Chapter 235
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 235
Chapter Title: Lesson 46. Union Founding Festival - 2
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Ban Yu-won had chosen Dokgo Yeon as his partner for the special match against Ulrike Prominence, but this bout was a special match between Ban Yu-won and Ulrike as well as one between Dokgo Yeon and Lucille Ortima at the same time.
A special match with two "wish rights"—magical contracts where the winner could demand anything from the loser.
On the other hand, Ban Yu-won's special match against Light would be a completely separate event, requiring a new partner selection.
Dokgo Yeon had wanted to crush Light personally, so she tried to join as his partner there too, but Aire's strong will made her the partner for that match instead.
The issue was Light's partner for that match. Unexpectedly, Ulrike, a noble from a higher dimension, had offered to lend him a hand.
However, since that match only had one wish right at stake, she wouldn't gain anything tangible from participating.
...Or so it seemed. In truth, it wasn't the case.
"Why are you so calm about this?"
Mira gripped her teacup as if she might shatter it, her voice bubbling with fury as she demanded an answer. Ban Yu-won first took her hand to calm her down before replying.
"I kind of saw it coming. Light doesn't have any friends besides us."
It was a brutally honest statement, but it was true.
Light's social circle began and ended with Rebellion.
For such a Light to suddenly befriend someone else, it had to be someone connected to Rebellion.
And the current Light—who was thinking of leaving Rebellion, or rather, the one controlling Light's body—shared the same goal as Ulrike Prominence, who wanted to extract only Ban Yu-won from Rebellion.
"To her, it's like insurance. If she loses to me, she won't be able to control me as she wishes. But if lending a hand to Light leads to victory in the second match, at least she can pull Light out of Rebellion."
"I get her intentions. Except for the fact that she hasn't realized losing the first match makes winning the second one nearly impossible, it makes some sense."
That went without saying.
No matter how strong Dokgo Yeon was, Aire was the undisputed top first-year student by semester standards.
Thinking they could beat a pair of him and Aire with just herself and Light was arrogance beyond measure.
If she valued Light so highly, why obsess over Ban Yu-won instead of just recruiting Light to her team?
"Ah, maybe that's exactly what she's planning. What if, after winning that match, she tries to recruit Light instead of me?"
"No, Yu-won. That vulgar bitch doesn't want you just because you're strong. She's lost her mind from falling for you and is in heat, charging in without thinking straight!"
"Watch your language! Please tone it down...!"
He was facing the full fallout from getting too chummy with Lucelle!
Despite Ban Yu-won's pointing it out, Mira showed no sign of changing her attitude.
"As Light's lost his mind too. That woman even tried to attack his home planet."
"But it ended without any real damage, and more importantly, their immediate goals align. The enemy of yesterday is today's ally."
"..."
Mira reacted with disbelief at Ban Yu-won, who spoke as if it were someone else's business.
"Let me ask again, Yu-won. Why are you so calm? He's a comrade we trained with for quite a while."
"That's exactly why I'm calm."
This lovable fairy princess still hadn't overcome her tendency to overreact when dealing with human emotions.
However, Ban Yu-won—who absorbed and read every concept around him at every moment—still had the composure to calmly analyze Light even now.
"Light isn't moving by his own will right now. So there's no need to get shocked or annoyed by every little action."
"You can separate that?"
"Of course. It's all crystal clear to me."
Relationships between people hinge on trust.
Since humans can't fully read each other's true intentions, they're inevitably swayed by the imperfect emotion called trust.
But now that he could read, even if just a little, what others were thinking and how they'd act, Ban Yu-won no longer needed the word "trust."
Thanks to that, he could be certain Light wasn't an enemy and set out to save him.
'Of course, it's not all upsides...'
It would be perfect for driving a normal human insane, but Lucelle had noticed in time and taken care of him.
Unconditional allies didn't need such detailed analysis.
Lucelle... and now Mira too.
With those two, it was okay to have "trust."
"Yu-won..."
As he laid out his thoughts, Mira silently took his hand.
Ban Yu-won felt a bit embarrassed, thinking she understood his heart, but the next moment, she gripped it even tighter and said,
"How about we spend the night out today?"
"Yeah, I guess even with great language skills, some things are hard to convey properly..."
"I'm kidding. We should enjoy the Founding Festival first."
Even as she called it a joke, Mira had no intention of letting go of his tightly gripped hand.
"You okay? You were pissed about the guests."
"It's free time from now on. I'm going to show off to those who look down on you how perfect we are together. Let's change and go."
Sure enough, had dragging him all the way to the annex been a breather for that purpose?
He chuckled and took Mira's hand in return.
Since he'd planned to devote the day to her anyway, he gave up resisting and followed her lead.
For Ban Yu-won, who had no experience with college festivals, the Union Founding Festival was, honestly, quite disappointing.
The exhibitions and stalls prepared by students were decent—backed by the lavish spending of heirs from wealthy dimensional families—but since he already knew all about them from student council duties, they all felt stale.
