Chapter 105
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Lesson 22. I Shouldn't Have Made a Club - 5
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That evening, after handing out two talismans each to the new club members—who had swelled to nearly five times their original number in one go—and declaring the gathering over,
Ban Yu-won was whisked away by Mira before the Rebellion members even had a chance to stop her.
To be precise, it was Mira, the head of the promotion department, treating him to dinner as a thank-you for so readily agreeing to the student council's request.
She even dragged him straight to Ronica, leaving his companions—who still weren't allowed to visit without him—stuck sucking their thumbs and waiting for his return.
"Lucelle's gonna be pissed again."
"Lucelle, that pink-haired girl... what's the deal? She seems to have some special feelings for you."
Ban Yu-won clinked his wine glass against the one Mira offered, shrugging his shoulders.
"Kinda like you."
"No wonder it didn't feel like your first rodeo with a shady contract."
"Lucelle's the one who got duped by me, okay? Nah, looking at it now, feels like she got me too."
"Hey, are you talking about me like I'm not here?"
Come to think of it, Graham was here too.
Mira turned her head, pretending not to know him, but Ban Yu-won chuckled and clinked glasses with him as well.
Finally, Mira snapped in annoyance.
"He knows when to make himself scarce. What an oblivious guy."
"I made the reservation, you know."
"Thanks, senior. As expected from the student council—you guys know all the best spots."
He'd gotten the initial recommendation from Ketra, but that cozy alleyway café with its great tea was a frequent haunt for student council members.
And the place they were at now was one of those so-called "hidden gems"—delicious food and drinks at reasonable prices.
"The student council has a generational record book of all the best eats."
"That's tempting."
"Join us. Be our planning department head."
"Sounds like it'd mean hanging around the promotion head all the time."
"Exactly."
Mira giggled and nodded along.
Graham, seated across from her, shook his head at her unfamiliar expression.
"They say love changes a woman, but I didn't expect it to be this dramatic."
"Love? That's not it. Maybe one-tenth at most."
Should Ban Yu-won be surprised that even one-tenth was love?
No, it was hardly surprising at all.
After all, they'd left quite the shocking impressions on each other that day.
It wouldn't be strange at all if love made up about ten percent of the dark, heavy emotions Mira directed toward him.
"Hm? What's the other ninety percent?"
"That's our little secret."
"A secret, huh."
To Graham, who knew nothing of their backstory or contract, Mira's words probably sounded like a joke.
Her face a bit flushed from the wine, Mira didn't bother correcting his misconception. Instead, she replied in a playful tone and slipped a hand under the table to grasp Ban Yu-won's.
Of course, Graham—a fully seasoned warrior—couldn't miss that movement. He shot her a dumbfounded look for a moment before shrugging and downing his drink.
"Something beyond that, eh? Anyway, congrats. I was worried you might have feelings for the vice president. But seeing you two now, it's embarrassing to think I ever imagined you suited her. You fit right in with Ban Yu-won."
There was one thing Ban Yu-won still couldn't wrap his head around.
How Mira—who had hated Ketra enough to curse her just recently—didn't flinch at all when someone else mentioned her now. She'd cleanly shaken off those feelings.
Could this be some aftereffect of the curse backlash?
He had no way to know, but it seemed like the void left by her resolved feelings for Ketra was fueling her apparent obsession with him.
Of course, he couldn't exactly say that to her face.
"Graham, you're... not the sharpest, but you sure know how to talk smooth. Here, have a drink."
"I'll gladly drink to that."
While Ban Yu-won mulled over his complicated thoughts, Mira poured Graham some wine.
Graham wet his lips with the drink and set it down.
"It's a good thing to have someone always cheering you on, supporting you. Watching you two makes me miss my wife."
He dropped a bombshell.
"Wife?!"
Ban Yu-won yelped in shock.
But Graham was utterly nonchalant.
"Does me having a wife really come as such a shock? We're adults. Marriage is our freedom, right?"
"Uh, so your wife's... right now...?"
"Back home. She's pregnant."
"Wha-wha-what..."
Reeling from the barrage of shocking info, Ban Yu-won swayed dizzily.
Mira burst out laughing at his reaction and patted his shoulder.
"Ow, that hurts! But I never imagined you'd be a married man..."
"Plenty of others are too."
"Holy crap."
"Hm, most Union Academy freshmen go home for summer break after first year and end up with the top marriage prospects in their dimensions."
He added that he'd been engaged before even enrolling.
"Getting into the Academy basically proves you're the greatest prodigy in your dimension. Usually, over thirty percent of students come back from summer break married. I've even seen cases where they bring back three spouses."
"Oh shit..."
At that point, Mira squeezed Ban Yu-won's hand hard.
"Don't even dream of it."
"You're the one making demands beyond our contract terms."
"Calm down, Mira. He's one of the remaining seventy percent."
"You said thirty percent, right? I can guess roughly, but what's the seventy?"
"The ones who find spouses at the Academy."
"Of course..."
Union Academy was a gathering of the dimension's top prodigies, so finding a partner here felt all too natural.
