Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 29

Lesson 7. It's Definitely Not Because I Like You - 4

Saturday morning.

All the Rebellion members had gathered in the training room.

In the Academy's Second Annex, group training rooms were assigned to each class for practice sessions, and surprisingly, even they, who were treated as Class 1-11, had been given an incredibly large training room for their exclusive use!

If they hadn't been recognized as an official class, they certainly wouldn't have received such benefits. All hail Professor Yumina!

"Ba-Ban, you with your superior comprehension, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

Light was currently sprawled flat on the floor like a frog, and Ban Yu-won kindly approached him to listen to what he had to say.

"Since when... has 'teaching' become synonymous with 'beating up'?"

"How foolish."

However, it was Dokgo Yeon, not Ban Yu-won, who answered Light.

Unlike Light, who looked like a dried-up frog, she was standing gracefully with her legs stretched out like a crane.

"Isn't it natural to directly input into the body when teaching the body? If you were a thief like Ban Yu-won who could steal the true meaning after just one look, it would be a different story, but you're not, right? So stop lying there and get up quickly."

"My... my sword... give it to me..."

Of course, there had been a considerable difference in strength between Dokgo Yeon and Light from the start.

Even so, this was the first time Light had been so one-sidedly beaten, and the reason was simply that he didn't have a sword in his hand right now.

"You need to learn how to fight without that sword first. Until then, I can't allow you to have the sword. It'll be the same when we enter the tower."

"I'm a swordsman!"

"Then do you plan to die if you lose your sword?"

"If I don't lose it..."

"Want to try charging at me with a sword? I'll make you drop it in 3 seconds."

Light couldn't retort.

Instead, he glared at Dokgo Yeon with a look of resentment, and Dokgo Yeon snorted and said,

"Ban Yu-won agreed to this as well."

"What?!"

Light glared at Ban Yu-won as if he were looking at a traitor.

He scratched his head and replied,

"Sorry. I didn't know it would be carried out this way... But it's true that I discussed this with Dokgo Yeon for your growth."

"Ugh, for my growth..."

"And if Dokgo Yeon chose this method, I think it's probably right. Light, can't you trust us just this once?"

As Ban Yu-won looked at him with serious eyes, Light couldn't argue and just pressed his lips tightly together.

He bit his lip hard, then finally nodded.

"...Alright."

They hadn't expected him to agree so readily.

It seems the hot chocolate he'd downed cleanly yesterday had done its job.

...Or perhaps the words of the Observer of Ten Thousand Eyes had served as a sort of shock therapy.

"You have good judgment... I'll trust you, just this once."

"Ho."

Dokgo Yeon smiled slightly as she watched Light get up.

"Good, then let's start again."

"Huu..."

As Dokgo Yeon took an offensive stance, Light also assumed his position.

For Ban Yu-won, who was still at a low level, just watching their sparring was very helpful, so he too sat down and observed the two.

'As I expected to some extent, that guy Light really becomes drastically weaker without his sword.'

The resumed sparring was truly one-sided.

Dokgo Yeon relentlessly struck Light with the edge of her hand, up, down, and diagonally.

Light seemed to be trying his best to avoid Dokgo Yeon's attacks, but his movements were noticeably slower and clumsier compared to when he was holding a sword.

"Kek, kheuk...!"

"The only things you need to see with your eyes are my breathing and the starting point of my attacks! The rest you should feel with your ki sense. If you try to follow the direction of my hand with your eyes, you won't be able to block it even after 100 years!"

"I... know!"

"If you know, then do it. You were able to when you were holding a sword, weren't you? Does even your combat sense rust immediately if the sword doesn't keep it alive?"

"Kuk!"

The ability of the holy sword must truly be remarkable.

From what I hear, it not only enhances Light's physical specs but also acts as a combat assistant?

If that's the case, it's highly likely that Light has been relying on the sword rather than developing his own senses up until now.

The negative consequences of this were seen in yesterday's exploration mishap.

When his sword was caught by the mana-infused spider web shot by the giant spider, its functions were sealed off, and he struggled against a monster that should have been dealt with in an instant.

'That must be what Dokgo Yeon was displeased about.'

He activated the Babylonia Code and observed the two.

Of course, it wasn't easy to read the internal concepts of two people at a distance in real-time, but he kept trying in hopes that there might be some change if he persisted.

And it resulted in half a success.

While Dokgo Yeon was beyond his ability, he succeeded in reading the changes in Light's internal concepts.

'Light's life, body, mana, and even soul... they're all dropping in real-time!'

All four concepts that Ban Yu-won had named [Core] were gradually decreasing.

Ban Yu-won was shocked to see Light's life force, which had easily surpassed 500 (at the very least, Light wielding the holy sword was a monster that exceeded the Special Class Erecto by nearly three times), being cut in half in just 3 minutes.

