Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 171

Lesson 34. Free Subordination - 6

Summoning a Mountain Giant to obliterate an enemy ship, Dokgo Yeon finally felt a bit of her stress dissipate. The turmoil that had been bubbling in her mind seemed to settle down at last.

‘I was needlessly tormented by a base impulse that doesn’t suit me. I knew I was obsessed with talent, but there was no need to concern myself with his relationships.’

Closing the lid on an emotion she couldn’t accept, only one possibility remained. Dokgo Yeon leaned on that possibility to justify her actions and impulses.

Ban Yu-won, the remarkable talent she had encountered for the first time in her life—.

Her desire to nurture and perfect him with her own hands was so strong that she became sensitive to even the slightest influence he received from others.

Especially from a woman? Isn’t a woman a significant influence in a man’s life?

‘But I was overly worried. It wasn’t something I needed to interfere with excessively.’

How many martial artists have ruined their lives because of women who tried to control them?

Therefore, if one is dedicated to martial arts, it’s best not to meet women at all. If that’s not possible, it’s better to marry someone chosen by the family and not pay attention to other women.

However, if neither is achievable—then one should embrace a woman they can completely control.

‘Luciel wouldn’t do anything to harm Ban Yu-won. In fact, she was captivated by him from the first meeting… She’s the kind of woman who would lay down her life to protect him. I intended for it to be that way.’

That day, when Light made a ridiculous mistake and retired.

Thinking that Luciel and Ban Yu-won were at a crossroads, she deliberately didn’t retire to advance their relationship.

When she saw Ban Yu-won and Luciel returning as a clingy pair, she was surprised at how much further they had progressed than she had anticipated, yet satisfied that her intention had been fulfilled.

‘Luciel is a good woman. Ban Yu-won won’t be ruined because of her. At least, that’s how I judged it in the past. So there’s no problem. Ban Yu-won will continue to grow…’

She would always stand ahead of him, guiding him.

Everything was going smoothly.

There was no reason for her to be annoyed.

No reason to feel bad seeing them together.

No reason for her heart to ache—none at all.

With this, everything was settled.

“Alright.”

Dokgo Yeon gave herself a small pep talk and slapped her cheeks lightly. If Ban Yu-won had seen it, he would have been amazed at how cute she looked, but unfortunately, Tike wasn’t there.

“If I smash a bit more, I’ll feel even better.”

But just as she was muttering something that sounded psychopathic and was about to retrieve and throw the Mountain Giant again, magic bullets flying from all directions interrupted her movement.

—Krrrr

“Hmm?”

The Light Wings supporting her moved more nimbly, dodging the barrage of magic bullets.

However, as a result, they penetrated deeper into the enemy’s territory, and seeing the pirate ships closing in from all sides as if they had been waiting for this, Dokgo Yeon realized she had been led.

—Krrr

“It’s not your fault. It was a formidable attack.”

She comforted the apologetic Light Wings and stood firmly on its back.

She slowly drew a small black sword from the scabbard at her waist.

Whatever came to attack her from now on, whether it be magic bullets or anything else, she intended to cut it all down.

‘Aside from professors, there hasn’t been anyone worthy of showing my true strength. Let’s see how impressive these pirate scum are.’

With a heavy mechanical sound, a massive pirate ship appeared before her eyes.

Honestly, a giant spaceship in the shape of a cruise ship was nothing but bad taste, but looking up at it now, she had to admit its grandeur.

“So, you’re the one he’s after.”

A man walked out to the bow and looked down at Dokgo Yeon with a grin.

He looked quite young, with ash-brown hair, and like a pirate captain should, he wore an eyepatch over one eye.

One of his hands was not a human hand but a mechanical arm… Seeing it, Dokgo Yeon couldn’t help but recall Erecto, as Ban Yu-won had mentioned before.

‘He said Luciel Ortima supported him to get a mechanical arm—perhaps that surgery was related to them.’

