Episode 416

Episode 416

“What brings you here?”

“Ah. It’s because of a commission. Oh, let me introduce you. Hey, everyone. This is the great mage I talked about last time. Remember?”

“……”

“……”

When Gugbon and Bijidek introduced Lee Han to the other adventurers in the back, both Lee Han and Angrago froze.

“I’m not a great mage…”

“Oh. You’re not?”

“Are you… not?”

The adventurers, who rarely met mages, and even Angrago, looked puzzled, making Lee Han consider smacking him.

“Who are you talking about? Gugbon, if you mean the mage you mentioned… Huh!”

One of the adventurers suddenly widened his eyes, remembering. Gugbon looked at his colleague as if to say, “About time you remembered.”

“Wait, do you mean the one who joined our party and stood guard with magic, made campfires with magic, summoned water with magic, cooked with magic, and even cleared the cave with magic!?”

“I thought Gugbon was just boasting nonsense, looking down on us…”

“……”

As the adventurers murmured, Gugbon’s face turned bright red.

What embarrassment, in front of the great mage he owed so much to—no, a mage almost as great as a great mage.

“Why would I spout nonsense!! Are you looking down on me!?”

“N-no, sorry. It just sounded too ridiculous.”

“I may not know much about mages, but even I could tell your stories were strange, Gugbon.”

“Ugh…! You fools, do you know who you’re speaking in front of…! You’ve surely heard about the mage who recently defeated the king of ghouls! That’s this person right here!”

“The king of ghouls?!”

The adventurers were even more shocked.

Adventurers who traveled widely in the Empire heard a lot of rumors.

When they had recently come back to Granden City, they had heard stories about the king of ghouls in the taverns—was that this person?

“But why is such a mage traveling around with you, Gugbon…?”

“Not to belittle your skills, but you’re not the kind of adventurer who could hire a great mage…”

“……”

As Gugbon trembled, Lee Han decided he had to cut in to quiet things down.

• * *

“Ah, you’re from Einrogard. That explains it…”

The adventurers nodded, understanding.

Of course, not every Einrogard student could do what Lee Han did, but the adventurers didn’t know that.

They just accepted that a mage from a prestigious school was, naturally, amazing.

“I’m still a student so I’m lacking in many ways. And a lot about the ghoul business is exaggerated.”

“I see. So maybe Gugbon’s stories are a bit inflated, too?”

“That part is true.”

“……”

“…???”

The adventurers were confused, but accepted it for now.

“So, what sort of commission brought you here?”

The reason Gugbon and the other adventurers had come here was a recent commission they had received.

• There have been repeated reports of strange phenomena happening in the Black Basalt Stone Forest near Pillone Village. It seems the flow of magical energy has changed. Please inspect and investigate the forest thoroughly.

It wasn’t an extremely dangerous commission, but it wasn’t something just anyone could do.

The magic scattered throughout nature sometimes produces anomalies so surprising that even veteran adventurers are taken aback.

‘That connection to the undead last time was the same kind of phenomenon.’

It required enough experience to assess the situation and enough combat ability to escape and report in case something went wrong.

Gugbon and his party were skilled enough to be recognized for and entrusted with such a task.

‘Oh.’

Listening about the commission, Lee Han gazed at the adventurers with a hint of respect.

Even from the description, he could tell this wasn’t something anyone could do, but only a fairly experienced veteran adventurer could take on.

‘The pay must be great. I should have taken this kind of commission myself.’

Looking back, his commission during vacation was way too much trouble.

If he’d known the king of ghouls would show up, he never would have spent that time just collecting things nearby.

He, too, wanted a commission where he could just investigate and get some gold coins.

“But then, a problem arose… We were just debating whether to withdraw after all.”

During their investigation, the adventurers realized the forest’s terrain kept changing.

Gathered magic was creating illusions that confused any intruders.

It was just the terrain changing for now, but if the illusions got worse, it could become genuinely life-threatening.

The adventurers were debating what to do.

“Oh. Would it be possible to ask for the mage’s help? I mean, it’s fate that we’ve met like this.”

“Don’t be stupid. Why would a mage care about a lowly commission like this? It’s just pocket change to him.”

‘Not true.’

Lee Han almost set the record straight with a serious face.

The adventurers, it seemed, had some big misunderstandings about mages.

“But you worked with Gugbon last time…”

“That must have been because of the king of ghouls. Gugbon probably just acted as a guide.”

Gugbon was dumbfounded at his colleagues speaking so bluntly while he was right there.

But he couldn’t refute it.

Because it was true!

“…It’s not like I’m only interested in issues involving kings of ghouls. I’m interested in all sorts of commissions.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Why…? It’s not for the gold, is it…?”

“It must be for knowlege.”

“Ohh.”

Instead of correcting their misunderstanding, Lee Han changed the subject.

“If it’s all right, I’d like to help. I have some ties with Mr. Gugbon here, too.”

Gugbon looked moved.

“The reward…”

“Please accept it, mage!”

“Yes, you must! Of course, the reward may not mean much to you, but it’s an adventurer’s principle. If you help with the job, you must be paid.”