He had thought Light was strong even without the sword, but if even these changes were due to the sword, his condition was quite serious.

"You're getting weaker and weaker! Is the sword your true body? Is it the sword?"

"Kuuuu!"

And it seemed Dokgo Yeon had also noticed this change, as she fiercely berated Light.

"Are you here to demonstrate that you can't do anything without your sword? If that's the case, just say so!"

"No!"

"Then stop looking for a sword that's not even in your hand and face me with your bare hands!"

"Uuuurgh!"

At that moment, when Light clenched his fists in anger at Dokgo Yeon's words, surprisingly, the deterioration of his concepts stopped.

It didn't recover, but at least it was maintaining at about half of what it had been.

'What did Dokgo Yeon just say? Did she tell him not to look for the sword?'

Perhaps Dokgo Yeon, who was sparring with Light, had yelled at him after seeing him unconsciously move as if assuming the presence of the sword.

If the deterioration stopped the moment Light came to his senses after hearing those words.

Could there be some other factor affecting the contract between the holy sword and Light that Ban Yu-won couldn't even begin to imagine?

"Ah."

At that moment, Luciel, who was watching their sparring along with Ban Yu-won, opened her mouth.

"What's wrong, Luciel?"

"Light's... face."

"Face?"

"It's changing."

After hearing those words and looking at Light, surprisingly, his face could be seen changing little by little.

To be specific, his facial features, which were already barely distinguishable from a woman's, became softer, double eyelids formed, eyelashes grew longer, and his jaw became more slender...

"Did he give up on hiding it?"

"It's not that he gave up, it's more like what he was suppressing is being released..."

It goes without saying that everyone in Class 11 had already figured out Light's true identity.

But isn't it different when Light directly reveals his identity himself?

As the two were exchanging questioning glances while thinking this, it happened.

"Kugh!"

Suddenly, something seemed to shine brightly from Light's chest, and he screamed and collapsed on the spot.

Dokgo Yeon's face, looking down at him, seemed a bit serious.

"This isn't going to be simple, is it?"

"Kuhah..."

"...Light, you know too, don't you?"

"But... I have to overcome this."

Light gritted his teeth and replied, having calmed down from his seizure and returned closer to his original appearance.

Though different from the blatantly feminine appearance of just moments ago, it was still an androgynous face that had changed considerably from the beginning.

While those who didn't know him well might not notice, the members of Class 11, who had been face-to-face with him for nearly a week, could all recognize it immediately.

"Ban and you are right. I thought this wouldn't work either... Can we continue sparring?"

"...I need to apologize. I'm sorry, I misjudged you."

Dokgo Yeon apologized to Light with a stiff face.

Light shook his head with a bitter smile.

"It's okay. I couldn't tell you guys either. Probably in the future too..."

"I thought you were just an ignorant fool, but you're a fool with a bomb strapped to your body. I hope that strange illness of yours doesn't flare up inside the tower."

"I really hate you!"

"Then stand up now. Didn't you say you wanted to spar?"

"Your veins must be flowing with poison instead of blood."

Dokgo Yeon's verbal abuse continued, but it was true that her attitude towards Light had softened considerably.

Light, too, seemed to have reduced his antipathy towards her once he realized that Dokgo Yeon was sincerely trying to help him improve.

The sight of them bickering yet getting along was so amusing that even Luciel, who had been afraid of Dokgo Yeon before, was giggling.

"Ban, should we also... ugh."

Encouraged by the dramatic improvement in the relationship between the two, Luciel spoke to Ban Yu-won first.

But Ban Yu-won was so focused on the concept he had just seen for a moment that he couldn't respond to Luciel right away.

'What was that?'

Had he seen it wrong?

He hoped so, but somehow he felt that wasn't the case.

[Holy Spirit (聖靈), Demon Spirit (魔靈)]

At the moment when a small explosion of light occurred in Light's chest, Ban Yu-won saw two concepts.

It wasn't a concept within Light's body, but something contained in what he might be carrying in his chest.

However, the fact that two clearly opposing concepts were residing in one object,

And that it was related to the soul (靈魂) of all things,

Moreover, considering that it was the cause of Light's recent seizure, it wasn't something he could just ignore.

If he could somehow deal with that, wouldn't he be able to solve the problem Light was carrying?

'But even if I ask Light, he's not the type to answer readily.'

They're roommates anyway.

There will be many opportunities to talk and observe him in the future.

There was no need to think about it hastily.

As the class president of Class 11, he just had to think of it as one more task he needed to solve.

Above all, what's important right now isn't Light.

It's Luciel.

"Luciel, did you call me? Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"Eek?! Ah, no. It's not that..."

Luciel, who had given up on communication after being ignored once, was startled by the sudden call and stepped back a little from him.

