Chapter 254
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Lesson 49. Casanova's Holiday - 4
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"When people talk about ruins, they mean places where traces of ancient civilizations from before the dimensional walls tore everything apart like they are now have survived."
On the way to their destination aboard the spaceship piloted by Selden, Aneri patiently explained the background of this commission.
"That's why even in lower dimensions with low mana density, you can't underestimate the ruins. They might've belonged to some insane absolute powerhouse, after all."
"How do you know it's ruins?"
"If the people of that dimension can't access it with their magic power, it's ruins. Simple as that."
"And most ruins aren't easy to even open in the first place."
Mother Kang Eun-young chimed in to add to Aneri's explanation.
"If it were a higher dimension, they'd just monopolize it among themselves without hiring mercenaries. But in a lower dimension, that's not an option. So they secretly commission mercenaries who have the ability to open the ruins."
"It's a high-difficulty job that demands total secrecy, so naturally, the scraps that fall our way are substantial. Even if this commission weren't tied to Rebellion, it'd still be a golden opportunity for us."
Ban Yu-won nodded thoughtfully, then spoke up as if struck by a sudden realization.
"If I hadn't come, you wouldn't have been able to open the ruins?"
"That's why we called you, dear."
"Master Yu-won is the talent everyone in the mercenary world wants! How about officially joining us after graduation? Once we topple the Prominence family, everyone else will head back to their own clans anyway, so it could just be you and me in our cozy little husband-and-wife mercenary band..."
"Not a bad idea."
"Really?! Hold on, let me record that—say it one more time!"
"Everyone around me jumps at any little hint like this..."
Besides, the husband-and-wife mercenary band Ban Yu-won had in mind would have a wildly different lineup from what Aneri was imagining.
"Sis, I'm not leaving the mercenary band. Oh, and we're entering the dimensional wall now, so everyone hold tight."
"Right, we have a newbie. Keep trash-talking Yu-won, and you'll vanish without a trace before you know it."
"I swear I won't badmouth him anymore..."
The moment they left the terminal and pierced the dimensional wall, Lilith—who had been perched on his right shoulder in the form of a small doll—tilted her head and reported.
[The spaceship's energy is changing.]
"It's camouflage. Can't do a secret commission while showing our tracks everywhere."
"Our mercenary band is anything but ordinary from the members on up, so we handle all commissions on the down-low by default. Hiding or altering energy signatures is my specialty, too."
As Aneri said, the magic permeating the entire ship and distorting its signature was hers.
He'd suspected she wasn't your average mercenary from the start, but this level was downright astonishing.
She downplayed it as her "specialty," but this was unequivocally an innate ability—an Authority.
She didn't seem to have contracted with a Constellation, so it was either something she was born with or developed herself...
The fact that someone with power like this was helping them just because she was a fan club member really showed how unpredictable the world could be.
"With that in mind, here."
"Hm?"
Ban Yu-won, who had been staring at Aneri lost in thought about her ability, tilted his head at the leather outfit and mask she held out.
"It's our mercenary band's official ninja... combat suit, complete with perception interference and a bunch of effects I wove in myself."
"Did you just definitely say 'ninja'?"
It wasn't quite a full bodysuit, but the leather clung tightly to reveal every line, and the metal mask emblazoned with the band's emblem gave off an intensely striking vibe.
He instinctively glanced at Selden, who was wearing something similar—but layered with a black jacket that seemed designed to boost physical strength, making it look a tad more tolerable.
...This appeared to be the band's official men's uniform, alright.
"You weren't planning to operate in your school uniform, right?"
"Of course not, but... You really expect me to wear this? For real?"
He'd thought he'd never wear something like this unless it was a punishment.
Unfortunately, Aneri's eyes were utterly serious.
"Until the commission ends, you're one of us, Master Yu-won♡"
"Holy..."
Aneri was blatant about it, and while Ban Yu-mi pretended otherwise, her eyes sparkled as she watched him.
In the end, Ban Yu-won borrowed the changing room and quietly donned the ninja cosplay... er, combat suit.
