Chapter 241
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 241
Chapter Title: Lesson 47. Twist upon Twist - 1
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It was dark and cramped; he couldn't even properly straighten his body.
Even if he asked himself what had locked him away, no answer came back.
With nothing else he could do, he kept repeating his thoughts.
From the day he had been chosen by the Holy Sword and become a man—
—to the moment when, for the first time, he thought he wanted to throw it away.
Alien invasions, internal wars.
In the D-13 dimension, nothing was more important than raw power.
His ancestors had succeeded in uniting the dimension's strength, but that had only been possible because of the Holy Sword.
In truth, there had been no special resolve when he took hold of it.
He hadn't even been given the luxury of choosing for himself.
External expectations, pressure, the flow of events, the gazes upon him.
They had made him believe his actions were his own choices.
He had to believe that just to endure.
Only after years had passed did he finally realize what he had sacrificed to wield the Holy Sword.
There was no individual there—only the nation's aspirations.
The hope of humanity, the symbol of struggle, the proof of alliance.
All that was demanded was the Holy Sword itself.
If he let it go, nothing would remain.
That man had spoken of countless other possibilities.
Another friend had tried to teach him how to flap his wings.
Tempting words, a pleasant dream.
But even if he tried to let go, he could no longer do so.
No matter how much he flapped his wings, he couldn't escape the cage.
From the moment the necklace had been placed around his neck, he—
had no right to choose.
"Ubbubub?!"
His consciousness surfaced in an instant.
The man was right in front of him.
Their lips were touching.
All the thoughts circling in his mind scattered.
No, what had he even been doing until now?
Did it even matter?
—Long time no see, Light. Focus from now on.
"!"
The sweet voice piercing into his mind gradually brought back his sense of reality.
His body, which had abandoned itself and moved only according to the Holy Sword's will, suddenly froze.
What was here was none other than himself.
As his own presence solidified, he felt it growing stronger within his flesh.
It was cramped.
Because there were other things inside him besides himself.
Those chattering bastards made it impossible to focus on the kiss.
—It'll hurt, but endure it. This is the only way to drive out the souls inside your body.
The sword, handled for so long and tormented for so long, was now gripped in the man's hand.
Seeing it resist as if denying the man irritated him.
From beginning to end, there wasn't a single thing about that sword he liked—
That was why he lent his hand to the one trying to stab him.
His head wasn't working properly yet, so he couldn't understand the man's motives, but he simply didn't like the sword tormenting him.
—Drive out the intruders!
The moment it plunged into his abdomen—two thoughts crossed his mind.
One was the certainty that all the chains binding his body had finally snapped.
The other was a delusion that the situation somehow felt a bit erotic.
But... yeah.
For now, let's focus on the person in front of him, the one he'd missed so much.
...This was the only time he could escape into fantasy, after all.
Haa...
"Ah, I don't remember anything? Ugh! M-my stomach still hurts. Yu-won stabbed too hard...!"
After regaining consciousness, Light averted the gazes of the Rebellion members looking down at him and spoke evasively. Then, he suddenly clutched his fully healed abdomen and cried out in pain.
Ban Yu-won, having clearly read the changes in Light's emotion concepts through their recent kiss, nodded solemnly and said,
"As expected, it seems you remember everything, Captain."
"For Light to fool us is a million years too early. And don't call me Captain."
"W-what are you talking about—huh? We're at the academy? I don't remember coming back!"
Lucelle stared intently at Light, who was glancing around and putting on a clumsy act, then suddenly snorted and said,
"Hmph. I have no desire to play along with such nonsense, but a contract is a contract."
"...Huh?"
"Ankle? Ha, you'd better watch that you don't grab mine."
"Lu-Lucelle?"
Dramatic lines pouring out one after another, as if chanting a spell.
Dokgo Yeon blinked in confusion at why she was acting this way, but Ban Yu-won, with his excellent memory, and Light, who didn't have great recall but felt a familiar pang from the lines, both flinched in reaction.
