Episode 434

Episode 434

‘Oh no. Did I bring up the wrong topic?’

Jeancliffe was uncommonly quick-witted for a knight.

Being an oddball who actively participated in all sorts of social gatherings, he was bound to be different from other knights.

Of course, with that intuition, he couldn’t pick up on the fact that others wished Jeancliffe would keep his mouth shut, but he did notice that the students were uncomfortable talking about their studies.

‘I have to change the subject!’

“Don’t worry about it too much. Being good at arithmetic or language doesn’t make one a great person. Top students in those lectures are probably reclusive types who lack any social skills.”

“……”

This time, Lee Han looked sullen.

• * *

The Empire’s wicked anti-magicist, Bakdgul, ground his teeth and checked his blade.

“They say the knights are gathering.”

“You did very well. Very well indeed.”

Not only Bakdgul, but the eyes of the other anti-magicists sitting around him gleamed with venom.

“Who would have thought everything would be ruined by those guys who only know how to strut around at gatherings as if they’re knights…!”

One of Bakdgul’s strengths was his innate dignity.

No matter how shabby his clothes, his hidden gestures and tone always earned him respect wherever he went and made it easy to infiltrate places.

But right now, Bakdgul had thrown off such dignity to such an extent that it couldn’t be felt at all.

It was only natural.

Their entire plan had been destroyed because of the knights.

‘I will never forgive them.’

Mountain-spore mushroom.

This mushroom, which has the property of dispersing magical power, was the root of all the trouble.

Normally, it was a mushroom that black magicians sometimes used for curse potions, but one of the anti-magicists had discovered a way to enhance the effects of the mountain-spore mushroom and make it easier to use.

Naturally, the anti-magicists were thrilled by this new discovery and gathered as many mountain-spore mushrooms as they could.

Once they collected enough, they would have a dagger with which to strike at the magicians.

But securing a sufficient quantity of mountain-spore mushrooms was no easy feat.

It was a reagent used only in small quantities by black magicians to begin with, so there was no way it would be widely distributed. And trying to buy up a lot openly would arouse the suspicion of magicians.

That’s why Bakdgul had hired mercenaries and headed for the undead lands.

To collect a sufficient amount of mountain-spore mushrooms.

No one thought Bakdgul would fail such a simple mission…

Amazingly, Bakdgul failed.

It was because of the local knights.

Invoking entirely unexpected regulations, they detained Bakdgul and the mercenaries, and before they even realized what was happening, summoned the magicians of Einrogard to prevent their escape.

Bakdgul found himself arrested before he realized what was happening, and was dragged off to the capital’s prison.

By a stroke of luck, he managed to escape without having his identity as an anti-magicist discovered, but he couldn’t bring out his mercenaries with him.

And to top it off, all the mountain-spore mushrooms he had secured were seized.

The anti-magicists, who had been waiting for the mountain-spore mushrooms Bakdgul was to procure, saw their opportunity vanish before their eyes, and Bakdgul’s reputation was in shambles.

Burning with vengeance, Bakdgul began investigating to find out how this absurd situation had come to be.

And he found the culprit.

Surprisingly, it was the Beechwood Knights.

These bastards, for some absurdly petty reason, had detained the mercenaries and called in the magicians of Einrogard!

“What the hell were these damned idiots thinking, doing something like this?”

“It’s obvious. They must have looked down on the mercenaries. Since there was a bounty, they probably wanted to just hand them over, so they even called the magicians.”

“They’ll pay for this. Pathetic knight scum.”

The anti-magicists gnashed their teeth in the dark log cabin, throwing glances out the window.

In the distance, at the base of a hill wrapped in darkness, colorful lights twinkled. It was the venue for the Beechwood Knights’ gathering.

They had ruined the grand plan of the anti-magicists for no good reason, so today they would pay the price!

“A carriage is passing by again.”

“Those damn knights just ride around in carriages…”

“They’re completely off their guard!”

“Don’t underestimate them. They’re still knights, after all.”

Bakdgul reined in his subordinates.

He had confirmed the knights were off guard, but that was no reason to get cocky.

No matter how far removed from real combat and all show they were, a knight was a knight.

Their basic combat ability was in a different league from ordinary people.

“There will be a signal soon. Wait for that signal.”

Bakdgul’s eyes burned wickedly as he waited for the signal from the spy he had infiltrated.

• * *

“…Hey, isn’t this a bit much?”

Lee Han asked Giselle.

The carriages around looked as if they belonged to noble families, covered in all sorts of luxurious decorations, and the temporary camp set up on the hill was draped with brilliant flags and banners of all kinds…

‘Wait a second. That’s a merchant’s carriage.’

He even saw many merchant carriages in addition to the knights’ carriages.

Looking around, porters were sweating as they piled up crates like mountains. Hearing bottles clinking inside, it was clear they were full of alcohol for the knights.

There were even porters hauling in large copper tanks with live fish inside.

Even though Lee Han was the scion of a very high-ranking noble family, he had never seen such extravagance, and it astonished him all the more.

“……”

“……”

Giselle and the others, perhaps embarrassed, looked away and kept their mouths shut.

“Moradi? Moradi? Didn’t you hear me? Isn’t this too extravagant?”

“…Shut up!”

“What? Why are you getting mad? I was just asking.”

The White Tiger Tower students felt it too.

This Beechwood Knights’ gathering was very different from a typical gathering of knights!

Even the Moradi family, a notably influential Northern house, would never hold such a luxurious gathering. The same went for Angrago and Bartrek.

“Are knights’ gatherings usually like this?”

