Chapter 225
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: Lesson 44. The Strike That Pierces the Gap - 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Yeah, I was the contractor of the Starlight Musician."
She nodded in affirmation at Ban Yu-won's words.
He tilted his head as he gazed at the tiny universe swirling inside the wine glass Yumina held—a trace of starlight far more refined than anything he could wield himself.
"But not anymore?"
"You know true holy light magic isn't this pathetic, right? This is just the scraps left after my contract with her was severed. ...It's also why the Principal lost faith in me."
Ban Yu-won fell silent, at a loss for words.
In truth, he'd had some inkling about Yumina and Ceron's relationship for a while now.
Though their magic was utterly different, their attitudes toward it—and their desperate search for something beyond the Tower—often seemed to align perfectly.
"Was it, perhaps..."
Ban Yu-won hesitated but finally spoke again just as the empty plates were cleared and new dishes arrived.
"Is it related to Ceron's... no, the Starlight Musician's downfall?"
"The Principal wants to manage the Tower stably."
Yumina set down her still faintly glowing glass, apparently no longer in the mood for wine, and continued.
"The Constellations are the most dangerous threats to the Tower. Meanwhile, the Starlight Musician is a being who can suppress them just by existing there. You get that, right, Yu-won?"
"Everyone seems pretty scared of her."
"When the Principal first sponsored her, she wasn't a Constellation, of course. He wanted to use her power to stabilize the Tower more... but in the end, she became one."
She became a Constellation.
It sounded as if Ceron hadn't wanted to become one.
It was something he'd pondered while dealing with Constellations before—maybe they weren't simply "beings who transcended mortality through overwhelming power," as others thought.
Come to think of it, the fact that these transcendents roamed dimensions, desperately seeking contractors, had always struck him as odd.
"Then you, Professor..."
"Hm?"
Yumina's eyes glimmered with a wistful light.
Even in this situation, she was sticking to formal titles. A foreboding thought crossed Ban Yu-won's mind: maybe the moment he'd first called her "sis" had been the wrong button from the start.
"Did you target a contract with the Starlight Musician from the beginning?"
"More precisely, the Principal took me in because he was certain I could contract with her. He supported me in every way to make it possible. Whatever his intentions, I'm truly grateful for that."
"...But the Starlight Musician."
Ceron had confessed to him that she'd fallen into the Constellations' trap and ended up sealed.
He hadn't gotten a full explanation because she'd lost most of those memories, but maybe Yumina had been there too.
"Does she remember me?"
"She's searching for the girl who was her contractor. But whether that's you... probably..."
"I'm just grateful she's looking for her contractor. Heh. Even though I don't deserve it..."
Yumina smiled shyly, looking so pure—like the young girl she'd been when she first contracted with Ceron—that Ban Yu-won forgot his words for a moment and just stared.
"I don't deserve it..."
"..."
Then, as if recalling something, her expression twisted into one of sorrow.
Her hand reached for the abandoned glass still holding starlight.
A few stars within the red cosmos shifted, blinking with varying brightness.
Constellations.
Transcendent beings in a realm mortals couldn't challenge.
Soon, the starlight winked out one by one, and the wine in the glass returned to its initial, still state when first poured.
"They've forgotten me. Some don't even remember the Starlight Musician had a contractor."
"Did the Starlight Musician...?"
"But I haven't forgotten. I remember them all."
"...Are you planning revenge?"
The word felt foreign even as he said it.
She, who enveloped and protected all the Rebellion members with overflowing maternal love... well, it often focused on him lately, but still—she was kind and gentle. Bloody words like "revenge" didn't suit her.
"Revenge? What's the point? Even if I exterminated those Constellations, she wouldn't come back."
"...That's."
"I'm more worried they'll try to harm you."
"Ah."
Most Constellations had already caught on to Ban Yu-won's connection with the Starlight Musician and were on the move.
In the recent expedition, hadn't they demanded he hand her over as payment for their sponsorship?
Defying the Constellations would bring endless headaches ahead...
"It's too late to hide it now. So I'll give you a list of those who openly opposed her—the Constellations most active in sealing the Starlight Musician. At least know your enemies, right?"
"Thank you."
Knowing a Constellation's true name helped uncover their abilities and who they sponsored or contracted.
But.
"That's all?"
At Ban Yu-won's direct gaze and question, Yumina turned her head slightly with an apologetic look.
"Sorry. I want to protect you myself, but my movements are too restricted."
"No, that's not it."
He shook his head firmly.
"You had a request for me. This is just advice or counsel."
"That's."
"Sis, are you still hesitating?"
"I..."