"Hmph, causing this much of a fuss over something like this."
"S-stop..."
"Unable to endure even this level of heat and relying on tools like that."
"Ah, no way."
A beat late, Dokgo Yeon realized it too.
And with a horrified expression, as if staring at some terrifying non-human entity, she looked at Lucelle.
"Beast, you remembered all of that...?"
"Ha, the Holy Sword and I are one. There's no need to distinguish between us."
"Sorry, Lucelle! Stop! It was my fault!"
Light writhed in agony like a possessed girl facing an exorcist, but Lucelle thrust a cross of judgment at him and recited the prayer once more!
"Begone, lowly creatures!"
"Yes! I'm a lowly creature! I remember everything! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
The lowly creature Light prostrated himself on the spot and apologized with all his might.
Finally ceasing her act, Lucelle saw this and smiled a saintly smile, extending her hand to him.
"Hehe, good thing you remembered it all, Light. Humans are creatures who learn from the past, after all."
"Yes, I learned my lesson...! I've learned it, so please stop...!"
"Welcome back safely. Best regards going forward, Light."
"Yes, best regards..."
Dokgo Yeon and Ban Yu-won trembled, clutching each other's hands as they watched Lucelle establish a superior-subordinate dynamic in an instant.
"She seemed so meek, but it turns out she's been holding quite a grudge all this time..."
"We have to be nicer to Lucelle from now on..."
"Master's already too good to me!"
Having finished educating Light, Lucelle heard Ban Yu-won's voice and clung to him sweetly.
She then glanced at Dokgo Yeon, whose hand he was holding, and smiled softly without a word.
Dokgo Yeon narrowed her eyes and gripped Ban Yu-won's hand tighter.
"Hehe."
"Heh."
"...Huh?"
The lowly creature, barely managing to stand, saw this and tilted his head.
"Why are you guys like that? That's not your usual vibe... Huh? I am forgiven, right? To celebrate my liberation from the Holy Sword, maybe we Rebellion members could have a little party... Huh? Why do I feel like I'm being ostracized? I'm not, right?"
"Light."
"Ah."
Turning at the voice calling him, Light saw Ire approaching with an icy expression and foresaw the imminent future, letting out a quiet sigh.
Ire's mouth opened.
"Dragon? Among the vermin I beheaded in the past, there was one like that."
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
"So desperate for comrades? Even a dragon can't survive alone?"
"Kaaaaaaaah! Sorry, Ire! I'm sorry!"
Indeed.
The exorcist wasn't just one person.
As Ire's exorcism ritual proceeded, Dokgo Yeon couldn't bear to watch and averted her gaze.
"Seeing that now, it really doesn't seem like words he said of his own will..."
"Light was a sacrifice. A victim of the ancestors' long-standing grudge..."
As Ban Yu-won murmured softly, Xenon's voice echoed through the arena once more.
—Now, we will begin the special match awards ceremony. Participants who do not gather within the time limit will be forcibly summoned, so please arrive promptly.
For the defeated students in the match, the Wish Right ceremony—held under the watchful eyes of academy students and the gallery—was a humiliation beyond measure.
Naturally, they would desperately try to escape the immediate crisis, so to prevent that, the academy had marked their Student IDs the moment the special matches were decided.
Unless they discarded their academy student status in that brief instant, they had no choice but to endure the humiliation.
Of course, none of the participants this time committed the folly of sacrificing their future to avoid momentary shame.
"..."
"..."
Among them, Ulrike Prominence wore the most deathly expression, as it was not only the first time a teen family heir had lost at the masked ball, but also a record in academy history of wagering Wish Rights twice against the same opponent and losing both.
Still, the mere fact that she stood her ground on her own two feet was commendable.
"Before the Wish Rights are exercised, a brief explanation."
