Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Lesson 22. Clubs Are a Hassle to Make - 2
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How could the student council have shown up so quickly?
It was because this group of special admission students had originally been under the student council's management.
More precisely, to achieve the student council's core purpose of 'checking the Special Class,' they were a group that simply couldn't be ignored.
"Well, that makes sense. They'd be the easiest sandbags for the Special Class."
"They were the simplest way to blow off steam. But thanks to you all, that won't be the case starting this year."
Mira let out a thin smile as she looked at the Rebellion members gathered around the table with Ban Yu-won.
The results of the midterm exams had already made Class 11 famous across the other grades for outperforming every other class by a wide margin.
Of course, with Class 11 having only four students, it could be dismissed as a classic statistical anomaly. But in the face of their special admission status, that was a minor detail.
"Hmm, all such pretty girls... Especially you. Lucelle, was it?"
"And you're... quite the sight yourself, Senior."
Mira and Lucelle's gazes locked in midair.
As if instinctively recognizing who their greatest rival was, they faced off with strange smiles playing on their lips.
"Ahem, so, Mira."
Just as the two were about to start glaring each other down, Ban Yu-won hurriedly inserted himself between them.
"What's this about putting these seniors in our club?"
"Well—"
"Hold on a second."
The fourth-year senior who had been staring at the floor this whole time finally lifted his head, apparently done licking the ground.
His face looked surprisingly fine, so why on earth...?
"Publicity Chief, why are you speaking so casually to a freshman? Did they give you special permission to use their name?"
Everyone present—except for her and Ban Yu-won—must have wondered the same thing.
Not just those at the table, but even the other students in the cafeteria were perking up their ears and leaning toward them.
It really hit home just how popular Mira was at the academy.
"Can't you tell?"
Did she not care about all those stares at all?
Mira shot back curtly, then reached out, covered one of Ban Yu-won's hands with hers, and teasingly scratched the back of it with her nails, flaunting their closeness.
Lucelle let out an "Ah—!" of shock but couldn't bring herself to push her away.
Meanwhile, Ban Yu-won felt like the moment he'd been dreading had finally arrived.
In a way, Mira was even more one-sidedly dependent on him than Lucelle was.
"Sigh."
"Ah, aaah..."
This was why you didn't make contracts lightly.
No matter how favorable it seemed on his end, Ban Yu-won had learned that lesson the hard way: you had to think it through carefully.
Of course, regrets always came too late.
"No way...!"
The fourth-year senior groaned.
"He's already got a girlfriend! Forget him—how about me? I swear I'd only have eyes for you!"
"Don't dress up your lack of charm as something positive. If I had to pick between a roadside pebble and a jewel everyone covets, I'd take the latter."
"Guhak!"
Roadside pebble... The senior collapsed to the floor, writhing from the irreparable wound.
Ban Yu-won watched as the other special admission seniors edged away from him, thinking once again:
Why are you the leader?
"Publicity Chief, let's get to the point."
Graham, who had been watching from a somewhat outsider's perspective, called out to her. His face twitched in surprise at how close Mira and Ban Yu-won seemed to be.
"Right. Let's talk business."
"Honestly, I don't want much to do with these people."
"Our student council feels the same."
But they had no choice.
Abandoning them would be tantamount to abandoning the student council's duty.
"The abilities special admission students possess are usually so unique that there's no clear growth path for them. They can't just form parties and climb the tower together. The regular exams are the worst. Honestly, most of the people here advancing was a miracle."
"Kuh."
"Guuuuh..."
"However." Graham took over as the special admission students writhed like slugs sprinkled with salt at Mira's merciless words.
"They were admitted to Union Academy precisely because they possess potential that's top-tier across dimensions. Ignoring and wasting that potential would be a shame."
"Fair point. So?"
"If they just get a proper chance, don't you think they could graduate from Union Academy with their heads held high?"
Graham's earnest gaze seemed to pierce right through Ban Yu-won.
But he didn't buy it.
If it were that easy, someone would have done it ages ago.
"So why come to me? And what's this about a club?"
"Ahem."
Graham cleared his throat awkwardly and glanced at Mira.
But Mira pretended to be absorbed in fiddling with Ban Yu-won's hand, ignoring his look.
He glared at her before continuing.
"...What they need most right now is protection. The entrenched powers, enraged by Rebellion's exploits, can't target you directly, so they've focused their attacks on the other special admission students."
"Ah."
Ban Yu-won realized he'd been too naive. He'd thought Rebellion's success had improved special admission students' standing overall.
But the special ones were only Rebellion. Unable to trash them openly anymore, the others had become the scapegoats instead!
"Exactly! They're even comparing us to you and calling us worse than freshmen trash! It's your fault we're getting more miserable by the day, so take responsibility! Please take responsibility!"
The pebble senior shot his head up again and shouted.