But soon she carefully approached again and opened her mouth.

"Actually, I was hoping... we could spar too."

"Will you be okay?"

Of course, when Ban Yu-won asked if she'd be okay, it wasn't a declaration like 'Do you think you can surpass me?'

He was just checking, worried that she might have an outburst like yesterday.

...Come to think of it, this party is really a minefield.

"No, I'll be fine."

Luciel shook her head confidently.

Then, blushing slightly, she looked at his forearm, or more precisely, at Eve wrapped around his forearm.

"So I'm sorry, but... if anything happens, Ban has a way to restrain me."

"Shhhh."

Eve, receiving Luciel's gaze, made a hissing sound as if to say 'Trust only me.'

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Ban Yu-won cleared his throat and nodded.

"Alright. Shall we give it a try then?"

"Yes... please."

Luciel nodded shyly.

Ban Yu-won felt an indescribable ticklish and proud feeling from her smile.

Could this be a fragment of the youth he had been longing for?

Although the direction is a bit different!

'This is it. Young men and women encouraging each other and honing their skills! This is what true school life is all about!'

Of course, Class 11 could be described as a complete women's bath, even besides Luciel.

However, there's a slight problem with the member composition.

Professor Yumina, who supports him to an overwhelming degree, while clearly showing that she wants something in return.

Dokgo Yeon, whose ability gap with him is so large that he thinks of her as a teacher rather than a woman.

Light, who hides his identity and is oblivious and indifferent.

Isn't this a composition where it's hard to find even a trace of youth?!

'Luciel is my only hope. I'm not trying to do anything, just want to feel the atmosphere of youth!'

But his last hope crumbled in just 5 minutes.

"Grrrrrrrr!"

"Eve!"

"Shwoooop!"

Perhaps because she took Ban Yu-won's previous promise to solve everything too literally? Not long after starting the sparring, Luciel began to show signs of going berserk.

At first, emotions like joy (樂), pleasure, and happiness (喜) burned in her mind, accepting her emotions and activating her movements.

But now, as the somewhat strengthened Ban Yu-won skillfully deflected or countered her attacks, causing her to be repelled several times, emotions like anger (怒) and frustration (憤) began to build up in her mind, and she seemed to be slowly losing control.

"Kyaaaaa!"

"Eve, grab her tight!"

"Shwoooop!"

Eventually, when madness and killing intent appeared in her mind, she turned into a complete beast.

'It seems that the type of emotion burning in the mind affects the degree of physical activation and the impact on rationality.'

For now, observing the changes in her mind was the best he could do. No matter how much physical contact he had with her, he couldn't extract or change the emotions inside her mind.

One of the measures Ban Yu-won had thought of was to calm her down by extracting his own emotions as concepts and bestowing them on her, but this also failed.

The sparring between the two only led to the conclusion that repeating this back-and-forth would solve nothing.

"Grrrk... Ha!"

Perhaps because it wasn't an actual battlefield where blood, flesh, and bone fragments were flying.

After restraining her with Eve's chain net (鎖網) and leaving her alone for a few minutes, she was able to regain her senses.

"Ugh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I told you I'd help, didn't I? I was prepared for this much."

"Ban...!"

"So while I was busy educating, you were smoothly seducing the beast."

Just as Luciel regained her senses and they were about to have a proper conversation, Dokgo Yeon interjected from the side.

"Seducing? Didn't you see me struggling while sparring with Luciel?"

"If you mean whispering sweet nothings to an innocent beast, then yes, I saw that."

"It's not like that."

As Dokgo Yeon was playfully teasing Ban Yu-won, Luciel directly defended him.

"Ban was really worried about me..."

"Then perhaps it's the beast who has ulterior motives?"

"Eek?!"

While the innocent Luciel blushed and struggled to respond to Dokgo Yeon's mercilessly direct words,

Ban Yu-won checked the message that arrived on his mirror and smiled.

"It's done."

"What's done?"

"Yesterday, while having dinner with Professor Yumina, I asked if I could bring one of you along when going outside the floating island."

And just now, permission was granted in the name of the principal.

Originally, this was something that would never be approved even if one died and came back to life, but perhaps the video Ban Yu-won uploaded to his channel had a positive influence on the principal as well.

"That's great, I was just thinking how stuffy it was being cooped up in here..."

"So, Luciel, let's go outside together now."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What did you say?"

Not only Dokgo Yeon, who was certain she would be the one taken out, but also Luciel, who didn't expect her name to come up, and even Light blinked their eyes in surprise.

Ban Yu-won, trying hard to ignore Dokgo Yeon's piercing gaze, winked at Luciel.

"Let's go on a date."

"...What?!"

It's absolutely not because he likes her.

It's purely to handle Luciel's ability, so he hopes there won't be any misunderstandings.