Tightening the leather belts attached all over—around his arms, thighs, and waist—hid his physique far better than he'd expected.
The leather hugged his abs, back, and chest to emphasize his muscles, but shoulder pads, knee guards, and boots with spiked heels muddied his silhouette.
'So they didn't just hand this over thoughtlessly... Though I still don't get why it highlights the abs and collarbone.'
And once he put on the mask, his eyes and hair turned ashen—even with his own Authority, it was hard to recognize him. It perfectly masked his presence.
"Perfect. Now there's... nothing left to... desi—"
The moment he stepped out of the changing room, Aneri took one look and collapsed, nose gushing blood. He suspected she just wanted to see him in this outfit, but he decided to ignore it for now.
By the time the other members had changed into similar concept combat suits, the spaceship had broken through the dimensional wall and arrived in the D-13 dimension.
"Commission site?"
"Planet Galahad."
"That sounds awfully familiar..."
Ban Yu-won gave a wry smile the instant he heard it.
It wasn't his first time encountering myths or legends famous on Earth cropping up in other dimensions, but hearing the name Galahad in a dimension famed for its holy sword felt anything but coincidental.
"? Famiwia?"
For some reason, Ban Yu-mi—who had been plugging her nose with tissue—tilted her head with a nasally voice.
As Mother sighed and came over to staunch her nosebleed, Ban Yu-won gave a quick rundown on Galahad.
Galahad was one of the Knights of the Round Table from the legends of King Arthur, known as the perfect knight.
Son of the Knight of the Lake, Lancelot; wielder of the Strange Belted Sword and the Cross Shield.
And protagonist of the Grail Quest, the pinnacle of the Arthurian legends.
Since the Grail Quest episode—where he shone as the lead—had neatly vanished during Earth's cataclysm, no one on Earth could utter his name anymore. But that didn't apply to Ban Yu-won, who wielded language itself.
Of course, people could still remember even if they couldn't say it, which meant Sis had never known the name to begin with.
"He's a Knight of the Round Table. Ever heard of King Arthur?"
"How could I not! That pretty girl swinging Excalibur?"
The Grail ties would've wiped that series too, but apparently that part had stuck with Mother.
Ban Yu-won debated for a second whether to explain the original Arthurian legend and how a foreign game had altered and used parts of it, but he quickly gave up.
"Right, Sis. She was a great female knight who fought for women's rights in medieval England."
"Son, giving up on explaining is a very bad habit."
Ban Yu-won slipped away from Sis and turned to the monitor on the spaceship.
Gazing at the endless expanse of space made the question of King Arthur's gender seem trivial.
The C-rank dimension's third terminal had been vast for a single dimension, but D-13 was no slouch, boasting immense scale.
Accordingly, it had multiple planets. As a D-rank dimension, it held exceptional resources and high accessibility from other dimensions, which made it a frequent target for dimensional pirates.
"High accessibility meaning?"
"Weak barriers make it easy to infiltrate. Normally, unless you're native or authorized, the dimensional wall's barrier blocks you."
Aneri flashed the permit they'd received upon accepting the commission as proof of "authorized."
Thanks to it, they'd passed the wall unhindered—but even without it, they could've crossed easily.
"Barrier, huh..."
"I mentioned it before, remember? When Earth's barrier formed."
"Ah, right."
Usually, they're collaborative efforts to fend off orc waves or dimensional pirates from other dimensions.
But as Asha had told him before, the D-13 inhabitants were in the same guardian alliance on paper, but they fought each other more than united—so fat chance of a proper barrier.
"Sis, scout ship incoming! Better try comms before they spot us, no?"
Selden reported sharply then.
"Ack! What? They said no scouts today!"
Aneri stuck her nose to the monitor, tongue clicking.
A sleek small spaceship sliced through the space ahead, flying at high speed.
"Eek, close. Spotted?"
"Not yet, but soon?"
"Act like dimensional pirates? Whoa—did the client leak intel?!"
The two seemed panicked.
They were camouflaged to hide the band's movements, so identity wasn't an issue, but clashing with unscheduled forces in D-13 wasn't ideal.
