Chapter 291
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Lesson 57. Bridal Legion - 1
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With final exams at Union Academy just a month away.
Normally, everyone would be tense preparing for the end-of-year evaluations, but unfortunately, a cosmic uproar on a scale unseen for centuries had stolen the students' attention.
A clash between a massive dimensional pirate fleet that had dominated the universe for ages and one of the Ten Great Families—what could be a more history-book-worthy fiasco?
And with Lucien Ortima, the former first-year runner-up, tangled up in it, no one could focus on Academy evaluations no matter how crucial they were.
"So what the hell's gonna happen to that guy?"
"Wasn't it concluded he cheated?"
"Foolish. Do you still not know the Tower permits intruders but never tolerates climbers' foul play? He—"
"Ban Yu-won is the real deal."
Even if Lucien Ortima was a total lunatic, he couldn't hog every spotlight—especially not from Ban Yu-won.
The very next week after blasting through from Room 201 to 250 in three days, he'd re-entered the Tower and pushed all the way to Room 300.
Ban Yu-won and his crew had rampaged through countless ruined worlds conjured by the Tower, uncovering their causes, clashing with Constellation fragments, honing their unique powers, and definitively proving their abilities surpassed not just first-years but all Academy students.
Especially the videos uploaded to Unitube, racking up trillions of views and etching Rebellion's name across the entire dimension.
Every being in every dimension with access to Union Net was fixated on Ortima and Rebellion right now.
As Ulrike Prominence had put it, if any other Ten Great Family wanted to make a move in secret, this was the perfect window.
"At this point, Ban Yu-won is the man most likely to conquer the Tower. He'll definitely sign a lifetime contract with one of the Ten Great Families soon."
"Lifetime contract? Might as well call it a slave contract."
"Come on, for a talent like Ban Yu-won, wouldn't they at least offer a branch family daughter? His skills go without saying, and that face of his... he's handsome too."
"Who just said Ban Yu-won is handsome?"
"Talk about bad timing. If it weren't for Ortima, another Ten Great Family would've moved by now."
"Speaking of the Ten Great Families, did you hear Ulrike Prominence officially declared she'll bring Ban Yu-won into her family?"
"Wonder if she even got his consent. The kids from those families are all like that, but her especially..."
Wherever you went, chatter about Lucien Ortima, dimensional pirates, Ban Yu-won, or Ulrike Prominence dominated—no wonder the Academy vibe was total chaos.
Even the full professors tasked with overseeing the students seemed distracted, half-assing their lectures. The situation was a complete mess.
"Can't focus? No matter what's brewing outside Union, you're students of the great Union Academy! Focus on the Tower—not on whoever's climbing it, but on yourselves!"
Among them, Kantone's already prickly temper was in full blaze, leaving his students speechless.
Of course, everything he said rang true, but the students weren't blind to the jealousy toward a certain someone fueling his rants.
"Why's Professor Kantone acting like that?"
"Obvious—it's because of Professor Yumina. She's been openly hanging with Ban Yu-won lately."
"Someone saw them kissing in the garden."
"The Academy's untouchable goddess, the pure lily that no one could pluck, taken by some lower-dimensional trash? That's bullshit."
"That's exactly why Professor Kantone's pissed off right now."
"What do you think Ulrike Prominence is planning? I heard she's been asking around about marriage lately, and it seems like Ban Yu-won is the target..."
"Ridiculous!"
"Breaking news! Aire's appearing on Rebellion's main channel?!"
With scandals exploding left and right—enough to rock the Academy for a whole season—expecting anyone to study was the real stretch.
Right after the founding festival, everyone had been fired up for evals, but now ears perked to every outside rumor, tanking the study atmosphere.
Ban Yu-won himself had seriously pondered ditching the Rebellion channel to sell popcorn at the Academy for better profits.
"But thanks to all that, our special activity got bumped up sooner, so it's a win."
Mira smirked triumphantly.
Indeed.
With no one focusing on studies anyway, the faculty meeting had concluded it'd be better to front-load external activities for a mood boost—shifting the weekend special activity to Monday.
And as student council exec, Ban Yu-won had maxed out his pull to sync Shati and Mira's team with Fairy Devil's activity dimension.
Of course, only the Chancellor, their advisor Kampanella, and Yumina knew the destination—no way for other students to sniff it out.
What face would Ulrike Prominence make if she knew this special activity was headed to Fairytale?
—He was a bit curious about her expression when she'd realized his betrayal, but that could wait until everything wrapped up.
