Chapter 211
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: Lesson 42. Image Change - 1
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In the end, the date tickets were distributed one to each executive except Lee Hyun-ji.
It was the result of a fierce battle within the Oculus Ruber Guild that even dragged in regular members, all to wash away the fatigue from the bloodbath.
"Why don't these people put that kind of passion into seducing guys outside?"
"We're a community of fate, so we can't stand seeing even one of us getting close to a guy."
"I see. So they're dragging each other down..."
As Ban Yu-won narrowed his eyes while surveying the near-total annihilation at the hands of his fellow guild members, Yu Ji-na, the guild's official tackler, gave an awkward smile and explained.
For reference, she was the one who had leaked the information to the regular members at the very beginning, sparking the massacre, and now she had Lee Hyun-ji in a cobra twist.
Lee Hyun-ji looked like she was already out cold. It was truly a bold and ruthless punishment.
"So, they seized this chance to at least feel like they're dating a guy, and that's why they're burning so brightly."
"Well, yeah――. If you want to stay on good terms with Yumi-unnie from now on, you'd never dream of touching you, right?"
Did that mean Ban Yu-mi's brocon tendencies were known not just to the executives but to the regular guild members too!?
Ban Yu-won let out a sigh as Yu Ji-na continued.
"Since we've all cleanly given up on developing rational relationships with him, we can relax and enjoy ourselves fully, you know? Ah, does that make you feel bad?"
"I get what you mean, so it's fine. Any more would just tire me out."
"Ugh, what a jerk...!"
It might be badmouthing the guild members to say so, but Ban Yu-won couldn't help being a bit of a jerk to them either.
And why not? If things got weird with the members of his sister's guild, he couldn't handle the aftermath.
That's why he'd set the concept from the start as "friend's little brother."...
Apparently, his thinking had been too naive.
Or maybe the stagnation in this guild was more serious than he'd imagined.
"Ji-na-noona, lift the no-dating clause before it's too late."
"Yeah, I was planning to after Yumi-unnie leaves..."
Yu Ji-na's face took on a wistful look tinged with lingering attachment as she said Ban Yu-mi's name.
Ban Yu-won was first surprised that his sister loomed so large in someone's life, and even more so that it was Yu Ji-na.
"Don't make that tragic heroine face at your sister. It makes me feel weird too."
"Ahaha... Ji-na's been following Yumi around like a shadow since high school."
Kang Mi-yeon appeared at just the right moment to provide supplementary explanation.
"Ah, Mi-yeon-noona..."
Ban Yu-won turned reflexively and narrowed his eyes upon seeing her.
Her face and clothes were impeccably clean, as if she'd just stepped out of her house, but she couldn't hide the blood-red trail lingering behind her shadow.
Whoever had given her that special training had boosted her unique authority's growth insanely.
"Noona, by any chance."
"I had a match with Yumi. Bali todo rules."
"As expected... Wait, what? Bali todo rules?"
Ban Yu-won recoiled in shock, but Yu Ji-na, who had patted her own cheek to regain composure, nodded beside him with an expression like 'This is normal in our guild.'
What the hell kind of guild was Oculus Ruber?
As Ban Yu-won wore a distant look, Kang Mi-yeon chuckled.
"I couldn't win, but this should let Yumi leave with peace of mind, right?"
"Good work."
Of course, if she'd said she'd beaten Ban Yu-mi, he would've been even more shocked.
Once she realized her bloodline and underwent training tailored perfectly to her, her core concepts like Life had begun growing at a terrifying rate.
She still couldn't surpass Ban Yu-won, but she'd probably reached nearly level 80.
Which meant Kang Mi-yeon, who'd faced her head-on...
Sensing his gaze, Kang Mi-yeon scratched her cheek sheepishly with her index finger.
"I'm still level 65, but my authorities feel more attached to me now."
"That's good."
"Yeah. Lately, some worries I've been carrying have resolved, so my body's feeling lighter. Actually, I'd been thinking about contracting with a constellation..."
That was news to him.
As Ban Yu-won stared, she shrugged.
"I'm not without competitive spirit either. Everyone's thought about surpassing Yumi someday, not just me. So I considered borrowing a constellation's power, but... well."
"And this made you shake off any lingering attachment to constellations?"
"Yeah. And realizing that even the great Ban Yu-mi isn't much on a cosmic scale, I don't feel like chasing her shadow anymore. I want to look a bit further, longer-term."
Ban Yu-won couldn't help but chuckle.
He'd thoroughly separated Kang Mi-yeon and the guild members in his mind during the Orc Wave incident, but that seemed like a big mistake.
He might need to rethink his approach to the academy's special activities spanning multiple dimensions.
"Right? Even the great Ban Yu-mi can't snag a single guy and is fumbling around."
Lee Hyun-ji, barely regaining consciousness and escaping Yu Ji-na's hold, declared triumphantly.
