Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Why Did I Even Bother Enrolling? (30)
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Lesson 7. It's Definitely Not Because I Like You - 5
Ban Yu-won's declaration had shocked the entire Class 11, and it took a full ten minutes of commotion before things finally calmed down.
Dokgo Yeon and As Light's gazes, as if they were staring at trash, were truly impressive.
Even after he'd fully explained the reason, why had he ended up hearing "prepare yourself" upon returning? It was still a complete mystery.
"Ready?"
"Y-Yes!"
Meanwhile, Lucelle had frozen up the moment she heard the word "date" and just kept nodding, unable to give a proper reaction.
When Ban Yu-won asked if she was okay, she finally panicked and dashed back to the dorm to change clothes—her flustered appearance was utterly adorable.
"But..."
"Yes?"
And the outfit she came back in was none other than the school uniform.
Of course, it was much better than the gym clothes she'd been wearing in the training room, but...
After considering various possibilities, Ban Yu-won realized that asking about it might come off as rude, so he simply made a suggestion.
"For now, let's go look for some clothes that suit you."
"I don't have any money..."
"I'll buy them. Let's go."
"Eek."
Ban Yu-won grabbed Lucelle's hand and activated his Student ID.
Originally, reciting the spell the Chancellor had taught would teleport them to a nearby external dungeon, but his research on the Student ID had paid off—he could now slightly adjust the teleport destination.
As a result...
"Kyaa...!"
"This way."
...it was now possible to go straight into the city without passing through the dungeon.
They materialized in a quiet alley with no signs of people, and Ban Yu-won quickly pulled Lucelle out into the bustling street crowd.
"D-Dizzy..."
"Well, there are tons of people and buildings."
"Ugh..."
Lucelle had been stiff as a board when Ban Yu-won first took her hand, but now in the crowded street, she clung tightly to his hand and pressed close to him, refusing to let go.
Her trembling, puppy-like clinging made him chuckle involuntarily.
"Mission accomplished easily."
"Do you really think this will work? Not that I hate it...!"
"I think it's plenty possible. Look, there's a department store over there."
Ronica, the free city located right below the floating island of Union Academy, was the greatest metropolis in the entire Dimensional Union.
The city itself was enormous, with clearly divided residential and commercial districts—several of each—and naturally, department stores galore in every style imaginable.
Ban Yu-won had been steadily exploring the city since Monday, memorizing the layout, so he led Lucelle without a hitch.
Along the way...
"Ah...!"
"Hm? Want to eat that?"
"Yeah, but."
"Then let's go."
Lucelle's gaze had locked onto a fritter stand tucked into a street corner.
Croquettes, if anything?
Mainly dough made from potatoes (strictly speaking, something similar) mixed with pork or shrimp (or something like it), battered and deep-fried.
"Welcome!"
"What do you want?"
"Um..."
Lucelle froze for a moment staring at the menu but soon picked something called an "Elrone"—a fritter of mysterious origins.
He'd wondered if she felt bad about freeloading, but since she'd chosen the most expensive one, that didn't seem to be it.
"Then an Elrone and... shrimp."
"90 Ronias, sir."
The shrimp was 20 Ronias, the Elrone 70.
Wondering what could justify such a price gap for similar sizes, he learned it was monster meat.
"Monster meat—you okay with that?"
"I like it."
Soon, an Elrone fritter was tucked into Lucelle's arms as she nodded eagerly.
Ban Yu-won shot an indirect warning at the vendor, who was openly ogling her ample chest, by emphasizing the flower brooch pinned to his own chest, then led her away.
You could eat inside, but the charm of street food was buying them one by one and munching while strolling.
"Ah, so good."
Lucelle took a bite of the fritter, her face lighting up with happiness as she reached out her free hand to grab Ban Yu-won's.
Then she realized what she'd done and widened her eyes in shock.
And then...
"B-Ban. Thank you so much. But..."
Her voice was tentative.
Ban Yu-won successfully read a sudden surge of the emotional concept of 忧 (worry) from within her body.
The kind of worry that hits when you're anxious.
"Will getting close to me really... help me control my power?"
To someone who didn't know better, it might sound like some sleazy pickup line, Ban Yu-won thought.
But it was the truth. Utterly sincere.
He suspected the condition for interfering with someone else's internal code was "how well you know that person."
After all, implanting concepts into his family—like his older sister—was a breeze, but even a tiny simple concept into Lucelle was impossible.
Dokgo Yeon and As Light were the same.
Which meant directly implanting negative concepts into an enemy's body to take them down would be next to impossible.
'Maybe it just doesn't work on opponents stronger than me...'
But he didn't think his power was that simplistic.
In fact, until recently, he couldn't properly read the concepts of Lucelle or his other Class 11 classmates.
But now? The more time he spent with them, the deeper their emotional exchanges, the clearer he could observe their internal concepts.
With Lucelle, he could even read her momentarily shifting emotional concepts.
...All after buying her some food, sure.
'Even if wielding my authority requires long-term observation rather than friendship, no better method than what I'm doing now.'
Above all, his instincts as the authority's owner told him so.
To directly alter someone's internal code, the best approach was to deeply understand them and build a profound relationship.
"Of course, it might not be."
"Ah..."
But Ban Yu-won didn't voice his thoughts.
He figured this approach would let him bond with her more naturally.
"Still, if I can get close to you, it's a win for me. If you hate it, say so now."
"No!"
At Ban Yu-won's unexpected words, Lucelle's hair stood on end (literally) as she vigorously shook her head.
"I don't hate it at all."
"Good then."
"It's just... I'm not that fun. Not friendly like Dokgo Yeon or... As Light."
As Light aside, Dokgo Yeon was friendly?
Is she okay in the head?
