Why Did I Have to Enroll

Light had been giggling since morning, finding something amusing.

"Assemble. Pfft."

"Light, I get that it's funny, but give it a rest already."

"But using that word in that situation is just hilarious. Pffft."

He had sent the text in a hurry without much time to think.

And now he was fixating on it.

Perhaps "assemble" had some particularly amusing meaning in Light's homeland.

Dokgo Yeon, sitting next to Light, shot him a glare while biting into a fried spring roll.

"Must be nice to be so carefree. Just know that if you try to draw your holy sword the moment things get a little dangerous, I won't let it slide."

Light took a bite of his exotic stir-fried pork bibimbap (not fried rice, but rice mixed with stir-fried pork and sauce) while shrugging his shoulders and said.

"I maintain a constant battlefield mindset. So no matter what threats await us, my attitude won't really change."

Maintaining constant battle readiness - that's what he meant by battlefield mindset.

Even Ban Yu-won, who had never served in the military, found the statement ridiculous.

Especially coming from Light of all people.

Dokgo Yeon mocked Light on behalf of the group.

"That's not even remotely funny."

"Were you trying to make a joke that could rival 'assemble'?"

"Pfft... Yu-won, ah~"

"It wasn't a joke! And you, Luciel! Did you just casually laugh at and dismiss me?"

Ban Yu-won wasn't sure whether to be glad that Luciel had grown so bold or worried about what was to come.

As he was chewing his food and pondering this, Light protested with an indignant face.

"The dimension I lived in was really like that! Our nation's soldiers never let their guard down while watching the borders, and even His Majesty the King... father always trained in martial arts, saying one must know how to protect oneself even without royal guards in emergencies. And I too... Ouch!"

"We don't need your warrior philosophy, so drop it."

Dokgo Yeon flicked a grain of rice from the table, hitting Light's forehead as she spoke in a cold voice.

"When something happens, just move according to what we agreed on yesterday. Got it?"

"Yes..."

After finishing breakfast, the group got ready and assembled in the auditorium.

It was quite a sight with all students from first to fifth year gathered together.

Even with dropouts and deaths during explorations reducing the number of students in higher years, the total still reached around 1,000.

All of them were the finest talents across dimensions, dreaming of reaching godhood.

While first-year students still showed signs of inexperience, second-years and up who had experienced the Tower for a year already carried themselves with veteran composure.

"Ban Yu-won."

"What?"

After calling Ban Yu-won's name, Dokgo Yeon looked around and said in a satisfied voice.

"Starting the channel was really a good move."

"Yeah, I think so too."

Ban Yu-won agreed with a bitter smile.

In this stifling place where all students observed and checked each other, surprisingly, there wasn't much hostility directed at Ban Yu-won's group.

While they held a position worthy of caution even among first-years, those who viewed their videos favorably were more likely to soften their stance.

'In my old world too, people would be jealous of a stranger making 2 billion a year, but they'd naturally nod and say that's reasonable when their favorite YouTuber earned that much.'

Moreover, Rebellion was currently positioned in opposition to the Special Class, gaining support from the majority of regular students who weren't part of it.

While this meant they had completely turned the Special Class into enemies, these people were bound to become enemies anyway due to their backgrounds, so it wasn't particularly concerning.

'Especially if special activities become dangerous...'

"Is everyone here?"

Professor Yumina appeared at the perfect timing and approached them.

She wore a picnic hat woven from flowers and stems atop her flower-made hair, creating a very bright and cheerful atmosphere.

If she suddenly revealed herself to be a flower goddess, one might find themselves nodding as if they had expected it all along.

This flower goddess threw an odd statement at them.

"Everyone looks pretty and handsome. But since we're going out for a special occasion, perhaps we could dress up a bit."

All students were wearing identical uniforms - what dressing up was she talking about?

But before they could object, Yumina promptly plucked four flowers from her hat and tucked one behind each of their ears.

