Chapter 264
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: Lesson 51. A Solid Alliance - 6
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Ire's declaration that she was coming to meet them right now was no exaggeration.
The very moment he read the message and felt the urge to bolt, Ire and the Melodya family head appeared right in front of Ban Yu-won and his group.
Before anyone could react to the sudden event, the family head stepped forward and faced Ban Yu-won as the group froze in place.
"You've opened the traitor's ruins."
With that single sentence, he made it clear he had grasped the entire situation. He smiled with refined grace upon seeing Ban Yu-won remain unflustered while some of the group members failed miserably at hiding their agitation.
Then he fastened a small medal around Tike's neck—she had followed close behind—and handed it over to Ban Yu-won, speaking once more in a stern tone.
"As I already said, he is a traitor. It's true that his traces as a true dragon enabled us to reach this D-13 dimension this time, but that doesn't mean we intend to show him any respect. And of course, we have no plans to punish the tomb robbers either."
The term "tomb robbers" was a pretty accurate description.
After all, Aisha had been the one scheduled to enter those ruins.
"I've only come to reclaim a promise. A promise not to use the unclean items obtained from the traitor's tomb to harm Lady Ire."
"Huh."
Harm Ire? Why him?
She glanced back at her, shaking her head as if it were solely the family head's assumption.
Even so, the family head didn't back down.
"All dragons let their guard down, and they pay for it with their lives. The blade of kin-slaying is like a tiny thorn laced with deadly poison—utterly trivial and irritating before it pricks, but soul-shattering agony afterward."
"Yu-won won't stab me."
"Human affection is like a reed. It bends and snaps at the slightest provocation, so you mustn't judge them by your own senses."
"......"
The family head spoke coldly, treating their relationship as inconsequential.
Ire shot him a look of extreme annoyance.
Ban Yu-won chose that moment to step in.
"One of my party members is a dragonkin. At the very least, no one will attack Ire just because she's a dragonkin. And if our positions ever shift in the future and we end up at odds, we'll both take a step back then."
"......I'll accept that for now. We'll discuss the details later."
"You, butt out."
Ire shoved the family head aside after he pondered Ban Yu-won's proposal and nodded.
Their superior-subordinate dynamic was suddenly crystal clear.
......Or it just looked like a daughter throwing a tantrum at her doting father.
"Yu-won, forget what that guy just said. He's overprotective."
"No, it's fine. Besides, he stepped up for Aisha."
"Right, that. Don't forget it. This time, I was the one who decisively saved Aisha."
As expected, Ire's influence had played a major role in mobilizing the Melodya family head—at least when it came to tracking down Camelot and pressuring the king.
She probably hadn't been thrilled about how, back at the masked ball, her clumsy provocation of Aisha had ultimately led to Ban Yu-won liberating her instead.
So when the chance arose this time, she'd pulled in the entire Melodya house without a second thought.
As she puffed out her chest and strutted, insisting she'd helped Aisha more than he had, Ban Yu-won found her surprisingly cute and extended his hand.
"Yeah, thanks for the help. Honestly, I didn't see it coming, but it made a huge difference."
"Huh?"
Ire's eyes went wide when she spotted what lay in his open palm.
A hairpin adorned with a stunning ice-crystal gem.
A bribe—no, a gift—he'd started crafting the instant he sent her the rescue request, pouring his overnight-honed accessory-making skills into finishing it swiftly.
Fortunately, the pure Ice concept he'd stockpiled from massacring those frost giants on his first solo delve had leftovers even after forging the Frost Fortress last time.
He'd used every last bit to create an artifact that would amplify her ice magic.
"A high-grade artifact...... From the ruins?"
"No, I made it."
"You did?"
"With the materials."
"??"
She tilted her head but took the hairpin anyway, channeling her magic into it before breaking into a deeply satisfied smile.
The sidelined Melodya family head peered over, nodding repeatedly, so it looked like the bribe had landed perfectly.
"I'm off."
"Are you sure about this, Lady Ire?"
"I came on my own, so I gotta head back fast."
She swept her bangs aside, pinned the hairpin tentatively, and secured it before prodding the family head to withdraw.
Her entrance and exit had been so abrupt that Ban Yu-won had instinctively reached out to stop her—but he let his hand drop.
Plenty of questions lingered about the Melodya family's true nature—but for now, they could count as allies.
He'd figure out the rest later.
"See you at the academy, Yu-won."
"Yeah, academy."