But the next instant, unable to withstand Dokgo Yeon's glare, he slammed it back down.
Dokgo Yeon spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
"From the looks of it, 'trash' isn't an insult—it's just a fact."
"We're on the same wavelength, you."
Dokgo Yeon and Mira saw eye to eye.
Ban Yu-won ignored the external noise and faced Graham squarely.
"So you want me to be their shield? Graham Senior, I'm a freshman. Our club doesn't have any special power either. Professor Yumina, a full professor, is our advisor, but I have no intention of bothering her."
"But the impact of your videos is purely your own power."
"You want me to feature them on the Rebellion channel? ...I doubt you'd suggest something that shameless, Graham Senior."
"Well..."
Graham reflexively glanced at Mira.
She realized she couldn't dodge it anymore and let out a soft sigh.
Then, lightly scratching the back of his hand, she added a hint of coquetry to her voice.
"Yu-won, do you know about sub-channels? On YouTube, they're channels you make for uploading videos with a slightly different direction from the main one."
It was basically her admitting she'd come up with the idea.
No, even with that all-revealing contract, now she was trying to dump her workload on him too.
Ban Yu-won shot her a look of disbelief and retorted.
"You're telling me to make a sub-channel for these people...?"
"A sub-channel lets you share attention without directly linking to the main one. It preserves Rebellion's identity too."
"...And then what? That's not the end of it."
Making a sub-channel and putting the special admission students there to secure their position in the academy.
It sounded foolish at first glance, but the logic aligned perfectly with why Ban Yu-won had started the Rebellion channel in the first place, making it easy to accept.
But protection was just protection. Improving these seniors' grades and levels, which lagged behind their peers, was a separate issue.
"We'll raise them through the sub-channel's content."
"Am I a zookeeper now?"
"I think you could do it no problem. No—it's something only you can do. ...I knew it when I saw that talisman."
Ban Yu-won found himself nodding at her words.
It was made just to pass the midterms, but the talisman's effects were beyond imagination.
Focus, comprehension, and memorization—the three keys weren't limited to written subjects; they applied to anything learned through the body too.
With the side effects fully eliminated, the Rebellion members used them during training, and the efficiency more than doubled—no exaggeration.
That's why Ban Yu-won had been mass-producing them with leftover magic power alongside Cellon lately...
'But it's an item that shines more the lower the base specs are. Perfect for short-term training, sure.'
Even if the materials were pricey, they were pocket change compared to Rebellion channel profits.
With sub-channel revenue too, mass production was no issue.
"Alright, I get why you're pitching this to me."
As Rebellion's channel operator and creator of efficiency-boosting talismans, Ban Yu-won was undeniably the perfect fit for rehabilitating them.
And though Mira didn't know it yet, his Babylonia Code authority—piercing others' essences—would make growth even more efficient.
"Now convince me why I should take this on. Show me the merits."
Merits.
Everything Ban Yu-won would gain in exchange.
He wasn't a volunteer.
He'd originally planned to keep those talismans just for Rebellion members.
"Kuh, tough. Taking on the Publicity Chief head-on...!"
"Is that the aura only elites have?"
"What kind of freshman is that?"
"Harem boy, you're dead—gah!"
"Merits, huh."
Mira kicked the pebble senior away and continued as if nothing happened.
"First, I'll handle this personally and assist you right by your side. You'll get grade bonuses, funding, and all sorts of academy conveniences."
And...
She tightened her grip on his hand and whispered in his ear.
"To escape being tossed around by full professors' whims, we need to bulk up soon. Those guys? They're pawns we can control with a mere hint. They'll be your strength."
"You...!"
Hearing that, Ban Yu-won felt a shiver run through his entire body.
No way—this woman had seen how the Class 11 members were half-forced into Ryu Cheol-myeong's lectures and cooked this up?
It might not have been her plan from start to finish, but she'd clearly pieced together the puzzle of special admissions, the Rebellion channel, and the academy student council into this shape...!
"I get the picture."
Dokgo Yeon, who had been listening from across the table, nodded and stood up.
"The logic checks out. Ban Yu-won, do as you see fit with this. If you want advice on handling underlings, feel free to ask me anytime."
"Yeah, I can help with sparring. It'd benefit me too."
"Yu-won fixed my issues easily, so yeah, he's perfect."
The other members chimed in and stood with her.
Ban Yu-won noticed breakfast time was nearly over and sighed.
"Fine, Mira's right. ...You even gathered them all at the perfect time."
"Don't say you noticed, idiot."
"Ow!"
Was she hiding her shyness? Mira headbutted him for no reason.
It was cute.
"So, the conclusion...?"
"You heard him."
Ban Yu-won looked down at the pebble senior gazing up with a mix of envy and desperation, shrugged, and said,
"Welcome to the Union Eccentrics Club. We'll talk details after class."