Though Dokgo Yeon tried to avoid it in disgust, even someone as skilled as her couldn't overcome Yumina.

In the end, all members of Class 11 ended up with flowers in their hair.

Ban Yu-won felt like crying a little.

"..."

"...this, really, this."

"Wow."

"Professor...?"

"These pretty flowers will protect you wherever you go!"

Dokgo Yeon, who was about to rip out the flower, paused upon hearing those words.

She had realized this flower was one of Yumina's protective measures.

Grinding her teeth, she asked.

"Isn't there... anything else besides this damn pretty flower?"

"We can change its form a bit. Would you prefer a headband or hair tie?"

"If that was an option from the start... I'll take the hair tie."

When the flower transformed into a hair tie decorated with colorful flower ornaments, Dokgo Yeon bit her lip tightly and gathered her long white hair into a ponytail.

As this exposed her smooth, pale neck, Ban Yu-won unconsciously found his gaze drawn to it.

Since Dokgo Yeon usually paid little attention to her appearance, these moments of vulnerability seemed even more appealing.

"Ban Yu-won? Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no."

"...Professor, please change mine too. To a hairband with lace."

"That would be lovely!"

Seeing Ban Yu-won's gaze directed at Dokgo Yeon, Luciel felt competitive and made a different request to Yumina.

With her naturally bright pink hair, the fancy lace hairband adorned with flowers suited Luciel perfectly.

"Oh..."

Seeing this reminded Ban Yu-won of when they went shopping with Luciel.

Now he understood why the store clerks had recommended Lolita fashion that had seemed excessively frilly and classical.

It wasn't just because the corset would emphasize her figure.

Luciel was simply one of those rare beings who could actually pull off such elaborate outfits and accessories that seemed to belong only in manga.

"Beautiful."

"Heek...!"

At his casually uttered admiration, Luciel clenched her fists in joy.

She then looked at Dokgo Yeon with a proud expression as if she had won something, but Dokgo Yeon merely stared back at her with a look that seemed to say 'what's wrong with this beast?'

"Ban, should we take some special measures too?"

Meanwhile, Light, perhaps feeling threatened after seeing his two companions transform their flowers into stylish hair accessories, asked Ban Yu-won.

Ban Yu-won answered.

"How about putting the flower in your mouth? That's what successful men do in our world."

"That seems too uncomfortable..."

Damn, failed!

Having tried to sacrifice Light and survive alone, Ban Yu-won resigned himself to their shared fate.

"Then we'll just have to wear them as they are. A man should be confident in any situation."

"Y-yeah, because we're men!"

"Both of you come here. I'll change them into earrings."

As the two ended up attracting attention from all directions with their flower-shaped crystal earrings, Professor Xenon stepped onto the platform.

"Is everyone here? Good. We will now commence the special activity. First years, Class 1, board the dimension ship in order."

Dimension ship?

Just as Ban Yu-won wondered about this, suddenly 'space opened up' in front of the leading student of Class 1-1, Ortima, creating a translucent oval ring.

What could be seen through that ring was clearly a different space from their current location.

It must be the interior of what they called the dimension ship.

"Professor? I thought there was a spaceship dock inside the floating island."

"Small spaceships are mainly used when upper-year students do special activities like space exploration in small groups. For large-scale special activities, we mobilize dimension ships. The headmaster and Professor Xenon have control authority over them."

Yumina calmly replied to Ban Yu-won's question, who was shocked by something beyond his imagination.

But could something whose physical form couldn't even be confirmed really be called a ship?

Even Ortima seemed hesitant since this was their first time with a dimension ship, which proved that this school was indeed strange.

"Lord Lucein?"

"Hmph, let's go."

When one of the male students from Class 1 called out the name, Ortima finally cleared their throat and stepped into the unknown space.

Lucein - Ban Yu-won learned that guy's name for the first time.

"We'll be spending this entire special activity together, Professor Yumina."

"Professor Cantone."

