Why Did I Have to Enroll

Why Did I Have to Enroll - Chapter 180

Lesson 35. The Final Changeling - 5

Those who cling to illusions often know they are just that—illusions. Yet, they can’t let go. No matter how tightly they grasp, they can’t hold it. No matter how hard they pull, it won’t come closer. Even if they chase it, the distance never closes. It always dangles before their eyes, glittering as if close yet far. They chase it, believing that one day they’ll grasp it, until the day they die.

For Ketra, it wasn’t a light emotion like love. It wasn’t friendship, honor, or family. It wasn’t even revenge against the parents who abandoned him in a nameless human village of a lower dimension. It was simply a longing for his roots as a fairy. He needed a firm conviction in his origins that could overshadow the memories of growing up doubting himself. So, it was only natural for him to linger around Mira, who was undeniably a ‘real fairy.’ To him, Mira wasn’t just an individual but the embodiment of the fairy race, an object of reverence, and simultaneously, a target of unshakable hatred. At least, that’s what he thought until one day, Ban Yu-won suddenly appeared and took Mira’s heart and soul entirely.

“You… you’re going to die.”

“That’s rich coming from the guy who stabbed me in the stomach.”

Despite the horrific wound in his abdomen, as if carved out by a great sword, and the red spear piercing through it, Ketra thought it was a miracle he was still alive. Climbing the Tower of Babel, sometimes resorting to piracy to hone his skills and gather artifacts, hadn’t been in vain after all. A faint, helpless smile appeared on Ketra’s lips. The man who saw it also smiled incredulously.

“Why did you betray us, Ketra?”

Ketra had joined the Crimson Spear, a prominent dimensional pirate group alongside Exodus, even before enrolling in the Union Academy. Both Exodus and Crimson Spear had ties to higher dimensions. However, while Exodus couldn’t hide their desire to bring down the higher dimensions, Crimson Spear wanted to enjoy and integrate into their power. For Ketra, who was abandoned by parents from a higher dimension and longed for his race’s roots, it was a perfect fit.

The man demanded an answer in a stronger voice. Ketra sighed as he faced the man who had stabbed him.

Not long ago, before he manipulated information to lead the Crimson Spear’s elite troops into a clash with Exodus in Dimension E-1, he had quite a deep relationship with the man before him as a fellow dimensional pirate of the Crimson Spear.

“Isn’t it a common story? Falling in love with a woman while infiltrating the enemy for a mission and betraying your allies to save her?”

“Ketra, you did it for that woman?”

The man snorted.

“If the Scarlet Flame Princess finds out, she’ll laugh her head off. And then—she’ll take it out on us.”

“Sorry about that, Selden.”

“Ha, you’re really taking the fun out of this. It’s driving me crazy.”

The man, whom Ketra called Selden, withdrew the spear from Ketra’s abdomen and scratched his head. Knowing Ketra would soon die, there was no need to stab him further, and the betrayal was so sudden that he hadn’t sorted out his feelings for Ketra yet.

“Swapping our crew with Exodus? Even if I tore your soul to pieces, it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“Yeah, probably… How did it go?”

“Exodus is all sorted out now. Thanks to that, we only have one ship left.”

Ketra had been working on a major project within the Crimson Spear. It was an attempt to surpass Exodus, overturn the balance of an S-rank dimension, and exact brutal revenge on the fairies. But Ketra, who had been the most proactive in this, suddenly manipulated information, destroyed confidential data, and even swapped the Crimson Spear’s fleet with Exodus, causing a clash. His unsuspecting comrades must have been dumbfounded.

He had precisely manipulated it so that the forces of Exodus and Crimson Spear were evenly matched, making it a miracle that even one of Crimson Spear’s ships survived. It was proof that Ketra’s changeling ability had reached its peak. If not, he wouldn’t have been able to transfer Mira’s stab wound to himself from a distance.

“Hey, Ketra. Is love really that great? Enough to risk your life?”

“I don’t know.”

Ketra replied in a deliberately light tone and took out a candy from his pocket, biting into it. It was a gift from Ban Yu-won after a sincere conversation about Mira following a sparring match. It turned out to be more effective than any potion he knew, but as Selden said, the series of changeling acts he committed today were beyond what his soul could compensate for… No matter how miraculous the candy was, it only delayed his end and eased his pain a little.