Yumina closed her mouth and gently shut her eyes.
Faint emotions rose from her, readable in his eyes.
Her vast difference in level usually made it hard to read her, but perhaps because of their intimate talk today, their bond had deepened—he could easily catch her surface emotions as they flickered.
"It's a request related to the Starlight Musician, right?"
"Yes."
"And maybe... connected to the Tower too?"
"...Yes."
"As expected."
It made sense, since Ceron was first found in the Tower.
Ban Yu-won closed his eyes like Yumina and leaned back in his chair.
He thought.
Of his first encounters with the Constellations, their words, their greed to conquer the Tower, their intentions tangled with countless humans.
And he reached a conclusion.
"Got it. You don't have to say it to the end. ...Climbing the Tower will resolve it anyway."
"I once resented the Principal. But now, coming to my senses, I see I'm doing the same thing he did."
Yumina gave a bitter smile and cautiously reached out, grasping his hand half-draped on the table.
"It's shameless, but... I'm counting on you for her. You're probably the only one with the potential."
"You don't need to say it. I've intended to from the start."
Ban Yu-won gave her a light smile and stood.
Perhaps reluctant to let him go like this out of guilt, Yumina reached for him again.
"Yu-won. If there's anything I can do to help... I'll do whatever it takes."
"I'm fine, really. Our heads are both full right now, so let's call it a night. You rest too, Sis."
Ban Yu-won reassuringly stroked her hand a couple of times before leaving.
"...Really."
Left alone, Yumina let out a deep sigh and reached for the wine bottle again—only for another hand to intercept it midway.
"You look lonely, Professor Yumina."
"...Professor Xenon."
As if waiting for Ban Yu-won to leave, Xenon emerged from the shadows under the table and poured wine into a glass he'd conjured from black darkness, taking a sip.
Then, exhaling sharply, he sat in Ban Yu-won's vacated seat.
"I still can't taste it."
"But you should know the price. It's an expensive bottle I opened intending to share with my precious student."
Rarely, Yumina shot back sharply, and Xenon shrugged, meekly returning the bottle to the table.
"Precious student. Is that all?"
"What else would it be?"
"Well, it looked like you were seducing him just now and got properly rejected."
It wasn't entirely baseless, so Yumina's face flushed momentarily.
Having bared her hidden past, it would be a lie to say she didn't want to lean on him more.
But seduction? She hadn't intended anything that bold!
"Didn't expect that from you. ...Wait a second."
Yumina knew Xenon's authority well.
The Chancellor could create eyes anywhere in the Academy at will, and Xenon was his most trusted one.
Of course, as a Full Professor under the Chancellor's favoritism, she wasn't usually under surveillance...
"Acting on your own, Professor Xenon. That's dangerous."
"With traces of starlight revealed, I had to watch you. He'll permit it. Right now, that boy is more important to him than you."
Yumina bit her lip at Xenon's words.
There was no jealousy over the Chancellor's attention shifting to Ban Yu-won.
She was simply worried about him.
As if reading her mind, Xenon spoke in his usual flat, emotionless voice.
"Consider this a warning. Don't plant useless ideas in him. He's brilliant but precarious... Unnecessary stimuli could make his abilities run wild in a bad direction. That would make him no different from the rampaging Constellations in the Tower."
"Yu-won is an adult. He has the right to know what he wants... and to judge and act for himself."
"But what was the result when you judged and acted on your own in the past?"
Xenon's merciless point dredged up a memory in Yumina's mind.
Sharp and horrific like shattered glass, it tore at her thoughts every time it surfaced.
The Starlight Musician's downfall was her responsibility.
The truth she hadn't confessed to Ban Yu-won—though perhaps he'd sensed it and spared her feelings.
Thinking of him, Yumina clenched her teeth hard.
"So I should just leave that precarious boy alone? With all the Constellations and the Ten Great Families targeting him right now?"
"He says it's all just predestined trials—"
"Professor Xenon, you know he's not always right."
"...True. Maybe not."
Yumina was more surprised by Xenon's sudden agreement than anyone.
Narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously, she snorted and stood.
"Pay the tab properly."
"There's still some left."
"I don't like sharing with others."
"...At least you treat me like a person."
"Oh, if you want a drink, why not ask Professor Campanella? She'd welcome you."
With that, Yumina vanished from the spot.
Xenon, rejected by Yumina who'd just been rejected herself and left alone, sat there a moment before picking up the glass he'd poured earlier and tasting it again.
"...Still can't taste it."
Like the two who'd left before him, he soon departed as well.
In the remaining glass, the starlight rippled faintly before fading away.