As Class 1 students bravely charged into the dimension ship following Ortima, their supervising professor, Alex de Cantone, approached Yumina.

As the professor in charge of Tower Research (a mandatory subject for all students, with many associate professors below him handling lectures), he was one of the full professors of the Academy, and was famously one of those who had been pursuing Yumina among the faculty.

"I thought the lower dimension special admission didn't mean much, but unexpectedly, it's helped our relationship, hasn't it? Isn't that interesting?"

"I don't believe there's any particular relationship between us, Professor Cantone."

Yumina replied coldly, not even bothering to put on a fake smile.

Given that she normally maintained courtesy with everyone, this response was surprisingly harsh.

Was it because she had received many such inappropriate advances from him before?

Ban Yu-won strongly felt that wasn't the only reason.

The answer came quickly, from Professor Cantone himself.

"My, could you still be holding onto what happened at the last meeting? Professor Yumina, I, Alex, am not the type to cling disgracefully to past events. So I can assure you that nothing like what you're worried about will happen..."

Why did he glance at Ban Yu-won at that point?

Ban Yu-won's wariness of this man increased significantly.

Meanwhile, Yumina's expression grew even colder.

"Professor Cantone. You just said you're not the type to cling disgracefully to past events."

"Of course."

"Then I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't cling to conversations with me either. I trust you understand my meaning."

Murmur... murmur...

At this clear rejection that even someone who had never dated could understand, the surrounding students began whispering here and there.

And Ban Yu-won was recording this entire process on video.

"Ah...! I seem to have been rude when Professor Yumina was in a bad mood. We'll talk later."

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the reality that Yumina disliked him, Cantone shot Ban Yu-won a glare before throwing himself into the dimension ship.

Yumina snorted and turned to her group.

"Everyone, it seems all Class 1 students have boarded, shall we go too?"

"Is it okay to be on bad terms with a full professor?"

When Ban Yu-won asked out of genuine concern.

Yumina brought her lips close to his ear and whispered.

"Professor Cantone is an enemy anyway. Remember that and be wary."

"Yes...*sigh*"

However, Ban Yu-won sighed more at Yumina's overly familiar behavior with him than the content of what she said.

Sure enough, not only their classmates but most of the students filling the auditorium had their eyes fixed on him.

He was about to become the protagonist of a huge scandal surrounding Yumina.

*

The dimension ship was a space that made one doubt whether it was really a ship at all. There were no windows to look outside, just sterile corridors and rooms lined up in a row, and naturally, there were no doors leading outside either. Simply put, unless Xenon opened an exit, they were effectively trapped here.

"Is this really a ship?"

"Yes, it is."

Despite Ban Yu-won's questioning look, Yumina just responded with a bright smile.

Since he couldn't even tell if the ship was moving or not, Ban Yu-won had no choice but to trust they would arrive at their destination properly and wait.

Since Class 11 was moving together with Class 1, they were in the same room on the dimension ship, and Ban Yu-won could distinctly feel the stares of two people.

One was Ortima.

Though hidden behind followers, that wasn't enough to deceive Ban Yu-won, the owner of the All-Seeing Eyes.

His gaze kept moving between Ban Yu-won and Dokgo Yeon, and Dokgo Yeon, seeming to notice this, wore an unpleasant expression.

"I expected as much, but still... Such an amateur who can't even properly conceal his killing intent..."

"No, I don't think it's just killing intent."

When Dokgo Yeon moved to Ban Yu-won's side as if trying to avoid that gaze, Ortima's stare intensified.

At this point, Ban Yu-won was certain that Ortima harbored at least romantic feelings, or rather an obsessive emotion close to fixation, toward Dokgo Yeon.

It seemed he really was a pervert after all.

"That bug is ruining my mood. Do you have anything?"

"Do you think I have some kind of 4D pocket or something?"

But since he did have something similar to an inventory, Ban Yu-won took out the thermos he had prepared and poured hot chocolate into a mug for her.

He had prepared enough for the others too, since they would surely want some.