Kang Mi-yeon nodded as if unconsciously agreeing, so she must've been thinking something similar...
Ban Yu-won sighed in response.
"I'm her little brother."
"Sure, sure, though she doesn't seem to think so."
"Honestly, I was pretty freaked out when I first found out too."
"She used to at least try to hide it, but ever since you got dragged to Union, she can't hide it at all. That's what really disgusted me..."
"Hehe, heaven doesn't give everything. Meeting you in person made me understand Yumi's feelings a bit, but back then it was really..."
Ban Yu-won turned away, feeling skeptical about women's friendships as he watched the executives who had fought each other, teared up missing the departing Ban Yu-mi, and now gossiped about her in unison.
"Ah."
Then, unleashing his long-unused ghostly shadow arts without a sound, he slipped into the shadows and quietly left the scene.
As Ban Yu-won distanced himself silently, the voices of the three women steadily reached his ears.
"When I saw the standby screen was a photo of Yu-won, I was genuinely scared. And from that angle, it's definitely a molka."
"For me, this is a total secret, but back in high school... Yumi-unnie secretly with Yu-won..."
"Ah―― girls? Even so, badmouthing Yumi too much when she's not here is a bit much."
"What, gang-myeon? Why are you suddenly backing out like a coward... Quaaack!"
Ban Yu-mi, discovering the gossip session, quietly drew her sword and ignited Crimson Flame.
Hell descended upon the guild training hall.
No, this guild turned into hell too often. Was there a feng shui issue?
...Or was it the people?
Ban Yu-won reached a clear conclusion and safely departed.
That day, Yu Ji-na and Kang Mi-yeon somehow avoided confiscation of their date tickets and enjoyed Ban Yu-won's rental boyfriend service.
With Oculus Ruber's special training wrapped up, Ban Yu-won spent his remaining free time taking Lucelle around Earth's various spots.
Once back at the academy, he'd be swamped with everything around him, the tower, lectures, training...
He used the excuse of securing footage for the Rebellion channel under the "travel" category—since he hadn't uploaded properly except for the brutal Orc Wave combat videos during break—to enjoy dates with Lucelle to his heart's content.
With Ban Yu-won's mobility, anywhere on Earth was under 10 minutes away.
He hit famous tourist spots in each country with her, and as a result, photos of Ban Yu-won and Lucelle appearing simultaneously at landmarks worldwide flooded websites, shocking many.
"Ehehe."
"Why do you grin like an idiot the moment you see my face?"
"I'm just happy to have you all to myself these past few days..."
True, right after arriving on Earth, too many incidents had popped up, leaving little cozy time with Lucelle.
As Ban Yu-won hugged her in apology, she closed her eyes, buried her face in his chest, stayed still for a moment, then pulled away with a satisfied smile.
"Then let's head back now."
"Already that time?"
Yes.
Today was the last day of break.
More precisely, the day before that—he needed to return to the academy today to reset his schedule for the second semester starting the day after tomorrow.
It'd be great to stay on peaceful Earth, forbidden to aliens, and just cuddle with Lucelle in blissful routine... But with an end in sight, the vacation felt this enjoyable.
"I hope we can spend the next break like this too."
"Stop, Lucelle. I vaguely expected it, but if you say that, I'll really be busy next winter break."
"Ban Yu-won, you up yet?"
At that moment, rather than a knock-knock, it was a bang-bang as Ban Yu-mi shouted from beyond the door.
At least since Lucelle arrived, she no longer barged in recklessly. Small mercies.
"I'm up, getting dressed, so wait."
"I don't need that info!"
Washing with water conjured from elemental magic and erasing even the tiniest dirt concepts clinging to his body with his authorities left him feeling fresher than ever.
Dressed, luggage stuffed into inventory, he opened the door with geared-up Lucelle and stepped out.
There stood Ban Yu-mi in attire slightly different from Earth's fashion... bluntly put, black skin-tight leather that looked borrowed from Anari.
It covered vitals thoroughly but exposed plenty of skin—ninja garb that'd pass for decent defense in a game.
"Learning ninjutsu too?"
"No, idiot. Anari said if we're doing dimensional mercenary work, matching outfits would be good."
He knew that woman would pull something like this eventually.
Ban Yu-mi fidgeted embarrassedly, but Ban Yu-won thought that made it worse.
"Ah, Yu-won-nim! How's it look on Yumi? It's the official uniform for our Level Force Mercenary Corps!"
As if sensing his thoughts, Anari popped up behind Ban Yu-mi with a beaming smile and nonsense.
For reference, her using casual speech with Ban Yu-mi was a camouflage tactic.
"Ditch that mercenary corps name first. It's straight from the fan club."
"How about this? Eternal Force, combining Yumi's eternal flame and Level Force..."
And the camouflage's meaning vanished instantly.
