Chapter 242
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 242
Chapter Title: Lesson 47. Twist upon Twist - 2
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"I picked it up."
[No, I don't know what it is.]
Ban Yu-mi looked serious as she stared at the black, translucent rectangular thin plate hovering above Ban Yu-won's hand.
Ban Yu-won shrugged his shoulders and said,
"It's an invitation to the Prominence mansion. I had a rough idea, but that orb shaped itself into something visible on its own."
[So what are we supposed to do with it? Go visit and get a cup of tea?]
"Hey, hand the phone over. Tell Anari to come out."
[Tch, wait! I'm thinking of something right now!]
Not wanting to miss the chance to see her brother's face even through the screen, Ban Yu-mi shouted for a timeout and racked her brains with a stiff expression for a while before suddenly slapping her palm and yelling,
[Ah! Could that let us barge in whenever we want?]
"Good thing you figured it out eventually."
[Whoa...... Doesn't that mean we've basically won now?]
"You think it's like some musical chairs game where just getting into the mansion wins? We have to time it right."
Ban Yu-won sharpened his gaze and explained to his sister.
"Keep a close eye on the Prominence family's movements and build up forces within the family that will side with you in advance. Then strike when a key figure on par with the family head is in the mansion but without maximum protection. In that situation, we'll definitely――be able to use it effectively."
[Whoaaa......]
Mid-explanation with great momentum, Ban Yu-won sensed the gaze of a leopard stalking its prey and looked up.
"Sis?"
[――Huh? What?]
Ban Yu-mi, who had been staring at him with a strange voice, belatedly came to her senses and pretended nothing was wrong.
Knowing full well that once she started playing innocent, she'd never admit it even on her deathbed, Ban Yu-won didn't press further.
"Anyway, I'll send it over, so hold onto it and use it wisely."
[How the hell are you gonna......]
He wielded the Origin Sword.
Among the countless concepts the Origin Sword had devoured, spatial control was a core concept of martial arts.
With Lilith's assistance, who possessed the power to transcend dimensions, sending a small item to his sister in front of her eyes via the Union Net was no big deal.
[Insane......]
Ban Yu-mi widened her eyes round as the 'invitation' bobbed in front of her.
Freshly reminded of her brother's absurd abilities, she blankly grabbed hold of it.
Ban Yu-won smiled warmly and bid farewell.
"Take care, then. I'll call again."
[Hey, wait a sec.]
"Yeah?"
He wondered if she was grabbing him for no reason since she had nothing to say, but Ban Yu-mi wore a somewhat serious expression.
[You said there were two wish tickets. What'd you do with the other one? Make it non-interference like with that Dokgo Yeon girl?]
"Mutual non-interference."
[Yeah, that.]
"Nah, something else."
Ban Yu-mi's guess was reasonable, but Ban Yu-won shook his head.
For him, who manifested authority by observing targets, the condition of not looking at his future enemy Ulrike Prominence was too restrictive.
"I set the condition that we won't make a move during my enrollment."
[Huh? Oh......?]
"In short, she can't touch me while I'm at the academy. She can't turn me into a team member anyway, so she won't harm my party members anymore either. After graduation, there are no restrictions, so to avoid earning my enmity, she won't take any bold actions."
[So you basically postponed it to the future?]
"And I'll crush her before graduation."
If she kept showing that foolish side forever, he'd let her be.
It was better for Ban Yu-won if Ulrike stayed lost in her comfortable delusions.
A mere judgment in one special match wouldn't absolve her crimes.
He looked forward to the moment he could sink his teeth into her throat as she foolishly smiled, mistaking his smile for kindness.
[And don't go tormenting her like in some smutty doujinshi.]
"Hanging up."
[But you said she looks like me.]
"Who taught you to keep bringing up random topics every time I'm about to hang up?"
[Shut up, I wanna see your face.]
Ah, this woman had finally brazenly revealed her true feelings.
As Ban Yu-won stared at her in disbelief, she pretended like she hadn't said a word and continued,
[Answer nicely. Who's prettier, her or me?]
"You're both creepy, creepy."
Only after Ban Yu-won straightforwardly said his sister was prettier did she hang up satisfied.
As he shook his head in exasperation and turned, Light, who had approached nearby at some point, was looking at him with a sulky expression.
"What's with you now?"
"We're finally in the same space alone, and you're doing other stuff......"
"Sorry, but you've changed so much so fast that I'm having trouble adjusting, so hold off on those lines for a bit."
"Phee......"
Light's feminization――no, 'optimization'――that started the moment the necklace exploded had accelerated after acquiring the True Dragon Sword, and now her face was overwhelmingly slender and beautiful compared to before vacation.
Her sturdy male body had become slender, smooth, and curvaceous like a woman's, to the point where no one could mistake her for a man anymore.
At the latest by tomorrow morning, at the earliest tonight, the optimization would complete.
It was already hard to look straight at her now; he was a little scared of what she'd be like once finished.
What Light――Asha――wore now was a nightdress borrowed from Lucelle.
It was a truly desirable sight, but undesirable in another sense.
"Maybe I should get a separate dorm room after all."
"Ah, no. I'll get kicked out."
Yeah, figured as much.
In the long history of Union Academy, there was no precedent of misidentifying a female student as male and assigning her to the boys' dorm.
What if Light suddenly declared she was actually a girl in that situation?
Would Union Academy readily admit their mistake and assign her a new room?
No way.
They'd be lucky not to expel her.
"Y-Yu-won...... You don't want to room with me......?"
"Ahh――I mean, I can't handle it......"