“…Ah, yes. All right.”

Lee Han, who had been about to say, “Please make sure I get paid,” felt self-conscious.

‘Not bad.’

To get gold this easily—Lee Han, for the first time, thought it was good to have become a mage.

Other adventurers had to build all sorts of experience and results, but a mage could just join in by name alone.

Becoming a mage was great!

On top of that, traveling with the adventurers would help him avoid the gaze of any Einrogard pursuers.

“Hey, Wardanaz…”

Next to him, Angrago whispered in disbelief.

“We’re first-years, you know. Can you really handle this?”

“Angrago. You think I spoke up without thinking that far?”

At Lee Han’s confident response, Angrago was taken aback.

Come to think of it, Wardanaz might be a fellow first-year, but he was a completely different class of mage.

‘Right. This guy’s from the Wardanaz family.’

Angrago nodded in understanding.

“I asked a dumb question. Yeah, if you’re confident, this situation makes it worth it. There’ll be less attention if we move as a group. With your skills, it’ll be fine…”

“Right. I’m going to ask Baldororn to come along.”

“…????”

So you weren’t solving it yourself?

• * *

Baldororn, the illusionist of Pillone Village.

If you go from village to village, you’ll run into a magician like him eventually: not especially skilled, more like your average magician.

Some, after self-studying with a magic book or finding a guild or master to learn from, reached their limits and ended up relying on magic just to make a living.

Of course, for Baldororn, any ambition to see the end of truth or the other side of the world through magic had long since faded.

“……”

“Doesn’t the mage’s expression seem odd? Maybe he’s offended?”

“Were we too impolite?”

“N-no, not at all.”

Baldororn hastily reassured the adventurers.

Apparently, all his frustration was showing.

‘Why do Einrogard students keep coming to me…’

When someone knocked at the door, Baldororn went out with no particular thought, only to nearly have his heart drop.

Another familiar Einrogard student had shown up.

–Baldororn. Would you be willing to help?

–…Why… No… Very well…

Baldororn simply couldn’t refuse Lee Han’s ~pressure~—no, his request.

How could he refuse, doing business with magic in a village near Einrogard?

For now, the students were being polite, but who knew what retribution might come later.

“Baldororn is not that kind of person.”

Lee Han flatly told the adventurers.

“Sorry. We misunderstood.”

“We’ve always heard that mages are difficult people to approach…”

The adventurers apologized sincerely. That made Baldororn even more uncomfortable.

‘If we fail to solve the forest problem, will they get mad at me then?’

Magicians from places like Einrogard had a certain aura.

Even if those magicians made mistakes, the citizens of the Empire wouldn’t complain much.

—Ah, if the mage failed, it must have been a really hard problem!

But Baldororn lacked that kind of aura.

If he slipped up, this was the sort of reaction he got:

—Failed? A mage? Is he even a real mage? Isn’t he a quack?

They looked like pretty experienced veteran adventurers. Just thinking about what would happen if he failed was already making Baldororn feel sick.

“It’s an illusion.”

Lee Han was the first to give a warning. He sensed an abnormal flow of magic in the whitish mist.

“Oh no!”

“All the way to the forest entrance… the area has grown.”

The adventurers grimaced.

That the area affected by illusions extended out to the forest entrance was no good sign.

“Baldororn, may I try that method you taught me last time?”

“Yes. …Pardon?”

“Then, I’ll give it a try.”

Answering without thinking, Baldororn gasped and tried to clarify.

‘What did I teach him? I don’t remember teaching anything?’

But upon hearing the reply, Lee Han didn’t hesitate, wielding his magical power like a hammer to blow away the fog.

A solution not of reading and analyzing structures, but of shattering the whole structure with a powerful shock.

“……”

Baldororn gaped at such a brute-force solution.

‘He’s really using that????’

It was a method that existed in theory but only for very weak or small-scale illusion spells. The magical power needed to clear all the fog at the forest entrance was unimaginable.

The adventurers, who didn’t understand the situation, watched blankly, then asked,

“Is it resolved?”

“Yes.”

“Amazing!”

“…I didn’t do anything.”

“So humble, too!”

“……”

Baldororn sincerely wanted to go home now.

• * *

After that, Baldororn and Lee Han dispelled the illusions and found the right path through excellent observation and amazing magic.

Baldororn observed; Lee Han resolved.

When Lee Han asked questions, Baldororn reliably checked.

The adventurers were just amazed at their seamless teamwork.

“But why is that mage just standing there?”

“He’s saving his magic.”

“……”

Angrago was feeling awkward, too.

He wanted to help, but…

‘I can’t make anything of this at all!’

To him, it looked like Lee Han was just swinging his magic around wildly to dispel the fog.

Of course, it couldn’t be that simple—clearly, some deep principle was at work…

But he simply couldn’t figure it out.

When Lee Han dispelled yet another mist, Angrago sighed in frustrated admiration.

“Sigh.”

And Baldororn sighed deeply, too.

“Huoooo…”

“…???”

Angrago wondered what was wrong with this amazing mage.