Episode 469

Episode 469

“W-Wardanaz?”

“Yeah. How have you been?”

Lee Han looked around the room.

It certainly didn’t look anything like a punishment room.

‘Well, Professor Craer isn’t the skull principal, so he wouldn’t have tormented a student recruited just for an exam.’

“Uh… I… that’s…”

Shyles looked flustered, his eyes rolling around.

He felt like he was going to hear something from his friends at the Black Turtle Tower when he returned like this.

-Are you seriously this unfaithful, you jerk? Trying to survive alone!

-Do you know how worried we were because of you! You should have at least left some clue!

“Don’t worry. I’ll just tell the others that you had a hard time.”

Lee Han read Shyles’s mind and spoke.

Shyles was so touched he almost burst into tears.

“Wardanaz…!”

“If I need to borrow a Richmond family carriage during break, just give me a discount.”

“You joke. I could let you borrow it for free though.”

“I’m not joking?”

“…Is this a joke, too?”

Fongrif gave a low, fierce sound.

He was asking if he should just drop this clueless boy.

Shyles, who was also a beastkin and had tended to many mounts due to his family’s transport guild business, felt a chill and shivered.

“Why, why is it acting like this?”

“It seems to like you.”

“I… I don’t think that’s the case.”

Shyles knew well what kind of monster a griffon was.

Even compared to creatures like hippogriffs or pegasi that are often mentioned alongside it, griffons are exceptionally difficult to tame due to their fierce disposition and cunning intellect.

Given that, seeing the griffon act like this, Shyles really couldn’t be sure whether Wardanaz had truly tamed the griffon or whether the griffon was deceiving Wardanaz.

“Wardanaz… It’s not that I would ever underestimate you, but… Do you know griffons are originally fierce and deceptive?”

Fongrif let out a low, growling sound.

It was absurd enough that the master he’d sworn loyalty to was only now trusting him, but to have some kid sowing distrust on top of that was utterly infuriating.

“Hmm.”

At Shyles’s words, Lee Han looked down at Fongrif.

Since he was in such a hurry, he’d used a curse-breaking potion to temporarily remove the curse and bring him, but now, listening to Shyles, he wondered if Fongrif did seem especially ferocious.

Maybe it was just because he usually saw him in horse form.

Fongrif clacked his beak loudly with a look full of aggrieved innocence.

Sure, he might have been a bit prickly at first, but ever since then he’d always been loyal. To think he was being doubted because of some kid’s comment!

“No. Fongrif is kind. …Probably.”

Fongrif nodded happily for a moment, then paused, feeling oddly uneasy.

“Anyway, hurry and get on. I have to prepare for the next exam.”

Shyles, watching Fongrif, hurriedly climbed on.

The griffon was scary, but honestly, Wardanaz was no less intimidating. Since he’d come all this way to rescue him, continuing to talk back might make Wardanaz even scarier than the griffon.

“But Wardanaz, how did you figure out where I was?”

“Divination magic.”

“…Huh? Is that possible?”

Shyles tilted his head, puzzled.

Divination, by nature, gets exponentially harder when there’s little information or when the target is magically protected.

Shyles figured Lee Han had only narrowed it down to around here using some clues, and then used divination magic to determine which floor of the tower he was locked in.

“I was pressed for time because of the other exams, so I just ran infinite loops until it worked. Then this place showed up.”

“……”

Shyles made a shocked face from behind Lee Han.

It was such a brute-force method he never even imagined.

Every time you cast divination magic there are side effects and backlash, but to just brute-force it over and over until it worked…

“C-Can you really do that??”

“I have to take the other exams too, so I didn’t have any time. There’s no other way. Let’s just hurry up and go.”

“No, just because you’re short on time doesn’t mean you can do something like this…”

To act so recklessly just because you don’t have time to study for an exam.

If he’d been a little more pressed, Shyles was too scared to imagine what Lee Han might have done.

“Wait. Then where’d you get the griffon from?”

“I temporarily transformed the horse the professor lent me.”

“…You’re… joking, right? This too?”

Clack-

The door to the room Shyles had been locked in just opened, and Professor Paselete stepped in.

The professor, who’d opened the door to offer a snack or something, was dumbfounded to see the half-destroyed window.

“…Why… why did you break it?”

“……”

Lee Han was a little flustered by the question.

Huh?

‘Wasn’t breaking in and saving him the test?’

On second thought, the professor only said to identify the location and submit it, not to actually rescue him.

He had, out of habit, just broken the window and gone in.

‘Uh. If I say this, I’ll sound completely nuts.’

As Lee Han searched for a good excuse, he made eye contact with Fongrif.

“Maybe…”

Fongrif whimpered, pleading not to use him as an excuse.

• * *

“Anyway, well done… well done.”

Lee Han hung his head in embarrassment, having destroyed the exam room when he was just told to solve the problem.

But Professor Paselete didn’t seem especially bothered.

‘Good. What a kind professor.’

“Well, I’ll be going, then…”

“See! I told you we had to teach him differently!!!”

“!?”

“!”

Lee Han and Shyles were both startled by the sudden change in the professor’s voice.

Fongrif growled in alarm, eyes wary.

“Professor?”

“Ah. Ignore that. Igno-…”

“What do you mean, ignore it!!!”

“……”

‘I want to go home.’

Shyles thought to himself.

Standing by for an argument between two professors (even if it was actually one person) was more uncomfortable than he expected.

“I mean, he’s only a first year; we could just let him be for now…”

“Geniuses have to be taught differently! This is what happens when you teach them like everyone else, that’s why he acts out!”