That's when Lilith, perched quietly on his shoulder, flashed her glossy silver eyes.
[Master, shall I?]
"Do it."
The doll snapped her tiny fingers, and the already camouflaged ship melted seamlessly into space, vanishing completely.
The scout ship—clearly homing in on them—flew confidently until passing them, then slowed as it sensed something off.
It circled probing, but by then their ship was long gone, closing in on planet Galahad. Pointless effort.
"How in the...?"
Aneri gaped.
Ban Yu-won shrugged.
"You can hide appearances too, Aneri."
"That's my specialty."
"I applied it to the whole ship. Like you did earlier."
"No... My prep barely disrupts the mana structure. Hiding the entire ship is a whole other level."
[Ship control is my specialty.]
Lilith bragged, and no one could argue.
Thus, they landed undetected at planet Galahad, where their clients awaited for the ruins exploration.
Ban Yu-won canceled Lilith's Authority and checked with Aneri.
"We'll explore the ruins with their people, right?"
"Obviously. What do they think, sending us in alone?"
"Hmph, like they could take us even together."
Aneri smacked Selden's head to silence his blatant mockery of the clients—likely due to his pirate background. His grinning face confirmed he was doing it on purpose.
The pervert's world runs deep, Ban Yu-won thought with a shiver, then gave his familiars brief orders.
"N-type."
"Shuriken."
[Got it!]
Eve and Lilith simultaneously shifted into small cross-shaped throwing weapons—officially called chakra shuriken.
Since their original forms were known via Union Net, they'd preset types for disguise. No need to explain why shuriken this time.
Aneri stared blankly at the change, then asked,
"...How's the power?"
"Way stronger than most artifacts."
"How do you even get familiars like that."
The secret was their 万変 concept letting them convert magic into other powers on the fly, but he couldn't spill that, so he just smiled.
For reference, the other platinum fan club member, Kee, was quietly trailing behind, sketching and noting Yu-won's new abilities and the familiars' changes.
"They're here!"
"On guard!"
As the group disembarked, plate-armored knights—evoking Asha's first day at school—rushed out to surround them warily.
Wondering if trouble brewed, he checked reactions: even newbie Ban Yu-mi looked bored alongside Aneri. Guess this was standard mercenary treatment.
"Who's the client?"
Aneri—wearing an identical metal mask showing only her eyes—asked coldly.
"Scouts were out. If things deviate before we even start... we'll have to demand hazard pay."
"Scouts? For real?"
The knights parted, revealing a middle-aged man in similar plate armor but helmetless.
"Client?"
"Rosius. Crown Prince of this nation... and Knight Commander. In the guardian alliance, I'm third strike force leader."
"The boss, huh."
Aneri nodded and continued.
"Whether you tricked us or botched secrecy, it's on you. For the added risk, we want ten percent more on top of the original terms."
"Hmm... How about Ronica instead? It's historically vital to us, but probably not to you. Cash would benefit you more, no?"
"Twenty percent."
Aneri scoffed at the absurd counter and upped it.
Though she had no real intent, she nudged Selden—who got the hint and readied his weapon, eyeing the knights while prepping the ship for takeoff.
Pure bluff, but they didn't know the group wasn't here for the ruins per se.
In the end, Rosius—the self-proclaimed crown prince—sighed deeply and raised a hand to halt his men.
"...Can't be helped. We'll pay the extra ten percent."
"Twenty."
Aneri said no more.
After a staring contest, Rosius clicked his tongue and stepped back.
"Fine. It was seventy-thirty; now it's fifty-fifty. No intent to deceive—we truly didn't know. ...We'll tighten security, but watch yourselves in the ruins."
"Of course."
Ban Yu-won, amazed at this unfamiliar negotiating Aneri, suddenly felt something vibrate in his inventory.
A quick check: a broken metal shard... fragment of the cross necklace once around Asha's neck.
[When'd you pick that up?]
'No way I'd leave a dragon soul treasure lying around.'
He narrowed his eyes with a smile.
Who'd have thought a keeper would bite from such an unexpected spot.
Looks like he might snag a gift for Asha after all.