But right now, he was immensely grateful for that reprieve.

“Hey, Selden. Since I took the stab for her, maybe she’ll at least say goodbye?”

“I think so too.”

Ketra still wasn’t sure if he truly loved Mira. Without certainty about himself, he had been acting a lie even at the academy. He wondered what meaning emotions built on a false foundation could have. Perhaps that’s why he ended up in this mess, unable to decide his own path and wandering in place.

“Will you let me go?”

“…Go. Our team is done for anyway, so I should at least let you have a peaceful end.”

“Thank you. Really.”

But the feeling of wanting to see Mira now was certainly genuine. Even if he conceded everything to Ban Yu-won and acknowledged him, there was still something he couldn’t give up. If he couldn’t discard it even if it was false, then it was real, Ketra wanted to believe.

“It’s open.”

Selden said bluntly, pointing to the spaceship’s floor. A square emergency exit opened, letting in a fierce wind that tousled Ketra’s hair.

“Selden, thanks for everything.”

“If you’re grateful, you bastard, don’t leave after causing this mess.”

“The project will fail.”

When Ketra declared this, Selden’s face twisted.

“Is that a curse on your way out?”

“I’m serious. The fairy princess has an incredible ally. Even the Scarlet Flame Princess can’t do anything against them.”

The fairy princess referred to Mira. Selden, understanding his words, snorted. Mira was a crucial figure in the project and one of Crimson Spear’s targets. Naturally, they had all her relationships figured out.

“You’re not talking about that human kid down there, are you?”

Bingo. If the holder of powers who could thwart the fairy changelings and achieve their desired results decided to help the fairies, could Crimson Spear really have their way with them? Ketra thought not. He initially approached Ban Yu-won because he seemed useful for the project. In the end, he had created Crimson Spear’s greatest enemy with his own hands, which made him laugh.

“If you’re thinking of switching sides, Exodus is no good either. They’re doomed. You’ve already turned him into an enemy.”

“Well, then what? Should I quit piracy and become a mercenary?”

As Ketra approached the emergency exit, he suddenly placed his hand on the spaceship’s floor. From there, a wave of energy spread, and soon blue lines ran through the ship’s interior. Selden quickly realized it was a changeling act, specifically transferring ownership of the ship from the Crimson Spear’s officer to himself.

“You, you…”

“Starting with a ship, being a mercenary might not be so bad. I’ve already changed your face, so no need to worry about being tracked.”

“What? Damn it!”

Realizing his face had changed only after hearing Ketra’s words, Selden panicked and touched his cheeks.

“You’re much better-looking now, so be grateful to me.”

“You bastard, really…”

“I have a reliable route in my mirror, so make good use of it.”

Thanks. Before Selden could complain further, Ketra left those words and jumped out of the emergency exit. Left alone, Selden pondered for a while, but realizing he was already a traitor for being tricked into this dimension by Ketra’s plan, he sighed deeply and picked up the mirror Ketra had left behind.

By the time Mira finished explaining the ‘Changeling’ that had happened to her to Ban Yu-won, everyone witnessed Ketra jumping out of the emergency exit. The Crimson Spear’s ship vanished as if its purpose was fulfilled, and… a little later, Shati clicked her tongue.

“The principal knew.”

“Isn’t he just pretending to know after everything’s over, without actually knowing anything?”

“No, the person who said Professor Jung’s departure was delayed and sent someone ahead was the vice president. Oh, and Professor Yumina has just left too.”

“I really want to punch him.”

And now, that vice president was jumping out of the Crimson Spear’s ship. The principal really knew Ketra was part of a dimensional pirate group.

“Whew.”

Ketra, miraculously alive despite most of his internal organs being gone, landed softly on the ground with a smile. The first person he spoke to wasn’t Mira, whom he thought he would say something to.

“President, it seems the restriction is gone?”

“Vice President, you’re considered a dead man now. Restrictions don’t apply to the dead.”

“That’s a relief. I wanted to see your face.”

The restriction referred to preventing Ketra from approaching Mira. In fact, for Ketra, who was part of the Crimson Spear, it was a definite attack method, and if it had been discovered, he would have been excluded from the project anyway.

