Chapter 194
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Lesson 38. Ban Yu-won's Words Come True - 4
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"If I had my way, I'd tell you everything."
The red-haired beauty stroked her hair and gave a wry smile.
"But ever since Earth connected to the Union Net, there's been an extra pair of eyes watching me. Asking you to trust me based on just this one thing might be a bit much, right?"
No, setting aside trust, the timing was so utterly unexpected and the item that popped out so ridiculous that Ban Yu-won's thoughts nearly devolved to elementary school level.
Still, hearing that there were eyes on them right now helped him snap back to his senses.
"Constellation."
"Not anymore, but if I talk too much about myself, that one might hear and turn their gaze this way. Actually, even directly naming the Constellation isn't a great idea."
"Ah, I've heard stories like that a few times before."
Ban Yu-won had also received sponsorship from Constellations back in the day, and there were moments when he exposed information to them.
Of course, since he could freely sever his connections with them, he could hide anything he really didn't want shared...
He thought for a moment, then called out to Cellon.
'Can you do it, Cellon? Create a space where Constellations can't interfere, like Professor Xenon of the Union did.'
―You only call on me in times like these... Of course I can.
That's because you always give such reliable answers!
―I've told you before, right? My holy light magic is a power that opposes the Constellations. That monster brute just crudely severed their interference with his unique authority, but I can create a space free from them without them even noticing.
'Do it now. I'll back you up.'
However, in her current state, trapped in the staff, she wasn't at full strength, so there was a time limit.
With Ban Yu-won's backup, though, they could extend it to about an hour.
"Huh?"
The one who sensed the change first was, naturally, Kiira herself, who was contracted to a Constellation.
"The connection to the Constellation is cut... No, is the signal being jammed?"
"Now we can talk freely, right?"
"You trust me! I'm really touched...!"
Creating a space that blocked Constellation interference was a feat only the Chancellor or Xenon at Union Academy could pull off.
Just possessing such an ability was top-secret material, so it was no wonder Kiira was moved that he revealed it without hesitation.
From Ban Yu-won's perspective, though, it was a bit different. He'd already pissed off quite a few Constellations with that sponsorship incident last time, so he had no reason to worry about making more enemies now.
'On the contrary, if she tells anyone else about this, her own contracted Constellation might suspect she's hiding something. Unless she's an idiot, she'll have to keep her mouth shut.'
Unaware of Ban Yu-won's thoughts, Kiira lit a flame in her palm, delighting in this bizarre situation where her connection to the Constellation was severed, yet she could still use its power.
Then, remembering her current predicament, she turned to Ban Yu-won and gracefully bowed her head.
"Then, allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Kiira Esra Prominence, a collateral branch member of the Prominence family, one of the Ten Great Families ruling the S-7 Dimension. As you know, I'm also the contractor of the Follower of Myriad Calamities."
"Collateral branch."
"Of course it's collateral. Did you think a direct heir of the great Prominence family would be stuck in a backwater dimension like Earth?"
Kiira added with a cackle.
Ban Yu-won, trusting the evidence of her genuine affection toward him—the Level Force No.3 membership card—boldly asked.
"But even collaterals of the Ten Great Families have serious status. So why are you on Earth?"
"Me being on Earth wasn't intentional. I got caught in a dimensional shift during a mission and ended up falling here."
She added that she hadn't even known Earth existed before coming.
The mission assigned to a Prominence collateral: tracking a specific unique authority as a Follower of Myriad Calamities contractor.
And the possessor of that unique authority... his older sister.
A person he absolutely had to protect.
"You probably can't tell me what the mission is, right?"
"You didn't block the interference just to ask that, did you? I'll tell you."
"Huh, that easily?"
He asked in disbelief, but Kiira gave a wry smile and perched on the edge of the bed.
She patted the spot beside her, inviting him to sit, and said,
"It's been over twenty years since I fell to Earth. Longer than the life I lived in the S-7 Dimension. Think I'd still have loyalty to the family? Honestly, having Constellation interference back in my life now is driving me insane."
She looked early twenties at most, mid-twenties if you were generous, but her real age was at least ten years older.
Of course, Ban Yu-won wisely avoided pointing that out.
With a 500-year-old sister in his past, seducing a 35-year-old was no big deal.
He simply sat quietly beside her and listened.
"I was chosen by the Follower of Myriad Calamities at a pretty young age. Of course, as a kid, I was thrilled without knowing better. Until I got dragged into the family's special forces and stuck doing all sorts of dirty missions. If I'd been direct lineage, I'd have been groomed as heir, but as collateral..."
"Can you tell me about the mission that brought you to Earth?"
"There was infighting in the family. A pretty big incident."
The Prominences had two hereditary techniques passed down through generations: the 'Sword' and 'Flame'.
The sword faction and the flame faction competed fiercely, and over twenty years ago, a problem arose.
A child born to the sword faction inherited the flame authority.
The Prominence signature unique authority, 'Inextinguishable Flame'.
"The head of the family at the time was from the flame faction. The child was from the sword faction, so collateral. Naturally, they saw it as a thorn in their side. If the kid grew up safely, succeeding the head would be a given. Bluntly put, the reason the Follower of Myriad Calamities sponsors the Prominences is that hereditary authority."