She gave a light nod to their casual farewell as she turned away.
The hairpin sparkling transparently in her bangs suited her perfectly.
The moment the family head invoked spatial magic, the pair vanished from view.
The instant they confirmed it, Anari and Kang Eun-young let out heavy sighs of relief and slumped to the ground nearby.
"Strongest person I've ever met, hands down."
"Not even sure she's human."
"Never seen you two that tense."
"Our kid's the weird one for staying chill. Guts of steel."
Keira wasn't much better off.
"The young master chats one-on-one with her like it's nothing."
Her legs were trembling like she'd just danced Dance Dance Revolution nonstop for three hours straight—and even she, no slouch herself, reacted this way. The top families lived up to their reputation.
Ban Yu-mi, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease, which confirmed her earlier freak-out had been total bullshit.
"It's not like that?"
Ban Yu-mi shot back seriously at the pointed stares conveying exactly that.
"What?"
"Earlier? Thought that bastard was gonna kill us all. But look now—no killing intent whatsoever."
"Yu-mi's senses are sharp, as always."
"Even knowing they won't strike first, staying calm in front of a swirling typhoon ain't easy......"
Anari muttered, tongue clicking in amazement.
But one key thing not to forget: Ban Yu-mi carried the potential inside her to surpass even the future Melodya family head.
Maybe she naturally carried herself boldly because she understood the weight of her innate power.
......Or maybe she was just born a little shit.
"Alright, time for us to head out too."
Ban Yu-won clapped his hands to draw everyone's eyes and made the announcement.
It was supposed to drag on another day or two—but the request had gone south ages ago, and lingering in D-13 offered nothing more.
"Melodya cleared our plate for real. Controlling the Guardian Alliance isn't on us anymore."
"With a dad that lame, no wonder his daughter's slaving away. Yu-won, keep an eye on her at school."
"I have been—that's why we're out here on this little field trip."
He declared disbandment with a lingering twinge of regret and a lukewarm aftertaste, but the Level Force crew boarded the ship without batting an eye, totally unfazed by the routine chaos.
"Grab the next request ASAP. This was basically a picnic, not a job."
"Aw? I had a blast dating the young master."
"Can't you unwind without poking like that? And I told you—hands off my sister!"
"Haha! Now that's our girl's spirit!"
Anari smirked like she was watching kids bicker as the pair tangled up like some warrior tribe.
"We were gonna blast off right away anyway. Found a smith to work the dragon metal."
"You slapped some lame name on that alloy already, sis?"
She cocked her fist to school the cocky newbie.
"Are you two the type that only bond with fists?"
Ban Yu-won sighed and summoned Lilith, shifting her into spaceship form.
"Then I'm heading straight to the academy too."
"Ah, Ban Yu-won!"
Ban Yu-mi's voice caught him as he waved and boarded.
He turned wordlessly, and after hemming and hawing forever, she launched into excuses for her earlier antics.
"Don't you dare misunderstand. That was just...... y'know, different birthdays but same deathbed kinda vibe."
"Who the hell swears a death pact with their own sister."
And "same deathbed" came off like "if shit hits the fan, we die together"—kinda creepy.
"Anyway!"
"Gotcha. Take care, sis."
"What do you 'got'!"
"Oh, and Anari."
"Yes!"
He beckoned, and she scurried over, pressing her ear to his lips.
Should've just used telepathy. Regretting it, he whispered anyway.
"If we end up clashing with the Prominence family, preserve all the bodies intact and bring 'em to me."
That'd probably be the fastest way.
Even if they seized Prominence, plenty would need killing without compromise.
Anari got the message, flashing a wry smile but nodding firmly before stepping back.
"......As expected, you casually leap past our wildest guesses. Understood—leave it to me."
"Then we're done here. I'm out."
One last nod to his mom and sister, then a playful wink back at Keira as she jiggled the earring on her ear—before boarding the ship.
[What a whirlwind.]
—Feels like watching a monk emerge unscathed from a demon-infested lair.
"Let's roll. Roll out."
"Sisssit."
He stroked Eve as she coiled around his arm for comfort amid the hissing, then sank deep into his seat.
On the way here, he'd definitely planned to keep a proper distance from the mercenary girls......
[Puhahat.]
"Lilith, cut the laughing when I'm pissed."
—You, Mr. Popular? Total newbie vibes screaming through.
"Cellon, pipe down. Please."
"Sisissit."
"Yeah, only Eve gets me. Oh, Tike too."
