I got into school for nothing - 344
I got into school for nothing (344)
Lesson 67. Ten Great Families Meeting - 6
Some of the Ten Great Families present at this meeting must have thought as follows: Even if it started with talk of a duel, now that all the Ten Great Families were gathered, Clarent and Prominence wouldn't openly bare their fangs at each other.
“Then, we shall now begin the friendly duel between Prominence and Clarent.”
However, that was an incredibly naive judgment.
Clarent showed no intention of retracting the fangs it had openly bared, and the current Prominence Family Head, Ban Yumi, was certainly not the type to let those who provoked her off lightly. Especially since they had targeted someone more precious than her own life, she would undoubtedly cling on until they cried and begged for mercy.
“I, Anneri Dedota, chief retainer of the Prominence family, will be overseeing and guiding today’s proceedings.”
Seriously, when did Anneri manage to seamlessly join in? Ban Yuwon stared blankly as Anneri’s smooth voice filled the venue. On top of that, Heukseol constantly burning with rivalry towards her was quite annoying.
“The referee for today, specially invited for this occasion, is the esteemed Full Professor of Union Academy, Clio Hecate.”
Ban Yuwon’s confusion deepened as Clio Hecate suddenly rose to her feet beside him.
To others, it was clearly a dignified and even fair selection, but!
“Seriously, when did you agree to that?”
“Because we’re Platinum Members. I’ll see you downstairs, then.”
As Ban Yuwon clutched his head, watching Clio Hecate depart with a mysterious smile, many gazes pierced him from the side. They were clearly bothered by Ban Yuwon addressing her informally.
Rucell quietly spoke.
“Should we invite Professor Hecate to the meeting as well?”
“No, she’s a bit different... Well, she is, but she claims to be a retainer.”
“Ah, then we don’t need to worry about her as much.”
As Rucell blatantly breathed a sigh of relief and put away the mirror she had taken out, Luisha, who had been listening to their conversation, was dying of curiosity about what Rucell wanted to do with the mirror and what kind of meeting they were talking about. However, she was blocked by Rusein, who had decided to closely watch Luisha after their earlier encounter.
“Don’t meddle in useless things, Luisha.”
“I don’t think it’s useless. Wouldn’t it be better to share information we can, with each other...!”
“I think so too... Never mind, my lady.”
Heukseol, not invited to Rucell’s meeting, subtly chimed in agreement with Luisha, only to get rebuked by Dokgo Yeon and fall silent again.
By the power of an Ortima family practitioner, the structure of the grand hall was rearranged to be suitable for the duel venue, and the members of the Ten Great Families took their seats, albeit with expressions that questioned if this was truly appropriate.
“Clarent of the Sword and Prominence of the Flame, indeed, nothing beats this for entertainment.”
“It’s too much, far too much.”
“Who knows if Prominence can prove their worth.”
“Clarent... they were hasty. I wonder what will happen.”
“Hasty? No, they were too late. At least they were the bravest, I suppose.”
Ban Yuwon sat, resting his chin on his elbow, half-listening to the voices of people chattering as if to be heard from all directions. He pondered the names of the Ten Great Families, their origins.
Amore, Ortima, Clarent, Fides, Selene, Hecate, Prominence, Fridwen, Melodia.
And....
“Juventa.”
Half of the people in the hall still kept their eyes on Ban Yuwon’s party. More precisely, on Yumina, who sat gracefully beside Ban Yuwon, a calm and elegant smile gracing her lips.
The tension that had swelled as if to burst the moment Ban Yuwon appeared was clearly suppressed by Yumina’s presence. This was because, despite the destruction of her dimension, she still possessed immense symbolic significance, a profound ‘value’.
‘The enormous Authority that sustained the Ten Great Families and S-rank dimensions remains, and it will be inherited through Yumina’s bloodline.’
Until now, Yumina hadn't been able to leave the academy without the Chancellor’s permission, but now she was free to act. To put it crudely, it meant that a product of immense value named Yumina had been released onto the market. Yet, before anyone could even cast an envious eye, she had clung tightly to Ban Yuwon. How would others perceive this? Some would undoubtedly evaluate Ban Yuwon even higher because of it, and perhaps... just as many would come to see him as a thorn in their side.