“Uh… Wardanaz. Please stop provoking Moradi.”

Angrago whispered fearfully.

At first, Giselle had bristled, but at some point she passed her limit and simply fell silent with icy calm.

“Angrago. I’m just genuinely curious. It’s not like I’ve ever attended a knights’ gathering.”

“I mean, I’ve only been to gatherings for my peers or my family, so this is my first time at a knight order gathering too… Uh…”

“No wonder there are rumors that the Beechwood Knights are loaded.”

Lee Han looked around with an admiring expression.

The more he saw, the more impressed he was.

How much money could one get if they became friends?

‘They say attracting investment and sponsorship is also part of a magician’s ability.’

Of course, there were a few… precedents… of sponsorships that couldn’t be repaid, but investment and sponsorship were generally positive systems.

A magician could pursue research they wanted but couldn’t afford, and investors and sponsors gained commensurate benefits and prestige.

In Lee Han’s case, he was more interested in business than research.

‘If it looks like research but is actually business, isn’t that enough?’

Jeancliffe, who had guided the group, had gone ahead to meet the knights.

Having roughly looked around, Lee Han called out to his friends.

“Should we go in?”

“Y-Yeah.”

The White Tiger Tower students seemed a bit intimidated by the extravagance of the gathering.

Lee Han didn’t care and stopped at the main entrance, brushing dust off his shoes.

A knight next to him, who was about to just go in, saw Lee Han and quickly brushed off his own dust as if thinking, ‘Ah, I see!’

Creeeaak—

Inside was no less splendid than outside. From the carpet on the floor to the furniture they’d brought in, it looked like you could just live here for good considering how much gold must have been spent for a single gathering.

When Angrago and Bartrek were about to toss their coats casually onto the chairs, Lee Han said,

“Wait. You can’t leave them there. This isn’t Einrogard.”

“Oh… Then where?”

“There should be a space used as a lounge. You should put them there.”

Two knights sitting nearby flinched. They quickly stood up, glanced around, and picked up their coats from the floor, briskly dusting them off.

“…?”

At that point, Lee Han also began to sense something odd.

“Wardanaz. Can I just sit down?”

“Just don’t sit at the place of honor by the fireplace.”

A knight dressed flamboyantly flinched and stood up.

“Can I take off my gloves?”

“No. Keep them on.”

A knight with a lot of jewelry on quickly put his gloves back on.

“…Uh, sirs. Sorry. You don’t have to be so formal, please feel free to sit.”

“Not at all!”

“We were going to do that anyway, we were just taking a brief rest!”

The knights waved their hands as if to powerfully assert, ‘I’m not normally this impolite, it was just a slip.’

“It’s a knights’ gathering, surely knights can act a little more relaxed.”

“Hey. We’re knights too, you know…”

The White Tiger Tower friends whispered resentfully.

Why are we the ones getting scolded??

“Are you going to behave the same way at a noble gathering later? You should learn in advance.”

“Uh, well… That’s true, but…”

Struck by the truth, the friends could not refute.

As the White Tiger Tower students were being scolded, the knights hurried to tidy up their attire and check their appearance.

“Do I look okay? Wait. Is the vest order correct?”

“You said you knew all about etiquette!”

“I do, I just wanted to double-check.”

The Beechwood Knights, who up until Lee Han arrived had been confident they were behaving nobly, now wavered in that belief upon meeting the real deal.

“Can I wear my sword… here?”

“Wait, wait. Was it okay to wear this much jewelry? I don’t think so.”

“What’s everyone so flustered about? Why?”

“To tell the truth, it’s the Wardanaz family boy…”

“Oh! He said he was coming! But why?”

“I’d left my coat on the floor.”

“Can’t you leave it there??”

“Apparently not! Nobles mock you for things like that!”

“Then why did you leave it there in the first place? You told me it was okay so I—”

“Just shut up and pick it up! Stop nitpicking!”

Even the knight known among his peers for being dignified and knowledgeable in manners blushed with embarrassment.

Jeancliffe, returning belatedly, was shocked to see a hall atmosphere utterly different from the usual relaxed and lax tone.

‘What on earth happened?!’

• * *

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

Jeancliffe was impressed.

There were none so outstanding in knightly etiquette as the Beechwood Knights.

But as with swordsmanship, there’s always a higher sky above.

“To see the real thing and learn—what a valuable experience. These knights will grow another level. Haha!”

“…Grow in what exactly…”

Giselle, biting her tongue to hold back, couldn’t help but blurt out.

If you’re a knight, you should be swinging a sword, not—

“Shh. Moradi. This is another knights’ gathering.”

“……”

Hearing the truth from Lee Han, Giselle trembled with humiliation.

She had nearly lost her cool and made a mistake…

But why to the Wardanaz bastard!

“Booze!”

“Can we take some of that?!”

Giselle shuddered at the refined conversation between Angrago and Bartrek.

‘Who’d have thought I’d ever miss Einrogard.’

“Wow. That’s really expensive booze.”

“Right? Wardanaz?”

“Let’s set aside a few bottles for ourselves later.”

“Hahaha! That’s a… …not a joke, huh.”

“Yep.”

“……”

“Wardanaz… please… Unlike you, I’m from a knightly family, so if rumors spread…”

Angrago pleaded.

Maybe Lee Han would be fine even if caught, but Angrago would end up with a title like “bottle thief” among the knights.

“No… I meant let’s ask and take it. I’m sure they’ll let us have some.”

“Oh. Is that what you meant?”

Angrago brightened. Bartrek swallowed.

Giselle shut her eyes tight in disgust.