setting off celebratory firecrackers as if they had been waiting.

No, some even sang hymns on one side.

Ban Yuwon felt utterly dizzy.

“Now all you need to do is have offspring!”

“Sniff, sniff, the family's revival is not far off...!”

“Wha, whaat?!”

Yumina was even horrified by the priests' attitude, which was moving things along much faster than she had anticipated.

“Ah, it's too soon! Yuwon is still a student...!”

“But our goddess now holds a stable position.”

“She can take maternity leave anytime. Absolutely.”

“You can leave the children to us. Isn't that precisely the Spring Shrine's duty?”

The priests, who had been so excited, adopted an even more serious expression upon hearing the true reason Ban Yuwon and Yumina had sought them out—that is, attending the Ten Great Families meeting under the family's name.

Of course, there was no way they would oppose it.

“Ban Yuwon-nim, perhaps we had a premonition of this moment from the very instant you entered wearing our goddess's brooch.”

The eldest of the priests, likely a female priest who had been an unwavering priestess of the Spring Shrine even when Yumina was a child, grasped his hand firmly and spoke.

“Please, protect our hope. If you do that, we will pray for both of you forever.”

“...I promise.”

Ban Yuwon nodded.

That night, because the priests had made such a fuss, opening a banquet and going to great lengths to prepare a room for the two of them to stay at the shrine, he decided to simply stay there.

And the next day.

The day of this year's first special activity had arrived, as well as the day to depart for the A-rank dimension terminal where the Ten Great Families meeting would be held.