Xenon ascended the podium and slowly spoke, floating a small orb above his hand.
Ban Yu-won could easily discern that it was a device linked to the orb in Xenon's classroom.
An artifact capable of converting intangible values into visible numbers.
In other words, the tool that set the Wish Right limits.
"As you're aware, Wish Rights have restrictions. You cannot impose severe damage on a student's future or make excessively unfair demands. This orb informs us of that. Of course, the Chancellor made it himself."
Ban Yu-won strained to measure the orb's limits using his authorities and Origin Sword.
It was a struggle to maximize the Wish Right's potential, and it yielded decent results.
"All Wish Right ceremonies are conducted before this orb, and any wish it rejects cannot be granted. Students, please compromise well between your desires and make your requests accordingly."
There had been five special matches in total.
One felt like a friendly rivalry between representatives of traditionally opposing clubs.
Another was practically a public confession for a proposal.
Yet another was to determine superiority between students from relatively equal dimensions.
Compared to the two special matches Ban Yu-won had fought—which drew the most attention—they were less noteworthy, so they had been handled all at once beforehand.
And finally, Ban Yu-won and Dokgo Yeon, along with Lucein Ortima and Ulrike Prominence, ascended the podium.
"A lower-dimension nobody beats a teen family heir."
"No idea what shameless demand he'll make... but we can only hope the Chancellor handles it properly."
"Tch, what a disappointment."
"Did it even need to go to a special match stage? If they can't handle lower-dimension students at will, can they even claim to be a teen family?"
Jeers poured from the gallery.
Before the special matches, there had been many disdainful looks toward Ban Yu-won and Dokgo Yeon, but now more were displeased with Ortima and Prominence for tarnishing the teen families' honor.
Prominence bowed her head, while Ortima held his chin high and locked eyes with the dolls.
As if committing to memory each person daring to judge and belittle him.
"...Let's watch for now."
"They are still teen families, after all."
The guests at the Union Founding Festival were from higher dimensions, but few had authority rivaling the teen families, and the murmuring gallery fell silent in moments.
If he weren't tangled up with Dokgo Yeon, he'd actually suit an air of authority pretty well, Ban Yu-won thought, shaking his head as he watched Ortima dominate the arena with his gaze.
"Proceed with the Wish Rights."
"Yeon, wanna go first?"
"Sure."
Dokgo Yeon stepped forward to face Lucein Ortima, staring at the black orb between them. Unsure how to exercise the Wish Right, she hesitated before calling Ban Yu-won.
"Yuu...?"
"Okay. Lend me your ear."
Ortima narrowed his eyes at the sight of them whispering.
Having received hints on the Wish Right's restrictions and effective methods, Dokgo Yeon returned with a satisfied expression and opened her mouth.
"Unless I look at you—"
The energy within the orb contracted.
By self-imposing a restriction, she inversely expanded the wish's scope.
A declaration impossible without piercing the orb's structure. Xenon's sharp gaze swept over Ban Yu-won, but he merely smiled faintly.
"You cannot perceive me."
"No, you—!"
The orb shone brightly.
It had approved the Wish Right as just.
Forced mutual non-interference.
It seemed like a fairly peaceful wish, but it was the most chilling one since the masked ball special matches began at Union Academy.
The instant the Wish Right activated, Ortima could no longer perceive Dokgo Yeon in front of him and collapsed to the floor.
"No more itchy napes to worry about. Thanks for the hint, Yu-won."
Dokgo Yeon spoke coolly without even glancing at Ortima, lightly squeezed Ban Yu-won's hand once, and stepped back.
As Ban Yu-won, tagged in, advanced, Ulrike Prominence flinched in fear and backed away.
"N-no, right? That can't be. I'll apologize... please."
"An invitation."
"Huh?"
"One that lets me visit your house—Senior's house—anytime I want, without permission."
Ban Yu-won said with a wink.
Ulrike Prominence fell hopelessly in love.