"...And you were assigned to assassinate that child."
"Yeah, but intel leaked, and things blew up. Suddenly, it turned into a head-on clash between the sword and flame factions. So many died over a newborn baby..."
Kiira's face clouded with an indescribable emotion as she recalled the past.
At this point, Ban Yu-won realized something.
She wasn't spilling such deep secrets just out of fangirl affection.
Not deceiving him either—but she probably wanted something from him.
"We hunted the child to the end. But the surviving guard overloaded a high-grade Prominence artifact to escape with the baby—and I got caught in it. Next thing I knew, I was here. Couldn't return to S-7 or even contact them."
"Hmm."
Ban Yu-won let out a low groan.
He never imagined he'd learn his family's secrets like this.
She'd acted all high and mighty about not telling his mother, but he couldn't stop Kiira's words from flowing out, and now he knew everything!
"Nothing much after that. Cut off from the family, I gave up the mission and tried adapting to Earth life... Then suddenly, Union Net access worked again."
She winked, saying that's when she found his channel.
How could she not pay attention? A guy from 'Earth' broadcasting in the Union—she, exiled on Earth, must have been stunned!
He'd heard from his family that Ban Yu-mi was Earth's first Union Net user, but now he understood why Kiira could access it before her.
Kiira had Union Net access rights even before coming to Earth, so she didn't count.
"Earth moving to the Union meant change was coming to this lost dimension. I'd steeled myself and prepared, and sure enough, Earth evolved and got bound by Constellations again. The family learned I was here and immediately assumed."
That the owner of the Inextinguishable Flame existed here, on Earth.
"Figure out if the child is dead or alive, secure them if alive, and return—that's my current order. After ignoring me for twenty years, now they treat it like it's obvious. That's my personal take. How's that for an explanation?"
"More than enough..."
Ban Yu-won sighed.
Thoughts of Crimson Spear or fairy tribes flew cleanly from his mind.
Fortunately, she seemed skeptical of the mission and unaware of Ban Yu-mi's identity.
But how to handle his sister now? What to tell his mother? His mind was a mess—then something clicked.
"Wait, so our contact during that school trip was really a coincidence?"
"Huh?"
She tilted her head, not understanding.
"You approached me. I still vividly remember that line: 'hair like flames—'"
"Stop!"
That was close. Caught off guard by the massive revelations, he nearly unleashed a black history seal!
"So you really did meet me by chance?"
"No reason to lie. Of course. So when I saw your channel on Union Net, I thought it was fate? Of all people, the one entering the Union was you, someone connected to me."
"Cough, you didn't have to remember me...!"
He wished she'd buried that memory deep.
But looking down at Ban Yu-won on his knees sobbing, Kiira shrugged dramatically in that Western way, expressing pity.
"You were the one who smoothly seduced me, then what? 'Shall we grab a drink?'—and you're a high schooler? I was the one embarrassed enough to cry."
"Sorry, my fault, so stop...!"
Actually, it wasn't uncommon for excited guys abroad to hit on local women—many of Ban Yu-won's classmates had tried.
But why did only he get the反射노바 nickname? (Reflex Nova?)
It was also an expression of awe toward him.
Yes.
Ban Yu-won was the only guy on the school trip who succeeded in his hunt!
The problem came after.
Kiira, mistaking him for an adult, tried taking him to a pub when they ran into his high school teacher, revealing his real age.
With no intent to commit a crime, Kiira bolted, and the story spread through the school...
Girls with contempt and shock, boys with envy, jealousy, and awe, dubbed him Reflex Nova...
"I don't know if you always pick up girls like that, but it was intense for me. Earthlings couldn't handle my aura—reason flew out, even same-sex avoided me. You ignored it and approached casually... Unforgettable."
He hadn't noticed then, but it was likely his soul's quality at play.
With ancient Babylonian authority etched into his soul, Ban Yu-won's soul depth was already 300 at Union enrollment.
"Ahem, so this unforgettable kid from back then? Enters the Union from Earth and runs a channel? Impossible not to watch."
"And joins the fan club..."
"Among Platinum members, plenty support As Light, but I've been firmly Ban Yu-won faction from the start! Don't forget it—oh, sign this while you're at it?"
Ban Yu-won readily signed the platinum card she offered.
"Ah— this is the best! Met my fave, spilled everything cathartically! Best decision to become a knight!"
Ban Yu-won smirked at Kiira hugging the card with a pure, beaming smile.
"So, what do you really want from me?"
"Huh? Nothing. Fans don't demand payment for love."
"Not as a Level Force member, but as a contractor bound by the Follower of Myriad Calamities?"
"Whoa—."
It wasn't even a sharp observation.
She'd been obvious throughout the talk.
But since he could have ignored it, she was even more touched.
"Wasn't my plan from the start."
"You thought of it when I cut the Constellation link?"
"Exactly. Wondered if maybe you could."
Sorry, she apologized in advance for her overreaching desire.
"I want to completely sever my contract with the Constellation. Can you help?"