Dokgo Yeon took the cup, and as she sipped the hot chocolate, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Phew... This helps calm me down a bit. Just like that time."

"This is what you poured back then... huh?"

Dokgo Yeon and Light suddenly caught each other's gaze in mid-mumble.

The two exchanged meaningful looks.

Reading this strange atmosphere, Luciell looked at Ban Yu-won with an expression of betrayal and uttered a plaintive:

"Why...?"

Ban Yu-won hurriedly explained, flustered by that pitiful look.

"Ah, this doesn't really have any special meaning... Wait, why do I feel like I'm being accused of cheating?"

"Mmm, this is really delicious."

Perhaps noticing Ban Yu-won's predicament.

Yumina put down her cup and said with a bright smile.

"Though it might be nice with a bit of alcohol added. Now then, shall we talk about the schedule for this special activity?"

"Ah, yes."

"This special activity is divided into three main parts. School-wide activities where all students move together, class activities where Class 1 and Class 11 move together, and group activities where only Class 11 students move separately. The first day will focus on school-wide activities, but the second day will have class and group activities, and on the final day, we'll have school-wide activities again."

"The schedule reminds me of middle school training camp."

Light's eyes sparkled with curiosity at Ban Yu-won's reflexive comment.

"Training camp? You do training in your dimension too? You were pretty weak when we first met though."

"Not that kind of training."

"Ah, what I just said only applies to when we first met, and now I think you're a really excellent swordsman."

"Be quiet, Light."

Ban Yu-won thought carefully.

The school-wide activities didn't sound dangerous just from hearing about them, and since Ortima would be participating in the class activities, he probably wouldn't create trouble then to avoid suspicion.

In other words, they needed to be prepared for the group activities where only their group would be moving.

'By the way, they're really staring holes through me.'

Ban Yu-won suddenly sighed while continuing his train of thought.

It wasn't Ortima.

Unlike Ortima, who occupied a table surrounded by followers, it was Aire's gaze from the opposite direction, sitting alone at a large round table.

Unlike Ortima who alternated between looking at Dokgo Yeon and him, she was alternating between looking at Yumina and him.

Whenever Yumina made even slight physical contact with Ban Yu-won, her eyes would bulge so much that he wondered if perhaps Cantone had disguised himself as Aire.

"Professor seems to be quite popular regardless of gender."

"Well, I am a delicate flower that everyone can't help but love. The fact that I can't be plucked by anyone's hands is my most charming point."

Oh my, so that's how you're playing it.

As Ban Yu-won was laughing in disbelief, Yumina suddenly stood up.

"We've arrived."

"What?"

Did we even depart?

—All passengers prepare to disembark. Fifth-year special admission group will disembark first in reverse order.

But as if to prove her words, Xenon's voice came over the ship's announcement system.

Ban Yu-won hesitated at those words, because they referred to the lower dimension special admission students of year 5 as a 'group' rather than 'Class 11.'

This alone instantly reminded him of how this academy had originally treated students from lower dimensions.

"...This is scary."

"It's alright. You're the strongest class after all."

Yumina spoke in a clear voice without a hint of doubt as she firmly grasped both of Ban Yu-won's hands.

Seeing this, Dokgo Yeon sneered without a moment's hesitation.

"You say 'you' but why are you only looking at Ban Yu-won? I really don't understand."

"Kekek... I knew I smelled something."

Even Luciell glared at Yumina with a look that shouldn't be directed at a professor.

As Yumina simply smiled without bothering to refute, Light spoke beside her with an incredulous expression.

"Hey, after what you said to me earlier, shouldn't you guys be the ones getting your battle consciousness in order?"

Ban Yu-won completely agreed with Light's words.

If only anyone but Light had said it, it would have been better.

"Ban, you just cursed me in your head, didn't you?"

"Light, you only have good intuition when it's completely unnecessary."

"You just admitted it...?!"

The first special activity, which was unsettling in many ways, was about to begin.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!