“Mira.”

“Ketra, are you an idiot?”

Mira said incredulously as Ketra turned towards her.

“Yeah, I’m an idiot.”

“Don’t burden me with your problems. Just because you do that, I won’t…”

Unable to control her emotions, Mira blurted out her words but soon frowned and closed her mouth. Instead, Ban Yu-won spoke to Ketra.

“Why did you do it?”

“Would you believe me if I said it was love? Would you, Mira?”

“…I can’t believe it, but even if I did, it wouldn’t change anything.”

“Haha, believe it. Even if it’s a lie.”

Perhaps feeling resistance to Ketra’s words, Mira instinctively tried to step back, but Ban Yu-won was already there. With his hand on her shoulder, Ban Yu-won spoke softly.

“I don’t like denying things outright. Especially when it’s someone who protected someone precious to me.”

“Yu-won, you said you’d accept all of me.”

“That’s right.”

Ban Yu-won gently stroked her tense cheek.

“So even if it’s you, I can’t allow you to take away a part of yourself. No matter how shameful or guilty the memories are to you, they’re precious to me.”

“Ugh…”

In truth, Mira wasn’t denying Ketra just because she wanted to be entirely devoted to Ban Yu-won. She denied everything about Ketra because his existence symbolized the sins she committed in her first semester. At that time, she blamed it on the Constellation that influenced her mind, on Ketra for not taking proper care of her, and used Ban Yu-won’s appearance as a good excuse to sever ties with her past self and create a new one. However, even if her emotions were pure, Ban Yu-won didn’t think it was good to remove all the impure parts that made her who she was.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Ban Yu-won’s words made her feel embarrassed, loved, and grateful, yet also sad and gloomy for having her innermost thoughts exposed. But if her master, who owned all of her (though she never called him that in front of him because he disliked it), wanted it, she had no choice but to accept it honestly.

“I’m sorry…”

Mira bowed her head to Ketra. Tears dripped onto the ground.

“For trying to kill you… I did something terrible…”

“Mira.”

Ketra looked surprised, then turned to Ban Yu-won with a somewhat relieved expression.

“I really can’t win…”

“I’m sorry, thank you. I’m sorry.”

Mira repeated. Ketra let out a deep sigh and sat on the ground. He was reaching his limit.

“It’s okay, Mira. I was trying to use you too. I was planning to do something absurd, like swapping dimensions using you and the fairies as sacrifices. So there’s no need for you to feel sorry for me.”

“Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

“I’ve already sent it to the junior mirror, so read it later.”

Ban Yu-won was startled by the sudden revelation of a grander scheme. Ketra seemed satisfied with his reaction and added one last thing.

“There’s an enemy in the academy. Keep an eye on the descendants of the Ten Great Families.”

“Understood. Thank you.”

“Mira.”

“Thank you, I’m sorry…”

“Mira.”

Ketra called out to Mira, who was repeating herself like a broken doll, in a strong voice again.

“I would have preferred ‘I love you.’”

“Maybe once, a long time ago.”

Ordered by Ban Yu-won to be honest, Mira spoke sincerely, even while glancing at him.

“But now, ‘I love you’ is only for Yu-won. I’m sorry.”

“Ha, even taking a stab for her doesn’t change that, huh.”

Ketra chuckled. Ban Yu-won, seeing his smile reminiscent of when they first met, couldn’t help but smile back.

“Do you think a woman’s heart is easy? You should have held on when you thought she liked you.”

“You’re just like me, junior. Didn’t I say we’d be the strongest combo?”

…There was no rebuttal to that.

“Junior, thanks for reconciling us. Mira, thank you too. President, I’m sorry for being a lousy subordinate.”

After his final goodbyes, Ketra handed his dagger to Ban Yu-won.

“Would you finish it for me, junior?”

“Is this revenge for making me do something I dislike?”

“I lost the girl I liked, so this much is necessary.”

“…Thank you for protecting Mira, senior.”

Goodbye.

Ban Yu-won carried out the request. Mira tightly closed her eyes. She realized that her first love, which she hadn’t properly ended, was now finally, perfectly over.