Chapter 79
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: Lesson 18. Midterms - 1
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Early in the morning, Lucelle woke up in a daze and slowly sat up in bed.
Watching the soft blanket slide sensually over her voluptuous nude body, she was once again struck by the realization that she was at Union Academy.
'A luxurious blanket that would be a pipe dream back in my world. Good, I'm still here.'
At first, she thought this was the difference between lower and higher dimensions, but Ban Yu-won had told her that despite coming from the same lower dimension, his world had enjoyed a civilization not much different from this place. It was astonishing.
Of course, there was nothing about Ban Yu-won that wasn't astonishing, but listening to his stories made her wonder if his world wasn't exceptionally special among lower dimensions.
She had declared she would follow him to his hometown, but when would that actually be possible? Summer vacation?
Until then, somehow, she would manage to stay with him...
'Master... Hehe.'
Stroking the soft blanket absentmindedly while thinking of Ban Yu-won, she suddenly snapped out of it, shook her head to dispel the fantasies, and got out of bed.
Glancing to the side, she saw Dokgo Yeon, who had woken up even earlier, sitting cross-legged on the bed in the nightgown Ban Yu-won had gifted her, meditating.
Her posture was impeccably composed as she focused on her meditation, exuding an elegance that made her look nothing like a girl her age.
'She seemed pretty age-appropriate yesterday, though.'
Ban Yu-won himself hadn't seemed to notice, but Dokgo Yeon's blunder yesterday had been entirely because she was overly conscious of him.
Dokgo Yeon, who wouldn't bat an eye even if someone died right in front of her—why had she done something so cute?
'Maybe she's misunderstanding things in all sorts of ways...'
There was no doubt Ban Yu-won was exceptional.
Not only his unparalleled performance in the Tower, but seeing how Dokgo Yeon actively taught him martial arts techniques she wouldn't share with anyone else, his talent in martial arts was clearly top-notch.
His ability to earn coins was outstanding, making him more than qualified to lead a group—or even support a family. And he was a guy, to boot.
Moreover—and this was Lucelle's personal taste, but—his face was perfect too.
At this point, it would be weirder not to be conscious of him.
Not just Lucelle, but As Light too, and surely Dokgo Yeon as well.
'But there's no need to call it love. She must have heard something unnecessary from that woman Aneri and started thinking in a weird direction. She should just accept it naturally, the clumsy girl...'
Dokgo Yeon was proud, somewhat overbearing, and as seen with Ortima, she resisted acknowledging romantic relationships.
Then suddenly getting provoked by Aneri with something like, "Actually, you like him too, don't you?"—desperate to deny it, she overthought everything and ended up making a huge mistake.
Lucelle thought depending on his abilities as a party member was separate from being emotionally drawn to him... but Dokgo Yeon seemed to believe she couldn't have even a sliver of weakness toward him.
That's why she tried to conquer the 23rd floor her way, only to expose to everyone how much she was influenced by Ban Yu-won...
"So cute."
"Want to die?"
"Kyaa!"
Suddenly, Dokgo Yeon snapped her eyes open, and a pillow flew at Lucelle with superhuman speed, hitting her square in the face and sending her tumbling onto the bed.
"Ow ow... Huh?"
As Lucelle sat up with teary eyes, she realized Dokgo Yeon was glaring at her—or more precisely, at a certain part of her body.
It was a look she'd received plenty from other women throughout her life.
Embarrassing as it was to say herself, she'd never been outdone by another woman in terms of physique.
She herself didn't like it much—it was heavy and inconvenient, only drawing unwanted male attention.
That is, until she met the partner she'd spend her life with.
"You beast, why the hell do you sleep without even underwear? Shameless."
"My body temperature runs high... Even if I wear it to bed, it all comes off."
That probably wasn't what Dokgo Yeon really wanted to say.
But Lucelle decided to play along.
"What a beastly reason. No, but..."
Dokgo Yeon grumbled, muttering something under her breath before falling deep into thought, leaving Lucelle alone.
In the meantime, Lucelle got out of bed, took a thorough shower, and changed into her uniform.
By the time she finished getting ready and returned, Dokgo Yeon was already dressed in her uniform too.
"You beast, if you think I'm particularly—"
"That you don't like Yu-won? That you're only conscious of him because of his skills?"
"...Yes, exactly. You get it. It is true that I'm aware of him, even if just a little..."
Dokgo Yeon nodded with a slightly awkward expression.
Lucelle smiled faintly, guessing her feelings.
"Got it. I must have misunderstood."
"What you said yesterday wasn't wrong... It was definitely a stupid misstep."
Why was she lifting her leg and mimicking a kick in the air while saying that? Scary.
"I won't show such a foolish side again. In the Tower, I'll just rely on Ban Yu-won's abilities. Improving crisis response? The Tower isn't a self-development seminar..."
"...Still so cute."
"!"
"Kyaaang!"
This time, it wasn't a miss—it hit dead on.
Dokgo Yeon, seeming a bit calmer after landing the hit, spoke to Lucelle who was writhing on the floor in pain.
"Anyway, it's true I caused trouble for the party because of me. As atonement, I'll teach you a martial arts technique too. I'm already teaching Ban Yu-won and As Light, so it'd be weird to leave you out."
"B-Beastkin don't need that sort of thing..."
"It'll be fine."
Dokgo Yeon looked down at Lucelle with an arrogant smile.
Lucelle didn't find her cute anymore.
"What I'm teaching you is a technique beasts used anyway."
Just last week, the academy had still been buzzing with the afterglow of the special activities, but now that Monday had arrived and midterms were in full swing, smiles began fading from the students' faces one by one.