That said, Ban Yu-won had been thinking of Union Academy like some university, so even without couples, the idea of people hunting for spouses here made his worldview crumble a bit.
Mira snickered at his expression.
"Didn't you notice? In that squad of scrubs earlier, one second-year and one fourth-year were seriously eyeing you."
"No way... me?"
"Yeah. ...Lucelle and I kept them in check, though. You're welcome."
"Thanks..."
Ban Yu-won's face went pale.
He hadn't dreamed such a thing was happening.
His life was already set with Lucelle locked in—adding Mira was one thing, but extras? He'd sooner jump into an Exodus ship solo.
"Actually."
That was when Graham spoke unexpectedly.
"The vice president... Senior Ketra asked me a favor."
"Hm?"
"She was puzzled that you—whom she saw like a little brother—suddenly had a girlfriend. She wanted me to discreetly observe you two and report anything off."
Makes sense, Ban Yu-won nodded instinctively.
Especially since Mira hadn't just latched onto him out of the blue—she'd even declared she'd cut ties with Ketra.
But Mira scoffed at the words.
"What does she take Yu-won for?"
"Hm, she cared that much about you. Of course, from watching you two, I know it's nothing for her to worry about. If anything..."
"If anything?"
"Ban Yu-won, if Mira's got some dirt on you, spill it."
"Pfft—."
Ban Yu-won avoided an ugly scene only because Mira chucked bread at Graham first.
Good thing she still had some sense left.
If it'd been soup or wine, disaster.
The quick-witted Graham deftly caught the flying bread before it caused a mess and bit into it.
"Tasty bread."
"...I've always been annoyed by that side of 'Senior' Ketra. So when a guy came along, I cut ties. Got it, Graham?"
"I get that you're paying a lot of attention to Ban Yu-won."
Graham calmly finished the bread and rinsed his mouth with wine.
"Let's end this chat here. I'd like to hear about today now. Gotta file the report as secretary."
"She says secretary, but officially it's administrative director."
The two titles felt worlds apart.
But like any university student council, he appreciated the flashy, pointless pomp.
"How'd they take it? Think the sub-channel's off to a smooth start?"
"Already set it up. Uploaded a video too... oh."
Taking the cue, Ban Yu-won pulled out his mirror, logged into YouTube, and grinned in satisfaction.
The sub-channel might draw from the main one's size, but starting from zero, he wondered how quick it'd gain traction. Five million subscribers already.
No surprise—the main channel had blown past two hundred million toward three hundred, so even a fraction of that attention hitting five mil wasn't odd.
"Video reactions are solid too."
"What's it show?"
"Uh... mostly our fifteen seniors getting beat on one by one."
Of course, it wasn't just sparring footage.
The first video explained why the sub-channel existed and previewed who'd appear and how.
With huge interest in Academy students climbing the Tower, the theme of turning around stagnant growers seemed like a winner for YouTube users—and it hit the mark.
Plus, Aire—who'd popped up on the main channel occasionally—became a regular guest, joined by top-tier mages Misty and Reshu with killer looks. Visually, it rivaled the main channel!
"Feels a bit heavy on the fanservice... Isn't student growth the point?"
"Guys like pretty girls, girls like handsome guys, senior. If the thumbnail's hot, they click. Can't fight biology."
Anyway, the sub-channel was off to a great start, and the Academy's attitude toward the special admission kids would shift starting tomorrow.
Sure, the mockery would dominate for now.
Seniors leeching off juniors? Pathetic pests thrashing? Etc.
But once their growth became visibly rapid... the laughs would die.
That's when Ban Yu-won would start recouping his investment.
"By the way, today's MVP is third-year senior Woo Hyeol-rin. Only one who beat me. Bet she'll dominate the sub-channel spotlight for a bit."
"That guy's famous already."
Graham nodded at Mira's words.
"The student council seriously considered recruiting him. Not easy for a special admission kid to perform like that. Especially his sparring scores."
"And probably..."
Mira narrowed her eyes, hesitating a bit before meeting Ban Yu-won's gaze and coming clean.
"He shares a constellation contract with me."
"Ah, the curse."
"Yep."
Mira nodded casually.
Graham tilted his head, clueless why Mira tied to curses, but she ignored him and continued.
"You get it—people contracted to that constellation are mostly creeps. You're stuck with me already, so watch out not to get too tangled with him."
"This girl's going all-in, saying constellations don't scare her."
"You'll protect me, right?"
She said it so matter-of-factly, like water flowing downhill, squeezing his hand tight. Ban Yu-won was left speechless.
Graham looked dumbfounded too.
"...Sending me a 'get lost' signal?"
"Yep."
At Mira's unhesitating declaration, Graham let out a grand sigh and drained his glass.
"Least let me finish eating. In return, I'll hook you up with a nice bar."
"Mm, fine. Deal."
Ban Yu-won shrugged helplessly at Mira, then eyed Graham flashing a sneaky thumbs-up.
He thought: Someday, I wanna be a cool married guy like that.