The academy's events drew massive crowds, but they were curated versions of their Babel Tower research safe for public eyes, so they seemed lukewarm to Ban Yu-won, who was at the cutting edge of tower research.
However, for Mira, who wanted a proper date with him, showing off their relationship to academy folks and guests alike seemed quite satisfying.
Especially since she felt immensely proud of snatching him away from rivals like Lucelle or Dokgo Yeon... In the end, they ended up staying out overnight, but it was a fulfilling date for both.
"I asked Sis, and she said college festivals aren't a big deal either. The highlight's just the invited singer's live show at best."
"Yeah, Brother doesn't seem like the festival type."
The next day was, of course, his date with Lucelle.
The course naturally overlapped with yesterday's with Mira, but Lucelle graciously went along.
On pre-cataclysm Earth, this would've been prime tabloid fodder, but Union, embracing interdimensional culture, was a different league. He spotted plenty of academy students—like him, with multiple lovers or fiancées—strolling arm-in-arm with different partners than the day before.
"It's too different to even imagine, but Master still has lingering regrets about Earth's universities."
"Cut me some slack. In our country, students endure grueling exam prep just dreaming of good college life."
Dates with Mira involved lots of talk about things between them or what they wanted to do.
But with Lucelle, it was about Ban Yu-won's past or what she wanted to do for him.
Even now, Lucelle's natural prompting drew out stories of the college life he'd dreamed of before impulsively enrolling at Union Academy.
"Another famous thing at college festivals is the bar crawl, but... you know."
"No alcohol sales allowed in Union..."
The only booze Ban Yu-won had tasted in the academy was what he'd scored from Yumina.
Yumina... Thinking of her naturally led to her argument with Cellon, who demanded she "take good care" of him. Ban Yu-won shook his head and refocused on the beauty before him.
"Master."
"Yeah?"
"Were you thinking about Dokgo Yeon just now?"
See? Get caught thinking about another woman like that.
"Sorry, not Yeon—Professor Yumina. She seems really stressed lately."
"As you know, Master, a woman showing her weak side to a man means she has serious interest. Otherwise, she couldn't."
"...You think so too?"
Lucelle had encouraged him to connect with multiple women since first clinging to him, even fostering such atmospheres herself.
Maybe it was a beastkin trait, forming packs like families.
"It's been obvious for ages that the professor sees you as a man. Females instinctively crave capable males. Age doesn't change that."
"I get what you mean, but let's say 'men' and 'women' instead."
Ban Yu-won sighed, correcting her wording.
Was Mira picking up this crude speech from Lucelle?
Thank goodness he'd set up a barrier so bystanders couldn't eavesdrop.
Oh, and stop casually dissing Yumina's age too.
Of course, Lucelle ignored his corrections and continued.
"It's because you're so talented in every way. I get why she has to lean on you."
"What should I do, Lucelle? You're right that she's relying on me, but that doesn't mean we need to take it to a romantic level..."
"After Dokgo Yeon. So... fourth."
"I hate how well I understand what 'fourth' means."
He'd wanted advice on gentlemanly conduct with Yumina, but in Lucelle's mind, she was already slotted as his fourth wife.
"As I said before, you're planning to take on the Ten Great Families ahead. You can't miss talent like Professor Yumina. The only risk is if she sides with the academy."
"Setting aside the 'fourth' talk... I think that's fine."
Recalling Yumina's reaction during their dinner when discussing the chancellor, Ban Yu-won slowly shook his head.
"The professor's probably on our side. She understands the academy's essence better than anyone... That's why she decided to support me."
"We're still first-years, but the burden's heavy."
"Tell me about it."
"Which is why you should accept her. After all, the firmest alliance is marriage!"
"Maybe ditch that Warring States mindset..."
They wrapped up the Founding Festival date enjoyably amid this weighty talk of his future family plans.
Of course, these two days of dates were all uploaded to the Rebellion channel, sparking huge reactions—and earning a torrent of scolding from his sister Ban Yu-mi.
The next day: the day of the two special matches.
"The special matches start at five p.m. Want to spar until then?"
"Yeon, listen. Training's great, but wouldn't it be nice to tour the festival together? You've been holed up training alone for two straight days."
Ban Yu-won mustered courage to suggest a date instead of letting her drag him to the training room as expected, but her response was icy.
"Can't goof off before an important match. Get your head in the game."
She could charge toward her goal single-mindedly, no matter what others did with the festival.
It felt all the more admirable for that...
Or maybe her strictness stemmed from him dating other women the past two days.
Lost in such thoughts, Ban Yu-won snapped back to find Dokgo Yeon hesitating, about to say something.
"Yeon?"
"Ahem... So, after the match."
Ah, after the match.
"If we get good results... I'll hang out with you for a day. ...If, if you want."
"Yeon!"
Ban Yu-won clenched his fist in excitement and got smacked for it.
It didn't hurt at all.