Blackmailing with the corps name? Sneaky.
"Just go with Level Force Mercenary Corps."
"Yes!"
To hide the corps' true purpose, a bland name was best.
Silencing Anari before she spouted Crimson Force or Real Prominence, Ban Yu-won turned and...
"......"
"......"
...went pale seeing Kiira and his mother Kang Eun-young in identical outfits.
Kiira staying in her 20s look from first meeting was one thing, but his mother... no, she'd caught up somewhat outwardly, but still...
Frozen like a statue, Ban Yu-won didn't escape his mother's notice.
"Son?"
"...Yeah?"
"Say something."
Ban Yu-won turned and declared.
"I'll choose death."
"You look stunning, Mother!"
Lucelle saved the heart-attack-worthy atmosphere.
"It suits you so well, and your figure is amazing...!"
"R-Really? I worried it was too much."
"It suits you perfectly! Father will fall for you again!"
"Really...?"
Kang Eun-young couldn't help smiling at Lucelle's sincere praise diffusing the tension.
Ban Yu-won inwardly sighed in relief at the warming vibe and turned to Anari.
"You, come here."
"Gasp, even casual speech is so commanding and cool...!"
"I said come."
Through proper discussion with Anari, Level Force Mercenary Corps settled on new group uniforms.
The corps' sole male, Selden, was deeply disappointed but, with hierarchy firmly set against Ban Yu-won, pretended nonchalance with great effort.
"Won-a."
Finishing with Anari, Grandfather Ban Ji-won approached Ban Yu-won.
Suddenly sending daughter-in-law and granddaughter to space had left the grandfather more weary and lonely than when they'd reunited on Earth.
Ban Yu-won gripped his grandfather's wrinkled hand tightly.
"Grandpa, I'll visit again winter break, so stay healthy. No injuries."
"Good. This old man believes without doubt that our Won will fulfill our family's long-cherished wish."
"...Yeah."
The family's long-cherished wish.
Babel Tower.
Recalling Earth's barrier, he gave an ambiguous smile.
Honestly... lately, doubts had deepened, but with grandfather overcoming dementia and burning his reclaimed life solely for that, Ban Yu-won hesitated to broach the tower topic rashly.
Pretending ignorance, he smiled brightly.
"I'll reclaim the tower soon. It's almost time."
"Of course, that's my grandson."
Ban Ji-won chuckled and patted his back.
Then pulled an old book from his bosom and handed it over.
"What's this?"
"Just this old man's diary of thoughts while handling abilities gained in his later years. Nothing special, but Won, you use similar powers, right? Maybe something useful."
"Grandpa..."
Even if called a diary, Ban Yu-won easily saw the paper wasn't ordinary.
He wanted to analyze with All-Reading Eyes, but held back as rude before his gift-giving grandfather.
Instead, hugging him tightly with respect and love.
"Thanks."
"Travel safely."
"Yeah. And Dad... ah, no."
He considered greeting Father too, but Father was sobbing in Mother's embrace, so best to leave it.
Mother teary-eyed too—interrupting would've doomed Ban Yu-won.
"Guess we go first."
"I wanted to go to space together."
"We'll summon straight to Union from here."
"Right."
He'd shared much with Anari, entrusted Mother and sister to her—deeper ties ahead.
Many words unsaid, but a kiss on her cheek sufficed for goodbye.
"Yu-won-nim...♡"
Thankfully, Anari was motivated enough.
"What about me? Nothing?"
"Kiira, you dated sandwiched with Oculus Ruber members."
"Wow, before you'd seduce me first――."
"Got it, got it!"
Short time, but Kiira had helped too.
Defying her constellation to side with him sped up incident handling.
Kissing Kiira's cheek naturally led eyes to the lone Ban Yu-mi.
"What. Hm."
"Ban Yu-mi, come on."
"Wanna die for real?"
Reassured by her fiery outburst, Ban Yu-won laughed and spread his arms.
"Kiss is overkill, but a hug since we won't see each other awhile."
"Siblings don't do that."
"Huh, last time you..."
"Eek!"
As he mentioned their recent encounter, Ban Yu-mi chopped downward with her hand blade.
Grabbing it as planned, Ban Yu-won pulled her into a hug.
"Hey!"
"Noona, call anytime if it's tough."
"Hey...!"
She seemed ready to bolt, but stroking her back calmed her.
"Don't forget I'm on your side. Okay?"
"Ha... You're the little brother, I'm the big sister? Why act all mature suddenly..."
Yes, that was it.
With those words, their wandering relationship finally felt back on track.
Releasing her, Ban Yu-mi weakly tapped his forehead with limp hand blade and backed away hurriedly.
"You, we'll settle later. You're dead then."
"Later when?"
Giggling, Ban Yu-mi replied seriously.
"After conquering Prominence."
...It was back on track, right?