Episode 462

“…Are you perhaps using ‘persuade’ in a different sense?”

Ogonin whispered.

Einrogard had a lot of words that meant something else.

For example, “Let’s go borrow something from our Principal’s storeroom,” really meant…

“It is possible.”

Koholti nodded.

Ogonin’s observation was sharp indeed.

“Hey, junior. Did you, by any chance, attack the professor…”

Whack!

Direte, who had returned at some point, hit Koholti with a pouch of reagents.

Koholti screamed and fell into the pit.

“Do you call that talking? Saying something like that? To the junior who went around getting reagents for you?”

“I… I was just suspicious…”

“That’s not it!”

Ogonin denied it desperately, but Direte mercilessly swung the pouch again.

With a dull sound, Ogonin was sent tumbling next to Koholti.

‘Mm. So that’s why they were in the pit.’

Seeing his seniors in the pit, Lee Han realized the truth.

And he thought to himself,

‘I’d better not even relax while breathing in front of Direte-senior.’

Direte, not realizing he was considered the scariest senior in the dark magic school, looked at Lee Han with an apologetic expression.

“…Sorry for letting you hear their nonsense. I mean it.”

“Not at all. I always take my seniors’ words as golden.”

The two inside the pit smiled contentedly.

How could the same words sound so nice, coming from him?

“Some things are just garbage talk, so don’t value it too much… So, you really persuaded them to give you these? The professors didn’t ask for anything unreasonable?”

Direte was worried about Lee Han.

As everyone knew, the professors at Einrogard weren’t so benevolent as to do nice things for students just for being persuasive with no compensation.

‘Did they try to draw your blood or something?’

Thinking about the magic Lee Han possessed, he wouldn’t be surprised even if some crazy professor did something crazy.

“Yes. After all, I’m learning under Professor Thunderstep.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Direte realize it.

He’d forgotten since chatting with Lee Han felt so natural, but now that he recalled—

‘He’s in multiple classes, isn’t he?’

For a student this capable, it made sense that professors would help him out.

Professors might not care much for most students, but that depended on the student.

If they refused a favor and he left for another department, that would sting badly.

“I see…”

“And these are from Professor Garcia, these from Professor Knighten, these from Professor Fliework, these from Professor Millei, these from Professor Ku, these from Professor Craer, these from Professor Reji, and these from Professor Lagrinde.”

“……”

Direte buried his face in his hands.

He was just trying to accept reality, but his head started to spin.

“And this, I borrowed from Professor Verdus.”

“?”

Down in the pit, Koholti sensed something odd.

‘Didn’t he say Professor Verdus went to the punishment room?’

“Are you alright?”

When Direte hung his head in silence, Lee Han asked with concern.

“Did I make some mistake…?”

“No… No. Not at all. Junior, I swear on every meal and outing pass the students in the dark magic school will ever have—what you did was amazing. So amazing, I feel sorry about it.”

Direte lifted his head, having gathered himself.

He’d made all the mistakes a senior could, but it was time to act like one, at last.

He couldn’t let the junior who’d achieved such feats worry because of him.

“Thank you so much.”

“No, I just did what was right.”

“And we can’t accept th—”

“No!”

“Please reconsider!”

With screams coming from inside the pit, Direte threw dirt over the top.

Lee Han unconsciously stepped back from Direte, who didn’t notice.

“…How could we possibly accept this, after all your hard work?”

“But senior, now that we’ve got all this, I can’t return it to the professors, and I can’t use it all myself.”

“He’s right. He’s saying it himself, Direte.”

“Please, just reconsider.”

At the words of Koholti and Ogonin, who had crawled out the other side, Direte sighed and kicked them back into the pit, saying,

“…Thank you. Really. In all my days learning dark magic, I’ve never been so embarrassed as today. I mean it.”

“Oh, come on. The zombie incident in the capital two years ago was more embarrassing.”

Direte covered the pit they’d been tossed into and then called a summoned beast to completely seal it, then said to Lee Han,

“Thanks for joining the dark magic school. And also…”

Direte hesitated, then spoke carefully.

“If it ever gets hard, or just doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to attend. I mean it.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

“…Don’t tell the professors I said that.”

“I don’t think the professors would take away their trust in you over something like this.”

“That’s not true.”

Direte said quite firmly.

Professor Mortum did trust Direte, but Lee Han’s affiliation wasn’t something that—even for his top disciple—could be forgiven lightly.

“I… I see.”

Lee Han was a bit taken aback by Direte’s sharp words.

• * *

Returning with the basket of snacks his seniors had packed for him, Lee Han sensed a tense atmosphere at the campground by the library entrance.

There were no students sitting around; everyone had gathered in groups, whispering with serious expressions.

“What’s going on? Has something happened?”

“Wardanaz!”

Students spotted Lee Han and rushed over with anxious faces.

“Why are you so late! Something serious happened!”

“The dark magic sch… No, never mind that, what happened?”

“There’s definitely a monster outside the stockade. A student from the Black Turtle Tower got kidnapped.”

“!”

Lee Han, startled, looked around quickly.

Currently, the library entrance campground was well protected by a deep moat, stockades, and temporary towers.