“Then, the first match shall begin!”
While Ban Yuwon’s mind spun with complex thoughts, the friendly duels began. A combatant from the Prominence family and a swordsman from the Clarent family were seen clashing swords, and it was evident that the Prominence representative’s swordsmanship was somewhat clumsy.
Of course, this was only natural; Prominence’s sword techniques had been completely severed after a catastrophe decades ago and were only now being revived. While there might have been a faction that had quietly trained their swordsmanship in secret, Ban Yumi boldly excluded them from the selection and instead put those who had just begun to learn the sword on the roster. Frankly speaking, their victory held no importance whatsoever; all attention would ultimately be focused on her and Ban Yuwon. Thus, she had given the opportunity to the young bloods, hoping they would at least gain some practical experience by clashing swords with swordsmen from other Ten Great Families.
“Stop. Clarent wins!”
As expected, the match ended very quickly. Still, it seemed Ban Yumi hadn't put forward a useless combatant; even while losing, the fighter bravely faced their opponent’s sword head-on, refusing to back down, and visibly gained a lot of experience in that short time.
However, what was important to Ban Yuwon was not the blood, sweat, tears, and growth of Prominence’s youth.
“Huh, what is that...?”
The problem was the Authority wielded by the opposing Clarent swordsman. The swordsman, who primarily used sharp and swift sword techniques, left behind afterimages of his sword strikes that didn’t vanish into thin air with each swing. Not only did they appear real, but they possessed actual substance, continuously attacking the opponent. Furthermore, sometimes they would suddenly grow in size and engulf the opponent, or multiple trajectories would move rapidly, confusing the foe, or even merge into one to pierce the enemy... That potent Authority, capable of turning each sword movement into a tangible entity, an Authority that, with proper Mana manipulation, would make its wielder seemingly unmatched in close combat...
“That’s Unforgettable Trace.”
It was the Authority of Kang Miyeon, the vice-master of Oculus Ruber, the guild Ban Yumi had formed on Earth by recruiting fencing athletes.
Some might say that only the manifestation of the Authority was similar, and that Clarent’s technique was more perfectly developed, but to Ban Yuwon, who could analyze the Authority itself, it appeared quite the opposite.
“Yumina, are all the Clarent family’s Authorities like that?”
“Yes. It’s a very famous Authority. Many disparage it, considering it inferior because it essentially forces close-quarters combat, but the deeper you delve into it, the more powerful you realize it is. Depending on the wielder’s skill, it can even aim for the strongest title in one-on-one combat.”
“So that’s how it is...”
An Authority discovered on Earth.
An Authority discovered among the Ten Great Families....
Surely, it wouldn’t be a development where Kang Miyeon was revealed to be a love child descended from Clarent’s legitimate bloodline, would it?
Feeling uneasy, Ban Yuwon met the gaze of Ban Yumi, who was a little distance away from him and likely thinking the exact same thing.
—You saw that too, didn’t you? The Authority is just like Kang Miyeon’s, right?
—Huh? Kang Miyeon? Oh, is it similar?
Gazes conveying roughly this meaning passed between them.
Ban Yuwon cleanly abandoned all expectations for his sister.
He pondered it alone for a moment, but still didn’t understand. For now, it seemed clear that Kang Miyeon wasn't some illegitimate child of the Clarent family. Their internal concept distribution was too different for that.
“Clarent wins!”
In the meantime, the second match concluded. After checking the internal concepts of the second contestant, Ban Yuwon nodded confidently. Indeed, it didn't seem to be a result branched off from ‘the current Clarent’. In other words, it had either branched off from an earlier generation and developed independently, or Clarent’s Authority had somehow flowed into Earth and been transmitted to Kang Miyeon in a more evolved form.
‘Come to think of it, after Prominence’s raid, Earth completely severed all connections with other dimensions. Only I, and those I permit, can enter.’