She had no intention of losing to an enemy who had abandoned the human body.

The human body, full of mysteries and infinite possibilities, was far superior to a weapon with clear limitations. He could never surpass her Blade.

“Your eyes are strange. Everything else is fine, but… Hmm, now that I look, it’s not bad. It’s a shame to throw you away as a mere plaything for that man’s night games.”

It seemed the man was also assessing her, making a rude comment about Dokgo Yeon.

She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Men always pretend to be in heat before facing a woman.”

Dokgo Yeon drew her small sword and aimed it at the enemy.

Though the footing was unstable, the Light Wings supported her with all its might.

Since Ban Yu-won had sent his important familiar to support her, she had no intention of losing.

—Thus, it was only because her disciple was supporting her that she felt energized.

“The louder they bark, the more impotent they are. It’d be better if you didn’t have one at all. I’ll just cut it off for you.”

“Oh my, what a fiery woman I’ve met… Oh!”

The moment his mechanical arm aimed at her, a line of darkness extended at the speed of light, targeting her.

If Ban Yu-won had seen it, he would have remarked, ‘It’s just a regular dark laser, isn’t it? Lacks creativity.’ A Dark Magic attack.

Dokgo Yeon could have blocked it with her Blade imbued with Death, but the Light Wings reacted first.

What it held was the concept of ‘Light Wings,’ possessed by the Constellation.

With a flap of its wings filled with pure Light Magic Power, the dark laser crumbled pathetically.

“Light Magic Power…?!”

“Not impressive.”

“Do all Union first-year students have pets that handle Light Magic Power these days? Unbelievable. Ah, don’t interfere. I’ll handle this.”

Besides the ship he was on, three more massive ships were approaching from the left, right, and rear, but at the pirate captain’s words, they halted.

Perhaps he was the mastermind behind this attack. Dokgo Yeon narrowed her eyes and reassessed the enemy’s momentum.

“You’re Dokgo Yeon, right? I’m Quiran Luchato. An Exodus officer.”

“I knew it was Exodus, but an officer.”

“We hate accurately measuring and dividing ranks. If you lead a fleet like this, you’re an officer. Just remember that roughly. Hey.”

With those words, the man launched another surprise laser attack.

There was almost no delay before and after the attack, the speed was absurdly fast, and once hit, even Dokgo Yeon couldn’t ignore the damage. It was a flawless attack, but its compatibility with the Light Wings was terribly poor.

Just by flapping its wings, the Light Wings perfectly blocked the laser, causing wrinkles to form on Quiran Luchato’s forehead.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone block my attack so easily. Where do you get such creatures? They’d be perfect as a figurehead on our ship.”

“Are you trying to have a conversation with me now?”

Dokgo Yeon spoke bluntly.

If he wanted to kill or capture her, he could have attacked all at once with his subordinates, but what was he trying to achieve with these trivial attacks?

“Ah, well, yes. I don’t particularly like the client, and seeing you in person, I kind of like you… I’m thinking of just taking you.”

“Ridiculous.”

The reason Dokgo Yeon wasn’t cutting him down right away was simple.

She wanted to recover the stamina and inner strength she had used attacking their ships.

She also hoped that while the Dimension Pirates’ main force was tied up with her, the Beastmen would take care of the rest.

Most importantly, despite having a mechanical arm, his energy was stable, so she didn’t think she could easily cut him down in a proper fight.

‘If I drag this out, it’ll be disadvantageous for them. There’s no reason to refuse a conversation.’

It was laughable to be treated as a trophy, and the vulgar jokes about her as a woman were infuriating.

But she was a woman who could see the bigger picture.

If enduring was beneficial, she could endure as much as needed.

“No, it’s not ridiculous. What’s ridiculous is the Union.”

“Are you really trying to persuade me?”

“Ah, before that, a fact check. I’m your senior.”

Quiran Luchato, speaking in a tone that reminded her of Ban Yu-won, casually revealed his robe.