Each one represented the geniuses of their dimensions, but Union Academy was a place where even such geniuses couldn't be sure of graduating.
Especially for special admission students—who'd been accepted for their unique talents despite average abilities (often including intelligence)—the anxiety was even greater.
"I just can't figure out why regular students bully special admission ones."
Ban Yu-won shrugged as he checked the ranking charts of special admission students from the past few years, which Yumina had given him.
The special admission students' names were marked in red, and every chart showed them at the very bottom, like lava bubbling at the depths of hell.
Not a single one had escaped the lowest ranks.
"Special admission kids are kindly paving the bottom for everyone—shouldn't we be grateful?"
"You're the worst, Ban."
As Light, who had his head buried in his desk, looked up with a half-crying face.
It was Monday after classes, and they were gathered in a lecture hall without doors, working on written assignments together.
Of course, Ban Yu-won had finished all his assignments in an instant the moment he got them, and was now browsing the various materials from Yumina.
"Indeed, the prejudice against special admission students isn't just because of their origins."
Dokgo Yeon, who was steadily working through her assignments at a speed slightly slower than Ban Yu-won but still above the academy average, peeked at the materials in his hand and gave a wry smile.
"Their Tower performance doesn't scream special admission, but with midterm results this abysmal, it's like they're begging to be bullied."
"I don't wanna be looked down on by those damn higher dimension bastards!"
"Then stop yapping and focus on your assignments."
"Gah!"
Dokgo Yeon's blunt truth stopped As Light's heart for a moment.
Meanwhile, Lucelle stared blankly at Ban Yu-won with a face like she'd given up on everything.
Ban Yu-won met her gaze and let out a quiet sigh.
He'd thought she could at least handle assignments on her own, but he'd been wrong.
Lucelle was truly—a complete idiot.
No, it wasn't that she was an idiot; the academy's standards were just ridiculously high.
"You beast, don't torment poor Ban Yu-won."
Dokgo Yeon narrowed her eyes pityingly at the two locked in a meaningless staring contest.
"If you diligently train in martial arts, your mind will sharpen and your learning ability will improve. So don't skip your daily practice."
"I'll train in martial arts, but I believe in Yu-won."
"What an utterly hopeless beast."
Ban Yu-won gauged the exam difficulty from last year's test papers Yumina had specially prepared.
Naturally, the expectations were even higher than for assignments—and having quickly assessed it, he turned to Yumina, who was sipping floral tea nearby.
"Professor, is cheating allowed during the exams?"
"As if."
Yumina replied with a refreshing smile.
Yeah, figures. Ban Yu-won thought it sounded stupid even as he said it.
But to save As Light and Lucelle from exams this tough, cheating was the only way.
They should at least apply rules like the Naruto Chunin Exams...!
"But Professor Yumina, it's not a crime if you don't get caught, right?"
"Ban Yu-won, check the back of the materials I gave you."
Flipping to the back as instructed, he found a brutally intimidating list.
'List of academy expulsions due to cheating detection over the past 5 years.'
There were quite a few.
Last year alone, over 20 students from grades 1 through 5 had been expelled.
Nearly 30% were special admission students, which was mind-blowing.
"Most were students with special abilities who were confident they wouldn't get caught, so they cheated. But in the end, they were all found out and had to leave. Get what I'm saying?"
"That academy students are way more lame than I thought."
"No―pe."
"H-Hwah."
Yumina's slender finger poked Ban Yu-won's cheek repeatedly—an ambiguous punishment or reward that carried a fragrant floral scent and a ticklish warmth in his chest.
Seeing such mature feminine skinship displayed so naturally made Lucelle grit her teeth, feeling like she was losing.
"No matter how great your abilities are, Ban Yu-won, it's hard to escape the system's eyes overseen directly by the Chancellor."
"The Chancellor personally supervises? That many students cheat, huh."
"It spikes especially in senior years. Everyone's anxious, I suppose. But remember: cheating is the furthest thing from the 'dignity' Union Academy expects. Study diligently with that in mind, everyone."
"Um."
Lucelle stood up, tapping the table—at that exact moment.
It was also to stop Yumina from getting any closer to Ban Yu-won.
"I... I'll give up on graduating."
"Lucelle?!"
With a resolute expression, Lucelle grabbed Ban Yu-won's arm.
"My goal isn't some diploma—it's to spend my life with Yu-won."
"That wasn't your goal when you enrolled."
"Thinking about it, I just need to stay by Yu-won's side. No need to chase a scrap of paper like a diploma. In the future, I'll go to 'Earth' with Yu-won...!"
"Coming to Earth? ...Immigrating?!"
Ban Yu-won paled as he realized Lucelle's future was already set in her mind.
He didn't dislike her at all, but he didn't fully understand her feelings yet, and heavy words like "lifetime" or "future" left him uneasy...!
"Ah, Yu-won doesn't need to feel burdened. I just want to dedicate my life to you on my own...!"
"I'm grateful, but that makes it even more burdensome."
"Having solid life plans is good, Lucelle."
Yumina said with her ever-present beaming smile.
"But fail too badly on the exams, and you can't go anywhere during break—you'll have to take summer classes."
"Summer classes...?"
Lucelle adorably tilted her head at the unfamiliar term, but Ban Yu-won—who'd heard it plenty from his college-student sister—shuddered.
"Attendance at the academy during break for lectures. Only for students with bad exam scores. Of course, Ban Yu-won will ace the exams, so no summer classes for you—"
"I'll study hard."
Lucelle plopped back down.
Then clung desperately to Ban Yu-won's arm.
"Yu-won, save our break...!"
"Ah—yeah. I'll try. ...Our break?"
Ban Yu-won thought he'd consult Selron tonight about language magic to boost learning efficiency.