Had it been a mistake to always head to Murim during breaks for the past two years, only occasionally visiting Earth to catch up with his father and Grandfather Ban? Thinking about it, Earth was his homeland and the only dimension where the legends of the Tower of Babel were passed down, yet he hadn't even considered that there might be clues there.
Well, what could he have done when the most important Tower of Babel was in Union? He had only ever thought of staying as far away from Earth as possible, grateful that it was no longer caught up in the encroachment of other dimensions....
‘The system originating from Union had tried to protect Earth. I should have thought more deeply about why Union, at the center of the universe, needed to protect Earth.’
It seemed he would have to visit Earth once this matter was resolved. First, he should contact Kang Miyeon, who would undoubtedly be the busiest person on Earth as the guild master of the world’s number one guild, Oculus Ruber... What should he do? She would probably be overjoyed if he contacted her first, but he likely wouldn't be able to meet her in the way she wanted....
“Is it another woman?”
As he picked up the mirror and wore a troubled expression, Luisha, who had been fixing her gaze on his face all this time, shot him a sharp question.
It was indeed a woman, but Ban Yuwon, unable to simply affirm it, countered with an incredulous tone.
“Junior, you seem to have been judging me with very rude eyes since earlier, haven’t you?”
“Indeed, a perfectly accurate judgment.”
“No, I am currently evaluating Senior very highly. I’ve never once seen my great-uncle acknowledge someone from another dimension at first glance.”
“Luisha?!”
“I’ve already seen that a few times and I’m sick of it.” Ban Yuwon ignored the startled Rusein and turned his gaze back to the stage.
The third match out of a total of five was underway, and a very familiar figure had appeared, showcasing a spectacular sword dance of flames. It was none other than Ban Yuwon’s birth mother, Kang Eunyoung.
“Oh, what a remarkably beautiful female swordsman. And strong, too. Was there such a person in Prominence?”
“She’s a swordsman who rose to an important position with the ascension of the new family head. Her activity records are mysteriously sparse, but there is a record of her participating in a mercenary group for a short period with the family head.”
“Astonishing. That’s Prominence’s swordsmanship, properly harmonized with flame! I thought it had completely disappeared, but it seems a thread of it remained after all!”
If it were revealed that she was Ban Yuwon’s birth mother and Ban Yumi’s adoptive mother, many would undoubtedly target Kang Eunyoung personally. Despite concealing as much information as possible, the attention pouring onto Kang Eunyoung was by no means small. Unlike the other Prominence representatives who had lost meekly in the first two battles, Kang Eunyoung spectacularly overwhelmed her opponent and finally secured a victory. Seeing her sheathe her sword with a beautiful smile, Ban Yuwon pressed a hand to his forehead.
“What on earth is she doing up there...?”
“She’s endured her whole life. It’s good to see her shine in a place like this, at least.”
“Ah...?! Th-that’s right, I think so too! And she’s really pretty!”
In that short span, Rucell, having entered dutiful daughter-in-law mode, diligently praised Kang Eunyoung. Asha, having roughly figured something out from their conversation, also hastily praised her. Was this truly the evolution of humanity? Ban Yuwon was so impressed that even his embarrassment at seeing his mother vanished.
—Death’s Pupil coughs dryly and says she’d really like to try a hand against her.
“Ah, yeah. Thanks.”
And you probably need a bit more practice.
“What a truly splendid match! And now, the climax of this friendly duel, the fourth match! It is a confrontation between the head of the Prominence family and the Clarent family’s greatest swordsman apart from their own head, Sword King Axel!”
And finally, Ban Yumi stepped onto the stage.
The evening dress she had been wearing burst into flames, imbued with her Authority, and instantly transformed into a shorter, more agile gown of fire, eliciting exclamations of awe from all around. It was Ban Yumi’s proud Authority armament. At her attire, which seemed to emphasize her confident physique, Ban Yuwon felt the exact same embarrassment he had felt earlier watching his mother, and buried his head. However, he would never admit that he himself enjoyed showing off just as much as the two people who had gone before him.
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