On top of that, students’—no, mostly Lee Han’s—magical lights were placed all around, shining beams into the darkness.

It was hard to even get close, let alone break in and drag students away.

“Are we sure they were kidnapped? Couldn’t they just be somewhere else…”

“No. They were standing guard and disappeared. When the next shift came, nobody was there.”

Salko’s brow was furrowed deeply.

The test wasn’t even over and yet something like this had happened.

Thinking about the Black Turtle Tower students being too scared to concentrate made him feel terrible.

Giselle felt similarly.

With those already unfocused White Tiger Tower guys talking about ‘sending a search party’ and ‘let’s hunt down whatever it is’ and subtly closing their books, she wanted to hunt her friends rather than monsters.

“We have to organize a search party, Wardanaz.”

“What is this, your family manor? A search party, really.”

Giselle dismissed Salko’s suggestion coldly.

Maybe luck was on their side and they’d forgotten, but the library was a labyrinth.

If they started poking around nearby, who knew what would happen?

“Are you blocking us just because none of the White Tiger Tower guys disappeared, Moradi?”

Salko growled, but Giselle didn’t so much as blink; she stared back coldly.

“I’d have said the same even if it was the White Tiger idiots who disappeared. Though, of course, they didn’t.”

“Moradi, I suppose I should say that I suspect you.”

“How can you say such idiotic nonsense so confidently?”

“Listen, it’s convincing if you think about it. You White Tiger idiots are so slow you only ever think of one thing: dragging everyone else down.”

“Oh, so you’re saying our tower is behind this?”

Giselle answered as if it was beneath her. Salko nodded.

“If Black Turtle Tower students disappear, who benefits most?”

“With that logic, why is Blue Dragon Tower off the list?”

“There are two reasons, Moradi. One: Blue Dragon Tower idiots can’t do anything right without Wardanaz.”

“……”

Lee Han, caught off guard, looked at Salko.

“Uh…”

“If Wardanaz led it?”

“Look at Wardanaz’s daily schedule.”

Even Giselle, who usually liked to get on Lee Han’s nerves, had a hard time refuting that point.

“True. What’s the other reason?”

“Blue Dragon Tower has better grades than Black Turtle Tower. Only a fool tries to drag down someone below them.”

“I see. Why don’t you draw your weapons, then?”

“I’m thinking about it. If you keep blocking the search party.”

Representatives from each tower openly glared at each other, ready to fight, as the priests anxiously fretted.

“W-Wardanaz, couldn’t you stop them?”

“Uh, wouldn’t it just be easier to let the winner decide?”

Lee Han, torn between who would win, was puzzled by the priests’ requests.

Wasn’t anyone else curious?

But the priests seemed to want nothing to do with that sort of trial-by-combat.

“Please!”

“They don’t listen to me…”

Lee Han grumbled, but surprisingly, both called on him.

“Wardanaz, you decide.”

“Wardanaz, what do you think?”

“…Since when have you both respected my opinion this much?”

Lee Han glared at them, annoyed.

They always picked fights with him, but wanted him to be the judge for this?

Why couldn’t they just fight each other and hold a grudge themselves…

“If we don’t send out a search party, the other students will get even more anxious. What if the next victim is from Blue Dragon Tower?”

“We should increase our defenses, not just send people off blindly. Do you know what they call that up north?”

“A noble and valorous act, maybe?”

“They call it something only idiots and dunces do, but if you want to use that term, sure. I’ll call it ‘the valor of noble houses’ from now on.”

‘If I just leave them, maybe they’ll fight and settle this themselves.’

“Wardanaz. Hurry up and decide.”

“What are you doing? Say something.”

Lee Han didn’t originally want to get involved in their fight.

Let them settle it, and patch up the loser afterwards. The winner would be happy, and the loser would hate the winner instead—it would make Lee Han look like a good guy.

But if he made a decision here, the blame and grudges would fall on him.

He really didn’t want that kind of trouble with the other towers.

‘I’ll drag things out. Let them settle it themselves.’

“I think you’re both wrong.”

“?”

“??”

Both looked at Lee Han in surprise.

That was not the answer they’d expected at all.

“Why, Wardanaz?”

“Do you have some other good idea?”

“Think about it. A monster that broke through these defenses and kidnapped a student. What does that mean?”

Of course, Lee Han didn’t actually know.

How could he know what kind of monster it was with just these clues?

He wasn’t even sure it was a monster.

But Salko and Giselle paused and considered, because Lee Han wouldn’t bluff about something like this.

“Hmm. This is difficult, Wardanaz.”

“Just tell us straight.”

“No. You both think it over a bit more.”

BAM!!!!!

Before the words left his mouth, a loud crash sounded at the main gate of the fortress.

Then, a student standing guard atop the gate screamed.

“It’s an attack!! Monster attack!!”

“…!?”

“R-right! Monsters are usually arrogant. Since they succeeded so easily, they’re underestimating us and attacking again!”

“…That’s it. That’s what I was saying.”

“?”

Giselle sensed something odd and asked,

“Then why didn’t you just say that instead of telling us to think…”

“Everyone, gather at the main gate!! We’re under attack by monsters!!”

Instead of answering, Lee Han called everyone and ran to the main gate.