"Play dumb for now, Mira."
"I'm not an idiot—I know. But first, a kiss. Mmm—."
Before departure, at the spaceship station, Mira finally locked lips with Ban Yu-won, flashing a taunting grin at Ulrike spying from afar.
The funny part? Ulrike smirked right back, utterly convinced her homeworld would soon fall and the fairy race sacrificed en masse at the grand ritual.
She wore that face even now—what were the odds she'd let Mira live? Ban Yu-won figured absolutely not.
This was the psycho who'd tried to wipe out the rest of Rebellion just to secure him.
He'd never given Ulrike his full trust, not for a second.
"Have a safe trip, Yu-won. Sis has the Academy locked down tight—!"
"Thanks, Sis. Like I said last time, Kantone's suspicious. Exodus hiding their main force bugs me too. Keep a sharp eye."
"Trust only in Sis! With the holy light you revived me with... I can do anything...!"
"Eugh."
Yumina yanked Ban Yu-won into her arms, no longer hiding her feelings.
If the others hadn't reined her in, she'd have planted one on his forehead or cheek for sure.
"Yu... won..."
"Sorry, Yeon. Just don't look at me like I'm trash..."
Ban Yu-won, battered by multiple women pre-launch, finally boarded the spaceship—Lilith in ship form—to a barrage of indescribable stares from Dokgo Yeon and the rest.
Lilith, carrying only the core Rebellion members, would breach the dimensional barrier, link up at the A-rank terminal with Fairy Devil's ship and Aire's, then head to A-1 dimension.
"I'm not blaming your womanizing. It's your indecisiveness. Acting like you have no interest yet leaving room for them—that's what created this mess."
"Hehe, Dokgo Yeon, speaking like you know Master's heart inside out? As if he secretly loves only you—."
"I'm not involved here. This is serious advice for Yu-won's future..."
"But what if that wishy-washy attitude is what pushed Ulrike Prominence to her self-destruct? Though I'd prefer Master just declare us all his women outright."
"Let's roll! This special activity isn't just A-1 dimension!"
The ship launched.
Ban Yu-won narrowed his eyes at the shrinking floating island and soaring Babel Tower.
The Tower still offered no answers, but amid the sea of wrong ones, his authority had yielded some hint.
"I'll find out... once we get there."
Thanks to Ulrike Prominence's exposé, this war was no longer just a Ten Great Families squabble.
Reclaiming dimensional rights? Sacrificing the fairy race? Ban Yu-won was certain his authority would reveal the truth.
A-rank dimensions had far denser dimensional barriers.
Most ships couldn't even approach.
But Lilith, self-proclaimed galaxy's finest ship, shrugged off mana pressure and stray barriers, slicing through to the A-rank terminal effortlessly.
[I made it first! See? I'm the speed racer with the universe's top velocity!]
"Never thought of racing spaceships, huh."
A-rank dimensions had just one terminal.
But it was massive and opulent, packed with ships bristling with defenses that laughed at dimensional pirates.
Hundreds of colossal vessels, each belching asteroid-scale mana, converging on the terminal—it looked like an SF flick's climax.
"Never took Aire for a joker, but damn, impressive."
And over 30% were Melodia merchant ships—Ban Yu-won could only gawk.
No wonder Exodus or Crimson Spear didn't faze them.
As he marveled at the planet-sized terminal, one Melodia merchant ship veered toward theirs.
—I'm here, Yu-won.
—Aire?!
Incredibly, Aire—who shouldn't have beaten them—hailed them.
Soon after boarding their ship, Aire explained: Melodia merchant ships shared teleport arrays, letting key figures like her hop freely between them.
So she'd teleported from the Academy to the nearest Melodia ship, chaining jumps to arrive first.
[That's cheating! Real racers don't use teleport tech!]
"Use it next time if you can."
[Grrr—depending on apostles like teleport—ain't a racer—!]
Despite claiming to control Earth media, when did she binge racing anime?
Ignoring Lilith's nonsense, Ban Yu-won welcomed Aire, glancing at the tailing Melodia ship.
"Aire, sorry, but we can't bring them into Fairytale yet. It's not that I doubt you, but at this critical time, escorting a Ten Great Family ship—alliance or not—into Fairytale is..."
"They're a gift I prepared. No crew aboard, so relax."
"A gift...?"
"Dragon child soldiers."
Aire flashed a sweet smile.
"Heard of 'em?"
...No way she thinks of troops as bridal gifts too, right?