The ship punched out of the atmosphere into open space.
Gazing at the Guardian Alliance fleet still lingering before gradually dispersing, a wave of pity hit for Aisha—she'd have to wrangle them going forward.
Come to think of it, that scout ship they'd spotted upon first entering D-13—where the hell had it come from?
Didn't matter much......but none of the knights Ban Yu-won met linked back to it.
'Whatever. Just means Gallehead's security is full of holes.'
Lilith pierced the dimensional barrier.
As Ban Yu-won shut his eyes to nap till the academy, the ship monitor caught a naked freak drifting bare-bodied through the barrier's interior.
Real ones exist, he marveled blankly—then finally closed his eyes for real and caught a quick snooze till arrival.
And with that, Ban Yu-won's first solo special activity drew to a close.
"Aaaaaah—!"
During Tuesday's lecture, Aisha grew puzzled by the unusually intense stares aimed her way—only realizing why after class when she opened the mirror and screamed her lungs out.
"Why the live broadcast from Camelot?! Why'd Melodya barge in—and why was Ire there of all places! My dimension! Sidelining me!"
"Shut it, idiot. What hap—."
Dokgo Yeon's eyes narrowed as she scolded Aisha and opened her own mirror.
"Things just got fun. Ditching something this juicy for me to handle solo—that guy's got a wicked streak."
"How can you say that? Yu-won was working hard for me!"
"......Hoo."
"No fighting, you two."
Lucelle clapped to interrupt as they glared daggers at each other.
"Let's just figure out what went down first."
Under Lucelle's mediation, the three settled down to review the broadcast, each pulling a subtly different expression.
Dokgo Yeon reeled from Ire's screen-projected aura of overwhelming authority, way tighter with her than expected.
Lucelle pouted, convinced Ire was off crafting special memories with Ban Yu-won post-broadcast.
Aisha—.
"No, could you two maybe worry a little more about my dad or my hometown? Huh?"
"That's a given. Actually undersold it. You're decently tough, so why do all the kingdom's warriors look like total weaklings?"
"Spot-on with how I pictured Light's dad. Stubborn yet spineless around the strong—just like Light."
"You two are the worst...... I miss Yu-won......"
They were awful, sure—but Aisha had plenty to unload on Ire too, swooping in with a top family's flagship to storm Camelot.
Grateful as hell for the sponsorship under a top family's banner!
Thankful for shattering her dad's smug authority—the guy who'd bully allies with his title, prioritize his own skin, and treat his daughter like a chess piece!
'Everyone involved ties back to me, but I didn't pull it off myself. Right now, they're just cowed by top-family clout. Once they clock that I'm not truly on top, they won't bow so easy. To really own this alliance—I've gotta step up from here.'
She clenched her fist tight.
No more aimless sword-swinging.
She couldn't dump it all on Yu-won or Ire—she had to take the lead herself.
That's when she spotted Ire striding confidently down the hall.
......And that unfamiliar hairpin gleaming in her bangs.
"Ire."
"Yeah."
No illusion.
She was subtly tilting her head to flaunt the hairpin.
Definitely from Yu-won!
Aisha tamped down the urge to grill her and pivoted to another question for now.
"The sponsorship thing—why didn't I know?"
"Was plotting it slow, but D-13 blew up, so we wrapped it all at once. Anyway, it's done. Come to Melodya together over break."
"I'd visit if invited, but don't bundle my problems like a combo deal!"
"Melodya couldn't step in, though. Guardian contract violation."
"Huh?"
Aisha blinked at the follow-up, about to press harder.
What couldn't they? Yu-won handled the dragon-slayer sword, and the family head locked down Camelot personally.
"Besides those—something way bigger."
"Way bigger...... still out there?"
"Aisha, this wasn't random. Those trash heaps can't even find ruins."
"Wha...?!"
"Wasn't dug up—seal broke. On the ruins......and something far more dangerous."
Ire tacked on the kicker, then took Aisha's hand with a faint, reassuring smile.
"Melodya can't move, but I can. Yu-won's got his special weapon now, so we'll subjugate it together then."
Pure noble friendship and self-sacrifice.
If you ignored the ominous tail-end.
"Ire, hold up. No spoilers. No hints!"
"You've already sniffed it out."
"Lucky her."
Dokgo Yeon snickered beside Aisha as she plugged her ears and shook her head wildly.
"Bitching about getting left out of your own dimension's drama—and now you get to star next time."
"Not happy. Not one bit......!"