He was wearing the Union Academy uniform.

“I’m not into uniforms. Really, I’m not. I’m not that old, and this is surprisingly excellent armor. The material is so good that if you hack the magic code a bit and add some functions, it doesn’t fall behind anywhere.”

Whether he was truly from the Union or not, she couldn’t deny that point.

Ban Yu-won also wore his uniform whenever he entered the tower, using the same logic.

Moreover, in Ban Yu-won’s case, he infused all sorts of defense-related concepts into the uniform with his authority, making it potentially better than the armor Light wore.

Recalling how he marveled, ‘How much more can this hold?’ while infusing defense concepts into the uniform, Dokgo Yeon chuckled despite the situation.

“Oh, what are you? You just laughed. That was adorable. Did you feel a sense of kinship knowing I’m your senior? Did you fall for me?”

“…This trash, really.”

“That was a laugh full of affection, wasn’t it? Isn’t there a chance you’ve already fallen for me without realizing it?”

“That’s not it.”

There’s no romantic feeling between Ban Yu-won and me! Never!

Dokgo Yeon could no longer tolerate the man who was spouting nonsense about a matter she had already resolved within herself.

“Alright, enough of that! Let’s get to the main point. Hey, I’m overextending myself here. Ryu Cheol-myeong, that bastard, despite having nothing, acts all high and mighty, loves to threaten, and I’m trying to persuade you to get you away from him.”

“Persuade? How?”

“Oh right, that’s from now on.”

Seeing Dokgo Yeon really about to swing her Blade, Quiran Luchato stopped joking and put on a serious expression.

“You—how much do you know about the Constellation?”

“I wondered what you were talking about, and it’s not about the Union—”

“It’s about the Union.”

Quiran Luchato stated firmly.

There was an indescribable repulsiveness in his tone.

“Specifically, it’s about the Tower of Babel.”

“…”

“With a familiar like that and skills beyond a student, someone like you will soon realize it on your own, so I’m just trying to save you some time… What?”

He probably mistook the Light Wings as Dokgo Yeon’s familiar.

In reality, it was Ban Yu-won’s familiar, and if he heard that there were more than five familiars with equal or greater power, he’d be shocked.

But more concerning was his words.

Constellation and the Tower of Babel? She knew there was some connection between them and had discussed it with Ban Yu-won.

However, it seemed that wasn’t what he intended to talk about—.

“What?!”

But before getting to the main point, something happened that made him abandon the conversation.

—Boom!

With a fierce explosion, one of the four ships surrounding her exploded violently.

Then, boom! Boom! The other two ships exploded in succession, clearing her view, leaving only Quiran Luchato’s ship.

In the sudden turn of events, even Dokgo Yeon blinked, trying to grasp the situation.

“—Oops.”

Someone landed lightly on the Light Wings’ back.

“…You.”

“Long time no see, Miss Dokgo Yeon! How’s the progress with Mr. Yu-won since then? How far have you gone? Do you know our fan club is in an uproar because of Luciel?”

“Aneri Dedota.”

“Right, right. To avoid misunderstandings, let me first tell you about the client this time.”

The woman who had been the guide for the Rebellion party on the planet they first went to for special activities.

In the end, she revealed herself as a Dimension Mercenary, and now, dressed in black leather that would make Ban Yu-won exclaim ‘Kunoichi…!’ she stood there.

“Mr. Ban Yu-won hired me. I heard you fell for a bait operation, so I rushed to help, but you seem fine.”

She didn’t ask how she managed to blow up three Dimension Pirate ships in succession.

“…How much does it cost to hire a mercenary like you?”

“Originally, Mr. Yu-won gets a 50% discount, and with an additional 10% discount for a kiss… this much.”

…Dokgo Yeon, estimating the wealth Ban Yu-won had accumulated since entering the Union, closed her mouth.

This mercenary was far more expensive than they could have imagined.