“W-Well… divination magic is dangerous…”

Even the timid personality joined in the argument.

Seeing the professor’s three personalities bicker among themselves, Lee Han hesitated.

‘Wait. This is dangerous.’

It wasn’t the professor’s split personalities arguing that was dangerous. At Einrogard, this didn’t even count as “dangerous.”

The real issue was the topic of their argument.

The professor’s aggressive side was advocating for even more intense instruction.

“See! Why would he protest like this unless he was bored to death!”

“…No. It was my fault for breaking it. I misunderstood the instructions…”

“Don’t worry. It’s not because you broke anything. This is an ongoing debate from before.”

Professor Paselete’s words were not much comfort.

To know the professor’s personalities were debating how to teach students behind his back…

From experience, the student’s voice should always be part of their own education process.

Why were they deciding and discussing without the person involved?

“So, how about a compromise…”

‘What kind of compromise is that supposed to be.’

Lee Han silently rooted for the professor’s normal persona.

With the aggressive and timid personalities both insisting on harsher teaching, Lee Han had to trust the normal one.

“If you push someone too hard, it might backfire.”

Lee Han nodded.

“That only applies to the untalented! Do you think he’s an ordinary case?”

Lee Han shook his head.

“W-Well, he is a bit…”

‘That personality isn’t timid, it’s just weak.’

Lee Han quietly resented the timid personality for being swayed by the aggressive voice.

If you’re a personality, you should hold fast to your own arguments—what’s the point if you just lose to the others?

Thank goodness the professor’s normal side was holding out…

“Think about it. All the other lectures are moving quickly into advanced content, but in divination magic, all he’s doing is tossing rocks—is that fun for him? Would he even keep attending? No matter how little you care for your disciple, there are exceptions! Even stubborn old Professor Knighten has been changing after seeing the other professors!”

“??????”

Lee Han doubted his ears.

What did he just say?

“Alright, alright.”

“I accept…”

“……”

Lee Han looked at the professor with bitter eyes.

So it ended like this.

The difficulty of divination magic wasn’t low even now, but thinking about how much it might go up after midterms made Lee Han shiver.

‘Is this my fault? Was smashing the tower window that big a mistake?’

“Wardanaz.”

Shyles beside him called out.

“Uhm… good luck.”

“…Let’s just go.”

On the way back with Shyles, Lee Han’s heart felt dark and gloomy.

They loaded Fongrif (who had reverted forms) onto the ferry and slowly drifted down the water.

Suddenly, Shyles remembered something and asked.

“Wardanaz, don’t you still need to take the illusion magic test?”

Now that he thought of it, wasn’t Shyles locked in Professor Kirmin Ku’s tower?

Shyles didn’t take illusion magic, but Wardanaz did.

“I took the test before I came to rescue you.”

“Huh?”

Shyles didn’t get it.

“Aren’t they still running the test?”

While Shyles was locked up, down below the tower, the first-year students were still attempting the illusion magic test.

Professor Kirmin had scattered nightmares received from Mac throughout the tower and forced the students to overcome them.

For an illusionist, being able to cast illusion magic wasn’t the only important thing. Having the mental strength not to be swallowed by illusions was also crucial.

Because it was all about how you overcame those nightmares, the other students were still screaming and struggling…

But Wardanaz says he already took the test and came to the rescue??

“I figured it would end quickly. Thankfully, it did. Get going, Shyles. I have to head to the next magic exam.”

“Wardanaz. I don’t want to meddle, but I really think you should take fewer classes…”

• * *

“It’s over! Hooray!!”

“It’s finally over!”

“Hey, Wardanaz is watching. Pick up your book, you bastard.”

Back at the library, the students who had just finished their midterms for the week were throwing their books and cheering.

Lee Han tossed aside a White Tiger Tower student who had thrown a book and clicked his tongue.

‘Really, the ones who slacked off study the most.’

Now that he looked, the Blue Dragon Tower and Phoenix Tower students were looking sullen, wishing they could have done better, but the White Tiger Tower students were just excited now that it was over.

“Wardanaz… do you, by any chance, have any exams left this weekend?”

“Nope.”

“Wow!!!! It’s over!!!! Yay!!!!”

Now sure their tests were over, Lee Han’s friends relaxed and threw their books.

Some started beating on makeshift drums and played songs of joy.

‘…Will Mac get mad?’

Lee Han felt guilty toward Mac, seeing his friends go wild.

With that ruckus, Mac might come running, furious…

“Wait… I think there’s one more test left.”

At Lee Han’s words, the friends who had been breaking out snacks and opening beer barrels paused.

Huh?

“W-What’s left?”

“Dark magic?”

“Didn’t we finish dark magic last time?”

“Then imbue magic?”

“Imbue magic was last time, too.”

“Summoning magic?”

“Summoning magic as well…”

After guessing a bit, the friends gave up and looked at Lee Han.

It meant: just tell us already.

“Isn’t the basic dance and advanced social studies test still left?”

At Lee Han’s question, the friends stood silently for a moment, then all burst out laughing.

“That’s not a test!”

“Right. All we have to do is go tomorrow and enjoy dancing, and that’s it.”

“……”

Lee Han frowned and glared at his joyful friends.

“What’s wrong, Lee Han?”

“Shouldn’t they raise the difficulty of the dance and social lecture test a bit…?”

“……”

Yoner, who had brought over some lemonade, looked at Lee Han with disgust.

Is he really going to say that about one of the few “rest” classes we have!