Ban Yu-won pondered if he should switch to full-time exorcist like Lucelle or Ire, looking at Light gazing up at him with teary eyes.
"I know I messed up, I'll make it up to you, so don't hate me. Yu-won, you're my......"
"I know, got it. I won't exorcise you. Calm down."
Right now, even sorting out his advanced relationship with Dokgo Yeon was overwhelming.
Progress-wise, he'd gone further with Light, but that was that and this was this.
Well, getting prickly about holy swords was Light's chronic issue, but now that was resolved, her difficulty was basically the lowest.
Even without All-Reading Eyes, she was easy to handle, so for now he'd just play along appropriately...
'That ability of yours is indeed most effective at seducing women.'
Recalling Dokgo Yeon's words, Ban Yu-won's face paled.
Coming all the way to Union Academy, what the hell am I doing? A wave of value confusion hit him anew.
Why am I even rating difficulties? Am I insane?
"Y-Yu-won! What's wrong, you okay?"
"It's nothing, I'm fine."
Ban Yu-won patted his cheeks to clear his thoughts, extended one hand to block Light's approach, and said,
"Anyway, it's different from before. We're aware of each other's genders now, so let's both be careful not to make mistakes."
"Mistakes......"
Light blushed.
He could tell what she was thinking without using any authority.
But with her changed appearance, even anticipated reactions hit like critical strikes one by one.
"Anyway, that's it. There's the club tournament special match tomorrow, so get some good rest tonight."
"......Ah."
"Yeah?"
As Ban Yu-won turned, resolving to self-check his future school life, Light's voice stopped him.
"Calling Dokgo Yeon by name...... How'd that happen?"
"That's――"
Hesitating whether to talk about his date with Dokgo Yeon, Ban Yu-won ultimately stayed silent.
He'd thought about it after multiple people pointed it out, but Dokgo Yeon was indeed special to him.
He just didn't want to chatter lightly about her...
That didn't mean Lucelle or Mira were insignificant――far from it――but he did feel a special emotion toward Dokgo Yeon that couldn't be explained otherwise.
"I became friends with you first......"
Perhaps reading some of his complicated feelings, Light――Asha――pouted and muttered.
Even the ever-patient Ban Yu-won had to retort this time.
"But you've been fumbling the whole last month."
"I know, I know! Sorry, it's all my fault!"
After repeating apologies all day until it became habit, Light bowed her head and suddenly blurted,
"Asha......"
"Huh?"
"My name."
She murmured softly, then added upon realizing it was lacking,
"My real name."
"Real name?"
"The name you found for me."
He hadn't known until hearing it now, but instead of pointing that out tactlessly, Ban Yu-won said what she wanted.
"Looking forward to it from now on, Asha."
"Eeeeng, that sounds like everything before sucked...... But still."
Pretending to cry half-heartedly, Light――no, Asha――nodded repeatedly.
"Looking forward to it. ......Thanks for granting my wish."
"No big deal."
The wish ticket from their special match had floated away mid-match after her issue resolved.
So Ban Yu-won proposed one humiliating enough to convince all onlookers, yet deeply meaningful to Asha herself.
It was 'cross-dress throughout enrollment.'
Knowing how the academy would react if she revealed she was female, he phrased it without mentioning gender, allowing her free action there.
Onlookers might think he'd mercilessly punished a defiant teammate, but for Asha, who had lived half her life in a form she hated, it was close to salvation, if exaggerated a bit.
"Good night, Asha."
"You too, Yu-won. ......Really, thank you."
That night, Ban Yu-won couldn't sleep properly due to Asha's constant gaze from the next bed.
He even worried she might do something stupid if he closed his eyes.
Now he understood why Lucelle had been dying to devour Asha at the end-of-event disbanding.
'Just play along my ass.'
Ban Yu-won belatedly realized the relationships he'd formed had accelerators but no brakes.
Ah, he had no choice but to accept it.
The slow-building drama had finally entered Act 3.
The next morning.
"Hey, underclassman. Let's have a serious talk."
In front of the mid-sized spaceship prepared for the club tournament special match, Dol-meng spoke to Ban Yu-won with a serious face.
"If someone's that pretty, even if they're a guy, it's okay...... Don't you think?"
Ban Yu-won ignored him and gestured to the surrounding club members, shouting,
"Someone pick up this rolling stone quick~."
"Leave it to me!"
"No2, wait! Hey! Can't you let me have a private talk with this underclassman messing up my values?! Isn't that fine?! And how'd her bone structure change like that?!"
"Ah, just kick him, guys. He's heavy."
"Ack! Aaaack!"
Watching multiple club members kick Dol-meng into the spaceship, Ban Yu-won sighed softly.
Turning around, there was Asha, perfectly fulfilling the cross-dressing mission with Lucelle's help, her fluttering dress swaying.
Now the owner of proportions rivaling Lucelle's, she was currently in a staring contest with Dokgo Yeon.
"Dokgo Yeon, did you put on makeup? I thought someone I knew was the type who dumped girls or whatever......"
"And it suits you so well with makeup and dress. You looked way more dashing yesterday."
"Why are you two so desperate to pick fights?"
"This is our way of making up."
Lucelle, approaching with a bright smile, explained on their behalf.
That's making up? Women really are incomprehensible, Ban Yu-won thought, shaking his head.
"Yu-won, are you really okay?"
Yumina, following Lucelle and taking his hand with a worried look, asked.
He smiled brightly and gripped her hand back.
"I've prepared perfectly, so don't worry too much."
The club tournament special match, which could be called the grand finale of Union Founding Festival.
In this tournament held on an abandoned dimension as the stage, it was finally time to straighten out the club's discipline.