Ban Yu-won shot her a genuinely puzzled look, and Lucelle gave a wry smile.
"Relatively speaking. She's scary to me... but she really likes you."
"That's not 'like'—that's 'want to possess.' Like wanting a trusty sword or shield."
"...Huh, hee hee."
For some reason, the tension in Lucelle's shoulders eased the moment Ban Yu-won said it with utter sincerity.
No illusion. Her previously tense expression relaxed into something quite comfortable.
"Why the laugh?"
"Felt a bit relieved."
"At what?"
Ban Yu-won cocked his head, unable to grasp the timing.
He knew women's hearts were the world's greatest mystery, but this was special grade.
"Thought you knew everything... but seems not. You look similar to me... "
"Hey, hold up. Felt like I just got hit with a roundabout insult."
"I'll try harder."
If you say you'll try, what does that make me?
"I want to get close to you too. Like those two."
"Now I'm starting to get anxious hearing that."
He was sincere about wanting to bond with Lucelle, but not like those two.
But Lucelle, looking like she'd already sorted her feelings, wore a resolute expression as she tugged his hand.
"Let's go. I want to look at clothes."
"Damn... fine, let's go."
It had veered a bit from his original plan, but the atmosphere was definitely not bad.
Ban Yu-won held her hand amiably as they headed to the department store.
And ran smack into a problem he hadn't even dreamed of.
"Not like you're seeing me as a pervert or anything."
"But clothes that suit me... are only stuff like this."
Two hours had passed since entering the department store's clothing section.
The clerks had paled the instant they saw Lucelle and desperately tried picking outfits for her while managing their expressions, but nearly everything tightly cinched below the bust—overemphasizing her chest—or was excessively revealing.
"How about a normal dress or something."
"Loose clothes make me look super fat."
"Sorry."
Even someone with Lucelle's envy-of-all-women proportions had this problem.
Normal fit made her look chubby; emphasizing her figure inevitably spotlighted her bust.
There were ways to fudge it usually, but she wasn't usual.
Ban Yu-won now understood why even her uniform drew stares.
"It's fine. I like all these clothes."
To Ban Yu-won, seriously wondering if buying her one would paint him as a lech, Lucelle said,
"I'm used to those looks anyway... And with you, I can relax."
"Hearing that kinda makes me feel belittled too... Fine, these it is."
Ban Yu-won excluded the most revealing ones and picked out five or six she liked, then paid.
50,000 Ronias.
That's when Lucelle panicked.
"So expensive!"
"Nah, not expensive! Don't even think about taking it off!"
She was wearing her favorite blouse and skirt from today's haul—even to the point of debating stripping right there.
"That's enough for 714 Elrone fritters!"
"It's fine—this is totally a gift level for a friend. ...You're surprisingly quick with math?"
"Still too much... You expecting something more from me?"
As if Ban Yu-won would, she looked puzzled.
Ban Yu-won took the bag full of pretty clothes from the clerk and stowed it straight into his Inventory, then winked at her.
"If it's too much, just think of it as an advance on your channel revenue share."
"...Huh?"
He explained that revenue from the video channel he ran would come in soon, to be split fairly among them.
Of course, he handled filming, editing, uploading, and management—so his share was about half—but judging by the channel's momentum, the rest split three ways would still be substantial.
"You make money from that?"
"Yep. Traffic equals money. Slap an ad on a video, and all those viewers boost its value."
"You're an alchemist... Turning nothing into gold!"
She hadn't quite grasped it, but Lucelle was seriously impressed anyway!
For some reason, she seemed even happier than when she got the clothes, and Ban Yu-won shook his head—women's hearts were unknowable—before taking her hand.
"Alright, now let's grab some food."
"Yes!"
It was then.
Ban Yu-won noticed emotional concepts overflowing from her body, spilling slightly outward.
快 (pleasure) and 樂 (joy)—golden strings inscribed with emotions of delight.
On a hunch, he reached out, and they were sucked right into his hand.
It felt like a lightning bolt to the head.
"Ban...?"
"Yeah, nothing."
He brushed it off to the puzzled Lucelle and quickly transferred them to his Code Core before they could vanish.
The concepts held in the Code Core didn't disappear.
Ban Yu-won finally felt like he'd found the path.
It was truly a fun date.
Already gorgeous and now properly dressed up, Lucelle drew eyes wherever they went, but with Ban Yu-won—now something of a city celebrity after the past few days—by her side, most people averted their gazes on their own.
After eating, they shopped for his clothes, and thanks to Lucelle's sharp fashion sense, he snagged a few casual outfits he liked.
Running into a few external channel subscribers and getting autograph requests felt pretty good too.
Of course, Lucelle was puzzled there as well.
"How do these people know us?"
"External channel subs have spiked. Though weirdly many encounters for this world's scale... uh..."
Checking the channel via his mirror for the first time in a while, Ban Yu-won was speechless.
Yesterday when he uploaded, it was under 50k—now it was barreling toward 1 million.
"What the hell."
"Why? If it flopped, it's okay—you're still growing, failures happen..."
"...We hit the jackpot."
A refresh confirmed it: over 1 million.
The hot "First Exploration" episode was nearing 5 million views, drawing eyes to all prior uploads—minimum hundreds of thousands, some millions.
"Your clothes are already paid for and then some."
"Wow...!"
Lucelle's eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
Like little hearts swam in them.
Reacting so bluntly to capitalism was almost embarrassing for him.
"Overflowing with talent male...!"
Ban Yu-won doubted his ears for a second.
"What was that?"
"Ah, I meant capable man!"
Yeah, figured.
Must've misheard.
Ban Yu-won laughed it off and shared a smile with her.
He chalked up the overflowing 慾 (desire) leaking from her as his imagination.
...He'd picked it all up anyway.